Introduction
Overview
Teaching: 0 min
Exercises: 0 minQuestions
How can I participate successfully in an online meeting using my laptop, desktop computer, tablet or smart phone?
What constitutes a good venue for an online meeting?
What technology should I have handy?
How can I prepare for an online meeting?
Objectives
Understand the importance of a good physical venue for the online meeting
Understand the technical requirements of an online meeting
Evaluate my setup to see how I can improve it to enhance my online meeting experience
Understand the importance of checking connectivity and connections to online meeting beforehand
This lesson forms part of the Capacity Development Programme of the Rural Campuses Connection Project II (RCCPII). RCCPII is funded by South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training, managed by Universities South Africa (USAf), and implemented by the Tertiary Research and Education Network (TENET).
About This Lesson
The lesson is developed under an open license which allows anyone to use and modify it according to their needs as long as the original authors are being credited.
We welcome your comments, contributions, and critique.
The Power of Successful Online Meetings
Over the past few years, more and more online meeting tools have seen the light. You might be familiar with tools such as
- Google Hangouts
- Skype
- Vidyo
- Adobe Connect
- Zoom
- others.
Online meeting tools allow people from across the world to connect at low or no cost and therefore provides a way to grow you collaboration network, get access to mentorship, provide mentorship, and much much more. There are also cost and time savings associated with online meetings. But… online meetings can be very frustrating and unproductive if the technology or venue lets you down.
In this short lesson we hope to provide some pointers that will assist those who are new to online meetings to optimise their online experience.
Online Meetings - The Best vs The Worst
Discuss in your groups the last video call that you participated in. What worked well? What didn’t work well? What made you feel anxious or unsure? How did you interact with others on the call? What would you have liked to do differently? Did the call have a host? A timekeeper? An agenda?
Choosing a Venue
Background noise can be very disturbing during an online meeting. It is therefore recommended that you try to find (and book if necessary) a quiet space where you can meet undisturbed and without disturbing others.
It is important to make sure that other participants in the call can see your face clearly to assist with reading of body language and creating more opportunity for connection during the meeting. The light in your meeting place should not be directly behind you as that will cause other participants to only see your profile but not necessarily expressions.
Technology Requirements
Wired internet connections are prefered over wifi connections as they are typically more stable and higher speed and bandwidth. If you are able to connect your device to the internet via cable, that should improve your experience in general.
Use headphones rather than the audio and microphone of your device. Headphones will cancel out a lot of the background noise and will also prevent disturbance of colleages around you, should you have to meet in a shared space.
Some online meeting platforms require the installation of a plugin or add-on in order to connect to the meeting.
Ensure your device have a webcam, microphone, and speakers in order to hear and see others as well as be heard and seen. In some cases internet connectivity may not be good enough to share the video or it may be possible to meet without video.
Remember to plug your device in or make sure you have adequate battery power left to complete the meeting. Video calls can drain your device’s battery much faster than what you are used to. Be prepared.
Remember that someone can always help
Find the IT person at your IT Services Department of your institution who supports video conferencing. If that person is not able to support you or if you don’t yet have such a role at your university, try to locate a colleague whom you know have joined video conferences, online meetings or webinars and see if you can work together to solve your technical challenges around connecting to your online meeting.
Before the Meeting: Getting Ready
It is important that you test your connectivity before the meeting. Sometimes audio and/or video might not work with default settings. It is very demotivating to find that out at the start of a meeting and to start debugging when you know others are waiting to commence the event. It is imperative that you check with the host or a colleague a few days before the meeting to ensure your setup works.
Even though your setup might work a few days ahead of time, it is still recommended to connect to your online meeting room a few minutes prior to the start of the meeting. Sometimes software updates trigger changes that may need you to intervene and adjust settings. Sometimes your institution’s IT department may have made changes to the network configuration or may be doing maintenance which may prevent you from connecting successfully. By logging in 15 - 30 minutes early, you may have some extra time to figure out how to fix unexpected glitches.
Key Points
Always try to find a private space for online meetings to minimise background noise and to prevent disturbing colleagues or classmates
Try to use headphones rather than the audio and microphone of the device used for the meeting
Always test internet connectivity as well as connecting to the online meeting room a day or two before the meeting to leave enough time for debugging the problem should challenges arise
Always check in to the the meeting at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts to allow some time to debug should internet connectivity or computer setup have changed since your test run