Dimdim is a free online web-conferencing tool that allows you to host or attend meetings of up to 20 people from any location in the world. Once you sign up for an account and set up a meeting room Dimdim allows you to share your desktop, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via webcam with absolutely no download required to host or attend meetings. As long as anyone has internet access all they need is to know what the name of the meeting is. From the dimdim website they just click join meeting, type in the meeting name and then voila they’re in your meeting! It’s very easy.
Dimdim is similar to the Elluminate course management platform but it is free so it is more widely accessible. Meeting hosts can share documents that they have open on their computer via “share desktop”, they can take everyone to a website and scroll through it together, or they can use the “white board” to have people edit a document together or do an activity jointly. So it could be great to use in a distance classroom or group project setting.
Skype is another synchronous interaction tool that allows people to call, text chat or video call anyone in the world for free as long as both people have internet access and the Skype software downloaded on their computer. Skype is also starting to add features such as mobile skype which allows people to use their cell phone to call either another Skype user, a landline or a mobile phone number.
How could Skype be used?
A guest speaker could “Skype” into a classroom to deliver a lecture and students would be able to ask questions for them to answer.
A language learner could have a “Skype-pal” to practice talking to from the country that speaks the language they are studying. The video function would enable them to communicate even more effectively and share aspects of their life.