My mother teaches (adults) from home and due to this pesky virus now needs to do it remotely.
She uses specific software something similar to Zoom etc.

The problem is, some of her clients don’t/won’t use the internet due to religious or lifestyle reasons, whatever. Let’s not get sidetracked 😉

I’m trying to figure out a setup where she can have some clients in one room of her house and she can be in a different room, using this software. Having a PC in that room with a large monitor or projector is fine BUT each client needs their own account & camera so she (my mother) can see their faces and select them individually.

Any clever ideas? There might be a few pupils in the room who need this.

She’s high risk so doesn’t want to be in the same room even with distancing, masks etc.

My best so far is: a PC for one of them with a screen/projector so they can see her face, then every other person has a cheapy smartphone aimed at them with their own logins. Screens not relevant as they are all sharing the large one.
However this seems likely to overload her home wireless, or she’ll need a SIM card for each phone and use mobile internet which will be expensive & not so reliable.

Is there a better/simpler solution?

How about a wall with a perspex/glass window and bank style speakers/mic through it? Pupils on one side, your Mother on the other.
Seems a lot less complicated than a world of networks and software. Also pleases those that are still in the dark ages with regards technology.

The problem is, some of her clients don’t/won’t use the internet due to religious or lifestyle reasons, whatever. Let’s not get sidetracked 😉

Let’s get sidetracked. What can they do in the next room that they can’t do in a different house? It’s exactly the same only a longer wire. If they’re in the next room why do you need Zoom?

‘Clients’ plural is problematic however you slice it. Pocpoc’s idea is probably best, physical segregation.

How many clients need to be in the house at the same time and using the tech? Basically it could be a wad of cash to spend. For example for five people you’d need; cheap laptop £350, 50″ TV £350 and 4 x cheap smartphones at £100 gives you a price of £1,100. They should all be able to run off wifi assuming your on fibre or similar. From memory when I’m on teams using video and audio I see about 2MBps of bandwidth being used.

But the challenge you’re going to have is getting a bunch of technophobes to all use the devices and join the relevant call. Also how will devices be sanitised between sessions? How comfortable are the clients all being together inside in one room with masks on? How will the room be sanitised between sessions?

Oh finally that many devices on the same call in the same room is going to cause awful audio feedback, it just won’t work. Sorry.

So I’d say either do it outside socially distanced, put a glass screen in the serving hatch to protect them from your mum, or as per Cougar get them to do it from home.

Out of interest are they all Mormons?

Hmm some kind of screen might just be the best option, except that makes the room so much smaller. With the cameras you could have everyone sitting in opposite corners.

My mother would set everything up before the clients came in, so they would not need to touch them or do anything at all apart from sit there.
The people who don’t have this problem could sit at home and join in the same class.

It’s not a massive room so I doubt you could fit more than 3 people in there at the moment.

Out of interest are they all Mormons?

Jews. Most would not have a problem with this, many Jews limit exposure to the internet though to different levels, the most ‘extreme’ being not even using a device with internet capabilities. Hence this problem 😉 It’s not that many people, but still most of my mother’s clients.
Some who would use it for work etc would still not want it in their home.

A cubicle with transparent screens, and if necessary microphone and speakers both ways would be cheaper and easier. If the clients are not accustomed to technology they may have difficulty using phones or laptops, and she is better off only having to teach the primary topic and not IT as well.

I appreciate your mother is high risk etc however I would have thought that just being in the same room with full PPE and proper hygiene would be no less risk than letting people into her house albeit in a separate room. I assume she still has to enter this room to set things up, maintain the space etc so the risk does not seem much diminished to me?

Big screen and single computer / microphone/speakers for the room.
But each has an ipad/tablet/smartphone for the camera only with a separate ID (non user specific “IpadUser1, Ipaduser2” etc_
That way the microphone and speakers of the individual devices don’t mess with each other but all cameras are equal for all participants?