Web/Video Conferences
Why use web/video conferences?
Due to the internationalization of teaching and research, more and more instructors and students want to quickly and easily exchange ideas with colleagues and fellow students from around the world, preferably without significant technical barriers.
The increasing number of collaborations between universities also requires reliable solutions to share cross-institutional courses. Web/video conferences support these processes and are available to university staff and students free of charge.
How do I use web/video conferences?
The current web/video conferencing services available to you for use in teaching and research have been summarized under Overview of Web/Video Conferences. This comprehensive overview contains information about features, number of participants, prerequisites, limitations, and support for each service, which will assist you in your own implementation. To learn about the technical and didactic possibilities of the mentioned services and to properly implement web/video conferences in your individual teaching scenario, you are welcome to schedule a consultation appointment with us or register for one of our offered training sessions.
Web/video conferences are suitable for...
...conducting lectures and seminars (in the sense of joint classrooms or guest lectures), presentations and disputations, online office hours, training sessions, software support, streaming in closed groups, meetings of international research groups. Web/video conferences can be used in both in-person scenarios and blended learning scenarios. For example, external experts can be live integrated into an in-person lecture and actively participate in the session. Or, if students are granted appropriate rights in the virtual space, they can exchange ideas with each other, prepare presentations, or work on projects, even when group members are located at different sites or even in different countries. Web/video conferences support cross-border project organization and contribute to optimizing and simplifying processes.
What pitfalls should I be aware of?
Although the services are highly technology-dependent, the level of interactivity in the virtual space does not depend on using all available technical features, but rather on the appropriate combination of tools within the correct didactic scenario. To ensure a technically smooth session, preparation and engagement with the technical possibilities and potential problems are necessary. Instructors should be able to advise students on setup and support them during the process.
How do I get started with working in web/video conferences? / Where can I get help?
As the Digital Learning and Teaching Service, we are happy to support you if you wish to use web/video conferences in your courses. We offer needs-based introductions and can also accompany you during your first session. Organizing web/video conferences is usually time-consuming at first until you become familiar with the service. Therefore, please contact us at least two weeks before your actual session if you need our support. Here you will find some interesting suggestions on the topic:
