For our brainstorming session our group tried numerous avenues for web conferencing. We kept striking out. We tried Webhuddle and not every member could access it. We tried Yugma, but realized only three people could join a conference. We tried Microsoft 365 and not every member could access that. We were working in our group's live chat on Angel as we tried these different programs. We ended up having to settle with Skype because it was the only one we could get to work for all of us.
Skype is a pretty cool program that allows for video web conferencing and chat. It seemed very easy to set up and use. Actually, not everyone in our group was extremely familiar with Skype having only used it a few times in the past. It seemed a though there weren't as many features as far as web conferencing is concerned within Skype as I've seen with other programs; i.e. whiteboards. I think the next time our group gets together to work on our project we should try Vyew. That is one program we seemed to forget about during our quest to find a software program we could all use.
As far as using web conferencing software in the classroom, I think that could be very beneficial to students. You can use web conferencing for all sorts of things in the classroom like virtual field trips, conferencing with other classrooms around the world, and maintaining a virtual classroom outside of school. I think this could also be beneficial to special needs students who may not be able to attend school regularly or who fall behind in class as well. Another benefit is that teachers can have "virtual" office hours if students would like assistance after school.
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