Centra Symposium

What is Centra Symposium?   Symposium is a web conferencing tool. DASNR has entered a cooperative agreement with Texas A\&M University Cooperative Extension Service and Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service that provides access to Symposium for DASNR employees. A live recording which demonstrates Symposium is available for download here. (This is a 16 minute recording, approximately 4.5MB in size, that provides an overview of the tools available through Symposium.) TAMU has an created a page of links including an overview of the system and a recording of a demo session: http://eit.tamu.edu/Centra/Centramenu.html.

Centra Symposium is used for our new training program held every Friday at 10:00 am.  Stop by the Cooperative Conversations for a schedule of upcoming topics, as well as information on how to access recordings of previous conversations.

What do I need to attend a Centra session?
To participate in a Centra session, you'll need:

• A Computer, running Windows XP, with Internet Access
• Speakers or headphones - If you are in a common office area it is easier to hear and less chaotic if you have a headset.
• Willingness to participate!
• A microphone is optional.  You can also type your questions and comments via the text chat interface.

I'd like to buy a microphone to participate in Centra, what do you recommend?  Any computer microphone will work.  Some things to consider:  Some microphones require batteries.  These amplify your voice but require you to keep fresh batteries on hand.  USB microphones are amplified using your computer's power supply.  USB headsets are a great choice, but are more expensive.  A basic microphone will run around $5 while a USB headset will be around $35.  Here are links to some headsets and microphones available at Wal-Mart:

If I miss a Cooperative Conversation can I still get the information that was covered?

Recordings of past Cooperative Conversations are kept as space allows.  They can be downloaded and viewed from http://cc.dasnr.okstate.edu/pastConversations.htm.  Also available at that site are PowerPoint presentations and documents that accompany the Cooperative Conversation.

I'd like to hold a Centra meeting, what do I need to do?

E-mail Dwayne Hunter or your Support Specialist a couple of days before your meeting to schedule the use of the Centra server.  You'll need to tell us the date, time, and duration of your meeting, as well as the topic so we can give it a descriptive name on the schedule that your attendees will be able to recognize.  You'll also need to tell us the total number of attendees you expect to have.

Folks who have already used Centra will be able to use the name/password they've used in the past.  New users will be able to create their own login at the webpage where they'll go to login.  http://webconference.tamus.edu/main/oces