Over the past year and a bit the world was forced online more that it was before and meetings in the most case became video calls. Some loved it and excelled, some we okay and some shy’d away from the camera completely for a number of reasons.

So not everyone wants to be in front of a camera and not everyone has a film studio set up and is broadcasting from their kitchen table – That’s okay. You use what you have to do the best that you can do. So what can you do to help yourself look better on the calls.

Be Yourself!

Most importantly is Be Yourself.

Relax. You are not presenting the news or interviewing a top senior official (Unless you actually are of course).

Be confident and have a positive mindset.

If you are camera shy, consider joining on camera to do the introductions, then turn the camera off.

Meetings will have a bigger impact when your on camera as your audience can see your reactions and expressions just as though you are in a face to face meeting.

Contribute to the call. Don’t forget to contribute to the call. That’s why your there.

Treat each call as a face to face meeting, it is but using video instead.

Reduce any distractions so you concentrate on the call in hand.

Lighting

Try not to sit with a window directly behind you, especially with the sun shining as this produces a halo effect around you which does not look good to others on the call.

If you can’t move and don’t have blinds or curtains, then consider bring some light in front of you to counter balance the light behind you. You will need to do this even if you are using an in call backdrop.

Search for “led video light” on somewhere like Amazon for some good options. It doesn’t have to be expensive.

If you are using your phone to make calls, consider an “LED Selfie Light Stand”.

Camera

Knowing where your camera is on your device is important, it can make the difference between the audience looking up your nose and seeing your face at a good level.

Clean the lens. It can make a big difference, especially if you are using a phone.

If you are using a laptop and have an external keyboard and mouse, consider using a laptop stand to raise the camera or even an external camera on a stand to get a better shot.

If you are using a mobile, consider getting a stand for it if inside so you can keep the camera steady.

Microphone

Also knowing where your microphone is on your device is and setting its sensitivity can ensure that you are heard okay and reduces any other background noises in your environment. Headsets with mics often have a mic set to only pick up the wearers voice only.

If you have an external mic, consider a windshield or pop shield to help reduce background noises.

This can mostly be controlled via your operating system device settings or for external mics and headsets the appropriate software/drivers may have options.

Remember your microphone has a mute option in the video calls.

Speakers

Software in devices is very good at stopping feedback where you hear yourself speak on a call and the microphone is picking that up and replaying in over the top. Some people prefer to use an headset with inbuilt mic so they only hear the call in the environment you are in.

Background

Most of the main video calling platforms now have the ability to place backgrounds behind you so the audience can’t see the area that you are calling from.

When using these it is important to remember that the software is using your camera to cut around your image and display the background behind you, so if you want to show something on camera, it may struggle and you may have to turn off your background to do this.

Test it out

Once you have a set up you are comfortable, test it out. There are options on most of the video calling platforms to do this, or set up a call with a colleague or friend to test out the set up and get some feedback.

References

Dr Lucy Rogers has produced a set of videos that were for her students, but would help anyone looking for some advice.

Speaking to an Online Audience – Tech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaKATPbrNhc&t=44s

Speaking to an Online Audience – Voice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j9TgUh8bQE&t=33s

Speaking to an Online Audience – Content
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TezFfYyXjo&t=180s

Speaking to an Online Audience – You!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilzhziTdHSk&t=33s

In these unprecidented times everyone who can is staying at home. Firstly a big thank you to all those essential front line staff our Health Services and those key workers that keep the country working and support the national infrastructures around the world.

With Schools closed and Working From Home (WFH) becoming a normality for the time being, it can be hard to keep young people entertained, so here are some free resources to help that are work a look.

Reading

World Book Online have made over 3,000 ebooks and audio books available for children of all ages and can be searched by age.

https://worldbook.kitaboo.com/reader/worldbook/index.html

Zoo Cams

13 Zoos have WebCams to view a selection of the animals online

https://www.holidaypirates.com/travel-magazine/13-zoos-that-offer-live-streams-see-giraffes-koalas-pandas-tigers-penguins-more_35765

Virtual Museum

Take a trip around Pitt Rivers Museum and look at the artifacts in a virtual museum

https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=ns3yCKpUzSq&help=1&fbclid=IwAR2gx2M7UoASHQ9Fy6cIns7oAIQEe-r2yvrq7rD2V4ECcXHyNrPmiExKI80

A report out today from The Royal Society looks at the history, advancements, challenges and risks of neural interface technology.

The report asks for input from the general public via a consultation on what their views in shaping the future of neural interface regulation.

We have visualised the connection of humans and machines in Science Fiction for a long time from books to films. More recently with films such as Johnny Mnemonic and The Matrix, (Yes I just referenced 2 Keanu Reeves films). Are we ready to become Borg and be assimilated?

Medicine is evolving at a fantastic speed with new developments that are helping patients to help treatments for a wide range of conditions using non-invasive and invasive technologies. Should we now use the same techniques for connecting a human brain to a computer to make us more efficient and responsive to information?

“Neural interfaces connect the brain or nervous system to

equipment, typically digital devices or IT systems. Some act to
record physiological activity, such as brain signals or movements,
while others stimulate it. Some technologies, known as ‘closedloop’ systems, record activity and deliver stimulation in response.”

Source: report

 

We are already doing this with devices we use on a daily basis such as a mobile phone, reality glasses and cars with heads up displays. Moving this information closer to the brain is the next technological evolutionary step in this area.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is looking at how its possible to connect computer chips to the human brain and has already connected a Rats brain to a chip and USB port.

The report represents some of the advancements made and possible ways forward that are helping people today and helps set out some principles and practices. A worthwhile read.

For me there are still a lot of areas to discuss ethically around moving forward – Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.  I think that the quote in the report by Paul Virilio covers this and what we need to think about and accept the outcome possibilities:

“ When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane you also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent  electrocution… Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress.” – Paul Virilio

Source: report

Further Reading

• iHuman perspective: Neural interfaces
• iHuman perspective: Supplementary material
• An integrated brain-machine interface platform with thousands of channels
• A-Z of Digital – J is for Jacking
• Time to get chipped?

A roundup in videos of some of the recent STEM activities that I have been involved with and help run.

February 2019 Stemettes Hack Chorley with DXC and Stemettes

 

 

March 2019 – Chorley Hack with Chorley Council

 

One of the Internet’s secret sides is the Dark Web which is one of those places that you may know of its existence from news articles where data hacked from systems is sold. Its one of those places most of us don’t really want to access, but want to know if any of our data is on there. Its certainly a place where the bounds of GDPR can’t reach either.

Some services such as https://haveibeenpwned.com/ allow you to check to see if any of your data exists on the dark web. The main identification normally searched for is an email address.

Its always good when you get the message:

Good news — no pwnage found!

No breached accounts and no pastes (subscribe to search sensitive breaches)

They offer a subscription service that will check to see if you have been breached and be notified if you are in the future.

Firefox have now joined in providing this type of service to its users https://monitor.firefox.com/.

Its good to see the launch of another checking service that allow you to see if your data (Now out of beta testing).

Another good message:

So far, so good

Your account did not appear in our basic scan. That’s good news, but data breaches can happen any time and there is still more you can do. Subscribe to Firefox Monitor for a full report, alerts when new breaches happen, and tips on protecting your passwords.

You can never have enough checking tools.

Further Reading:

Introducing Firefox Monitor, Helping People Take Control After a Data Breach

If your data is found on the dark web, Firefox Monitor will let you know

 

Monday morning, I arrived at the office to start the working week. I carried out my morning ritual of turning on my laptop and whilst waiting for it to run it boot up process and load all of its resident security and authorisation software, I grabbed my morning coffee. Upon returning to my desk and logging on, a message popped up for me to go and see my manager.

Knocking on her door, she invited me in, morning pleasantries and what did you do at the weekend conversation, she proceeded to tell me some bad news.

“I`m sorry but we are going to have to let you go. Your employment with the company is being terminated with immediate effect.”

There followed what felt like a long pause as this news sank in.

She continued “As you may know we have been working on a programme of automation within the business and there is now an automated process doing your job.”

I felt the ground open up beneath me and the huge sinking feeling cover my whole body.

I’d been replaced by a robot. Not a shinny looking Sci-Fi robot but a series of robotic processes had replaced me.

I was left asking myself a number of questions….. Why me? Where had I gone wrong? what could I have done? What should I do now?

Okay the above is a story (I haven’t lost my job not as far as I know), but it’s a conversation that people fear may happen with the innovation in todays world.

The world of computing, robots, robotic process automation machine learning and artificial intelligence is progressing at a rate where it could enhance jobs (Cobots) and maybe in the future replace some jobs altogether.

So what can you do to stop this happening in the future?  The key to this question lies with you. You have to have the right mindset and look at continuous learning and reinvention at a personal level.

Standing still in a job is no longer a safe place. The old utopia of a job for life as definitely expired (there may be one or two exceptions to this rule) but in the main its true.

Where ever you are in your career, you need to keep your skills up to date. The younger generations get this concept as they are growing up with it and its enforced from leaving school. The middle and older generations did do this but for the majority a level of complacency kicks in and you reach a plateau where you feel that learning anything new isn’t for you. Why should you spend your own personal time and money investing in your future.

Personal investment in time and some cost might seem like an invasion into your own “Personal Time”, but workplaces are changing/have changed to expect this as others are already doing this.

Access to information, training/courses has changed dramatically over the years with the internet and the growth in free online courses. There are lots of places you can gain skills and knowledge without spending much money or none at all. The ability to buy a full set of AWS or Microsoft course for £10.00 which would have been a lot more in the past (and have to be done in a classroom) is driving an explosion of certified individuals coming on to the market from leaving school, college, university. Experience does play a part in this, however this can be gained online these days. Its not the same for all industries though as some do require apprenticeships to gather the rights skills, but do you know the latest methods and skills to keep up?

Is the investment in time and money really worth it. Would you rather spend that £10.00 on something else and your time doing something else. Yes most probably, but what is the long term investment? For me it’s being employable and keeping the rest of my salary coming in.

Next time your sat on your couch watching TV, think could I invest this time more productively, then watch TV later as a reward for doing that bit of learning?

So you have been investing in your skillset and learning new things. How could that initial conversation have changed.

Monday morning, I arrived at the office to start the working week. I carried out my morning ritual of turning on my laptop and whilst waiting for it to run it boot up process and load all of its resident security and authorisation software, I grabbed my morning coffee. Upon returning to my desk and logging on, a message popped up from my Cobot/Automated Process for me to check some things that it couldn’t understand. I will enter the correct parameters this morning so the ML/AI engine can solve these issues in the future.. Also my manager wants to see me.

Knocking on her door, she invited me in, morning pleasantries and what did you do at the weekend conversation, I proceeded to explain my next idea for automating one of the existing processes and how I could reinvest my time in looking at additional process automation in the business, also doing some R&D into a new product that could help the business increase sales.

“That’s great news. When can you have the details ready by? Congratulations on your latest qualification, we could use your new skills on the Advent project. Would you like to do some work on that project?”

I go back to my desk and start to drink my now warm coffee, with the new tasks in hand and set my skills on changing the ML/AI engine to assist me further to allow some time to further my training on a new course that I want to do.

Related Blog Posts

A-Z of Digital – T is for Twenty First Century Digital

Digital Mindset

The Nature and Cycle of CPD

Recording your CPD

How much CPD/Training should you be doing?

Digital Fit in 2018: Balancing the Noise

A-Z of Digital – K is for Knowledge

A-Z of Digital – S is for Social