Worldwide Online Meetings

Connecting to the meeting online and using a headset or your computer's microphone and speakers for audio.

1. After registering, you will see a confirmation page. You will also receive an email with the same information on this page and a link to connect to the worldwide online meetings. The email will also include the call-in phone numbers.

2. This link will be created just for you. Please do not share it. You will used it to join all Worldwide Online meetings for the rest of the year. If you would like to invite your friends to the meetings, please send them the link to the Worldwide Online Meetings registration page.

3. Click on the link at any time to install the software and create your login. If prompted, click Yes, Grant or Trust to accept the download. If it asks to install a Java plugin update, please allow it to do so.

4. When prompted, enter your name followed by your location (for example: Carla Sherman - Ojai, California, USA) and your email address. Your name will be the only way we can identify you on the list of participants. Since people come to our meetings from all over the world, it's exciting for everyone involved to know where you're located on the planet, so please give us a clue as to your whereabouts. You'll have the option to save that information for the following meetings (simply check the box next to "Remember my name and email").

If you wish to keep your email address private, see Other useful information tab.

The software will install automatically. Once the installation finishes, you will be in the meeting room. You will see the Attendee Control Panel on your computer screen. If you can't see it, it might be minimized to the upper right corner of your screen. You will see three icons there. From the bottom up: a hand with a green arrow, a screen, and a white arrow on an orange background pointing to the right.

Click on the arrow to maximize the Control Panel. The arrow will change and it will now be pointing to the left.

On the Control Panel, choose the Audio Mode you will be using by checking either Use Telephone or Use Mic & Speakers.

Audio quality can vary based on your audio software/hardware manufacturer as well as your operating system. When using VoIP, the following best practices are recommended:

• For optimum sound quality, a headset is recommended, preferably a USB headset for ease of use.
• If a headset is not available, a microphone and speakers are required, preferably a USB microphone for ease of use.
• If using a microphone, it should be a distance of at least 1.5 feet away from any speakers that are built into or connected to your PC.
• The use of a Webcam microphone is not recommended.

If you experience audio problems, click here to download a pdf file with advanced instructions for configuring your microphone and speakers.

IMPORTANT: Once you have installed the software and attended your first Worldwide Online Meeting, you will be able to join the following meetings directly by launching the Go-To-Meeting program.

Launch the software. Look for a little orange flower icon on your taskbar: that's the Go-To-Meeting icon. Right-click on the icon and select "Join...".

You will be asked for the Webinar ID. Enter the Webinar ID that you received in your email confirmation. You will be taken directly to the online meeting.

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Connecting to the meeting online and using the phone for audio.

1. Log in to the meeting online and in the Audio Mode option choose Telephone instead of Mic & Speakers;

2. Make a note of the phone number for your country, the Access Code, and the audio PIN that will be displayed in the middle of your Control Panel, right under the attendee list;

3. Call the phone number for your country;

4. When prompted enter the Access Code followed by the pound sign;

5. When prompted enter the audio PIN followed by the pound sign. Now you are in the meeting with audio from your telephone, and able to participate fully.

NOTE: If you call this number at any time other than during the meeting times, the automated voice will tell you "The webinar will begin shortly. Please stay on the line." That is just an automated message. Please hang up to avoid long distance charges. The meeting will always begin at 1 pm PDT and will end around 3 pm PDT (UTC/GMT -7). The room will open at 12:45 pm.

Are there charges involved in using a telephone?

There is no charge for attending the meeting no matter what method you choose.

But the phone interface uses ordinary toll-based numbers to call and participate in a meeting by phone. You will be charged your standard long-distance rate for calling this toll-based number, just as if you had made a regular long-distance call.  Joining the meeting by computer costs nothing.

Using only a phone to connect, without logging in.

The full list in alphabetical order of the eighteen telephone numbers available will be included in your registration confirmation email.

1. Find the best number for you from the list of phone numbers available;
   
   
2. Dial that number and an automated recording will greet you and will ask you to enter the Access Code;
   
   
3. Enter the Access Code in your confirmation email using your phone keys followed by the pound sign (#);
   
   
4. You will then be asked to enter your audio PIN for the meeting followed by the # sign. If you do not have an audio PIN, just enter the pound sign (#) and you will be connected to the meeting room.
   
   
5. You will not be able to speak with John without a PIN, but you will be able to follow the meeting and hear everything.
   
   
6. You will hear the following automated message:"You are connected in listen only mode." Please wait on the line until the meeting begins.
   
   
7. Remember, you will be charged your standard long-distance rate for calling this toll-based number, just as if you had made a regular long-distance call. There is no additional charge for the conferencing feature. If you wish to avoid incurring long-distance charges, you can join the meeting with VoIP (via Internet using a headset on your computer.)

NOTE: If you call this number at any time other than during the meeting times, the automated voice will tell you "The webinar will begin shortly. Please stay on the line." That is just an automated message. Please hang up to avoid long distance charges. Beginning on Septermber 11th, the meeting will begin at 4 pm PDT and will end around 6 pm PDT (UTC/GMT -7). The room will open at 3:45 pm.

Can I use my iPhone?

Unfortunately at this time we do not have support for the iPhone. Here is information about connecting using handheld devices:

GoToMyPC Pocket View requires a handheld device running one of the following:

• Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone Edition
• Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 or 2003 SE for Pocket PC or Pocket PC Phone Edition
  
• Most devices running Microsoft Windows CE 4.0 or later with a touch screen or mouse, such as thin clients
• A Touch Screen Notes on Device Requirements
• Windows Mobile for Smartphones is not supported

The handheld device must have 1.6MB of available storage space and 8MB of available RAM.

The handheld device must also have an Internet connection with a recommended minimum average speed of 30 kbps (60 kbps or greater provides the best user experience).

The Internet connection may be provided in a number of ways:

• Cellular modem (built in on Phone Edition devices).
• WiFi (802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11a)
• Bluetooth (providing a data connection to a separate cellular phone/modem)

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The documentation for go-to-webinar says that you need at least 384 kbps for download, but satellite connections may vary anywhere from about 800 down to 50 kbps. Some satellite providers also impose a daily limit on downloads. A two-hour meeting might use about 50 Mb total. Satellite users please plan for that.

Up to Tabs

1. At the beginning of the meeting, all participant's microphones are muted. When John opens for questions, if you wish to speak with him, click on the hand icon on your Control Panel (see lower icon in the picture below) to let Carla know. Carla will put you in line and will let you know when it is your turn to speak.

Sometimes, your hand might be raised by accident. Please check to see if your hand is raised (arrow pointing up). If you do not wish to speak during the meeting, please click on the hand to lower your hand (arrow pointing down). Too many hands raised unintentionally create difficulties for the meeting moderator.

2. By default, the Control Panel disappears after a couple of minutes. To keep the Control Panel visible, click on View on the top menu and make sure that the Auto-hide option is NOT checked. You will need to do this at the beginning of every meeting.

3. During the online meetings, if the voices break up, it might be that your computer is too busy trying to do too many things at the same time. Please shut down any programs that are not needed during the meetings, such as your internet browser, email program, backup software, instant messenger, etc. The fewer programs you have running on your machine, especially if they are connecting to the internet, the better the sound quality will be.

4. You can change your name and email address as they are displayed during the meetings at any time. Log in to the meeting. Right-click on the GoToMeeting icon in your task bar, which looks like a flower. Click on Preferences. Click on the General category. In the Session Identity section, enter your name and location in the Name field (for example: Carla Sherman - Ojai, CA - USA). Here, you can enter a different email address than the one you used to register. If you do not wish others to see your email address, enter anon@riverganga.org in the Email field. Check the box "Remember my name and email as it would appear in the attendee list".  Leave all the other settings as they are. Click OK.

5. The meeting room will open 15 minutes before 4 pm. The first time you attend a meeting, if you click on the link to connect before the scheduled time, you will not be able to install the software or enter the room. Please come back at 3:45 pm.

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