Web Casting - The Future of Online Education

Despite the communications power of the Internet, nothing nbeats good old human interaction when it comes to learning na new skill. You can always read a book, listen to a tape, or watch a nvideo to learn how to do something, but, in the end, nlearning from a live teacher who can answer your questions non the spot works best. Until recently, the Internet resembled a large "book" of nelectronic text and pictures where any extended "human" ninteractivity could only take place offline by tele- nconference or in-person meetings. Now, however, the appearance of cheap "web casting" creates nan inexpensive opportunity for mass interactive ncommunication between people spread all over the world. "Web casting" (broadcasting through the web) enables a npresenter to transmit a live presentation over the Internet nto as many as 10,000 participants. For most online events, participants only need an Internet nconnection through a standard phone line and audio nspeakers. In the post-9/11 era, people simply don't like to travel as nfrequently. The meal and hotel costs associated with nattending seminars or other adult education events make it neven harder to attract a full audience. However, with web casting, you can pull together a large ngroup of people from around the world at a specific time on na given day, teach them something, and then let them all nget back to their lives without the traditional ninterruptions and expenses of travel. Web casting enables you to literally present just about any ntype of information or educational material you want. You can do everything from a simple "radio" type npresentation where people passively listen, to a multimedia npresentation complete with Power Point slides and live ntours of actual websites. At this point, imagination seems to represent the only nlimitation as far as what you can do to teach people nthrough the Internet using this technology. Currently, large corporations and independent speakers and nentrepreneurs seem to represent the majority of web casting nusers. I believe this comes from the fact that people simply don't nknow about it yet and don't understand how to use it. Once that changes, web casting will go a long way towards nreplacing tele-conferencing as the preferred means of long- ndistance education. In the future, as costs decrease even further, you will nfind people using web casting for everything from online nfamily reunions and sales presentations, to home-based ncooking shows and pay-per-view seminars. As the technology nimproves, 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, nno one standard has emerged for broadcasting content. Some services require Real Player, while others require nMicrosoft's media player, and, as usual, Mac users often nget left out in the cold without any options. Right now, search engine giant Google.com rates the best nsource of information on how to offer your own web cast. nSimply log on to Google, search for "webcast," and ninvestigate the ever-growing number of available resources.n