Over the week, Kira and I were able to connect over Zoom video chat. During our chat we talked about 3 different web conferencing platforms. We discussed the reasoning behind why we would use one over the other which touched on pros and cons for each platform.

Using the Zoom platform seemed to be the easiest platform to use when you are connecting with friends or people outside of your work domain. It’s easy to set up and all you need to invite people are their email addresses. It provides a nice clear picture and is very user friendly. My only problem with Zoom is that my microphone input settings always start at a low level. This means at the beginning of all my meetings with friends they cannot hear. It took me some time to figure this problem out and how to fix it, but now that I know what it is and know how to fix it, it has become much easier to deal with.

I use Google Meet for all work-related meetings. This is because my school district has paid for every staff member and student to have an account. This allows us to use all the Google features without paying as long as we use the provided email. It makes all emails, documents, files, meets and information more secure. Therefore, when I need to hold meetings with students or classes or class, we use Google Meet. I find that Google Meet is very easy to use. It is easy to join or create a meeting. The interface is easy to navigate and it is very user friendly. However, the image is not as clear as Zoom and they do not have a built-in function for the meeting creator to mute everyone. With that being said, you can download add ons that allow you to mute everyone as well as create breakout rooms. Zoom, already has these functions which automatically makes the platform a little better.

Kira’s school district bought the staff a Microsoft Teams account. I have never used this platform, but from our discussion it’s seems very similar to Google and the meet function seems very similar.

I think the both us agreed that the Zoom platform is probably the best, but for us the ideal online meeting software is what the district has provided. For me, Google Meet meets my needs, is dependable and most importantly it is easy for me, my staff and my students to use and collaborate with (Hsu. 2018.). This is the same for Kira and the Microsoft Teams Platform. Any platform is good as long as it will do everything you need it do with ease.

There are so many different platforms available, I wonder what everyone’s preference is.

References:

Hsu, J. (2018, March 1). Web conferencing 101 for nonprofits [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/web-conferencing-101