Live Show and Tell?

[Richard Tomlinson]

Hello

As a result of the Covid pandemic, Zoom meetings have become a common part of life for people wishing to communicate.

Recently, Alberto Levi hosted a webinar on Golden Triangle rugs via Zoom.

It got me thinking and I was wondering if Turkotek would consider having a 'live' Show and Tell, or some kind of discussion every now and then? It would be interesting I think, and enable collectors from all parts of the world to join together. Of course, timezones is an issue but I was up at 2 am for the Levi webinar :nerd2:

Just a thought - what do others think?

Regards
Richard

[Filiberto Boncompagni]

Hi Richard,

My only (and indirect) experience with Zoom was at last Christmas: one of my wife's brothers set up a 'Zoom room' and sent to other members of the family a link.

Link opened in Firefox on her PC Notebook. It worked OK.

So, if somebody wants to set up a S&T 'Zoom room' and use Turkotek to organize a video conference, why not?

Don't count on me, though, for several reasons.

My old webcam became obsolete after Windows 10. Thanks Microsoft.

The excellent HD webcam of my laptop was knocked out by a recent Skype update. It messed up with the driver. After many hours spent to fix the problem, now it works. Sometimes. Roughly one in three times. :rolleyes:

Thanks again, Microsoft. Skype served me wonderfully for many years BEFORE it was acquired by YOU! :rant:

Last but not least, I prefer the current form of discussion.

Regards,

Filiberto

[Steve Price]

Hi Richard and Filiberto

I don't see any problem with using Turkotek as a place from which to organize and announce Zoom sessions. People can join them with or without using video on their own ends. The organizer of each session would be responsible for inviting and/or accepting participants. I don't think it would be possible for us to archive anything more detailed than the organizer's introductory remarks and slides.

Just an aside. Our web hosts are in the process of upgrading the server end software. We were told that it would be done by March 8 (3+ weeks ago), but it hasn't happened yet. When it does, our forums will go down for several days while we install and format upgraded discussion forum software.

Steve Price

[Joel Greifinger]

Recently, Alberto Levi hosted a webinar on Golden Triangle rugs via Zoom.


Hi Richard,

Alberto Levi's webinar was produced and hosted by the New England Rug Society (NERS). It was the fourth of the five webinars that NERS has offered to the worldwide rug and textile community since October. Other groups, including the Textile Museum in Washington, the Textile Museum Associates of Southern California (TMA/SC) and the Hajji Baba Club in New York have all been and continue to produce online programs.

As Chairman of NERS, I have a close-up view of the preparation, practice time and money (for Zoom webinar fees for a large audience) needed to assure a decent viewing experience for the audience. I don't think that Turkotek can, or should, get into the mix.

On the positive side, there is more program content out there to see than ever before. And, most groups make them available to anyone interested, though in some cases, the recordings after the event are only accessible to members. Membership fees tend to be quite reasonable (e.g., $45/yr for NERS:https://www.ne-rugsociety.org) and support the maintenance of rug and textile societies that otherwise face the attrition of an oft-aging membership.

Perhaps the best way to stay on top of the programming is to contact the TMA/SC who send a regular update with broad coverage. You can email them at info@tmasc.org.

Joel Greifinger

[Richard Tomlinson]

Hi everyone

I teach using Zoom every day. Setting up a meeting is ridiculously simple and free. All that is required is participation. Screens can be shared, and there is a 'chat' forum for text input.

The key, however, is 'participation', and I do not see much willingness here. No problem. A bridge too far.

Regards
Richard

[Joel Greifinger]

Hi Richard,

In my experience, attempting a live 'show and tell' over Zoom is not nearly as simple as having a discussion. In the attempts where I have been a participant, even rugs hanging in showrooms with specialty lighting have been difficult to see in detail. In most instances, where someone was showing a piece in their home, it was all but impossible to make out much, and the hand held computer or tablet almost guaranteed the audience a sense of vertigo. The early attempts by the groups I mentioned have led to a shift to requiring that all show and tell items be in the form of high resolution images submitted before the event. You can see what is being discussed and no one has to get queasy.

The presentations I referred to all activate the Q and A function to allow for questions to the presenter. The format is close to the usual structure of most rug society meetings, with a presentation followed by questions and then a show and tell. However, for reasons I mentioned, this uses high-res images, not live attempts to show the rug.

The key, however, is 'participation', and I do not see much willingness here.

I'm not sure why you see these efforts as indicative of an unwillingness to engage in 'participation'. Some of these events have been drawing over five hundred rug and textile enthusiasts and some very informed discussion. But, if you would like to set up a Zoom call dedicated to discussing rugs and post the invitation on Turkotek, that would be fine with me. If it's at a time that I'm awake (since I'm more than a few hours off from Perth), I'll probably be 'there'.

I teach using Zoom every day. Setting up a meeting is ridiculously simple and free.

Really? The free (Basic) version of Zoom only allows for more than two participants for up to 40 minutes. Short classes? :clap:

Joel

[Steve Price]

The free (Basic) version of Zoom only allows for more than two participants for up to 40 minutes. Short classes?

Hi Joel

I think you're mistaken about this. My wife and I both have the free version of Zoom on our laptop computers, and we each participate in a number of local groups pretty regularly. Maybe things were changed by the COVID pandemic.

Steve Price

[Joel Greifinger]

I think you're mistaken about this. My wife and I both have the free version of Zoom on our laptop computers, and we each participate in a number of local groups pretty regularly.

Hi Steve,

Are you the originator of the call? It's free to the other participants. The charge is to the Zoom license holder who makes the call:

https://i.postimg.cc/C1jBrCW1/Screen-Shot-2021-04-03-at-7-37-26-AM.png

Joel