Now that we are posting record amounts of classroom materials online, there is also an increased risk of a few individuals causing trouble.
Since college courses nationwide migrated to Zoom a week or two ago, instructors have reported cases where uninvited people have accessed their Zoom sessions, posting inappropriate content and hassling students and faculty. Most recently, we’ve even heard about students disrupting the classes they’re enrolled in by writing inappropriate content on whiteboards.
Fortunately, you can prevent most instances of harassment — or at least shut down the trolls — in just a few steps. The Anti-Defamation League published a helpful, skimmable checklist in a blog post called “How to Prevent Zoombombing.” Two other resources to help you sort out your settings: “Keep the Party Crashers from Crashing Your Zoom Event” on the Zoom blog, and “Create Secure Meetings” on OIT’s Zoom page.
Meanwhile, Zoom recently changed its default settings to protect classrooms from interlopers. It’s still a good idea to review your settings, however.
For more information about protecting your online class space, read Maintaining an Inclusive Classroom Online, a collection of resources by the UA Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.