[NFB-Oregon-Announce] Zoom Instructions for NFB of Oregon State Convention

[president at nfb-oregon.org]

Welcome to the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon’s 2020 State Convention, (Virtual Edition)
Date: November 14th – 15th, 2020
Convention Agenda: CLICK HERE
This year, we will host our state convention on the zoom platform due pandemic related restrictions on gatherings.  
App to access the convention:
In order to access our virtual convention, you will need to have downloaded the latest version of the zoom application on your computer, smartphone. This application is free to download and use (while on WIFI) to navigate within the various rooms in the conference. To access the latest version of the zoom meeting client, visit your AppStore (on Apple Devices),  Google Play Store (for Android Devices) or navigate to the following link: https://zoom.us/download  The installation of update process is carried out in a plain English intuitive step-by-step wizard-like interface.
The keys to the kingdom:
We will use the following single zoom Link throughout the entire convention. It’s a good idea to bookmark this link in your browser or save this email on the device you will access the convention on.  Due to security related concerns such as zoom-bombing and other cyber mischief, please do not share think link with others.
https://zoom.us/j/95013253693?pwd=SlorWGhMK3d3RHBBNWZXRytpZHBMUT09 
Here’s “The lay of the land”:
When you enter our virtual convention, you start out in the main meeting room. We will use this room for general meetings such as general sessions, banquet speech and business meeting. From there you can ask questions about convention activities if you need help.
For general activities such as general session, the banquet speech and our business meeting, we will use the general meeting room in which you entered the conference.
Breakout sessions take place within individual breakout rooms which you can enter once you’re in the main meeting room. The breakout session rooms are named according to the breakout session being held within them. Please refer to the agenda for the time each breakout sessions will begin.
We will also have a couple of rooms named social space 1 and social space 2 for people to meet in and converse in between sessions. 
Navigating the virtual convention rooms:
Navigating from one room to another within the virtual conference is accomplished by selecting the breakout rooms button on the zoom meeting application you are using. You will see a list of breakout rooms available. Tap or click the room of your choice then tap/click join. IMPORTANT NOTE: when you’re finished with the activity in the breakout room, you will need to click/tap the “leave'“ button and select the “leave breakout room” option to return to the main meeting room. Do not click/tap the “leave meeting” button unless you’re ready to exit the entire virtual conference. Don’t be alarmed if this happens, all you will need to re-enter the conference is click the link provided in this message and you’re back in.
Virtual convention etiquette and code of conduct:
While in a virtual environment, it’s very important to practice good virtual meeting etiquette. While in a virtual environment such as the zoom platform, we are all sharing a single common audio channel to speak and listen. It will become very difficult to communicate when multiple people are speaking at once, or there is excessive background noise. While you are in breakout sessions, the leader of that sessions will provide direction on when you will you can unmute and speak. During general events, all attendees’ microphones will be muted and unable to unmute unless engaged in a Q&A session. The National Federation of the blind code of conduct is available here, please review to ensure we all have a pleasant convention.
If you have any further questions regarding our convention, please feel free to reach out.
 


Carla McQuillan
President,
National Federation of the 
Blind of Oregon
Bell Academy
Training and Branding
541-653-9153