CONNECTING ONLINE

By Doug Dunn

Over the past month people with Internet access have connected online more than ever before. Personally I attend a meeting with over 100 people most weekday mornings. It's a great start to the day. I've attended a 60th Birthday party and a webinar with 3,500 participants! And I'm now playing Bridge online three times a week. I was already familiar with Zoom video conferencing before coronavirus but not at this new level.

I have decided to treat each online experience just as real as the rest of my life. To participate as if those on screen are together in one room.

Last Thursday, I gave a short talk on Zoom to The Torbay Astronomical Society Our usual monthly astronomy lectures had been cancelled so I offered to give an online talk. The title was Stargazing bellow the Equator. When I did a trial run with one of our blog members, Julia Scales, I realised I needed to make it more fun and interactive. I included more questions and suggested everyone stays off mute and call out answers. I also added sounds of birds to give the experience of living in the African bush. At one point I was showing Julia a photo of the Southern Cross constellation and said it didn't look much like a cross.  She remembered watching a German video where the presenter showed that the Southern Cross was like a drinking giraffe! A few minutes later she sent me the link which I shared on the talk. Speaking with Julia helped a lot with my prep.

Here is part of my presentation. Listen out for singing Emerald-Spotted Wood-Doves and Dark-Capped Bulbuls on the second slide.



And here's the link to the drinking giraffe. Wind forward 23 minutes to see it.

Doug Dunn has a Software Training background having worked for 30 years in London. Now retired in South Devon, he devotes time to writing. He enjoyed collaborating with the authors of ‘Human Crossings – 9 stories about refugees’ published in 2019. This year he has published a report in Landmark Worldwide’s Conference for Global Transformation highlighting the benefits of writers working together. You can email Doug on dgdun@aol.com.


This blog post and its content is copyright of Doug Dunn, 2020. (c) All rights reserved.


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