Each attendee has complete control over what they see in a Skype meeting and how large each component is. Any changes you make to the view will affect just your meeting space.

 

Chat Window: Open and close the chat window by clicking on the chat icon.   Adjust the size of the chat window by clicking the four dots in the center of the window and dragging it to the left or right.   Participant Window: Open and close the participant window by clicking on the participant icon.   Adjust the size of the participant window by clicking the four dots in the center of the window and dragging it to the left or right.  If both the chat and participants windows are open, adjust the proportion of each window by dragging the four dots in between the two windows.

 

 

Speaker views:

There are three options for viewing the speakers in Skype.  They are: Gallery View, Speaker View, Content View. 

Click the View icon by the smiley face to adjust the view.

 

Gallery View (available with three or more attendees):

Shows all the speaker's webcams or images, with the 5 most active at the top, as well as any shared content.  Click the dots below the images to adjust the image size.

 

Speaker View:

Shows only the current speaker's webcam or image, as well as any shared content.  Click the dots below the image to adjust the image size.

 

Content View:

Hides all speaker webcams and images and only displays the shared content.

 

Full Screen:

Make the meeting space full screen and auto-hide the meeting room controls by clicking the full screen button, located next to the View button.

 

Speaker pop-out:

You can also pop-out the speaker's webcam/images.  This way you can use the Content View to maximize the content, but can still see the speakers as well. 

Click the arrow by the speaker's image to pop-out the speakers.  You need to hover your mouse over the images to see the arrow.

 

It can be challenging trying to share content, keep an eye on the chat, and also speak intelligently about the meeting topic.  Presenters will be well served by experimenting with the various meeting options to find a layout that works for them.  The major options and considerations are discussed here; you can combine these in a number of ways to find something that you like.

Remember that each attendee controls how their meeting space looks; the changes you make to your view will not impact the attendee's view.

 

Monitors:

One of the big factors in determining your meeting layout is the number of monitors at your disposal.  If you are just using your laptop, it can be challenging to share content, see the chat, and see the other speakers.  If you have two monitors (your laptop plus a monitor) then there are a lot more options.

If you are using just the laptop, you should always share programs rather than your desktop.  This way, the meeting attendees won't see your meeting space as you move between the meeting room and the shared content.  It can be disconcerting to see the meeting space recede into infinity.

If you share content in a lot of meetings and don't have a second monitor, consider talking to your manager about your options for getting one.

Chat:

Chat is the big factor in the monitor question. If you have two monitors, you can have the Skype meeting room open on one monitor and your shared content open on the other.  This allows you to easily see the chat and any other speakers while also using the shared content.  You can also make the shared content large enough that it is easily seen by the meeting attendees.  This is the best case scenario for meetings.

There are three options if you are using just the laptop. 

1. Arrange the Skype meeting window and the shared content window in such a way that you can see the chat behind the shared content.
2. Occasionally stop your presentation to check the chat. Make sure you practice moving between the shared content and the chat window.
3. Ask someone to monitor the chat for you and raise questions and comments via audio.

 

Speakers:

If you are using just the laptop, the easiest way to see the speakers is to pop-out the speakers into a separate window.  This way you can stick them in an unobtrusive corner of your screen.  You can even overlay the Skype chat, the speakers, and the shared content in such a way that you can see them all.

 

Shared Content:

There are a few things to remember when sharing content:

• Make the shared content as large as possible.  Remember that the attendees are seeing the content within the meeting space and it isn't as large on their screen as it is on yours. 
• Learn the keyboard shortcuts to zoom in and out of web browsers (CTRL +/CTRL -) and how to zoom in on Word, Excel, and other documents. 
• When sharing browsers, consider hiding all the toolbars to maximize screen space, especially when using just a laptop.

Compare the image below to the one just above in the Speakers section.  It is the same layout and content, but the browser's toolbars are all hidden and the webpage is zoomed in.  The same content is displayed but it is much easier to read because there is more space available to zoom in to.

 

The Stage:

If you have two monitors, it is a good idea to show the stage in the Skype meeting.  This allows you to see exactly what the attendees see.  Note the size of the stage is not the same size as the attendees default view.

When using just the laptop, iti s difficult to juggle windows to see the stage.  However, it is still a good idea to turn it on.  This way if the attendees mention they aren't seeing something, you can jump back to the meeting space to see if you've forgotten to share something or if there is a problem with the shared content.

Keep in mind there is often a lag in streaming the shared content to the attendees.  Keeping an eye on the stage is a good way to see when the content has loaded for the attendees.

Learn how to turn the stage on and off (Skype training documentation).

There are a lot of different options for storing shared materials.  The best practice is to use an online option provided by Walden. This way your content is automatically backed up, is available to all attendees at any time, is easily accessed via a link, and is in a platform that everyone knows how to use.  Here is a rundown of the various options for storing shared material.

 

Online: Office 365—OneDrive, SharePoint site, Yammer

Storing all meeting content in Office 365 is the best practice.  This means OneDrive or a SharePoint site.  OneDrive is your personal online storage; SharePoint is a department site.

The departmental SharePoint site is the preferred storage space.  Using your department's SharePoint site means the content is readily available if you leave a project, a working group, or the university.  Always think about long-term access when deciding where to store meeting content.

You can control access to materials in both OneDrive and SharePoint by assigning permissions.  You can share the material with just one person or everyone in Walden University, and can set permissions for reading the material, editing it, or complete control over it.  Depending on how your departmental SharePoint site is set up, your department SP admin may need to help you with permissions.

 

SharePoint is best for:

• meetings related to ongoing projects or working groups
• meetings requiring archived meeting notes or documentation
• ongoing meetings where the presenters and attendees are likely to change over time

Talk to your manager about your departmental SharePoint site.

Talk to Lisa Raymond about the CSS SharePoint site (for CSS projects and working groups).

See Microsoft training materials about SharePoint sites.

 

OneDrive is best for:

• one-time meetings that don't need archived meeting notes or documentation

See Microsoft training materials on using OneDrive.

 

Yammer:

You can create a private group for your ongoing project or working group in the Walden University Yammer network.  Once you do this, you can upload all of your meeting materials into the Yammer group, and can have discussions there as well.  Yammer may be a good choice for long-term projects, working groups, and other meetings that will be around for an extended period of time.

If you do create a Yammer group, be sure to make it private.  That way you won't get random Walden University staff dropping into your group.

See Microsoft training materials on using Yammer.

 

Network Share Drives: (J drive or other department network drive)

The network share drives are backed up daily, which makes them better than your personal computer for storing meeting content.  However, you must be on VPN to access the network drives and it is difficult to link to a document stored on a shared drive.  For these reasons, network shared drives are not a good option for storing meeting content.

 

Google Drive:

The university is considering moving away from Google and moving all students and faculty into Office 365 in the coming year.  For this reason, you should avoid using any Google product to store meeting content.

 

Your computer:

Your computer is the last choice for storing meeting documents, as no one can access them but you.  You have to email or upload  the meeting materials before the meeting in order for the attendees to access it.  It is fine to create the content on your computer, but then you should upload it to SharePoint or OneDrive.  Best practice is to upload the content before you send the meeting invite, so you can put the content links into the initiation.  If you aren't ready to create the content, at least make the documents and put them online.  This way you can get the link, add it to the meeting invite, and then go back and add the actual content later.

Learn how to share your desktop in Skype (Skype training documentation).

Learn how to share a program in Skype (Skype training documentation).

You can share your desktop or one or more programs in Skype (or both).

Sharing your desktop is easier, especially if you need to share content in different programs.  However, when sharing your desktop it is easy to accidently show something to the attendees you didn't intend to or be seen fumbling around when things aren't working quite as planned. 

Sharing programs is more clunky, especially when you need to share content in different programs.  However, when sharing programs you have complete control over what the attendees see and you are less likely to display something accidently.

And remember, there is a yellow line around anything that is shared and adds the Presenting Toolbar at the top of the page.  If you can't find the shared content in your various open windows, look for the yellow line and the toolbar.

 

Share your desktop:

• when you need to share multiple programs
• when you aren't concerned with the attendees seeing you move between programs
• when you have multiple monitors or are in an informal meeting and it is OK if the attendees occasionally see the meeting space when you check the chat
• with the complete understanding that the attendees can see everything on your shared desktop including email and IM pop-up notifications and the taskbar (showing other programs you may have open)

If you intend to share your desktop, it is a good idea to close any programs that you don't need for the meeting.  This provides an uncluttered view to the attendees and reduces the likelihood of accidently showing something unintentionally.

Note: If you are sharing content, Skype automatically puts you in DND mode (denoted by a red circle with a white line through it) which by default blocks all Skype IM and meeting alerts.  You can also manually set your Skype availability to DND. Manage your Skype DND alerts in the Skype Alert options.

See information on setting Skype options.

 

Share programs:

• when you need complete control over the shared content
• when you need to take personal notes or do other things that the attendees shouldn't see
• if you get pop-up notifications

Learn how to share a PowerPoint presentation in Skype (Skype training documentation).

When sharing a PowerPoint presentation, always upload the presentation to the meeting space and use the "Present PowerPoint Files" feature. Do not share the PowerPoint program itself.  There are a few reasons why presenting the PowerPoint is the better option.

• Present PowerPoint always uses slide show view.  You don't have to mess with launching the slide show in PowerPoint.
• If given permission, the attendees can look at the slides independently and download the presentation.
• The presenter and the attendees can see any notes included in the presentation.
• If given permission, the attendees can annotate the presentation slides, which can be great for brainstorming.

If you need to move between PowerPoint and other programs be sure to practice switching between shared content.

You can attach or upload any type of file to the Skype meeting space.  This is an easy way to provide materials that the attendees need to download. You cannot share or present the uploaded files during the meeting.  The uploaded files are only available to download.

Learn how to upload files to Skype (Skype training documentation).

Whiteboards are a handy way to brainstorm and collaborate in a meeting.  If given permission, attendees can write, draw, and paste images on a whiteboard.

Whiteboards can be confusing for attendees. If you use a whiteboard, make sure you practice with it before the meeting and be prepared to quickly explain to the attendees how to interact with the whiteboard.

Learn how to use whiteboards in Skype (Skype training documentation).

It is almost impossible to effectively share video in a virtual meeting due to the challenges of streaming a large amount of data across a number of internet connections.  Audio and video lags are common.  Do not share video in a virtual meeting.

If a video is absolutely required, provide it before the meeting so all attendees can download it and watch it ahead of time.