How To Join Zoom & Screen Share On Zoom
Whether you're old or young, keeping up with some of the biggest technological life hacks that come up could leave you spending less time and energy than you would otherwise to accomplish the same tasks. You probably know the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." I don't agree with that when it comes to most older people, no matter their age as long as they don't develop severe disability (i.e. severe Alzheimers or dementia to the point where adopting a new skill with too many unfamiliar steps is out of the question).
Two of the "tricks" that I've found extremely beneficial are the use of Zoom & screen sharing for meetings. Zoom has integrated options for recording the meeting, remote desktop, etc. Rather than reinventing the wheel on the "how-to" part, I'll be sharing quotes, video, and screenshots from those who have already done that for you.
Why do a Higher % of Older People Have More Difficulty with Zoom?
While some older people adopted Zoom, screen sharing, and other tech-friendly options much faster than younger people like myself, & could run circles around me technologically, that's not typically the case. In my limited experience, I've had a higher % of older people than younger people have difficulties with tech features like Zoom meetings. While I have a lot to learn from older people, and regularly listen to those much older than me on a number of topics, this is a topic where younger people tend to have an edge on.
We're in the digital age, where technology & life itself is advancing much more rapidly than it has for the vast majority of history. The difference in the rate of change within older people's lifetimes has been much more drastic than young people's lifetimes since the rate of change is accelerating exponentially so naturally there is a higher percentage of pushback at times from those who are older who already know so much more than many younger folks because they've already lived so much longer & taken in so much more data through that lifetime, whether through study or experience. Even when an older person wasn't intentionally studying, they were still learning in their waking hours. In case that sounds off, see John Dewey's brief classic, "Experience & Education". Younger people see the changing pace of life more readily because the brevity of their life has only known rapid change and the need to accumulate a high amount of learning in a small time.
In addition, the learning curve is higher for many older people & they may not feel the need to purchase the same technological devices that many younger people rely on, invest in, & who see great benefit from. I won't mention any names, but there's someone in my family who has never learned to type, last I checked, despite me encouraging them to do so. I recently engaged with a contractor who also didn't know how to type, who didn't want to take the time to learn, and who didn't want to spend even $150 on a Chromebook during Black Friday when I spent more than 10 times that amount for my own laptop. I have also worked with clients of mine who didn't regularly use email. If your phone doesn't have email, you don't want to upgrade it, you don't want to buy a computer, etc., you won't be in nearly as easy of a position to transition to a Zoom meeting as most young people.
Why Zoom?
I pay for a Zoom account and the clients I work with don't need to have a paid account to join the Zoom sessions that I create. While I have some options that are free for all as well, they're not as good as Zoom in many activities. For instance, many video platforms don't allow you to Zoom in, which is a critical aspect of many walk throughs of homes for buyers and sellers. Integrated options for recorded video and remote desktop are also not typical on free platforms.
Alternatives to Zoom
Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, and Skype are all viable alternatives to Zoom, including having some screen share features though not as good in my opinion as Zoom. If you really don't like Zoom, we can use another platform, though it's typically best to use one with screen share options, the ability to Zoom in if either party is walking around and showing things with their phone or tablet, etc.
How to Join a Zoom Meeting for the first Time
Here's how to join:
He includes chapter headings that are helpful, including similar to the following:
0 Intro
1:27 What is Zoom
3:17 Getting Started
4:43 Creating an Account
5:14 Joining a Zoom Meeting
5:43 Joining a Zoom Meeting from a Mobile Device
6:46 Joining a Zoom Meeting from a Computer
8:01 Zoom Meeting Settings
9:23 Leave a Zoom Meeting
9:48 Zoom Test Drive
How to Screen Share on Zoom
Here's how to screen share:
0:00 How to share screen on Zoom tutorial for beginners
0:30 How to enable Zoom screen share
1:01 Advanced Zoom share screen options
2:18 LevelUpYourVideoSkills channel intro
2:40 How to share screen on Zoom basics
3:46 How to share an individual application
4:23 QUICK TIP 1 – The green box
4:42 How the ‘new share’ button works
5:21 How the ‘pause share’ button works
5:44 How to stop sharing your screen in Zoom
6:10 QUICK TIP 2 – How to share video in Zoom and audio
6:53 How to use Zoom whiteboard
7:16 How to share your phone or tablet
8:55 QUICK TIP 3 – Share portion of screen
9:21 QUICK TIP 4 – How to share audio and music on Zoom
9:37 How to share a second camera for multicam on Zoom with examples
10:55 QUICK TIP 5 – Side by side mode
11:33 QUICK TIP 6 – Maximise instead of full screen
12:02 How to use multiple screen share in Zoom
12:29 QUICK TIP 7 – Request remote control and annotate
12:50 What do to next
How I Help My Clients with Zoom & Related Activities
In addition to resources like this article, one of the ways that I help clients with Zoom is by providing some resources for being able to use Zoom & other digital activities if you need assistance. While I've met a buyer before to sign paperwork by both me and the buyer driving over an hour each and meeting halfway (& have a portable printer and laptop which helps with that if necessary as well, especially at times when libraries aren't open), setting up digital resources can take a lot less time and money than alternative options. If you're my client, I can do any of the following if you request:
Locating places where you are freely able to gain access to the internet near you
Providing a laptop or Chromebook for you on loan during your home buying or selling experience with certain limitations (i.e. not for non-exclusive buyer brokerage agreement buyers) if you're in state or if you are starting and finishing your transaction in state (or if you'd prefer to pay for shipping, though if doing so, I would suggest looking into a working laptop or Chromebook at a thrift store first, since it would often be less expensive than 2 way shipping costs)
Providing an email account and password for you to temporarily use exclusively for the home purchase/sale & related activities if you don't have an email address.
Using remote desktop with you to help guide you through any matters that are difficult for you to handle on your own if instructions (whether written as here or via video) are insufficient.