NOTE: Much of the following information has been excerpted from our team's new handout, Guide to Zoom Webinars at UHCL.
In addition to the much more common Zoom meeting, Zoom users can also host webinars. For a detailed comparison of meeting and webinar features, please review the Zoom support page, Meeting and webinar comparison. Major areas in which meetings and webinars differ are as follows:
- UHCL Zoom meetings can support a maximum of 300 participants, while Zoom Webinars accommodate up to 1000 people.
- Zoom meetings enable two-way communication between hosts/presenters and the participants via camera, microphone, and in-session text chat. Webinars, on the other hand, are primarily intended for one-way communication from the hosts and panelists to the attendees. Limited communication from attendees to the host is available via only the text-based Q&A tool and/or the text chat.
- Zoom meetings include optional Breakout Rooms during the session and a Waiting Room to control when participants may enter the session. Neither of those is available in a Zoom Webinar.
- Any UHCL faculty or staff member may schedule and host Zoom Meetings. However, the university owns a limited number of Webinar licenses that must be borrowed by the Webinar host (or hosting campus office) for the specific event.
Planning and conducting a Zoom webinar may seem daunting at first; however, with proper planning and preparation, anyone can host a successful online event! UCT is happy to assist event hosts (and related faculty/staff) with training, planning, and advising for their webinars. To get started, or to simply learn more about hosting a Zoom webinar at UHCL, please begin by reviewing the document, Guide to Zoom Webinars at UHCL. Then, contact the Support Center with your questions, or to schedule your initial planning meeting with a member of our team.
