The LTUG March 2007 survey has closed – the full results are available at the LearnTel survey blog.
In the meantime, here are some highlights:
76% of respondents have tried web conferencing – that’s quite a dramatic shift I believe from just 12 months ago, where I was constantly coming across people who had not participated or even heard of web conferencing.
65.5% of respondents use web conferencing in the education or training programs with 33% of these using it once a week.- which is great – think of all the extra people who are can now have access to learning opportunities (provided they have internet access, of course).
Macromedia Breeze was the most commonly used tool by 38.9% of respondents. Followed by Elluminate, Webex, Microsoft Live Meeting and Skype.
Here’s a snippet from the comments:
What people liked MOST about web conferencing…
- the visual component adds to an otherwise bland phone conference
- multiple participation
- interactivity, communication and web cams
- sharing desktops, applications, performing demonstrations, using presentations
- covers distance easily and can be recorded
Tips for teaching with web conferencing…
- prepare activties so that the attendees are not just passively listening
- encourage social interaction
- test the equipment prior to the event
- preparation
- avoid death by Powerpoint
[ABB: all wise tips that apply to any type learning event!]
Why don’t you use web conferencing…
- still breaking down traditional thinking
- no access to the tools
- our programs are asynchronous – timing is tricky
- video conferencing has greater potential and better imaging/audio capabilities
- web conferencing is another form of traditional practice as opposed to student centred learning
Quite a range of responses there… if you want the full results click here.
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Digital Dialogues 
Anne,
Thanks for posting information about the web conferencing survey. I’m working on gathering research for my client Elluminate to develop a white paper about the use and benefits of live eLearning and web collaboration technology. The information on the survey is particularly interesting to me, expecially why they use/don’t use web conferencing.
Also wanted you to be aware of Elluminate vRoom, a free, 3-seat version of Elluminate Live! This is a great way to get people started with this type of technology at no charge. For more information, visit http://www.getvroom.com.
– Beth for Elluminate
Helpful research. Just requested copy.
I’m Karel from Yugma. We did a lot of research last year to help us understand what it was that people really wanted from a web collaboration tool. The key points were that it had to be
very easy to use, it had to be real-time oriented (next best thing to meeting with someone in person), universal (that is, didn’t have to worry about what type of computer, application, or browser), had to be inexpensive (free would be great of course), and it had to be reliable.
We rolled all of these critical needs into the Yugma service and launched in December. Nice thing is that we were able to package the basic product so that it is free forever (let’s you invite up to 10 other people). We’re finding people from all walks of life, and from all around the world now using Yugma. Students, businesses, online communities. Which is exciting… Our mission was to help people around the world collaborate easily. I look forward to receiving a copy of the results.
Regards,
Karel Lukas
Yugma
http://www.yugma.com