Zoom is a video and audio conferencing tool that allows users to join meetings through different outlets based on your connectivity and preferences. Zoom offers several pricing tiers for businesses, but for personal use Zoom is free!
If you are going to be initiating group meetings (Host), you will need to make an account. If you are just planning to join meetings (Participant), you do not need an account. You can signup here: https://zoom.us/signup. You will then confirm your email and create your account.
Don't worry about inviting colleagues at this point. Click the test meeting url when prompted.
If you have never used Zoom before, you will need to download the Zoom application. You will only do this the first time you use Zoom. Any participants in your Zoom calls will also need to download Zoom prior to use. Clicking a Zoom meeting link opens the application or prompts a download if it is the participant's first time using Zoom.
Now you can manage Zoom meetings from your meeting page at https://zoom.us/meeting. Here you can schedule meetings and invite others. Note that it is a good idea to click "Enable join before host." This avoids confusion for participants who join a bit early, and lets participants join even if you are running a few minutes late. After scheduling a meeting you can click "Copy invitation" to invite others.
Zoom meetings can be joined several ways outlined in this example invitation below:
If you are working on QUBES, you can use the url provided to link directly to your scheduled, recurring meeting from your group page:
You can keep a free Zoom account as long as you'd like, but it is important to note that meetings are limited to 40 minutes. Your meeting will end automatically after 40 minutes, so start on time and be efficient!
Within Zoom meetings you can chat to the group or individuals, screen share, and even take over someone else's screen. For more about Zoom, visit their Knowledge Base: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us or Getting Started page: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362033-Getting-Started-on-PC-and-Mac