_ The Zero Emissions Strategy Conference
_ The Zero Emissions Strategy Conference
Page Contents
- Introduction
- Conferencing Sources on the Web
- Videoconferencing Options
- NetMeeting for the (Very) Brave
- Next From Here in Your Tools Checkout!
- Feedback and Views
In a first wave of research we turned to a number of Web sites which we then consulted in an attempt to find a solution to this important conferencing limitation. Among the first of these were World Wide Web Course Development and Delivery, a page run by the International University Consortium, University of Maryland University College, College Park, Maryland, erubin@nova.umuc.edu. In addition we found a good overview of the results of a hands-on group conferencing system.
There are a large number of computer conferencing web tools: one good place to start in running them down is via HyperNews, which offers a long list of tools, some free, some commercial. Another useful general overview of computer conferencing is provided by Conferencing on the World Wide Web. You may also wish to have a look at Presentation Features of Text-based Conferencing Systems on the WWW, which looks in some detail at some of the problems that have plagued us with our conferencing component (the Discussion Forum) in this site. (Certainly we will be taking all this good counsel into consideration as we move eventually to extend this or indeed any other sites under The Commons.) A Guide to Software and Techniques for Managing Web-based Discussions provides a good starting place as well.
A fine overview page for software that will be useful to the participants of this conference will be found by clicking here: SCALE. "The Sloan Center for Asynchronous Learning Environments (SCALE) was established in March 1995 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, with a grant from the Alfred P.Sloan Foundation. SCALE faculty are participating in a three-year project of restructuring undergraduate courses to integrate various techniques associated with asynchronous learning networks (ALN). The goals of this project are to create efficiencies in the educational process (cost, time, faculty productivity), to increase student retention, and to decrease time-to-degree."
And if you wish to set up your own online discussion have a look at Resources for Moderators and Facilitator of Online Discussion, and Tips on Shopping for Forum Software. You might also do well to have a look at "Participation in scholarly electronic forums". This last offers a bit of good sense about virtual conferencing that we are pleased to share with you:
"Why put your own forum on the web? The only reason to do so is to build a community of people, whether these are people with whom you share a common interest, or people who use your product and to whom you want to offer support. But don't make the mistake of thinking that once you've settled on a conferencing software package and got your forum up and running the hard work is over. That's the easy part. The hard part is managing your forum on a daily basis once you've got it going, nurturing your growing community until it becomes essentially self-sustaining, and managing your message base as it becomes broader and deeper. If you have difficulty setting aside time to check your e-mail on a daily basis I don't think trying to set up a forum will work for you. Forums take a lot of time to run."
(We only wish that we had taken the time to educate ourselves more fully about asynchronomous interactive conferencing through these and other sources BEFORE undertaking the present conference. But maybe this is what Albert Hischmann meant when he wrote about the 'principle of the hiding hand' that sometimes one unconsciously calls on in order to mask some of the difficulties that one will face in undertaking any new venture. Once confronted with whatever it is, you then simply have to cope. So stuff gets done that otherwise in a saner or more sober world might perhaps have been left undone. Sic transit gloria planning.)
A good place to begin to get a feel for a variety of what is currently on offer is PicturePhone Direct at: http://www.picturephone.com/ They have the largest range of videoconferencing systems that I have come across from one vendor. Although they have a good range there, their coverage is far from exhaustive.
The prices of the business-capable systems there range from anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000. They vary from systems like Vivo which are mainly implemented in software using a standard ISDN card, to offerings like PictureTel (http://www.picturetel.com) using a mainly hardware based solution. And of course Intel’s ProShare (www.intel.com/proshare/videophone). is a major option to consider.
The German Teles system (http://www.teles.de) is the technology that we have been using for the last three years.. We and our partners, including those whom we work with directly at the European Commission, have installed half a dozen of these and use them daily. We like Teles because it offers not only videoconferencing, whiteboarding, and high speed file transfers, but also a neatly integrated fax system, WWW access and an all-purpose secretarial/answering and message capability. We’d like it to be a bit faster in terms of picture quality, but it has served us well for several years and we have no real complaints. On the other had we also have installed and used a ProShare and have no complaints about it (other than the fact that the handshake is not perfect in terms of some details with Teles, but this is a universal problem which will continue to exist until industry wide standards emerge, one way or another.)
It is also possible to do videoconferencing cheaper than the above. Connectix sell a videophone system with their QuickCam for about US$200, all in. They are available on the Web at Connectix . Another cheap software option is CU-SeeMe available for download from the Internet via WhitePine. This costs $69.
A recent push of the data conferencing tools that can be used alongside videoconferencing or on their own is perhaps going to change all of this in the coming year or two. Both Mirabilis's ICQ and Microsoft’s NetMeeting, offer new multilevel interfaces based on a local telephone call with a fast and loose, user-to-chose combination of audio, video, chat, file exchange and whiteboarding links. (This is rough stuff indeed, but for those prepared for it, it can be an effective, low cost means of dynamic conferencing. On the other hand, those with slow modems are advised to abstain. Those with sound cards and microphones will find the audio function a great help.) These tools can sometimes be more useful than the video for remote working, allowing real time reviewing of documents and whiteboarding facilities.
It is difficult to say which is the best overall or even the best value for money. You get what you pay for, and it is very much horses for courses and has to be assessed in conjunction with your requirements. But if you are involved in international team projects, it is our strongest recommendation that you begin immediately to build these technologies and routines into your projects. Once you have gotten through the teething stage, you'll never look back.
Finally it is useful to bear in mind too that all this good stuff has to be learned. Not just a matter of plugging it into the wall and getting comfortable. It is new, it is different and it has potential. But it is not technology without people, and it takes time to learn and adjust. Do not try to go too fast. Take the time, in small bites, to get it right. You do that and you should get great satisfaction and solid, cost-effective usefulness. We do. But then again we live or die by the quality of our network and our ability to make it work.
Incidentally, our recommendation: start with the top three Web sites and favor the proven stuff.
For further background have a look at The DT5 database which is maintained by Kathy Hewitt, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University. She can be reached via e-mail at klhewitt@eos.ncsu.edu. Also Dave Brown's review of the desktop videoconferencing (DVC) market is a fine source of informed and independent background.
ISDN Videoconferencing Update
Kind thanks to Aaron Davidson for his notes for above and Jose Torcato of the EC, Scott Smith of Smithware, and Mikel Murga of Leber for their comments (which are based on solid hands-on experience).
NetMeeting for the (Very) Brave:
It is also possible to set up discussions (and multimedia exchanges) in 1-on-1 or multiparty conferencing exchanges via either or both of a pair of technologies which at least some participants either already have in hand or will chose to acquire and implement for these purposes. Both Mirabilis's ICQ and Microsoft’s NetMeeting, offer new multilevel interfaces based on a local telephone call with a fast and loose, user-to-chose combination of audio, video, chat, file exchange and whiteboarding links. (This is rough stuff indeed, but for those prepared for it, it can be an effective, low cost means of dynamic conferencing. On the other hand, those with slow modems are advised to abstain. Those with sound cards and mikes will find the audio function a great help. Those with slow lines and cheap cameras can have the sort of videoconferencing exchange that only a mother could love.)
That said, we are already trying to make daily use of these technologies and will be pleased to link to you if you wish to give them a try as well. Nothing like using this stuff for actual hands-on work to see what they're worth. For further information and indications of how to get the needed software and instructions for either/both of these systems at no cost, kindly contact either the suppliers via the above links or postmaster@the-commons.org)
So, if you are going about all this in good order, and unless you are a confirmed practitioner of the Web, your next pit stop should probably be ...
Tools for Tyros (Tips for Good Web Practice)
__ Give us your views and tips on all this.__
