Alaska Botany Forum 2018 : Remote viewing
We decided to go with a ‘Youtube Live Event’ streaming rather than using specialized conferencing software. The pros of YT Live are that all you need is a web browser and the URL to watch (no extra software needs to be installed). The con is that interaction from remote to the actual meeting is limited to a chat interface.
URLs
We will send you the URLs of the event when you register. They will be of the standard Youtube form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxxxx. We have divided the event into two streams, morning and afternoon.
Watching
If you only want to view the streams and not chat back, simply click on the links and watch.
Chatting
If you want to ask questions, or converse with other remote viewers, you will need to do the following:
- Log into a Google account.
- Create a ‘channel’ on You Tube ( = an identity within YT). To do this, click on the gray symbol below the video window that is three horizontal lines and a plus symbol. You will be asked to agree to some terms. Click ‘Yes.’
- Type into the chat box on the right hand side.
Asking a question of the presenter
Someone at the meeting will be monitoring the chat feed, and will ask questions from remote viewers. Please follow this convention if you are asking a question:
“Question from XXX to YYY:
”
This way we know who you are and can be sure that the right person is asked. We will ask the presenter to repeat the question so that it is clearly heard by the microphone.
Please be aware that there can be a significant time delay between what is happening in the meeting room and what you will see. We therefore encourage you to ask your questions as you think of them, and before the very end of their talk.
We will attempt to ask your question, but if the presenter has left no time, or if there are too many questions, we apologize in advance if your question is not asked. As a registered participant, you will receive a list of all participant emails, and we encourage you to ask your questions to the presenter directly.
Staying on time
We will try very hard to keep the meeting on time. However… :-) Should we fall behind, and you are tuning in for a particular speaker at a particular time, we apologize if the speaker has not yet started. Youtube Live events are available at the same URL for review, until deleted. We will not delete the event immediately, thus giving you some time to hear the talk you may be interested in.
Feedback during meeting
If the video or sound feed is poor, please let us know via the chat interface. We will try to correct any tech issues, if it is possible.
(FYI: Setting up a Youtube live event)
If you have any interest in setting up a YT live event, the following information may be helpful (as of 2018-03-20).
- Go to YT ‘Creator Studio’ (click your avatar and select from dropdown menu), or visit https://www.youtube.com/my_live_events. Find ‘Events’ under ‘Live Streaming.’
- Request authorization to stream (up to 24 hours needed).
- Click ‘New Live Event.’
- Fill in title, time of event, description, and select ‘public’ (findable by anyone) or ‘unlisted’ (viewers must have the URL to find the event). Select ‘Quick’ for type.
- In ‘Advanced settings,’ make sure ‘Enable live chat’ is selected, chose any other settings you want, and (suggested) use ‘Normal latency’ (more delay, but higher quality).
- As the meeting approaches, click ‘Start Hangout on Air,’ and a Hangouts-like window will open (after a confirmation box).
- If you are using a USB camera or microphone, click the settings button near the top of the page, and select your hardware.
- Click ‘Start Broadcast,’ and you will be live!
- Note: the chatbox on this Hangout page is not where the YT chat appears. To chat, go back to the YT Creator studio, and click on the name of the event in the events list. The standard YT viewer page will open and it is there that you will see the live chat feed.
- Note: the view on the Hangouts page is the mirror image of what the camera sees. Don’t worry: the YT viewer sees the same as the camera.
- When the meeting is over, select ‘Stop Broadcast’ and the stream will end. Close the Hangouts page.
- People with the URL will still be able to view the video until you delete it.
- In Creator Studio, under the ‘Video Manager’ you can delete your videos.
