Covid-19 – Subject Matter Minute Blog

Subject Matter Minute, Episode #38 – Covid-19 Episode – Video Conferencing Accessibility

The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. If it’s a little hard to read, it’s because it’s taken from the spoken word. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here: Episode #38 -Covid-19 Episode – Video Conferencing Accessibility

If YouTube is blocked for you or your agency, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to view it from Google Drive. (I would prefer you view on YouTube, so I know how many people have watched)

You can also listen to an audio version.

Hello and welcome to another (loosely) covid inspired episode of the subject matter minute. I say loosely because this is actually a crucial subject regardless of what’s going on. But it IS covid inspired because so many more people are using video conferencing due to the pandemic.

After my last episode on best practices for video conferencing, I got an email from the person that has become this month’s subject matter expert, Jo Otterholt. Jo is a deaf Resource Specialist, with Outreach Library Services in Casper and she gently and kindly pointed out something that I think is overlooked far too often. I am guilty of this. I think I do really well with my videos, but I also design websites, e-learning, and do lots of video conferencing where I, honestly, am sometimes lazy or uninformed. I shouldn’t be uninformed, and in the back of my mind, I know what I should be doing, but it’s easier to just plow ahead and get it done. Right? Well, I’m not going to talk about websites or e-learning today, but I am going to share with you best practices for video conferencing accessibility. (music)

Before I go on, I want to mention that I actually have two subject matter experts today. I also received input and resources about accessibility for the visually impaired from Laurel Henry, a vision outreach consultant with the Dept. of Education. Thank you Jo and Laurel… I appreciate it.

First I want to say that all of these things will actually make the experience better for everyone involved. Also, once you know what to do, it’s not difficult to implement. In talking with Jo, I also learned a bunch about accessibility in face to face meetings, training, and such. But today I’m only going to cover accessibility for video conferencing.

Ok, first thing… please find out from the people who need accommodation, what they want. There is a wide range of abilities out there and you won’t know what they need until you ask.

Next… if there are going to be presenters that have prepared presentations, and if documents such as PowerPoint, Excel, and MS Word are going to be used in the presentation, these should be sent out to participants in advance of the meeting. Send your participants Plaintext versions of presentation documents in advance. This is especially important for heavily graphic documents such as PowerPoint. This will allow a participant who has low vision or is blind the ability to follow along with the electronic format or prepare a Braille version of the Plaintext in advance of the meeting so that they may listen to the speaker at the same time as they “read” the Braille with their fingers. If the conference is a meeting that won’t have prepared presentations, then an agenda will help a deaf individual follow what’s happening.

While the country, and honestly my household, has been a bit Zoom crazy since the pandemic started, Zoom is actually not what we should be using at the state right now. Google Meet has incorporated live captioning into their system. Zoom has not. There are ways to make it work for Zoom, but they are somewhat complicated and not something that I’m going to go into here. And there may be other systems that do this, but we have enterprise access to Meets, so that should be our go-to at the state. Live captioning is not only essential for the deaf/hard of hearing employees of the state, but could be very useful for those for whom English is not their native language or someone who is in a noisy environment. To turn on live captioning, click the three dots in the lower right-hand corner and select “turn on captions.”

One oversight on Google’s part is that if you record the session, the captions don’t show in the recording. Maybe they will figure that out someday. If you need captions in the recording, I would suggest uploading the video to YouTube which will create captions automatically for you. You can also download the captions from YouTube for the full script of the meeting afterward.

Next… a deaf person needs to see the speaker well and that speaker needs to be creating good audio. This means that the speaker should be close to both the camera and the microphone. Some deaf people will read lips and the audio quality needs to be good so the captioning works. So, if you have prepared presentations, please either have a designated seat for them or pass around a laptop. If this is more of a meeting, especially where there is a group of people in a room, then it’s helpful to have a moderator that can announce who is speaking and summarize what they said or repeat their questions/comments.

When considering the visually impaired, remember to describe things that you are showing in your presentation. So, instead of just saying look at the graph, you should describe the graph. In 2010 the total was 400, while in 2020 the total was 900.

If you play a video during a conference, play it for yourself beforehand with your eyes closed and make sure the information is descriptive enough with the audio. If not, You may need to add some commentary during the presentation.

If you are offering the video and materials after the fact, take some time to make sure everything is accessible. Transcribe the video… again, YouTube does a pretty good job of that. And get out any materials that you promised.

These suggestions will help you provide accessible video conferences. There are many more suggestions that I don’t have the time to go through. Please check out the show notes below the video, where you can find some more helpful pointers. Remember, the most important thing is to communicate with the person or people that need accommodations for specific things that would help them. However, even if no one needs it, we need to all be incorporating accessibility features into all of our video conferences.

Thanks for watching the subject matter minute. Stay safe out there!!

Subject Matter Minute, Episode #37 – Covid-19 Episode – Video Conferencing Best Practices

The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. If it’s a little hard to read, it’s because it’s taken from the spoken word. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here: Episode #37 -Covid-19 Episode – Video Conferencing Best Practices

You can also listen to an audio version.

Hello Everyone! Welcome to another Covid-19 inspired episode of the Subject Matter Minute. And… welcome to a new era in video conferencing. Am I right? Even my parents are all hopped up on Zoom! We are doing a weekly family zoom get together, they are doing church through it. And they seem to actually have figured out the technology. This definitely means it’s a new era!

So, when I started thinking about what to talk about in this episode, I started heading in a predictable direction. All of us are probably getting all the same free stuff from companies out there. Videos, articles, podcasts an more that are about covid related topics such as teleworking, stress management, things to do at home, etc. Or maybe just I get that stuff since I’m in training, but it seems like there is a flood of info. So, while I was leaning toward doing an episode on staying sane while stuck at home, I’ve decided to do one on something that I know much more about.

Today I want to talk about video conferencing best practices. (music)

Everybody’s doing it! You might as well quit fighting it and join in. The Nagy’s have been doing virtual happy hours, virtual happy hours with trivia, virtual happy hours with “would you rather,” and virtual get togethers with the family without the happy hour.

I’ve also done a few more hangouts with co-workers now that they are finally getting on board.

So, while attitudes are changing, the technology and the best practices have not. For those of us that have been doing this for a while, the tech is pretty straightforward, and they have definitely made it easier and more functional over the years.

Having said that, I’m not going to go through the platforms that exist, like the aforementioned, Zoom, or Hangouts, Facetime, Adobe Connect. One reason is that these things change quickly and I don’t want this video to be useless in a year. The other reason is that there are so many and it would take forever. I want to talk about the things that don’t change… or don’t change as quickly. Video and thus, video conferencing best practices have been the same for a while. I’m going to mostly talk about work related conferences. These are a bit more formal.

First of all. The video camera. Most laptops that state employees get have a camera. They are usually pretty crappy, but they exist. If not, the little ones that clip to the top of the screen are inexpensive and much better. In fact, if you can pull it off, get one. Not just because of the camera, either… the microphone is usually much better as well. (show mine)

First of all, create good lighting. Lighting best practice tip one. NEVER sit in front of a window or light. This is the most annoying thing you can do in a conference. I’m sure I don’t need to say why? Tip 2, add some light in front of you. These cameras will work in low light, but they work well with good light. I showed you my lights last episode. I don’t expect people to have my setup, but it’s pretty easy to put a desk lamp in front of you, or find a well lit spot on the dining room table. Decent light is crucial!

Next, audio. This is where so many laptops really fail. At the very least, try to figure out where your microphone is. Then make sure you aren’t talking to the other side of the computer. Better yet… grab your white Apple headphones and use those. They have a great microphone and having them in your ears will prevent feedback in the conference. Of course there are headsets make for this sort of thing, and if you have those, definitely use them. Next best thing… or really better than your built in mic, is a microphone in an external webcam.

It’s very important that you figure out how to select the mic you want within the conferencing software that you are using. It’s very simple in Zoom as there is a Mic selector in the bottom left corner.

Ok, technical stuff out of the way. Well, actually, one more thing. If you are presenting or the moderator for this, you should probably try to maximize your internet speed. Turn off other devices that are accessing it. Tell your family to hold off on the Netflix show, etc.

Next. Frame yourself up. While we aren’t all trained in video, we all know what looks right. This does not look right, while this does. 🙂

Use a good angle. Have the camera at eye level or slightly above. Looking down at the camera tends to bunch up our neck flesh. Ya know… kinda like the infamous “lean back.”

When you’re talking, look into the camera instead of looking at yourself talking on the computer screen. It will help others on the call feel like you’re 100 percent engaged and present. It feels a little weird at first, but you’ll get used to it.

And speaking of being present… don’t be a distraction. OK? This includes, not typing during the conference. Trying not to fidget. Not eating during the conference. Staying engaged. If you wouldn’t do it at a live meeting, then don’t do it in the virtual meeting. Also, remember, mute is your friend. The more people that are muted, the smoother the conference will be.

On this same note… don’t multitask. First of all, we can’t do it. Secondly, it’s rude. If you have to multitask, maybe you should have said no to the calendar invite. Just saying.

Don’t just take off. You may feel isolated when there are several people in the conference, but people will notice that you are gone. If you must take care of something, let the groupe know. Either say something or type into the chat.

Keep your background professional. This means pick up your mess. Or… at least make sure it isn’t showing in the shot. A simpler background is better. This also means, finding a quiet place away from the family and pets. You may think your pets are adorable, but they can be distracting to others.

If you are the moderator or main speaker, try to include everyone in the conversation. Some people shut down when using this sort of technology, so it’s important to check in with them.

Naturally, all this formal stuff goes out the window if you are having a virtual happy hour with your friends. Well…. Not all of it. I still want to see and hear you. So take care of the technical stuff. 🙂

Ok… that’s it for the video conferencing tips. I have a feeling that this situation could really be a breakthrough moment for both the technology and for people’s comfort level with it. Get on board and just relax, it’s going to be fine.

See you next time on the Subject Matter Minute.

Subject Matter Minute, Episode #36 – Covid-19 Episode – Tips for Teleworking

You can also listen to an audio version.

Hello everybody and welcome to another Covid-19 inspired episode of the Subject Matter Minute.

As I mentioned before, I’m a seasoned teleworker. If you are a long-time viewer, you have experienced this with me, to a certain extent. My home office used to be in the basement. It was a good room… the temperature stayed right for the most part, there was plenty of room, it was quiet and private. I decorated and set up the space for the show and it worked. There were a few things I didn’t like, however. The room had two small windows, the ceiling was very low… which caused problems with lighting, and if I had to do some work in the evening while the family was around, I had to disappear to the basement. Felt out of the loop.

Well, when my oldest daughter started college, it freed up a room on the main floor. I jumped on it immediately. This room. First of all, it has nice wood floors and two big windows. It’s also just to the side of where all the action is… so evening work feels better. The ceilings are high and my lighting is much better. Hopefully, you long time watchers have noticed these things. 🙂 Now… while you have seen the inside of my office, I’m fairly certain that I have never shown you my actual setup. What you have seen is my carefully and meticulously decorated area in front of the camera. Well, for the first time, here is where I actually work. (video of the workstation)

Anyway… I’ve gone on about my home office because that’s part of what this episode is about. Today I want to talk about Tips for Teleworking. (music)

I was lucky enough to already have a home office when I started doing more remote work, and I’m guessing that these days with the proliferation of computers, a lot of you do too. If you don’t, now is the time to claim some space. If you don’t have much space, you may need to get more creative. I found a video that does a nice job of giving ideas along that line. Check it out in the show notes.

The state is doing what it can to get people set up for teleworking. Make sure you have what you need. Everyone’s job is different, so your needs will be different, but make sure you ask. Don’t be a martyr and sit at your coffee table all day. While a bit of time working on the couch can be nice, it starts to hurt after a while.

Ok, I’m going to stop there… I’m starting to get into the “lists” that everyone has been passing around about teleworking. If you haven’t seen the lists, they are in the show notes too. It’s good stuff, so take a look, but I want to talk about what I do.

Here’s what I do. First of all, the beautiful thing about working from home is that you can make it your own. What works will be different for everyone. Personally, I will often start my day with some laptop time on the couch. A much more comfortable place to finish off my days coffee. I’m an early riser… I often get up at 5 and drink coffee while taking care of busy work on the laptop. Then I tend to hit the home gym for an hour. Not always, but again, that’s the beauty of working from home…. Flexibility. After my post-workout shower and a bit of breakfast, I hit the home office.

Honestly, for me, the biggest problem with working at home is constantly snacking. I am a hungry guy. Always. And it’s just so easy to hit the kitchen. Well, that isn’t a good way to eat and it’s too easy to make bad choices. So, I’ve started drinking a variety of beverages. Start with coffee, maybe have a bubbly drink created by the SodaStream, move on to tea in the afternoon, all the while peppering in some water from my water bottle. The other strategy that I use to stop snacking is to head out for a short walk. It really helps.

That’s a nice segue to another thing that I do. I go outside. A couple of short walks during the day gets me out and clears my head. I also try to get 15 minutes of sun a day. You might be able to tell… actually, I’m Hungarian, so I’m brown no matter what, but it’s important to get some actual sun for vitamin D and sanity. I will often bring my laptop with me for the sun time. Obviously, this is something that all office workers should be doing whether working from home or not.

On that same note of going outside, it’s also nice to work outside the home some. Right now…. During Covid, this isn’t something you should do, but if you should find yourself doing more of this in the future, find yourself a teleworking buddy or two. They are everywhere! Every Wednesday, me and a couple of other teleworkers (they are actually not with the state) get together at a rotating coffee shop for … coffee… and some work together time. It may not be the most productive time, but we chat, we take care of emails, and most importantly, we see and talk to other adults. If you are unable to find another teleworker, then just go to the coffee shop by yourself and enjoy the chatter.

Next, I have a Varidesk. It’s one of those wonderful, lifechanging apparatuses that allows you to raise your desk to standing height whenever you want. They are not cheap, but they are absolutely necessary in my mind. Before I was able to get one, I was coming up with all sorts of plans on how to build something that would do the same thing.

Alright, also, don’t be afraid to have flexible hours. One of the joys of working from home is the ability to run errands when you need to, help your kids when they need it, and adjust your schedule to times that work for your brain and body. Naturally, you will have to overlap hours with co-workers so you can occasionally communicate live, but that’s easy. Some people feel like it has to be 8-5… it doesn’t. Well, unless your boss absolutely mandates it. Of course, this depends on what you do too. My work is absolutely project-based, so while I don’t, I could… work in the middle of the night, or whenever.

Having just said that something else that I think is very important, and is in all the lists, and that I don’t do very well, is to completely unplug for a bit of time every day, and for extended times occasionally. For some reason, working from home makes many of us feel like we need to be available all the time. Whether you know it or not, living this way is a drain on our energy. We need to turn it off each day and do something else, and hopefully take vacations where we are unplugged as well.

Of course, right now, I think we are all hyper plugged in. It’s a crazy time and it feels like things are changing constantly, so we keep checking in. Take care of yourself and get off the devices.

Next, keep in touch with your co-workers. Outside of email. Do it however feels and works the best for you. I tend to use Google chat with mine. I sometimes will have 3 or 4 chats going at the same time. I put the link to a great LinkedIn article in the show notes. One of the things they suggest is to schedule a virtual coffee with a colleague, or a virtual happy hour for your whole team. We have had several happy hours with friends via the app Zoom and it has really been fun. I think that could be a great idea to have some informal time with your co-workers.

Finally, exercise! Personally, I try to exercise most days anyway. We have a workout room in the house and tend to get up nice and early to get in a workout. But, if that’s not your cup of tea, you may find it easier to get it in when you aren’t getting ready and driving to and from work. There is some freed-up time. Whether it’s going for a walk as I mentioned earlier, or hitting the home gym, get your exercise in. There is no doubt that it helps you in so many ways.

Ok… there are other ideas for making the most of teleworking, but these are mine. Please check out the links in the show notes for more. I think all lists say something about dressing for work, but I personally think that’s a silly one. I don’t stay in pajamas, but dressing for work usually means that you are less comfortable than you should be. 🙂 But that’s up to you, if it helps you, then do it.

That’s it for today. Stay sane out there and if you are now teleworking, try to enjoy your new work digs. See ya next time.

Subject Matter Minute, Episode #35 – Covid-19 Episode – Teleworking & The CDC

You can also listen to an audio version.

Hello everyone! And welcome to my world. Most of you are probably teleworking today. Welcome to the other side. I’m in full Covid apparel today. Not pretending by wearing a collared shirt. I mean, c’mon, I don’t wear a collared shirt when working at home. I get comfortable! Granted, many of you guys have it different from the “normal” teleworker in that your family may be around you. Normally, it’s very quiet for the teleworker, and honestly, I think we get more done. But, I’m going to have another episode, maybe next week, about the ins and outs of teleworking. Today, I want to talk about the Governor’s policy on teleworking that he put out this morning, as well as guide you to the CDC website and cover some important info on there.

First of all, as we’ve all been talking about, this is a new experience for everyone. And it’s going to be really hard for a ton of people. Us included. My wife has been laid off, as I’m sure a lot of spouses/family members have been for you all. It could be brutal.

And, actually, I should be vacationing right now. It’s “spring break” in Laramie, and we had a vacation planned in Phoenix. Well, since things were pretty unclear at the end of the week last week, we decided to go. So we drove Saturday and Sunday… stayed at a hotel in Albuquerque, where the front desk person made her conspiracy theory opinion very clear to me. Monday was a beautiful 75-degree day, so we hit the pool. Yes, we were starting to feel like we were part of the problem. Halfway through the day, they started removing chairs and barstools, and we thought, yeah, good idea. We spent the day at the pool and it was fabulous. The next morning, Tuesday, we got the email that the pool was closed. Then later, another that everything was closed. So no pickleball, cornhole, ping-pong, or anything. Then we heard that there was a storm coming into southeast Wyoming Wednesday evening. So, we had to either drive the whole way back on Wednesday or stay through the weekend with very little to do, and with the possibility of being told to leave.

So, we drove home Wednesday and got between Cheyenne and Laramie just as the storm hit. We thought we were going to die. Literally. It was the most terrifying drive I’ve ever experienced, and as a Wyoming native, that’s saying something. We finally got behind a semi and everyone stopped crying and we made it home.

Now here we are…… There is no more leaving.

Alright, let’s get to it… If you have been ignoring the emails from the Governor, you probably should go back and read them. As I mentioned, there was one this morning that “loosened” the rules on teleworking so that most of us can now do it. Obviously, there are people who can’t do what they do from a computer, and those folks have to decide as an agency who will work when.

Since we are keeping all State offices open, your office needs to work out some sort of in-office rotation. There are 3 folks that work in the HRD main office and they are rotating by the week. There should also be disinfecting protocols going on between rotations.

The governor’s directive is this: agency directors should use their best efforts to permit telework for as many employees as possible taking into account the ability of the employees to work remotely and the requirement that State offices remain open. Some employees may be asked to work some shifts in the office and some shifts through telework, in order to minimize contacts between employees while also ensuring that essential onsite functions continue to be performed. Ok? So work it out in your division.

Now I want to take you to some good information. Now, in theory, we are all informed, but to be honest, this was the first time that I had made it to the CDC website. I was relying on the second by second updates from my wife who apparently was getting it all from Facebook. Now, really, we all need to stop getting our information from Facebook. Now.

Let’s go to the site. There is a ton of info here, so please read through it. I’m going to show you 3 pages that I find interesting.

If you head on over to the cdc.gov page you will be able to find the coronavirus section very easily, on the front page. Let’s click on it. This is the coronavirus page. There’s a ton of good information.

First of all, let’s look at how to protect yourself since that’s exactly what we are all doing right now. This is good. Read through it. Obviously, stay away from sick folks… in fact, we have to stay away from everyone right. Steps to protect yourself… clean your hands often, avoid close contact with folks. Steps to protect others… this is good stuff. Stay home if you’re sick, cover coughs and sneezes. Here’s an important one… wear a face mask if you are sick… if you’re not sick, do not wear a face mask unless you’re caring for someone who is sick. Face masks are in short supply. Then, of course, cleaning and disinfecting. Ways to make your own stuff, because I know there’s a shortage of a lot of this stuff. What you need to know about hand-washing video down at the bottom.

I’m gonna go back… next, I want to show you this button. These two up here at the top I think are the best. If you think you are sick stay home, okay, except to get medical care if you get to that point. Separate yourself from other people in your home if they aren’t sick and you are. Try not to get everyone sick. Call ahead before visiting your doctor. Again, wear a face mask if you are sick. Cover your coughs and sneezes. Clean your hands often. Avoid sharing personal household items, and clean all high touch surfaces every day. And monitor your symptoms.

So those are two very good pages now I want to take you to one more because there are some helpful things here if you go to the symptoms page. First of all, know the symptoms… fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Okay? If you have the sniffles, you do not have Covid-19.

If you go down here there are a couple of nice things, especially if you’re gonna be in the office and feel like these should be hung up. There’s a couple of flyers… one is the symptoms of coronavirus disease, and it tells you to go in when you have these. And the other one is how to stop the spread of germs. A nice flyer printable flyer.

Okay, that’s it for today. There’s probably gonna be a few extra subject matter minutes dealing with issues related to the Covid-19 problem. Again, I want to welcome all you new teleworkers! Do us good… get your work done. I know you will… state employees take their jobs seriously, and like I say, you’ll get more done. Well, you would if your whole family wasn’t around, but you will still get work done. Welcome to comfort and the ability to see your family at breaks… it’s a good deal. I’ll see you next time.