Zoom meetings – BLOGPASTOR

Tag: Zoom meetings

My online teaching setup

21 September 2020 blogpastor 2 Comments

Teaching by zoom requires some equipment. I began with just a laptop. When I received feedback that my voice was not clear, I used a Bose Soundsport wireless earphone. But it wasn’t consistent because it was wireless. So I finally settled for a Samsung wired earphone, the kind that comes packaged with your mobile device. No more complaints – so I stuck with this.

Then I wanted the zoom class to see more of my body not just my head, since communications can be improved with fuller expressions that includes the upper body, arms and hands. So I bought the classic Logitec C920 webcam (below $200) that has a wider lens. In future, this could be used for recording with my laptop. But I need time to watch YouTube videos and learn how to do this. One for when I have more time and desire.

However, shadows on the face with bright backgrounds is not pleasant to watch on screen, especially for long stretches. So I bought a LED light on a stand for less than $20.

*My zoom teaching set-up in the hall, where I get stronger signals from my router*

*My class doing “Interpreting Scriptures” workshop number 8.*

As you can see, one thing led to another, and as you try to solve a problem, more purchases of equipment are made, little by little. I even bought a laptop stand to elevate the laptop for a less distorted view. But my daughter uses it for her work, so I settled for some Tupperware storage box, where I keep all my smaller online recording equipment.

I wonder if I will end up purchasing more and better equipment as I progress, or will all this stuff become white elephants.

What about you? Have you purchased any equipment because of the “new normal”? Any equipment to recommend me to improve what I am currently using?

Zoom Christian Education

27 July 2020 blogpastor Leave a comment

I am currently doing a Zoom Christian Education course on “Interpreting Scriptures” for the church. It will run for 11 sessions and this Wednesday night I would be doing the third session of one-and-a-half hour workshop.

Tom Cannon, one of our pastoral staff, gave the rest of the staff a basic training on how to use Zoom. It was a good orientation. However, I lacked confidence, so I had to practice on my own, some of the functions needed in my workshops: like how to share screen, and how to use the whiteboard. Even then I needed another staff member, Ethel Shin-Cannon to help me with the organization of the rooms, when participants are put in virtual rooms for work on the scripture texts.

The first session I was too ambitious. I wanted to get past the introduction quickly and crammed all the introductory material in one session. It was too long -two hours. After feedback, and also because there was less content material to cover, the next session was a sweet one-and-a-half hour. I will definitely get more and more comfortable as I get skilled in presenting material online through Zoom.

I can see a potential in this format that Covid-19 has forced upon the church. Before this, it was almost impossible to imagine members fighting heavy traffic, or after work gulping a quick meal to go to the church premises for Bible studies, and then after that take a one-hour commute home. Now with Zoom, they can comfortably go home, have a meal, and even a shower, and tune into a Zoom meeting. He or she still has to be hungry enough to fight the natural preference to chill after a day’s work (perhaps of staring into a computer), rather than to sign up and show up for a course (again on the computer). We are just lessening the number of hurdles that he or she has to jump over.

To keep the level of engagement high, the content has to be formatted in such a way that there is interaction, actual practice segment, and more conversational and less lecture like.

Perhaps it is too early to get over-excited but I suppose with the Covid 19 situation unlikely to improve anytime too soon there will be a need to use technology to build the faith of God’s people. The church staff thinks that even if things return to “normal” we can still reach out to more people for spiritual formation/Christian education courses. So we signed up for annual zoom subscriptions to get a discount on what we are paying currently on a monthly basis.

Welcome to the “new normal” church of tomorrow.