The Tech – Connecting In To A Channel Talent Event
The IT connection to Channel Talent Buzz Apprenticeship sessions will be made through WebEx. We would look to run a brief test with a school/college from the room and laptop/pc intended to be used on the day.
This would be to check that the connection/audio/video is sufficient for students to interact during the session and fully benefit from the event.
A school can check the connection to WebEx prior to this test by using the link below. This should indicate that you are connecting okay although it is difficult to assess the quality of the connection/audio/video without a live test:
In terms of hardware, ideally schools/colleges would have:
- a pc with an external usb webcam that has an inbuilt microphone or;
- a webcam built in to a laptop and an external usb microphone (often Language departments have these) or;
- with a small group, a laptop with a decent built in webcam/mic will often suffice (we can test this)
We do also have options for schools to connect for the audio using a normal phone/speakerphone and this can be used as an alternative if the test suggests that this is needed. We will discuss this with your IT.
Depending on the group size, the image would normally be projected with speakers available in the room. This may vary based on student numbers and the room that is used. If it is planned to run this with larger numbers from a hall or lecture theatre, the key would be to also test the microphone to ensure that students can be heard.
All of the above assumes that dedicated videoconferencing kit is unavailable, like Polycom or Tandberg equipment. If, however, you have this, it is compatible too and generally works very well.