Web Conferencing

Week Four: Web Conferencing



Vyew.com

I chose to use Vyew.com for webconferencing and found that it was very similar to the software used at my company. We use I-Link which has many of the same features: Inviting people, raised hands, uploading content, shared workspaces etc. The thing that is noticeably different is the price! I believe it was around $10 a month for a decent amount of capacity. I believe we paid over $20k for a similar system, that has not worked like it was promoted. So I got a laugh out of that. In fact next Tuesday's meeting with the IBEW FM Development Team is being postponed due to not having enough licenses (moved to Thursday).



The system seemed fairly straight forward, you can set up a classroom format where you meet and present a topic (through your screen), also there is a development section where you can collaboratively work on material. Finally there's a teach and train section where participants can work together or seperately to work on material and you can go back and comment. Awesome stuff.



I uploaded a fairly hefty PPT presentation and it didn't take too long (a little slow). The nice thing was the tutorial for getting started in the beginning which answered a lot of my "how to" questions. I am looking forward to using this in the future to test it out a lot more than this one time. The other person I had log in found it easy to find once I invited them to attend.



I can see the uses for training over large geographical regions - as long as log in is easy - haven't received feedback yet. That's our issue with I-Link; log in can be a real pain and a major obstacle when setting up meetings. I have attended some where we spent 20 minutes of an hour meeting fiddling around, trying to get everyone logged on.



Skype:

The other software I looked into was Skype and my apologies to Ronnie. I said I would meet up with you online Thursday but my flight was delayed three hours, so I missed the meeting. Sorry about that.



Skype is a great tool, which I finally got to install on my work laptop (security block). This has enabled me to drop my work cell bill way down when I work in Canada (was $800+/month). I have been using it for a couple of years on my home computer.

To set up a group call (conference meeting):
1. Click on the new button inside of your Skype account (above contacts list)
2. Drag the contacts you want to group call into the box above "call group" button.
3. Click on call group button - it's that easy.


The features I like using on Skype:

-You can have an online phone number which is just like a regular landline number (say 408 area code which is a local call for San Jose, even if you're in Tokyo)
-My online number is 702.430.**** (Las Vegas area - it calls my computer at home)
-If I'm offline it leaves an email on my Blackberry with the number that called, or I can have the call forwarded to another number (say cell phone)
-Voice Mail is easy to set up (you can check it when you get online)
-There's tons of phone options (duel regular phone and skype)
-Some phones work in any WIFI zone that is not browser based
-You can call someone on Skype and have their caller ID show your personal cell number
-$12.95/month unlimited calling around the world


Items i'm not sure about:

-The online phone number can be any area code of your choosing - from 20 diferent countries
-That can be a little scary (where is the person really calling from?)
-Could be a blessing for those who have family in another country (kid studying overseas) they can call you toll free from any landline and it comes to your skype phone or computer


I really like the webcam feature but if one party has a slow connection it can make the call drop out. A regular call then usually works out fine. You definitely need high speed internet connectivity. Forget dial up.