EDUCATORS AND TRAINERS INCREASINGLY RELY on the Internet for collaborative and educational interactions with remotely located colleagues and students.

Synchronous tools allow remote users who are online at the same time to work together in "real time." This offers interaction that is more natural and effective (Boettcher, 2005, ¶ 3), a "sense of community, the opportunity to solve problems quickly," and makes it possible to provide learners with immediate feedback (Forsyth, 2003, p.114). These new synchronous tools offer "many of the capabilities of the old, familiar classroom" (Boettcher, 2005, ¶ 9).

This article describes three steps for educators to follow when choosing tools for real-time virtual (online) meetings.

It is important to understand the degree and "type of communication interaction that is involved" when choosing tools for virtual meetings (Howard & Discenza, 2000, p. 146). The table below describes different types of "real time" face-to-face meeting interaction scenarios that are common to educators and trainers (Boettcher, 2005, ¶ 4).

Note that these interaction scenarios are presented as simple (less interaction) to more complex (more interaction) for illustration purposes, while in reality, meeting interactions are not so simple and not so easily defined. For example, an office hours interaction might involve more than just a one to one discussion and could include additional interactions, such as the demonstration of an application or the sharing of documents. 

When analyzing communication interactions involved in a meeting, look at all of the components and activities that are part of the meeting and consider the amount of interaction that is required. Ask yourself what needs to happen in the interaction for it to be successful.

Some questions you might ask:

• Do all participants need to talk?
• Do participants need to see each other face-to-face?
• Do participants need to look at a computer desktop together?
• Do participants need to demonstrate an application?
• Do participants need to share documents?
• How many participants are involved?
• In what direction will the communication between participants flow?
  

In order for educators and trainers to select synchronous meeting tools that best meet their needs, it is important for them to be familiar with the different categories of synchronous tools and to know what kinds of interactions are possible with these tools. The table below provides an overview of the functions and features of different types of synchronous tools. 

As Internet technology rapidly advances and becomes more efficient, faster, cheaper, easier to use and more readily available, these synchronous tools are rapidly evolving to offer improved and more complex real-time interactions.

Educators and trainers should match the functions and features of the tools to the activities and features of the meeting interactions when selecting synchronous tools for virtual meetings. The two images below illustrate the matching of a synchronous tool to a meeting interaction. The first image shows a "traditional" presentation to colleagues interaction. Mouse over the image to show a screen shot of the same type of meeting interaction using Macromedia Breeze Meeting, an application designed for synchronous online meetings and collaboration. 

Mouseover image of a "traditional" in person meeting to view the same type of meeting using a synchronous online tool.

The table below matches synchronous virtual meeting tools to educational meeting interaction scenarios. Again, these interaction scenarios are presented as simple to more complex, but in reality, meeting interactions are not so easily defined. The purpose of this table is to provide a starting point for matching tools to different types of meeting interactions. Tools marked with an asterisk (*) suggest the best choice for the interaction scenario, although this choice could vary depending on the specific meeting requirements and on other factors such as the cost, availability, and other technology requirements of the tools. (See list of factors below.) 

When choosing tools, other factors that need to be considered are:

• How much do these tools cost?
• How easy are these tools to use?
• What other technology (hardware and software) is required?
• How much Internet bandwidth is required to use the tool?
• How readily available are these tools?
• Do your learners and other meeting participants have access to the same tools as well as the necessary Internet bandwidth?

It is also important to remember that for these virtual meeting interactions to be successful, "the technology must support fluid conversation" so that the 'distance' is removed from virtual meetings with remotely located colleagues and students (Anderson, Beavers, VanDeGrift, & Videon, 2003, p. 1).

• Designing for the Virtual Interactive Classroom
• Video conferencing and Presentation Support for Synchronous Distance Learning.

• Educational technology in medical education
• Facilitating classes online
• Human dimension in distance learning
• Online interaction
• Synchronous/asynchronous delivery
• Technology and collaborative environments in distance education

Boettcher, J.V. (2005). Designing for the virtual interactive classroom. Campus Technology [Online]. Retrieved December 11, 2005 from http://www.campus-technology.com/article.asp?id=11046 
Forsyth, R. (2003). Delivery systems. In A. DiStefano, K. E. Rudestam & R. Silverman, (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Distributed Learning. (pp. 113-115). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Howard, C. & Discenza, R. (2000). The emergence of distance learning in higher education: A revised group decision support systems typology with empirical results. In L. Lau, Distance Learning Technologies: Issues Trends and Opportunities. (pp. 143-156)s. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc. 

Anderson, R., Beavers, J., VanDeGrift, T. & Videon, F. (2003). Videoconferencing and presentation support for synchronous distance learning. Paper given at 33rd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 2003. Retrieved December 11, 2005 from University of Washington Computer Science and Engineering Web site: http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/dl/presenter/papers.html 

Susan Roberts, Student, SDSU Educational Technology ，Roberts, S. (2005). Choosing tools for real-time virtual meetings. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology.