Conferencing Software
Conferencing software ideas for the K-12 educational community.
Links
Three of the most widely used contact/conferencing software products are Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger(formerly MSN Messenger), and to a lesser extent AOL's Instant Messenger. All are free and allow you to track who is and is not currently available (great when setting up a group meeting). All can support multi person chats and message boards, and include real time voice and video chats (using your computer's web cam, sound card and speakers).
CUSeeMe, one of the pioneers in the field, is still available as CUworld, but is not currently being developed.
Other conferencing environments, such as Tapped In, are geared to the needs of education professionals and offer other important advantages such as asynchronous meetings (same time-same place-NOT). Tapped In is free and a cinch to use. Concept papers at the site describe its advantages and best use.
Logitech offers a line of Webcams -- inexpensive video cameras -- that plug into your computer and works with the popular conferencing software. Many laptops now include a build in webcam and microphone.
For large group training and conferencing try WebEx or Microsoft's Live Meeting. A presenter can deliver an audio lecture, supplemented with PowerPoint or HTML slides for real time annotation. Attendees can chat among themselves via text or audio while the presentation is occurring and submit questions to the presenter. While not free like some of the other solutions, both allow you "try before you buy".
Another popular option for asynchronous meetings is Yahoo Groups. You can create a public or private forum that can include an mailing list, data bases, and image and file storage. Groups can be public or private, there's no charge to use it, and groups are easy to set up and use.
See Also
Annotation
The problem with most of these products is that all participants must have the same software installed. Work is now in full gear to allow the various products to interoperate with one another.
Check with others and see what conferencing products they are currently using. Try the different ones and see which one works best for your group.
