per Reuben Wagenius
Cost: $2,730/year, 25 hosts (approximately $110/host)
Recording Capacity is 100GB cloud storage, shared between the 25 accounts, 100 participants per host
Here is the Zoom pricing plan showing the Basic vs. Pro account plans. https://zoom.us/pricing
Happy to set you up with an account (email provided below) as soon as one become available (5/14 or sooner).
I only ask for your assessment on this tool – pros, cons and overall impression.
CMDLN (Central Minnesota Distance Learning Network) is one of the six regions that make up the LNM (Learning Network of Minnesota). The LNM Board is made up of MinnState and the UofM representatives. It is a State of Minnesota Grant funded organization connecting Higher Ed to Higher Ed and Higher Ed to K-12. Developed in 1995 to extend education throughout Minnesota. Core role today is connecting campus to campus with interactive video and audio.
Yes, CMDLN is paying for the Zoom Host accounts. SCSU is a member of CMDLN (1 of 8) giving them access to this Zoom account. Yes, as long as Zoom is working as well as it has, CMDLN will continue funding.
I do not see Zoom as competition with Adobe Connect, just another tool. Just as Skype or Cisco CMS.
Connect does not connect to the video codec classrooms (30 that CMDLN takes care of).
Adobe Connect does not currently connect to China without issues. We use Zoom for the SCSU-Binhai meetings.
Chosen to pilot upon recommendation from my colleagues in other states that are serving the same needs.
All that to say, Zoom is in a three year pilot for CMDLN members with interactive video needs.
SCSU uses this semester:
PSEL and TSE classes
SW from England
HBS SCSU-Binhai
IM sessions
MTQ student presentations
CMDLN Board Meetings
+++++++++++++++
more on Zoom in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=zoom
two articles of interest regarding freedom of speech on the Internet
New heights in digital activism
As governments around the world impose new restrictions on internet freedom, it is worth remembering what is at stake. The present crackdown comes as digital platforms are being used in new and creative ways to advocate for change and, in many cases, save lives. Internet advocacy had real-world results in both democracies and authoritarian settings over the past year, and its impact was often most pronounced in countries where the information environment was more open online than off. In over two-thirds of the countries examined in this study, there was at least one significant example of individuals producing a tangible outcome by using online tools to fight for internet freedom, demand political accountability, advance women’s rights, support victims of unjust prosecution, or provide relief to those affected by natural disasters.
Fighting for internet freedom and digital rights
Social media were used effectively to fight for internet freedom in a variety of countries over the past year. In Thailand, over 150,000 people signed a Change.org petition against a government plan to centralize the country’s internet gateways, which would strengthen the authorities’ ability to monitor and censor online activity. As a result, the government announced that it had scrapped the plan, though skeptical internet users remain vigilant.
Using the hashtag #NoToSocialMediaBill, Nigerian digital rights organizations launched a multifaceted campaign to defeat a “Frivolous Petitions Prohibition Bill” that threatened to constrain speech on social media. Alongside significant digital media activism, civil society groups organized a march on the National Assembly, gathered signatures for a petition presented during a public hearing on the bill, and filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Lagos, all of which contributed to the bill’s withdrawal in May 2016. India’s telecommunications regulator banned differential pricing schemes in February after more than a million comments were submitted online to protest companies that charge consumers different prices for select content or applications.
+++++++++++++++++++++
more on Internet freedom in this IMS blog:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=freedom
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=civil
Save
Appear
https://appear.in/
If you are tired of Skype failures (Microsoft aquired it) and have difficult time navigate through Google Hangout, but want to connect using your social media accounts, this is an easy app for you.
my note: the alternative for VoIP is growing – next to Skype, Google hangouts, FB Messenger to mention only view, not Google and Snapchat are elbowing their way… Free options for education. It will be difficult to standardize; who will provide a platform, which will allow to pole students what of all those choices they want to use for education?
Google just announced a new service called Fiber Phone — here’s how it works
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-google-fiber-phone-2016-3
If you’ve used Google Voice, Google’s app that provides select phone services, then many of Fiber Phone’s features will be familiar to you. You’ll get cheap international-calling options and be able to choose your own phone number, and your voicemails will be transcribed and texted to you. It also includes spam filtering and a “do not disturb” function.
Fiber Phone will be available only as a $10-per-month add-on
+++++++++++++
Snapchat is maturing by playing catch up.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/29/technology/snapchat/
Snapchat now allows people to make voice calls, send audio messages, and send video messages.
Two Ways to Record Skype Calls on a Mac
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/01/two-ways-to-record-skype-calls-on-mac.html
Record video of a Skype call:
I use a rather simple method to capture video of a Skype call. I simply open Screencast-O-Matic on my Mac then frame the Skype the window. When I’m ready to start recording I simply press record on Screencast-O-Matic and capture the video. One flaw in this method is that I cannot use a headset during the call because it won’t capture audio from both parties. So make sure you’re in a quiet place and just rely on your Mac’s internal mic and speakers.
Record audio of a Skype call:
On a Mac you can record audio of a Skype call by using QuickTime. The screenshots below provide directions for recording a Skype audio call by using QuickTime. After recording your call you can take the audio file and use it Garage Band or another audio editing tool like Audacity to edit the audio.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/386134/free-skype-group-video-calls-for-a-year
Even with the release of a GROUP video call now for free (versus only between two parties), Google Hangout still might be the way to go:
http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/feature/Google-Hangouts-vs-Skype-A-comparative-look
In addition to Google Hangout, please have more alternatives for video and desktopsharing (mostly free):
9 Ways Students Can Host Peer Tutoring Sessions Online
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/11/9-ways-students-can-host-peer-tutoring.html#.U1J6ZPldWSo
Stephen Noonoo in his THE JOURNAL article:
Global Collaboration Projects that Go Way Beyond Skype
http://thejournal.com/Articles/2014/03/26/Global-Collaboration-Projects-that-Go-Way-Beyond-Skype.aspx?Page=1#QtGjrl5J4swVCRoI.99
describes the “flattening” of the high school classroom, where students use communication technologies well beyond Skype (Edmodo) to works with peers in real time around the world. The idea of flattening involves peer-to-peer mentoring (Vygotsky’s “zone”) besides high school students growing with the consciousness of growing in a global world.
Those will be the students, who in several years will be entering our (higher ed) environment. Are we ready for them?
Per our older blog entry:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2014/03/27/who-is-coming-to-college-after-the-millennials/
do we know and understand the students who are coming soon to our classroom?
From: The EDUCAUSE Blended and Online Learning Constituent Group Listserv [BLEND-ONLINE@listserv.educause.edu] on behalf of Meagher, Tina [meagher@XAVIER.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 11:44 AM
To: BLEND-ONLINE@listserv.educause.edu
Subject: [BLEND-ONLINE] Synchronous solutions..
Hello,
I am leading a project group that is looking into a synchronous solution for student to students and faculty to student interactions. We recently started to use Canvas for our LMS and slowly moving away from Bb. Many of the faculty were using Wimba for synchronous classes and moments. Now faculty and students are using a combination of Big Blue Button, Webex, Skype and Google hangouts. We are trying to find a single solution for this. Can anyone let me know what they are using at their school for synchronous classes or moments, student group work and virtual office hours. Thanks so much for your time…
Tina
——-
Tina Meagher
Manager
Video and Digital Media Services
The Digital Media Lab
http://www.xavier.edu/dml
T: (513) 745-3682
Xavier University
3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45207-0000
http://bigbluebutton.org/
http://www.zoom.us/ + https://canvas.instructure.com/login
