RC Webinars 
Information and Organizing Tools

(updated 7.19.23)

BASIC INFORMATION

RC Webinars are online classes with leaders and topics approved and organized for the International RC Community. Their duration is usually 2 to 2.5 hours. Usually there will be several mini-sessions in the webinar, there could be demonstrations. 

The Re-evaluation Foundation offers business Zoom accounts for RC webinars that allow up to 300 people (contact MaryRuth Gross). (The business account also offers interpretation channels.)  Many of our webinars have had more than the 100 people allowed in the Pro account.  The Foundation also has a few licenses for events of 500 or 1000 people.

If you will do interpretation of the webinar (strongly suggested), the leader, organizer, and tech will need to learn about how to best use the Zoom interpretation tool and closed captioning.  The leader will need to pace their speaking to allow time for interpretation.  We strongly suggest practicing this all together in advance of the actual webinar.

We want organizers to charge a fee for the RC Webinar, with a fee paid to the leader for leading the two webinars (75% of the leader’s daily workshop fee [see Guideline H.11.] for leading two webinars, 37.5% of the leader's daily fee for one webinar), the organizer, and tech leader (see Guideline H.5.A) and excess to the Community Service Fund of RCCR.  (We are using Form 400A [for Regional and International workshops] for the accounting, and you can find it here.)  We suggest a sliding scale of from $0 to $50 US. While we know some people can't pay anything, do remind people that payment supports the work of the International Community. Please send at least one reminder about payment after the webinar. Our experience is that over time fewer people who have means to pay are paying for webinars in advance, but with a reminder do submit a payment.

We are requiring ARP or RRP approval to attend. The RC webinars will be approved by Tim and announced through “broadcast” emails to subscribers of all email lists.  Any leader can also announce their webinar in any other way they wish.  Each webinar should have a leader, an organizer, and a tech lead (someone could be both organizer and tech, but that is a lot of work).  Any requirements for the webinar (i.e. membership in a constituency, length of time in RC) should be stated in the posted description. Attendance at RC webinars is limited to RCers, and applicants must be approved by a Reference Person.

Organizers apply for a registration link here. People “register” for a webinar in advance through the link.  We’re not using the “registration” feature on Zoom because Zoom gathers and sell the personal data. Using the RC website to organize your webinar gives you access to bulk emailing, which greatly simplifies communication with so many people.

The organizer drafts a reply email that is sent automatically when someone registers.  It should include the Zoom link to attend, basic information, and information about how to pay for the webinar. Please ask participants not to share the link.  (A sample letter is below.) 

There is no other registration, and no roster is required.  People pay what they decide, using the sliding scale.  The organizers don’t have to track who has paid and who hasn’t (honor system), but please do send out a note to everyone after the event to remind people to pay if they haven’t.  (The bulk emailer connected to the event registration can send out this email as well.)

You can use the break-out rooms for mini-sessions, and they can be randomly assigned or randomly assigned within constituencies as your leader decides, so things can move quickly. 

Organizers and tech leaders report that it is very useful to have an outline of the plan for the webinar in advance, with an estimate of when mini-sessions will be held and how many there will be.

These webinars could be intended for specific parts of the RC Community. Some may be aimed at very experienced Co-Counselors, but many should be open to relatively inexperienced Co-Counselors.  (So many people newer to RC have never seen much of RC leadership; this is a big benefit.)

There is the possibility that the recorded webinar or pieces of it could show up outside of the RC Community on the web.  Because of this, leaders have to be thoughtful about our presentations.  We need to think about jargon we use and verbal shortcuts that would be either restimulating or badly misunderstood by someone not in RC.  These webinars also need to talk about a particular topic without using restimulating, undefined in the webinar, off-hand phrases like “the oppressive society.”  We can do this well and be very effective.  It will just take our considering things we don’t usually need to consider when we are talking at a workshop. 

We'd like Climate Change webinars to  be recorded on Zoom and available at a future date to be viewed on the RC website.  Please have your tech lead be careful not to record the mini-sessions.  We don’t have the resources to extensive editing of the videos. Send usable recordings to Tommy Atz

Our policy for recording on Zoom can be found here and here.  Since there is the possibility that we will show the recording to another group of RCers later, we need to inform people and give them the chance to turn off their camera (so their image doesn’t appear on screen) and not volunteer for any demonstrations or speaking parts. We recommend that the leader make an announcement about this at the beginning of the webinar. For example:

"We are recording the webinar, including demonstrations, and may post it to the RC website for viewing by others.  We will not post it on social media or use it outside the RC Community. However, Zoom has security flaws and we cannot guarantee that it will not be co-opted and used for some unauthorized purpose. If you don’t want to be in a recorded demonstration, please do not volunteer.  If you don’t want your face to appear in the video, you can turn off your camera. If you don't want your name to appear on the screen, rename yourself.“

There are security measures that a tech leader will want to be sure are in place.  They should know how to find and remove someone who is causing a disruption.  Settings should be set so that anyone removed cannot return to the call.  Tech should ensure that no one can share their screen other than the host or co-host. 

Zoom offers the option to lock the room at some point in the webinar so that no one else can enter, but that would exclude RCers who are late or lose their connection.  You can also keep people in a waiting room until you admit them, but with the large numbers and people we don’t know that we are expecting, we think this will be too time consuming in most situations.

If people attending need help with Zoom, they should get a Co-Counselor or friend to help them in advance.  We’re not expecting the tech person to do all the work they do for workshops. The tech person should decide whether they will offer to do a "help session" if people come on to the Zoom link early.  That information needs to go out in the pre-webinar email the organizer sends. It’s up to each webinar. 

Questions about organizing can go to Bob Romero, who has agreed to be a "mentor" to new webinar organizers. 

Here’s what we recommend be included in the email that goes out to people--a sample confirmation email is below.

The Zoom link
Time and time zone options
How to pay, for people inside and outside the U.S. (see details below)
Ask people to be on time, as the webinar will start on time
Mini-sessions will be randomly assigned or whether you are requesting constituency information to organize mini-sessions by constituency
Any information about interpretation
A statement about whether or not there will be a practice time on Zoom (half hour before the event?)
The notice that the webinar will be recorded and the actions participants need to take if they don’t want to be recorded
Whether questions will be taken and if so, how (in the chat?).
Whatever else you want to communicate.

PAYMENT DETAILS FOR ORGANIZERS

Payment needs to come directly to the organizer and not to RCCR. Organizers can decide which forms of payment to accept. Send the fee and the information of how to pay when you 1) send the final information for the webinar with the Zoom link,  2) post one or two reminders via the chat box during the webinar , and 3) send at least one reminder after the webinar.  RC webinars are an important source of revenue for the RC Communities.

It may be difficult for some people outside the US (or your country) to submit payments to the organizer directly. If they are outside the U.S. they may be able use PayPal (or other online means) or send you a check in US dollars or their currency. (Check with your banking institution to see if they will accept checks in other currencies--my credit union does, to my surprise--Diane.)  There is an international feature to PayPal, and people should try to use that.  There is a small fee, but it still may be the best way. 

RCCR should not be getting payments for webinars from people in the U.S.  That is not workable and RCCR doesn’t have the slack to sort it out. Please do not give people in the US an option to pay to RCCR, and please accept “foreign currency” checks if possible.

If people who live outside the U.S. need to send their payment to RCCR, and they cannot use some international payment system, and you cannot receive a check in their currency, they can do one of several things:

1.  They can include their funds payable to RCCR with other funds that they (or another leader in their Community) are sending to the Community Service Fund (CSF) at RCCR (for example, the 10% from workshop income, or from teaching classes).  It’s fine if these funds aren’t sent immediately, most people send them periodically.

2. If their local treasurer is in agreement, they can get the money to the treasurer who will send it to RCCR with their annual submission of funds due us.

3. They can make a donation to RCCR via wire.  The donation must be sufficient to warrant the time and fees. Ask the participant to reach out to RCCR to get the banking details.  They should not combine these funds with payments for intensives or literature.

If you can't find a way for payment to be made, a person may attend the webinar without payment.

SAMPLE EMAIL TO PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE REGISTERED FOR A WEBINAR

Welcome to the Facing what we must to take on the Climate Emergency Webinar

Led by Shani Fletcher and Assisted by Rosie McInnes.
 
Une traduction de cette lettre de bienvenue en français suit ci-dessous.
 
Shani is very much looking forward to being together with you this weekend!
 
We will be meeting via Zoom on:
 Saturday, March 12 at:  
    * 9 – 11 AM PST (UTC -8)
    * 10 – 12 AM MST (UTC -7)
    * 11 AM – 1 PM CST (UTC -6)
    * 12 – 2 PM EST (UTC -5)
    * 5 – 7 PM/ 17 – 19 GMT (UTC +0)
    * 18 – 20 CET (UTC +1)
    * 19 -21 EET/SAST (UTC +2)
Sunday, March 13 at:  
    * 01 – 03 CST (UTC +8)
    * 6 – 6 AM NZDT (UTC +13)
 
The Zoom meeting will open 30 minutes early. Please log in early, if you need to work through any Zoom issues. Help will be available.
 
Please read all of the information below to make sure you are prepared.

Zoom

The link and other sign-in information are above.

If you haven’t done so already, please update Zoom (on your computer, phone or tablet) to the most recent version before the webinar. Here is a link to how to update your Zoom. You might not be able to join the meeting without an update. Or, even if you can, you might not be able to use all of the Zoom features.
In case you find it helpful, here is a document about using Zoom for RC events:
https://www.rc.org/publication/workshops/Using_zoom_for_RC_events.pdf

Please stay muted unless you are asked to unmute and speak. The Zoom hosts might mute you if necessary.

Please do not use the Zoom meeting chat to send messages to ‘Everyone’. If you would like to say hello to someone search for them in the participant list or click on the 3 dots at the top right corner of their picture to send them a message directly.

The webinar will be recorded. If you do not want to be part of the recording keep your video turned off.
 
Language Liberation

We will use closed captioning in English. A team of typists will transcribe what Shani and others say for the whole group. Click on the Closed Caption icon (on computers, at the bottom of your screen). You will have two choices of how to see what is being typed.

There will be interpretation into French in a channel during the whole webinar.
 
Breaks

We will take a 2 minute break every 20 minutes (not counting the time in mini sessions).
 
Mini Sessions

There will be 3 minis. And they will be 3-ways. Please do not pre-arrange mini sessions. This will be an opportunity to connect with someone new, a skill that will be useful as we transform society. You can choose to mini with people in a constituency you belong to by renaming yourself as follows or to mini with random people without regard to constituencies:
00 Tech Team
11 Leaders
22 Typists
33 Young People or Young Adults
44 PGM or NI
55 Jews
66 French Speakers
 
Payment

The fee is a sliding scale of $0 to $50 USD. We understand that oppression makes access to money very, very unequal. Please pay what you can. Paying $0 is OK, but if you can pay, your fee will help pay a fee to the leader, organizer, and tech leader and the rest will go to the Community Service Fund to support our International Community.

Please send your payment directly to me.  Do not send funds for this webinar to RCCR.  If you are paying, your method of payment will depend on where you live or your circumstances:
1) Please pay by check if at all possible. Please mail your check payable to _______ to:
Organizer's name
Address

2) If you are unable to pay by check, please pay by PayPal (My PayPal ID is _______).

3) If you live outside of the U.S., and cannot use PayPal, you can pay in one of these ways:

a.  Include your funds payable to RCCR with other funds that you (or a leader in your Community) are sending to the Community Service Fund (CSF) at RCCR (for example, the 10% from workshop income, or from teaching classes).  It’s fine if these funds aren’t sent immediately.

b. If your local treasurer is in agreement, you can get your money to the treasurer who will send it to RCCR with their annual submission of funds due RCCR.

c. You can make a donation to RCCR via wire (the donation must be sufficient to warrant the time and fees). Contact RCCR at rcoffice@rc.org to get the banking details.  Do not combine these funds with payments for intensives or literature.

If you can't find a way for payment to be made, you may attend the webinar without payment.

Zoom link and Sign-in Information here:

Thank you for contributing to helping this RC webinar go well by reading and acting on this information.  I look forward to our time together on Saturday.

With Love, 


Organizer



PROPOSED EMAIL TO SEND OUT FOR HELP IN ORGANIZING/TECH JOBS

Dear people attending the ______ webinar on _____________,

I’m writing to you about Jobs for the webinar.  Please read the list now and reply as soon as you can to tell me which jobs you would be willing and able to do, that would be a good fit or a good stretch for you.  I don’t need everyone to offer, but I would like to get enough offers so that I can organize the jobs soon.

Thank you very much for responding to this request for help!

I will get back to people ASAP to tell you if you have a job, and if so, what it involves.

Email your reply to me, but in case it’s needed later: Mobile phone, WhatsAPP, Signal, FaceTime: _____(phone number)_____.

With love,
Organizer or Tech


Zoom Tech Help:

2-4 people to log on 30 minutes early ___(time)___ to help people as needed with using Zoom

2-4 people to be available during the meeting to help people with Zoom questions or problems

If you want, you could do both of the above jobs

When you reply, tell me about your experience with Zoom and how people can call or text/message you.  Because we will have people from about ___ countries, I suggest that you provide any of these that you have: WhatsApp, Signal, FaceTime, etc.


Scribes: 2 people to post messages on the Chat, such length of minis, announcements, and other things that I ask you to post


Timers: 2 people to time 20 minutes of meeting time, and then the 1 minute of resting break.  


Closed Captioning Typists (if you are offering this):

We will offer closed captioning for those who might want to have a transcript to consult during the webinar.

I am hoping to get together 3 teams with 2 typing buddies in each team, to type as ___(leader)___ and others talk in the meeting.  This way, each person will have one 15-20 minute typing turn and one 15-20 minute turn being a buddy to a typist.  If the speaker talks too fast to type everything they say, it’s okay, and you can summarize until you can catch up with the speaker’s words.  I’ll send more tips to those doing the job.

If you reply to say you could do this job, tell me the following:

Your experience, if any, typing at an RC workshop or other event:

Your Zoom experience and comfort level:


LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION TOOL

Available with Business/Education Account.  Do a practice run in advance.  Good to do some in front. 

Sets up separate audio channels.  Assign interpreter to audio channel, and then if people select “interpretation” they choose which language.  

The leader may want to pin one of the interpreters and follow them for guidance re: when to start and stop.  

Once people found out there was interpretation, more people came.  

Need language liberation coordinator who does this along with the tech and organizer.  


Last modified: 2024-02-23 22:13:54+00