Online Meetings

Information & Instructions

If you’re joining an online gathering, please review the following information.

Agreements

Given the nature of our online gatherings, it’s important to know who is present/listening at any given moment, protect one another’s identities, and avoid video-conferencing issues that would otherwise disrupt our time together. Please, therefore, agree to the following:

  1. Plan ahead for access to a wired connection (or strong, reliable wifi) during our meeting times

  2. Sign in 10-15 minutes early

  3. Choose your profile name (detailed below) because it may be heard on the audio recording

  4. Participate by video from a computer or mobile device (in a private location)

  5. Have your camera on at all times (even if you step away from your computer)

Sign-In Information

  1. Check Your Email.  After registering, you’ll receive an email confirmation containing a link to a resource page. That’s where you’ll find out Zoom Meeting ID.

  2. Join Early. Please sign in to the meeting 10-15 minutes prior to its start time. 

  3. Get Comfy. After signing in, you will be admitted to a waiting room. At the start time, everyone will be admitted to the meeting room. 

  4. Running Late? If you sign in to the meeting late, please be patient. You’ll be admitted when the host becomes available.

Choose Your Profile Name

Choose Your Name (for the Audio Recording). 

When you join the meeting room, your video will appear with your meeting profile listed underneath. Depending upon where and how you accessed the meeting, this meeting profile might display your device or place of employment (e.g., “iPad” or “Stanford Hospital”). Please make sure your meeting profile/name is the name you’d like Kelly to refer to you as (e.g., your first name). If you ask a question, and Kelly calls upon you, this is the name that will be heard on the audio recording.  To update your name:

  • Computer: Hover your cursor over the bottom of the zoom screen; Click the “participants” button. Hover your cursor over your name; A “rename” option will appear.

  • iPhone/iPad: Tap the screen; Select the “participants” button. Tap your name/id; A “rename” option will be available.

Zoom: Basics for Live Participation

Join with Computer Audio

Check your email to find the meeting link that has been sent (typically 1 - 2 days prior). When you click the meeting link, you will see two options for joining the meeting. Select the blue button (“join with computer audio”). You will be automatically placed in a waiting room until the meeting starts.

Mute/Unmute

When the meeting begins, you will most likely be muted (by default). You may mute/unmute yourself as follows:

  • Computer: Hover your cursor over the bottom of the zoom screen. Click the “Mute” button at the bottom left.

  • iPhone/iPad: Tap the screen and a menu will appear at the bottom. Click the “Mute” button at the bottom left.

Chat

If you require assistance during class, then please contact the meeting host via “private” chat. (In 2024, the meeting host is Kendall.) Given that this is a mindfulness-based course, please do not chat Kelly or “everyone” (that is, the entire group) unless specifically asked to do so. Occasionally, Kelly will request a chat flurry. Chat flurries are times that all participants send messages to the entire group at once (and Kelly will read them aloud as they pour in). Here’s how to chat:

  • Computer: Select the “chat” icon at the bottom of the screen. A chat window will open. Select who you are sending the message “to:” in the drop-down menu. (You will either be sending it to Everyone or to the Host.

  • iPhone/iPad: Tap your screen. Next, tap the three dots at the bottom right. A “chat” option will appear. (See above.)

Troubleshooting & Prevention

Of the potential problems that can arise during videoconferencing, these are most likely given the nature of our meetings:

Video Lags. If your video gets choppy during a meeting, then it’s likely due to a poor internet connection. 1. You can move yourself to a wired ethernet connection or get closer to the router (and, ideally, select a 5GHz connection). 2. If you share the wifi with others in your household, ask them to remove their devices from that signal for the length of our meeting (and remove your other devices as well). 3. Outside of our meeting time, you can check your connection speeds (ideally, upload speed is at approximately 1Mpbs and download speed at 600Kpbs). 4. Decrease the amount of bandwidth your video connection requires by deselecting “HD” and “Touch Up My Appearance” in your Zoom video settings.

Audio Echo. If you hear feedback during a meeting, then it is likely that your telephone and computer audio are active at the same time. You can: 1. hang up the telephone call or 2. click the up arrow icon (next to the microphone at the bottom of your Zoom screen) and select “Leave Computer Audio.”

Camera or Audio Malfunction. 1. When you sign on to the meeting, be sure that the two pop-up boxes are unchecked (“Do not connect to audio” and “Turn off my video”). 2. If you use your webcam for other apps, be sure that they are turned off when you sign in to our meeting. 3. Outside of our meeting time, you can test your audio and video using this page. (It will walk you through instructions for completing a test call.) 

Zoom for Beginners

Download the App. If this is your first time using Zoom, you’ll need to download the app. 

  • Windows & Mac Download the Zoom Client for Meetings. Run the downloaded program to install it on your computer.

  • iOS (iPhone) or Find “ZOOM Cloud. Meetings” in the App Store.

  • Android

What Else is Required? All you need is a computer (or device) with a built-in speaker, microphone, and camera. Also, you’ll need access to the internet.

Access to the Internet. It is best to plan ahead—knowing that you’ll have access to a wired ethernet connection during our meetings (i.e. directly plugging your device into the router). Alternatively, if you’re using wifi, be sure to turn off all other devices using that same signal (e.g. mobile phone, iPad). (You might ask housemates to stay off that signal during the meeting, too.) Cellular connections are slow, unreliable, and therefore not recommended. If a mobile device is your only option, then a 3G or 4G connection is required.

Learn the Basics. After downloading the app, please familiarize yourself with how to participate in a live meeting. For our meetings, you’ll want to know how to: log in to the meeting, mute/unmute yourself, “raise your hand” to ask a question, enter and exit a breakout room, and send a chat message (e.g., to everyone, to the meeting host). Some of these are described above.

Video Tutorials. There are plenty of video tutorials available regarding Zoom. In the meanwhile, know that it is a secure platform—quite easy to navigate and free of charge (i.e. you do not need to pay for an account). 

  • Here is a video tutorial demonstrating how to adjust audio & video during an online meeting.