SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series
Web Conferencing
Web
Conferencing: The Basics
Web conferencing is a form of communication
that uses the internet to connect two or more participants.
Web conferencing utilizes text, audio and even video
to share information on a real-time basis. Imagine using your computer
to hold meetings with multiple business partners or to conduct
brainstorming sessions with your employees. These are just
some of the few applications web conferencing can offer you.
Web conferencing has
many features that allow the event to
be highly interactive despite the wide distances that may separate
its users and is quickly changing the way many organizations
conduct their business. For example, web conferencing is enabling
a greater level of collaboration through presentation sharing,
document sharing and desktop sharing. Web conferencing can
even allow you to turn control access of your computer over
to someone else, a feature that is being utilized more and
more especially in training and explaining computer software.
With a so-called “whiteboard” participants also have the power
to annotate or modify documents or presentations directly and
then save a copy without needing the original application.
This is especially valuable quickening the process of contract
negotiations. Polling features also help you get feedback from
your participants and other features allow you the power to
have greater control over how your web conference is run.
Used
creatively, web conferencing also has a host of uses
in the personal realm such as connecting with families and
friends in far away locations and it is also opening more work-from-home
opportunities for entrepreneurs. For example, web conferences
can expand the market of on-line auctioneers; while trainers,
teachers and counselors are adopting the technology to reach
more clients for their services. Web conferencing is also being
used to allow people to practically be in two different places
at the same time, such as when they have to attend important
occasions such as weddings and graduations but are unable to
do so due to geographical barriers.
The basic
equipment one needs to hold a web conference is
a computer, a web browser, an internet connection and a phone.
Voice over IP (VOIP) or two way internet audio can be used
instead of a regular landline connection, so that you can have
verbal communication over the net without accumulating long
distance call costs. The sound quality however may depend on
Internet congestion. You will also have to choose a web conferencing
software which are available on annual or monthly subscriptions
or on a per-minute basis. Vendors also offer packages depending
on how many participants you intend to reach through your web
conference whether you will be communicating to just one other
person or to 100. The larger the session, the more you should
be ready to pay for the service.
If
you plan to incorporate video into your web conference, you will require a web or digital camera as well a microphone
and other software and peripherals to translate analog information
to digital information back to sound and images. Web conferencing
with video capabilities usually entail larger wider bandwidth
but has become a preferred-cost effective conferencing solution
for many businesses, big and small. You can choose between
multi-point video which produces a Brady Bunch like effect
with multiple video windows being displayed and point to point
video which displays only two video windows. Multi-point video
is best used for sessions of four or so participants when you
want to see each individual member of your audience. However,
one disadvantage with web based video conferencing is that
one may have to sacrifice the quality of video images for speed.
In general, if you have the bandwidth, you will want to find
a vendor that offers a high Frames Per Second (FPS) rate to
ensure smoother video quality. On the whole however, web conferencing
offers an affordable alternative to traditional conferences
especially when time, distance and other circumstances make
it impossible for all the participants to assemble in one physical
room.
Because it breaks down geographical barriers and offers an
affordable alternative to traditional conferences that can
still make use of video and sound, experts forecast web conferencing
to be a widespread form of communication in the near future.
Armed with the basics of the technology, you will be on your
way to maximizing web conferencing whether for your organizational
or personal needs.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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