When choosing which conference calling service to do business with, it's a good idea to have an idea of what kind of rates to expect. Most conference call services will charge rates based on the amount of time used, the amount of people or locations involved in the call, a set-up fee or a membership fee, and surcharges for particular calls placed. There are some companies that will charge rates based only on the minutes used. There will be no set up fees, no membership costs, and very few, if any surcharges. The services offered by each will vary as well.

A typical conference calling company will charge you some sort of monthly or yearly fee for their services. It may be a membership fee, it may be a fee that covers part of your expenses for that month, and it may be a fee to buy so many minutes of conference calling time. Whatever it is used for, it is usually a part of your expenses as a conference call service user. When a conference call is set up, you will then be charged a certain per minute fee that is multiplied by the number of participants in the conference. For instance, if there are three participants and the charge is ten cents a minute, you'll actually be paying thirty cents a minute. Those charges can add up fast when there are many participants and the conference lasts longer lengths of time.

A flat rate conference provider offers something a little bit different which they claim will not cost as much as the other service providers yet will offer comparable services. These types of services charge a flat rate per minute based only on number of lines dialed in. There are no service fees or membership fees. Anyone can call in and participate all over the world. There can be up to fifty participants joined into the conference call. There is no operator assistance necessary; everything can be done through the moderator of the conference call. There is no reservation necessary. These calls can take place any time, twenty four hours a day and no notice is necessary. There is toll free customer support included if necessary and all participants dial in using a toll free number.

Rates can vary greatly from company to company offering these conferencing services. Be sure to research each one thoroughly before you decide which company to provide your conference calls through. Each will have its benefits and drawbacks and those will outweigh one another until you've found the service that will work within your budget and timeline. Conference calling services, no matter which company you go with, will still save you a bundle over travel expenses for one or more associate to attend a conference. No matter which service you choose, you'll be making a money saving decision when you decide to use conference calling.

All businesses, be it a small business or a world wide business, are beginning to use conference calling. What is a conference call service and what different forms of them are there? Below you will find the definition of a conference calling service and the different forms of them.

Conference calling services have revolutionized the way that businesses are run and have now allowed businesses to be ran all over the world from one place. This means that customers, associates, and even business partners are now able to communicate without having to travel half way around the world!

There are three main forms of conference calling and they are: audio conferencing, web conferencing, and video conferencing.

The most popular form of conference calling used is audio conferencing. The reason this is the most popular form is because it has been around for the longest and its cost effectiveness saves the company money. This is also the easiest form to use because all you need is a telephone. The only problem businesses have found is they are unable to see the people they are talking with and they are unable to see any images or information instantly.

The newest of the three forms of conferencing is web conferencing. This form of conferencing uses webcams to broadcast the conference over the internet. The biggest bonus of this conference is that all the participants are able to send all files, text messages, and visual aids instantly so that all participants are able to see them. The great thing about web conferencing is that you get all the great benefits of audio and video conferencing and you gain the ability to share files instantly.

The third form of conference calling is video conferencing. This is probably the most expensive of all the forms because of the cost of the equipment which means only the big companies use this form. Changes in technology have brought the cost down a little bit allowing smaller companies to use this form but many try to avoid it. To perform a video conference call you need to have a television and a camera on every end of the call which allows all of the members to hear and see each other but it is expensive. Video conferencing is effective if you plan to hold meetings frequently but you should expect to have many problems with equipment.

Are you running a business where members of your company are in different parts of the country or world at different times? This makes it extremely difficult to hold conferences whenever you want, unless you want to fly all of the people in. The solution to this problem is conference calls and here are some tips to help you have a successful conference over the phone:

-The thing you must first do to set up a successful conference call is to tell the participants you want in the call the toll-free number they will be calling, the code they must enter to get into the conference, the agenda of the meeting, and most importantly, the time they are to call in. The company you sign up under will provide you with your own 800 toll free number that you will use. All the participants will be allowed to choose their own entry code so that they can enter it when they are ready to join the conference. The reason an agenda is important before starting the conference is so you can stay on track and get the most out of the meeting.

-Before you do the tip above you should make a list of all the people you are going to want to participate in the call. This will help you when it comes time to send out all the information as you will already know who to send the information to and you will know what to send them. You should also consider that participates are going to be all over the country or world in different time zones so try to find a time that the most amount of members can participate.

-This may be one of the most important tips and that is you must start the conference call on time! The participants are all going to make special arrangements to call in on time so you must start it on time. If you do not start the conference on time you will have to deal with a big mess that can be avoided easily.

-Tell all participants to use the mute button when they are not talking to the members of the conference. This helps to eliminate all the background noise that can become a distraction while the others are either talking or listening.

A Virtual Classrooms or VCR is a learning environment that exists exclusively in the form of digital content that is stored, and accessed through network of computers and information systems like PDAs, notebooks, mobiles etc.

Physical or Virtual Classrooms?


The main difference between the physical classroom and the Virtual Classrooms is those of location, time and spaces required by students and teachers to access and partake in classroom activities. In the physical classroom a physical location must be visited at a fixed time in order to participate, while a virtual classroom is not physically accessed and has no real fixed time or location which is a great boon.

The manner in which a teacher delivers educational material remains an important factor in the success of both classrooms. Though both the classrooms employ similar learning theory, curriculum design and pedagogy, live face-to-face interaction is missing in the VCR method, which may have a negative influence.

May be the solution is the blended method where physical classroom training is combined with the virtual classroom training, thus accommodating a wider range of student needs.

As teaching in both the physical and virtual classroom is learner-centered, students learn by engaging in group work, projects, discussions, and other content relating to real-world contexts. The VCR is used to provide additional communication and material, along with the learning that occurs in the physical classroom.

VCR Tools


The important communication/participation VCR tools are

* E-mail

* Discussion boards

* Chat rooms

* Whiteboards

* Video/audio conferencing

* Instant messaging

* Podcasting/vodcasting

* Teleconferencing

* Weblogs

* Wikis


These tools can be further divided into two methods of learning Synchronous and Asynchronous learning.

Synchronous VCR Learning


Synchronous learning is communication or exchange of information at the same time between two or more people i.e. in real time. In virtual classrooms, synchronous communication is used by students to communicate with fellow class members and their teachers. This provides real time interaction and encourages group discussions. Chats, Video/audio conferencing, Podcasting/vodcasting, Teleconferencing are all Synchronous learning tools.

Asynchronous VCR Learning


Asynchronous learning or communication does not occur in real-time, students or teachers are not present in the same space and time as each other. The instructions are delivered at one time and the work is done at a different time. Asynchronous learning allows the student to study at their own space and in their own time, plus both the teacher and the student benefit from because the entire discussion is recorded and can be repeated continuously. E-mail, discussion groups, whiteboards, wikis, weblogs, and forums are all Asynchronous learning tools.