Conferencing, Video-conferencing, Virtual Classrooms, Virtual Learning Communities, Webinars
On this page:
What are they?
Virtual classroom/meeting tools allow synchronous interactions in a single interface which usually offers audio and video, chat tools, whiteboards and application sharing. This combination of functionality provides the potential for fully interactive online learning with a greater sense of presence and immediacy than asynchronous systems. However the increased functionality of these systems requires higher specification computers and connections as well as a greater level of competency from users to engage in these environments. When they work well they can provide the closest match to a traditional classroom or meeting experience to distributed participants. Much of this functionality overlaps with traditional video conferencing and these systems offer the same and sometimes additional functionality to desktop systems, usually with greater reliability but also greater cost. The Educause Learning Initiative’s (ELI’s) 7 Things You Should Know About... series contains a useful guide to virtual meetings (PDF).
How can I use them with my students?
The real strength of these tools lie their ability to mimic the experience of face to face interaction more closely than most other online environment. As such they are especially useful for
- Fostering a sense of community, e.g. induction events or team building.
- Demonstrating and sharing across tools and platforms, most allow web-browsing, sharing and remote working on applications such as excel etc
- Distributed groups working together where text communication is not rich enough – e.g. online seminars for more visual subjects, students working collaboratively on a complex project.
- Remote students viewing an activity in a sensitive or dangerous environment – e.g. medical students viewing a surgery session.
Webinars and video conferencing more generally are also often used to bring in remote guest lectures and experts to locations they would not otherwise reach.
It is worth noting the ability of this tool to mimic traditional classroom teaching means it is quite possible to use this tool to deliver very traditional teaching (such as broadcasting lectures) to students.
Examples
An overview of the Horizon Wimba Voice Tools and a description of using these tools for a mass collaboration approach to e-learning can be found in the ALT newsletter.
A case study from Warwick on using video conferencing for Theatre Studies and Cultural Exchange.
Where can I get them?
Your institution may have a dedicated video conferencing set up, usually run as a service, speaking to the relevant team will provide you with lots of advice in this area.
If you want to use a desktop solution, there are many (often expensive) commercial tools in this space, but also an increasing number of open source options. Many are well integrated into one or more VLEs to allow functionality such as single sign on. Commercial tools include Elluminate, Adobe Connect(formerly Macromedia Breeze), Wimba, WebEx, and Centra. Much of this functionality is in Microsoft Office Live Meeting.
Free tools include Yugma, and ePresence. For a very long list of additional tools in this area go to http://www.e-learningcentre.co.uk/eclipse/vendors/meeting.htm.
What else do I need to know?
The increased functionality of these tools (especially video and audio aspects) requires users with reasonable computers and internet access to run them effectively. While setting up webcams etc is not hard for users who are reasonably technically competent, they are far from the click and start functionality that users may expect.
As well as the technical requirements these tools require some understanding of the communications protocols that enable effective use. Again these are not complex, but may require users to have a practice session before embarking on learning critical sessions. As such the overhead required to get people started with these tools make them best for situations where there is the intention to make significant and repeat use rather than one off events.
For links to an International Group and annual conference supporting the use of videoconferencing in education, you might be interested in http://www.diverse-video.net/
One large project for videoconferencing in education is: http://www.warwick.ac.uk/ETS/ANNIE/resources/index.htm
