Videoconferencing and Telehealth - what you need to know to book a session... and other useful stuff!

Transcription

1 Videoconferencing and Telehealth - what you need to know to book a session.. and other useful stuff! Revised: September 2012

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3 1. Book your room! Part One: Booking a Videoconference (VC) Meeting That s always the first thing to do! And remind the people you are connecting with to book their rooms as well! 2. Connection details. You will need your VC connection details, as well as the connection details for the site(s) you are connecting with. VC connections are either by ISDN (look like a phone number) or by IP (e.g ). Note: Please refer to the Telehealth Portal at for a complete and current listing of connection details for the following sites: all First Nations health centres in Alberta all Tribal Council and Treaty area offices in Alberta equipped with VC all FNIH Health Canada sites in Canada Place and Calgary Also see section 4 Determine if you need a bridge. 3. IF this is between you and one other site - decide who is calling whom. It s a good idea to do a test call a few days ahead of time if either party is unsure of the technology or this is a new site you are connecting to. The day of your meeting, arrange to connect at least 15 to 20 minutes before the actual starting time of your meeting. This gives you time to handle any glitches.

4 4. Book your session with FNIH Telehealth. Visit the Telehealth Portal at firstnationsth.ca to go to the Online VC Booking Tool. Please give us as much notice as possible: o For a Point-to-Point --> minimum of 1-2 business days o For a Bridged Meeting/Invite Education Session --> minimum 3 business days o For an Open Education Session or Series --> minimum 2 weeks NOTE: FNIH Telehealth has the connection details for the following sites: o all First Nations health centres in Alberta o all Alberta provincial health centres o all FNIH Health Canada sites in Edmonton and in Calgary. If you are connecting with sites other than those listed above, you will need to provide us with the VC connection details ISDN or IP. 5. Make other technical arrangements as necessary. You may want to show the other site a powerpoint presentation or something on your laptop; or have some participants join via telephone only. Please make sure you identify in the Online Booking Tool if you will require assistance with this. 6. Distribute connection details to all participants. IF you have booked a bridge with FNIH Telehealth, your connection details will be posted on the Telehealth Portal at Click on the appropriate calendar tab at the top. Then click in the calendar on the date of your session where your meeting is listed. A bridge help number will also be posted. Phone the bridge help number provided for your specific session if you have difficulties connecting the day of the session. 7. Enjoy your meeting!

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6 Part Two: The 10 Step Overview of How to Videoconference 1. Turn the TV on. The screen should display. NOTE: If your TV says No Signal you will need to: a. Double check the input is correct b. Check to ensure the Polycom is on (see step 2) 2. Turn the Polycom on with the button or switch that is located either at the back of the Polycom unit on the left hand side as you face the TV and Polycom or centered in the front of the Polycom unit. Listen for the music-that-sounds-like-you re-in-a-movietheatre as the system starts up 3. Open the shutter by sliding the button on top of the Polycom camera. 4. Press near on the Polycom remote and use the directional arrows to adjust your camera so that all participants are on screen. 5. If you aren t already, be sure to mute your microphone until you are connected and ready to speak 6. Know how you are being connected: a. If the bridge is connecting you, do not push any buttons and wait to be connected b. If you are dialling the site, press the call button on the Polycom remote and enter the IP address in the Place a Call field and push the call button again 7. Watch the circular icon on the lower left of the screen and listen to the dialling tone. When the circular icon turns green, you are connected to your call. 8. If you are on a multi-point bridged call, unmute your microphone only when speaking, and mute again when you are finished. 9. When the session is finished, press the hang up button to disconnect. 10. Turn the TV off. The Polycom should be left on as our policy is to leave the Polycom cameras on at all the times. You can close the shutter on the camera though. Please refer to the manual How-To Videoconferece. without being a technical geek for complete, detailed instructions.

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8 Part Three: Other Useful Stuff to Know 1. I have a bridge meeting scheduled and I need the connection details! There is a section on the Telehealth Portal that lists all meetings and clinical appointments scheduled to occur over Telehealth videoconference at Health Centres, Tribal Offices, and Canada Place. This can be found at then select the Community Cal tab. be listed there. All connection details and meeting/appointment coordinator information is listed on this calendar. A bridge help phone number for the specific call will also Please check this tab for your connection details and Help / Contact phone number for each call. 2. What s the deal with this Telehealth Portal and these educational sessions I hear about? FNIH Telehealth advertises education learning sessions on the Telehealth Portal that you can register for and attend by videoconference. The Telehealth Portal is located at The topics are generally Health related (we are Telehealth after all) but not always! There are many interesting, informative sessions advertised. The Telehealth Portal Home Page lists all Upcoming Registration Deadlines, New Videoconferences Added, and more! You can access information about each session by clicking on the links here. You can also view all sessions by clicking on the Education Cal tab which provides a calendar showing all education sessions available each month. Please refer to the help sheet Educational Sessions YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR for further instructions.

9 3. I d like to be notified when new sessions are posted that I can register for! No problem! Visit our trusty Telehealth Portal at firstnationsth.ca and select the Receive Notifications link under Quick Links. Fill in the requested information, making sure to check the box that says Receive Notifications of new and upcoming video conferences. Or for the added benefit of when you are logged into the Telehealth Portal and register for education sessions, the Telehealth Portal will fill in your name and address for you, simply select the User Registration after clicking to Receive Notifications! You will also be able to search and filter sessions by your registrations. 4. There is helpful information posted on the Telehealth Portal! There are several documents available on the Telehealth Portal for you to access, to help make videoconferencing easier. Just go to and select the Help / Info tab. You can find all kinds of documents ranging from FAQ s / How-to s, Contact Directories, FNIH Telehealth Statistics, and Other Documents! 5. Can other people see me when on a videoconference? YES!! A videoconference is pretty much the same as a face-to-face meeting. It s just that the other faces are on a screen. If you wouldn t do something at a face-to-face meeting don t do it in a videoconference! All sites that are connected to the session may be able to see you. 6. What s the big deal with the microphone? In a videoconference, which ever site makes a sound last, is the site that everyone else will see. The microphones are very sensitive! This means that if you flip a page, or sneeze and your microphone is not muted all the other sites are now looking at you, rather than at the presenter. (Bottom line it s very annoying and interrupts the session.) So keep your microphone muted until you want to speak and be heard and thus seen! Then mute your microphone again.

10 7. The equipment doesn t seem to be working correctly what should I do? There are a few things you can try on your own. a) Try shutting the camera off, waiting 20 seconds, then turning it back on. This is called rebooting sometimes this helps. b) Can t see the video welcome screen? Check to make sure your TV monitor is turned on. Check the input that is selected on your TV screen this will be using the TV remote. c) Can t hear the other site? Ask them if their microphone is muted. Turn the volume up using the TV remote, then turn the volume up using the Polycom remote. d) Can t connect when you dial the other site? If this is a point-to-point, check to make sure you have the correct connection details. Call the other site and make sure their equipment is turned on. If this is a bridge call that you have arranged with FHIH Telehealth, call the Help line phone number listed on the calendar for this call for your site. e) When talking with the bridge or if you call FNIH Telehealth to troubleshoot, it s most helpful if you can be as specific as possible about what is or isn t happening. Please also refer to the Troubleshooting section at the back of the complete How-To Videoconference without being a technical geek manual 8. The equipment still isn t working. Should I try wiggling the cables and cords? No! Please don t wiggle or disconnect any cables or power supply cords. Just call us and we ll troubleshoot with you over the phone or we ll just come to the room. It s never a bother to answer a call. No matter how small the question or problem. We ve had people call asking how to turn the TV on, how to turn the volume up, how to adjust the camera. If you ve never done this before how would you know! Just call us it s never a problem.

11 9. I still have questions! Help!! Feel free to call us at any time with any and all questions. It s never a problem to answer an enquiry. The Telehealth Team ph: cell: videoc@hc-sc.gc.ca

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