How-to docs for Trello and meetings

Documentation on how to use the Trello board, what we do during the meetings and events, and how to participate.

Published

December 5, 2024

Subscribing to the calendar

Public calendar URL to copy and paste: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/086okoggkv7c4b0dcbbrj230s8%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Add calendar via Region Web Outlook

  1. Go to Calendar.
  2. Click “Add calendar” button.
  3. Select “From internet” menu item.
  4. Copy and paste the URL into the fields given.

Add calendar via Desktop Outlook app

See the Microsoft Support Docs on subscribing to calendars.

Using the Trello board

Some terminology:

  • Board: Is the entire website you see when in the Epidemiology group, including all the Lists and Cards.
  • Lists: Are the vertical columns that contain a list of Cards.
  • Cards: They are the individual items within a List that contain information on meetings, how-to docs, etc.

Staying updated

  • To make the most of this board, a recommended way of staying updated on new meetings is to go to the “Upcoming meetings” list, click the “…” to the left, and click the “Watch” button. That way you will (or at least should) get an email when a new meeting Card has been added.

Activities in the meeting

Round-table progress updates

Instead of a verbal round table, everyone will write out (very very short, max 2-3 sentences or something) their progress to date, successes (no matter how minor), and struggles on the meeting card as a comment.

That way we can have it so more information can be conveyed in a quicker amount of time. If someone wants to elaborate on a specific item, they can, but we keep this time super short. Written progress updates are also nice because then we can read them at our own pace and see what others are working on and their struggles (maybe someone can help out!). Part of doing this is also about building a culture around sharing and knowing what each of us is doing.

Presentations

Presenters

  • Presentations should generally be about 20 min long.
  • Together with the chairperson, choose comments or questions in the chat from the audience to expand on or discuss, about 10 minutes. The time can go longer depending on the questions and the rest of the agenda.
  • (things we are considering also doing some time in the future: presenter add a brief (4-5 sentence) summary of the talk and that they add slides to meeting card one day before meeting.)

Audience

  • Any questions, comments, and feedback are very much!
  • Please write questions, comments, and feedback in the Zoom chat (to everyone). These will be copied and pasted into the appropriate meeting card in the Trello board.
    • We’re doing it this way so that:
      • Everyone has a chance to voice their thoughts and ideas.
      • Others can look over the type of comments and feedback given and use that for their own work (especially relevant to trainees/early career members and as a way of sharing knowledge).
      • We maximize the usefulness of the meeting time.
      • We are as inclusive as possible (not everyone feels comfortable voicing their thoughts).
      • Presenters can review the comments and feedback afterwards.
      • We have a record of typical comments and feedback that we can start building from as a resource for trainees/early career group members to learn from.

Manuscript reviews

Presenter/author

Pre-meetings

  • The author of the paper should (preferably) attach the paper to the meeting card at least 5 days before the meeting.
  • (at some point we will get the presenter/author to record a max 10 min presentation on some key points of the paper and what they are looking for in feedback.)
  • The author should write an explicit explanation of what they are looking for or wanting feedback on, written as a comment at the bottom of the meeting card before the meeting.
  • The author should make a brief presentation going over the results.

During meetings

  • The paper author can review the feedback and ask for clarification to some questions during meeting.
  • The chairperson can also choose some items that they feel might be beneficial to discuss with the rest of the group.

Audience

Lead reviewers

  • Admin will assign at least two (hopefully self-volunteered) members as lead reviewers.
  • These reviewers are expected to be more detailed in their review compared to other group members.
    • Reviewer comments, feedback, and/or questions should be added to the meeting card as comments at the bottom of the card.

Everyone else

  • Any questions, comments, or feedback are highly encouraged! Please write them down in either the Zoom chat during the meeting’s designated time or write them in the Trello board on the appropriate card for the meeting date. Anything relevant to the paper will be posted to the appropriate meeting card in the Trello board.
    • We’re doing it this way so that:
      • Everyone has a chance to voice their thoughts and ideas.
      • Others can look over the type of comments and feedback given and use that for their own work (especially relevant to trainees/early career members and as a way of sharing knowledge).
      • We maximize the usefulness of the meeting time.
      • We are as inclusive as possible (not everyone feels comfortable voicing their thoughts).
      • Presenters/authors can review the comments and feedback afterwards.
      • We have a record of typical comments and feedback that we can start building from as a resource for trainees/early career group members to learn from.
  • The chairperson and the paper author will go through the comments and ask for more information or explanation.