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--- public:vag [2021/02/04 19:29] – [Who is the leader of the group?] Acemason
+++ public:vag [2021/02/04 19:35] – 2021 facelift Acemason
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 </WRAP>
 <WRAP info round>
-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: -\\
-\\
-  * Australia\\
-  * Canada\\
-  * Iceland\\
-  * Ireland\\
-  * UK\\
-  * USA.\\
-Calls are recorded and made available to all members through MERG TV; presentation materials are also available.
+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.
+Many Area Groups have switched to using Zoom during Covid and so, temporarily we hope, created many other options for joining in.
+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 may be recorded and made available all MERG members.
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 <WRAP round tip>
-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 and topics announced in advance.
+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.
+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.
-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.
+You can select among several icons to, for example raise a hand, clap, agree, vote etc. Useful for questioning.
-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.
+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.