PPLS Learning Technology Blog – Large Group Teaching
The following table show the capacity of the various live (synchronous) online teaching platforms available to PPLS staff.
Generally speaking the higher-capacity ‘Webinar’ versions are better suited to broadcast and have less participant interactivity options (no breakout rooms, attendee cameras not visible, etc). Aran can help with setup on all platforms.
| App | User limit | Need to book? (ie no concurrent events on this platform) | Notes |
| Collaborate | 250 | No | Fully integrated into Learn |
| Collaborate Webinar | 500 | No | Fully integrated into Learn. |
| Zoom | 300 | No | Learn integration newly available. Read more here. |
| Zoom Webinar | 1000 | Yes | Not yet available: slated for purchase before next academic year |
| Teams | 300 | No | |
| Teams Webinar | 1000 (up to 10,000 ‘view only) | No | Newly available. https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/computing/comms-and-collab/office365/teams/teams-webinar |
| Gather Town | 200 | Yes | https://learningtechnology.ppls.ed.ac.uk/gather-town/ |
In June 2021, we ran a demo session to have a ‘First Look’ at the new option, Microsoft Teams Webinar, and also to run through any questiosn staff might have about the options presented in the table above.
You can find the presentation slides from this demo session and recordings of the demo itself below. The first demo is the cross-platform comparison, the second is the first-look demo of Microsoft Teams Webinar.