Web Casting - The Future of Online Education

Despite the communications power of the Internet, nothing beats
good old human interaction when it comes to learning a new
skill.

You can always read a book, listen to a tape, or watch a video
to learn how to do something, but, in the end, learning from a
live teacher who can answer your questions on the spot works
best.

Until recently, the Internet resembled a large "book" of
electronic text and pictures where any extended "human"
interactivity could only take place offline by tele- conference
or in-person meetings.

Now, however, the appearance of cheap "web casting" creates an
inexpensive opportunity for mass interactive communication
between people spread all over the world.

"Web casting" (broadcasting through the web) enables a presenter
to transmit a live presentation over the Internet to as many as
10,000 participants.

For most online events, participants only need an Internet
connection through a standard phone line and audio speakers.

In the post-9/11 era, people simply don't like to travel as
frequently. The meal and hotel costs associated with attending
seminars or other adult education events make it even harder to
attract a full audience.

However, with web casting, you can pull together a large group
of people from around the world at a specific time on a given
day, teach them something, and then let them all get back to
their lives without the traditional interruptions and expenses
of travel.

Web casting enables you to literally present just about any type
of information or educational material you want.

You can do everything from a simple "radio" type presentation
where people passively listen, to a multimedia presentation
complete with Power Point slides and live tours of actual
websites.

At this point, imagination seems to represent the only
limitation as far as what you can do to teach people through the
Internet using this technology.

Currently, large corporations and independent speakers and
entrepreneurs seem to represent the majority of web casting
users.

I believe this comes from the fact that people simply don't know
about it yet and don't understand how to use it.

Once that changes, web casting will go a long way towards
replacing tele-conferencing as the preferred means of long-
distance education.

In the future, as costs decrease even further, you will find
people using web casting for everything from online family
reunions and sales presentations, to home-based cooking shows
and pay-per-view seminars. As the technology improves, the
potential uses will skyrocket.

As with any new technology, a few drawbacks exist.

Though web casting works with modem speeds as low as 28K, no one
standard has emerged for broadcasting content.

Some services require Real Player, while others require
Microsoft's media player, and, as usual, Mac users often get
left out in the cold without any options.

Right now, search engine giant Google.com rates the best source
of information on how to offer your own web cast. Simply log on
to Google, search for "webcast," and investigate the
ever-growing number of available resources.

About the author:
----
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-
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