Attending a Sametime Meeting

You can attend a Sametime meeting in a couple of ways. If you receive an email containing a link to the meeting, you can click on it and go directly to the meeting. Alternatively you can go to the Sametime server at http://sametime.rhsmith.umd.edu and click the Attend a Meeting button.

It’s always best to login to attend a meeting on a Sametime server, however it is not required. All meetings are secured with a password however which all participants must enter to use the meeting room.

After clicking the Attend a Meeting button you will see the meetings currently in progress. You can click on the meeting name to see details about the meeting, or click the Attend button to launch the meeting room. On the menu on the left you can also look at today’s meetings, those that are scheduled, or completed. You can also click the Unlisted Meetings link to attend a ‘hidden’ meeting, however you will need the exact name of the meeting to be able to attend it. (An unlisted meeting has to be created as such when being setup). If a meeting had been set to be recorded, you would find it under Recorded Meetings.

Note the Test Meeting link. This is a test meeting that checks to make sure that your web browser is supported and configured correctly and is a good way to check that everything on the participant's computer is ready for a Sametime meeting.

Once you’ve clicked the Attend button a new window will open and the meeting room will be prepared for you. If your web browser is not compatible, you’ll get notification here. Note that it may take a minute or two at step 3 as the Sametime component is installed into your browser. If you get a pop-up with a security warning, say Yes to enable the Sametime component or the meeting will not work. Note that if after a couple of minutes the meeting room appears to be stalled at step 3, click the Attend button again which will reload the meeting room and get you going.

If you did not login to the Sametime server you will be prompted to enter a name to identify you in the meeting, as well as enter the password for the meeting (note that this is not a login prompt to enter your own username/password).

If you did login to Sametime already, then the server already knows who you are so you’ll just be prompted for the meeting room password.

When the meeting room has finished loading, you’ll see a screen similar to above. On the top left is the list of people in the meeting room. You can ‘raise your hand’ by clicking the little hand icon. This is a polite way of getting the attention of the presenter that you have a question or comment to make.

On the Web Pages area you can paste links for pages you want the participants to look at.  Polling allows quick polls to be taken.  Group Chat allows all the participants to send messages to each other in the meeting room which is useful for meetings when there is no audio or corresponding telephone conference call.

The main area to the right is where information will be shared.

The Slides tab is where you work on the files that have been attached to the Sametime meeting (if any). You can see that you can draw shapes, add text, erase, use the ‘pointer’ etc., to collaboratively work on the attached files. Note that you must be in Presentation mode to be able to work on this page, otherwise you will just be viewing the files. Whether you are able to enable Presentation mode depends on whether that right was given when the meeting was setup. In the top-left corner of the meeting room will be a button labeled Start Presenting (or Stop Presenting if you are currently doing so). Click that to begin actively editing the files. Note that the chair of the meeting can dynamically change the rights of people to present during the meeting by clicking the Set Permissions button.

Click the Screen Sharing tab to allow other people to see (and work on if you wish) your computer screen. You can choose to share you entire screen, a portion of it, or a currently running program. Note that if you choose to select a current running program to share, and you do not keep that window on top (e.g. you open a different program or switch to another one) the shared program will stop displaying for the other participants until you bring that program back to the front of your desktop.

If you are sharing your screen and would like others to be able to move the mouse, type on your computer etc, click the Allow Control button just below and to the right of the Screen Sharing tab. If you are viewing someone else’s computer as in the example screenshot above where the Calculator program is being shared, you can click the Take Control button to be able to start controlling the presenter’s computer. Note how the initials of the person currently in control of the mouse/keyboard are next to the mouse pointer.

This method of screen sharing is an excellent way to work on a document collaboratively, or perhaps also for troubleshooting purposes as the technician can see what you can.

When you are finished presenting you can click the Stop Presenting button in the top left corner. You can end the meeting by clicking File > End Meeting if you are the chair which ends the meeting for all people. Participants can leave the meeting by either closing the window or by clicking File > Leave Meeting.

For more information on advanced usage of the Sametime Meeting rooms or for other general knowledge, please check the Sametime User Guide at http://sametime.rhsmith.umd.edu/sametime/stmtghelp/H_THE_SAMETIME_USER_S_GUIDE_6913_OVER.html