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Capstone Coffeehouse

Super-Quick Facts

In this course, the “Capstone Coffeehouse”, is a chatroom on Zoom. It’s similar to Skype, in that it allows voice and video communication. To join the Coffeehouse, you should do the following:

You’ll have to follow some instructions (click “yes” a bunch of times, install Zoom software the first time, etc.). More detailed instructions and troubleshooting can be found below.

Detailed Instructions on Installing and Using Zoom

  1. Installation – The first time you use the Coffeehouse, you’ll be prompted to download the Zoom program. Please follow the prompts to download and install the application.
  2. Opening – Once you’ve installed Zoom, the easiest thing to do is to go back to the capstone page and join the Coffeehouse again. This time, you’ll get a notice that Zoom is joining you to the meeting. If everything is working correctly, the Zoom program will open itself and join you to the meeting, usually displaying a message something like “Your meeting should start in a few seconds”.
  3. Authorizing – You may have to give your Web browser permission to open Zoom. If you receive a prompt like this, please click on the “Activate zoom.us launcher” link, not the “Join Meeting” link. The “Join Meeting” link will open the Zoom launcher, but it will not automatically join you to the Coffeehouse. Instead, it will ask you what meeting you want to join.
  4. Joining with Password – Once the Zoom launcher opens, you will be asked to provide the meeting password (which is included in all weekly emails that list office hours—from Module 3 onward) and your name, which lets other people in the Zoom conference know who you are. If, for some reason, you are logged into your MSU account in another tab or window of your browser, Zoom may automatically put your name in for you. If when you log on you find Zoom has filled a name in for you, but it’s your MSU net ID, you can change it by selecting “Participants” along the bottom bar and then choosing “Rename.” Please make sure your name is fully spelled out.
  5. Configuring Zoom – Zoom will automatically start using your webcam, but you may have to give it permission to start using your microphone and speakers through an automatic popup. We highly recommend using headphones, microphone, and a camera for Zoom meetings.

Troubleshooting

If you are having troubling getting to the Coffeehouse, please consider the following strategies (and don’t hesitate to contact us if these don’t work!):

  • Try accessing the Coffeehouse from a different browser than the one you usually use.
  • Rather than joining the Coffeehouse from the course website, try opening Zoom and entering the following meeting ID: 876 840 4982.
  • See if you can access another Zoom room (here’s one to try: https://msu.zoom.us/my/sfkoffice). If this works, try going back to the Capstone Coffeehouse.
  • Try downloading the Zoom app to a tablet or phone and joining from there.