Webcasting

[Brandy]

Webcasting is holding a live event on the internet. Several
individuals from different locations can log in to a website and
converse via microphones and web cameras and in some case collaborate
using a whiteboard or document tools. They may also view a
presentation or video. All of this occurs live and in real time.

Has anyone done this?

Does anyone recommend any tools to do this?

Experience, tips, advice, horror stories, etc...? Please share.

[James Bender]

Hi everyone,

I did some research this weekend on webcasting. I found there are more
vendors that offer just as robust services for cheaper than the major two
vendors (WebEx and meetings to go). Some of the features of the webcast
would be a great way to teach an online class, as long as everyone could get
on at the agreed time. I really like the webcam / flash feature (see
attachments) this would be an ultimate way to have online education!

Now the cost. I believe in Brandy's philosophy of "I work at a community
college so free is great!" I have received free services from tech
companies once I explain I am non-profit (a tax write off for the company)
and that this technology will expose my students to something new and my
students will eventually be future potential clients. Make the letter look
like the service will get a lot out of what you are doing through education.

Here are some attachments I received this morning.

My next educational project I am going to use webcasting is a multiple
hospital disaster exercise. Linking all the hospitals together as I place
them through the hurdles of a bio disaster!

James E.M. Bender, EMT-P
Emergency Manager

http://www.medicalhorizonsconsulting.com

Medical Horizons Consulting
801 Hester Ave
Normal, IL  61761

Phone    309-824-3104
Fax        309-452-2891
Cell 309-712-6544

"Mind what you have learned. Save you it can."

[terrym...@gmail.com]

Hi Brandy

I teach at Harper College and we have a license for Elluminate Live,
http://www.elluminate.com. It's a bit pricey but the entire college
shares about 30 seats. I use it for online orientation sessions and at
intervals throughout the course for topics that students sometimes
have trouble with. The sessions can be recorded. Another teacher at
Harper uses Elluminate Live while she teaches the classroom section of
a course -- the online students can remotely participate at the same
time. All students can review the recorded session later.

The free Elluminate vRoom, http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/index.jsp,
is useful for faculty office hours. Up to three people can be active
at one time.

I just became aware of a free conferencing/collaboration site named
OpenACircle (http://openacircle.org) -- now in alpha (http://
alpha.openacircle.org).

Terry

[Brandy]

The wiziq.com that we've been using for our session is a free virtual
classroom and seams to be getting better all the time. They tell me
they'll be adding a feature to allow you demonstrate your desktop, a
webpage or software in the next couple days.

Elluminate is very good and easy to use. We used to use it via a
license with an organization we were part of had. We don't have access
to it anymore, however. The vroom works well for very small groups.

Here are a couple other tools that offer free web conferencing - I've
not tried them.
http://www.dimdim.com/
https://www.yugma.com/index.php

If I find a few free minutes, I'll check outOpen A circle.

Also, Skype http://www.skype.com - has some features to do web
conferencing.

You may also explore meebo.com - you can set-up your own meebo chat
room and you can embed this chat room on a website or in a course
management site.

Remember that web conferencing is different from just providing a
narrated PowerPoint or presentation. Web conferencing is only for
those environments where you want to gather everybody in a virtual
space at one time and you want to converse with them live via
microphone, text and maybe a web cam. Also with these tools you have
the ability to share a presentation, whiteboard, and other media.

Another point to remember is that often times when you buy the web
conferencing software you also have to pay for streaming server space
to host the web conference or you have to have the ability to put the
software on your own server.

On Jul 22, 7:17 am, terrymorri...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi Brandy
>

> I teach at Harper College and we have a license for  Elluminate Live,http://www.elluminate.com. It's a bit pricey but the entire college

> shares about 30 seats. I use it for online orientation sessions and at
> intervals throughout the course for topics that students sometimes
> have trouble with. The sessions can be recorded.  Another teacher at
> Harper uses Elluminate Live while she teaches the classroom section of
> a course -- the online students can remotely participate at the same
> time. All students can review the recorded session later.
>

> The free Elluminate vRoom,http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/index.jsp,

[terrym...@gmail.com]

I just became aware of a new alternative online communication tool
named tokbox -- see http://www.tokbox.com/view/about
I'm considering adding a tokbox to my Blackboard course site to hold
virtual office hours.

Tokbox and some other new online communication/collaboration tools are
briefly described at
http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2008/08/04/online_collaboration_tools_new/index.htm

On Jul 22, 12:57 pm, Brandy <bthatc...@icc.edu> wrote:
> The wiziq.com that we've been using for our session is a free virtual
> classroom and seams to be getting better all the time. They tell me
> they'll be adding a feature to allow you demonstrate your desktop, a
> webpage or software in the next couple days.
>
> Elluminate is very good and easy to use. We used to use it via a
> license with an organization we were part of had. We don't have access
> to it anymore, however. The vroom works well for very small groups.
>
> Here are a couple other tools that offer free web conferencing - I've

> not tried them.http://www.dimdim.com/https://www.yugma.com/index.php

>
> If I find a few free minutes, I'll check outOpen A circle.
>

> Also, Skypehttp://www.skype.com- has some features to do web