Video conferencing has come a long way since my first class via a live two-way distance education system in the Fall Quarter of 1988. This was before the Internet, and before most institutions had access to high speed data lines for video transmission. In this case the mode of transmission was an expensive microwave system with many “hops” across southeastern Ohio. Connections had to be scheduled in advance, and a complex routing system was employed to connect the various sites. It was a closed system, with connections limited to 7 locations.
Yesterday morning I facilitated a connection between the University of Montana and a group in Brescia, Italy. This connection was made in a matter of seconds by using the video call feature of Windows Live Messenger. For this session I had the luxury of using our video conferencing room with multiple cameras and an audio system of microphones and room speakers, along with imagine projection onto a wall screen, but none of this fancy expensive equipment is necessary for a video basic conference.
Today’s desktop or laptop computer with a broadband Internet connection can preform this task with ease. With the addition of a web cam and a chat headset one can video conference with another with a similar set up. Most of the popular free IM services now offer an easy to use video and audio conferencing component to their services.
Meebo (www.meebo.com) not only provides a web interface for multiple IM clients, but also adds video conferencing and many other applications to the interactive experience. I suggest a trail of meebo for anyone who wants an easy way to consolidate your IM clients and to do a video conference that “just works”, and one can’t beat the price!
The world is a much smaller place than it was in 1988, and our connection possibilities are ever increasing. Seek out the easiest avenue, and make the connection!
