Can you participate? (part 2)

Last week, I posted about the importance of having a microphone and preferably a headset. Having a camera enables you to have 'face-to-face' conversations through iChat, Google Video, Google Plus Hangouts, Skype, Elluminate, Adobe Connect and any other web conferencing software.

With a webcam, and the ability to share documents or your computer screen, it's the next best thing to being there.

The best thing is that most laptop computers sold in the last few years have a camera built in.  If you have a desktop or a laptop that doesn't have one, they are cheap. You can pick one up at stores that sell computer supplies for as little as $15-$30.  Just search for "webcam" Many of those even include a built-in microphone.  Of course, you can spend a lot more, but for most uses, a cheap one is just fine. At the low end, you will get a camera that shoots at 1.3 meapixels. As with most things, as you improve the quality (more megapixels) the price goes up.

Note: Be sure to verify that the camera will work with your operating system.  Not all work with Macs.

Unity ID or Full Name Alias?

I often get questions similar to this: 

I'm not sure I understand the full name alias thing. My email account and sign in say my email address is unityID@ncsu.edu
However, my NC State information says its full_name@ncsu.edu

"jdorner" is my unity id.  jdorner@ncsu.edu is the address of my email account. This is permanent (as long as I am with NCSU). 

john_dorner@ncsu.edu is an alias email address for jdorner@ncsu.edu  (note: email addresses are not case sensitive, so John_Dorner@ncsu.edu is the same as john_dorner@ncsu.edu).

Any mail sent to john_dorner@ncsu.edu will be delivered to jdorner@ncsu.edu or redirected to whatever email address I have specified (e.g.  I was having my mail forwarded to a county mailbox).

If your name were to change (getting married or divorced), your alias would change, but your unityid wouldn't.

I use my john_dorner@ncsu.edu for just about everything asking for my email address.  That's what's on my business cards and my default mail address when I send email.  It's a lot more 'human friendly' and it's easier to remember which address I used if I use the same address for everything.

The only time I use my jdorner@ncsu.edu is when I'm logging in to something on an NCSU server.  You would have to use jdorner@ncsu.edu if you want to share a Google Document or calendar with me.  Other than that, I'd use john_dorner@ncsu.edu.

Clear as mud now?

Let me know if you have any questions!

Can you participate?

Now that everyone at NCSU has Google Apps, there are lots of features you will want to use that you probably haven't tried yet. But, the ones I'm going to talk about here require one small purchase if you don't have laptop computer - a headset! Even if you have a laptop, a headset is recommended so you don't annoy those around you, can have private conversations and don't have to worry about the others in the conversations hearing echos of everything said.


Features in Google Apps that you will want to try are "voice calling" and "video call" from chat, "call phone" and Google Plus. Voice calling and video call work from the chat feature.  "Call phone" lets you call long distance for free.  Google Plus has 'hang outs' where you can have voice/video conference calls with up to 10 people and collaborate or share your screen.  Note: currently Google Plus is not available with NCSU's Google Apps, but you can use your eXtensionID@extension.org and your eXtension password or your personal Google account to use it.

You can also use it with Skype to talk to people around the world for free. All you need is Skype installed on your (and their) computer.

If you want to try any of these or have questions, let me know.


It's budget planning time.  If everyone in your office doesn't already have their own headset, go ahead now and budget (or get your director to budget) the $25-$50 per person for a headset. If you can eliminate traveling to just one face-to-face meeting, you've saved the cost of the headset.

What kind of headset do you need? It depends. Personally, I recommend a USB headset because they will work with both macs and windows computers and they are easier to plug in than the kind with two 3.5mm round plugs (no fiddling trying to find which port is the microphone and which is the speaker) and the audio quality is generally better.

Next decision is stereo or monaural.  If you are in a noisy environment (like most of our secretaries) I recommend a stereo headset with leatherette covers.  Those block out a lot of the background noise and make it more noticeable that you are not available to talk.  If you are in a quiet office or want to be able to hear everything that is going on around you (which can be distracting), get a monaural headset with foam covers.  I have found the monaural to be more comfortable. I can wear my monaural headset all day long with no discomfort.  The few stereo headsets I've used felt like they were pressing my ears against my head and were uncomfortable for extended use.  I'm sure there are stereo headsets that would fit better than the ones I've used.

Once you have a headset, then you will be able to fully participate in web conferencing sessions, listen to podcasts, watch video, and much more all without disturbing others.

Google Calendar Handout

Andy Click in the NCSU College of Natural Resources, shared the handout he uses for teaching his class on Google Calendar.

https://docs.google.com/a/ncsu.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B380oixtu6yQNmZkZjZjMDgtOGViMy00OTc1LWEyNDUtYmZmMjI5NTUxYzdj&hl=en_US

If you are going to print it, you might want to Download the original.

Great tool!

Thanks Andy for sharing!