Online Meeting Tools

Distance education is a fairly new concept. Even though it is fairly new, "Research shows that distance education can be as effective as face-to-face instruction" (Motamedi). Some factors influencing the successful use of video conferencing include: instructor's teaching style and degree of interactivity, motivation of students, organization of course, and preparation of instructor (Motamedi). Some benefits of video conferencing include: reduce travel time and expenses, provides visual presence to learners at remote sites, supports use of diverse set of media, and education can e expanded to new audiences (Motamedi). Some disadvantages include: can be expensive with time and money as networks can break down, teachers must learn how to effectively use the video conferencing medium (Motamedi). They also stated "The cost of setting up a high-quality videoconferencing based electronic classroom can easily exceed $100,000" (Motamedi). However, I find this hard to believe as we found free tools that work great.

We focused on three online meeting tools: Skype, Join.me, and Google Hangouts. Donna and I had no trouble setting up Skype. With it being so simple to figure out, it was limited in features. I have used Skype (and FaceTime) for interviews and calling home and it works great. It is good for just video and talking but not very helpful for teaching tool.

Join.me is a little more complicated. Join.me allows screensharing. However, without being a paying customer only the person who started the meeting can share their screen. Also, it is required to download a plug in before. This tool is good for collaborating.

Out of the three google hangouts is the best. This tool is completely free and allows both users to have access to each others desktops. It is more flexible and is great for collaborating and teaching.

Motamedi, Vahid. "A Critical Look at the Use of Videoconferencing in the United States Distance Education." Proquest. N.p., Dec. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.