Going Virtual: Virtual Meetings and Training

Virtual meetings and trainings are real-time interactions that take place over the internet using integrated audio and video, chat tools, and application sharing. Virtual meeting tools can provide many benefits beyond a standard conference call. A virtual meeting environment lends itself to a unique atmosphere where training classes, meetings or collaboration gatherings can be conducted online with multiple people in various locations.

The benefits of virtual meetings allows you to reduce costs, more easily find a schedule that works for everyone, and even possibly increase audience size because anyone can attend as long as they have internet access. These tools also have a variety of features that can enhance an experience by highly engaging participants. Comparing these features, as well as many others, will help to ensure your goals are met.

Here is a summary of the four virtual meeting tools discussed in this training:

• Zoho: This tool is easy to sign up, set up, and invite attendees. This makes this tool great for an on-the-fly meeting. Zoho includes all of the basic features desired to run a meeting, including a chat box and multiple ways to invite attendees. However, Zoho is limited to 25 users and does not have recording capabilities.
• Yugma: Compared to Zoho, Yugma is slightly more complicated to set up, but it allows you to host a free meeting with up to 20 people. It can be connected to your Outlook calendar and provides a teleconference service. Yugma also has a virtual whiteboard, which is ideal for online collaboration. You need to download an application to your computer to use Yugma.
• GoToWebinar: One of the most unique features of this tool is the customization of the emails, registration website, and presentations. This tool also has great polling capabilities and analysis reports of the data. You can record trainings within GoToWebinar, but it also requires a more complicated setup process and higher subscription cost.
• Dimdim: This tool is slightly different than the other tools available because it does not require installing software –  it is housed completely in the “cloud.” It focuses on being a simple, low-cost tool with high speed and just the right elements to conduct efficient web conferencing.

When reviewing the tools available, focusing on a step-by-step process will point you in the right direction to choose the tool that fits your organization. Utilize the findings from your research, feedback from your stakeholders, and your own knowledge of your organization to create a formalized action plan that will guide you through the process of identifying and implementing a new project management tool.