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Good afternoon Techstravaganza friends,

listen to this afternoon’s fantastic tutorial of the GoodReads app at the following link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7s0JGePBk4dxEnPDwU2i1v

Show Notes

Techstravaganza Tutorial: Goodreads App Overview

Siena delivered a full tutorial on the Goodreads app using VoiceOver on iPhone 15, walking participants through all major sections of the app.

• Details
  • Siena: Described Goodreads as a social media platform for book lovers, allowing users to track books read, books to read, share reviews, and see what friends are reading.
  • Siena: Demonstrated the tab bar structure: Home, My Books, Discover, Search, and More.
  • Siena: Showed the Home tab feed, including friend activity (e.g., Makara Slobodian, Ashlyn, Tiana Dunkley), Goodreads recommendations, and giveaways.
  • Siena: Demonstrated the Actions menu (swipe down with one finger) for each feed item, allowing users to go to a profile, go to a book, go to an author, add to Want to Read, change shelves, rate a book, like, and comment.
  • Palmer: Asked for clarification on how the Home tab works and how friend activity appears.
  • Siena: Explained that users add friends by email; once connected, their reading activity appears in the Home feed.
  • Liz: Asked whether reviews are visible only from added friends or from all Goodreads users.
  • Siena: Clarified that the Home feed primarily shows activity from added friends, while broader recommendations appear in the Discover tab.
  • Liz: Asked how to add a friend and whether an account is required.
  • Siena: Explained that friends are invited by email; if they do not have an account, they can create one upon receiving the invite.
• Conclusion
  • Participants gained a clear understanding of the Home tab and its social features.
  • The Actions menu was highlighted as a key accessibility feature for VoiceOver users.

Goodreads: My Books Tab

Siena demonstrated the My Books tab, including shelves, tags, and progress tracking.

• Details
  • Siena: Showed the default shelves: Reading (Currently Reading), Want to Read, Read, and Did Not Finish.
  • Siena: Demonstrated how to update reading progress and change a book’s shelf status.
  • Siena: Moved “Stop Saying You’re Fine” by Mel Robbins to the Did Not Finish shelf.
  • Siena: Showed books currently on her Reading shelf, including “Unseen” by Molly Burke and “Music is History” by Amir Thompson.
  • Ali: Clarified that users can create tags (not additional shelves) to further categorize books within their existing shelves.
  • Siena: Confirmed this distinction.
  • Siena: Demonstrated searching for books by author (Adriana Trigiani) and shelving results, including “The Shoemaker’s Wife” (marked as Read) and “Lucia, Lucia” (marked as Want to Read).
  • Ali: Mentioned that “Losing the Signal” (the BlackBerry book) is one he would reread and suggested it as a potential Books Panel selection.
  • Siena: Agreed and noted it would be captured in the meeting notes.
• Conclusion
  • The My Books tab allows users to manage and track their reading across multiple shelves.
  • Tags can be used to further organize books within shelves.
  • “Losing the Signal” was proposed as a future Books Panel book.

Goodreads: Discover Tab

Siena walked through the Discover tab, highlighting trending books and Goodreads recommendations.

• Details
  • Siena: Showed categories including “Dark and Twisty,” “Trending with Goodreads Members,” and “Most Read This Week.”
  • Siena: Read book descriptions for several titles, including “The Calamity Club” by Katherine Stockett, “Theo of Golden” by Alan Levi, “My Husband’s Wife” by Alice Feeney, and “The Nightingale” by Kristen Hanna.
  • Siena: Shelved multiple books as Want to Read during the demonstration.
  • Liz: Confirmed she had read “The Nightingale” and praised “Theo of Golden” as one of her top books of the year.
  • Ashlyn: Confirmed she had read “The Nightingale.”
  • Ali: Confirmed “Theo of Golden” is available on CELA and posted the link in the chat.
  • Siena: Noted that the Discover tab can be navigated efficiently using the Headings rotor option in VoiceOver.
  • Liz: Asked about reading author names character by character using VoiceOver.
  • Siena: Demonstrated reading “Freida McFadden” character by character using the VoiceOver rotor set to Characters, spelling out the name.
  • Ali: Noted this technique could be the basis of a future tutorial.
• Conclusion
  • The Discover tab provides broad book recommendations and trending titles.
  • VoiceOver’s character-by-character reading is useful for confirming author name spellings within any app.
  • “Theo of Golden” is available on CELA; link was shared in the chat.

Goodreads: Notifications Tab

Siena briefly demonstrated the Notifications section of the app.

• Details
  • Siena: Showed three sub-sections: Notifications (activity feed), Messages (direct messages to friends), and Requests (friend requests).
  • Siena: Noted sample notifications including reading challenge reminders, Choice Awards announcements, and friend activity alerts.
• Conclusion
  • The Notifications tab consolidates activity alerts, messages, and friend requests in one place.

Goodreads: Account Creation and Sign-In

Siena demonstrated how to create a new Goodreads account and sign in, including logging out to show the process from the beginning.

• Details
  • Siena: Showed sign-up options: Sign Up with Email, Continue with Amazon, and Continue with Apple.
  • Siena: Explained she originally signed up via Amazon due to her existing Audible account.
  • Siena: Demonstrated the email sign-up form, including name, email, and password fields (minimum 6 characters), and the Show Password toggle.
  • Siena: Noted that signing in with Amazon is automatic if already signed into Amazon or Audible on the device.
  • Liz: Confirmed she does not have an Amazon account and will create a new Goodreads account via email.
  • Ali: Noted that having an Amazon account may automatically create a Goodreads profile.
• Conclusion
  • New users can sign up via email, Amazon, or Apple ID.
  • Liz will create her account via the email invite link sent by Siena.

Goodreads: Adding Friends

Siena demonstrated how to invite and add friends on Goodreads.

• Details
  • Siena: Navigated to More > Friends > Add Friends and showed options to search by name/email, invite via contacts, or invite via email/message.
  • Siena: Sent a friend invite to Liz directly from within the app using her contact information.
  • Ali: Noted that Ashlyn and he are already in Siena’s friends list.
  • Liz: Confirmed receipt of the invite and expressed appreciation.
• Conclusion
  • Liz received a Goodreads friend invite from Siena during the session.
  • Once Liz creates her account, she can accept the friend request.

Platform Decision: Continuing with Zoom

Siena announced the team’s decision to continue using Zoom as the platform for all Textravaganza sessions.

• Details
  • Siena: Explained that after team discussions, Zoom was chosen over Google Meet due to participant familiarity and ease of use.
  • Ali: Confirmed Zoom will remain the platform, including for office hours.
  • Ashlyn: Suggested informing Tiana, who had expressed a preference for Zoom.
  • Siena: Confirmed Tiana would be re-added to the mailing list and notified.
  • Ali: Noted Zoom may also become the platform of choice for other events beyond Textravaganza.
• Conclusion
  • Zoom is confirmed as the ongoing platform for all Textravaganza sessions and office hours.
  • Tiana will be re-added to the list and informed of the decision.

Techstravaganza Rebranding Announcement

Siena announced the new naming structure for Techstravaganza sessions.

• Details
  • Siena: Announced that Wednesday workshops will be called “Techstravaganza Afternoons.”
  • Siena: Announced that the second Thursday of each month will be called “Techstravaganza Evenings.”
  • Siena: Announced that the first Friday of each month will be called “Techstravaganza Extra,” covering topics not addressed in previous tutorials.
  • Jackie: Noted the naming structure makes logical sense.
  • Ashlyn: Expressed amusement and approval of the rebranded names.
• Conclusion
  • The three-tier Techstravaganza branding structure is now in effect: Afternoons (Wednesdays), Evenings (second Thursday), and Extra (first Friday).

Upcoming Event: Techstravaganza Evenings – Zedge App

Siena announced the next Techstravaganza Evenings session scheduled for Thursday, July 9, 2026.

• Details
  • Siena: Announced the session will run from 7–9 PM and will cover the Zedge app (zedge.net), which allows users to download ringtones.
  • Siena: Noted that iOS 26 now allows ringtones to be added directly from the share sheet, provided they are under 29 seconds.
  • Siena: Clarified that the Zedge iPhone app only supports wallpaper downloads, so the tutorial will focus on the website and demonstrate how to save files as ringtones and text tones.
• Conclusion
  • Textravaganza Evenings on July 9 will cover the Zedge website and iOS 26 ringtone functionality.

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Workshop Introduction: Gmail Native App on iPhone

Ali formally opened the Techstravaganza Extra session, introducing the topic as a tutorial on the Gmail native app for iPhone. He outlined the session’s goals.

• Details
  • Ali: Introduced the session date as Friday, July 3, 2026, and outlined the tutorial topics: the purpose of the Gmail app, its advantages over the built-in Mail app, its features, navigating threads, and mail categories.
  • Ali: Noted that the Mail app’s categories feature was originally derived from Gmail.
• Conclusion
  • The session would cover Gmail app settings, thread navigation, attachments, and categories.
  • Questions would be taken after each section.

Gmail App: Navigation Menu and Labels

Ali demonstrated the Gmail app’s navigation menu, walking through the various sections available including inboxes, labels, and settings.

• Details
  • Ali: Showed the navigation menu containing All Inboxes, Inbox, Starred, Snoozed, Important, Sent, Scheduled, Drafts, All Mail, Spam, Trash, and custom labels.
  • Ali: Noted he had multiple accounts set up and had created several custom labels over time.
• Conclusion
  • The Gmail navigation menu provides access to all mailboxes, labels, and settings from a single location.

Gmail App: Settings Overview

Ali navigated through the Gmail app’s Settings, covering notification preferences, inbox type, conversation view, and other configuration options.

• Details
  • Ali: Demonstrated the Email Notifications setting, set to “All New Mail,” with options for High Priority Only or None.
  • Ali: Walked through available notification sounds including Welcome, Nudge, Snappy, Sweet, Whistle, Tones, Coms, Treasure, Piggyback, and Shrink Ray, noting Treasure as his favorite.
  • Ali: Showed Inbox Type options: Default Inbox, Important First, Unread First, Starred First, and Priority Inbox.
  • Ali: Highlighted the Conversation View toggle, which groups emails with the same topic together, noting it is similar to the Mail app’s “Organize by Thread” setting.
  • Ali: Briefly noted settings for Dynamic Emails, Vacation Responder, Signature Settings, Smart Reply, and Siri Shortcuts.
• Conclusion
  • Key settings to configure include notification type, notification sound, inbox type, and conversation view.
  • Conversation View is enabled by default and groups related emails into threads.

Gmail App: Navigating Email Threads

Ali demonstrated how to navigate email threads within the Gmail app, using a WordPress support thread with 67 messages as an example.

• Details
  • Ali: Showed that within a thread, messages are sorted oldest to newest.
  • Ali: Demonstrated that collapsed messages can be expanded by activating (double-tapping) each one individually.
  • Lily: Asked whether messages are sorted oldest or newest first; Ali confirmed oldest first.
  • Ali: Realized and confirmed that the newest message in a thread is always expanded by default when opening a thread.
  • Lily: Noted this is convenient for checking the latest reply, and that you can scroll down to the bottom if needed.
• Conclusion
  • Threads in Gmail app are sorted oldest to newest, with the most recent message expanded by default.
  • Users can expand individual messages by activating each collapsed message while flicking through the thread.

Gmail App: Handling Single Attachments

Hans asked about saving attachments from the Gmail app on iPhone. Ali demonstrated using a recipe file (Aaron’s Jambalaya.RTF) sent by Lily as an example.

• Details
  • Hans: Asked whether it is easy to save attachments, particularly multiple attachments, from a single message in the Gmail iPhone app.
  • Ali: Demonstrated that attachments can be accessed directly from the inbox message list without opening the full message.
  • Ali: Showed that once inside a message, activating an attachment opens it and presents options to Save to Drive or Share to another app.
  • Ali: Noted that Google Drive integration allows direct saving from within the Gmail app.
• Conclusion
  • Single attachments can be saved to Google Drive or shared to other apps directly from the Gmail iPhone app.
  • Attachments are accessible both from the inbox list view and from within the open message.

Gmail App: Handling Multiple Attachments (iPhone vs. Web)

Ali and Hans explored how the Gmail iPhone app handles emails with multiple attachments, and whether they can be saved simultaneously.

• Details
  • Hans: Specifically asked whether multiple attachments can be saved simultaneously rather than one at a time.
  • Ali: Tested with a two-attachment email sent by Lily and found that on the iPhone app, attachments must be saved individually.
  • Ali: Suggested that the Gmail web version likely offers a “Save All to Drive” or “Download All” option and proposed checking it live.
• Conclusion
  • The Gmail iPhone app requires saving multiple attachments one at a time.
  • The Gmail web version was identified as the better option for downloading or saving multiple attachments simultaneously.

Gmail Web (Mac): Downloading Multiple Attachments

Ali switched to demonstrating Gmail on the Mac (Google Chrome) to show how multiple attachments can be downloaded at once.

• Details
  • Ali: Opened the email with two attachments in Gmail on the Mac and found both “Download All Attachments” and “Add All to Drive” buttons.
  • Ali: Activated “Download All Attachments,” which created a zip file called “Attachments.zip” in the Downloads folder.
  • Ali: Opened the zip file in Finder, revealing both files: Notes from LinkedIn Workshop.RTF and RU Testimonial.RTF.
  • Hans: Confirmed this answered his question about saving multiple attachments.
• Conclusion
  • Gmail web provides “Download All Attachments” and “Add All to Drive” options for bulk attachment handling.
  • Downloaded attachments are packaged into a zip file saved to the Downloads folder.

Gmail Web (Windows): Downloading and Extracting Multiple Attachments

Siena took over to demonstrate the same process on Windows using JAWS, providing a Windows-specific walkthrough for participants.

• Details
  • Siena: Opened the forwarded email with two attachments in Gmail on Windows using Google Chrome.
  • Siena: Used Insert+Z in JAWS to enable the virtual PC cursor to navigate the message body.
  • Siena: Identified the “Download All Attachments” and “Add All to Drive” buttons, as well as individual attachment preview and download options.
  • Siena: Activated “Download All Attachments,” which created a zip file named after the email subject (FWDAttachments.zip) in the Downloads folder.
  • Siena: Demonstrated extracting the zip file using Shift+F10 to open the context menu and selecting “Extract All,” which created a folder containing both attachment files.
  • Siena: Noted that pressing Enter on a zip file in Windows opens it without extracting, and that “Extract All” is needed to fully unzip.
  • Hans: Asked for clarification on the unzipping process; Siena walked through it again.
• Conclusion
  • On Windows, Gmail web allows downloading all attachments as a zip file via “Download All Attachments.”
  • The zip file must be extracted using the “Extract All” option from the context menu (Shift+F10) to access individual files.
  • JAWS users should use Insert+Z to enable the virtual PC cursor when navigating Gmail messages in the browser.

Threaded vs. Non-Threaded Email View: Participant Preferences

Ali opened a discussion asking participants whether they prefer threaded (conversation) view or non-threaded (individual message) view in their email apps.

• Details
  • Ashlyn: Uses the Mail app with the default threaded view, finding it acceptable though sometimes annoying.
  • Lily: Prefers the Mail app with threaded view (Organize by Thread), but noted a minor frustration when the app expands the other person’s message rather than her own sent message. She discovered the rotor’s “Messages” option in the Mail app allows flicking up/down to navigate between messages in a thread.
  • Ali: Confirmed that in the Mail app’s rotor, selecting “Messages” and flicking up/down navigates between individual messages in a thread, and that the Actions menu allows replying to a specific message within the thread.
  • Siena: Praised the Mail app’s Actions menu feature for replying to specific messages, but noted she is gravitating toward the Gmail app for its consistent interface across platforms. On Gmail web, she uses the semicolon key to expand threads and N to navigate to the next message.
  • Macara: Prefers Gmail and threaded view, finding it cleaner than individual messages despite occasional navigation complexity.
  • Jackie: Has been using non-threaded view in the Gmail app but expressed openness to trying threaded view after Ali explained its benefits.
  • Ali: Explained the benefit of threaded view to Jackie using a “coffee time” conversation analogy — grouping related messages together like a book so users don’t have to hunt for individual messages on the same topic.
  • Hans: Did not explicitly state a preference during this segment.
• Conclusion
  • Most participants prefer or are open to threaded/conversation view.
  • The Mail app’s rotor “Messages” option and Actions menu provide useful navigation within threads.
  • Gmail app’s threaded navigation (flick left/right to find messages, activate to expand) works consistently across platforms.
  • Jackie was encouraged to enable conversation view and explore mail categories.

Mail Categories Discussion

Ali briefly raised the topic of Gmail/Mail categories, noting he had previously disabled them but was reconsidering their value.

• Details
  • Ali: Mentioned that mail categories separate emails into different labels/tabs and could be useful for organization, though he currently has them disabled.
  • Siena: Enthusiastically agreed to demonstrate navigating Gmail with mail categories enabled in a future tutorial.
• Conclusion
  • A future Techstravaganza session will be dedicated to demonstrating Gmail mail categories navigation.

Feedback on Potential Switch from Zoom to Google Meet

Lily introduced a discussion to gather participant feedback on potentially switching Techstravaganza workshops from Zoom to Google Meet, citing issues with Zoom including file management and app glitches.

• Details
  • Lily: Explained the motivation for considering Google Meet — issues with finding recording files, uploading to podcasts, and app glitches in Zoom.
  • Hans: Expressed flexibility, noting Zoom’s familiarity (same meeting ID and password, history in client) but acknowledged Google Meet is usable. Raised concerns about different keyboard shortcuts and the need to tab back to buttons when focus moves.
  • Siena: Addressed Hans’s concerns, providing Google Meet keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+D (mute/unmute mic), Ctrl+E (camera), Ctrl+Alt+C (chat), Ctrl+Alt+P (participants), Ctrl+Alt+H (raise/lower hand), and spacebar for push-to-talk. Confirmed shortcuts work without disabling the virtual PC cursor in JAWS/NVDA.
  • Hans: Asked whether shortcuts work in Brave browser; Siena confirmed they are not browser-specific and work across Chrome, Brave, Firefox, and Edge, though Chrome offers the best experience.
  • Jackie: Said she has no strong preference and is comfortable with either platform, having used Google Meet before.
  • Siena: Offered to set up individual one-on-one Google Meet orientation sessions for Hans and Jackie.
  • Hans: Accepted the offer.
  • Jackie: Agreed to try Google Meet on her next one-on-one with Siena on Wednesday.
  • Ali: Noted that both platforms offer similar features and controls.
  • Jackie: Asked about a shortcut to view participants in Meet; Ali confirmed Command+Control+P on Mac and Ctrl+Alt+P on PC.
• Conclusion
  • Participants showed general willingness to try Google Meet but some hesitancy due to unfamiliarity with shortcuts.
  • Siena will conduct individual Google Meet orientation sessions with Hans and Jackie.
  • A future Techstravaganza Extra session in August will cover Google Meet keyboard shortcuts.
  • The recurring Google Meet link will remain the same for each workshop, mirroring the Zoom setup.

Contact the team:

Email: support@techstravaganza.ca

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