From Telephone to Video Conference

Since its invention in 1876, no other means of communication has revolutionized people's daily lives more than the telephone.  In fact, the communication technology is gradually migrating from analog to digital, and the digital technology makes it possible for important information to be integrated into the communication line - video conference in the digital line.

The evolution of video conference started in 1980s when it was extremely expensive. Widespread adoption was thus impossible until PictureTel offered their first proprietary version of video conference in 1986.  Further development of video conference involved the creation of commonly used standard protocol such as the ITU standards.  These standards specify both audio and video services over Internet Protocol (IP), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and 3G mobile networks.  Due to the enormous growth of IP network, the development of IP network for video conference is developed more rapidly than the rest and wider choices of products become available in the market.  One of the major developments of IP video conference product in the market is on Web video conference.

What Is Web Video Conference and How It Helps?

Communication is a crucial and essential part in the process of teaching and learning.  It helps information transfer and exchange among different stakeholders.  Video conference can serve this purpose by providing synchronous multi-media conference where teachers and students can meet and collaborate without being restricted by location.  Combining the power of advanced personal computer and Web technologies, Web video conference (sometimes called Web conference) delivers video conference through a Web browser or dedicated software running in a computer.

Web video conference not just allows audio and video signals, but also permits the sharing of other resources in a computer.  Therefore, teachers can show a presentation, send files or even share their desktop with their students. Companies can interview potential staff from aboard without having them to travel. Staff can communicate with their colleagues in the remote offices. Researchers can discuss and share research experiences. Parents can meet their children who studied aboard. People can make friends with people from any parts of the world. With the convenience of Web Conference, all these are made possible and affordable. This involves interactions with participants using either Web browsers or software applications.  Web video conference offers advantages over traditional room-based videoconference system (see Appendix A for more details) because applications such as collaborative Web browsing, file transfer and application sharing are easily supported over the Internet and personal computers.

Choices of Web Video Conference

Commercial Web video conference is usually sold as a service hosted on a server controlled by the vendor, either on a usage basis (cost per user per minute) or for a fixed fee (cost per number of host).  However, some Web video conference providers can offer their options by allowing organizations to install their software on their own servers.

There are many market leaders for Web video conference solutions, such as Microsoft, WebEx and Acrobat.  The following are some typical features that are normally provided (see Appendix B for more details):

• Live audio and video
• Conference recording
• Whiteboard
• Text chat
• Polls and survey (quite optional)
• Screen sharing, application sharing, desktop sharing (participants can view anything the presenter simultaneously shows in their screen.  Some screen sharing applications allow remote desktop control, enabling participants to manipulate the presenters screen).

Who Will Need Web Video Conference in Universities?

Web video conference is a convenient tool for teaching and learning.  No matter whether you are a lecturer or a student, Web video conference is useful for collaboration between teachers and learners as well as learners to learners.  Some universities treat this as an essential e-learning facility that can allow lecturers and students to host meeting with different parties to enhance their learning and learning experiences.

Appendix A

The comparisons between Room and Web Conference Systems:

Appendix B

The following are some comparisons on the functions and features on different tools: