Zoom Account for Bishops and Leaders

I am the Stake Tech Specialist. One of our bishops asked if the church has a zoom account that he can use to get past the meeting time limit that Zoom has on the free account.

I read a post here about educational accounts not having a limit, but that doesn't apply since he is not an using an education account.

Any recommendations?

Establish the meeting again after 40 minutes?
Pay the $15?

Understood. Thank you. What hoping maybe the church would come up with a church account that leaders could use. I know Zoom resales to large entities for this type of use. I have used them in businesses myself that way as a resale item.

Thank you for the quick answer.

arpitman wrote:One of our bishops asked if the church has a zoom account that he can use to get past the meeting time limit that Zoom has on the free account.

The church hasn't announced any such thing. But the price tag isn't going to break the budget. Especially since most activities have been canceled.

Our stake has told its units they are on their own. That's what budget is for.

arpitman wrote:... hoping maybe the church would come up with a church account that leaders could use.

When the church did away with video conferencing, I was disappointed that they did not recommend something to replace it. Perhaps in view of the current situation, they may rethink that position.

I believe that even in normal times, there definitely is a need in this connected world.

We used Webex for our bishopric and ward council meetings this morning.
Some prefer video, while others prefer audio only.

I agree that this is what Budgets are for (especially since while the guidelines are in place many organizations won't be using their Budget money for weekly activities). Our Branch last week paid $15/month for a Zoom account. One benefit of this is that the Zoom account is now available Branch-wide for any organization to use for a meeting, class, activity, ministering interview, whatever. And we can choose to re-use a standard meeting ID so all members know that when there's something on Zoom, it's always the same link.

Once things are back to normal, if desired we'll just close the account. Or maybe go to a free account. But if enough leaders/members decide it's worth it, we may include a monthly Zoom account in our Branch budget.

BrianEdwards wrote:I agree that this is what Budgets are for (especially since while the guidelines are in place many organizations won't be using their Budget money for weekly activities). Our Branch last week paid $15/month for a Zoom account. One benefit of this is that the Zoom account is now available Branch-wide for any organization to use for a meeting, class, activity, ministering interview, whatever. And we can choose to re-use a standard meeting ID so all members know that when there's something on Zoom, it's always the same link.

Once things are back to normal, if desired we'll just close the account. Or maybe go to a free account. But if enough leaders/members decide it's worth it, we may include a monthly Zoom account in our Branch budget.

Zoom's terms of service prevent sharing an account with multiple individuals, so you would need a single person to set up all of the meetings (or at least any meetings that need to be over 40 minutes). Also, you would need to be careful if all meetings use the same meeting ID, to make sure that not anyone can drop into meetings that might discuss sensitive topics (like a bishopric meeting or ward council meeting).

I'm appalled that the church is asking to perform several meetings as leaders and to attend others of our organizations and they have have not provide a clear policy regarding to online meetings,

every ward , bishop and leader should have a zoom pro account sponsored by the church, I have been in meetings when we have to wait up to 10 minutes for the new meeting to be set up cause the 40 minutes are gone so fast.
the church should have been on top of the games since the getgo and let't be honest how hard would be for the church getting these accounts , pennies for the thousands accounts


Pablo

pablosalfate wrote:the church should have been on top of the games since the getgo and let't be honest how hard would be for the church getting these accounts , pennies for the thousands accounts

The Church has given very clear instruction on how leaders can use technology to connect with the members. Zoom is only one of the options available, and as you mentioned, anything over a 40 minute meeting requires a paid account.

On the other hand, the Church has suggested other options where leaders are able to communicate with small or large numbers of members that are available at no charge.

Speak with your Technology Specialist for detailed information on how leaders can continue the work of the Church through electronic means with little or no expense at all.

pablosalfate wrote:I'm appalled that the church is asking to perform several meetings as leaders and to attend others of our organizations and they have have not provide a clear policy regarding to online meetings,

An email was sent out mid-April. It included an offer for G-Suite. Since then, Google Meet has become free to anyone with a GMail account (also free). You're not stuck with 40 minute Zoom meetings.

Actually I called the church help line and found that you can request a Google Meet account that is church sponsored if you don't mind using Google instead of zoom.

After getting one we have only used it once because everyone seems to like Zoom better.

What's the advantage of using Zoom in this case over something free like Google Meet? I have used Google Meet, but never Zoom.

Never used Google Meet, but I think Zoom's popularity is that it's simple. You don't have to be a tech to get it installed and working.

russellhltn wrote:You don't have to be a tech to get it installed and working.

Zoom is simple but has a monthly fee that the unit needs to pay from its budget.
Google Meet is free to local units.
Church headquarters uses both.
Russellhltn's statement applies to Google Meet, as well.

Free Google Meet seems to require that all virtual attendees have to have a Google account ?
That seems un-tenable as a requirement to attend a church meeting ...

The "Google Meet for Virtual Meetings" letter sent to stake clerks and STS said:

Only the person hosting the meeting needs a Google account.

This is true when the meeting organizer has a G Suite account.

So how do you that use the pro Zoom bill the $15 to your Ward?

Doesn't everyone in a Zoom meeting need a Zoom account, too?

marnofi wrote:Doesn't everyone in a Zoom meeting need a Zoom account, too?

No. The only one who needs a Zoom account is the administrator. And the users do not need to install the app on their computer, tablet, or phone either. There is an option in the fine print at the bottom of the Zoom page that has a link to use Zoom as a webpage without the app.

I have not had a Zoom account and have not installed the app for several months of ward council meetings using Zoom. Only recently did I install the app so I could get additional features.

jdlessley wrote:

marnofi wrote:Doesn't everyone in a Zoom meeting need a Zoom account, too?

No. The only one who needs a Zoom account is the administrator. And the users do not need to install the app on their computer, tablet, or phone either. There is an option in the fine print at the bottom of the Zoom page that has a link to use Zoom as a webpage without the app.

I have not had a Zoom account and have not installed the app for several months of ward council meetings using Zoom. Only recently did I install the app so I could get additional features.

I think there's a checkbox when setting up the meeting where the host can choose if they want to limit the meeting to people with a Zoom account.

FWIW - It appears that Zoom, now by default, puts anyone joining a Zoom meeting into the waiting room. The host then admits them to that meeting. This has only just happened and we aren’t sure yet if this action overrides the hosts settings.

Biggles wrote:FWIW - It appears that Zoom, now by default, puts anyone joining a Zoom meeting into the waiting room. The host then admits them to that meeting. This has only just happened and we aren’t sure yet if this action overrides the hosts settings.

This is a new Zoom security measure for meetings that do not have a password. If someone enters the meeting number and the password, they will go directly to the meeting (unless the host has set it differently). Otherwise, they are diverted to the waiting room as you mentioned.

Thanks for the feedback. I've since used Zoom (just once, so far), and didn't need an account. I used it on a Kindle Fire HD 8 6th edition. It worked fine.

pablosalfate wrote:I'm appalled that the church is asking to perform several meetings as leaders and to attend others of our organizations and they have have not provide a clear policy regarding to online meetings,

every ward , bishop and leader should have a zoom pro account sponsored by the church, I have been in meetings when we have to wait up to 10 minutes for the new meeting to be set up cause the 40 minutes are gone so fast.
the church should have been on top of the games since the getgo and let't be honest how hard would be for the church getting these accounts , pennies for the thousands accounts


Pablo

I prefer to use Google Meet. Currently, there is no time limit and up to 250 users.

If you use a coupon website called "Retailmenot.com" you can save a little off of the monthly charge of Zoom. ALSO.. If you pay the extra $40 for webcasting it is much easier....

arpitman wrote:Actually I called the church help line and found that you can request a Google Meet account that is church sponsored if you don't mind using Google instead of zoom.

After getting one we have only used it once because everyone seems to like Zoom better.

Hi, would you be able to share the number for the church help line?

wfindlay wrote:Hi, would you be able to share the number for the church help line?

The Global Service Department (GSD), the help line, manager has asked that we not publish the number in the Tech Forum. Your ward clerk or any bishopric member has access to the help line number that is published in the Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR) Contact US article.

Ok thank you. I mostly wanted to ask them how they would recommend from a technical standpoint setting up Sunday school with multiple 30 minute classes being run simultaneously.

wfindlay wrote:Ok thank you. I mostly wanted to ask them how they would recommend from a technical standpoint setting up Sunday school with multiple 30 minute classes being run simultaneously.

If the class is only 30 minutes, then the free 40 minute account would work. I think you'd need multiple accounts - one for each class. But since they're free, it wouldn't be much of an issue.

Keep in mind, by holding the classes simultaneously, you're assuming every household has enough devices and bandwidth for all members to be in a class at the same time.

marnofi wrote:Doesn't everyone in a Zoom meeting need a Zoom account, too?

No, you just use the link and enter the name you want displayed. If you create an account it remembers your name and settings, but it isn't required to join a zoom meeting.

In my Stake each Ward has a Pro Zoom account and it is used for Sacrament, SS, PH, RS at different times. We are a very transit Stake and some Wards Branches don't have much of a budget for anything so the Stake pays for an annual Pro account. The cost is minimal and very beneficial. The Stake has a Pro account also for Presidency, HC, etc meetings.

The Church will begin offering Zoom accounts to local units. The official communication hopefully will be sent to STS's in the next week or two. Some initial information is available in the following posts:

viewtopic.php?f=146&t=38067

viewtopic.php?f=146&t=38066

These will be less expensive overall for the Church than locally purchased accounts. If a stake or ward paid the annual licensing costs, Zoom will provide a refund.

As you know, this was released yesterday. At least some of the announcements were received yesterday. here are a few highlights from testing we did earlier in the week.

These accounts support both meeting (full interactivity) and webinar (one-way) activities. You can choose which type of activity suits you best.

Meetings but not webinars have the option to use breakout rooms. However the allocation of people to the breakout rooms is not user activated. It's either automated (200 people, 10 rooms, 20 people get assigned to each room) OR the administrator must manually assign people to the rooms one by one.

You can have * 2 * concurrent activities with these accounts. Normally Zoom only allows one. So you can have an RS and EQ second hour meeting occurring concurrently. HOWEVER, only one person can be logged into the account at a time to start the activities. In this example, the RSP logs in to start the RS activity. When the EQP logs into start the EQ activity, the RSP IS logged out of the account. The RS activity will continue since it's started and the host can still manage it like normal. The EQP can start his activity and manage it. If the RSP logs back into the account, the EQP is logged out. So be nice to each other.

Each activity CAN support its own RTMP feed to the Church or other system (Facebook/Google). This has been tested and it works.

If you're using paid accounts now, they can be transferred to the Church system. There is an option for that. This is of value if you've prepaid for them. You have the option of getting a refund or donating the refund amount to the Church to help pay for this service.

Finally, I have two personal recommendations, one for accounts and one for account management. #1. If you have a prepaid account, transfer the account to the church then either take the refund or donate. Once the account is set up and operational in the Church system and refund/donation confirmed, cancel the account in the church system and re-add a new account using the suggestion in #2. If you month-to-month licenses, cancel them and set up new accounts using the recommendation in #2.

Recommendation #2: use a single, stake controlled email account for these church licenses. This is simple and easy to do giving the STS control over the accounts. See the discussion in this thread for more information.

This will become interesting if we conduct separate meetings or breakout rooms for EQ, RS, YM, and YW classes at the same time. I am thinking about a large family which is at their home, and each member of the family wants to connect to his or her own meeting or breakout session. Laptops or Tablets for everyone! What a great Christmas idea.

;TLDR

1. Create or use *1* gmail account for the Stake.
2. Go to https://meet.churchofjesuschrist.org and sign in with your account. (This is for the Stake Tech Specialist, other may not have access.)
3. Click on the zoom portal and then from the drop down, sign up each ward/branch and the stake a zoom account with uniques email addresses from the main address by adding a "+unitname" [Example: fxbgvastake+spotsyward@gmail.com]
4. Go to the main stake email account and "Activate Your Zoom Account" and set up a password for each ward/branch.
5. Email all the Bishops/Branch President/Stake President their unit Zoom username/Email account.
6. Text or call each of them their password. For security reasons, it's best not to send the username/email account AND password in the same email.

lfanelli wrote:;TLDR

1. Create or use *1* gmail account for the Stake.
2. Go to https://meet.churchofjesuschrist.org and sign in with your account. (This is for the Stake Tech Specialist, other may not have access.)
3. Click on the zoom portal and then from the drop down, sign up each ward/branch and the stake a zoom account with uniques email addresses from the main address by adding a "+unitname" [Example: fxbgvastake+spotsyward@gmail.com]
4. Go to the main stake email account and "Activate Your Zoom Account" and set up a password for each ward/branch.
5. Email all the Bishops/Branch President/Stake President their unit Zoom username/Email account.
6. Text or call each of them their password. For security reasons, it's best not to send the username/email account AND password in the same email.

Note, unless I'm missing something, this process will not get a refund from any paid accounts. In order to do that, the new account email had to match the old one - at least initially.

Also, the email used will be the "login" for the Zoom account - so you probably want to keep the email a reasonable length. SpringfieldWestUtahStake+Highlands1stWard@gmail.com could get old quick.

russellhltn wrote:Also, the email used will be the "login" for the Zoom account - so you probably want to keep the email a reasonable length. SpringfieldWestUtahStake+Highlands1stWard@gmail.com could get old quick.

I'd "shorten it to "SpringfieldWUTstake+HL1ward@gmail.com", but I do agree, it could get old pretty quick. Dropping a few vowels to shorten up email addresses work to. I actually added "VA" to my stake because there is a Fredericksburg, TX too. I shorten it to FxbgVAstake+4digitWard@gmail.com

Thanks to all those previous posts that was able to help/suggest the unique email idea and setup.

Well, you could use the unit number as the username. Rumor has it that all lower 48 states have a city named Springfield.

drepouille wrote:Well, you could use the unit number as the username.

Could, but I don't know as anyone else but the clerk has the unit number memorized.

I had to reset one of the ward accounts in my steak and after they set up a new password it's only on the basic accounting not an Enterprise account how do I fix this