PART 1: GETTING STARTED WITH THE CLASS

1. Don’t panic! There are a lot of steps here, but many of them are very quick. There are a few technology things that we want to introduce you to this week and, since some of us are technologically less inclined, we want to lay out these things out very precisely. Hence the long (but hopefully quick to follow) instructions.

2. If you are having trouble joining the class’ community page on Google+, contact me or Elliot immediately (jai.ranganathan@gmail.com, elliot@mrlowndes.com). Since the class infrastructure largely exists on Google+, if you can’t access the community page, you won’t be able to participate.

3. Can figure something out or having trouble with something? Send Elliot or myself a note and let’s talk about it.

4. Google+. So, how does the SciFund class community page work anyway? Watch this short screencast, by yours truly, for a short introduction:

5. Discussion groups (part 1). Every week, we’ll be breaking out into discussion groups. This week, we’ll be talking in our groups about our adventures with science messaging. We’ll be having these discussions via one-hour group video conferences, courtesy of Google Hangouts. We have scheduled tons of one-hour discussion sections for this week. Sign up for one of them, please. All sections will be facilitated by one of the course instructors. Sign up now for one of the sections on the Google+ community page for the class (see the Events category). VERY IMPORTANT: Only ten people are allowed in a single hangout (1 instructor, plus nine participants). If you see ten people already signed up for a hangout, that hangout is full.

6. Discussion groups (part 2). The way the discussion groups will work is as follows. A minute or two before your scheduled discussion section is supposed to start, sign in to your Google+ account. At the appointed time, you’ll receive an invite to the Google Hangout. You’ll also receive an invite via gmail (check the Social tab). During the Hangout, be sure to have your sound going through headphones! If you don’t, it is almost certain that someone’s speakers and microphone will cause enough feedback to kill the audio feed for everyone. If you are having specific problems with Hangouts, Google has a troubleshooting page on the very topic.

"Video Class 2014, Week One" table of contents

  1. Video Class 2014, Week One
  2. PART 1: GETTING STARTED WITH THE CLASS
  3. PART 2: PREPARING THE MESSAGE BOX
  4. PART 3: USING THE MESSAGE BOX
  5. PART 4: MAKING THE ELEVATOR PITCH
  6. PART 5. GIVING FEEDBACK TO OTHERS

4 comments on “Video Class 2014, Week OneAdd yours →

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  1. Thanks for the detailed instructions! By when do we need to complete our assignments- in advance of our discussion group or by the end of the week?

    1. Completing the assignments in advance of your discussion group would be ideal. At the least, before your group, it would be good to have done the readings and prepared your own message box.