Comparison of web conferencing tools for synchronous or lecture streaming events

One of the most significant factors to consider when preparing to teach remotely or to do lecture streaming is if, when and how you will integrate synchronous sessions or recorded videos/audio into your course. At the University of Waterloo, most remote and online courses are conducted in LEARN, our Learning Management System (LMS). The following table offers information about the various web conferencing tools you may be considering for any synchronous, recorded, or lecture streaming events within your course.

Testing what you want to do with any tool is strongly recommended to ensure it works as you expect before using it with a class.

	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

Footnotes

Webex is integrated with LEARN, you can add Webex widget to manage the basic functions.
Zoom is integrated with LEARN, you can add Zoom widget to manage the basic functions.
Large meeting add-ons for Zoom are available for increased participant limits to 500 or 1000 participants.
See respective sites for explanation of roles: Webex Meeting, WebEx Training, MS Teams, Bongo VC, Zoom .
Participants can be anonymous by entering as a guest and using a previously agreed upon pseudonym. In some cases, this may not work as intended, and should be tested thoroughly before-hand. Please review the Privacy in Recordings page and the Notice of Recording template for a live event. Contact the relevant help desks with any questions on setup and safety measures for your specific use case.
Tolls apply without the necessary license which gives toll-free numbers. See Joining a meeting by phone. Telephone connection is not recommended for teaching applications.
Moderator and presenter can send files and links through chat with Bongo virtual classroom.