General Guidelines
These guidelines apply to all types of webinars:
- Network
- Use a wired Ethernet connection to your PC whenever
possible. You will almost always have a much more reliable connection
with fewer problems.
- WiFi is subject to interference from your neighbors and
from other devices, which can cause brief drop-outs, freezes, and
garbled audio.
- Audio
- For the best results, use your computer's audio for online meetings/webinares
- The higher quality audio will help to lengthen attention spans and increase comprehension (yup, it's a fact!)
- For presenters and meeting hosts
- The use of a quality headset (combination
headphones and mic) will usually help to eliminate background noise
around you, due to the proximity of the microphone to your mouth. And
the headphones part will make it easier to hear others.
- When using a headset, do not place the
microphone directly in front of your mouth. If you do, the listeners
will hear lots of booms and pops as you speak.
- As an alternative, a quality USB desktop or
boom-mounted microphone and a quality set of headphones or earbuds works
well. This is the setup that many podcasters use.
- An in-line mute switch is helpful for presenters since it is usually easier and faster to use than the on-screen controls.
- In short, do your best to provide high quality
audio to your listeners. They may not realize it, but you'll get through
to them much better with higher quality audio.
- For participants
- A participant that can't hear well and keeps
asking for repeats, or one who's audio sounds far away or scratchy, can
be VERY annoying to everyone else on the call.
- So, all of the audio advice for presenters and meeting hosts still applies, even though it is somewhat less critical.
- Since everyone needs to listen, headphones or a
good speaker setup are recommended. They will usually make it much
easier to listen for longer periods of time.
- Worst case, the microphone and speakers built into modern laptops usually work OK.
- For everyone
- But be sure to try a test meeting and verify the quality of your audio before attending the actual meeting.
- Please avoid calling in by phone.
- In fact, telephone call-in may be disabled for some types of on-line meetings
- When you call in by phone, your phone connection
appears as a separate connection from your computer connection. So, when
you raise your hand from the computer connection, the meeting
facilitator does not know which line to unmute.
- If you must use a phone, avoid cell phones
- A "landline" will typically have much
better audio quality than a cell phone. And it won't fade in and out,
as cell phones often do. This is important for the others in the
meeting/webinar as much as it is for the person on the phone.
- Video
- Consider whether video is really necessary or adds any value to your webinar.
- If multiple people will have video turned on, the small
face sizes and limite number of video feeds on one screen make it less
useful for reading facial expressions.
- Often, the use of video just burns up bandwidth to all participants without adding much value.
- Presenters may wish to invest in a quality web cam. Attention spans will drop if people are subjected to poor video quality.
- Some helpful hints for all video users
- Place the camera at eye level. Most people are not
flattered by a camera looking up at them. A camera looking down from
above is not as bad as one lookup up. But eye level is best.
- Be mindful of your backgroun and avoid busy backgrounds. They can be distracting and lower attention span.
- Avoid moving around. Too much movement can be distracting and uses more bandwidth.
- Be mindful of what you're wearing. People are watching!
Zoom
The following information is specific to the Zoom.us platform.
Before attending one of our Zoom meetings or webinars:
- Everyone is expected to review the following general info and attendee info.
- Hosts/presenters must also review the host/presenter info.
- This saves the time of everyone else who is attending.
General Information for All Users:
- Main web site:
- https://zoom.us
- You can register for a free account and experiment with the controls and capabilities.
- How to test your system by joining a test meeting in advance of our scheduled meeting:
- How to test your computer audio:
For All Attendees/Participants:
- One Page Summary of Zoom Controls (print it out for use during the class/meeting)
- How to raise your hand:
- Attendee controls in a meeting
- In-Meeting chat
For Hosts/Presenters:
- Roles in a meeting
- Host and Co-Host controls in a meeting
- Managing participants in a meeting
- Attendee attention tracking
- Polling for meetings
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