Depending on what the purpose of the meeting or teaching situation is, I would recommend the following:
MegaMeeting: Classes of up to 16 folks. It's adaptable on three browsers, Windows, Mac OSx, Linux; Integrated VoiP, screen sharing, Individual and SMBs versions.
Wengomeeting: Classes of smaller groups, audio & video conferencing both, 3 browsers, Flash technology.
Webex or PaiBee: Teacher with Learner, 1 to 1; online whiteboard; record a video conference (nice for a student to review a lesson.) Widget enables you to embed recorded conferences on blog or page, which would be handy for the teacher to do to archive lesson by lesson for the student on a special blog set up for this purpose.
Skype or Ichat: Learner to Learner; Use of familiar videoware might make it easier for the students to focus on the conversation.
Meebo and Tokbox appear to be very slick.
I envision using video conferencing on a bi-weekly basis to practice conversation, pronunciation, student skits/situations that can be recorded and embedded for a grade and for peer editing.
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1 year ago
Hi Lisa, I also like Skype and ichat. I think they are the easiest to navigate and not clouded with a million features or advertisement. You do have to download Skype though. Do you think this could create a problem in the classroom. And ichat would be even more difficult to get. You have to be a mac user and have purchased the program, so that would be really hard to coordinate in a classroom. It's my understanding that you have to purchase megameeting as well, although I haven't tried it. What tool would you use if you were having the students communicate with native speakers, who were elsewhere?
ReplyDeleteGood points, aptly pointed to someone who does NOT do video conferencing. What would YOU use?
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