As we continue to shelter in place, teleconferencing and video conferencing have become the default medium for connecting with anyone outside our own homes: friends, family, teachers and our PTA community.

To help you navigate all the tools, programs, processes and platforms that allow us to connect "virtually," let us guide you to some resources:

• On the COVID-19 Resources for PTA Leaders page on the California State PTA website there are valuable sections on Teleconferencing Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions for Meetings Via Teleconference, and a list of Teleconferencing and Video Conferencing Tools.


• On April 2 we hosted a one-hour webinar titled "Tools and Best Practices for Virtual Meetings" where we discussed how to manage audio calls, teleconferences, and video conferences for maximum success and effectiveness during these challenging times. If you were not able to attend, you can watch a recording of the webinar by clicking here; alternatively you can download a copy of the presentation from the webinar by clicking here.
  

Zoom is one of the most popular tools for teleconferencing, but it has been in the news lately due to "Zoombombing." This is the term used when uninvited attendees hack into a Zoom meeting and maliciously disrupt it.

Here are some things you can do to greatly reduce the chances of this happening to your meeting:

• Don’t post any meeting links on social media.

• Set a password. (Note: In the newest update of the Zoom app this is enabled by default, but still double-check to make sure.)

• Set up a waiting room. (Note: In the newest update of the Zoom app this is enabled by default, but still double-check to make sure.)

• Control who can share the screen:
  
  - Click "advanced sharing options"
  - Under "How many participants can share at a time?" select "one participant can share at a time"
  - Under "Who can share?" select "Only host"
  - Under "Who can start sharing when someone else is sharing?" select "Only host"

• Lock the meeting - this can be enabled under the “More” option.

• Don’t use personal ID numbers - set up random meeting IDs (enable under "Meeting" tab in Personal Settings)

• Add a co-host

For additional instructions on how to make your Zoom meetings more secure, read this Buzzfeed News article, or this article on Zoom's own blog.