Tom Piper: AWUGU – Everything Zoom

by | Apr 18, 2021 | Leaders, Resources

Tom Piper

AWUGU: Everything Zoom

By Tom Piper

This Apple World User Group University online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on April 19, 2021, via Zoom. We had 22 participants who joined for the topic of “Everything Zoom” (see attached PDF images and attendance list). The 62-minute video can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/KlmFvfvbxF0 (unlisted on YouTube).

This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick overview of 36 Zoom apps that are currently available. Other Apple User Group Advisory Board (AUGAB) members were not available for this call.

The format for this meeting was an open discussion with many participants sharing their perspectives and suggestions about Zoom including Nicholas Pyers of AppleUser.org (Australia), Mike Kwasniak of Suffolk MUG (UK), Steve Welsh of Oregon MacPioneers Users, Chita Hunter of Naples MacFriends User Group, David Ginsberg of Suburban Chicago Users Group, Webb Sussma of Eugene Macintosh Users Group, Carol Fortlage of The Villages Apple User Group, Joan Newman of SouthWest Florida Apple Computer Knowledge Society, Dale Stephan of Mac-in-Awe Apple Users Group, George Rubin of Naples MacFriends User Group and others.

Below are some of the links offered during the Everything Zoom discussion:

Time for this meeting was limited to an hour, so Cassie Mac MacTechnic Ann Arbor Computer User Group, after the meeting, added the responses from her Board of Directors when asked about what things they would like to know about Zoom and how it works:

  • I would like to learn about how to set up and use breakout rooms to encourage small group discussions-and a way to draw out the shy folks  🙂
  • Screen sharing and the proper way to share videos with sound.  I hope to have this figured out by our May meeting.
  • Even though I don’t have a use for them currently, I’d like to learn about:
    • Breakout rooms;
    • How people do livestream concerts via Zoom (I’ve only seen one,  but it worked well), without all the attendees being visible to one another.
  • Retrieving participant list from zoom meeting.
  • Troubleshoot solutions to fix features when the online event does not function as planned.
  • Partner with trainers, presenters, and other event leaders to prepare for an effective session.
  • An easy way to convert chat text into a more readable style – the purpose would be to share references, links, resources with attendees or members after the meeting.

We are very pleased that this third meeting of 2021, was timely and enjoyable. Files related to this meeting are available on our AWUGU shared folder: https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0kF7XwYI98VG0fqvL86PJm02g#AWUGU.

Reciprocity was suggested as meeting topic, which is the ability for any member of any MUG be able to attend all “free” events in other MUGS without joining the other club, except for additional cost items like classes for a fee. Since several people saw this as also related to sharing presentations, presenters and resources, “Sharing Between Groups” will be the topic for our next meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for May 17, 2021, at 5:00pm Central Daylight Savings Time.

All AWUGU previous registrants will receive an invitation to all future meetings. To become a participant, any interested Apple User Group leader must first register with the AWUGU Coordinator by emailing their name, location, and user group name and web link to macquest@mac.com. Registration must be received by May 15 in order to receive a Zoom Meeting invitation (a download of the free Zoom app in advance is also necessary, and an update will be important for existing users).