Investigating web conferencing applications (updated 8th May)

This morning I got to test out live the dimdim web conferencing application which went live earlier this month, following a long period of beta testing. The reason for the test is that currently in our online professional development environment which is a Moodle Virtual Learning Environment. We currently use a 'wimba' tool called 'Virtual Live Classroom' for synchronous online teacher training. Wimba tools are built to fit into the Moodle environment, and Live Classroom enables the online mentor to their share their desktop environment and files with participants.

However the past year has seen the growth and development in this area, dimdim is an open source application ( runs from browser either standalone or from within a VLE) which allows :

• video conferencing
• desk top sharing
• File sharing - powerpoint and pdf
• an interactive whiteboard ( which can be locked)

The dimdim environment is very easy on the eye and non threatening to participants, it appears to work smoothly with file transfer note being too delayed. There is a limit of 20 people per room which is probably enough for most general uses. We were very impressed with the look of the interface, the only problem that we hit was that pdf files were re sized to the landscape rectangular main window which made the pdf's very difficult to read - especially as we use pupils assessment material which is often handwritten.

Other applications that are of merit are :

The Gong Project from Hong Kong University of science and Technology - they have an additional snazzy tool that I might try out called 'nanogong!'

Unfortunately in the literature the Gong Project does own up to the fact that there is a lag in audio due to all audio routing through their servers in Hong Kong however you can run it from your own servers ( at a price I guess)...

WiZIQ which allows quite a range of file and flash sharing, it allows more people in a room, it is a free application as well and is being developed, having changed technology from Adobe Flash to Adobe Flex recently.Another web conferencing application that I have used before, as part of the 'When Night Falls again' session of K12Online 07 is of course Elluminate.

Elluminate has great application sharing capabilities, including desktop sharing and breakout rooms- of course it is not free ( the V Room for 3 participants is however if you wan to give it a go) but again has Moodle integration as do the others above. It requires a download which some of the others do not - but is much more powerful with more features ( it depends how many of them you actually use!)
I have long been a fan and advocate of Flashmeeting a UK based web conferencing application as many people will know.


Flashmeeting is good as a standalone web conferencing application again requiring no download - it is limited to either a whiteboard session or web cam session but you cannot toggle between each as far as I am aware with ease - it is easy to use and uses a small amount of bandwidth as only 1 person can talk at a time. Unfortunately Flashmeeting doesn't stack up against the newer and more capable competition quite as well as expected - it scores on its simplicity which going back to the beginning dimdim seems to have matched to some extent.
It all comes down to looking at your priorities, how do you plan to run your online classroom, what tools are essential to the environment and for us and others how are they integrated into VLE's - you pay your money ( unless its a free open source of course!) and make your choice, one thing is for sure the applications here are only a step along the way and this year there are undoubtedly others out there waiting to give us greater scope in online learning.

Following a comment from Andrew at Mikogo, which you will find here I was pointed towards another open source application called Mikogo It looks cool though as yet I have not tried it out - will do over the weekend - Wow how many more will appear??
One more to make a late appearance following a comment left today (8th May) is Batipi which is a paid for hosted service.
" We help you to plan, and host online presentations and training. Whether you need to schedule a video conference with the management team, plan for your next upcoming webinar, or create memorable sales presentations, our event consultants are standing by 24/7. Experience the difference, experience Batipi."

Interesting New Tool Yuuguu

Yuuguu

"Yuuguu lets you interact with your colleagues and friends as though

they were sat right next to you... no matter where in the world they are"

I have to say thanks to Lee Davis @IBO for the link to Yuuguu ( Japanese for fusion).

"Yuuguu, derived from the Japanese word for fusion, enables users to see, share, and take control of each other’s computer screens and applications. Users can ask anyone to securely share their computer screen in real time, whether they’re on a PC or Mac platform — and without having to download or install any software. Colleagues just need a browser and Internet connection to participate.

Free, easy-to-install, and easy-to-use, Yuuguu can be used by team members working on a project or friends sharing applications. Colleagues and friends can message and chat while they share screens for enhanced collaboration. The platform includes high quality, low cost voice conferencing services for one-to-one and one-to-many voice calls. And Yuuguu’s integrated presence status brings a sense of community to web sharing, as users can see when friends are online and click to invite them."

It will be interesting to see how Yuuguu matches up with the likes of Skype, Elluminate and WiZiq as it appears to fuse both with conference calls and desktop sharing. It is also cross-platform (Mac and PC available), it is also a part British product, based in Manchester.

"Comment from Philip Hemsted Co-Founder of Yuuguu - Hi there - many thanks for the review, I'm Philip one of the Yuuguu founders. We'll be releasing the web share version soon so viewers won't have to download a client to share screens and chat. If you want to have a go let me know and we can have a collaboration session."
This just shows the power of blogging, and yes Philip, I would love to give YUUGUU a go, a collaboration sounds great.... contact needs to be made.

I would like to try it out, so if anyone else in the Edublogosphere wants to have a get together download the program and let's give it a 'test drive'. To do this once, downloaded we will need to invite friends into a network using e-mail.... so let me know.

YUUGUU goes web based so no download or install - Yuuguu WebShare

Sadly now I am 'Mac-less' - I have finally had to take the MacBook back into school for my colleague who is taking over IT when I leave the school in just over 3 weeks. Having been able to directly compare both Mac and PC ( as a lifelong PC based user up to 2006).
I personally would not even try to carry out video/ film making projects on anything other than a Mac - IMovie is so easy to use, and transfering to iDVD very simple, making film projects easy peasy! ( I know having used Win Moviemaker on PC - it doesn't come close to its Mac cousin). I was somewhat underwhelmed with GarageBand for podcasting ( apart from video podcasting which is more practical on Mac) still prefering Audacity on a PC. The Mac operating system while fast and very smooth in operation I still found it quite alien compared with the MS environment, the basic fiddle of having navigation buttons on the opposite side of the screen!

I will certainly miss the Mac as I settle back into using my basic Dell Inspiron... but who knows what the future holds.....?