#30 - Zoom settings to update

A few weeks ago Zoom introduced some new AI additions to meetings that I'm finding very useful. I mentioned them in the last edition but thought that it might be useful to show how to turn them on in your Zoom settings. You need to be the account holder to do this, so I'd suggest asking the admin to enable these options if you are using someone else's account for your calls.

I find that there's still some resistance in some quarters to having meetings recorded, transcripts generated and the like, but this tech is now becoming ubiquitous. There's nothing to stop anyone recording calls using a separate device or window on their computer and there's nothing you can do to stop this, so why not use this tech to everyone's benefit and start to leverage the power of the tech?

It allows people to engage better, focus more on listening and taking part rather than having to individually scribble notes throughout, and the summaries and transcripts can always be edited and then sent out if such amendments are really necessary.

But most of the time, I find that the transcripts and summaries are pretty accurate with little need for editing - maybe sometimes I delete the early paragraphs where we are just catching up or socialising ahead of the main meeting.

The end of the Meeting Summary also summarises all the actions raised in the meeting - very useful!

Transcripts during the meeting

In the Zoom settings, under In meeting (Advanced) make sure these 2 options are turned on.

Accessibility should be something everyone is aware of these days, and providing multiple means for people to follow along in Zoom calls is a great way to help this. Maybe someone needs to turn down the volume and doesn't have any headphones to hand, or is on a call in a busy office - having the transcription in a side window means that they can follow what's going on without audio. There's a good deal of research to support the view that having subtitles or text representations of presentations aids information understanding and retention - check out the article below from the US National Library of Medicine to find out more on this.

AI Companion - the magic starts here!

This really is a game-changer for your Zoom meetings! In the Zoom settings it now has its own tab - the third one across the top of the screen. Lots of useful options to turn on - they're all pretty self-explanatory.

And when you want to go back and access your AI Companion Summaries, you can find them all listed and accessible using the "Meeting Summary with AI Companion" link on the left hand side of the screen as shown below.

What's not to like here - go and update your Zoom settings pronto!

See you next time...

Joe Houghton?is an Assistant Professor at UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business where he directs the MSc programmes in Project Management. After a career in IT in multinationals, Joe switched into a portfolio career of University teaching, management coaching and training.

He has authored 6 books to date including "Innovative teaching with AI: Creative approaches to enhancing learning in education", and "Project Management made easy...: the ECCSR approach". His latest book "Applying Artificial Intelligence to Close the Accessibility Gap: A practical handbook for educators & students!" is now available on Amazon! More on this in a future edition...

Contact Joe on email at?[email protected]?for any requests for training, seminars, workshops or keynote speaking.