What is a Webcast?

A webcast, broadly defined is 'meeting' that takes place over the web. Webcasts may take the form of presentations out to attendees of the webcast and/or interactive dialogue between the attendees. Webcasts may include audio, video, text and/or pictures.

Examples of WebCasts:

• Microsoft Educational Webcasts http://www.microsoft.com/Education/WebCasts.mspx
• Workforce Education Webcasts http://www.nccte.org/webcasts/index.asp
• K12 OpenSource Webcasts http://www.educationbridges.net/k12opensource/
• FCOE WebDirect http://www.fcoe.k12.ca.us/fcoewebdirect/
• SET-BC http://www.setbc.org/
• When you gotta go edspace.nasa.gov/livespace/gottago.html

Potential Uses of Webcasts in the Classroom:

• Peer tutoring
• Distance lectures
• Inter-class or inter-school meetings or presentations
• A story-a-thon
• 2nd Language Learning
• Providing technical assistance over distance
• Allowing students to work in virtual groups
• Q&A answer session with students.

Tools to Create Webcasts:

• SkypeCasts - up to 100 people, audio only https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/home
• Free High Speed Conferencing 100 people audio only http://www.highspeedconferencing.com/
• Nice Cast(Mac) http://www.rogueamoeba.com/nicecast/
• Odd Cast (win) - Broadcast http://www.oddsock.org/tools/oddcastv3/
• Elluminate http://www.elluminate.com
• Unyte - application sharing, powerpoint broadcast http://www.unyte.net/download/default.htm
• InstaCollab - application sharing, powerpoing broadcast http://www.instacoll.com/