Web-based Video Conferencing

Webex

Go to www.webex.com

Log in / Sign up for a free account

Once logged in, you should see the home page (seen below).

In the homepage you can:

-Start a meeting and choose the source in the dropdown

-Schedule an upcoming meeting 

-View upcoming meetings

In the meetings tab you can:

-Filter upcoming meetings

-Schedule a new meeting

When you schedule a new meeting you should be brought to this window (seen below)

To schedule a meeting:

-Set a meeting topic that will be displayed as the title

-Set a meeting password to prevent anyone you did not invite from joining

-Set a date and time for the meeting and choose to have the meeting repeat on regular intervals

-Add the email addresses of those who will be attending the meeting(s)

-Under "advanced settings" you can:

• Control how the audio for the meeting will be set up
• Set a meeting agenda
• Change options for the meeting and the members joining

Under the "Recorded Meetings" tab you can view past recordings you have saved

In the "Preferences" tab you can:

-Change viewing settings for your personal webpage

-Change settings for your personal meeting room

-Add phone numbers to be connected so coworkers can call you

-Change scheduling settings

-Change recording settings

In the "Insights" tab you can view statistics on past meetings you have hosted.

When you start a meeting you should be brought to this window (seen below)

Inside this meeting window you can:

-Connect your meeting to a camera for live video conferencing

-Control which microphone is used for your meeting

-Control which speaker is used for your meeting

Once the meeting is started, options will be available to you:

-In the top right corner of the meeting you can:

• View the meeting link
• View the phone number for the meeting
• In the dropdown the meeting video address can be viewed

-Mute your audio

-Share your screen with meeting members

-Record meeting audio to be saved to the recording section

-View meeting members

-Enter the meeting chat to talk to members

-Under the options menu (seen below):

• Lock the meeting to prevent more members from joining
• Control if members are muted on entry
• Check the meeting connection
• Control which Speaker, Camera, and Microphone are being used
• Connect to a phone or tablet
• Switch to the downloaded software

-End the meeting

Zoom

Go to www.zoom.us.

Log in / Sign up for a new account.

Click on "Start meeting now".

When the "Open zoom meetings" pop-up appears, click on "Open Zoom Meetings".

Your meeting window will then appear and when you move the mouse options should appear:

-The "Information" button as seen below, should appear in the top right corner. This button lets you:

• Change the meeting title
• Copy the Invitation URL
• View information about the active meeting

-On the bottom bar (See above), these options are available:

• Mute audio for your computer
  • In the dropdown menu, you can change which speaker and microphone are currently being used.
• Start sharing video from your camera
  • In the dropdown menu, you can change which camera is currently being used
• Invite new members to your meeting via email
• Manage members in the meeting by;
  • Muting all members
  • Unmuting all members
  • Changing what each member has permission to do or alert when a members join or leave

• The share button allows the members of your meeting to view:
  • Your screen
  • A white screen that acts as a whiteboard
  • A connected phone or tablet
  • A specific web window
  • Under advanced, you can also share audio from your computer or send video from a secondary camera
  • You can also share files with members under the "Files" tab.
• Under the sharing dropdown you can control who has access to share

• Chat with meeting members in the included chat room
• Record meeting audio to be saved at the end of the meeting

• Finally, end the meeting for all members.

-In the main window are much larger buttons that functions similar to the bottom bar

• "Join audio" allows you to join an audio only chat with meeting members
• Share works similarly to the share button on the bottom bar
• Invite others additionally works the same as the invite button on the bottom bar 

Google Meet

Google Meet is another video conferencing service available for free.

Scheduling a Meeting

Google Meet is integrated with Google Calendar, and in order to schedule a meeting in advance, you need to sign into your Google account and create an event on your Google Calendar.

This is the Add Event page on Google Calendar. Fill in the relevant fields, such as the title of the meeting and the description. You can also list guest's emails, and they will be emailed an invitation with the information needed to join the meeting when the time comes.

You can then click the "Add Conferencing" dropdown menu and then select Hangouts Meet.

This will create a meeting on Google Meet for you and will provide any guests that you're inviting with information on how to join the meeting either using Google Meet or by calling in from a phone.

This is how the event will appear on your calendar.

You can also navigate to meet.google.com and it will show any meetings that you have scheduled for the current day.

Joining a Meeting

To join an existing meeting, navigate to meet.google.com and click the "Sign In" button at the top right corner to sign into your Google account.

When you log in, you'll see a screen like this. If you have a prescheduled meeting, click on the name of the meeting you'd like to join.

(Alternatively, you can click the link from the event in Google Calendar or in an email invitation you received from the creator of the event to join the meeting).

You'll see a page like this with the name of your meeting and your video. You may need to allow access to Google Meet to use your camera and microphone - if this is the case, a popup window will appear and ask you to allow access.

If you would like to alter or double-check the settings for your camera and microphone, you can click the three dots in the top right corner of the image, and then click Settings on the drop-down menu that appears.

You can select the camera, microphone, and speakers from this page, as well as test the speakers.

Press "Done" once you've finished. Here, you can choose from a few options before you join the meeting - you can mute your microphone or stop your video by clicking the icons with the microphone and video camera, respectively. If you are presenting to participants on the video call and need to share your screen immediately, you can click the "Present to Meeting" button. Otherwise, to join the meeting normally, click the "Join Meeting" button.

Creating a Meeting On the Spot

When you log into Google Meet, you have the option of creating or joining a meeting on the spot.

To do this, click the "Join or start a meeting" button. Note that you can't schedule a meeting this way - that needs to be done through Google Calendar. This works if you don't need to have the meeting created in advance, though.

You'll see a window like this. If you would like to do so, you can name the meeting here, or you can leave it blank. If you're creating a meeting for people within your organization, it may be helpful to assign a name for the meeting.

You'll be taken to a page that allows you to preview your camera and microphone settings, as shown above. When you're ready, you can click the "Join Meeting" button.

After joining, you'll see a window like this. This allows you to share the information with participants so that they can join. Since I entered a meeting nickname, anyone else within the same organization as me can join by clicking the "Join or start a meeting" link on Google Meet, and then entering the meeting nickname. That is, since my email address ends with remc1.org, anyone else with an remc1.org email address will be able to access the meeting by typing in the nickname - in this case, example2.

Alternatively, you can click the "Copy joining info" button to copy the information to your clipboard. You can then paste it somewhere to share it with other meeting participants (like an email or Slack message).

Or, you can click the "Add people" link and enter email addresses to add participants to the meeting.

Features Within Your Meeting

This section will take you through some of the options available to you inside a Google Meet meeting.

After you join the meeting, you should see a screen like this. Let's explore the buttons available to you, starting at the bottom left.

By clicking on the name of the meeting at the bottom left, you can see the information about the meeting and can copy and paste the information for others to join. If other participants were not invited through Google Calendar (or can't find the invitation, or need the meeting information sent again), you can access that here, press the "Copy joining info" button, and paste it wherever you need (such as in Slack or in an email).

These three buttons are at the bottom center of the screen. From left to right, you can press the microphone-shaped button to mute your microphone (and then press it again to unmute it). The red phone icon in the center will end your call and you will no longer be in the meeting. The video camera icon on the right will stop sharing your video. If you press it a second time, it will re-enable your video.

These buttons are available on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

The Present Now button allows you to share your screen. You can choose to share your entire screen, or just one open window (such as PowerPoint or a browser window).

If you choose to select a window, you'll need to click on the window you'd like broadcasted to the meeting and then press "Share."

You'll see this notification show up on the bottom of your screen to remind you that others can see what you are doing on your screen. If, at any point, you would like to stop broadcasting your screen to the meeting, you can press the "Stop sharing" button.

Alternatively, if you navigate back to the window where the meeting is located, you can also choose to stop sharing your screen from that page.

Back in the meeting window, the three dots open a menu with some additional options. "Settings" will open your camera and microphone settings in case you need to adjust them. "Full Screen" will make the meeting window take up the entire screen. "Change Layout" may be useful if you are not satisfied with the way that Google Meet is displaying all of the members of the meeting on your screen.

If you click on "Change Layout", you are presented with some options. With "Auto," Meet will decide which view it thinks is most helpful to you. Alternatively, "Sidebar" will show the person who is talking in the larger window and other participants in smaller windows along the side. "Spotlight" will use the entire screen to display the person who is talking. "Tiled" will put participants into larger tiles on your screen. You can choose whichever layout best suits your needs for your meeting.

Finally, at the top right, you can see your video. By clicking the icon with the people, you can see the people that have joined the meeting. The chat icon allows you to chat with others in the meeting.