Online Conferencing Tools

If you are faculty, many of you will have already used Skype for internet "phone calls." Even more of your students will have experienced Skype or other real-time tools like Google+. Skype is what might be called "point-to-point," that is one place to another place. Another tool we are piloting, WebEx, allows multi-point connections, so you can work with small groups of people across the internet.

Skype Links:

• Skype in the Classroom
• Professors Use Skype for Office Hours, The Harvard Crimson, April, 2011.

The new kid on the block:

Videoconferencing Tips

Teaching at a distance using real-time video and audio is very different than teaching face-to-face. There are a number of new factors to think about. Here are some links to documents that can help guide you.

• Videoconferencing Teaching Techniques - George Mason University
• Best Practices and Etiquette - Video Development Initiative
• Teaching via Interactive Videoconferencing - Virginia Tech
• How to brochure - The Higher Education Academy
• Videoconferencing Tips - Texas State Library

Journal Articles on Videoconferencing

• Videoconferencing and Telehealth Technologies Can Provide a Reliable Approach to Remote Assessment and Teaching Without Compromising Quality - The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing:January/February 2007 - Volume 22 - Issue 1 - pp 51-57
• Seeing is believing: the role of videoconferencing in distance learning - British Journal of Educational Technology, Volume 36 Issue 3, Pages 397 - 405, Published Online: 7 Apr 2005

Video Resources

• Using video-conferencing in blended learning environment, Olds College Continuing Education Department, 2011.
• The Videoconference Zone - a funny look at typical VC mistakes - U. of Washington

Books on Videoconferencing and Related Subjects

• Effective Communications by Steve Shipside, Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Limited, Pub Date: February 22, 2007, ISBN: 9781405317535, Pages: 120