Due to the COVID-19 restrictions we must conduct this meeting on-line. The meeting will be run using the video conference application Zoom, which you can download for free via this link: https://zoom.us/ or from the Google Play Store or from the App Store for Android and Apple devices.
You should run a test before the meeting to ensure you can connect on the presentation night. Further advice on getting started is given below. Please join us. It is easy and you can sit at home and enjoy our speaker.
This is how it will work.
You will receive an email inviting you to join the meeting with a link to the site and a Meeting ID and a Password.
You can use a computer, iPad, tablet or mobile phone.
From 7.15 pm onwards on Monday 27 April, click on the ‘Join Zoom meeting’ link in the emailed invitation. If you click on the link after 7.30 pm, you can still join the meeting.
If you have already used Zoom, you can just click on the link to join the meeting. If not you will need to enter the password.
If this is your first time for Zoom, when you click on the link, you will be asked to download and launch the Zoom software, so allow more time.
We highly recommend you download Zoom at least a day or two before the meeting and practise with a friend or family member. It is free for you to use. If you need further assistance in getting started on Zoom these OFF committee members can be contacted: Adrian Polhill 0424 478498; Graham Lalchere 9580 3107; Graham Fry 9580 6621; and Kim Wagstaff 0437 791988.
Zoom has recently upgraded the security settings so you will first enter a waiting room before being admitted to the meeting by the OFF Host.
When entering the meeting your microphone will be muted to block background noise so you will not be able to be heard. You will however be able to hear the OFF Host.
Our meeting format:
At 7.30 pm, or as soon as possible after, Kim will welcome everyone, and recap the agenda and good Zoom practice.
Kim will then introduce our guest speaker Catherine Cunningham Aquatic Ecology Specialist from Sydney Water.
Catherine will speak for 45 -50 mins, sharing her screen at the same time so you can see her powerpoint presentation.
During Catherine’s presentation we ask you all to keep your microphones muted to eliminate background noise and interference in the sound system.
We will then have 10-15 minutes of Q&A where you can ask questions by using the Chat function to send a message to the OFF host that you have a question. The chat function can be found on the tool bar at the bottom of your screen under ‘more’. When called upon by the host to ask your question you can unmute your microphone and ask the question then the speaker can respond. Please mute your microphone after asking your question.
We hope to keep the meeting to 70-80 minutes, but this is a new experience for everyone.
If time allows and the meeting has been ‘manageable’ we may be able to include some other OFF business/announcements but once again this will be decided on the night.
You are free to leave the meeting at any time up until the meeting is closed by the host. You can do this by clicking ‘Leave meeting’.
Tips for a successful Zoom meeting
Before the meeting
• Practise using Zoom with your friends and family. Explore the buttons and options so you know what to expect. Zoom is free and easy to download, and easy to use.
Just before the meeting:
• Decide whether you want video ON, which means everyone can see you and your background, or OFF, where you can see the meeting but no-one can see you.
• Check your background behind you or download a virtual background.
• Perhaps get a cup of tea or coffee and settle down in a comfortable spot.
• If using a phone, tablet or iPad see how you can prop up your device so you don’t need to hold it.
During the meeting
• the host will ask that everyone mutes their microphone, so we cannot hear any background noise from your place. [Note that computer microphones can be very sensitive and pick up more than just your voice eg squeaky chairs, TVs/radios, dogs barking next door, kitchen noises etc]
• If you need to, you can move away from your computer and return to the meeting at any time.
After the meeting
• At the end of the meeting, click ‘Leave meeting’ in the bottom right corner of your screen.
• Let us know how it went and how it can be improved. Email: oatleyff@gmail.com .
More information:
Check these Two YouTube videos on how to use Zoom
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5VU8cmEnTs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnFSBjFvK2o
The following YouTube link is also an excellent introduction to Zoom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFbWLu0n7Iw
And here is a story from the ABC