Ottawa firm expands cloud-based video collaboration services

Ottawa-based Magor Corp. announced last week new updates to its video conferencing service that includes a new Windows desktop client and three new features to its cloud services.

So far the TSX-listed firm has offered its video conferencing and collaboration software via dedicated appliances powered by Ubuntu. Now the firm is offering a native Windows desktop app that is touch-screen friendly and is optimized for Windows 7 and 8. Magor’s video collaboration software is also available to anyone that can use a Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browser – including mobile devices.

Magor launched its cloud collaboration platform, Aerus, in March 2013 and is now continuing to build upon its services with three new features. Magor is offering firms that want HD video conferencing an easier way to get their foot in the door, says Steve Anderson, vice-president of cloud services at Magor. Competitors in the video conferencing market often require a specialized infrastructure to be installed on premises before you can start connecting with video.

“What our competitors like Cisco and Polycom don’t have is the ability to bring someone else in, to share my spreadsheet with you,” Anderson says. “We’re a decentralized environment. If I happen to be in my office today, I can call any of my colleagues like I would call them on a cell phone.”

Aerus supports multiple video codecs and integrates them through the WebRTC protocol, he explains. So whether a user wants to connect with someone use Skype, Jabber, or another video conferencing tool, they can take the call using their Aerus client. Inviting a guest to take part is as simple as sending them a URL to join the conference.

Magor’s selling point for its Aerus collaboration cloud service is a flexible workflow system.

Three new cloud features were added to Aerus services last week as well: Aerus Invite, Aerus OnScene, and Aerus WebCollab.

Aerus Invite provides a user with a virtual meeting room. Instead of working on number of ports available, Magor lets companies determine the number of users they’d like to support on video conferencing software. The user could both take and place video conferencing calls using the service. Aerus manages the technology being used to answer the type of video call coming in.

“Its best to look at the Magor software as being multilingual and speaking natively with each application,” Anderson says.

Aerus OnScene is a set of services focused on public safety, designed for first responders such as police and fire response teams. Street-level officers could stream back real time video information that is geo-tagged to a command centre to aid in surveillance activities, for example.

“It’s coordinated and we get to see where all the people are on a GIS map,” Anderson says. “What you’re actually starting to see now are a whole bunch of buffet items sitting on top of our Aerus cloud.”

WebCollab lets you connect with video, audio, and desktop sharing in high quality to other participants through a web browser. Perhaps a professor could use this to host a class for students to connect remotely, Anderson gives as an example. The teacher can just share a URL with his students and push out content to the whole class, able to change the view to a different webcam, or a PowerPoint presentation.

Aerus costs $200 per month per user, Anderson says.

Article Source: Ottawa firm expands cloud-based video collaboration services

Managing organizational activities through video conferencing

Videoconferencing is the conduct of a video conference by a set of telecommunication technologies, which allow two or more geographical locations in communicating simultaneously to each other by two-way video and audio transmissions.

There are some misconceptions among people about cloud video conferencing. Most of the people understand it as similar to video calls or videophones calls but the fact is not like that. There are some differences in video conference and video calls as video -conferencing is designed to serve a conference over multiple locations rather that individuals like videophone calls. This is one of the main differences.

There are various kinds of hardware and software involved in videoconferencing. The software used in it is known as video -conferencing software. In these days, there are numerous service providers which provide these facilities commercially throughout the world as per their clients' specific needs and requirements.

The main equipment or products that are used in it are webcams, videophones, webcams, conferencing hardware and relevant systems that are related to video telephony for two-way communication with live audio and video. The primary section of this system includes various devices like webcams, telepresence systems, video-conferencing as well as video phones. There are many other related products like videoconferencing software client and codecs.

The secondary section of videoconferencing system include of Video Relay Services (for hard-of-hearing, deaf as well as speech-impaired individuals), Public Access Videoconferencing facilities, Telemedicine along with various others. These systems have made drastic changes in managing organizational activities in terms of meetings, seminars, important conversations along with various others. This is very helpful for especially those offices or organizations, which have multiple offices across many cities in a state or a country. Official activities and functions can be easily managed by official executives and managers for various locations, where their offices are located.

Most of the businessmen think that video- conferencing would be expensive deal for us but the reality is not like that. In these days, there are many small IT Companies, which have started to provide video conferencing services for a small or medium organization according to their specific needs and requirements. If you have a CEO of a company which has more than two branches at different cities and want to manage your operations and activities efficiently, video conferencing options would be one of the most suitable options for you. If you have no any idea about prominent services providers, go through online resources. You'll be able to choose one of the best video conferencing service providers as per your official requirements.

Article Source: Managing organizational activities through video conferencing

Students to use video conferencing for online debates

A cloud video conferencing facility has been set up at the Kenya National Library Services’ Nakuru complex.

This will now enable school debating clubs to conduct live debates across the country.

The project named The American Corner is a joint venture between KNLS and the American embassy.

In a pioneering pilot project, debating club members from secondary schools in Nakuru and Kisumu will engage in real time friendly exchanges on various topics.

The e-resource centre has been put up at the Kenya National Library Services (KNLS) Nakuru complex in partnership with the USA e-library, a project launched earlier in Kisumu KNLS.

The e-library provides an online database with numerous resources for student researchers, lecturers and the public who can access the content in the KNLS e-resource centres.

Nakuru and Kisumu libraries will host different groups of students from local schools.

The programme will be rolled out countrywide after the official launch by the embassy which is scheduled for later 2014.

Mr Joseck Olala, an ICT officer at KNLS said that the trial session had been hosted with students from Nakuru’s Menengai High School and Kisumu Day Secondary School participating in a live online debate.

“The students from the two schools engaged one another in a very successful debate, ' he said.

He added that students will also use the sessions to bond with one another both locally and internationally.

KNLS Nakuru and Kisumu libraries have been placed under the American Corner project due to their high level of technology.

Article Source: Students to use video conferencing for online debates

Video Collaboration Software

What will you do if you need to collaborate and communicate with your branch offices,  dispersed teams, customers and partners as well? Email and telephone are already outdated, let alone face-to-face meeting, it is too expensive, time consuming and less efficient.

Nowadays, more and more enterprises tend to use video conferencing software, a kind of video collaboration software to collaborate and communicate with colleagues, customers, clients and partners living in different places.

According to Eugene Eric Kim, founder and director of Blue Oxen Associates, the future of the free world may well depend upon it -- and no, he's not kidding! Unfortunately, there are a list of video collaboration softwares online. Most of them have similar functions, and In this article, we will introduce one for you: CUMeeting video collaboration software.

With CUMeeting video collaboration software, you can easily collaborate and communicate with as many people as you can no matter where they live with HD video and many other features such as whiteboard, file sharing, screen sharing, media sharing, text chat, electronic voting etc.

Key features of CUMeeting video collaboration software
Multipoint video conferencing: You can use CUMeeting video collaboration software to connect with multiple points of participants. It can stream generally 16 points at the same time, if you have more than 16 points, you can broadcast each point of video by turns with video polling feature.

Text chat: With text chat function you can freely send text messages to anyone you like. It allows you to privately chat with specific person or group of people or all people. Just click the drop down list of Chat to choose person that you want to chat with.

Sharing: Participants can view your actions on the desktop in real time, view your selected application and file including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, PDF, TEXT, Image etc. Besides, you can send file to participant or receive file from presenter.

Whiteboard: Whiteboard feature allows you to add annotations, highlight any specific content on the presentation (support Image, PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), add notes on a virtual whiteboard. Annotations can be reviewed in real time.

Electronic voting: If you need to know the opinion of all member involved in the participants so as to make final decision on specific matter, then, you can use electronic voting function to gather information needed. The results can be viewed in real-time.

Article Source: Video Collaboration Software

Online program supports new Canadians, ESL learners

Technological online teaching software, multimedia devices and interactive teaching software are being used to provide targeted instruction, assessments and reviews for people who need to learn English.

English as a Second Language (ESL) courses are often taken for academic purposes, but many see the best online teaching software as a way to advance international careers and global businesses.

Technology, especially the Internet, is changing the way we teach and the way we learn, and it is particularly useful in language instruction, with its ability to connect people with differing languages skills in real-time so they can interact and converse with each other as a way to enhance learning. Mobile applications and web based training software programs are also helping people who could not access foreign language education before.

Many of these digital learners are talking to Canada and the language coaches at TalktoCanada.com.

TalktoCanada was developed and launched by partners Alysia Bartley and Marc Anderson, who first and foremost had identified an software for online teaching need for language resources; having just finished their own university studies, they set out to become teachers from their home in Thunder Bay, ON.

The company now employs several dozen staff members who provide software for teaching online English lessons to private students and businesses in more than 50 countries around the world.

(For ESL learners and adult immigrants in and around Calgary, there is an free teaching online software collection of resources and information to help people who are new to the city, or are looking for help learning the English language.)

One tangible benefit is the use of and exposure to authentic language, idioms and accents used by real people; foreign language students say the immediate feedback helps boost their confidence, and it increases their global awareness through real time interaction. Students can progress at their own pace and keep track of their own progress with the support of the teachers and the technology.

The students also report that online education software is less stressful at home, and the computerized instruction has shown learners to be more responsible for their own learning and managing their own timetables.

Online teachers say they appreciate the versatility, the multimedia capabilities, and a myriad of interactive functions. Specific instruction can be targeted and maximized. Student assessment, skill and concept review, and ongoing record keeping are enhanced. Instruction can be personalized for the beginner, advanced, and business-specific learner.

Various literacy skills are taught. Listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills help develop English fluency, alongside an emphasis on vocabulary and grammar.

There are supplementary online training software such as voice message boards, games, and online dictionaries. Forums and video chat software can be scheduled among students and with teachers. Before formal instruction begins, there is an initial assessment to determine which specific course is appropriate for the student.

It’s been estimated that over free one training software billion people worldwide now study ESL. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and networked, more foreign students are enrolling in online English classes. Europe boasts a third of all students who study ESL. There are a high number of online ESL learners that reside in countries in Asia such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China, clearly the country with the largest potential of future ESL learners.

Article Source: Online program supports new Canadians, ESL learners

Texas high school uses video conferencing to bring the world to the classroom

Del Valle High School teacher Michael Cunningham has found a way to knock down the walls of his classroom and engage his students in rich conversations with other high school students around the world.

Cunningham is using teleconferencing technology from LifeSize. The system enables him to connect members of his speech and debate classes with students at other high schools in the US, Australia, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The live discussions are part of a larger initiative to broaden the student learning experience through video technology.

"The purpose [of these cloud video conferencing is to provide a world class education in my school by bringing the world to Del Valle," said Cunningham in an e-mail interview with T.H.E. Journal.

Cunningham, a 28-year veteran educator, first introduced free video conferencing online into his lesson plans in 2001. DVHS uses LifeSize's ClearSea system. Cunningham has used the system to stream presentations from guest lecturers as well as to hold moot courts, mock trials and debates with schools around the world.

"Today we had a moot court with the Czech Republic and then a debate with Sisler High School in Winnipeg, Canada," he noted. Earlier this month, his students debated the topic of drug trafficking with students at Findon High School, in South Australia. "And last fall we had a video conference server about Iran from Pittsburgh at the same time my students were arguing with Kehrad High School of Iran."

The free video conferencing sessions have given Cunningham's students a rare real-world glimpse into the turbulent social and political environments of their global peers. He recounted a time when a conversation with students at a school in Uzbekistan was cut short because the army appeared for a "crackdown" of local residents. Another time, a discussion with a class in the country of Georgia ended abruptly when Russian troops invaded the region. And just recently, while talking to a teacher at her home in Kiev, rioters took to the streets, protesting the government.

Cunningham sees big opportunity for best online meeting software in education, particularly for students at schools in low-income areas. Three years ago, he launched a project called online teaching software. The program is designed to bring educators from around the globe to teach in the United States, via teleconference.

"It [is] the ultimate concept of bringing the world's best and brightest teachers to schools in urban areas," he explained. The initiative aims to level the academic playing field by providing a way for all students -- at all schools -- to have access to high quality educational content.

"In the 21st century, you do not have to go to the suburbs to get the very best teachers," Cunningham said. "Come to the inner city and we have a faculty that is truly second to none in the world. Why? Because we have brought the world to that school."

Article Source: Texas high school uses video conferencing to bring the world to the classroom