Free and Open Source Web Conferencing (Online Meetings, Webinars) Tools for e-Learning

Guys the most of you find these posts a valuable resource for the e-Learning community. As a result, the following post is Free and Open Source Web Conferencing (Online Meetings, Webinars) Tools for e-Learning.


Also, you should be sure that the e-Learning community will highly appreciate:

1. if you post a comment with your experience with these tools and/or,
2. if you post a comment with a link to any other free and open source Web Conferencing tool.

                                     

BigBluebutton* is built for Higher Education. It enables universities and colleges to deliver a high-quality learning experience to remote students. BigBlueButton is an active open source project that focuses on usability, modularity, and clean design -- both for the user and the developer. The project is hosted at Google Code. BigBlueButton is built by combining over fourteen open source components. 

*note: Epignosis has created a module that provides integration of BigBlueButton conferencing in eFront Open Source Learning Management System. BigBlueButton is a free web-conferencing tool with text chat, audio and video capabilites, a virtual whiteboard and many more presentation and conferencing features.

OpenMeetings is a free browser-based software that allows you to set up instantly a conference in the Web. You can use your microphone or webcam, share documents on a white board, share your screen or record meetings. It is available as hosted service or you download and install a package on your server with no limitations in usage or users.

What is Ecommerce & How can it help in effective emarketing?

Imagine a shop which sells almost about everything you would expect to look for in a multi-storied mall, is open and accessible 24 hours by 7, is cheaper than its other counterparts who sell the same stuff, and is just right next to your doorstep. Now imagine something even better. Electronic commerce is all of this, and more! The process, in broad terms, of selling and buying, and in totality, dealing with branding, marketing, servicing, delivering and payment of products over the electronic media, or the internet, was introduced to the world around 3 decades back, and has been growing by the leaps ever since, very deservingly so, owing to its ease of use, extremely wide reach, and several other advantages. Let’s quickly run through a few of the areas where e-commerce is the obvious better choice over other media of sale and marketing.
   The first clear cut advantage that an e-shop would have over a conventional physical retail store, is that of an increase in the potential customer base, which is, theoretically millions of times more than what you would expect from a retail outlet around the corner. No matter how prime the location may be, a retail outlet can only cater to or target the customers based out of or around the area around its own geographical location. An e-shop simply does away with this constraint. Needless to say, the internet has the capability of reaching out to the masses in a way no other media can, So, it would be a smart choice to showcase your product through this never abating, ever growing phenomenon. No sooner than your product is up on the internet, it has the capability of becoming visible and accessible to millions of potential buyers in one instance.

   Another key feature involved in buying/selling over the world wide web is the availability of a variety of modes of payment. The advent of e-somethings has taken the green crisp note under its stride, and the common man thrives with the mushrooming of credit cards and automated teller machines. E-commerce gives your business the competitive edge by not letting the absence of physical money become a limiting factor. Tele banking, credit or debit cards, paypal, and the sorts, name it, and you have the option, and therefore, can provide your client with the option of making a payment in the desired and most convenient method available to them.

  An icing on the cake of featuring your product over cyberspace is this: this method of marketing and sale does away with the conventional product distribution chain, and with that gives you an opportunity to utilize this saved cost in giving you and your customers the added benefit of this competitive pricing. This can then feature as not-to-miss discounts on your favourite e-commerce site, which would then help the portal attract more customers owing to its attractive offers and deals. A win-win,aint it?

In essence, featuring your business on a good e-commerce portal is a smart strategic decision to take your venture to the next level. Visibility, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness, wouldn’t these be the key factors you would want to work on to give yourself a definite competitive advantage? So what are you waiting for! Get, set and E-biz!! 

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Why Open Source Software / Free Software?

Benefits of open source in application


development software:

􀁠 Lowering of software acquisition costs by partially or totally removing the license

component of software

􀁠 The generation of a strong ecosystem that can create a critical mass of

resources and skills for a particular technology, thereby lowering the cost of

developing, deploying, and maintaining it

􀁠 Improved interoperability through greater visibility of the source code, which, after

all, is the most accurate form of specification of a piece of software

􀁠 Improved code quality and alignment of software function with its requirement

through community participation

􀁠 A strategic shift in the control and governance equation of a given piece of

software from its authors to its consumers (In this sense, open source provides a

higher degree of democratization that can provide, for example, assurance that

long-term evolution of software may not entirely depend on the decisions of a

single vendor or group.)
 
For more details click here.
 

e Commerce terminologies?

"B2B" is contemporary shorthand for a longtime sales practice called business-to-business. B2B transactions primarily target companies and other wholesale buyers, while transactions targeting individuals are called B2C, or business-to-customer.
Many organizations have both B2B and B2C components, but it's not unusual for a company to specialize in B2B services or sales. In fact, the vast majority of products and services sold are considered to be B2B in nature.

One major reason for the popularity of B2B sales and services is sheer volume. An individual customer may visit a clothing manufacturer's website catalog and order two pairs of shoes or a sweater(B2C txn). The buyer for a national chain of clothing stores, however, may order 5,000 pairs of shoes and 2,000 sweaters. Without a B2B component, the manufacturer would have lost out on a very lucrative sale. This is why many companies provide B2B options alongside the B2C offerings at their websites and other outlets.


E-business is normally divided into five groups:



business-to-business;

business-to-consumer;


business-to-public administration;


consumer-to-public administration.

Consumer to Consumer(C2C).

The business-to-business (B2B) group includes all applications intended to enable or improve relationships within firms and between two or more companies. In the past this has largely been based on the use of private networks and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Examples from the business-business category are the use of the Internet for searching product catalogues, ordering from suppliers, receiving invoices and making electronic payments. This category also includes collaborative design and engineering, and managing the logistics of supply and delivery.



The business-to-consumer (B2C) group is a much newer area and largely equates to electronic retailing over the Internet. This category has expanded greatly in the late 1990s with the growth of public access to the Internet. The business-to-consumer category includes electronic shopping, information searching (e.g. railway timetables) but also interactive games delivered over the Internet. Popular items purchased via electronic retailing are airline tickets, books, computers, videotapes, and music CDs.



The business-to-public administration group covers transactions between companies and governmental organisations, such as city, local, regional, national governments and governmental agencies such as the European Commission. Activities in this area include transactions to publicise public procurement opportunities and the filling of tax returns and payment of taxes.



The consumer-to-public administration area is similar to business-to-public administration, except that the focus is on provision of government information brochures, forms etc., greater openness, public consultations, as well as submission of tax returns. This area will grow once the business-to-consumer and business-to-public administration areas start to develop.
 
The Consumer to Consumer are is similar to B2C, but the difference here lies that any person registered on the site can sell/buy or exchange any product or product information as per his convenience by using a common platform.  

What is CRM?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. There are many technological components to CRM, but thinking about CRM in primarily technological terms is a mistake. The more useful way to think about CRM is as a process that will help bring together lots of pieces of information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends.


CRM helps businesses use technology and human resources to gain insight into the behavior of customers and the value of those customers.



CRM ARCHITECTURE

What is ERP & How can it be best implemented?

ERP, which is an abbreviation for Enterprise Resource Planning, is principally an integration of business management practices and modern technology.

ERP systems at the latest stage of evolution considers following points (can be considered but not limited to the following):

OPERATION
Rough and finite capacity requirements
System of Engineering Changes
Product data management
Work Orders flow
Manufacturing Support Systems
Manufacturing Simulation Systems
COMMERCIAL
Commercial Planning
Marketing Systems
Sales Forecasting
FINANCE
ABC Financial Planning
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
MATERIALS
Item Master
Inventory Management
Master Scheduling
Materials Resource planning
DISTRIBUTION
Distribution Systems
** It is important to mention that Human Resources involved subjects are covered in ERPs.
On the other hand, ERP models work based on the following levels of control for the enterprise administration:
Executive Planning
Business Planning,
Sales Planning,
Production Planning (Rough capacity).
Medium Management Planning
Master Scheduling and Inventory Control,
Materials Planning (based on products structures) and
Capacity Planning (Routing).
Operative Execution
Procurement,
Shop Floor Control (Costs) and
Performance Evaluation.

It is vital to note the point on administration before deciding which ERP software is the one we will be using, we need to have solid administration principles (no matter which administration tendencies you decide to choose) and strong knowledge of ERP methodology.

The Role of ADC(automated data collection)

Most warehouses or factory floors will more often than not reveal workers collecting data on clip boards, shop tickets or a variety of other paper-based methods before inputting the data to the ERP system on a terminal. It’s an archaic but persistent routine in applications like inventory management, time and attendance, shipping, receiving, picking, putaway, work-in-process: transactions throughout the supply chain. Why is it crucial for executives to keep these areas squarely in sight? Because data is typically collected there by hourly laborers, including assemblers, clerks and operators.

Research shows that manual data collection such as this tend to have one error with every 300 keystrokes. In a warehouse that processes 10,000 order lines each day with an average of 10 keystrokes per line, that’s 333 data errors every day, or 17,000 data errors each year. Where does that erroneous data go? Straight into the ERP system. And straight to the hands of strategic decision makers.

With the rise of ERP have come upgrades like a GUI (graphic user interface) for the end-user and Object- Oriented Technology (OOT) interfaces. For automated data collection systems, these technology advancements have an important effect. But, if not carefully planned for, they can present an interesting challenge to the smooth execution of an ERP implementation

To maximize ADC, the software should distill those screens to provide prompts on data collection equipment that simplify and minimize that process of data entry. This doesn’t happen just by purchasing the best data collection products. It’s a combination of data collection systems that seamlessly integrate with the ERP system, as well as good operational processes.

The right ADC system, then, is more than just a smart addition to ERP. It’s a mandatory component. Beacause, without reliable data, every ERP system, no matter how robust, will be deficient at best, a failure at worst.

Some Organisations do prefer to implment & develop their own ERP system coz other ERP systems may be too rigid for specific organizations that are either new or want to move in a new direction in the near future

Click here for More Information About ERP.

What does it mean to be Tier in IT?

When discussing ISPs or Service Providers (SPs)
Tier 1 = webserver level(Client)
Tier 2 = application level(Host)
Tier 3 = database(Host)

Usually T1 faces the Internet, and forwards requests to the application servers. Application servers use the database. Typically you have a firewall between all 3 levels.

In the IT Business or Helpdesk service
Tier 1 refers to all technicians regardless of term of employment. There are no manuals. This is the basic troubleshooting level. (ie. check settings, account status, run diagnostics).
Tier 2 is the level that a problem is escalated to when it is determined not to be a problem on the users end or beyond the power of a Tier 1 tech. Usually these are the people that are in direct contact with the administrators.
Tier 3 are the administrators themselves who are contacted when it is determined to be a server/DNS/authentication problem.