Global Connections

By Dave Forrester Global Connections

Web Conferencing Tools Help Educators Collaborate Anytime, Anywhere

eb conferencing tools help whiteboard, survey, assessment, and tivate allows you to take screenshots educators from around the many other forms of media, depend- within a smooth video stream, includ- Wworld collaborate in real ing on the type of application. ing the narration, and then produce time. Teachers, school counselors, a dynamic simulation for everyone to ©istockphoto.com/sahua Safety and security. Participants can and administrators need only to put view in real time. Premiere Pro and have usernames and passwords to on their headsets, check the time Premiere Elements are video produc- limit access to the session. zone, and log on to meet and learn tion suites that can convert any exist- from educators across the globe. Presentation tools. Hosts can use ing video project into a Flash format Once connected, a teacher in Aus- PowerPoint and other familiar formats for viewing in any Share pod within tralia can discuss lesson plans with a to present content. the Adobe Connect environment. And group of educators in England, a Cana- Acrobat 8 allows you to produce se- Whiteboard. Participants can draw, dian technology coordinator can share cure, dynamic PDF documents. All of point to, and type content on the ideas with a counterpart in Mexico, these tools can produce content that whiteboard using a built-in tool set. and a U.S. principal can discuss tech you can load into pods. standards with an administrator in Adobe Connect Fast uploads. The Content Library Brazil. Web conferencing brings groups Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, quickly uploads files for other partici- together as if they were sitting in the which comes with videoconferencing pants to see and experience during a same room, having a good cup of cof- and VoIP, has some advanced features conference. fee, and talking about common issues. for secure, reliable, smooth, and com- There are some obvious advantages Sharing. Application/document shar- fortable conferencing. to this type of collaboration. Districts ing allows participants to share files, can save on travel expenses, and par- Easy setup. Flash makes Adobe Con- applications, and documents during ticipants can stay put, which reduces nect Web conferencing sessions sim- a conference. their impact on the environment. The ple. You can set up a meeting or vir- Remote control. This feature allows technology is easy to use and cheaper tual classroom in a matter of seconds any participant to practice a new than hosting a conference. The price and begin connecting and collaborat- application. can range from zero, using free Adobe ing with others immediately. Flash can software with limited bells and whis- be used across platforms without the Real-time polling. The host can ask par- tles that serves up to three people, to need to download plugins. ticipants questions and broadcast the $1,200 for a start-up bundle that al- results to the conference group. Customized look. Hosts can set up a lows conferencing for 100 people with Flash meeting room months before a Reporting. The host can collect data numerous features. session is to take place and construct on participants, save assessment To get started, look for Web confer- the room with scalable, fluid, and flex- scores, capture poll results, and record encing applications on the market that ible content containers called pods. the number of slides viewed through share these attributes: The custom layouts and pods can be Adobe Presenter. Real-time text messaging. Communi- organized in real time or weeks before Archiving. The host can record the con- cating inside a Web meeting or online the meeting and then reused. ference and edit it for later viewing. classroom takes the form of a chat. Easy conversion. FlashPaper can More advanced applications can do convert commonly used file formats Adobe Education Leadership Program voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) into SWF files, making content scal- Adobe has created a community edu- and video. able. Adobe Presenter can take an cator program to bring teachers, coun- Resource sharing. Allows you to share existing PowerPoint presentation; selors, and administrators together to your desktop screen, files, software add audio, quizzes, and surveys; and communicate, collaborate, and con-

©istockphoto.com/geopaul application, music, video, flash movie, convert to a Flash format. Adobe Cap- nect with each other. I am a member

24 Learning & Leading with Technology | February 2009 The Cost of Conferencing

Web Conferencing Tools ACROBAT ADOBE ACROBAT CONNECT PRO www.acrobat.com www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro

Web Conferencing Tools Help Educators Collaborate Anytime, Anywhere Web Application adobe connectNow adobe acrobat connect pro

Maximum Participants 3 1,500

Features unique meeting room unique meeting room uRl, screen sharing, Voip and camera, uRl, screen sharing, Voip chat pod, screen sharing, whiteboard, integrated audio choices, and camera, chat pod, remote control, real-time polling, recordings, editable recordings, screen sharing, whiteboard, security, reporting, archiving, customization, break-out rooms, integrated audio choices, event management, content library, content sharing, content remote control creation, track training and progress

Cost Free initial set-up $450, plus $699 annual subscription fee for 5 named organizers (organizers can create/host unlimited meetings with up to 100 participants)

Add-ons File sharing and storage, adobe presenter, a tool for creating on-demand Flash- convert up to 5 files to pDF, based streaming presentations and quizzes using microsoft adobe Buzzword, online powerpoint, is sold as a package with acrobat pro extended word processor version 9 for roughly $150/each (less under the school’s clp agreement); hosted access license ($150/each), which allows authors to publish presentations directly to their acrobat connect professional accounts

Adobe Exchange No adobe exchange allows meeting room content to be shared

of the Adobe Education Leadership a Web conference. The meeting can be District staff development. School dis- program and have formed useful and archived for later viewing by school tricts can offer online training, such as meaningful relationships with educa- boards or district staff. ISTE webinars, to employees on site. tors from around the globe who share The sessions can be recorded for staff Networking. Education experts in who want more time to practice what the latest technologies, showcase the specific fields can communicate and work of students, and improve the collaborate, forming larger communi- they were taught. global educational system. ties so they can solve problems from a The world is not getting smaller, Here are a few examples of how larger collective consciousness. but the ability to connect with others you can use Web conferencing at around the world is expanding as the your school: Home-bound students. Teachers can assign work to students who are un- Internet and Web-conferencing tools Foreign exchanges. Students in a able to attend class because of illness grow more robust and accessible. Spanish class in the United States or injury. They can even take assess- Resources can connect with students in Latin ments online before they are able to Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional Free Trial: America using Web conference tools, return to school. www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/ VoIP, and video. These classroom ses- ?promoid=BPDEA sions can happen on a regular basis Reaching out. Education association Adobe Education Leadership Program: www. adobe.com/education/community/k12/leaders/ between schools thousands of miles boards can conduct meetings from their homes or offices. The associa- profiles/ apart. ISTE Webinars: www.iste.org/webinars tions can offer quarterly or regular Human resources. District officials can meetings to their members via the Dave Forrester is a school coun- interview job candidates in the appli- Internet and provide online training selor at Olympia High School in opportunities through webinars. Olympia, Washington. He serves cant’s home state or country through as technology chairman for the Washington School Counselor The world is not getting smaller, but the ability to connect with others Association and is an Adobe around the world is expanding as the Internet and Web conferencing Education Leader. He writes tools grow more robust and accessible. articles, presents workshops, and trains school counselors on the use of technology. Copyright © 2009, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.

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