Use of Technology During a Meeting Flashcards
A very quick and easy way of communicating with participants, sending documents etc. Meetings can be set up quickly and group addresses can be created for regular meetings.
Electronic-Diaries/Calendars
How are they useful?
These are particularly useful for setting up meetings and making automatic entries into the participants’ diaries (overcoming the problem of people forgetting to put it in themselves). This a timesaving and efficient tool.
Electronic-Diaries/Calendars
What can the organiser do?
The organiser of the meeting can view the participants’ diaries and choose a common ‘free’ date and time, send invitations by e-mail and, upon receipt, the details are entered in everyone’s diaries. Also meetings can be cancelled easily.
Video conferencing
How is it useful?
This is a very useful tool for meetings when participants are spread across various locations and travel time is an issue (especially if it is a short meeting).
Video conferencing
Equipment used
Video conferencing equipment is common to most organisations these days and can range from static equipment used for large-scale meetings to mobile, desktop equipment for smaller meetings.
Video conferencing
What does it elminate?
It eliminates the need for people to actually be there at a meeting, whilst still allowing full participation, as users can see each other and simultaneously work on the same document.
Video conferencing
What can have an impact on using it?
The slight time lapse and the effect of bad weather on video links have some impact on the quality of this system and many people still prefer to be physically present at meetings if possible.
Audio conferencing
What is it and what equipment is used?
The ability for a number of parties to speak to one another is useful, especially if the nature or length of the discussion doesn’t warrant a face-to-face meeting. Loud speakers are often used for larger meetings to enable everyone to be heard and take an active part.
Networks
What are they and how are they used?
Organisations use different types of networks to connect computers in order to share information and communicate online. It is through the use of these networks and the internet that tools such as video conferencing and e-mail can be used for meetings.
Networks
How can the Internet be used?
The Internet can be used to set up secure user groups which are areas on the web that can be set up and used for communication between members of the group.
Collaborative white-boarding
What does it allow for?
This technology allows for people at different locations to view and operate the same computer programme simultaneously over a computer network. One computer acts as a host for a particular application, which everyone else can see on their screens.
Collaborative white-boarding
What can the software do?
It allows people to highlight text, draw symbols etc. without changing the original data.
Collaborative white-boarding
How is it useful?
It is useful for discussion, brainstorming and troubleshooting and is often using alongside video/audio conferencing.
Online Application Sharing
What can it do?
Often known as groupware, this allows participants to access diaries, calendars etc, but also allows for shared document management. Using a secure network, they can view, revise or edit it and ensure change are tracked, which reduces the need to meet as they can just all collaborate on documents.
