Demo'ing Synchronous WBT -- on the Skinniest of Bandwidths
By Tom Barron

What's synchronous WBT like on a 33.6 modem? I decided to find out.

A key selling point for many of the live WBT products on the market is the ability to bring the virtual classroom experience to learners using all ranges of bandwidth--from the arteries of T-1 connections to the capillaries of 33.6 bits-per-second copper phone lines. The quality of the synchronous experience will be slightly diminished for bandwidth bottom-feeders forced to use standard modem connections, such as outside sales staff, road warriors dialing in from hotel lines, and home-based workers, vendors acknowledge. Reductions in audio fidelity, audio lag (the walkie-talkie effect), and slower document or image downloading are inevitable drawbacks for the bandwidth-impaired. But even those on the slowest connections will feel plugged in to the virtual class, vendors insist.

True? I decided to sample a few systems that claim to bring the excitement of live interactivity to modem-equipped participants. Using a 33.6 modem and dialing in from a home office, I sampled systems from Centra Software, InterVu, and Lotus. These and other synchronous vendors offer demos to interested Web surfers who are willing to wade through some online forms (see links to product demos below.)

The systems sampled differ significantly in their capabilities. One, InterVu's Netpodium, is more of a Webcasting application with one-way audio and streaming video, while two others I demo'ed made use of two-way audio. Other systems feature various combinations of voice, text-based chat, and video to cast their synchronous spells.

The Centra system, Centra 99, was the application behind a live, interactive, distance learning class offered by Global Knowledge Network (GKN), which in November rolled out a synchronous WBT program for corporate customers and free-agent learners (see Newsbytes for story). I sat in on a class on telecommunications fundamentals, attended by 14 learners and facilitated by GKN instructor Don Hill.

The Centra product, the first to market in the learning arena using voice-over-IP (VOIP), allows voice and data to share the same data pipes to the user's desktop. That capability currently calls for a large client-side application that must be installed on end-users' PCs. GKN provided it to participants on a CD-ROM, along with a microphone-equipped headset. The Centra system relies on two-way audio, document sharing, and various instructor-student interaction options to create a virtual class.

After a straightforward installation of the software and a software-driven diagnostics check to ensure it was working properly (it was), I pointed my browser to the appropriate site at the appointed hour. The Web link triggered the launch of the Centra application on my PC, and my headphones came alive as Hill welcomed learners to the session. My name and those of other attendees appeared in a list in one frame of the application, together with various clickable buttons for interacting with the class.

Hill gave a quick tutorial of the system, including instructions on how each of us could pipe in by raising our hand (through a mouse click on the screen), and when prompted, speak and be heard by the entire class. Controls in the instructor's application turn individual users' microphones on; the technology currently allows only one microphone to be live at a time.

Hill soon delved into the material, sharing PowerPoint slides and marking them up for emphasis. At regular intervals, he'd ask for feedback by asking participants to vote yes or no, or raise their hands, or by calling on an individual. Participants could click a Pause button to indicate that they were temporarily unavailable, and they could send private messages to the instructor.

Audio quality over my 33.6 connection was muddy but audible--not up to phone-company clarity. But after a few minutes my ears adjusted to the tone. Knowing I could be called on--the secret weapon of synchronous training--was enough to keep me on my toes.

Webcasting paradigm

Intervu had a chance to show off its NetPodium product, a different breed of synchronous software that follows a Webcasting approach, in a synchronous presentation conducted by Ernst & Young. Bob Dean, E&Y's director of learning innovation, shared the stage with a Microsoft streaming-media expert in a Webcast that featured one-way streaming video and audio from facilitators to participants, together with text-chat feedback for participants. The event was hosted by Microsoft from its Seattle headquarters, where InterVu is also based.

The client-side application I needed to view the Webcast downloaded from InterVu's Website in a matter of minutes, and a pre-flight Website performed diagnostic checks to make sure everything was up to snuff. I joined the Webcast a bit late (timing is everything when you go synchronous) but soon was listening to Dean discuss how E&Y is using the Intervu system in its learning initiatives. I had been informed that participants like myself using sub-56k connections would not have video, but instead would be able to observe a series of still shots of the broadcast. The stills tended to capture the two hosts in entertaining, though not always flattering, poses.

Demonstrating NetPodium's strong points, Dean ran through a PowerPoint presentation visible to each of us over the browser-based client application. He periodically asked the more than 100 participants a series of multiple-choice questions, which promptly appeared in our browser windows. The system tallied results quickly, displaying pie charts and bar graphs of each poll result moments after they were taken. The hosts also fielded questions typed in by participants using the product's chat feature.

The streaming audio, which uses Microsoft's streaming-media technology, was remarkably clear and steady, with none of the drop-outs that typically occur when streaming to a low-bandwidth connection. Instead, when forced to compete with a downloading PowerPoint slide, the audio would pause briefly, then resume without any lost words.

Dean predicted that synchronous technology would change the way corporate management keeps dispersed employees informed in much the same manner that E&Y is using the technology. "Thought leaders and content experts will become personal Webcasters," he said. "They'll go to a meeting, then walk back to their offices and do a Webcast to their employees all over the country."

Whiteboarding for the masses

Lotus' LearningSpace product is built on synchronous technology pioneered by Databeam, a collaborative software developer that was acquired by Lotus last year. The company conducts demonstrations on the use of the technology through its LearningSpace Website.

Though the full-fledged product supports VOIP, Lotus's demonstrations make use of an audio bridge, in which participants are linked in a group conference call on a separate phone line. The client-side application used in the demo was a browser-based Java applet that loaded in a few minutes, leaving participants' PCs untouched by applications or plug-ins--a major issue for many corporate IT departments. I was soon linked to a synchronous session, attended by some 30 participants in the U.S. and Canada.

Facilitator Jim Holloran took attendees on a tour of the product's features, the most impressive of which is a whiteboard function that allows an unlimited number of participants to simultaneously add their own marks or text. The facilitator controls use of the whiteboard by bestowing (or removing) markup tools on the client side of one or more participants.

Holloran also demonstrated the system's "Browser Follow-me" feature, in which the facilitator can open a browser window and surf to any Website with the entire class in tow; the same scalable browser window and Websites appear on each participant's screen.

Other LearningSpace features common to other two-way synchronous products include a hand-raise button and text-based messaging to the instructor. Unlike Centra's product, it also includes a group text chat that allows participants to discuss issues in a chat format as the session progresses.

The application performed smoothly over the 33.6 connection, downloading a series of Freelance slides--Lotus' presentation software--with reasonable speed. No lag time was evident as the instructor took participants linked at various connection speeds through the hour-long presentation.

However, the audio conferencing showed drawbacks in the form of background mutterings and stray sounds cast into the virtual classroom. One participant, forgetting she was audible to her fellow cybernauts, called excitedly to a colleague as the whiteboard functions were demonstrated. Those distractions wouldn't be a problem when using the product's VOIP functions, which don't suffer from the party-line effect.

In the three WBT demonstrations, participating over a 33.6 modem proved workable indeed, though there's plenty of room for improvement. Whether it comes from further performance gains in synchronous applications or improved bandwidth in suburban and rural areas remains to be seen.

Demo'ing products

Don't take my word for it; sample a synchronous demonstration on your own. Following are links to synchronous vendors that invite you to try their products in a live demonstration. Be forewarned that several demos call for loading client-side applications or plug-ins onto your PC; check your IT department policies first, or try a demo from your home PC.

Hardware needed for most synchronous product demos include a PC running Windows 95 or later; a minimum of 150 MHz processing speed; plenty of RAM, and a Java-enabled browser (IE 4.0 or later or Netscape 4.0.7 or later.) Check each vendor for specifics.

Tom Barron is the former editor of Learning Circuits.