Web Conferencing is becoming a “standard” across every organization worldwide. You can’t compete in business without leveraging the ability to meet, collaborate, and train remotely. Adobe’s Web conferencing solution, called Connect 8, is a major player in this marketplace. It is especially appealing to training teams because of the rich media it supports, and ability to leverage learning objects that are in Flash from products like Captivate, Camtasia, Presenter, Articulate, and a host of other tools commonly in the toolbox of a training designer and/or developer.
In this review, I will tell you about some of the new enhancements to Connect 8, and highlight the key features that make it an appealing solution for any organization.
The user interface
Let’s talk about the user interface (UI) first, because this is a key feature of version 8 that builds on Adobe’s philosophy of providing a customizable solution. The new UI is very streamlined and intuitive. As always, pods can be scaled to any size to accommodate any type of meeting or training event. (Editor’s Note: a “pod” in Connect 8 is an application window within a meeting room, assigned to a specific role – whiteboard, chat, etc.)
Connect 8 has auto-resizing so you will never lose any screen real estate with “dead spots” in the meeting room. I also like to have the main Share pod (used for content and application sharing) on the left. (See Figure 1.) As an instructional designer, I am a big fan of putting content on the left and controls on the right, since we read from left-to-right in our culture.
Figure 1. The new UI features scalable pods and auto-resizing to always make best use of the area seen by participants.
Another feature of the UI is drag-and-drop control and hover-over options to enhance participant’s rights easily and quickly with a single click. (See Figure 2.) This is appealing to enhance the collaboration of the meeting or training event quickly and seamlessly. Adobe always focuses on engaging people and optimizing the user experience; these one-click updates let the Host grant and remove control quickly and easily.
Figure 2. Easily upgrade permission for participants in a single click for collaboration and interactivity.
Enhanced Notes and Whiteboard
Enhanced Notes and Whiteboard features allow presenters and hosts to use rich-text in the Notes pod with bold, italics, and color options. There are also enhancements to the Whiteboard controls that give trainers and meeting hosts the ability to mock-up PowerPoint slides on the fly, along with video and any image that they have uploaded to share with the Participants. These enhancements allow trainers to keep their event engaging and the delivery pertinent to the specific audience.
Text Chat enhancements
When conducting a one-to-many event it is extremely important to manage the Text Chat option so that users stay engaged and can ask questions. More and more we are seeing Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) as the standard for large-scale events. It makes sense, because this option can save organizations thousands of dollars on teleconferencing. In order for one-to-many events to be effective, users must be able to interact via the Text Chat option. I really like the new “tabs” that allow participants to easily chat publically or privately. (See Figure 3.) The new features in Connect 8 provide more options, enabling everyone to interact in chat tailored to their individual needs. Now you can change the color of your chat text, making it easier to differentiate and manage multiple conversations at once.
Figure 3. New “tabs” along the bottom of the chat pod allow for easy private chats among participants, presenters and hosts.
Universal Voice
Universal Voice is a feature of Connect that can save money right out of the gate for your training team. This is not a new feature, but it is a feature that strengthens your case to provide an ROI for your purchase of Adobe Connect 8 immediately.
Let me offer a simple example to show how this feature can quickly save money for your organization. Let’s say you are having one two-hour Virtual Training event for 100 people. This equates to 120 minutes of teleconference time for 100 people (100 people X 120 minutes each) requiring 12,000 minutes of teleconference time. At a 10 cents-per-minute rate you would spend $1,200.00 for just the phone line. If you add several training sessions per month, you can see that the teleconferencing costs can get out of control quickly. Not to mention that any remote attendees on a cell phone are also paying by the minute for their usage. Adobe Connect 8 can provide a bridge for your audio, so that meeting attendees can communicate through VoIP and not have to use mobile minutes or conference line minutes. This feature is part of Connect 8 and is one the most valuable features for immediately showing ROI.
Another great option with Connect 8 is the ability to use an approved integrated telephony partner. MeetingOne (www.meetingone.com) is just one of the approved providers. Their product provides integration to the meeting room that allows hosts to control the teleconference with controls in the Connect 8 interface. With this feature, you can simultaneously offer an option for dial-in and a VoIP option.
Keyboard-navigable interface (508 compliance)
Government folks, listen up … you asked for it and Adobe listened! For 508-compliance in your training strategy, the Adobe Connect 8 interface is now navigable by keyboard, significantly improving accessibility to meetings for people with impaired motor skills.
The new UI works with screen readers (like JAWS) to help ensure that anyone can participate in collaborative and virtual learning sessions. This is a key feature for government agencies that must deploy learning content in a 508-compliant format. Adobe Connect 8 is the only Web conferencing solution with a focus on making the product more accessible. Keep in mind, the trainers and meeting hosts still need to learn how to show slide notes and develop content that is accessible … this is not automatic. But the enhancements are in place within the meeting room to help disabled learners mouse-over their controls to make adjustments and interact with the group. This is a giant leap for government agencies.
