Blog N° 6
Some statistic
Which video conferencing software is the most appropriate for dance classes?
There are more than 30 videoconferencing software packages on the market. These vary in software features and price.
As usual, the best solution depends on the needs of the companies or users who require these platforms. There are several classifications, again with differences depending on the countries and the data being examined.
Since I was particularly interested in the European geographical area and wanted to rely on official research sources, I used the chart from an academic study by EMC (European Communication Monitor) from 2021.(Fig.1)
The European Communication Monitor (ECM) 2021 is an academic study that explores practices and developments of professionally managed communications in companies, non-profits and other organisations including communication agencies across Europe.
The study has been conducted annually since 2007. It is known as the largest comparative research project in the field of communication management, corporate communications, public relations and strategic communication worldwide. The ECM is complemented by similar surveys
in North America, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Altogether, these studies form the Global Communication Monitor series initiated and coordinated by Professor Ansgar Zerfass from Leipzig University in Germany.
The questionnaire was pre-tested with 64 communication professionals in 18 European countries in January 2021. Amendments were made where appropriate and the final questionnaire was activated for five weeks in
February/March 2021.
The 2021 survey explores CommTech and digital infrastructure, video-conferencing for stakeholder communications, future roles for communication professionals, strategic issues, and characteristics of excellent communication departments. The European Communication Monitor 2021 is based on responses from 2,664 communication professionals in 46 countries.
For more Details:
From the chart it can be seen that among the different videoconferencing platforms, two stand out more than others. Zoom and Microsoft Team.
During my research I worked mainly with the Zoom platform and only partially with the Voov system, which is not mentioned in the CME study except under the heading of other solutions.
Both were not personal choices, but were offered to me by the institutions I worked for. Voov was chosen by the university institution Shenzhen Art School because it was more in line with the communication system in China. With this institution and TanzArt ostwest directed by Tarek Assam, there has been a collaboration of over ten years. For the last 5 I have been part of this educational programme first as a teacher and then as a supervisor and co-creator of the programme itself. This collaboration, originally based on regular meetings in the form of a month-long teaching campus, has been re-planned with video-conference modules, starting in September 2021. For this reason, I had the opportunity to use this software in May, but without having the opportunity to learn it in depth.
The Zoom platform was provided to me by all the other institutions I worked with in Germany.
During the first phase of the research with the help of some volunteer dancers and dance students I could test other software in their free versions: Microsoft Meeting, Skype, Weebex Meetings and Goto Meeting.
I also tried to understand why most of the institutions and artists I worked with or knew had chosen Zoom software.
I found a lot of information and reviews, and all the indications led me to the conclusion that the software's features and ease of use, together with the fact that even the free version is more than satisfactory for average use, are the software's secret.
For this reason, and because I had become accustomed to this software, I decided to use it for my research and purchased a subscription to Zoom Meeting Pro in February.
Furthermore, as far as I could verify during my research, none of these software or communication systems were designed to facilitate the transmission of complex movement sequences (such as hosting dance classes). Either because there was never a need for it, or because there was no request for it.
In fact, it was only after the restrictions imposed by the Sars-Covid-19 pandemic that it became necessary to use it.
For this reason, the different characteristics of the existing software are not a major problem from the point of view of dance. Although, as mentioned above, some features have also greatly facilitated the creative and educational process in dance classes. One for all the breakout sections.
However it was clear from the beginning that the adaptation would have to occur in the pedagogical method, i.e. in the way of transmitting movement through a video camera, rather than in the creation of ad hoc software. It has to be said that the interaction between new digital technologies and dance has a short history and has always or mainly been linked to interactive choreographic experimentation with the audience and only marginally in the educational area.
Let us now look in detail at the functions offered by the Zoom Meeting Software.
HD video and voice Yes
Collaboration tools
Whiteboarding.
Screen sharing with co-annotations.
Remote keyboard and mouse control.
Support for multiple devices Yes
Integrations with other software Yes
Scheduling Yes
Analytics Yes
Call recording and transcriptions Recording Yes - Transcriptions in 60 languages
Web browser access Yes
Limits of participants, feed and time
Limit of participants Free
Version: One to one meetings / Group meetings limits of 100 people
Paid Plan: Group meetings active 1000 people There are also plan for views only Webinar attendees from 100 people to 10.000 people.
Video feed limit
Unlimited Gallery view: Participants can see up to 25 video feeds at one
Time Meeting duration limit
Free Version: One to one meetings unlimited / group meetings maximum 40 Minutes
Paid Plan: 24 Hours
Moderator tools
Private chats
Breakout rooms
Feedback surveys
Closed captioning
Virtual backgrounds
Attention tracking
Waiting rooms
Strong security
Rueben Yonatan, the CEO of GetVoIP, a company that runs a review platform for video conferencing providers, made the following statement for a leading trade blog InfoSec Insights:
“I will be the first to admit that in the past, Zoom had serious security issues. After the uproar that occurred when people noticed these weaknesses, Zoom moved quickly to address all the possible weak points. So, currently, yes, Zoom is secure.”
Price
Zoom Free Plan
Pro Plan for small team / 139,90 € /Year /Licence
Business Plan for small and medium size Businesses / 189,90 € /Year /Licence
Enterprise Plan for larger companies / 223,20 € /Year /Licence
Sources:
Articles and websites consulted for the research.
https://www.computerbild.de/artikel/cb-News-Sicherheit-Videokonferenz-Datenschutz-Zoom-25540527.html
