If a class member cannot attend a number of sessions in a course it is relat­ively easy to arrange an indi­vidual video connec­tion to the class so that the person can access much of the class inter­ac­tion. This would only be appro­priate for some classes. If the tutor of the class is in agreement, the process can go like this.

First, the class is asked if any member is prepared to use their mobile phone to make the connec­tion. The free wireless in the room can be used. Book one of the small tripods that U3A has. The phone is held by the tripod on a table near the presenter/s. The home person is called on their phone (or computer) using FaceTime (Apple) Google Duo (Android) or Facebook Messenger to make the video connec­tion. An operator moves, zooms in and out, and directs the phone view to capture the key elements of the class, showing the presenter, present­a­tion screen or parti­cipants conver­sa­tion as appro­priate. With practice it can deliver a very satis­factory engage­ment with the class. 

If there is more than one person needing to stay at home, the above video call apps will work with several indi­viduals at a time.

Anyone with questions about this process can contact John Travers jtravers@gmail.com for help.