Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- public:vag [2020/07/03 09:11] – uppermill
+++ public:vag [2021/02/04 19:35] – 2021 facelift Acemason
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+~~NOTOC~~
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 ====== MERG Virtual Area Group ======
+</WRAP>
-<WRAP info centeralign button>[[:public:areagroups|Area Groups]] [[:public:start|Public pages]] [[https://www.merg.org.uk/index.php|MERG Home page]] </WRAP>
+<WRAP box round centeralign button>
+\\
+[[:public:areagroups|Area Groups]] [[:public:start|Public pages]] [[https://www.merg.org.uk/index.php|MERG Home page]] </WRAP>
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-=== How do I contact the Area Group ===
+===== How do I contact the Virtual Area Group? =====
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-=== Who is the leader of the group? ===
+===== Who is the leader of the group? =====
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 \\
-Allan Geekie\\
+Dave Mason, who is a retired chartered engineer with relevant experience in electronics and control system software, but little experience with railways, model or otherwise. Dave is a member of the South Hants Area Group and  piloted the first virtual Special Interest Group exploring "analogue/DC" systems.
+("Acemason" on the Forum. Website: www.townace.plus.com)\\
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-=== Would you like to join today? ===
+===== Would you like to join today? =====
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 ****************************************************
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-Not a member? then <WRAP button>[[https://www.merg.org.uk/membership.php|Join MERG Here]]</WRAP> and sign up to this Area Group. If you are already a member <WRAP button>[[https://merg.org.uk/membership/|Join the Virtual Area Group]]</WRAP>
+Not a member? then <WRAP button>[[https://www.merg.org.uk/membership.php|Join MERG Here]]</WRAP> and sign up to this Area Group. If you are already a member <WRAP button>[[https://merg.org.uk/membership/areagroups.php|Join the Virtual Area Group]]</WRAP>
-Edit **Area Groups** using the green pencil. Then select **Virtual Area Group** from the drop down list in **Other Area Groups** and press the **Subscribe to Area Group** button.
+Select **Virtual Area Group** from the drop down list in **Other Area Groups** and press the **Subscribe to Area Group** button.
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-=== How do you meet? ===
+===== How do you meet? =====
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-The Virtual Area Group uses a Zoom video call to meet every Tuesday for an hour or more.\\
+The Virtual Area Group (VAG) is for MERG members only and was started primarily for those too distant from their nearest Area Group. It only meets using Zoom.
-\\
-The times vary to try and make the calls work for different time zones. We regularly welcome members from: -\\
-\\
+During the first two years of the VAG we regularly welcomed members from Australia, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, UK, USA etc and varied weekly meeting times to try to make the calls work for different time zones.
-  * Australia\\
-  * Canada\\
-  * Iceland\\
+Many Area Groups have switched to using Zoom during Covid and so, temporarily we hope, created many other options for joining in.
-  * Ireland\\
-  * UK\\
-  * USA.\\
+At the start of 2021, after a break in the programme and with those other MERG Zoom options which are accessible to members in the western hemisphere, the plan is to resume VAG meeting only once a month on a Tuesday at 10am UK time which suits members in Europe and the Australian times zones.
+Meetings are nominally for an hour but typically Zoom will open 15mins before and for 30 mins afterwards for informal chat.
-Calls are recorded and made available to all members through MERG TV; presentation materials are also available.
+Calls may be recorded and made available all MERG members.
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-=== And the Next Meeting? ===
+===== And the Next Meeting? =====
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 ***************************************************************************
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-=== How are Topics Chosen? ===
+===== How are Topics Chosen? =====
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-=== How do Video Calls Work? ===
+===== How do Video Calls Work? =====
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-The calls last one hour and to participate, members need a mobile phone, tablet or a PC / Mac with a camera and microphone.
+To join in you need a mobile phone, tablet or a PC / Mac. You need a  microphone, and optionally a camera, to participate. You will receive a link which will get you into the meeting, automatically installing Zoom on your device if necessary.
-Calls are scheduled in advance and are held on each Tuesday of each month at 10:00, 12:30 or 18:30 GMT or BST. Topics are agreed in advance.
+Calls are scheduled and topics announced in advance.
-When it is time to start a call, a voice and video conference is opened up which has thumbnails of each video participant and any shared presentations or desktops. The call leader facilitates the call and the discussions and tries to get through the agenda in the agreed time. Zoom has two views available. The first is the speaker view which selects the video stream from the person speaking. The second is Gallery view which shows streams from all participants.
+Zoom provides thumbnails of each video participant and any shared presentations or desktops. The call host facilitates the meeting/questions/discussion. Zoom has developed a lot during Covid and I can't describe all the features here.
-<WRAP button>[[help:making_video_calls|Want help in making video calls?]]</WRAP>
+Usually everyone mutes their microphone to avoid a lot of noise from phones, clocks chiming, family activity etc. To speak you can just press the spacebar to (after a slight pause) temporarily unmute. The host has power to mute if appropriate.
+You can select among several icons to, for example raise a hand, clap, agree, vote etc. Useful for questioning.
+You can also type "chat" either with everyone or with a selected participant. This is quite a good way to have a one-to-one conversation without involving/annoying everyone else. It can also be used to distribute weblinks etc although there are many other ways to "share" (with permission) screens, documents, open apps, whiteboard and so on.
 If you would like to try out Zoom, then there is a test meeting service where you are the only participant and you can experiment with the various options available.
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 This link is available to anybody, not just members of the virtual area group.
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+----
+<WRAP button>[[areagroups:vag:vag_page_internal|VAG Members Page]]</WRAP>