Video Conferencing

Video conferencing: Zoom, Facetime, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and more

Video meetings and calls. Actually I have been using some sort of video chat for some while - the easy one has been FaceTime since it's on my phone - but not everyone can use FaceTime since you need an Apple computer or phone. I used Skype and Google Meet but since I started using Zoom I have been the most active. I think it's because 1) it's free 2) it's platform agnostic - it works on Windows, Macs and even Linux as well as smart phones - Android and Apple. 3) It's amazingly simple - it just works. (Yes Google Meet fits those criteria, but it was later to the game and now there is an amazing intergenerational user base for Zoom.) I used Zoom with a couple work projects I am part of - This is for weekly meetings and Zoom is great for sharing documents. I also use it for group support meetings and I hosted my father's memorial as well. That was quite beautiful seeing so many family and friends gather from near and far. I learned how to help folks who had never used it before, who might not use computers or phones for video chat ( you might be surprised at how many of our elders are using apps for video communication as well as how many are not).

Some thoughts and tips:

Since its video conferencing more and more folks are turning off their cameras. Yes we know you are often doing something not related to the call if you have your camera off. Yes we all understand video fatigue - but we also know that if some folks have their camera off then perhaps everyone should turn off their camera and just use audio - otherwise camera-shy folks will do all those other things they want to do instead of focusing on the call. Plus no video means more bandwidth.

Using Zoom on a computer is a bit easier than a mobile device (phone or tablet) only if you have a built-in or good quality webcam and microphone and you know that the camera and mic are working well. Otherwise tablets/ phones are great (unless the user is a walker and talker constantly tinkering with their phone - which can be distracting and exhausting for others on the call).

If you are a Googler - you use Gmail and other Google products, Meet is pretty good - one issue I have not solved is how to see more folks on the call - it seems to set a limit and I have not found an easy way to click to other folks while on the call . Zoom just has left and right arrows to seem more folks.

Multiple cameras - I have been able to participate in online making and tinkering workshops and if you facilitate hands-one activities and also want your participants to share and see what you are doing - how your hands are building - you can set up your camera to point at your desktop. If you have a current or retired cell phone you can also find apps to share this as a camera thats separate from your face camera... I've started using a couple apps to do this so I have a dedicated face cam and dedicated document/hands-on cam. ...