One of the most useful features available to you in Zoom is the ability to share your screen.

Screen sharing allows you to show students what you are looking at on your own machine.

Use screen sharing to:

  • Present to students by sharing your slides with them.
  • Demonstrate to students by showing them software you are using.
  • Share resources with students by showing them media (such as audio/ video clips).

Screen sharing in Zoom is tightly controlled, so you can share your entire screen, or just a single specific window or application.

This is useful for:
  • Ensuring your privacy, as students will only see what you want to show them, and you do not need to worry about them seeing your desktop or anything else on your computer.

  • So that you can have items you want the students to see and your own notes or supporting items on-screen at the same time, with students only seeing 1 item

To share your screen, complete the following steps:

  1. Ensure that you open and prepare the media that you want to share before sharing your screen.
  2. Click Share Screen at the base of the screen or in the background window for Zoom. A pop-up displays to give you a number of options around what you wish to share. Zoom selects your desktop by default.
  3. Select a window or application that you want to share. It is recommended that select the option to share a specific application (e.g. Powerpoint). This means that regardless of what else is on your screen, only that application/ window is shared with participants.
  4. Optional: Select the Share Computer Sound checkbox if you plan to play audio to students, for example playing a video or audio file on your computer. When it is selected, whatever audio you hear on your machine is audible to students.
    5. Note: When you begin sharing, the Zoom interface (icons, etc) which were at the bottom of the screen are shrunk and moved up to the top of the screen. There is also a green bar surrounding the application or area you are sharing and a message will indicate you are sharing your screen.

  5. Click Share.
  6. When you are ready to stop sharing, click Stop Share.

When you are sharing, you have access to all of the same icons you have with the regular view of Zoom (microphone, speaker, video, etc).

You also have some additional options:

  • If you want to move the set of Zoom icons to the top or bottom of the screen, click on the small arrow icon to the left of the You are Screen Sharing message.

  • Clicking Pause Share to temporarily stop sharing your screen.

  • Click Annotate to pause your sharing and draw on top of what is being shared.

  • When events occur from elsewhere in Zoom (for example, a chat message, a student wanting to be admitted to the classroom, etc.), one of the icons (or the More button to the right of the icon row) flashes to indicate a notification.