April 28, 2008
Free Desktop Sharing
If you don't want to pay for a desktop sharing tool, don't despair. Tom Mighell over at Inter-Alia found a free one that allows you to share your desktop with up to 15 participants called Microsoft SharedView. It requires a software download for both the host and participants, and you'll need a Windows Live ID. Apparently, it includes desktop sharing and chat, but no audio.
SharedView isn't the only free tool out there. Yakkle offers instant messaging, voice and desktop sharing. You start by initiating an instant messaging session. Once you've connected, you can opt to share your desktop.
I haven't tried either of these out yet...if anyone else has, let us know what you think.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 05:19 PM | Comments (1)April 06, 2008
Web Conference Basics
Do you want to get started with web conferencing, but just aren't sure how? What products are out there? What features do you need? I recently stumbled across a c|net tutorial that walks you through getting your conference up and running, picking the best software and leading a successful web conference.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)March 23, 2008
How much CO2 is Saved Through Web Conferencing
Typically web conferencing services tout the money that can be saved by using web conferencing to replace business travel. But iLink is also highlighting the environmental savings by is offering a unique tool as part of their software - a green meter! Their green meter is an automatic calculator inside the iLinc Web conferencing software that tracks CO2, in addition to cost and travel reductions accrued by meeting online rather than traveling. The green meter appears whenever you have hold a meeting using iLink. The calculations are based on the location of all of the participants.
Hey, it's actually easy to be green! (Sorry, Kermit!)
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 07:36 PM | Comments (2)Poll of the Week - Web Conferencing in the Library
I know vendors are using web conferencing extensively. But I'm curious as to how much it's being used in law firm libraries for training purposes; so that's the subject of this week's poll.
You can review the poll results at any time by clicking on the view results link.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 07:20 PM | Comments (0)October 07, 2007
Webex DOES offer Recording! Yippee!
In a previous entry I said that Webex didn't offer a convenient method of recording the audio/video of their web conferences. I stand corrected. As of October 2006, Webex has offered Network Based Recording (NBR) . I love the fact that the recordings can be converted to WMV files, making them editable by a number of different editing software packages out there.
Keep in mind that if you're utilizing a Webex reseller, they may not offer this same service.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)September 03, 2007
Recording Your Web Conferences
I've been using web conferencing for several years, and consider it an invaluable training tool. I mean, really, how did we ever live without it? But as with any live training, sometimes the schedule of those who could benefit gets in the way. That's why it's great to be able to easily record your web conferences for the viewing pleasure of those who couldn't attend the live conference. Recordings also provide the attendees with the ability to revisit the session to refresh their memory, or watch sections they may have missed during a momentary lapse in attention.
All web conferencing services aren't created equal when it comes to recording. The granddaddy of web conferencing, Webex, doesn't offer a convenient way to record the audio and video. The audio must be captured using a special phone jack, which is most definitely NOT convenient, and has the potential for a number of different glitches. I keep waiting for them to improve in this area, but so far, no dice.
Luckily there are better options out there. Here's some basic facts on some that I've tried.
Live Meeting
Recording Format: Downloadable wmv file. Can also view recording from Live Meeting site using Windows Media Player
Ease of Recording: Requires sometimes slightly confusing configuration to enable the audio. Essentially, the Live Meeting server must dial into the conference call
File Editable?: Because of a change in codec in their new version, recording is editable in Sony Vegas Movie Studio only. Alternately, I'm told (but haven't tried it) that the file will become editable using other programs after it has been run through Windows Media Stream Editor.
More Information: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/livemeeting/HP011426151033.aspx?pid=CH011442321033
ReadyTalk
Recording Format: Flash. Can download files or view from ReadyTalk site. There is a monthly storage fee.
Ease of Recording: Extremely easy. Audio is integrated with conference center. Host just clicks on record button.
File Editing: It's not clear to me whether these files can be easily edited. Luckily, turning the recording on and off is so easy, extensive editing may not be necessary.
More Information: http://www.readytalk.com/docs/brochures/readytalk-recording-brochure.pdf
Raindance
Recording Format: Proprietary. Requries Raindance Media Player. Downloadable.
Ease of Recording: Extremely easy. Audio is integrated with conference center. Host just clicks on record button.
File Editing: Not available.
October 15, 2006
ReadyTalk Web Conferencing
You'd think I'd get tired of trying out new web conferencing services. The truth is, I am. Still, I get sucked in every once in a while, since none of the services I've used to date combines ease of use with the feature set that I need.
So what do I want? Ease of use on the participant side is absolutely critical. When a participant is having a problem joing the conference, it can be difficult to troubleshoot since the moderator can't see their screen. There's a lot to think about when conducting a web conference, so making things simple for the moderator is important, too. On top of that, I need to be able to record sessions easily so that those who couldn't make the call can play catch up at their convenience.
There are also things that I don't need. I don't need a whiteboard. I've never used it, and probably never will. I don't really need to upload a Powerpoint. I simply use desktop sharing, and I can always open a Word document or run a Powerpoint from my desktop, so who needs them built into the software? Of course, I don't mind if services offer more than I need, but the problem is that sometimes it's hard to dig through all the bells and whistles to find the basics.
At a recent regional ILTA meeting, someone recommended ReadyTalk. It took several months until I was motiviated to give it a try. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised. It offers no more and no less than what I need, it uses java so it doesn't require a download and installation, simplifying things greatly for participants, and the recording works like a charm, with just one click. It doesn't offer too much, or too little. It's just right And it's about time!
March 27, 2006
Outlook New Mail Desktop Alert Feature and Web Conferencing
I decided several months ago to turn off the Outlook desktop alert feature, and I'm glad I did. In Outlook 2003, the alerts pop up in the lower right-hand side of the screen each time an email arrives in your inbox, which for me was just about every 2 minutes. The brief interruption inevitably messed with my train of thought.
If you're a frequent user of web conferencing software, beware of the Outlook alert. I've been a participant in several web conferences lately where the presentation has been interrupted by an Outlook alert on the presenter's desktop, displaying text from a message that the the presenter would have most likely preferred to keep to him/herself. I won't name any names, but I've personally seen this happen twice in the last week.
You can be forgiven if you don't know how to turn off this email alert feature, which is turned on by default in Outlook 2003, as it's quite buried in the Outlook menus. Select "Tools - Options", then click on "Email Options", then "Advanced Options." and remove the checkmark next to "Display a New Desktop Alert."
So be kind to those who are sending you what they expect are private emails, and either exit out of Outlook before hosting a web conference, or turn the darn thing off forever.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 08:16 PM | Comments (0)January 05, 2006
International Legal Technology Association (Lawnet)
How did we ever survive without web conferencing? Remember when we had to wait until a vendor rep came to town in order to see their new product? No more, thank goodness.
ILTA, the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), formerly called Lawnet has been making great use of web conferencing by repeating, via Live Meeting, several successful programs offered at their annual meeting held in August. I attended 2 of these web programs, "Jumpstarting eLearning" and "How West KM Was Won" and they were both excellent, and included a level of technical detail that I've often wished for when attending other conferences.
If you're a member, and you missed the annual conference, AND you missed the webinar, that's okay, because they're recorded. So even if your schedule is tight, you still have every opportunity to view the session from the ILTA web site. (See "Communications - Past Meeting Transcripts.") What a great member benefit.
If you're interested in legal technology, you need to join ILTA. To join ILTA, your firm must purchase a membership, the cost of which is based on the number of attorneys in the firm, then any employee can join at no additional cost. Now if they'd just stop having the annual meeting in Florida in August!
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)September 21, 2005
Live Meeting Recording Follow-Up
I know you're all sitting at the edge of your seats wondering what's going on with my Live Meeting recording issue, so I thought I'd give you an update. A very persistent gentleman at Live Meeting support went above and beyond the call of duty, and tried producing my recording using several different video editing applications, including Microsoft Producer, and was also unsuccessful. That is, until he tried Sony's Vegas Movie Studio. I downloaded a trial version, and it worked! I had to run it overnight because it took hours and hours (the recording I was editing is about 3 hours long), but I finally was able to finish the recording.
I'm still hoping for another solution, since Vegas costs about $500, but at least I know the Live Meeting videos can actually be edited. Just not by any Microsoft product! :-)
I'll keep you informed if I get any more information on this.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)August 31, 2005
Live Meeting Recordings
Microsoft gives, Microsoft takes away. Live Meeting, formerly Placeware, is my web conferencing tool of choice, primarily because I could use their recording tool to record training sessions, including the audio from the conference call. (Webex can't easily integrate the audio yet, and uses it's own proprietary video format.) I typically would download and edit these recordings using Camtasia, taking out empty air at the beginning and end, and/or announcements unrelated to the session, then post on the Intranet for those who couldn't attend the live session.
Then Live Meeting when through an upgrade. When I tried to edit the first recording after the upgrade, Camtasia hung up, unable to process the recording. Knowing that we would have major training needs in a few weeks that involved lots of recordings, I started trying to work out the problem. The nice people at Camtasia were mystified. Then I realized that the pre-Live Meeting upgrade tapes processed fine, so I contacted Microsoft.
Several emails to Live Meeting/Microsoft support later, the truth comes out. According to support, the new version of Live Meeting uses a different codec, the ACLEP.net Audio Decoder and the Microsoft Screen Codec video decoder V7 codecs for audio and video, respectively. Camtasia isn't compatible with these codecs. I was instructed to try using the free Microsoft Producer program instead to edit the videos. Okay, sure, I've got plenty of time to learn another software program.
Yesterday was the day. I figured out how to cut clips in Producer, created an intro to the Live Meeting segment I'd edited, and life was, well, if not good, at least okay. Then I tried to produce the file. Producer bombed just like Camtasia. Another day of my life gone, with nothing to show for it. :-)
You may be wondering why I'm telling you all this. The truth is, this entry is really a cry for help. Does anyone have a solution to this problem?
In the meantime, we can still make our own recordings using Camtasia, and, of course, those are editable. Though I've also noticed that screen recordings played in Windows Media Player don't fill the screen in 100% playback mode and are slightly fuzzy. This is also a relatively new development. The quality just isn't that good, though it's readable. (I'm recording and viewing at the same resolution.) I thought it was something I was doing until I played one of Microsoft's Producer tutorials, and noticed the fuzziness on THEIR recordings as well. So I'm expecting that we will have to start distributing the Camtasia Player to anyone wanted a clear video. What fun. Installing new software always goes over well with users and technology folks in an enterprise environment.
I hate it when technology takes a step back.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 09:52 AM | Comments (7)May 30, 2005
Web Conferencing 101
I've been using web conferencing software, namely Microsoft's Live Meeting (formerly known as Placeware) and Webex, for over 4 years now. These are great tools, and honestly, I can't remember how we lived without them!
But trust me, presenting to a group of 10 people in a room is quite different from presenting to 10 people in diverse locations, none of whom you can actually see. I infinitely prefer the first scenario, but I don't always relish spending time and money traveling to a remote location to give a short talk or training session.
I'm still learning how to make the best of these online sessions, but for those of you out there just getting started, I thought I might be able to offer a few useful tips.
First, let's talk logistics.
- If you want to start on time, attendees should be instructed to join the web conference at least 5 minutes in advance of the time the conference is due to start. It can take a few minutes to download the necessary plug-ins and get settled in.
- If you're the presenter, ALWAYS log into the conference call and the web conference at least 5-10 minutes before the presentation is set to start. It can be confusing (or impossible) for attendees to try to join a web conference when the host isn't present, and remember, you've told them to join in advance!
- By the way, I always suggest that attendees join the audio conference call before logging on to the web meeting. That way if they're having difficulties joining, I can try to talk them through it.
- Remind attendees to mute their phone unless they have a comment or question. Background noise can be very disruptive over a conference call, with or without the web conference!
- Don't forget to check to make sure that the audience is seeing on their screen what you THINK they're seeing on the screen. I recently forgot to turn on desktop sharing, and I rattled on for several minutes before I was informed that they weren't seeing anything. Duh. You might want to check in with participants at regular intervals to make sure that things are still running well on their end and that you are all, literally, on the same page.
- Close your email program. Outlook can interrupt your presentation in a number of different ways. You can always turn off notification, etc., but it's usually easier, and more fail safe, to just close Outlook altogether.
- Make sure your computer is securely plugged in. Okay, this one probably goes without saying, but I did once accidentally knock the power cord out of the socket, and since I was the host, all of the participants were also kicked out of the conference. Everyone had to get logged in all over again. It wasn't pretty.
- Keep your web conferences to no more than 60 minutes. It's hard for attendees to stay alert for longer than that, even when you're presenting in person. The likelihood of participants staring at a computer screen for hours on end is low. They'll leave to get a cup of coffee and you won't even know they're gone.
- Take advantage of the ability to record your training sessions if you're using a conferencing service that supports it.
Now on to presentation techniques.
- If you're presenting to a group in a remote location, draft someone in the group to be your eyes and ears. I usually discuss this with the individual in advance of the meeting. I ask them to please interrupt me if people are looking mystified at something I've said, or if they're asking each other what the heck I'm talking about. (That's the disadvantage of that mute button that I mentioned above!)
- If possible, I like to have some "live" attendees in my location. It helps me stay engaged.
- If you DO have a live audience at your location, MAKE SURE TO REPEAT QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to the whole group! There's nothing that will make people feel left out faster than dead air with the faint sound of conversation going on in the background.
- Stop and ask if there are any questions, but don't be flustered by a few seconds of dead air. Silence is not the enemy. I usually just wait a few seconds to make sure that people have the opportunity to speak up, and if no one does, I move on. Note that if you ask for questions, then keep talking to fill the time, no one will be ABLE to ask questions. Though with most conferencing services you can take questions via a chat box, which gives you another option for audience participation.
- Let me repeat, silence is not the enemy. It may feel even more uncomfortable in a web conference to not fill the air, but a few seconds of silence here and there while you get your bearings is not as uncomfortable as it may seem to you. In fact, it may allow people another opportunity to break in with questions or comments.
- Try using a polling slide to get feedback from the audience. Many attendees find it difficult to speak up during a conference call. But you need to connect somehow, so take a quick, but relevant poll if it's appropriate.
Web conferencing is a great way to train and collaborate; it just requires a slightly different perspective. I hope these tips help.
If you have web conferencing tips and experiences of your own, please share them!
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 04:27 PM | Comments (2)March 13, 2005
Instant Meeting
If you're not using web conferencing tools for training and/or collaboration, you're missing a great opportunity to connect with people that you otherwise might not reach. Though these tools are quite inexpensive when compared with something like video conferencing, price still can be an obstacle.
If cost and ease of use is holding you back, you've got no more excuses. Take a look at the PC Magazine article, "Instant Meeting" for reviews of seven services including GoToMeeting Corporate, which gets their Editors Choice.
Most of these tools are great for small meetings with fewer than 10 people. (Webex and Live Meeting that can handle hundreds; for a price, of course.) And these simpler tools don't have all of the bells and whistles that the big guys offer, but most people won't miss things such as integrated audio conferencing. But I certainly would miss the ability to easily record the online sessions, a feature that's not offered by any of the services on the list with the exception of Linktivity WebDemo Hosted.
By the way, Live Meeting is getting a face lift this month. I'm hoping for easier setup. Their current administrative interface just cries out for usability testing.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 01:28 PM | Comments (0)August 26, 2004
Web Conferencing - I Want it All
Someone must have made a rule that no one tool is allowed to have EVERYTHING that you need and want. When it comes to web conferencing, the major players, such as Webex and Live Meeting, offer relatively mature products, so it's hard to accept their limitations. Consequently, I've become very fickle, trying new products soon after their introduction. Then disappointment sets in when I learn that the new kid on the block is missing some critical feature.
I have modest web conferencing needs. I typically use these products for training sessions rather than collaboration, so desktop and application sharing are my bread and butter. Not a problem, just about any web conferencing product offers those features. So what are my complaints?
Webex
Webex meetings are quick and easy to set up. I have a webconference room, and can pop in whenever I like. The participant and host password are always the same. And it's very easy to pass control of the conference from the host to any other participant. But I can't easily record the audio and video from our training sessions. Darn.
Live Meeting
Placeware was bought by Microsoft, and was subsequently renamed Live Meeting. Funny thing...it seems to have become unnecessarily complex during the transition. That sure didn't take very long! :-) Just setting up the meeting is a challenge....what's the difference between an auditorium meeting place and a web meeting place? According to customer support, there really isn't any difference. So why do I have to choose!
On my last web conference I must have forgotten to specify that I wanted to record the session. At least I assume that was the problem since the record menu option was unavailable to me.....but why isn't the record option just there? Why does it have to be specified in advance? Do attendees always require a password? Apparently the answer is no, but it's not clear in the setup that you can leave that field blank. If I want to co-host the conference, then both presenters MUST log in as as presenters. You can't pass control on the fly as you can with WEBEX.
On the other hand, their ability to record straight from the interface, and seamlessly include the telephone conference call for the audio portion is relatively unusual in web conferencing, and the one feature that keeps me coming back.
Breeze
I tried Macromedia's Breeze, which was flexible almost to a fault. How many different screen layouts do you really need? But because it uses Flash, which most computers already have, only the host needs to install software, which is a definite plus. Still, they don't offer a pay-as-you-go option, which is a deal-killer for me. I'm just not ready to commit.
GoToMeeting
The people who brought you GoToMypc.com have introduced GoToMeeting. I haven't tried it, but the price is quite reasonable, and it's sounds fairly straightforward. However, it requires the installation of an executable on the host and participant PC, which can be an issue in some organizations, and they don't offer the ability to record.
Is the perfect web conferencing tool always going to be just beyond my grasp? Can a girl be happy with more than one web conferencing product? Tune in next time....
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 05:38 PM | Comments (2)January 08, 2004
Take a Meeting Online
Web conferencing is one of my favorite web tools. The ability to share an application or Powerpoint presentation with people in different physical locations is extremely powerful. It's useful to a wide variety of people such as salespeople, trainers, presenters, lawyers and certainly librarians. And most web conferencing services are easy to use, and relatively inexpensive. So what's not to like! Well, more on that later.
PC Magazine reviews the major players in the web conferencing arena, including Webex, Microsoft Office Live Meeting (aka Placeware) and Raindance in Web Conferencing: Take a Meeting Online.
The article is a good feature review. But I wish they had attempted to assess reliability in addition to the bells and whistles. All the features in the world won't help you if the site malfunctions while you have 20 people in different locations waiting to see a screenshot. When problems occur, it's hard to know if the service itself is flaky, or whether the vagaries of the Internet or your own particular network are at fault. I speak from experience, and it's not always pretty. When it's good, it's very very good. When it's bad it's awful.
Let me know what your experiences have been with the different services by sending me an email at cchick at lawlibtech dot com, and I'll post your comments. (I have temporarily turned off the comment feature due to a recent comment spamming incident, but send your comments to me, and I'll make sure they're added.)
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)December 07, 2003
Netmeeting is Dead, Long Live Placeware
Dead may be an exaggeration. Let's just say Netmeeting has been pushed into a comfortable, though somewhat sudden, retirement.
Microsoft has announced that Netmeeting will be replaced by Office Live Meeting, aka, Placeware.
I've been using Netmeeting for several years now for training purposes. It's simple and reliable. But there's no question it has been looking a bit long in the tooth lately, and the requirement for a conferencing server to accomodate over 8 connections is limiting, to say the least. Since Microsoft's purchase of Placeware in April 2003, I was wondering what their plans were for Netmeeting. Obviously that question has been answered!
I worked with Placeware a few years back, and was very impressed with it, but at the time they didn't offer a "pay as you go" option, which WEBEX DID offer. So for those situations where I needed more than Netmeeting could handle, I typically fell back on WEBEX. It turns out that Placeware does now offer a "pay as you go" option, so I think I'll try it out again and see what they've been up to for the past couple of years.
Posted by Cindy L. Chick at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
