The College shares one Zoom webinar license that allows events to be broadcast to an audience of up to 500 participants. Webinars are best suited when the event will include a large number of attendees and some from outside the College as well as a lecture or presentation with a formal method of attendee participation through Q&A.
Webinars provide for attendee registration and automated confirmation and reminder emails. They allow for a host, co-host(s), panelist(s) and attendees. As a host, co-host or panelist, you can share your screen, video and audio, and attendees can use the chat or Q&A to interact with the host and panelists. If the webinar will be large (over 300) we recommend having more than two people on hand to help manage Q&A and the presentation.
The following provides a summary of information needed to schedule a webinar and tips on managing the webinar. To start the process of scheduling a Zoom-based event, please fill out the request form on our Video Conferencing service.
Information for Scheduling a Webinar
Note that IT staff will use the information provided as defined below to schedule approved webinars in one of the shared webinar accounts (Stonehill-Webinar-1 or Stonehill-Webinar-2). Editing the settings on the webinar is possible up until to the start time of the event; however, be aware that changes to some settings (such as the start time) may generate automatic emails to participants.
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At least one individual from Stonehill must be designated as the host and will be assigned within the webinar as an alternate host. Additional alternates may be assigned, but the first one to start the webinar will be the host, and others will be assigned as co-hosts.
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The following information must be provided once a webinar is approved to be scheduled.
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Topic – Name of the event.
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Description – A short summary of the event for registration and emails.
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Date and Time – Assume EST.
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Duration – e.g. 1 hour. Note that the webinar does not terminate at the end of the duration.
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Contact email – An email address must be provided to allow registrants to ask questions about the event. Note that the Q&A can be used to ask questions during the event.
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Audio options – You can choose whether to allow call-ins via telephone.
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Webinar Passcode – Can be an alphanumeric string (e.g. "Skyhawk123"), which is not required when using the link.
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Q&A – Panelists can respond to questions posed by attendees
- Full names and email addresses of panelists need to be provided to add them to the webinar in advance and enable an automatic email to them. Panelists are full participants in the meeting, which is different from attendees who are muted and cannot activate their camera or share their screen. Panelists can view and send video, screen share, annotate and make use of the whiteboard. A panelist may also be assigned this role by the webinar host once the webinar is started. The host can also disable some features for panelists, including starting video, screen share, and recording.
Registration for Attendees
Registration requires attendees to complete a brief form that collects the full name and email addresses from the attendees who register. Attendees receive a confirmation email that provides a summary of the event, a link to join the webinar and call in numbers, if enabled. The email address for questions and a link to cancel their registration is also included. Attendees will be automatically approved and hosts may request a download of attendee information up to 2 times before the event date through the IT Service Request ticket. During webinar scheduling, hosts may request to:
- Include up to 3 speaker photos, name, title, and bio on the registration page
- Collect additional data during registration, but not PII or confidential information
- Send a reminder email either 1 hour, 1 day or 1 week before the event
Invite Attendees to a Webinar
The webinar registration link will be provided to the host, who should then share it via email to encourage attendees to register. Attendees are view-only participants who can be un-muted only if the host chooses. Their view of the webinar is controlled by the host. Attendees can interact with the host and panelists through the Q&A and the chat, depending upon what the host enables. Note that registrations will not be allowed after 500 participants have been reached.
Start a webinar
Upon being assigned, the webinar host will receive an email with the subject “Stonehill College Webinar invites you to join a Zoom webinar as alternative host”. The email includes the topic, date, time, and a button to "Start Webinar". The button should be clicked to start the webinar before the webinar begins. Note that if multiple alternative hosts are assigned, the first one to start the webinar will be the host, and others will be assigned as co-hosts
We recommend that the host starts the webinar a half-hour to an hour before the start time to have an opportunity to set webinar controls, and to allow time for co-hosts and panelists to join before you start the webinar for attendees. When the webinar is started before the specified start time, the host will see a banner at the top of the window that lets them know they are in "practice mode". The host should click on the Broadcast button in the banner to start the webinar once the host and panelists are ready allow attendees to join the webinar.
Set Webinar Controls
The host should leave themselves time during the practice mode period to review the webinar controls and make any needed changes.
- The host’s webinar controls will appear at the bottom of the screen when you hover over them. They are mostly the same as those that are available in a Zoom meeting.
- Click on Participants in the webinar controls to display the participants panel on the right side of your screen. The host, co-hosts, and panelists will be listed under the Panelists tab, and attendees will be listed separately under the Attendees tab when they join the webinar. See managing panelists or managing attendees for a description of these options.
- Review the additional controls by clicking on the three dots (• • •) in the bottom right corner of the panel. If you don’t see them, make sure you’re on the Panelists tab, and maximize the participant panel using the box in the top-right. The below screenshot shows our recommended settings checked. See managing participants in a webinar for a full description of options.
- Mute Participants On Entry - Mutes all new panelists upon entry, but they will be able to unmute themselves. Attendees are automatically muted and will not be able to unmute unless you promote them to panelists or allow them to talk.
- Allow panelist to unmute themselves, rename themselves, start video - Grants panelists the ability to do these things if they choose to.
- Raise Hand - Allows attendees to "raise their hand" during the webinar. This feature is only recommended if you want to allow attendees to request the opportunity to ask questions out loud.
- Follow host view mode - Lets participants see the same view that the host is using, whether using the active speaker view or gallery view.
- Click on Chat in the webinar controls to display the chat panel on your screen. At the bottom of the Zoom Webinar Chat window, click the three dots (• • •) in the bottom right corner of the panel. Under Attendees can Chat with, check the option for No One if you want to disable the chat.
- Click on Q&A in the webinar controls to display the Question and Answer panel on your screen. The settings should be as specified for the meeting ahead of time, but you may also change them here if needed. Whoever is assigned to manage Q&A (whether host, co-host, or panelist) should keep this window open during the webinar. Review the use of Q&A as the webinar host for more information.
Get Ready and Start the Webinar
- About 15 minutes before the webinar is scheduled to start:
- Finalize your audio and video checks.
- Note that if there is a presentation with a welcome screen, the host can share that screen.
- About 5 minutes before:
- Mute all panelists and ask that they remain muted until the presentation starts.
- Use the Broadcast button to move from practice to start mode and allow attendees to join.
- Attendees will join muted, but will be able to see and hear panelists (provided their audio or video are on).
- The host should welcome the attendees and let them know you'll be getting started soon.
- At the webinar start time:
- Start recording (unless you have enabled automatic recording).
- The host should unmute themself and start their video, if needed.
- Begin the presentation with a welcome that also describes things like how the webinar will proceed and how attendees can ask questions.