virtual classes?

[Ron]

I was thinking about this at work the other day, whilst I was trapped in yet another teleconference. What if there was a way for us to gather virtually to have like workshops or classes? It could either be via text chat, or phone. We could actually get together as a group and talk shop. Maybe it could be an extension of the site here. There is a lot of experience here, and I've learned a lot from Tom, Bryan, Roger, Luis, Greg, Rob, Dave, Rob, and many other people. Maybe we could have a topic taught by one of the experts once a month or so in a real time format. That way, divers (myself included) could ask questions real time and gain knowledge. Maybe we could even pitch in a few dollars for it and make it a function of the NAVED or VDH. I would pay a couple of bucks a month for tips and techniques on deco diving, mixing gases, fixing gear, planning dives, gas consumption, etc. Plus, it gives us a way to get more people here, and to keep action on the forums. This is just a thought. What do you guys think?

[swimjim]

Yet another reason to get my computing power up graded a decade. My old Mac is so vintage I can't do much internet wise anymore.

[Ron]

Jim,


You could always invest about 300 bucks into a netbook. They are about the size of a paperback and they do everything. I use one for business travel exclusively, and it has lasted me over 2 years. That's pretty good for something that is cheaper than most cell phones nowadays. Let me know if you need a recommendation.

[kgehring]

What do you have now? I have a G4 tower collecting dust. You are welcome to it. I would have to see that there are all the parts in it. I might have stole the hard drive.

[Bryan]

I like the idea and would give it a try. I have been looking for a reason to build the VDH studio for a long time

[Gilldiver]

I use AT&T web meeting all the time. You can log in and switch presenters between the people loged in. This allows all to see what one person has on their desktop. For sound, you can either call into a toll free number of get voice over the web link.

[swimjim]

The Mac I am running now is a G4(I Think) that my uncle gave up on in about 2006. I inherited it as an orphan around 2007. It has Finalcut pro 4 installed on it as well as Adobe photoshop, not to mention a few other dated but really good programs on it. It would really be tough sledding to replace Finalcut, but it looks like the worm is turning for me finally and I'm hoping the ship will right this year. Florida at the end of May takes first priority and everything involved with that. I have been seriously considering an emachine. Then I should be able to run V-planner too. That would be majorly cool! if you have any suggestions on a good cheap unit, please PM me. I am fluent in Windows up to XP.

Jim

[Creed]

I'd be down for it, depending on the timing of the meetings.

[Ron]

I would gather that we could do them on a weekend more toward the noon EST time frame. That would allow us to include the west coasters in our gatherings. We could put out one per month to start, and someone could be tasked with leading the conversation. It could be a workshop or class about something germane to vintage diving. We could do as much, or as little as the group want. We could simply conference call and talk, we could use a real time chat via the forum, or we could use a webEX (web based exercise). I think we would need to get a head count as far as what everyone wants, because obviously we want maximum participation. If we wanted to boost the NAVED, we could even generate a certificate of completion for certain classes. That would be documented experience in a certain area of diving. I know that I have had people ask me for some sort of proof of experience to dive off of their boat, and my NAVED card, even though it says that it is not a C card, has helped in that regard before. I guess the next order of business is to determine everyone's time frames and needs as far as the IT portion so we can facilitate it. If it were web-based, that would limit the amount of users who would be barred from joining us by their computers. Possibly a Java based live chat room or something, pretty much every computer whether Mac, Windows, or Linux is Java friendly as it uses the virtual machine concept.

[bbain]

Doesn't Skype allow free conference calls?

[Robohips77]

I really like the idea and would be more than willing to participate. I know that I confine my conversations to those that are local to me when all I need to do is call and they could be over in tim buck too! That means that Greg, Rob, Karl, Rick and Gary are really tired of talking to me. So I am game when you all figure out the format let me know and I am in.
Van Frankooo

[Creed]

Doesn't Skype allow free conference calls?

Sure. There are a lot of conferencing solutions, and many of them are free and multi-platform, so it shouldn't be much of an issue to find a program which the Mac, Windows and even the lonely Linux guys can agree on.

[Ron]

So I guess it comes down to a question of what we want.

As I see it, there are three choices:

1.) Voice conferencing software. We can talk, but that's basically it.
2.) Video conferenceing software. We can talk, and see stuff.
3.) Live text based software. We can type real time, and maybe post pictures.


What do we want? This will allow us to pose the suggestion to Bryan and have his IT staff work a solution for us, or allow us to implement one for free ourselves and link it to the site.

[Bryan]

Couple of years ago we had a chat feature installed on the forum and we tried scheduling a sunday evening chat session...We had a couple of decent ones but interest was not really there... I will ask the web administrator to look in on this thread. I would think that a way we could demonstrate stuff would be best. Like if I had a camera that covered my workbench and I could talk while I was doing something I could explain a whole lot in a short period of time...How and what technology I need to make that happen I don't really know...

[Creed]

Couple of years ago we had a chat feature installed on the forum and we tried scheduling a sunday evening chat session...We had a couple of decent ones but interest was not really there... I will ask the web administrator to look in on this thread. I would think that a way we could demonstrate stuff would be best. Like if I had a camera that covered my workbench and I could talk while I was doing something I could explain a whole lot in a short period of time...How and what technology I need to make that happen I don't really know...

A decent webcam and Skype would allow this. http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/feature ... deo-calls/