Some Practical Tips on Using Breeze Live

At the school district where I work we've been embracing Breeze Live more and more over the past few months. We now have the service/software available to some 100 account holders, with lots more to follow. As a demonstration project for all of our Breezers we've even developed a weekly "show" where we discuss technology tools for teachers and some of the software products we use in our classrooms. So far, Breeze has been a big hit.

But as with any software product, there are limitations to face and things to consider when using Breeze Live. Here are a couple that have come to me lately.

1. Breeze Live is informal.

It's hard to get a truly polished presentation done in Breeze Live, simply due to the limitations of technology. You can argue that the problems are with the software, with the server, or with the available bandwidth for the viewers and users of a Breeze Live meeting, but the simple fact is that there are often glitches in delivery. Sometimes content may not load as quickly as you expect, or the audio may drop out. If you're using video sometimes your camera might go blank. It's also likely that the presenter will click on the wrong button and the microphone will go off or a pod will close.

The message here is to chill. Relax. And don't place too high an expectation on either the technology or your performance. If you take a casual and informal tone during your presentation and don't stress too much when something goes momentarily awry you'll have a much better experience, as will the participants.

If you want a polished presentation use another tool such as the Breeze PowerPoint plug-in--Breeze Presenter--or some other product such as Captivate or Camtasia.

Breeze Live is best seen as a way to connect, communicate, collaborate, and discuss. Which takes me to the next point.

2. Breeze Live should be conversational.

The best Breeze Live presentations that I've been a part of found a way to involve the participants. Ask questions and seek replies in the chat pod. Use polls. In other words, take steps to bring the audience into the conversation you're trying to have with them. Sure, there will be those cases where you need to cover your talking points, but you're viewers will have a better experience if you keep those short and then ask questions or have some other method for engaging the audience. After all, that's the advantage of having a live meeting.

So there you have it--some tips from the trenches as you will. Today I'll be doing a couple of Breeze Live sessions on using Picasa2 in the classroom to perform the basic photo editing tasks that most teachers face. I'll try to keep my own points in mind as I do my Breezo today.