On March 19, Central Rivers AEA will be switching to a unified Zoom platform used by all Iowa AEAs. Here’s what you need to know:
- Transition timing: Please avoid using Zoom for meetings or phone calls starting at 5:00 pm on March 19 while we complete the transition. The process should be finished by 9:00 pm, and we will notify all staff by email once it’s done.
- What will stay the same: After the change, most Zoom features will work just like they always have. You can still host meetings and collaborate as usual. Any scheduled or recurring Zoom meeting links will carry over to the new platform without changes.
- Main change: The biggest difference is that we’ll be able to see everyone in our AEA organization within Zoom, which will make it easier to connect and collaborate.
Important steps for staff
- Backup all messages & voicemails: If you use Zoom for text messages or voicemail, make sure to save any important messages* before the transition. *Any previously saved messages or voicemails will not transfer to the new Zoom platform. If they are not backed up to your computer, they will be gone and cannot be recovered.
- Save all important Zoom information: If there is any Zoom data you need to keep, be sure to save it ahead of time. (Once the new platform is live, all previous data will be gone and cannot be recovered.)
If you do not have SMS, voicemail or Zoom Chat information to download, the transition will happen without the need to save any information.
Downloading voicemail messages
Remember that all voicemail messages are delivered to your email, so if you are saving these emails, you likely do not need to download them. If you choose to download any messages, please do the following:
- Open the Zoom Desktop App.
- Click the Phone tab and then click the Voicemail tab.
- Select the message you would like to download and hover over it to see the More option (three dots) to the right of the message. Click on the three dots and choose Save As from the drop down menu and save your voice message. If you do not see the Save As option, please play the message and Save As will appear.
- Repeat this process for any other voicemail messages you would like to save.
Saving chat and/or SMS messages
Chat and SMS messages cannot be downloaded in the same manner as voicemail messages. To save these items, you must copy and paste the content from Zoom into another format, such as a Google Doc or a text editor on your computer, like Notepad.
- Open the Zoom Desktop App.
- Click the Phone tab and then click the SMS tab to copy SMS messages.
- Click the Team Chat tab to copy chat threads.
- Scroll to the place where you would like to start copying your Chat or SMS message. Click and drag, just as you would to copy text in a document. When you have highlighted the text you need, copy and then paste the text into a new document.
- Repeat this process for any other Chat thread or SMS message thread you might want to keep. The copy/paste process in SMS will also copy the phone numbers you have been texting with so that you have a record of the number to go with the conversation.
At this time, we are not sure if Personal Contacts or Whiteboards will be transferred to the new Zoom tenant. If you wish to download these items, you may do so following these instructions:
Downloading personal contacts
Zoom contacts include a list of Company Contacts (on by default), Cloud Contacts (if you have synced with your Google Contacts), and Personal Contacts (if you have created any). If you have created any Personal Contacts, you can download them to a csv file and open them in Google Sheets.
- Log into your account using Google on the Zoom webpage at https://www.zoom.us.
- Choose Personal Contacts from the menu on the left side of the page.
- Click Export to CSV File to download your personal contacts.
Downloading Whiteboards
Whiteboards can be downloaded from their web page.
- Log into your account using Google on the Zoom webpage at https://www.zoom.us.
- Choose Whiteboards from the menu on the left side of the page.
- Click on a Whiteboard to open it in a web browser.
- Click the three lines behind your project name and choose Export and then PDF.
- Repeat these steps for each Whiteboard you would like to save.
A few helpful resources are available from Zoom:
- Exporting Zoom phone data
- Exporting personal Zoom voicemail greeting
- Reconfiguring call forwarding and business hours on Zoom
- Zoom phone video tutorials
Thank you for your patience during this update. If you have any questions, please reach out to the CRAEA Help Desk for assistance.