Thing 15: Video chat/webinars

This Thing will help you explore some of these platforms and technologies.

Open Badge information

Open Badge: SSSC 23 Things Digital – Thing 15: Video Chat/Webinars.

Counts toward: SSSC 23 Things: Digital Communicator.

Introduction

Video chatting using platforms such as Teams, Zoom and FaceTime is now well established and provides a way for users to stay in touch. Webinars allow large numbers of users from across the world to take part in events to support their learning.

Instructions

a) Video Chat

Teams and Zoom are platform agnostic. This means that they are available on multiple platforms. The use of FaceTime is restricted to Apple products. If you’ve any of these video chat applications, think about what the experience was like. Were you using it over WiFi or mobile phone network? 

Think about the way(s), if any, that you currently use video chat to support your practice and learning. Have you ever supported someone who uses your service to contact a friend of relative using these?

b) Webinars

Webinars (web seminars) are seminars, or meetings, which people connect to using the internet. They allow multiple people to connect with each other using live video and audio in real time. They can be free to access, or paid-for.

Webinars often involve a presentation which will appear on your screen, and there are often opportunities to ask questions, carry out polls and run surveys.

The SSSC Digital Learning Team run webinars on specific topics. Recordings are often made available after the session so you can go back and listen again. A series of webinars can be viewed here. 

c) Blog

Write a blog post reflecting on the activities above. Consider the benefits of video chat in comparison to other ways of communicating. You should also explore any potential risks involved in using this technology with service users and think about how you can manage these to allow for the opportunities they present? If you have ever taken part in a webinar, describe that experience.