What's in it for us with Zoom Apps? 🧐

02 | Exploring the Zoom Marketplace

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Mar 05, 2024

Welcome to the second issue of Nareatech Insights!

This time, we're focusing on Zoom apps and their relevance to virtual experiences. Over the past two years, Zoom has introduced a variety of apps to their platform, expanding the available options. However, the question arises: are these apps worth the time and effort to integrate into your events?

While there are limitations in how these apps engage with participants, we've sorted through them to find some valuable tools specifically for hosts and facilitators. These tools have potential to significantly enhance virtual experiences. 🧚‍♀️

🎦 Basic, built by Zoom!

First off, we've got the “Timer” app. It's really handy for keeping everyone on track, whether it's tracking participation time, monitoring breaks, or even signaling the end of a reflection moment. The option to share a sound, like a little chime, when time's up is a nice touch.

Another one built by Zoom is “Virtual backgrounds”. If you like to change your virtual background, this one is super convenient because you don't have to spend time searching and downloading images for your Zoom calls. With the app, you've got a bunch of backgrounds integrated and ready to use.

Lastly, there’s a Zoom app called “Group photos”. What’s interesting about this tool is that it allows you to take high-quality photos of everyone in the call. Participants get a heads up when the host wants to snap a pic, so they can be camera-ready. It's especially handy for smaller groups (less than 20 participants), since it might require a bit of extra guidance. Overall, it's a cool tool for letting folks take their own pics, with the option to retake shots if needed.

🎥 Take a look | Basic apps, Group Photos and Virtual Backgrounds

Zoom also has a "Music" app, but having a curated playlist ready for virtual experiences is usually better. However, it can be practical if your tools aren't prepared for smaller meetings or quick team activities. This can also serve as an interesting resource for long breakouts sessions where it's not feasible for the tech to play music simultaneously in every room; the designated breakout room lead can easily initiate music using this app to set the mood for reflection or brainstorming.

🎥 Take a look | Music App

🕺 Overlays and animations

There are some apps that let you add overlays of name tags, logos and other multimedia.

This can be handy for facilitators who are introducing themselves, or for the tech team to always display a "Tech" tag in their videos and be easily identified. Facilitators representing a company can also place logos into their videos for added branding.

While there's a tempting array of new tools in the app marketplace offering these features, we wanted to spotlight the "Prezi video" app. Its system operates akin to a slideshow, allowing the presenter to control what content appears and when (on top of their video), and whether to activate or deactivate specific tools. It's a great tool for adding excitement and getting creative with team dynamics, icebreakers, and even explaining ideas without sticking to traditional slides. It's a new way to bring some energy into our Zoom calls.

Let me give you a sneak peek with a quick video, showcasing some of the cool features it offers:

🤓 Collaborative apps

If you're using collaborative platforms such as Asana, Miro, or Mural within small group settings of up to 20 participants, you will be able to integrate the tool into the Zoom call with the app. It enables seamless interaction with board elements while keeping everyone focused on a single screen. However, to ensure smooth functionality, ⚠️ it's important that all participants have these tools installed in their Zoom client. Luckily, Zoom simplifies this process with an option to privately invite all attendees within the meeting.

🔜 In our next post, we'll dive a bit deeper into collaborative apps and highlight the new Zoom Whiteboard tool! Stay tuned for more details!

If you’d like to test some of these apps and get more ideas, feel free to grab 30 mins with me!

30-min with Génesis

Nareatech's Success Story: Elevating the 2024 Director’s Stewardship Summit

We’re really excited to share this highlight with you! Recently, our team had the amazing opportunity to be part of Berkeley Lab's annual stewardship event, where we had 200 participants joining us alongside an incredible team of facilitators and guests.

On the tech side of this event, one of the most interesting aspects was our team of three techs, which was quite large due to the event's complexity. Each tech had a specific role: one focused on managing screen sharing and setting up music cues; another was responsible for creating approximately 14 breakout rooms and handling participant renaming during call entries and exits; and the third was dedicated to coordinating the run of show, managing guest speakers and their special green rooms, and overseeing the event as a whole.

The event was meticulously organized by the summit team, who really put their hearts into making sure every minute was filled with purpose and executed with precision ❤️‍🔥. We have to give a huge shoutout to Aditi, Christina, and Amanda for their outstanding work in making everything run seamlessly.

The exceptional facilitation by our friend Julia Wiston really stood out 💎. Julia guided each section with such skill, keeping everyone engaged and enthusiastic throughout the entire three days of learning and collaboration. Julia really inspired us all!

In short, it was three days filled with excellence, learning, and teamwork that left us happy and proud!