13th October 2006

Simplifying collaborative videoconferencing

posted in disruptive-technology, globalvoices, web 2.0 |

Despite all the technology around us in many U.S. schools, collaborative videoconferencing remains a rarity for many students and teachers. Certainly some schools utilize videoconferencing for foreign language, higher mathematics, or other types of high school courses– and students may be able to earn college as well as high school credits for successfully completing these courses. My perception here in the state of Oklahoma at least, however, is that a small minority of schools are actually using videoconferencing equipment on a regular basis. As I’ve commented before, we have spent large sums of money on computer technology equipment and Internet access, and as a result should be more regularly utilizing these resources (in this case, videoconferencing technologies) to engage students through collaborative exchanges.

What is most difficult about this proposal, of course, is both the CHANGE in instructional pedagogy for classroom teachers it implies, as well as the technological difficulties in making a successful videoconference connection from a technical standpoint. I am enthused about desktop audio and videoconferencing equipment like Skype for educational use, but unfortunately many school districts see Skype along with a litany of other instant messaging and communications software programs as “enemies of the network” and have banned their use in schools. IT departments generally permit traditional H.323 videoconferencing with relatively expensive equipment like that sold by Tandberg and Polycom, but the essence of that use for teachers and students is CONTROL by the IT admins. The net effect for classroom collaborations is that they don’t seem to happen much.

Given these beliefs and this context, I was thrilled to learn yesterday (via Anne Davis’ departmental edtech resources page) about Project Cam. The website description is:

Developed by Cable in the Classroom, Project Cam is an online environment with video, chat and file sharing capabilities. It allows educators, students, and experts to make live connections to other learners and experts via webcams and high-speed internet

The features sound pretty good. Perhaps best among this is that the resource appears to require PORT 80 access only on classroom computers, which is the standard port for Internet content. This means it should be better accepted by IT leaders than requests for software use like Skype sometimes are. The listed features on the website include:

  • It’s free to use for educational purposes
  • Login to a unique, private page
  • Share live video and audio feeds between two participating locations
  • Communicate with the live text-based chat capability
  • Store and share all kinds of file

I have not had an opportunity to help teachers use Project Cam YET, but I hope to soon during upcoming workshops about integrating educational technology into the curriculum. If you’ve already had an experience using Project WebCam, good or bad, I’d love to hear about your experiences.

On this day..

This entry was posted on Friday, October 13th, 2006 at 7:07 am and is filed under disruptive-technology, globalvoices, web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

There are currently 3 responses to “Simplifying collaborative videoconferencing”

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  1. 1 On October 14th, 2006, Brad Niessen said:

    Wesley-
    I really enjoy this post. I am an Instructional Technology Specialist and Interactive Distance Learning Facilitator (sorry about the long title) for the Wichita Public School District. When I was a classroom teacher, I saw the power of desktop video conferencing and back in 1994 was actually using it with my 2nd grade class. About 3 years ago, our state board of regents, Kan -Ed, purchased a Marratech server and has given all districts in the state of Kansas the ability to use this powerful desktop software for free. This allows students and teachers that ability to reserved private rooms, secure from lurkers, to carry on video conference and share applications at the same time. Now, the most exciting news is that Marratech will work with those who do have the more expensive H.323 equipment. This means that homebond or schools who can’t afford the high end equipment can participate. I have been slowly introducing the power of Skype to or district and you are right, the first question I get is “Can I do this w/o getting in trouble?” I get excited about the power and flatting these applications hold. Maybe in the not so distant future, this will be a common tool used by all classrooms.

    Brad Niessen
    The TechTeacher Podcast

  2. 2 On October 14th, 2006, Wesley Fryer said:

    Brad: Thanks so much for your comment and the info about Marratech. I first heard about Marratech from my uncle, Ron Henley, who works for Essdack in Hutchinson, Kansas. I did not realize Marratech supports H.323 connections as well, that is excellent. If you are interested in connecting with some Oklahoma teachers and students for some collaborative videoconferencing let me know– especially since Marratech supports H.323 that would be great to pursue.

  3. 3 On October 14th, 2006, Raj said:

    I think you hit the nail on the head - the IT people are the ones that want to really control the VC use in the schools (conspiracy theorists would lump them in with the Windows people as well). I experienced this on a recent collaboration where the IT individuals were adamant that Tandberg was only thing that would happen when it came to VC. The project that I worked on was looking to use Elluminate for exactly the same reason - is it possible to break out of the “big room” model of VC.