In other chapters, we have looked at communication tools in Moodle, namely forums and chat. Although the text chat does provide a level of synchronous communication, mostly Moodle alone delivers a strong asynchronous environment which allows time for thought and reflection in responses and interactions. These types of features enable building of communities of practice and knowledge sharing centers. However, sometimes having learners/participants involved in real-time, synchronous video, chat, and interaction is required.

In addition, as noted by Michelle in the case study at the end of the chapter from Remote-Learner, some people do learn better when given the opportunity to interact with the facilitators and other participants in this real-time environment. By providing the participants with the chance to ask questions with instant responses and enabling them to easily demonstrate the challenge or issue they are facing through screen sharing technology, you can swiftly help them through the problem they encounter. This provides a greater sense of engagement by connecting users with each other.

So what do you do if you want to extend Moodle with video? What features do you need? What features are available? Which products work with Moodle? What will it cost?