There are many different ways to teleconference between two points. The attached Excel sheets show what different facilities the Medical Center has, where they are and how to access them.  If you have questions about teleconferencing, please call Darryl Sterner at 713-7014.  If you are interested in using TimeWarner Telecom’s phone conferencing service, please click here for more information.

Pricing information for TimeWarner Telecom’s phone conferencing service

The most common teleconference is a webcast, often pre-recorded, where one person, the host, (often a vendor) presents and you see a slide show or video while they present and you watch and listen but cannot speak.  You see only the host and what he is presenting and the host cannot see you.  You may be able to type in chat questions or type in answers to questions.  This type of teleconferencing requires only that you have a compatible browser such as Internet Explorer and sometimes that you load a “plug-in” onto your computer to participate.    Most computers in the Medical Center can participate in this type of teleconferencing.  If you wish to have a group of people share the webcast in the same room, you will probably want to use a conference room with a projector connected to a laptop with speakers.   The Medical Center does not have the capability to host a webcast.
The next step up is a webcast with interactive audio.  This is the same as the above, but you use a telephone to call into a conference call center.  You can then interact verbally with the host under the host’s control.  For this type of teleconference, you need the same capabilities as above plus a nearby telephone equipped to dial long distance.  For groups, a conference-type telephone may be preferred.
Next is a one to one type of teleconferencing where two people can see each other’s computer screens and with permission, take over the other’s screen to demonstrate something.  This can be done with Microsoft Communicator which should be on most Medical Center computers.  The two participants can also interact by telephone.
When more than two people get involved in anything other than a webcast, there are many solutions.  Please refer to the Excel file for various scenarios and solutions.