Are you interested in meeting with students remotely online for office hours or a class meeting?  Does your committee or department want to conference at a distance?  Georgia Perimeter College provides four tools for meeting remotely:  Phone Conferencing, Video Conferencing Labs, Wimba Classroom, and Wimba Pronto.  The right tool for your online lecture or meeting will depend upon the type of interaction that you would like to have.

 

 

 

Phone Conferencing	One option for an online meeting is to set up a group voice conference via phone.
Video Conferencing Labs	Rooms are available at each campus for digital video conferencing.
Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing   (formerly Wimba Classroom)	Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing is a virtual room that allows video, chat, and audio interaction.  Presenters can share PowerPoint slides, websites, write on and eBoard, or application share.
Blackboard Collaborate Enterprise Instant Messaging (formerly Wimba Pronto)	Blackboard Collaborate enterprise instant messaging allows for real-time, instant communication with students, peers, and colleagues.  In addition to basic chat messaging, users can launch an online meeting room and communicate with audio and video.

                                                         

Online Lecture and Meeting Comparison

The chart below compares the functionality differences between each of the four online lecture and meeting options.

Online Lecture and Meeting Comparison
	Phone Conferencing	Video Conferencing Lab/Classroom	Web Conferencing	Enterprise Instant Messaging
Audio Communication	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video Communication	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Chat Communication	No	No	Yes	Yes
Shared Viewing Space	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Whiteboard (eBoard)	No	No	Yes	Yes
Application Sharing	No	?	Yes	Yes
Access by Phone	Yes	?	Yes	No
Access by Computer	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Personal Account Required	No	No	No	Yes
Program-Based	No	No	No	Yes
Meetings can be archived	?	?	Yes	No