Coursera Prof To Use VSee For Peer Learning Groups

Posted on February 26, 2013 by anne — 2 Comments ↓

Professor Keith Devlin is an award-winning Stanford University mathematics professor and National Public Radio’s “The Math Guy.” He is also a supporter of Coursera, a free online class web site for 2.7M students.

Professor Devlin has been teaching a popular Stanford University class through Coursera, “Introduction to Mathematical Thinking.” This class normally enrolls 65K students from all over the globe. Next session begins next week March 4 and runs for 10 weeks. Sign up for this free course here: https://www.coursera.org/course/maththink

For this session, Professor Devlin will be offering VSee simple video conference and screen share to his students to promote effective peer learning. VSee is free for educational use and the ideal tool for interactive team-based learning. Unlike Skype and Google+ Hangouts, VSee is designed to streamline collaboration so small groups can work together just as though everyone was sitting in the same room.

Quality Group Video

VSee features free group video that uses half the bandwidth of Skype and significantly less bandwidth than Google Hangouts, making it especially great for students living in rural areas or in countries where the Internet is slower. Students on wifi and poor networks can join in group video chats without constantly getting hung video or dropped calls.

Simple Screen Share and Pen Annotation

In addition, VSee’s simple screen sharing includes a markup pen function that allows all group members to circle, draw, and annotate on shared windows. Moreover, VSee allows you to share specific windows instead of your entire desktop, so private information, such as your email, doesn’t accidentally get shared. All it takes is a simple click on the window to be shared.

File Transfer and IM

VSee features drag-and-drop file transfer so students can directly “pass” documents to group members during a call without going through email. It can also be used as an alternative IM chat client.

Learn more about VSee

Follow us on Twitter (@VSee) and Like us on Facebook to hear about the latest from VSee

Young Entrepreneurs Love VSee!

Posted on December 21, 2012 by melody — No Comments ↓

Students from the National University of Singapore visit VSee – “V” for VSee!

Last week, a high spirited group of entrepreneuring students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) came to visit our office. As part of the NUS innovative Local Enterprise Achiever Development (iLEAD) program, they were on a trip to visit innovative companies around the world (like VSee) and be exposed to various startup cultures.

Milton, VSee CEO, shared with them how VSee was started and the thought processes that went into designing VSee to make it a simple and effective tool.

The students asked many insightful questions and gave us important feedback on our sign up process – overall a great session! They were impressed with VSee’s simplicity for getting work done in comparison with Skype, Google+ Hangouts, and WebEx. They were especially amused to learn that Google Venture’s chief designer wasn’t able to use Google Hangouts to do design work with his 100+ portfolio companies – since Google Hangouts is a great product, but not designed for creative people to get work done.

A second group of student entrepreneurs from China and Singapore also visited us on the same day as part of the Youth Entrepreneurship Alliance (YEA). YEA is an international non-profit organization established in 2009. It aims to promote entrepreneurship, leadership and business networking across different geographical districts worldwide.

One student, Lincoln, suggested we should take a group photo using the VSee video feed. This was the result!

YEA student entrepreneurs in a VSee call

A screen shot of YEA students in an HD VSee call

See how VSee is able to send 2 HD video streams for an immersive conference room experience. VSee’s bandwidth requirements are so low, you can get 2 HD videos for the same bandwidth of a single HD video in Skype or Google Hangouts!

iLead student entrepreneurs pictured:

1 Chin Fushi Vanessa
2 Chng Yi An
3 Gregory Chew Bo Wen
4 Hong Chengfeng
5 Lau Xin Ling
6 Lee Mei Yi
7 Li Yilin
8 Naomi Tay Yi Lin
9 Ni Xiqin
10 Nicholas Ang Teck Choon
11 Nur Iman Izam Bin Othman
12 Paul Antonio
13 Quek Yuen Xian
14 Rahul Rajeev
15 Shambavi Krishnamurthi
16 Srinath Nalluri
17 Suvrata Mohapatra
18 Tang Weigang, Mark
19 Yang Kai Ting
20 Jacky Yap
21 Ritesh Angural
22 Joshua Lurdes Newman
23 Lee Tun Leng

YEA student entrepreneurs pictured:

1 Du Yijun
2 Ren RuiYun
3 Lai Laifeng
4 Royston
5 Liu Linkun
6 Jiang Haiyang
7 Zhai Lizhu
8 Swetha Narayanan
9 Shen Shen
10 Chen Deshun
11 Wang Runyu
12 Diao Jing Wen
13 Zhang Qi
14 Zhao Lingfeng
15 Liang Jiawei
16 Guo Chi
17 Wu Guoping
18 Song Yupeng
19 Luan Qi
20 Li Shuting
21 Lu Tianshu
22 Sheng Lu
23 Qian Chen
24 Alex Zuo Xiao

Follow us on Twitter (@VSee) and Like us on Facebook to hear about the latest from VSee!

VSee for St. Martin Parish School District

Posted on November 29, 2012 by anne — No Comments ↓

For supervisors of technology Redell Louis and Kellie LeBlanc, video conferencing was a necessity. The question was how to get it.

As technology supervisors for the St. Martin Parish School District in rural South Central Louisiana, Louis and LeBlanc are in charge of ministering to the needs of 17 schools and 4 main offices in a district that takes 2 hours to drive from end to end. Meeting and coordinating the technology needs of all these schools would be impossible without video conferencing technology. A typical meeting for them includes 4 people in 4 different towns. Even with someone out sick, video conferencing allows them to still meet and get things done.

Desktop Video Conferencing Options

Like most cash-strapped public schools, a Cisco or Polycom video conferencing solution was simply out of St. Martin Parish’s league. They needed something that they could use immediately without going through a bureaucratic purchase request. They looked into using Skype, but Skype’s group video calling was not free. Then they looked into ooVoo, but it was blocked by the school network’s firewall which would have been a major hurdle to overcome. Then they discovered VSee’s simple video conference with screen share, and they haven’t looked back since.

Why VSee?

For St. Martin Parish, VSee was a simple solution for all their needs. VSee was easy to install and use. It required no administrative privileges and no backend set up or finagling. Within 15 minutes of discovering VSee they were able to get everyone they needed set up and using it like a pro.

The cherry on top was that VSee had all the features they needed right at their fingertips. VSee’s fast screen share is a favorite, and VSee’s drag-and-drop file send is, in the words of LeBlanc, an “AWESOME feature.” Before discovering VSee they had to use at least two separate programs – VNC for screen share and Skype for video calling, which also meant double the troubleshooting. With VSee everything is built into a single application. LeBlanc adds, “The [VSee] tool is so easy to use…everything is so self explanatory.”

VSee’s one-click call design is also perfect for fielding ad hoc video calls and meetings. Any of the principals and technology coordinators at their 17 schools, and even the district superintendent can easily reach Louis and LeBlanc anytime, allowing them to resolve those pesky technical issues that come up during the school day.

VSee at the LACUE Conference

They are so excited about VSee that they will be spreading the word about VSee at tomorrow’s Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators (LACUE) Conference in New Orleans. LeBlanc and Peggy Hebert from Teche Elementary will be presenting a workshop to show other Louisiana educators just how easy and fast meeting online can be with VSee.

But don’t worry if you can’t be there. VSee is so easy to use, you can try it out for yourself now!

Follow us on Twitter (@VSee) and Like us on Facebook to hear about the latest from VSee!

VSee empowers HR recruiting and training

Posted on June 28, 2012 by christina — No Comments ↓

VSee is a robust online-based video tool that can be utilized in a number of applications. One of them is the field of human resource recruiting and training which I work on a fair bit. Thanks to the ease of creating and maintaining the video sessions, I find the combination of verbal and non-verbal interaction particularly helpful. This combination is difficult to manage with similar software products.

Evaluating Potential Employees

As one who is charged with the initial screening of applicants, the ability to arrange an online meeting saves me a great deal of time. All that is necessary is notifying the candidate of the time for the meeting, then log in when that time arrives. In a typical day, I can interview multiple candidates in less time than using traditional methods. My company benefits because there is no need to fly candidates in for an interview.

During the interview process, software Engineering candidates share their favorite IDE with me as I observe them working on some live programming exercises. Design candidates do the same with their Photoshop application. Not only do I get to observe their working style, I can also see their facial expressions and body language while they work. This often provides me with more feedback than verbal cues. This fuller range of interaction makes VSee an excellent Skype alternative thanks to the quality of the interaction.

Training Employees

I also find the product very helpful with when it comes to training. Since my role involves entry level training for new employees, the task of conducting sessions can be time consuming. Using this type of virtual environment makes it much easier to set up the process. I can distribute the training documents via a simple drag and drop to their VSee video screen. I can also pull in other remote co-workers anytime and introduce them to our newest team member. As a result, I can keep the new teammate set up as soon as he joins the company.

The Bottom Line Benefits

For me, VSee is much easier to set up and initiate a virtual meeting, since the interface is designed for users, and not technicians. This makes the product a viable WebEx alternative, since I can conduct with ease and first time attendees can quickly get the hang of how to participate in the meetings. It helps me get my HR work done quickly and effectively, making my experience as a user all the more productive.

Follow us on Twitter (@VSee) and Like us on Facebook to hear about the latest from VSee!

VSee: Video Chat + Collaboration Go Together Like Chips and Salsa

Posted on May 18, 2012 by anne — No Comments ↓

“So how is VSee different from Skype?”

This is one of the most commonly asked questions we get at VSee. It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen VSee in action. I like how E27′s Joanna Yeo says it in her recent VSee article: VSee kicks “video conferencing up a notch with simplicity in performing collaborative work and high security of information transmission.”

What this means is VSee is a business tool specifically designed to make the collaboration workflow fast and seamless while Skype is more about chatting with friends and family. That’s not to say people don’t use Skype for business purposes, but why use a rock to nail something together if you’ve got a hammer at hand?

Continue reading →

Simple Video Conference and Screen Share

Tag Archives: Skype Alternative