Attendant for Zoom

[carlroger]

Hello everyone

 

I'd like to share an app for iOS I've been using for a while as Zoom host. It's called "Attendant for Zoom" and it's absolutely amazing. Here's a link: Attendant for Zoom in the App Store

 

The app helps you do a lot of stuff like admitting participants from the waiting room. Mute/unmute, where there’s a neat function where you can unmute and lower hand with just one tap. If the participants have their attendee count in their screen name, the app can automatically count the attendees. You get a great overview of the participants, which is extremely handy at the Watchtower and when there's discussion. Automatically readmit participants if they get disconnected. Automatically rename participants. And a LOT MORE.

 

Just wanted to share! Stay safe ☺️

 

/Carl

[BPelder]

Is this only for iOS?  It won't work on a mac?

[carlroger]

3 hours ago, BPelder said:

Is this only for iOS?  It won't work on a mac?

No it’s only for iOS. A Mac app would be great though. I’m currently looking in to making my own web based system, but I’m not sure if it’s possible. 

[LoneWanderer]

I wonder how this app counts participants who use a device name that has a number in it. Like sometimes we have participants that are called something like LG Stylo 6. Don't want to have someone counted six times 😉

[carlroger]

On 2/11/2021 at 6:54 PM, LoneWanderer said:

I wonder how this app counts participants who use a device name that has a number in it. Like sometimes we have participants that are called something like LG Stylo 6. Don't want to have someone counted six times 😉

You have to have some kind of "rule" to how participants are named. I our congregation we are instructed to use the format Last Name, First Initial, No. participants, like this: "Petersson, W. 4". Only thing the participants have to be aware of when connecting is to change the count if necessary.

And as a huge bonus, you'll have a clean overview of all the participants if they are named the same way, and you'll always know who the participants are.

[Floyd]

We can't even get people to put their name in. We still get Samsung Phone or iPhone and stuff like that. But we have not forced the issue either. But I don't like forcing people to do something that doesn't matter that much anyway.

[Qapla]

We don't have a rule you must change your name. If you enter with the name of your device showing and the attendant knows how you are, he will change it for you. If you enter and are not recognized and refuse to give your name - you will be dropped ... but you not have to change your name - you can simply not come back.

 

The thing is, a JW who follows "decent and by arrangement" will not look at it as "forcing the issue", they will view it as following direction and happily change the name.

 

[LRJW]

I downloaded this app and tried to use it during the meeting, but it wouldn't work.  When I tried to connect, it gave me an error saying: 

 

"Unable to Join Meeting" 

"Error: the mobiletc version is incompatible"

 

Any ideas? 

[carlroger]

I downloaded this app and tried to use it during the meeting, but it wouldn't work.  When I tried to connect, it gave me an error saying: 
 
"Unable to Join Meeting" 
"Error: the mobiletc version is incompatible"
 
Any ideas? 

Are you running the latest version of Zoom?


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[TylerD]

7 hours ago, LRJW said:

I downloaded this app and tried to use it during the meeting, but it wouldn't work.  When I tried to connect, it gave me an error saying: 

 

"Unable to Join Meeting" 

"Error: the mobiletc version is incompatible"

 

Any ideas? 

Is your congregation using an organization account? I saw recently that third-party apps that use the Zoom SDK are not allowed to connect to meetings that are hosted with the organization account. So the branch must not want third-party apps to connect to the meetings at the moment. Maybe for security reasons. That is my guess.

Edited February 24, 2021 by TylerD

[LRJW]

14 hours ago, TylerD said:

Is your congregation using an organization account? I saw recently that third-party apps that use the Zoom SDK are not allowed to connect to meetings that are hosted with the organization account. So the branch must not want third-party apps to connect to the meetings at the moment. Maybe for security reasons. That is my guess.

That must be it. Thanks!

[carlroger]

Is your congregation using an organization account? I saw recently that third-party apps that use the Zoom SDK are not allowed to connect to meetings that are hosted with the organization account. So the branch must not want third-party apps to connect to the meetings at the moment. Maybe for security reasons. That is my guess.

Makes sense.


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[Floyd]

On 2/21/2021 at 2:30 PM, Qapla said:

The thing is, a JW who follows "decent and by arrangement" will not look at it as "forcing the issue", they will view it as following direction and happily change the name.

 

 

We have to be "reasonable." - 1 Tim. 3:3. A reasonable person "does not make issues of minor matters." - w90 9/1 pp. 23-28.

 

[carlroger]

 
We have to be "reasonable." - 1 Tim. 3:3. A reasonable person "does not make issues of minor matters." - w90 9/1 pp. 23-28.
 

Yes! But we have to remember that the direction given is that the names must be recognizable by others. And then why not instruct the congregation what format the BOE has decided them to name themselves? It can all be done reasonable and without making “issues of minor matters”. Having recognisable screen names can’t be minor since the instructions are pretty clear on that matter


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[Floyd]

6 minutes ago, carlroger said:

Yes! But we have to remember that the direction given is that the names must be recognizable by others. And then why not instruct the congregation what format the BOE has decided them to name themselves? It can all be done reasonable and without making “issues of minor matters”. Having recognisable screen names can’t be minor since the instructions are pretty clear on that matter


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We have some who are just not capable of doing that. As far as the "direction" or "instructions" its the job of the attendant to handle the screen names not the publishers. Now for my personal opinion the BOE cannot go beyond what is written from the organization. The organization said "recognizable." I don't feel like we have any business asking more than that and again this would be the job of the attendant. I feel like we are starting to "fight over words" (2 Tim 2:14) so I am going to stop myself here. We are all on the same side.

I just want to add an experience. We have been encouraged to sit toward the front of the Hall. So as a BOE we decided the block off a few rows in the back since our Hall was only about 50% used. The CO came around and said we could do that. We cannot force the friends to do something they may not want to do. Its enough that they are here at the meetings.
 

Our BOE feels its enough that the friends are on the Zoom meeting.

 

 

 

[carlroger]

11 minutes ago, Floyd said:

We have some who are just not capable of doing that. As far as the "direction" or "instructions" its the job of the attendant to handle the screen names not the publishers. Now for my personal opinion the BOE cannot go beyond what is written from the organization. The organization said "recognizable." I don't feel like we have any business asking more than that and again this would be the job of the attendant. I feel like we are starting to "fight over words" (2 Tim 2:14) so I am going to stop myself here. We are all on the same side.

I just want to add an experience. We have been encouraged to sit toward the front of the Hall. So as a BOE we decided the block off a few rows in the back since our Hall was only about 50% used. The CO came around and said we could do that. We cannot force the friends to do something they may not want to do. Its enough that they are here at the meetings.
 

Our BOE feels its enough that the friends are on the Zoom meeting.

 

 

 

I am very sorry dear brother if I've caused you to feel that we're starting a fight over words. That was absolutely not my intention, so please forgive me.

 

I totally understand the challenge in having brothers who are not capable of doing anything beyond connection to the Zoom meeting. We have a lot of those brothers and sisters in our congregation. Probably 15-20% of the publishers are in that exact category - technically challenged. And of course we don't force them to do anything. In the early Zoom beginning, we made a Zoom task force, of skilled brothers and sisters who got some training in Zoom. And we made a manual for the congregation outlining each step in how to make their devices ready for Zoom and how to use the app in a meeting. Even though the manual was extremely detailed and didn't leave anything out, we still had brothers and sisters who couldn't figure it out - even though they just had to follow the step-by-step guide. So to help them, we drove out to those who had the problems and helped them set up their device (using all of the necessary Covid precautions). One of those things involved typing in their screen name and how many they usually would attend. We use the format last name, first name initial and attendance, like this "Johnsson P. 2". After that, the device remembers the screen name, and all the attendant has to do is to correct the attendance number (which almost never is necessary).

Today we don't have any "problems" with those who are technically challenged.

 

Again brother Floyd - I am sorry if I in any way offended you in my last posts.

[Floyd]

5 hours ago, carlroger said:

I am very sorry dear brother if I've caused you to feel that we're starting a fight over words. That was absolutely not my intention, so please forgive me.

 

Oh no. I felt it was more me than you. I have a natural tendency to "win" and so if I don't stop myself I will just keep going and going and I don't want to do that here or with any of my brothers.

[Intercore]

Not to deviate from the original topic, but here in our congregation hosts/co-hosts rename or correct attendants' names if they are not recognizable or written with mistakes. In my opinion, it's not fair to expect for everyone of our brothers and sisters, especially for those technically challenged, to check their names and correct them every time, most of them don't know what that means and just don't notice some spelling errors or other mistakes in their names. So, it's just easier and more simple for accountable brothers to do that for them. And I don't see any problem there, I do that every time I host the meeting, and it's not that hard. And because of that meeting looks more orderly 😉

Edited February 27, 2021 by Intercore

[LRJW]

On 2/27/2021 at 12:57 PM, Intercore said:

Not to deviate from the original topic, but here in our congregation hosts/co-hosts rename or correct attendants' names if they are not recognizable or written with mistakes. In my opinion, it's not fair to expect for everyone of our brothers and sisters, especially for those technically challenged, to check their names and correct them every time, most of them don't know what that means and just don't notice some spelling errors or other mistakes in their names. So, it's just easier and more simple for accountable brothers to do that for them. And I don't see any problem there, I do that every time I host the meeting, and it's not that hard. And because of that meeting looks more orderly 😉

Same here.  We have a Bible student who somehow put the first half of the password as her name.  It's easy to see how it was done; she thought she was inputting the password.  

 

Her Bible teacher has offered to show her how to change it, but she simply can't get it.  But we know who she is, so we just change it for her.  

 

And although we do occasionally remind the friends to make sure they're muted once the meeting begins, unless they're participating in the meeting, we still have a few that we keep an eye on and mute them when we see them unmuted.  Some will unmute themselves thinking they're doing the opposite, or thinking they're raising their hand. 

 

We've stopped harping on it and just do it for them.  And the results have been good.  Several brothers and sisters who have visited from other congregations have remarked on how smooth and distraction-free our meetings are compared to theirs.  

[Qapla]

We have this "splash screen" posted at the "2 minute warning" for our meetings - it has helped quite a bit

[Mark]

On 2/27/2021 at 1:50 PM, Floyd said:

 

We have to be "reasonable." - 1 Tim. 3:3. A reasonable person "does not make issues of minor matters." - w90 9/1 pp. 23-28.

As the brother assigned to do the count it would make my job so much easier if we had a formal system. Our cong has never had any sort of education in regard to Zoom. Unfortunately our our dear COBE is a bit old school and doesn't see the need. The best I have been able to do is create a spread sheet and enter the number of attendees. Some have the number after their name, many don't and those who do often forget to change the number as required. Despite repeated requests the COBE doesn't see the need to ask the brothers to do so. With those with cameras off and no attendance number I can only take a best guess. More than once I have counted 1 attendee then after I have submitted the count they turn their camera on and I see 6 people in the room. Also, I am neither a host or co-host which complicates things. I have heard of congs using the polling feature to count attendees. Any input or ideas would be welcome.

OH....and one for thing and Id be grateful for your feedback. Our COBE feels its acceptable to assign sisters as co-hosts, even though we have many very capable brothers, including elders, servants and unappointed brothers in good standing and who are willing to accept an assignment but not used. This has disturbed some in our cong as we would not use sisters to handle the roving mics if there are qualified brothers able to do so. Your thoughts?

 

Edited April 11, 2021 by carlos

[carlroger]

On 4/5/2021 at 9:12 AM, Mark said:

As the brother assigned to do the count it would make my job so much easier if we had a formal system. Our cong has never had any sort of education in regard to Zoom. Unfortunately our our dear COBE is a bit old school and doesn't see the need. The best I have been able to do is create a spread sheet and enter the number of attendees. Some have the number after their name, many don't and those who do often forget to change the number as required. Despite repeated requests the COBE doesn't see the need to ask the brothers to do so. With those with cameras off and no attendance number I can only take a best guess. More than once I have counted 1 attendee then after I have submitted the count they turn their camera on and I see 6 people in the room. Also, I am neither a host or co-host which complicates things. I have heard of congs using the polling feature to count attendees. Any input or ideas would be welcome.

OH....and one for thing and Id be grateful for your feedback. Our COBE feels its acceptable to assign sisters as co-hosts, even though we have many very capable brothers, including elders, servants and unappointed brothers in good standing and who are willing to accept an assignment but not used. This has disturbed some in our cong as we would not use sisters to handle the roving mics if there are qualified brothers able to do so. Your thoughts?

 

I've recently heard from several congregations using the polling function to get the number of attendees. And I've heard a lot of positive feedback. There is some caveats though. Only the host can create the polls and launch them, and he'll be the one doing the math afterwards. You can read more about the polling function here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/213756303-Polling-for-meetings

Also, some elderly and technically challenged people could have some issues finding out how to use the function. The main 3 methods I know about on how to take the number of attendees is:

1. Enter the number in the screen name.

2. Using the polling function.

3. After each meeting, you give the number to the group overseer which sends the total number to the COBE.

If you use option one, the "Attendant for Zoom" app can do the counting for you with just a couple of taps.

 

Sisters can be used as hosts/co-hosts but only if there aren't any qualified brothers present. The same goes for the audio/video system in the Kingdom Hall. And as you explain yourself, you have many capable brothers, so the use of sisters for the task shouldn't be necessary. And if it brings disturbance in the congregation, the elders should definitely act on it.

 

The BOE shouldn't be afraid to make some guidelines for Zoom. That being how to name yourself, how to use the microphone, how to comment using the 'raise hand' button etc. Having guidelines is a loving way to help the congregation and brings the order to the Zoom meetings as one would expect Jehovah wants us to do it. He is a God of order and therefore our meetings should reflect that (1 Cor 14:33). I've given talks in several congregations where there clearly isn't any "formal system", and visiting such congregations is very confusing. And after one year of Zoom meetings it is obvious that the brothers and sisters in those congregations are just as confused as I was as a foreigner to their "system" (or lack of).

[LRJW]

We've just begun using the polling feature.  We copied the message that was done for JW Stream Studio - something like "Please indicate the number of people viewing the program on this device".   

 

The first time, half of the attendees didn't bother or accidentally closed the poll window on their screen before choosing a number.  

 

So what we do now is right before the announcements at the end of the meeting, we say something like "In a few seconds you will see a question pop up on your screen.  Please select the answer that applies and then submit" (we have multiple choice from 1 to 10).  

 

Since we've done that, we've had very few who don't select something. 

 

Afterwards, I go into the poll report for that meeting on the Zoom website, and I also download the "meeting usage" report which breaks down how many unique screen names attended.  Then I compare the two lists and come up with a fairly accurate number. 

 

The only downside is that those calling in by phone don't see the poll. 

[Hope]

36 minutes ago, LRJW said:

We've just begun using the polling feature.  We copied the message that was done for JW Stream Studio - something like "Please indicate the number of people viewing the program on this device".   

 

The first time, half of the attendees didn't bother or accidentally closed the poll window on their screen before choosing a number.  

 

So what we do now is right before the announcements at the end of the meeting, we say something like "In a few seconds you will see a question pop up on your screen.  Please select the answer that applies and then submit" (we have multiple choice from 1 to 10).  

 

Since we've done that, we've had very few who don't select something. 

 

Afterwards, I go into the poll report for that meeting on the Zoom website, and I also download the "meeting usage" report which breaks down how many unique screen names attended.  Then I compare the two lists and come up with a fairly accurate number. 

 

The only downside is that those calling in by phone don't see the poll. 

We've been using the poll feature since nearly the beginning but have been putting it at the front of the meeting for about a month.  That's a LOT better- you can't really do anything before selecting a number coz it's right in your face.  I never even see how you can opt out of it.

 

At the beginning of meeting is better because it counts everyone who logs on, regardless of how long they stay. When we had it at end of meeting, it was inaccurate because some leave before it's over.

[LRJW]

29 minutes ago, Hope said:

We've been using the poll feature since nearly the beginning but have been putting it at the front of the meeting for about a month.  That's a LOT better- you can't really do anything before selecting a number coz it's right in your face.  I never even see how you can opt out of it.

 

At the beginning of meeting is better because it counts everyone who logs on, regardless of how long they stay. When we had it at end of meeting, it was inaccurate because some leave before it's over.

That's a good point.  Maybe we should make the brief announcement at the beginning.  

 

If you're on a computer, the poll pops up on the monitor with the little x button in the upper corner allowing you to close the window without selecting a number.  That's been our experience, at least.  

 

Thanks for sharing what your congregation does.  It does make sense that some will leave before it's finished.