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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>The Room is Zoom: An Overview for Many of the National Convention Sessions<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Braille Monitor July 2020<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>(back)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>(<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>contents)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>(<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>next)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Room is Zoom: An Overview for Many of the National Convention Sessions <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>by John Berggren and Stephanie Cascone<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Map of the United States with many brightly lit points connected in a raised 3D pattern; over the image, it says “NFB20, July 14-18, Anywhere & Everywhere.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>From the Editor: Many of you know the name John Berggren as the man who has been in charge of convention organization and activities for several years.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Many of you also know Stephanie Cascone, our director of communications and marketing. Here is what they have to say about one of the tools we will use<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to carry off our first virtual convention:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For a few months now we've been talking about the National Federation of the Blind hosting its first-ever virtual convention. This is the last issue of<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>the Braille Monitor you will see before the gavel falls, so we want to give you a few tips about the way you can participate in the convention. This is<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>not intended to be an extensive review of the convention format on Zoom, but a brief overview of how to access the platform and a couple of important commands.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There is definitely more to come. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Many Ways to Access <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The first thing to know is that Zoom is a service that offers people a way to communicate no matter the device they use. If the way you talk is on a touchtone<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>telephone connected to the wall by a cord, you can participate in the convention. If you use a cordless phone, the same is true. If you have a computer<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and a headset, you can participate and will have even more options. If you have a smartphone, whether it uses the Android operating system or Apple iOS,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>you can communicate. If your communication device happens to be a tablet, again, Zoom is for you. When using the mobile app or a computer, the closed captions<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>can be accessed with a Braille device. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Just as we find in any large meeting, a smooth and successful gathering depends on patience and courtesy. The need for both is amplified in a virtual meeting.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>On the Zoom platform there is what is known as a mute button. When pressed, you can hear what people are saying, but they cannot hear you, or more importantly<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>what is going on around you. What you think of as a minor distraction in your environment such as the click of a keyboard, the bark of a dog, the shuffling<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>of papers, or the movement of your smartphone on the desk is amplified using Zoom. When you consider multiplying these distractions by ten, fifty, or one<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>hundred, you can see that listening to a presentation could be almost impossible. Some of you are old enough to remember the first two-way radios in which<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>talking required the depressing of a microphone key, and listening required releasing it. When using Zoom, it is helpful to keep this analogy in mind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Unmute yourself when requested, and as soon as you have finished your comment, go back on mute.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Commands to Know <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Sorry, I was on mute” is a phrase many of us have heard or said a lot these past few months. Muting is made easy regardless of the way you participate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>On a regular phone muting is accomplished with star six and unmuting is done in the same way. On a Windows 10 computer muting and unmuting is done using<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>the key sequence alt+A. Using an Apple computer, the key sequence is Command+Shift+A. On a smartphone, whether iOS or Android, the mute button is located<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>at the bottom left of the screen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Asking for the floor is much like being in a classroom–you raise your hand. The way you will do this depends on the device you use to get into the Zoom<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>meeting. If using a regular touchtone telephone, pressing star nine will raise your hand. The key combination when using a computer is alt+Y for Windows<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>and Command+Shift+Y for Mac OS. With a smartphone the hand is raised by pressing the “More” button at the bottom right of the screen and then selecting<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>the raise-hand option, which is one of the first commands on that screen.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This is certainly a very short introduction to what you will want to know before the first convention session starts. We will provide a list with key combinations<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>for the various devices that can be used, and we encourage everyone to participate in the training sessions we will hold prior to the convention. By the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>time the gavel falls, we want each and every participant to be enjoying convention without the anxiety that can too often come with the use of a new application,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>program, or service.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>More to Come <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For more information and to learn about upcoming training sessions, continue to follow discussions on our various listservs, listen for updates from your<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>chapter and affiliate leaders, and regularly visit the national convention information webpage at <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>www.nfb.org/convention<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> for updates. Let's meet in July and enjoy the virtually unlimited opportunities that come with our first-ever virtual convention.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Respectfully yours,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Robert Leslie Newman<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>NFBN Senior Division, President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>NFB Seniors Division, Second Vice President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>NFBN Omaha Chapter, Secretary<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>