Adopting Synchronous Audiographic Web Conferencing : A Tale from Two Regional Universities in Australia

Abstract

This chapter provides a comparative study of two Australian regional universities with a similar student profile as they investigate the use of synchronous audiographic web conferencing as a learning and teaching tool. In both universities, the trials of the web conferencing tool, Elluminate Live! (Elluminate) were initially driven by individual academics with an interest in new technologies. While similar in some aspects at the beginning, the two universities then approached the software trials in different ways. As part of this comparison, issues and challenges relating to software trials in educational environments are highlighted, and recommendations provided for others who may be considering the adoption of similar technologies.