June 8, 2015
Liz Rowland
A few months ago, we endeavored to find the perfect teleconferencing platform for our telepractice after a series of unfortunate events with the provider that we had been using. We chose Zoom, and I wanted to update you today on how it's been going with them. (Please check out posts one and two if you'd like to read more about our experiences getting to this point.) And, as a reminder, we're not getting paid by Zoom (or any other platform, for that matter) in any way, shape, or form.
The Big Picture
Overall, we have been using Zoom for 5 months without a hitch. One small issue we were having was resolved with just a short phone call to the Zoom support line. We had a problem with overlapping meetings but it turns out we just needed to un-check a box and voila, all was well again. Using a platform that works well for us allows us to focus on what really matters: the clients. Our speech-language pathologists are treating clients around the country for stuttering, voice , articulation, language and more via Zoom and everyone is happy. What a great use of technology!
A New Use for Zoom (for us)
Last month, Zoom helped out in including remote attendees to our continuing education event, “The Elusive /r/.” That night our in-house /r/ expert spoke about how to address the dreaded rhotic. There were around twenty physical attendees and then another five, including myself, attended online via Zoom. I had originally intended on going to the event but then good-old life happened and I found myself across town when the event had already started. I was bummed and about to call it a loss when I realized someone had asked me a few weeks earlier to set them up a Zoom meeting for the event. It had totally slipped my mind! So, I went home and followed the meeting link to connect from my desk. I have had many successful one on one sessions so I was hopeful that the multi-media presentation would translate well over the software. And sure enough, it did! I was able to hear the presenter (even though she wasn’t right in front of the screen) and questions from the audience quite well. And I enjoyed being able to make the screen smaller so that I could still see and hear what was happening in the room while I referred to the handout on google docs. That night Zoom saved me (and several others) from missing out, not to mention the cost and time spent on transportation. Sometimes (or many times), we just can’t be everywhere. All in all, it was great to expand our audience and make this event more accessible to those on our team who would are looking for help in their difficult /r/ cases.
Some Zoom Nit-Picking
I know not everything can be customized just for our needs, but there are a few small things I would like to change about Zoom. The main thing I would like to change is to make the meeting tracking system more organized. As of now there is just a list of previous meetings sorted by host. It would be great if we could sort the meetings by client, date, or month. This would be especially helpful for us in telemedicine, since we mostly do one on one sessions, but I could see how it might help with client billing for time spent with the client in law practices and other businesses.
Comments?
Is anyone else out there using Zoom? If so, we would love to hear your thoughts on the platform, especially if you’re using it for telepractice. We’d love to hear about other platforms that are working for your telepractice, too!
This post is part of our ongoing series, Between Two Screens, in which we share our take on the ever-changing and always-exciting world of speech language pathology and telepractice. Check out our other posts and let us know if there's a topic you'd like us to cover!
