Web Conferencing have wide utility in the business world. We can make conference by sitting in any part of the world with the help of web conferencing. Web conferencing is a powerful tool and provides a virtual meeting environment that gives the benefit of real meeting. There are various kinds of conferences held using a web conferencing information system. Depending on the nature of the conference it becomes important to plan the web conferencing information system schedule. It becomes very important to check the requirements for smooth progress of the meeting.
Even if the nonprofit is headquartered in a single location, your
employees, volunteers, and fund providers may be scattered across
the country - or possibly the world. And while your organization
likely uses email or telephone for the majority of its long-distance
communication, sometimes a full-blown meeting is the only way to
hammer out the details of an important initiative.
Rather than stretching your tight budget to fly out key project team
members for an in-person meeting, you might consider using a web
conferencing service, which lets anyone with an Internet connection
and a web browser meet and collaborate online in real time.
In general, web conferencing tools work in the same way. The person
initiating the conference sets up a new meeting in the tool and then
invites participants to join by sending them an email containing the
meeting's time, date, password, URL, and login instructions. Some
conferencing tools require participants to install a piece of
software on their own computers before they can participate, though
others are entirely web-based. All require an Internet connection.
The tools diverge primarily in the features they provide for
collaboration and communication. For instance, some let participants
speak to one another through their computers' microphones while
others let everyone interact via video.
To help you choose a service that suits your nonprofit, we've
pointed out features commonly found in web conferencing products and
explained other considerations you should be aware of. If you're
curious as to how various commercial and free web conferencing
services stack up, download the comparison chart below which
compares the features of the following ten products:
Adobe Acrobat Connect Now
Adobe ConnectNow, one of the Acrobat.com services, is a great way to
share ideas, discuss details, and complete work together - all
online. Reduce travel costs, save time, and increase productivity
with a web conferencing solution that's easy to access and simple to
use. Use screen sharing, chat, notes, audio, and video to conduct
meetings online that can be as interactive and productive as
in-person meetings. Adobe ConnectNow is free web conferencing
solution with limited features.
Features
Screen sharing
Whiteboards
Remote control
Integrated audio choices
Meeting URL
Video conferencing
DimDim
DimDim delivers synchronized live presentations, whiteboards and web
pages while sharing your voice and video over the Internet - with no
download. It is a good Free commercial Web Conferencing solution for
team of up to 20 with features like,
Features
Browser based, It works on Windows, Mac as well as Linux.
Share and Present documents
Share Computer Screens, WebPages
Share microphones (up to 4 people for Free)
Share whiteboards
Built-in VoIP support etc.
DimDim is capable and unofficially known as an alternative to WebEx
that can really save money on Pro accounts. However, DimDim gained
faster publicity by going open source, referred to as a free/cheaper
alternative to WebEx.
Mikogo
This one is just amazing, Mikogo is an easy-to-use cross-platform
desktop sharing tool, ideal for free web conferencing, online
meetings or remote support. And it's FREE for both commercial and
private use. The fact is, We weren't even aware of! Until someone
from Mikogo team added a comment below! Everything looks amazing but
Linux support is missing altogether. Mac is mostly supported. So,
Mikogo works good on Windows. We feel that it may soon support Linux
and that would be a thing to wait! Anyways, Thanks to Mikogo for the
all free meeting suit, free web conferencing tool, it really helps.
Website is very neat, features are plenty without limitation and
that's the reason why it is listed in the first place!
Features
Desktop Sharing (for Mac/Windows)
Multiple Meeting Participants for Mac/Windows)
Switch Presenter for Mac/Windows)
Remote Keyboard and Mouse Control(for Mac/Windows)
Meeting Scheduler for Windows)
Meeting Recording and Playback (for Windows)
Whiteboard (for Windows)
Transfer Files (for Mac/Windows)
Application Selection (for Windows)
Back Monitor (for Windows)
Pointe r(for Mac/Windows)
Copy/Paste/Email Meeting Info(for Mac/Windows)
Pause Transmission (for Mac/Windows)
Voice Conferencing Service(for Mac/Windows)
Vyew
Vyew is a new and powerful platform for real-time and always on
interaction between people and content. It is a great way to do free
web conferencing and lets you have unlimited meetings, SSL Secure
login, 10 real time participants and more.
Features
Browser based, No download is needed. It works on Windows, Mac as
well as Linux.
Hundreds of Active/Archived Meetings per User
Flexible, PowerPoint-like Authoring
All meeting content is auto-saved in real-time, always available to
authorized users.
Publish your meetings via direct URL or embedded in a webpage/email.
Customizable interface with colors and your logo.
Built-in Voice over IP )VoIP, Webcam and Free teleconferencing that
use standard phones within the USA to call into a conference call
system etc.
OnWebinar
OnWebinar is a free web conf service that allows you to organize
distance learning, business meetings, online coaching,
videoconferences and interactive communication. The service includes
video broadcasting, private chat, public chat, shared resources area
(whiteboard, slide show presentation, desktop sharing, files and
links), polling tools, videoconferencing etc.
BigBlueButton
BigBlueButton is an active open source project that focuses on
usability, modularity, and clean design - both for the user and the
developer.
OpenMeetings
OpenMeetings, an Open Source Free Web Conferencing tool that is
worth trying. It supports a lot of features.
Features
Video/Audio
See Desktop of any participant
Whiteboard with drawing, write & edit, dragNDrop, Resizing, Images (DragNDrop
from Library), Symbols
Safe/export Drawings from whiteboard and load it next time, edit and
resave
Document Importing
Send invitation and direct links into a conference room
LDAP-Connector
Remote SOAP-Gateway for Single Sign On, integration and remote
administration
Moderating System, User-/Organisation-/Moderating- System
Private and Public (Organisation only) Conference-Rooms
Other Programs
IBM Lotus Live
Microsoft Office Live Meetings
ReadyTalk
Cisco Webex Meeting
Yugma Pro
YuuGuu
Zoho Meeting
Installation and Setup
Required Software
Certain web conferencing services require that the meeting
initiator, and in some cases the attendees, install a software
program or browser plug-in. If you decide on a service that requires
such software, you'll need to make sure before your first meeting
that the appropriate parties are willing to install the application
and understand how to do so. Also, you should check to make sure
that meeting initiators and attendees are running an operating
system that's compatible with the software.
Integrated Invitation Features
Many web conferencing services provide features that interface with
Microsoft's ubiquitous Outlook email application. If an organization
plans to hold regular or recurring meetings with a large number of
attendees, choosing a service that adds the meeting's details to
participants' Outlook calendars can help ease the planning process.
For added convenience, some web conferencing tools also let you
schedule or join meetings from directly within Outlook.
Collaboration Features
Screen-Sharing Capabilities
One of the most common collaborative features found in web
conferencing services is the ability to share resources on one
computer with the entire group. While the majority of web
conferencing tools will let the presenter show attendees' his or her
desktop or certain documents, others go one step further by sharing
chosen applications in a full-screen view or by allowing the
presenter to highlight a specific portion of his or her screen.
Multiple Presenters
Since meetings frequently include staff members and volunteers
who have expertise in different areas of a project or an initiative,
the initiator may want to hand off presentation duties to someone
else. If your organization needs to run meetings this way, look for
a conferencing service that allows for multiple participants to
assume presentation duties.
Drawing and Annotation Tools
In the course of presenting a document or a web page to your
colleagues, you might need to underscore certain points or note
ideas generated during the discussion. To this end, many web
conferencing services provide annotation tools - such as pencils,
pens, and virtual sticky notes - similar to those found in popular
graphic-design applications.
Whiteboard
If an organization routinely uses dry-erase whiteboards to
capture notes and thoughts when holding in-person meetings, you may
want to look for a web conferencing service with a virtual
equivalent. A whiteboard gives meeting participants a dedicated
space for brainstorming ideas or outlining projects, a potentially
useful feature when you're bringing people together to collaborate
rather than simply presenting information.
Communication Features
Text Chat
Instant-messaging (IM) is a rapid form of text communication that
can often be more efficient than sending email back and forth. Just
about all web conferencing services offer a built-in text-chat tool
that participants can use to communicate with specific attendees or
the entire group, eliminating the need for attendees to install or
use a third-party IM client.
Teleconferencing
Just because you've moved your meetings to the Internet doesn't mean
that you have to abandon traditional conference calling. Most web
conferencing products include some form of voice-calling feature,
allowing you to talk to fellow participants while the meeting is in
progress. While some services include a free teleconferencing
option, others charge to use this feature; in either case, your
organization will need to foot the bill for any long-distance fees
it accrues. Also, if your nonprofit already uses a third-party
teleconferencing provider, you may want to check whether it can be
integrated with online meeting tools.
VoIP
Besides teleconferencing, some online-meeting services also offer
audio communication in the form of Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP),
a technology that allows users to make telephone calls over the web.
Generally speaking, VoIP offers cheaper calling rates than
teleconferencing services, though the quality of the calls is often
not as good. Note that in order to use a VoIP application, all
callers will need to purchase headsets that can be connected to
their computers.
Videoconferencing
If you need your online meetings to closely resemble an in-person
gathering, consider a service that offers a videoconferencing
feature. Videoconferencing lets participants with webcams - small,
inexpensive cameras that send images over the Internet - to
broadcast a video image of themselves into the online meeting. While
videoconferencing can help lend an immediate feel to web-based
meetings, many services that offer this feature will also charge
your organization a fee to use them.
Other Considerations
Recording
One advantage that many web conferencing services have over
in-person meetings is the ability to record entire meetings
(including audio) as a video file. This way, if meeting attendees
forget important points or need to reference presentations at a
later date, they can simply view the recording rather than contact
other participants with questions. Some services allow meeting
initiators to store recordings on their local machines, while others
host the files on their own site, a point to consider if your
non profit's computers are short on hard-drive space.
Subscription Versus Pay-Per-Use Plans
How often your organization plans to hold online meetings is a
key factor in deciding whether you should select a service with a
subscription model or one that charges you on a per-meeting basis.
If you just need to hold occasional, small meetings, a pay-per-use
plan - which generally costs around 30 cents a minute per
participant - might be the most economical choice. On the other
hand, nonprofits that need to hold larger weekly meetings may find
it cheaper to subscribe to a service that charges a flat monthly (or
yearly) fee for a set number of participants. If you do decide that
a subscription makes the most sense for your organization, check to
see whether the service locks you into a contract, and make sure
you're comfortable with the terms.