When facilitating an online course, one should keep in mind the participants' needs. One of those needs is a synchronous conversation with the instructor/facilitator and perhaps other students in the same course. Software is available for synchronous interaction. If I were going to simply have a discussion with 3 or 4 people, I would use Google+ Hangouts. Hangouts is as simple to use as a telephone. If delivering a lecture, I would use WebEx or AnyMeeting. WebEx and AnyMeeting feature screensharing, video recording, chat sections, and can be used on mobile devices. One major difference is price. WebEx is $49/month for 25 participants and AnyMeeting is $15/month for 30 participants. For some, the cost is the deciding factor.
While cost may be a factor, support for open source programs is limited by in-house expertise while vendor solution programs have 24/7 support available.
While cost may be a factor, support for open source programs is limited by in-house expertise while vendor solution programs have 24/7 support available.
There are both open source and commercial software programs available. Open source software is often free and is created and updated by a community of developers while commercial programs are professionally developed and not so easily updated or customizable. In searching for interactive, live software, one must consider the exact needs of users as well as the purpose of using the program. Thus my problem, for what will the software be used? In looking ahead in this course I see I will be recording a synchronous meeting, and then, later on, creating a course for asynchronous and synchronous use. I have a few criteria I am looking for in a delivery system: it must be able to handle various content delivery media, a method of exchanging documents, synchronous discussions, recording features, messages, and a student records area.
In searching for a software, I found the major differences come in the available features, how the features are accessed and in the quality of recordings.
Open Source (Zaidlearn, Bigbluebutton, AnyMeeting) Vendor Solution (WebEx, GotoMeeting, Adobe, Google+)
developed by a community with common needs developed by professional
may customize, but technical expertise needed must get the vendor to make changes
may customize, but technical expertise needed must get the vendor to make changes
Das, Santanu. "Comparison between Open Source & Vendor Provided Software." OysterConnect, n.d. Web. <https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=890876225667224566#editor/target=post;postID=2728935865769997344;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname>.
Hiong, Goh Seow. "Open Source vs Commercial Apps: The Differences That Matter II | ZDNet." ZDNet. ZNet, 25 Oct. 2004. Web. 02 Jan. 2016. <http://www.zdnet.com/article/open-source-vs-commercial-apps-the-differences-that-matter-ii/>.
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