We've been seeing it in science fiction movies for decades, and finally we have caught up with our imaginations. Video calling is here! It is the next leap in telecommunication. I personally am way more excited about this development than I was for both e-mail and text messaging combined. The crazy thing is that in this year alone, there will likely be over 13 million people on video calls with more that eleven times that in just four years.
Of course there will continue to be video calling from desktops and laptops alike. What has me chomping at the bit is the likelihood that we will all be making these kinds of calls on our cell phones and tablets in the next year or so, and we will even be able to make video calls through some new TVs. I don't know about you, but I am starting a budget so that I can afford these new tech toys.
While this is exciting for me to think of the difference in our everyday communicating, the real benefit is seen in the classrooms as Principal Eric Sheninger stated. The possibilities this affords the education system are staggering. I can only imagine how much more effective having a class make a video call with a WWII veteran or an accomplished surgeon would be than just reading a text book. Video calling will also be an invaluable tool to those who are hearing impaired. Since video conference-calling is in beta testing right now, those with hearing impairments will soon be able to have a live phone conversation with someone who doesn't know sign language. All they would need to do is conference in someone who can do translation.
Since the dawn of man, we have always communicated face to face. Seeing how someone expresses themselves physically when they talk, as well as seeing the way they respond, is the only way to get everything out of a conversation. Now we can have this experience in spite of the fact that many miles separate us.
Check out these sites:
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/features/allfeatures/video-call/ for some of the video calling options.
http://www.fring.com/default.php for video calling and video conference calling on cell phones.
References
Jon, S. (n.d). Skype broadens its reach. USA Today. Retrieved from EBSCOhost..
Sheninger, E. (2011). Skype!. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 55. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
3 comments:
One thing I found helpful was that I was able to move around the picture within the text without having to go into the html coding. One problem is that the final product post is not exactly the same as it appears in the preview window.
Great informative blog on video conferencing. The layout with picture adds a great feel to the post. Some pictures tend to take away from blogs while your picture and placement add value and flow. Your comment on having experts available to learn from via video is a great point it can contribute to the learning experience.
Thank you for your blog. it is true how amazing skype has changed the way some people communicate. Since its not available to every person, we can still say that some people will always depend on old school means of communication. Emails, text messages,tweets, cell phones you name it.Some people still depend on postal services or face to face meetings for their communication. i think its still safe to say that some people don't change easly
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