Page Comparison

Microsoft Teams

Zoom

WebEx Meetings

WebEx Training

Bongo - Virtual Classroom in LEARN

Integration into LEARN

No

Yes²

Yes¹

Yes¹

Yes

Main Purpose

Virtual communication and collaboration with resource sharing capabilities.

For Classrooms, seminars, meetings with free flowing conversation, or controlled classroom

For Classrooms, seminars, meetings with free flowing conversation, or controlled classroom

Mainly for controlled classroom where interactions are by permission

Online classroom best thought of as a combination between WebEx Meetings and Training.

Bongo can also be used for video assignments.

Maximum users/session

• 1000 users per video meeting

• 49 webcams per page (grid view)

• 300 users³

• 49 webcams per page (configurable layout)

• 1000 users

• Variable grid view

• 1000 users

• 150 users

• 7 webcams visible

Roles

Yes⁴

Hosts, alternate hosts, participants⁴

Hosts, co-hosts, presenters, participants⁴

Hosts, co-hosts, presenters, panelists, participants⁴

Yes⁴

Supports guests (i.e., users external to the University)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Supports anonymous users

Yes

Yes

Yes⁵

Yes⁵

Yes (if joined via an external link)

Supports phone in

Yes

Yes⁶ (not recommended for teaching)

Yes⁶ (not recommended for teaching)

Yes (not recommended for teaching)

Yes

Common engagement features

• Chat

• Media/file share⁷

• Raise hand

• Screen/application share⁸

• Whiteboard

• Polling

Additional engagement features

• Real-time collaborative work in meeting rooms before and after meeting

• Transcription

• Additional engagement icons e.g., clap

• Reactions (yes, no, go faster, go slower)

• Faster recording playback

• Transcription

• Streaming to popular streaming services such as YouTube, vBrick, IBM, etc.

• Faster /slower playback of recordings

• Push to talk with space bar key to mute/unmuted mic

• Classroom Feedback (automatic hand gesture detection)

• Transcription

• Classroom feedback

• Q & A

• Real-time testing and grading

• Simultaneous multi-page presentation

• Transcription

• Additional engagement icons e.g., clap, smile, frown

Control features

• Chat: public or private

• Mute/unmute audience microphones/cameras

• Invitee permissions are set by organizer

• Waiting lobby room

• Chat: public or private

• Mute/unmute audience microphones/cameras

• Invitee permissions are set by the owner

• Waiting lobby room

• Chat: public or private

• Mute/unmute audience microphones/cameras

• Participant permissions decided by host

• Waiting room

• Chat: public or private

• Mute/unmute audience microphones/cameras

• Activities controlled by instructor's permission

• Individual permissions can be assigned by instructors

• Chat: public or private

• Mute/unmute audience microphones/cameras

• Moderator has control over attendee audio/video/chat access

Session recording

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Possible to share recording with ease

Yes easy to share a link; some work involved in setting up privacy⁹

Yes, easy to share link/files; easy to download MP4 if stored on the cloud. Also has searchable transcripts.

Yes, easy to share a link; easy to download MP4 if stored in cloud. Searchable transcripts available. 

Yes, easy to share a link; work involved in exporting and converting to MP4 to share on other platforms.

Yes, can be copied to other LEARN courses and can be downloaded on computer and played as an html file.

Edit video recordings¹⁰

Yes, trimming beginning and end only

Yes, limited online editing tool possible

Yes, using WebEx editor (Windows only)

Yes, using WebEx editor (Windows only)

No

Live Closed Captioning¹¹

• Yes

• Can also edit transcriptions after video is saved in MS Stream.

• English only.

• Yes

• Auto transcription available.

• Can assign someone to create closed captions live which can be saved as a TXT or VTT file or obtain transcripts automatically after recorded session is saved in the cloud.

• Can also integrate a third-party closed captioning service.

• Yes, added feature by request

• Can assign someone to create closed captions live which can be saved as a TXT or VTT file or obtain transcripts automatically after recorded session is saved in the cloud.

• Can also integrate a third-party closed captioning service.

No

No, but can assign someone to create closed captions live, which are then preserved with the recording.

Break out rooms/manual assignment

Yes/yes; max 50 rooms

Yes/Yes; manual, automatic, and self-selected assignment; pre-assign available; max users per room varies¹², max 50 sessions

Yes/Yes, manual, automatic, and self-selected assignment; pre-assign available; max 50 rooms

Yes/Yes, and with
pre-register

Yes/Yes; max 8 rooms

Support pages and Contacts

Microsoft Teams help page 

Microsoft Teams for your class

helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca

519-888-4567 ext. 44357

Zoom help page

helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca (with Zoom in the subject line)

 519-888-4567 ext. 46749

Webex help page

WebEx Keep Learning page

 rt-ist-itms-collab@rt.uwaterloo.ca (with WebEx in the subject line)

519-888-4567 ext. 46749

Webex help page

WebEx Keep Learning page

 rt-ist-itms-collab@rt.uwaterloo.ca

 
519-888-4567 ext. 46749

Bongo Keep Learning page

learnhelp@uwaterloo.ca

519-888-4567 ext. 41744

Important notes

New requests for WebEx will be redirected to Zoom or Teams, unless there is a requirement that only WebEx will meet.

WebEx usage and support may be reviewed again before the current licence agreement expires in December 2022.

New requests for WebEx will be redirected to Zoom or Teams, unless there is a requirement that only WebEx will meet.

WebEx usage and support may be reviewed again before the current licence agreement expires in December 2022.

Availability and support for Bongo will continue for the duration of the current license agreement, November 1, 2023.

Use of Bongo will be monitored over the next year so that an informed decision regarding future use of the tool can be made.

Key Advantage

• Can join from web app

• Closed captioning (ease of use is best here)

• Hand raising is ordered

• Zoom Desktop Meetings app is a full featured application

• Webex Meetings desktop app is a full featured application

• Webex Meeting is the latest recommendation in Webex platform

• Controlled classroom where interactions are by permission

• It is recommended to use Webex Meetings instead of Webex Training

• Breakout rooms can be timed

• Fully integrated with LEARN courses

Key Disadvantage

• Private Channels are difficult to manage as the membership needs to be manually maintained

• None

• None

• Recordings are in .arf format, not MP4

• No automatic video transcription

• No waiting lobby room

• No automatic video transcription

• No waiting lobby room

• Saves whiteboard pages as separate PNGs as part of recording

• Will not play video or audio add-ins on PowerPoints