Professional webinar systems

Webinar or webinars are presentations, lessons, seminars, or trainings organized using webcast technology. They are "digital meetings" used when we do not have the opportunity to hold a traditional, "analog" meeting (e.g., resulting from a significant distance between participants, or due to the current situation of a new, unknown flu pathogen). Webinars are a way to connect with clients or students. They are ideal for online training and presentations. Webinars are characterized by interactivity - that is, they provide the opportunity to send and receive information in real time.

Basic capabilities of webinar platforms:

• multi-party conferencing;
• ability to upload and view presentations and videos;
• text chat;
• virtual whiteboard;
• polling and voting;
• sharing one's computer screen;
• recording broadcasts and being able to watch them repeatedly.

Advantages of

Webinars are convenient! Both for the presenters and for the participants - thanks to the possibility of holding this form of "meeting" anywhere and anytime. This version of online events is becoming increasingly popular. Webinars help to conduct conferences and meetings in a more convenient and effective way. Why? Because it doesn't matter if you are on a business trip or vacation. You don't have to worry about organizational issues such as renting a room, coffee breaks or getting there - all you need is a computer and access to the Internet. Below I would like to introduce some professional, popular platforms for organizing such events.

Skype For Business - A tool aimed mainly at companies, thanks to its ability to "accommodate" as many as 250 people at once. The platform is also conducted in Polish. Here we have the ability to use a virtual laser pointer in a popular PowerPoint presentation, to highlight the terms we want to specify. To use the device you must have Microsoft Office 365 active.

Zoom - It has a free plan, up to 100 participants AND the possibility of a 40-minute recording. Here we have the option to increase the (paid) number of participants. It is an English-language platform, integrated with Google, Outloock. We can divide into any subgroups of our participants, at the same time conducting a live broadcast on Facebook, or Youtube. The system automatically saves the transcript, which we can download later.

GoToWebinar, GoToTraining - The most well-known webinar programs. Extensive in its features, but not available in Polish language version. It has chat functions and screen sharing for individual participants. We can record the entire meeting for multiple speakers. Very useful is the function of creating and sending surveys and the ability to write presentations, without additional programs for this purpose. With the ability to create comprehensive reports, we can create a history of the development of our business. The manufacturer offers a free "taste" - that is, a 30-day Trial version.

ClickMeeting - The program offers a free trial period for 30 days, for up to 25 people. The manufacturer took care of the Polish language version with an available discussion mode in which up to 25 people can speak. A very useful feature is chat with a simultaneous translator option, which means we can conduct meetings with people speaking different languages. Additional options including increasing the number of participants to as many as 5,000 are available for a fee - as in all other platforms.

WebexTraining, WebexEvents - Enhanced webinar tools with many options for making the most of training processes. Here we have the possibility to share multimedia such as PowerPoint presentations or animations using Adobe Flash software. Video teleconferences can be held on 6 independent panels in High Definition audio quality. A very interesting option is the participant's hand raising system. His/her query is automatically saved and the tool asks you to respond. This allows each user to get a quick answer to his question. The function of surveying the seminar guests during the training and automatically counting the data AND extracting the necessary functions creates a very useful analytical function of the device. In my humble opinion, these and many other features create this tool the most useful among those described for the professional trainer.

AdobeConnect - A platform offering as much as a 90-day free trial. Here it is possible to completely design your virtual "lecture halls". Thanks to numerous chat resources, quizzes, surveys, simulations and games, we have the possibility to create a very interesting training program for our participants. The option to divide users into individual subgroups allows us to customize the material and conduct the aforementioned didactic forms. All the material is, of course, immediately available and ready to be distributed to participants and printed. The platform is unfortunately not available in Polish.

Join.me - An application for use through the browser and by installing it on the computer's hard drive. A mobile version is also available. When creating webinars of up to 10 people, the tool is free. It gives the possibility to share the screen and share files. Each participant gets the opportunity to create notes or plot after a previously prepared presentation. The presentation itself can be entrusted to the participant. The manufacturer gives us the opportunity to use the PRO version for free for 14 days. Unfortunately, we have not yet lived to see the Polish language version.

Blackboard Collaborate - A very powerful application, the use of which we can divide into two main categories: teaching/learning and engaging the online community in all kinds of activities, such as marketing. Let's zoom in on the teaching function. The platform comprehensively supports the process in question by, among other things: managing the process (e.g. thanks to the virtual whiteboard provided), analyzing data (used in monitoring progress) or creating scientific conferences.

The described tools are undoubtedly an excellent improvement in the digitization of work, because the process of the global "matrix" is a motor operating with high mechanical efficiency like electric motors. However, let us remember that these tools, although very helpful, should not and indeed cannot replace or eliminate non-verbal communication. Our bodies "talk" to each other in this way 70% of the time, and in all this progress, this type of communication is about as important as eating vitamins in pills, and letting our intestines synthesize them naturally from food. Because that's what they are there for.