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Adobe Connect functionality upgraded
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Video conferencing has moved mainstream, and the many free and low-cost providers offering capabilities are forcing enterprise level tools such as Adobe Connect to enhance their offerings. Adobe announced this month several enhancements to Adobe Connect just in time for back-to-school. Competing with GoToMeeting and WebEx, Adobe Connect provides video conferencing, collaboration, and e-learning solutions. Along with improvements to screen-sharing capabilities, Adobe is upgrading sharing and social media integration, as well as improving the whiteboarding drawing capabilities.
While the current version of Connect allows users to register for an event using their own Facebook or Google+ accounts, the newest version also includes the ability to share from a webinar out to social media while a conference is underway. This enables users to share content using services such as Twitter or Instagram without needing to leave a webinar or meeting.
Because large businesses often use webinars to generate sales leads, Adobe has also integrated the most recent version of Adobe Connect with Salesforce, making it easier to invite participants to events from Salesforce. The integration also makes it possible to view Adobe Connect event analytics through Salesforce.
The enhanced whiteboarding in Adobe Connect makes sense from a company that produces design and drawing tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator. The new whiteboarding capabilities include pens, pencils, brushes, and shape drawing tools. The whiteboarding drawing tools are not limited to the desktop, with robust Adobe Connect functionality on Android and iOS, whether using a stylus or finger to draw.
When delivering a webinar or conducting an online meeting, it can be difficult to know what other users are seeing and what exactly is being shared with attendees. The latest update to Connect provides a preview of what is being shared, showing at picture-in-picture view. This makes it easier to confirm that a demonstration or slideshow is being presented, rather than inadvertently sharing other apps or documents.
These new capabilities will be added to AGI’s Adobe Connect Training Classes as soon as Adobe releases this update. Used by many large enterprises and schools, Adobe Connect provides a platform for video conferencing, online collaboration, and delivery of e-learning.
About the author
Christopher Smith is president of American Graphics Institute. He is the co-author of Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies and more than 10 other books on design and digital publishing. He served as publisher and editor of the Digital Classroom book series, which has sold more than one million books on topics relating to InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere Pro and other Creative Cloud apps. At American Graphics Institute, he provides strategic technology consulting to marketing professionals, publishers designers, and large technology companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and HP. An expert on web analytics and digital marketing, he also delivers Google Analytics classes along with workshops on digital marketing topics. Christopher did his undergraduate studies the at the University of Minnesota, and then worked for Quark, Inc. prior to joining American Graphics Institute where he has worked for more than 20 years.