Video conferencing

This synchronous tools provides learners with the ability to have complete interpersonal communication to have a very rich learning experience because they see the person talking as a person (not faceless or voiceless). They experience voice, facial expressions, gestures and body language.

Using video conferencing as an e-Learning tool

Video conferencing is mostly used for presentations, while learners typically ask questions or input comments using a chat feature or audio conferencing tool. It is useful when you want to:

• introduce the facilitator of the course
• demonstrate a tactile or physical procedure/skill
• deliver information about a physical object or a location
• see a product in “real” terms
• communicate something that requires human emotion (tone, facial expressions, etc.)

Capabilities to consider when choosing a video conferencing tool

• technical requirements (network speed , video camera quality, computer speeds–facilitator’s and learner’s–all have a impact on the quality of the experience)
• user interface (how does the video pane appear to the learner? think about if it is the main window, a separate window, its size and so on)
• bi-directional components (can learners transmit video back, or is it only from the facilitator? if it is bi-directional, how would this impact the network?

Here’s one example of a video conferencing provider. Others, as noted on William Horton Consulting’s Web site are:

• Breeze (Adobe Systems)
• Eluminate (Eluminate)
• Exchange Conferencing Server (Microsoft)
• vic (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

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