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| Carolyn Ford Burac, M.Ed. |
VoIP vs. Dial-in
Okay, so let’s define the term VoIP. VoIP or voice over Internet Protocol is a method for taking analog audio signals, like the kind you hear when you talk on the phone, and turning them into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet. Basically, you can talk to your audience through your computer, and of course you need to be connected to the internet when doing so. Adobe Connect offers just that; however, sometimes technical difficulties can occur on both ends, for a learner and a facilitator.Here are some tips regarding the utilization of VoIP when conducting an online training using Adobe Connect. Although I was not here to experience the difficulty with audio from the last course offering,
In the past, I have reviewed several trainings conducted by other trainers. In many instances, it was either hard to hear a participant clearly, the volume was of poor quality or the participants were unable to use the headset effectively. I use a Logitech headset when conducting trainings on the Adobe Connect platform as well other web conferencing services.
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| fig. 3.0 |
Pros:
• VoIP is free
• The ability to record your webinars
• Hands-free
Cons:
• Equipment investment
• No control over the headphones your participants utilize
• Spend too much time troubleshooting
Teleconferencing/Dial-in
With dial-in, you will have fewer technical issues and you will never have to concern yourself with the availability of a phone. Everyone has a phone, but you will get one or two people who will forget to mute the phone and all of the participants will hear background noises or they may put their office phone on hold and grace us with their lovely wait music. Such interruptions must be considered. This can be combated in any training course with presenting “housekeeping” rules. However, even when covering webinar etiquette at the onset of the training, we will always get some webinar rebels.Pros:
• Telephones and cell phones require no investment
• Minimal to no troubleshooting necessary
Cons:
• Not always hands-free
• Most dial-in services are not free and for those who are, participants may experience low quality
• Interruptions/distractions from participants
Video/Screen Share
I love this feature in any web conferencing platform. As long as you keep your classes small (10 participants), using videos and the screen share feature is great. However, more than 10 participants, things get a little hairy.
- Be sure to convert all videos to swf or flv
- Input the URL in your browser before the class.
- Always select the option Applications > Internet Browser (IE or Firefox)
Microsoft PowerPoint
Adobe Connect does an awesome job in converting PowerPoint presentations into a Flash presentation. However, when designing your PowerPoint presentation, there are a few things you must keep in mind.Font types: Adobe Connect will only support about 10 - 12 font types, everything else will be converted to something not preferable. Use images instead.
Animations: Those cool animations that can occur when you set the timing to begin with the previous animation or with another animation WILL NOT automatically play in Adobe Connect. You will need to click the next button to begin all animations within the Adobe Connect platform.
Videos: Before you start to waste a bunch of time embedding videos within a PowerPoint presentation only to discover you will only become a manic searching on forums for a solution, please save yourself a left brain headache. Go ahead and convert your video to a swf or flv format and bring it in the platform as a separate Share pod.
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If you have any additional input or questions, please contact me at carolyn.ford@dreamqwest.com
