Alternatives to Zoom for live meetings and recording lectures
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Overview
Zoom is the recommended solution for live videoconferencing and collaboration at Indiana University. Many instructors also use Zoom to record lectures for later viewing. Zoom is a highly robust product, but with so much instruction taking place online, it's important to be aware of alternative platforms in the event of a prolonged Zoom outage. For live videoconferencing, UITS supports Google Meet and Microsoft Teams Meetings as alternatives to Zoom. For recording lectures, UITS recommends Kaltura Personal Capture (for use at home or in the office) or Kaltura Classroom Capture (for use in IU classrooms) as alternatives to Zoom.
Alternatives for live videoconferencing
Google Meet
Google Meet is available through Google at IU to IU students, faculty, and staff. It is easy to use, and offers high-quality video and audio, screen sharing, and chat, as well as live closed captioning.
To get started with Google Meet, see:
- About Google Meet at IU
- Use Google Meet for classes and meetings at IU
- Join a class or meeting in Google Meet
Microsoft Teams Meetings
Microsoft Teams Meetings is available through Microsoft Teams at IU to IU students, faculty, and staff. It provides the ability to work together and share information, both synchronously and asynchronously, in a common space. Other collaboration features in Microsoft Teams, such as file sharing, private and group chat, and shared notebooks, are also useful for teaching and learning. Because live videoconferencing is a feature within the Microsoft Teams environment, setting up and using Microsoft Teams Meetings may have a steeper learning curve when compared to using Zoom or Google Meet.
To get started with Microsoft Teams Meetings, see Create and join a Microsoft Teams meeting in Canvas.
Platform comparison
Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams Meetings all offer high-quality audio- and videoconferencing, screen sharing, and real time chat. Below is a comparison of other commonly used features:
Feature | Zoom | Google Meet | Microsoft Teams Meetings |
---|---|---|---|
Meeting room capacity | 300 | 150 | 300 |
Maximum simultaneous video participants |
Up to 49 per page in Gallery view |
Up to 16 in Tile view | Up to 9 |
Participant management | ✔Yes | Limited 1 | Limited 1 |
Breakout rooms | ✔Yes | No | ✔Yes |
Polling | ✔Yes | No | ✔Yes 2 |
Q&A Chat | Zoom webinars only | No | No |
Whiteboard | ✔Yes | ✔Yes 3 | ✔Yes 4 |
Record meeting | ✔Yes | See note 5 | ✔Yes 6 |
Persistent meeting URLs | ✔Yes | ✔Yes 7 | See note 8 |
Meeting password | ✔Yes | No | ✔Yes |
Waiting room | ✔Yes 9 | ✔Yes 10 | ✔Yes 11 |
Share document camera or second camera |
✔Yes 12 | See note 13 | See note 13 |
Real-time closed captioning | Manual | Automated | Automated |
Room system interop (Cisco/Polycom) |
✔Yes | No | ✔Yes |
1 As meeting host, you can mute specific participants or all participants, but you cannot prevent participants from enabling their microphones or cameras.
2 Polls can be administered via Microsoft Forms or the Polly app. Polls are available only to those who are logged into the Microsoft Teams desktop or mobile app.
3 The meeting host can open and share a Google Jamboard with participants.
4 Whiteboard tools are limited to freehand drawing, sticky notes, and text.
5 As of October 1, 2020, this feature is no longer available. To share a recording saved in Google at IU My Drive before that date, download the recording, and then upload it to Kaltura MediaSpace or (for class recordings) Kaltura Media Gallery.
6 To share a recording saved in Microsoft Stream (on SharePoint), download the recording, and then upload to Kaltura MediaSpace or (for class recordings) Kaltura Media Gallery.
7 Meeting URLs are persistent for recurring meetings only; use Google Calendar to schedule a recurring meeting.
8 URLs expire when they're not used at least once every 60 days.
9 The Zoom account owner controls who is placed in the waiting room: everyone, users not in your account (non-IU people), or users who are neither in your account nor part of IU's allowed domains.
10 Google at IU users are able to bypass the waiting room.
11 Anonymous users are placed in the waiting room. Users logged into Microsoft Teams at IU automatically bypass the waiting room.
12 When prompted to select what you want to share, click the
tab, select , and then click .13 Only one camera is displayed at a time. To change cameras, open device settings.
For complete features lists:
- Zoom: On Zoom Video Conferencing Plans & Pricing, under "Choose a plan", select , and then scroll down and click . IU's feature set most closely aligns with the "Business" column.
- Google Meet: On Google Meet: Plans and pricing, the features listed under "Google Workspace Essentials" apply at IU.
- Microsoft Teams Meetings: See Meetings and calls in Microsoft Teams. Also, see Limits and specifications for Microsoft Teams.
Alternatives for recording lectures
To record a lecture, presentation, demonstration, or some other type of instructional content when Zoom is unavailable, UITS recommends using Kaltura Personal Capture when working remotely or Kaltura Classroom Capture when recording in an IU classroom.
Kaltura Personal Capture
Kaltura Personal Capture is a desktop application that helps you record presentations and screencasts using any combination of voice, webcam video, screen action, and PowerPoint slides. You can then upload and manage your recordings alongside other Kaltura content in MediaSpace and/or the Kaltura tools in Canvas (My Media and Media Gallery).
To get started with Kaltura Personal Capture, see:
Kaltura Classroom Capture
Kaltura Classroom Capture (KCC) is a quick and easy way to record your lecture, meeting, presentation, or other activity in an IU classroom. Recordings made with KCC use the audio and video equipment installed in the classroom, and are delivered to your Kaltura account.
To get started with Kaltura Classroom Capture, see Use Kaltura Classroom Capture.
Related documents
This is document bglc in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2023-08-16 13:20:36.