Hello, regarding tech support, I pay $50-$60/hour and expect more than what's presented in the list below. For example, I would add:
- Ensure before a session starts that I as facilitator and my three devices are good to go (always need to have 2 back-ups), giving feedback on my lighting, my clothes, etc.
- Provide tech support to participants throughout the session, including helping them with the chat feature and with taking polls, and staffing the main room during breakout-group sessions and assisting people with getting in and out of groups and reminding them that participating is encouraged/required (this requires experience in multicultural environments and strong oral and written communication skills)
- Jump in if I lose audio or screen sharing and keeping the session's flow going to the extent possible without deep knowledge of the content, reassuring people I'll be back soon while also helping me on the side to get my audio/screen-sharing back
- Provide me with guidance and feedback, such as "When you did X during today's session, here's what happened. I would recommend you try Y next time. Shall we practice ahead of time?"
So perhaps there are two levels of tech support one might require for an event, with mine calling for a higher degree of expertise and proactivity.
Thank you for all this group is teaching me,
Spee Braun
Spee Braun, Management and Organizational Development Consultant in the international development and humanitarian sector (facilitator, trainer, coach, mentor, researcher, etc.) East Chatham, NY USA
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On Tue, Jan 4, 2022 at 7:31 PM Lucas Cioffi < lucas@...> wrote: Hi Amy,
I do think there are great candidates to be found at $35/hour.
As a baseline for this conversation, here are some of the responsibilities of a Zoom host: - greet people
- share screensaver during breaks
- turn on recording and closed captions
- adjust security settings for what participants are permitted to do
- set up interpreters for language interpretation
- spotlight speakers
- mute/unmute
- manage waiting room
- set up breakout rooms
- reacting in case of Zoombombing
I've hired just a?handful of Zoom hosts and the rate has been $35-50/hour for small projects.? In response to your question, I did a quick search online.? Below is some info pasted from that I found on a freelancing?platform called Upwork.? She has worked 284 hours so far on an ongoing project at $25/hour.? She's taking new projects at $30/hour.? Here's a from Orlando working at $25/hour.? Here's from the Philippines with tremendous experience at $25/hour.? I think the talent pool of people who are very skilled at Zoom is increasing quickly each month, and so the cost is going down.
Stacie M.?New York, NYEvent & Conference Planner$30.00/hrI have been an event and meeting planner for over five years, working in the nonprofit sector. I have discovered my superpower is remaining calm under pressure, which is why I love planning events. Event planning can be incredibly stressful, and not everyone enjoys it; I love using my skill-set to help others see their vision come to life. ? My events portfolio includes planning large-scale 1700 in-person trade shows, golf tournaments, virtual conferences, to small board meetings. I guarantee that each client is comfortable with every decision made for their event and ensuring they are prepared for the day of the event. Did the zoom link make it to the panelists? Do the attendees have the information they need? I strive to make sure that every detail is thought of and everything runs seamlessly.
Types of events I plan:
- Board Meetings
- Conferences
- Forums
- Seminars
- Trade Shows
Software Specialities:
- Asana
- Salesforce
- G-Suite
- Google Meets
- Hopin
- Zoom
- Eventbrite
- CadmiumCD
 Lucas Cioffi QiqoChat | Lead Software Engineer lucas@... +1.917.528.1831 ? 
Live Online Events | Engaging Communities | Real Collaboration Drop in for?
On Tue, Jan 4, 2022 at 5:44 PM Amy Lenzo < amy@...> wrote: Lucas, I¡¯m curious where you got the figure of $35/ hour for Zoom tech hosts¡ that seems incredibly low to me, especially given how much tech hosts are often asked to do - it¡¯s rarely as simple as it might sound. :-)?
Thank you for sharing some possible tech solutions to the situation Gerald posed - you are so skilled and knowledgable in this whole arena - I appreciate having you in this group as a resource.
Gerald, I also really love the less-technical great ideas and approaches that are being offered here to make the experience more ¡°human¡± and engaging for everyone, not just the differently sighted. Would you please share with us what you end up doing, and how the group responds??
I haven¡¯t ever worked with a blind group myself, but I HAVE worked with deaf audiences (where I used sign-language interpretation, as well as a heavily visual design), and I can imagine the approach - of focusing your program design with elements that everyone present can appreciate and engage with - is similar.?
The very best of luck to you. ? ??
Warmly,
Amy
..o0o.. Amy Lenzo weDialogue: Virtual?Environment, Real Connection
"It may be?that?some?little root?of the?sacred?tree still?lives.?Nourish?it then,?that it?may leaf?and?bloom?and fill?with?singing?birds.¡± ~ BLACK ELK
On Jan 4, 2022, at 6:03 AM, Lucas Cioffi < lucas@...> wrote:
Hello Gerardo,
Here is Zoom's about their accessibility.? I pasted it below this email also.? I haven't heard about the actual user experience from a user's perspective, though.
In thinking about the problem that Teletha mentioned about screen readers automatically reading all of the chat messages, I think a better option would be to have visually impaired users call into a conference call at the same time they are on Zoom.? On that conference call, where a person will read the chat messages to them at an appropriate time.? The person could also describe what they are seeing about the speaker or the speaker's slides.? I haven't tried this, but in my opinion, I?think it would be more empowering and accurate and much less painful/abrasive/cold than a screen reader. So the people with limited sight would?have their?laptop speakers & microphone, plus their phone with an earpiece would be connected to the second conference call (which could be the dial-in info for a separate Zoom meeting).? The assistant on the earpiece would probably be speaking 10-20% of the time.
When it is time for something interactive such as a poll, I would use a direct link to a Web-based tool, and I would send all of those out in an email before the event begins.? People with limited sight can turn on their screen reader to read their email and navigate the poll/tool on their own at the appropriate time.
I've never heard of this service being offered, but I hope that some firm will develop this capability and offer it so that the rest of us facilitators can hire them for it.? Firms with professional interpreters charge $100-$250 per hour but I think that people who normally serve as Zoom tech hosts at $35/hour would be able to learn how to do this well with just a few hours of practice.
A client investing in a human assistant to people with limited sight would make a strong statement that accessibility is important to?them, and the cost wouldn't be so high at $35/hour.? Does anyone else have any opinions about that?
Lucas Cioffi QiqoChat | Lead Software Engineer +1.917.528.1831 ?
Live Online Events | Engaging Communities | Real Collaboration Drop in for?
Is Zoom accessible for users with visual impairments?Zoom ensures that its products are operable and perceivable for users with visual impairments. Our products support common screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and Android Talkback. Additionally, visual interfaces are designed with adequate color contrast, size, and usage of color to ensure clarity for users with various vision needs. Is content shared through the screen sharing feature accessible to screen readers?User content shared through Zoom¡¯s screen sharing feature is rendered to meeting participants as an HD video stream. In order to make contents of the screen share accessible to attendees who use screen readers, it is recommended that the presenter share the relevant files/notes with meeting attendees. This solution will ensure that the document's full content and semantic markup is preserved and made accessible to screen reader users. Zoom provides file upload capabilities in its in-meeting chat so that meeting hosts may share files to participants while in-meeting. Can I use the remote control feature to control another computer's screen reader?Zoom's remote control feature allows users to control the screen sharer's screen reader. The host computer must first enable "share computer audio" to stream the screen reader speech output to the guest computer. Once the guest has gained remote control, the common screen reader keystrokes will be registered on the host computer. Does Zoom application support high-contrast or dark mode settings?The Zoom Application on Windows, iOS, and Android support the high contrast settings defined in the system preferences. The Zoom Application for macOS supports Dark Mode. Does Zoom application support larger font settings?The Zoom Application on macOS and Windows only support the inheritance of the display scaling options defined in the operating system settings. The Zoom desktop applications also provides font size customizations for subtitles. The Zoom Application for iOS and Android support font sizes defined in the system settings.
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.o0o. Amy Lenzo |?weDialogue Virtual Space, Real?Engagement amy@...?|
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