When we ran our last Informl Learning Unworkshop this Summer, we tried out several technical configurations, but the standard for international, online, synchronous group sessions was a Skypecast for voice and Vyew for slide sharing & text chat. I know that there may be more robust [expensive] platforms for web conferences, but both of these applications are free so the setup is easy to replicate for anyone, anywhere.
Vyew has just released version 2.0 which is advertised as a major upgrade. Our experience with the previous version was positive overall and the company was helpful in quickly addressing some of our particular needs, all for no cost. Anyway, the new features, which we’ll probably test out during our next unworkshop, include:
- Multiple Vyew Books per User (handy if you’re running several web conferences or variations thereof)
- A new layering architecture to bring objects forward or move them back more easily (gotta try this out)
- More functions for Mac users on Safari (a good thing for my Mac friends)
Anyway, this is a nice little company with a solid product that is “Always FREE”. Our experience in researching dozens of applications was that there is currently no other product available with this functionality at no cost. Vyew, especially when combined with Skype, makes for a powerful platform for rapid informal learning.
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