I am currently in the process of developing a fully Internet-based school of English - something that has been challenging but loads of fun as well (more details on that to be unveiled in the not-too-distant future...). This evening I got a chance to trial group-based video conferencing (something I'm calling [+] interTalk for the moment) with some of my online students, using the great browser-based conferencing service provided by TokBox.
Wow!!! It went down an absolute treat!
To the left you can see a screenshot of the conferencing session, featuring myself with my great students Soorim, Helen and Jeanie (all of them advanced level students in their late teens developing their English skills for Academic Purposes).
Once we got over a few very minor technical hitches (more to do with individual computers, mic settings - that sort of thing), we got down to the business of having an extended discussion focusing on news and topical issues.
Soorim and I presented and summarized articles we had read online representing issues we thought would be interesting for the group. We then took turns with a Q&A process to elicit more details and opinions about the articles, somebody summarizing the interactions, then follow-up discussion based around hypotheses and opinion-sharing.
The group handled the discussion process and technology involved really well, and I was so impressed to see/hear so much free-flowing discussion. These students also gave me a lot to think about through the questions and opinions they presented, and that is always a very stimulating experience for a language teacher. All up, the trial worked brilliantly and after an hour of in-depth talking face-to-face online, I think we all left the experience motivated and satisfied.
TokBox's video conferencing set up has marvelous potential. We did experience some hiccups in the form of time drag and sometimes some confusing echoes, but I'm really not sure how much that had to do with our individual computers and Internet connections. I did notice, for example, that when I took a couple of seconds to take a screenshot of us chatting in the conference room (to post here, as you can see!), my connection in the conference room slowed down tremendously as I quickly grappled with some copying and pasting into some image editing software. Once I'd shut that down, my connection to the other participants picked up noticeably.
The great thing about TokBox is that it is fully browser-based, something I've mentioned as a major plus elsewhere (see for example my post about Eyejot Video Mail). Having trialed what seems like hundreds of other audio and video applications for online teaching purposes, I now basically only ever really pay attention to services that allow me to link up with other users directly through an Internet browser-based service. I (and my computer dashboard) got sick to death of time and space consuming downloads and installations for other services (things like Sightspeed and Skype included), and my users appreciate access to services that don't require complicated (or for that matter compulsory) sign-ups, installations, and finnickly little free services that in effect force you to pay expensive fees for anything close to a useful and practical application.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not against paying for good applications and services. I'm perfectly willing to pay for them, if they are practical and easy to use. As a teacher with fee-paying students, I also don't mind making an investment in the necessary technology. But for the students themselves, they shouldn't be forced to go through brain-busting installation and sign-up procedures, or for that matter fork out money in expensive fees. I've already tried that with one service provider, and when it came time to forward on the costs as part of the students' fees, I realized the process had made online learning somewhat prohibitively expensive for my students.
In any case, for the moment TokBox appears to be offering online video calling, video mail and multiple person (up to 6 at a time) video conferencing free of charge. It looks really impressive, remembering of course that they are in Beta mode and still developing their services. At the moment, I find their video mail a little unwieldy compared to the polished service provided by Eyejot, but the live video calls and conferencing service direct out of an Internet browser (with only myself required to have an active membership) - that's some sweet stuff they've got going there. It certainly helped facilitate a great online group-based class with my learners tonight!
TokBox also has some cool "embed" features that make it great for integration into websites. You can, for example, embed your own personal Video Mail / Video Call service into a page on your site, where users can contact you live through a video call or leave you a video message.
The question now will be, when will TokBox move out of Beta mode and start requiring payment for their services? I sincerely hope they don't go the way of companies like Sightspeed, Webex or for that matter the Adobe-based conferencing set-up. There is some undisputed quality in those set-ups, but the prices they charge are so steep I doubt any users outside a major company set up will want to use them. These companies also need to recognize that smallish set ups like myself are willing to pay and sign up for certain services, but forcing our clients/students to do the same becomes prohibitive and frustrating.
And there's always another outfit on the rise out there ready to do the same basic things for a whole lot less...
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for TokBox - they so far have all the functions that could help make online education really rock. By all means slap me with a feasible charge for your services, but please, please, please! keep things open and accessible for the people I need to deal with online. In my case, they don't realistically have the budget, and in terms of English language learning - sometimes don't have quite the language or computer skills to handle complicated sign-up procedures.
