An innovative service, launched in March 2005 enables educational institutions and corporate organizations worldwide to access the immense pool of academic and professional expertise concentrated in London, UK via videoconferencing.

Today, many US and European universities resort to opening and maintaining campuses in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to enable their students access to the wealth of experiences and teaching resources that the city offers.

In business, the advantages of professional and executive education are undermined by the significant travel and living costs combined with the prolonged absence of key employees from the work place.

According to the research conducted by the British Council, in fast developing economies like China and India the demand for highly experienced tutors and lecturers critically exceeds supply, affecting the realization of economic development to its full potential.

Teaching quality has also been a major concern. UNESCO states that “Faced with an unprecedented teacher shortage, some countries are now turning to low-paid, poorly trained teachers.”

Addressing these issues, BridgesEducation (www.bridgeseducation.org) uses videoconferencing to deliver a wide range of lectures, seminars and programs designed and presented by hundreds of high-profile speakers from leading UK universities, research centers and companies.

This system not only ensures high academic standards, but also offers clear financial benefits. “It’s a win-win situation,” says Kemi Pearce from the Advisory Centre for Education, “We avoid costly travel, hotels and living expenses whilst we retain the energy and interactivity of live delivery.”

Many in education have experienced videoconferencing in the past with different levels of success, resulting in hundreds of unused facilities on campuses around the world. But the technology has come a long way since it was introduced in the early 90s. Today it is not only much more affordable, reliable and interactive; it also offers features such as computer presentations, online broadcast and audience participation from multiple locations at one time.

Michelle Grant, development officer at BridgesEducation, is optimistic about global access to high quality tuition. “At present a few major centers offer a considerable proportion of academic and professional expertise. Now, with the help of technology, the location will become less and less relevant.”

It may take time for traditional education providers to realize the power of technology to its full potential, but by using videoconferencing as its main method of delivery, BridgesEducation marks the beginning of a new era.

Stas Spector is a specialist in distance learning technology at the Advisory Centre for Education in London.

I’ll cut to the chase. To make your video look right, you have to wear makeup. Sorry guys, be macho if you want, but when you have a five o’clock shadow after you just shaved, don’t say I didn’t warn you. The harsh lights used in studios penetrate several layers of skin that would appear a lot healthier if you had just put on some powder. It gets worse… baldness seems to be highlighted by cameras for some reason, get over it and put on some makeup. Don’t forget your nose and forehead, and always reapply during a break; you’ll thank me later.

While we’re on the vanity of things; clothes. Don’t wear gaudy prints, black, red or white. When you review your video, you want to see yourself rather than your outfit.

OK, now that that is out of the way, onto cameras. You’ll want preferably three cameras to ensure you have captured your speech and your audience from all angles. In order for your video to be of the best possible quality you’ll want to use Beta Cam, mini DV, or at the absolute worst, SVHS or HI8. Also, to have your video look great you should use professional operators and a director if they are using multi-cameras and a control room.

Lighting is the most important element when planning a video production. I have videos that were shot on poor quality cameras, but look great thanks to the right lighting.

If the organization is doing the editing, be right there in the suite as they do it. Ultimately, no matter what you have bartered, this is your finished copy and you should have a say in what is cut and what is not.

Lastly, scatter microphones throughout the audience. This will allow you to hear real reactions without the filters of lapel microphones.

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book “Wake ‘Em Up Business Presentations” and “Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.” It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his client’s needs.

www.antion.com

Propertycasting is the commercial application of podcasting for
the real estate industry. Propertycasting involves the
distribution and publishing of audio and video feeds, that offer
medical information delivered over the Internet, for on demand
listening.

This is a new step in the evolution of on-demand real-estate
information delivery, making it accessible, informative, useful
and appealing. This mix presents the real estate industry with a
very unique opportunity to reach its target audiences through
this new medium.

Here is a sample of a propertycast:

http://whatiwantpodcasting.com/pods/video/PropertyCast_Large_Wind
ows.wmv

For years and years, associates and brokers have been sending
out property listing updates. These propertycasts can be
inserted into your existing listing pages. Most firms have
numerous web pages which deliver real estate information in text
format and picture format, by providing an audio or video link
on that page it gives the user a different and much more
effective format for receiving the information. This is also a
great way to teach your existing users how to start utilizing
propertycasting services.

For more information, read this article on propertycasting by
What I Want Podcasting at
http://www.motivatedentrepreneur.com/articles/Propertycasting_-_P
odcasting_for_the_Real_Estate_Industry.shtml

http://www.WhatIWantPodcasting.com

Web conferencing has so far been used mostly in business-based applications. However when people start to realize that they can overcome all geographical barriers with online conferencing, then some really creative uses of this technology will begin to sprout in all areas of life.

In fact this is already happening and here are a few examples of how conferencing is making what was impossible yesterday, possible today.

When Nebraska resident Cindy Holsing found out that her two daughters would be graduating from two different colleges on the same day last spring she became depressed.

“My heart just sank,” Holsing said. “I thought: It is what it is. We can’t do anything about it.” At first she thought that the best way she could “attend” both commencements would be to get video tapes of the ceremonies which she would watch together.

However, when she put in a request for a video tape to the Midland Lutheran College, one of the college’s staff tried to find a better solution. He helped the Holsing family set up video web cameras at the two commencements and watch them through an online conferencing set-up that cost less than $100.

On graduation day, Mr. and Mrs. Hosing each went to one of the ceremonies and watched the other one on laptops which were logged onto a video conferencing link. Both parents and both girls were satisfied.

Attending a Wedding From Afar

A similar dilemma was faced by an ailing mother in Pittsburgh whose daughter was getting married in Florida. Monica Fournier, a cousin of the bride said, “When I realized that my cousin’s mom in Pittsburgh, who is awaiting a lung transplant, could not attend her daughter’s wedding in Florida I began to search for solutions.”

“I had heard about video conferencing on the Internet, but had never tried it and had no idea if it could work for this occasion. It was a real stab in the dark!” Monica added.

On the wedding day, both the wedding ceremony and the video conference were successful and “my cousin was thrilled her mom could participate in her special day from hundreds of miles away,” concluded Monica.

These are just two examples of how video conferencing can allow people to be in two places at the same time and to take part in important family events regardless of any obstacles.

As web and video conferencing become more popular, there will be lots more stories of this type. In the next article I will look at more ways how online conferencing is about to transform communications both at home and in the business place.

Dan Richmond is Co-founder of MegaMeeting.com. MegaMeeting provides web & video conferencing services for individuals & businesses. For more information, please call 818.783.4311 or Visit http://www.MegaMeeting.com.

Apple may begin selling subscriptions to podcasts via its
popular iTunes service begining as early next year.

Although Apple currently offers a full podcast directory, all
of the listed content–from both individuals and growing number
of companies–is available for free; however, that may change
soon. According to a Macworld UK report, Apple will begin
offering fee-based podcasts through iTunes in early 2006.

The report draws from a press release from new company–called
What I Want Podcasting–that promises to offer podcasts for sale
through iTunes “in the very near future.” The company says it
will offer live performance footage from the Air Jamaica Jazz
and Blues festival which takes place in late January 2006.

“We have developed exclusive video invitations from artists
appearing at the festival and created a promotional podcast
concert series. We then distributed it throughout the Web, on
iTunes, podcast directories, Google Video, and many more
websites.” says Martin Elmore, president of What I Want
Podcasting.

“In the very near future, we are going to offer podcasts for
sale on iTunes, which will feature clips of the concert this
January 26-28.”

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