Re: webex

[Megan Golding <mgolding -at- secureworks -dot- net>]

On Mon, 2001-11-12 at 16:14, White, Bonita wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I would like to pick your (collective) brains on webex as a training
> solution.  I am just learning about the product and from what I can see
> it
> would seem to be better for seminars and the like than training. 

I've used web conferencing tools for on-line training and have found the
experiences to be very useful. The keys are defining your needs, finding
the right conferencing solution provider, and developing the right type
of training.

When I started out down this road, I first wrote down all my
requirements in a web conferencing tool. Here is a short version of the
list I compiled at the time:

1. must work well over a dial up connection
2. must operate through most corporate firewalls/security measures
3. must allow between 10 and 30 attendees to log on simultaneously
4. must be reasonably priced (a flat annual contract is preferable to a
per-head fee)

After you get your list of requirements, make sure to prioritize them.
Decide which ones are must have and which are nice-to-have requirements.
Got the list? Good. Let's move on.

The next step is to find the right provider. I looked at WebEx,
Placeware, and Net Meeting (Microsoft) -- among some others who are
doubtless dot-bombs by now. Placeware won out because their app is a
Java program that runs on the client's computer. This freed us of many
of the through-the-firewall nightmares we heard about with Net Meeting.
I forget why WebEx lost out to Placeware...this was at least 3 years
ago.

When you're making your selection, the "right" provider will depend on
your requirements. In my case, I was providing training to customers of
our company. We had no say in their network configuration -- at the
time, Net Meeting was a bear to set up to work through a firewall. In
addition, Placeware was really reasonably priced at the time. 

The final step is to develop the right type of training. When I was
using Placeware, I created 1/2 hour training sessions on a topic my
audience had passing familiarity with. I prepared a Power Point slide
show and uploaded it to Placeware. We scheduled a telephone conference
call to carry the audio portion of class. The class consisted of about
15 minutes of going through the slides (with plenty of screen shots from
the software about which I was training) and about 15 minutes in a "live
demo" mode. In "live demo" mode, I could launch my company's application
and walk through the software. The attendees watched me navigate and
operate the software.

The program was very successful. We started with a small goal -- teach
advanced topics to our distributors. When we were done, I was teaching
class remotely to 100 attendees. Our distributors loved the program so
much, they invited their customers to come to their offices to take
part. 

I think the key to success in my program was that we kept the classes
short and on-topic (ok, I guess that's 2 keys to success!). Don't try to
tackle too much on-line. Too many distractions exist. 1/2 hour is a
perfect length for on-line training of this nature.

Good luck and remember, web conferencing tools can be excellent training
tools!

Meg


-- 

Megan Golding (mgolding -at- secureworks -dot- net)
SecureWorks, Inc.

Any sufficiently advanced bureaucracy is 
indistinguishable from molasses.
                              -- Unknown


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