Free Webconfrencing Software: A Brief Review

Free Webinar Services
When you search the Internet you will discover dozes of free or so-called free webinar services. Many of them actually are demos, trials or limited use applications. Below are some of the many free webinar services I have discovered and tested to a degree, and determined them to be Free, not trials or demos,as of Mar 2011.

Whether you consider a service as providing an advantage or disadvantage will largely depend on what you intend to use the service for. To simply my review, I've provided the service name, URL, and known number of participants allowed. Further, I've selected four that I found to be the most user friendly and easy to use for the non-webinar techie. If you are considering idea on how to maximize your use of webinar systems, feel free to refer to my article Beyond the classroom . Another great free resource are Youtube videos - search on webinars.

ServiceWeb AddressNumber of Participants
BigBlueButton http://www.bigbluebutton.org Unlimited
Anymeeting http://www.anymeeting.com 200
Mikogo http://www.mikogo.com 10
Vyew http://vyew.com/s/ 10

All four services offer free Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) which permits the presenter to speak to the participants through their Internet connection as well as the more traditional conference call option, which permits participants to join into a shared telephonically connected private location.

Aside from the limitation for the number of participants, the BigBlueButton seemed to be the only service that allowed it's source code to be integrated into a website. According to the website BigBlueButton is an active open source project that focuses on usability, modularity, and clean design -- both for the user and the developer. The project is hosted at Google Code, BigBlueButton is built by combining over fourteen open source components.

Anymeeting offers user the option of having multiple presenters interact in the webinar. This feature is controlled by the individual hosting the web-conference, and provides a simple way to cross-share information. An addition I think would be very useful would be the integration of an authentic 'white board', when I used the application I opened a blank presentation (Openoffice.org, PowerPoint, etc) and simply freehand drew using my mouse as well as my Bamboo tablet.

Unlike other services, Mikogo boasts Mikogo that it is Cross-Platform! According to the site Mikogo is a cross-platform app that runs natively on both Windows and Macs. This permits users to participate in desktop sharing sessions from both PC and Mac computers. The types of uses included On-line Meetings; Product Demos; On-line Presentations and Remote Support. Unfortunately at the time of my review I did not possess a Mac computer and was therefor unable to verify or validate the claim.

One of the strengths Vyew offers that may not be as readily seen or represented in other systems is the available "white board." In addition to the tradition webinar tools, this system highlights the opportunity users have to Educate, Train, Create and upload course content for real-time and anytime collaborative and active learning. The site shares that educators can host an on-line classroom for teaching to multiple students in real-time and use multiple "break out" rooms for students to work separately. Within this teaching function educators can post course syllabuses and worksheets for students to review and collaborate together as well as collaborate with peers and fellow professors and teachers over course material. Vyew also suggests the system may be ideal for tutoring students remotely and allow students to review their tutor sessions and post questions when you're not available.
What should be apparent is that the greater the number of tools and options available, the fewer the participants allowed. My review of these platforms did not include the cost of the paid access to the systems, sometimes referred to as 'Premium' paid access. However, each of the systems seemed to offer some version of a paid application. Furthermore, I hope someone with other available technology is able to review these systems to determine how smart phone friendly they are and whether or not users can access them on mobile devices.

Lastly, while I have shared how use of these or other free webinar solutions could save your business or organization money, I should add that they present opportunities for entrepreneurs to generate income based on sharing their knowledge, skills or experiences with others. More on how to monetize your webinar can be found in various passive income websites, as well as youtube webinars. For more information on how to maximize your use of webinars in education check out " Beyond the classroom ".