Our meetings and discussions for this group will be online and synchronous using Zoom. You can find a link to Zoom in the Canvas sidebar. We will meet Mondays from 12:00 to 12:50.

We want to capture to whatever extent we can the advantages of traditional face-to-face meetings and at the same time exploit any and all advantages that online meetings might offer. We want our meetings to facilitate good discussion, with friendly, thoughtful, and comfortable conversations. We hope to capture as much as possible the sense of personal presence that arises in seminar room discussions, along with the polite and civil interactions that take place in a shared "space." We also want to share screens and use chat as a backchannel for communication. This will require a careful merging of the personal and the technological.

Here are some expectations and suggestions.

Please show up on time. The Zoom meeting will be open in advance. Arrive a little early and get acquainted with the guests as they arrive.
Stay until the end. If you do need to leave early, let the host know, as you would in a face-to-face class.
Use your webcam video. This helps create that personal feeling of presence that we are after and contributes to a sense of community. You can use a virtual background if your live background is distracting or you want to keep it private.
Mute if necessary. To get the most out of the bandwidth you have, you can keep your microphone muted when you are not talking. When you microphone is muted you can always unmute it by holding down the space bar while you speak. When you first enter the Zoom site your microphone will be muted, so remember to unmute when you want to talk.
Join the conversation. Our conversations can occur like any room conversation. You can politely interject a comment as we all know how to do in smaller conversations. In larger groups, it would be best to raise your hand. You can do this physically by raising your hand so that it is visible on the screen. The host can then call on you at the appropriate time. You can also use the "raise hand" feature under "Participants." Only the host can see this, however, and will need to call on you when your turn comes. If you want to get a comment in but are having trouble joining the conversation, add a comment or question to chat.
Be polite. Always follow standard netiquette practices.
You are welcome to bring your lunch to this noon book discussion group.

Zoom Tips

Use headphones or ear pods, and a microphone, if you are having trouble hearing or being heard. This is especially important if you are working from a room prone to disruptive noises.
Think about your background. Use a background image on Zoom if you want to keep you home life private or to avoid distractions. It is generally true that you should be in a well-lit room but you do not want to be backlit.
Bandwidth can be an issue, especially since you are using your webcam. If you don't have a reliable connection at home, you can work from campus or from your car in the campus parking lot to get a good connection. Or you can find places like libraries and public buildings where you can maintain proper social distancing but still work with a good public wireless connection.
Do you have our book on Kindle on your computer? You can share passages and pages. Ask the host to allow you to share the screen if you want to discuss a particular passage.
Your web cam profile looks best when the camera shot includes your head and shoulders. Your eyes should be about two thirds up from the bottom of the screen with some space above your head. Place your web cam so that it is roughly at eye height.
Make sure your name displayed is the one you go by.