Webinar or Webcast?

So many internet terms - so little time. We all know what its like trying to figure out the ever growing terminology associated with the World Wild Web. Here's two that I feel could add spice to your portfolio of learning tools: webinars and webcasts. So whats the difference? Well thnk of webinars as more like web conferencing. That is sharing a live presentation like a powerpoint over the web using platforms such as Centra, Webex, Genesys, etc. You also can add audio using a phone conference or use Voice Over IP (VOIP). With these platforms you are broadcasting a low bandwidth presentation to a wide geographically spread audience and gathering live feedback through chat, polls, surveys - all the fairly standard features of web conferencing technology nowadays. Webinars are at the lower end of the scale in terms of price and static media distribution. Now to webcasting. As you can guess this moves up the scale a few notches with price and much more interactive content. Wikipedia describe a webcast as a media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webcasting is “broadcasting” over the Internet. The most common form of webcasting is TV and Radio broadcasting, although more and more businesses are using webcasting for internal and external presentations. Annual General Meetings are sometimes broadcast in this way.

The use for Training seems fairly obvious. What a terrific way to maintain contact with course partipants after an event. Offer monthly live webinars or live webcasts. It allows you to update and supplement content with fresh case studies and guest speakers. In addition, you can ensure training is not a once-off event but a continuous learning process - as it should be.