Virtual Meetings (alternatives to face-to-face meeting)
The majority of electronic communication has still tended to be text or voice based, despite video call technology being available. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has increased the use of video calls, for both one-to-one communication and group / conference calls. The facility to share the computer desktop has allowed geographically spaced collaboration on screen based interests and work. This seems likely to continue into the future.
Some of the video conference call services available include:
Additionally, audio only telephone conference services are available, e.g. WhyPay (whypay.net). These can be accessed using an ordinary telephone or mobile-phone, thereby facilitating access for those without internet access. Please note though that most landline telephone packages that have inclusive calls to 01, 02, 03 numbers still apply a 60 minute call duration limit, whereupon call charging is applied.
Excessive use of video conferencing can be very tiring and it is not always necessary or beneficial to have everyone contributing a video feed. Safeguarding issues can be more complex in an on-line environment. A good rule of thumb is to ask the question, would this be a problem if it was published? Be cautious of screen name labels and the background of a video, photos on the wall, etc.
The use of a headset, tie clip microphone / headphones is beneficial, although most of the services use very effective echo cancellation. Transmission delays can be significant and activities like group singing will not generally be successful and it is best for the host to mute all participants when a group are reading / singing something together (apart from the person leading).
Audio only conferencing can also be used for non-verbal communication, e.g. Morse Code.
The majority of electronic communication has still tended to be text or voice based, despite video call technology being available. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has increased the use of video calls, for both one-to-one communication and group / conference calls. The facility to share the computer desktop has allowed geographically spaced collaboration on screen based interests and work. This seems likely to continue into the future.
Some of the video conference call services available include:
- Zoom, also accessible with voice only using ordinary telephone access
- Skype
- Facetime
- Google Hangouts
- Microsoft Teams
Additionally, audio only telephone conference services are available, e.g. WhyPay (whypay.net). These can be accessed using an ordinary telephone or mobile-phone, thereby facilitating access for those without internet access. Please note though that most landline telephone packages that have inclusive calls to 01, 02, 03 numbers still apply a 60 minute call duration limit, whereupon call charging is applied.
Excessive use of video conferencing can be very tiring and it is not always necessary or beneficial to have everyone contributing a video feed. Safeguarding issues can be more complex in an on-line environment. A good rule of thumb is to ask the question, would this be a problem if it was published? Be cautious of screen name labels and the background of a video, photos on the wall, etc.
The use of a headset, tie clip microphone / headphones is beneficial, although most of the services use very effective echo cancellation. Transmission delays can be significant and activities like group singing will not generally be successful and it is best for the host to mute all participants when a group are reading / singing something together (apart from the person leading).
Audio only conferencing can also be used for non-verbal communication, e.g. Morse Code.