Video Collaboration

Video meetings are not new but it is being used increasingly within the School’s day to day working; for video conferences with our TNE partners, for interviews, talking to remote research partners and increasingly to video chat with colleagues across campus.

New collaboration applications such as Microsoft Teams are facilitating the trend to have this method of communicating baked-in to the way we work across campus. Face to face meetings are still going to happen, if mainly because people like biscuits, but we have all seen the future in sci fi shows and movies. Video calling is here to stay.

zoom - showing gallery view of multiple participants in their own window

The main video collaboration tools are

  • Video conferencing - dedicated hardware with high quality cameras
  • Skype - One to one/many video chat with screen sharing
  • Teams - As well as providing sharepoint type file sharing for groups, Teams supports video meetings
  • Zoom - Can be used as Skype, but has option of using the high end VC hardware

Each have advantages and disadvantages.

Video Conference Facilities

Video Conference facilities using dedicated hardware with high quality cameras are available in the following meeting rooms. Click for specific information on each room.

The VC unit in JWS640 is mobile and can be moved to other spaces within the James Watt South building, and lecture theatre JWS361

 

Zoom

Zoom is an application for video collaboration. As well as video calling you can share content, annotate it, perform webcasts, have a sidebar with chats for QAs with your participants, and perform file sharing.

Zoom is capable and reliable. Zoom is cool.

What can Zoom do for you? 

Staff already use video calls in their research collaborations, saving time and money on travel. 

  • Use it as a Skype-type video chat service
  • Work with one or many remote colleagues
  • Use it on your laptop or phone
  • use it with the School’s high-quality video conference equipment. Or use it with any mix that suits you.

You can use it within your teaching

  • Use it to provide a webcast, with text-based chat for QAs
  • Zoom has replaced Big Blue Button. You can configure and launch scheduled Zoom sessions from within Moodle
  • You can Zoom to yourself and share a set of slides as you run through lecture, talking and annotating over your slides as you go. This can be saved out as a video file to use in your Moodle. Your students see and hear you, your slides and annotations.

Help with administration

The ability to have face to face meetings with remote colleagues isn’t new, but the technology is becoming baked in to packages we use, or will use, and to the way we work. For example staff spread around the various School buildings in College hubs, and working with staff between Rankine, JWS and the Research Hub, Tay House, and with staff who are travelling.