Video Conferencing (VC) is a medium that allows multiple participants to communicate using audio and video. The technology works locally or globally and allows people to hold interactive meetings which can accomplish many of the points a physical meeting can. It saves people the time and expense of traveling and can be used on a one to one basis or can involve two or more groups of individuals.
There is an initial consideration when deciding to host a video conference session, being to decide "do I want to hold a meeting locally and bring some other people in, or do I just want to connect a number of individual people in from their own office, home or other workplace?"
The answer to the above question will largely determine whether a room based video conference system or a software based solution is more appropriate.
Room based meeting systems allow you to hold a traditional meeting locally in a purpose designed meeting space, then bring further participants in from remote locations (either as individuals or further groups). Examples would be bringing together a project team or research group across campuses, collaborating nationwide with other institutions, or gathering experts together internationally.
ITS has permanent video conference facilities on the Kelburn Campus in Rankine Brown (RB901 and RB903) and on the Pipitea Campus in the Railway building (RWW224). If you are a staff member and would like to use these facilities for university purposes, please see our booking information.
In addition, RHLT1, AM103 and AMLT105 lecture theatres all have permanent video conference technology in place for teaching purposes.
Video conferencing can also be set up in other AV equipped spaces using the Zoom software based solution (see below). For all booking requests please contact the Teaching Technology team via the ITS Service Desk.
There are also room based facilities at the School of Architecture and Design (VS220) and in the HUB (RB106). If you would like to use facilities please contact the SOAD technicians or the Vic Info Ihonui (respectively).
Please note that and ITS are unable to make room bookings for these locations or the teaching spaces directly, but we will be happy to facilitate where possible.
If you only have a small number of attendees in each location and do not require a dedicated room for your meeting (or have your own meeting room which you'd prefer to use for this purpose) it is also possible to conduct a VC session using the Zoom desktop video conference solution.
Desktop video conferencing uses software to connect between multiple parties in any location using your own computer, tablet or phone. It is available to all Victoria University staff on their devices via the Zoom service (delivered via either software client or an app).
If you are new to Zoom, you can sign up for an account at https://vuw.zoom.us/signup. Remember to use your Victoria email address to register for your account.
Once you have an account, simply browse to https://vuw.zoom.us to 'Sign In' and start using the service. Your Zoom account will allow you to host as many conferences as you like for an unlimited duration between yourself and one another participant. You can also schedule a conference for 25 participants in total for up to 40 minutes per session.
If you do need to host a conference with more than two participants for longer than 40 minutes, ITS can provision you with a Zoom Pro user license. Simply contact the ITS Service Desk (on 5050 or email ITS-Service@vuw.ac.nz ) and request a Pro license for Zoom.
Zoom requires a software client to be installed on your computer or device. You will be prompted to do this when you first attend a meeting. Alternatively the PC client for Windows is available from the ITS Software Centre (to access this, just type Software Centre into the search bar of your Start Menu).'How To' guides and software clients for other operating systems can be found on the Zoom support cent re at https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us
Additional Victoria University specific training and documentation will be produced in due course, but should you require any further help, please contact the ITS Service Desk.
Audio conferencing is now possible in most locations simply by utilising the hands-free functionality of any digital office phone at the University. If you are unsure how to do this, please consult the user guide for your handset or contact the ITS Service Desk for further assistance.
For other locations and medium sized groups it is also possible to use a dedicated conference phone, which ITS can provide. However, this can only be set up in rooms which have an existing phone line (either analogue or VoIP). This equipment is ideally suited to meetings involving a maximum of 10 people.
For larger groups it is recommended that you use one of our enhanced technology rooms.
Please contact the ITS Service Desk to make a request or if you would like to book an audio conference phone, first see our booking information.
