Update for Tech – Committee Notes Apr 06 2026
OIAA Tech Committee
Meeting summary 1st Monday
April 06, 2026
Quick recap
This meeting focused on reviewing the recent assembly held on March 21st and discussing ongoing technical and organizational matters. The group discussed challenges with the assembly’s technical aspects, including issues with settings changes, muting/unmuting participants, and interpretation services. Jeanette provided an update on directory cleanup work, noting she had identified and marked invalid meetings for archiving. Matt reported on COVID recovery efforts, highlighting ongoing work on translations and database migration issues. The TechSteppers group, led by John, discussed their role in providing technical support for meeting hosts and proposed adding a prominent button on the website to make their services more accessible. The conversation ended with discussions about improving the visibility of tech support resources and setting up email addresses for new committee members.
Next steps
Summary
Assembly Meeting Experience Discussion
The meeting focused on discussing the recent assembly held on March 21st. Participants shared experiences and challenges, including issues with meeting settings changing unexpectedly and difficulties with interpretation services. Kathleen noted that someone was removed from the meeting due to technical issues, while Susan mentioned problems with the digital interpretation system. The group discussed communication strategies for advertising assemblies, with Susan explaining that chair reports and website announcements are currently used to inform members. The conversation touched on the challenges of effectively communicating across an international organization while being mindful of email volume.
Directory Cleanup and Website Updates
Mark led a meeting discussion where he presented survey results to the team and confirmed that directory cleanup tasks were incomplete, attributing the delay to his failure to follow up with the volunteer group. Jeannette reported progress on identifying invalid meetings and marking them for archiving. Mark also updated the team on progress with a new meeting submission form and a potential forum/bulletin board for IGRs, noting that Keri’s web services team was evaluating options including using the existing Discourse platform from TIAA. Finally, Mark mentioned that OIAA 2026 website development was advancing quickly with Keri’s web services team handling the initial implementation.
Meeting Validation and Data Migration
Jeannette explained her process for checking meeting validity, including entering non-English and men’s meetings, and noted that invalid meetings are being archived. Matt provided an update on COVID recovery efforts, highlighting challenges with translations and data discrepancies between systems, as well as ongoing work on reporting. The team is working to address these issues and migrate data while moving toward their ideal system setup.
Project Updates and Team Structure
The meeting covered updates on various ongoing projects and team structures. Matt reported that committee member access is in progress and waiting for testing, with a detailed email outlining steps sent to the team. Sam Hadden, the Chief Google Workspace admin, mentioned ongoing challenges working with Victor and hopes to improve collaboration soon. Mark provided an overview of the organization’s structure, highlighting three main areas: Cloud Admin Services (handled by Sam), Member Services Group (including tech steppers and meeting directory team), and the Web Team (led by Matt and Mark).
Tech Support Visibility Website Improvements
The team discussed improving the visibility of tech support for Zoom meetings on their website. John and Mark agreed that finding tech support information is currently difficult, with John suggesting adding a prominent button on the homepage. Mark expressed concern about being overwhelmed with support requests if the button is too visible. They debated the appropriate wording for the button, considering it should target meeting hosts rather than general participants. The discussion also touched on advertising events like the Wednesday coffee talk, though Mark noted they typically don’t advertise assemblies. Daryl mentioned their current process of filtering incoming requests through a form to identify different types of support needs.
Text Services Information Enhancement
The team discussed making information about text services more prominent in their meeting materials. Mark agreed to send an email to Keri the next day to address this issue. Mary and Beth shared that they already provide information about upcoming coffee talks and text services to new participants. The conversation concluded with a technical discussion about the JSON data refresh process for the meeting directory, with Mark suggesting it’s important to keep the tab open until the completion message appears to prevent system issues.
TechSteppers Support Service Discussion
The meeting focused on discussing TechSteppers, a support service that assists users with Zoom-related issues through one-on-one sessions and weekly Wednesday sessions. John explained that they are considering adding a later-in-the-day session to better accommodate users in different time zones. Beth shared her positive experience with private sessions, and Mark shared a technical victory of using Microsoft Power Automate to solve an auto-reply issue for verification emails. The meeting also included brief discussions about email account access and contact information sharing.
Committee Email Setup and Tech
The meeting focused on setting up email addresses for committee members, with Mark and Sam agreeing to handle requests for new email setups. Susan reported that CPC is operational and discussed upcoming needs for a new chair’s email address. The group also discussed an upcoming tech meeting on April 25th at 2 PM Eastern, which will feature three speakers and a Q&A session. Mark mentioned being busy with a 911 system deployment project for the City of Chicago, and the conversation ended with discussions about website issues and the need to improve the tech steppers platform.
