Web conferencing tools

I'm looking for a web conferencing site that is dependable and affordable. This will be used for professional development with teachers from 53 elementary schools. Have looked into quite a few . . . a bit overwhelming. Any suggestions?

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Permalink Reply by Dorethia(Dotty) Myers on May 29, 2010 at 9:51am

http://www.dimdim.com/
This is a new start up company.

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Permalink Reply by Colleen Howard on May 31, 2010 at 9:19am

Thanks, Dorethia. However, I have researched this one pretty well and tried it out a few times. It does not seem to be too reliable and has a lot of down time. I'll be planning webinars for 53 elementary schools and it is critical that the system is dependable. Do you know anything about elluminate or webex?

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Permalink Reply by Dorethia(Dotty) Myers on May 31, 2010 at 10:20am

there's always Webex, Gotomeeting and Elluminate. they all cost, but are probalbyreliable. Maybe Livestream with twitter feed. Sorry to hear about DimDim.
http://www.wimba.com/
http://www.wiziq.com/
Check out these sites. Not sure if they are both free.

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Permalink Reply by Dorethia(Dotty) Myers on May 31, 2010 at 10:21am

I have attened some webinars on both. You can get a free account on Learncentral.org for up to 3 people. Try it out. It is part of elluminate.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Finney on May 31, 2010 at 9:50am

Definitely try DimDim.com. There is a free version and even the premium versions are well worth the price. If you are running Moodle, there is a plugin you can add that provides you with an open source version. It is very user friendly and you can be up and running quickly. Definitely worth a try.

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Permalink Reply by John Thompson on May 31, 2010 at 11:49am

The answer/suggestion really depends on your needs (i.e., what you want to do). For example, is the PD going to be synchronous or do you want teachers to be able to access the presentation 24/7? If synchronous, how many participants and how much interactivity between presenter and participants? What is your budget (i.e., how much can you afford)? Who's going to do the PD - in-house PD staff/trainers or outside consultants? If inside, how will presenters get trained on how to use the chosen desktop Web conferencing program? Might be good to work a bit with a consultant to really analyze your needs and expected outcomes before reviewing possible Web conferencing programs.