Internet Newsletter for Lawyers |
|---|
A number of organisations, such as the well-respected CPD Direct (see
www.cpd-direct.com, part of the Legal Practitioner network)
offer ‘online’ courses. These allow purchasers to download a pre-recorded sound file, often 30-60 minutes long,
containing a lecture which can be listened to at the individual’s convenience.
This month, I have organised and presented two separate one-hour telephone seminars on age discrimation.
Delegates dial in to a telephone number (at national rate, i.e. just under 8p per minute)
at a pre-arranged date and time. They then listen, on the telephone, to a live seminar.
If delegates wish, they can listen over a speakerphone so that more than fee-earner can participate.
Simultaneously, delegates with a broadband internet connection can watch a live powerpoint presentation
which accompanies the telephone lecture.
The advantage of a ‘live’ telephone seminar is the facility for delegates to ask questions during the course
of the seminar. Through their web browser, whilst watching the Powerpoint slides, delegates can type in
questions which are immediately transmitted to the presenter. The presenter can answer (or ignore!) them
as the seminar proceeds, and – at the click of a button – can either transmit the question to all the other
delegates’ screens, or can switch the questioner from ‘listen-only’ mode to ‘conference’ mode, enabling
him/her to repeat the question verbally so that all other delegates can hear it over the telephone.
No special software is required for the delegates – a standard browser (such as Internet Explorer) is all that is
needed. The presenter can also get by with a standard browser, although performance will be enhanced by
downloading a free Microsoft add-on (details of which are given by all the web conference providers).
The market leader for presenting telephone/web conferences (and the most expensive) is BT (visit
www.bt.com and search for ‘BT Conference Call’).
There are a number of reputable, and
substantially less expensive, alternative providers including MeetingZone (see
www.meetingzone.com) and PowWowNow (see
www.powwownow.com). Depending on the
level of service required (for example, whether you require a live assistant to help you, whether
you will want to conduct real-time votes/polls, and whether you will want a streamed version
made available after the seminar), rates are typically between 12p and 30p per minute per
delegate.
Daniel Barnett is an employment law barrister at 1 Temple Gardens and runs the Employment
Law (UK) mailing list, a free employment law bulletin which is distributed to 12,000 recipients.
Visit www.danielbarnett.co.uk for further details.
Daniel is presenting his age discrimination telephone/web seminars on 12th and 23rd January 2006.
Back to Contents.
Telephone/Web Seminars
Attending lectures can be irritating. If a course lasts all day, it has a detrimental impact on work.
Even if the course only lasts for an hour, the travel and waiting time involved can be wholly disproportionate
to the benefit obtained.
by Daniel Barnett
Email DanielBarnett@1templegardens.co.uk.
Visit www.danielbarnett.co.uk/age.htm for more details.