Thing 15 - Video chat and webinars

Thing 15 – Video chat/webinars

Video chat has been a real life-saver over the last year and a half. This pandemic really knocked the world for six and I dread to think what state society would be in by now had we not had the option of video chat throughout the lockdown. In my setting it has been a particular blessing, I have been able to keep service users connected with their relatives in a way that they can understand and appreciate and it has made a huge difference to their wellbeing, keeping their spirits light and preventing them from feeling as isolated as other people. Video chat is much more personal than a text or telephone conversation, we can see facial expressions, reactions and share moments and experiences with each other as if we are beside one another. It is the next best thing to spending time together.

Video chat however does come with some potential risks unfortunately. Identity theft is still a possibility, especially if vulnerable people are utilising it, personal information given during chat sessions is not always guaranteed to be safe, remember also that video chat is essentially loudspeaker chat so people within earshot are privy to your conversation. I personally try to ensure that when service users are utilising video chat, they do so in a private area such as their bedrooms and they never share personal information such as details of their finances or social identity.

I have taken part in the DigiCafeHome – Digital Champion training which thus far has consisted of several online meetings via Teams which are run in much the same way as webinars. The meeting is hosted by one or two particular people who share their screen with the audience and work through presentations. Then we (the audience) are given multiple opportunities throughout to contribute via the chat window, typing into text boxes to appear on the screen or vocally using the microphones. This is a great way to connect people from all over Scotland and engage in a group meeting effectively. Any dialogue sent in via the chat box is then emailed out to everyone for future reference, the session is also recorded and can be viewed again at our desire.

 

Facetime is something I use in my day-to-day life, whether it’s to chat to my children when I’m not around, or to share and experience or milestone with my Mum, or even when I’m not sure what to get for the tea and I want my hubbys opinion from the food isle in the supermarket! Facetime is a great tool for communication and keeping you connected. I mostly use it via Wi-Fi at home with never an issue, and the same can be said for whenever I have to run it from my mobile data, I always seem to have a great experience using it.

 

Skype on the other hand, I personally loathe, I seem to hit never ending hurdles when using it, the connection always seems to have an issue and I just really don’t favour it at all. I only ever used Skype for business purposes so now I use Zoom instead and I find it to be far superior in terms of customer satisfaction.

 

I also use WhatsApp video chat on a weekly basis to enable a service user to connect with their relative. I do seem to have regular issues with the connection regardless of whether I’m using Wi-Fi or mobile network however, although it could be the device that’s the issue, I can’t say for sure.

 

However, between Skype and Facetime I have to go with Apple on this one. For both business and personal use.

 

Google Hangout is a sort of best of both worlds’ app, accommodating voice calls, text messaging or video calls it allows you to chat to groups that you have created, or one to one with contacts. The issue with new and improved apps like this however, certainly in my generation, is that us oldies justify avoiding them by claiming that we already have mobile phones that accommodate voice calls, text messaging, video calls and group chats. So, although I did download it, I unfortunately could not convince any of my peers to give it a go so I never got to experience using it. I do however plan to recommend it to my work as a way to keep families connected with service users in group sessions as opposed to using WhatsApp.

So my exploration of video chats and webinars has actually been rather enlightening. Every day's a school day after all. 

 

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