Adobe+ConnectNow

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 * Web 2.0 Tool – [|Adobe ConnectNow] **
 * Purpose:** __

**Meet live over the web and share your screen with anyone** Adobe® ConnectNow, one of the Acrobat.com services, is a great way to share ideas, discuss details, and complete work together — all online. Reduce travel costs, save time, and increase productivity with a web conferencing solution that's easy to access and simple to use.

** Interact with others **
Use screen sharing, chat, notes, audio, and video to conduct meetings online that can be as interactive and productive as in-person meetings.

** Get instant access from anywhere **
Use any platform and any browser with no special downloads necessary to join the meeting — all you need is the free Adobe Flash® Player runtime.

**Screen sharing ** Easily enable meeting attendees to see what's happening on your screen. Choose from three sharing options: windows, applications, or your desktop. Use familiar tools to mark up what's being shared onscreen. Draw lines and shapes, drag and reshape them, add text, and save the Whiteboard as a PNG file.
 * __ Features: __**
 * Whiteboards **

**Screen sharing palette ** Access key meeting features while you're sharing your screen. **Remote control ** Take control of another meeting participant's desktop with permission. This is useful for collaborative work sessions and technical support. **Video conferencing ** With a webcam, use multipoint video for a real in-person feel to your online meeting. **Integrated audio choices ** Use the microphone on your computer to speak with other meeting attendees. Or use one of the conference numbers provided for traditional teleconferencing. **Chat pod ** Send instant messages to one person or the whole group to raise questions and share ideas. Customize your Chat pod by selecting fonts, sizes, colors, and emoticons. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Unique meeting room URL ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Take advantage of a personal online meeting room with a permanent URL that is easy to remember, so you'll always know where to meet online.

__ Frequently asked questions (FAQs): __
<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Adobe ConnectNow is a web conferencing solution you can use to instantly communicate and collaborate using your own online meeting room.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">What is Adobe ConnectNow? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">To start a meeting, just open a browser window and enter your unique meeting room URL, which never changes. Invite others to join you at the same URL. There is no need to schedule meetings in advance; just go to your online meeting room at the same URL anytime you want to host a meeting.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">How do I start a meeting? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Just click the Share My Computer Screen button. You will be prompted to download a small ConnectNow plug-in that will take only a few seconds. Meeting attendees will not need to download any software unless they also want to share their screen.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">How do I share my screen? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Anyone who wants to communicate and collaborate instantly with anyone — from colleagues to customers, one-on-one or in small groups.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Who should use ConnectNow? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">With ConnectNow, you can set up a customized URL that stays the same, so it's easy for everyone to remember.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">What are always-on personal meeting rooms? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">With a free Acrobat.com account, three people, including you as the host, can attend a meeting. If you need more participants consider upgrading to an [|Acrobat.com Premium] account. To take advantage of more robust web conferencing features, consider [|Adobe Acrobat Connect™ Pro].
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">How many people can attend my meeting? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">No. Meeting attendees can attend your meeting as guests and do not need to sign up for their own account.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Do meeting attendees need to sign up for an account? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">No. Meeting attendees do not need to download any software to attend your meeting. All that's required is the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player runtime, which is already on most browsers worldwide. However, if attendees would like to share their screen, they will be prompted to install a small ConnectNow plug-in.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Do meeting attendees need to download any software to attend my meeting? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">ConnectNow communicates through standard HTTP and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) ports, so users do not have to reconfigure their firewalls to participate in online meetings.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Can ConnectNow meetings be accessed across firewalls? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">With the ability to accommodate up to 20 participants for online meetings, ConnectNow as part of an [|Acrobat.com Premium] subscription is a great choice for individuals and small groups. [|Acrobat Connect Pro] enables interactive web conferencing for large organizations, as well as web seminars, sales presentations, and online training for up to 1,500 participants.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">How is ConnectNow different from Acrobat Connect Pro? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Yes. Every account includes free audio conferencing. No reservations are required — just click the phone icon and select Adobe Conference Number. You will see a text box with the call-in numbers as well as the meeting ID number. There is no charge for the service; however, long distance phone charges may apply.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Does ConnectNow include free audio conferencing? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Yes. With ConnectNow, a meeting participant can take control of other meeting participants' desktops with their permission. This is useful for collaborative work sessions, one-on-one instruction, and product support. You can access remote control in two ways: (1) while you are sharing, select someone else on the attendee list and select Give This User Control Of My Computer," or (2) if you'd like to request control of someone's screen, click his or her name while the participant is sharing and select Request Control Of This User's Computer.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Does ConnectNow include remote control? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> “As educators look to transform student learning and reach students with online tools that inspire creativity, collaboration, and higher standards, Acrobat.com, including Adobe Buzzword and Adobe ConnectNow, is becoming a tool of choice. By harnessing innovative Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions from Adobe, educators and students are discovering more effective, efficient ways to teach and to learn.” __Caveats__: ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">__Possible Educational Uses and Advantages:__ **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Cost: Free up to 3 users.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Internet-based conferencing.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Initiate real-time discussions with students, whether it is working with students in traditional school settings or in distance-learning environments.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Designed for ad hoc collaborative meetings. It lets students and educators meet live over the web in an instant.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Synchronous Inspired Learning Environment - Rather than sending questions back and forth through e-mail or trying to talk through complicated questions by phone, you can view information onscreen and interact immediately.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Hands-on, online tool to instantly share lessons, see what students are working on, and address student challenges and problems in an easy-to-use, collaborative environment.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Secure connection and worked with MacOS and Windows environments.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">By default, you may not hear all parties in a ConnectNow session because the user(s) didn’t enable microphone sharing in their settings in the Collaboration window.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Bandwidth for the conference is based on the slowest connection in the conference. Although this seems to be expected behavior, you need to make sure that the default conference speed is set to Auto (which will dynamically adjust the bandwidth to provide a better user experience of collaboration).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Only 3 users can be in a conference to share video for the free version. The disadvantage is that you would have to make sure key stakeholders were attending the conference in the remote locations to obtain buyoff on major decisions if this was used as the approval method.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">No toll-free number for conferencing via phone.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">As a host, you have to be careful not to automatically approve participants because you could easily block attendees from joining the conference.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">If you are invited as an attendee, you will not be able to participate via desktop sharing in ConnectNow.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In order for you to view a participant’s shared desktop/window, you will have to “maximize” the window to appear in full screen in the ConnectNow window.
 * __Conclusion:__**

Fabiola, Nick, and I witnessed some minor problems where we could see each other but, only 2 of us could hear each other. The experience overall was pretty efficient due to the fact that I could share my desktop or application for Fabiola and Nick to see what I was demonstrating while speaking with them via VoIP. Also, this tool would be great for initializing the collaboration and synchronization of information as a resource for many to witness. Furthermore, for this tool being cost effective for a many, it alleviates the issue of making last minute travel accommodations within this challenging economy and it allows key decisions to be discussed and shared in a timely fashion.

Adobe ConnectNow definitely has my endorsement for being an ideal Web 2.0 application to use in Education. :

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">[]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">__For more information about Adobe ConnnectNow features/issues, check out the support forums:__ **