Suffolk
Bird
Group

How do I access an online talk?

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The day before each talk, all Suffolk Bird Group members for whom we have email addresses will receive an email which will contain a URL (link) for the talk.  On the day and time of the talk, simply click on this URL and a Google Meet page will open in your browser.  Then click the Join button.  You may then have to wait to be admitted to the talk - if lots of people attempt to join at the same time, it might take a minute or two to let everyone in, so please be patient.  If you have waited more than two minutes, it would be worth closing your browser and trying the link again.

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What equipment do I need?

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Any laptop, tablet, computer, mac or mobile phone that can connect to the internet and that has speakers attached can be used to watch and listen to the talk.  Basically if you've ever watched a video on your laptop/tablet etc then your hardware is suitable for this talk.

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Do I need to install anything on my computer/laptop?

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No.  The meeting will open in your default web browser - the common ones being Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Firefox and others.  You may wish to ensure you have the latest version of your browser installed.  Chrome is owned by Google so the best experience will probably be via Chrome.

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Is the meeting time or numbers of participants limited?

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Yes.  At present we are not paying for Google Meet, but this might need to change in the future.  We are therefore limited as follows:

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• only 100 people can attend - these will be the first 100 to join the call

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How do we ask questions of the speaker?

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Please do NOT turn on your microphone during the talk to ask a question - if many people speak at the same time it will become very difficult to hear what anyone is saying.  If you have a question, please instead use the "chat" facility.  This can be accessed by hovering your mouse over the Google Meet talk and clicking on the Chat symbol in the top right.  You can type your question and then use the "send to everyone" option so that everyone can see the question.  At the end of the talk there will be an opportunity for everyone to turn on their microphones/cameras (if they wish to) in order to ask questions.

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I can see the presentation AND the speaker - how do I get the presentation full screen?

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Hover your mouse over the Google Meet talk and click on the "three dots" symbol in the bottom right.  Select "Change Layout" and then select the "Spotlight" layout.  You can choose other layouts here at any time - changing these only affects what you see, not what others see.

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Any talk rules?

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Please keep your microphone muted and your video turned off until the talk has finished, at which point you are welcome to make as much noise as you want.