Download Quick Guide to Accessing Worship Online
If You Have Never Used Zoom Before…
If you have never used ZOOM before, you are in for a treat. This is a widely used and very user-friendly video conferencing tool. It is easiest to use from a computer, but you can also use it from a smart phone. You can call in to the video conference from any phone but that is harder for everyone. The Zoom account is free and lasts forever…you might discover other uses for it.
You will get an invitation from your group leader with the zoom link for your call or for worship you will find it on the livestream page.
That invitation will have a link to click on if you have not downloaded the small zoom program to your computer or phone. You can also go to zoom.us and create an account and experiment now.
Please do you downloading and experimenting at least the day before your first call.
Here’s a walk through.
- Please use a headset (microphone and earphones such as came with your phone. Your computer might need a set with a usb plug on one end.)
- You will need a camera. Virtually all laptops have a built in camera but most desktops don’t. Cameras are not very expensive. They clip on the top of your screen and you are good to go. All phones have a camera. If you are planning to use your phone you might want to purchase a stand for your phone…or you can work out how to prop it up in the right place for your call.
- For Security reasons you will want to unplug your camera when you are done with your zoom call.
Zoom Meetings-tips for Group Leaders
Zoom Stuff I learned over time.
- As the leader, you can change people’s display names if they are, say, using their spouse’s computer or calling in on a phone line. Makes a huge difference!
- If you know you have an iffy internet connection, (During a storm, for instance) you should make another participant a co-leader. Do that in the Manage Participants. That way, if you lose connection, the meeting can go on until you get back.
- If you don’t have a very robust internet connection, you may have to ask family members to refrain from streaming or other internet intense activities during your zoom meetings. If nothing else will work, turn off your video and see if that helps.
- You need to know that people’s faces will appear on the screen in different orders, so you can’t “go around the circle.” Instead call on one person and when they are done ask them to call on someone else.
- It is important that folks stay muted until they speak. You will have to remind folks to mute and unmute themselves. You can override and do it yourself if you need to.
Quick and Interactive Intro to Zoom for a new group
At your first meeting you will need to help your group learn zoom and get to know each other.
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- Make sure folks know where the video and audio mute buttons are. Ask everyone to mute themselves and to keep themselves muted until they are speaking. (if they are on a phone *6[star 6]mutes and umutes) Give them permission to mute their video if they need to eat their supper or deal with a child during the call. Give people 15 seconds to experiment!
- Ask everyone to notice that there are two views (accessible at the top of the screen: Speaker View and Group view (??) If they want to see the whole group, they need group view.
- Tell them where to find the chat button and how to have a general conversation. Ask each person to post the town of their congregation and watch the chat populate.
- Tell them that they can also chat with one person and how to do that (by scrolling down from “everyone”.) Then ask them to talk in groups of two. You will need to pair them up and ask the first person in the pair to use the chat to initiate a conversation with their counterpart . Then ask each person in the pair to share with each other a role they have in their congregation and one appreciation of the pre-work or retreat experience so far. (you can try screen sharing with a document on which you have written those two questions.)
- Then “go around the circle” (see #4 above) and ask each person to introduce their partner to the whole group with what they’ve learned so far about them.
- Show them how to raise their hand. It’s the little hand next to the chat box. YOU DON”T HAVE THIS…but they do. Take a little poll in your group, asking people to raise their hands and lower them (same button) in response to a few questions. (phone callers have no alternative to just butting in. Leaders should try to make sure to ask if phone callers have any comments periodically.)
- Raise your hand if it is cold where you live. (put hands down)
- Raise your hand if your congregation has a mission statement you can recite.
- (call on those who raise their hands to let them recite i. Remind them to unmute and mute themselves)
- Raise your hand if you know your congregation has a mission statement.
- Raise your hand if you have not had a chance to raise your hand
- (in future calls you can use the polling function to do the same sort of thing.)
- Show them how to get out of the meeting at the end..(Leave Meeting, usually bottom right)