CALMet Online: Guidance for Regional Focus Group of the Americas and Caribbean (English and Spanish) 26 May

Our Regional Focus Group session will take place Thursday, 26 May 2016 at 15:00 UTC. We use GoToWebinar software for voice and VISITview to look at the imagery. The session will start 15 minutes earlier at 14:45 UTC for those who want to check their microphone and voice connection. The session is bi-lingual (English and Spanish).

Check out instructions on the web page: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/rmtc/fg_connect_gotoweb.asp

Each GoToWebinar session is unique and has its own identifier.

If you register before the meeting begins, you will receive a confirmation email from Dan Bikos <customercare@gotowebinar.com> and a new link to go directly to the session when it starts. The email has a link to check system requirements. If you register after the session has started, you will go directly to the session.

We will continue to use the VISITview site for the images. It is not necessary to log on here to view the images, but helpful if you want to actively participate: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/visitview/focus.asp

*** View past recorded sessions: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/rmtc/fg_recording.asp

To use your own independent VISITview session: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/visitview/focus_open.asp

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Esperamos que usted pueda participar en la sesión de VISIT, que tendrá lugar el jueves 26 de mayo 2016 a las 15:00 UTC.

Usaremos el software llamado GoToWebinar para las comunicaciones de voz y VISITview para visualizar las imágenes. Comenzaré la sesión 15 minutos antes, a las 14:45 UTC, para que todos los usuarios tengan la oportunidad de probar su micrófono y la conexión de voz antes de iniciar la discusión. La sesión es bilingüe (ingles y español).

Encontrará instrucciones (en inglés) e imágenes de las pantallas en esta página web: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/rmtc/fg_connect_gotoweb.asp

Cada sesión GoToWebinar es individual y requiere su propio enlace e identificador.

Regístrese para la sesión GoToWebinar de mayo en esta página:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3925216203155035140

Si se registra antes del comienzo de la sesión, recibirá un e-mail de confirmación de Dan Bikos <customercare@gotowebinar.com> un enlace que le permitirá pasar directamente a la sesión una vez que comience. El correo electrónico tiene un enlace para comprobar los requisitos del sistema (check system requirements). Si se registra después de la sesión ha comenzado , entonces se pasa directamente a la sesión.

Seguiremos utilizando VISITview para visualizar las imágenes: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/visitview/focus.asp

*** Para ver grabaciones de sesiones anteriores:

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/rmtc/fg_recording.asp

Para hacer su propia sesion de visit. No es necesario iniciar sesión aquí para ver las imágenes, pero muy útil si desea participar activamente: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/visitview/focus_open.asp

Re: Guidance for Regional Focus Group of the Americas and Caribbean (English and Spanish) 26 May

de Amos Asalu - viernes, 27 de mayo de 2016, 12:12

Congratulations Focus Group! The imagery provided very impressive and good for trainers. Very good work! I wish I participated in the session. I hope to participate in the future events.

Amos

Re: Guidance for Regional Focus Group of the Americas and Caribbean (English and Spanish) 26 May

de Bernadette Connell - viernes, 27 de mayo de 2016, 15:02

Thanks! For those of you that were unable to attend, the recording of the session and the overview (2 separate ones) can be found here :

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/training/rmtc/fg_recording.asp

One thing we mention in the overview is to collaborate on running the session, particularly if it is ongoing. This means having a designated lead and a designated facilitator. Since Mike and I have been working together for more than 10 years, we have had experience working with each other and the audience and know each other's strengths. During the session, we work together "intuitively". For example, I will ask questions or give hints to prompt people to give an answer. I admit that you were an excellent group!

Re: Guidance for Regional Focus Group of the Americas and Caribbean (English and Spanish) 26 May

de Vesa Nietosvaara - sábado, 28 de mayo de 2016, 12:02

Bernie and Mike,

many thanks for sharing your Focus Group Discussion with us on Thursday . I saw around 40 sites connecting. I could see you guys are very familiar in running these sessions, and learned a lot.

I made couple of screenshots of your session. Interesting to see how easily you seem to handle the real-time iimagery through sharing the visitview view.

In your briefing chat the facilitator seems to have clearer control compared to some other weather briefings I have attended. Have you been happy with the way how the chat between the instructors and the audience takes place?

And one more question: do you prepare a detailed script for your briefing before you actually run it? Or do you improvise a lot?

Thank you again !

Vesa

Re: Guidance for Regional Focus Group of the Americas and Caribbean (English and Spanish) 26 May

de Bernadette Connell - martes, 31 de mayo de 2016, 15:03

Hi Vesa,

We are mostly happy with how GoToWebinar works. We continue to use the VISITView software because, as you mention, it automatically grabs the realtime images put up on our RAMSDIS online server and Mike likes to and can draw on the imagery (and the drawing stays on the animating loops – until it is erased or you move to the next loop). We’ve had security type issues with the java aspects of the older VISITview software which makes it a challenge for everyone to run independently. I am hoping that we can soon upgrade the VISITview software to html5 (If you like the software, you can send a letter of support and I’ll attach that with our next funding request!) to alleviate these problems. The sound quality of GoToWebinar is very good and I like that the facilitator can easily mute/unmute participants. I wish it were easier for participants to chat with one another. Right now, the participants can only send in text in the question box and I have to forward the response.

I don’t prepare a detailed script and Mike mentioned in the overview after the session that he sits down 2 hours before the session, goes through the imagery and makes a list of what loops he wants to show. He does not prepare a detailed script. He improvises. I jump in where there are opportunities. When you have been looking at imagery regularly over a region for more than 12 years, you have picked up lots of “clues” as to what is going on and you can find all sorts of fun things to talk about in the imagery. For example, when Mike asked the question about how strong the winds are around the islands in the eastern Caribbean, he was picking up on “streaming” clouds downwind of the islands. If Kathy-Ann were in the session, she would have mentioned about the impact of those clouds for rain on downwind islands (sorry I didn’t recall that sooner). The sun is higher in the sky for us in the northern hemisphere and I was picking up on diffuse and direct sunglint patterns and what that meant for wind speed interpretation. When you get to know the participants and where they are from you can ask their interpretation.

Regards,

Bernie