Web Conferencing
Do you need to set up a meeting but you can't get everyone together in person? If you all you need is a voice connection, you can use a free conference call system like FreeConferenceCall.com. The only drawback is that it's likely to be a long-distance call for each participant.
If you want to share your desktop, show PowerPoint presentations or videos, or see participants' faces via webcams, you can use a web conference server. We recommend the following, based on the experiences of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) staff:
- BigMarker: This service is great for meetings where you need to show a presentation, share a screen, display any number of webcams, and enable participants to text-chat and raise their digital hands. It supports both VoIP (Voice over IP) and integrated toll-free phone service in the same session, but the quality is not good; use a free conference number instead. It doesn’t help you schedule the meeting, send invitations, track registrations, or record the meeting.
- AnyMeeting: AnyMeeting provides screen-sharing and text chat. It also enables you to send invitations beforehand, records your meeting, and posts the recording on their website. It supports either VoIP or integrated long distance phone service but not both in the same session. However, it displays ads during the meetings and supports only one webcam.
- Join.me (no “www” and no “.com”): The simplest of the three, you can share your screen with one or more participants. You can give control of your screen to a participant, making it ideal for one-on-one trainings, troubleshooting, etc. it supports integrated long distance phone service but no VoIP. It also has chat, but no hand-raising or meeting scheduling.
All three are easy to set up, easy to participate in, and free.
For more information contact web@uua.org.
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Last updated on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.
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