Have All Students See the Same Grid Configuration in Zoom

In any size of online classroom in Zoom, it may be useful for all students to see the same video grid configuration. Having everyone see the same grid can make it easier to keep track of who has been asked to contribute to the class discussion, for example. 

There is a way for the host of the meeting to make this happen with just a few simple steps. 

The host and all participants must go to Gallery View within the View options in the upper right of the Zoom window.

Instructor (host) clicks and drags one or more student’s video to a new position.

Under View in the upper right, the instructor (host) now has the option to have students Follow Host’s View. 

Once Follow Host’s Video Order is selected and, again, everyone is in Gallery View, all participants will see the same configuration of videos. Release Video Order is also available, seen in the above image. 

The rules for window ordering in Zoom are complicated, and there are ways this configuration could change(e.g. a student uses the Raise Hand feature.), but this is a simple way to create a uniform, shared “seating chart.”