Q: Which tool should I use for a videoconference?
A: It depends on what you want to do.
Google Meet is great for quick, as-needed communication or smaller team meetings. For academic purposes, including classroom use Zoom Pro is recommended.
Our comparison chart provides detailed information on university-supported tools and a summary of the features and best uses for each application. Whichever tool you choose, read through our best practices for videoconferencing to improve the quality of your virtual meetings.
Note: Canvas Conferences is not a recommended full-featured videoconferencing solution. Although it can be used for quick meetings, it lacks certain features. The underlying product, Big Blue Button, is not licensed, so recordings are not downloadable, recordings are not saved beyond 14 days and poll results are unavailable.
St. Edward's students, faculty and staff can sign in to Zoom using their university credentials to access a Pro account. Faculty and students accessing Zoom through Canvas will also be granted a Pro account.
Comparison of Videoconferencing Applications
| |
Zoom Pro (Available to all faculty, staff, and students) |
Google Meet (Free) |
Zoom Webinar (Available Only for Staff and Faculty upon request) |
| Recommended Use |
Academic use (class meetings, faculty office hours, guest speakers and small group work for faculty and students). Faculty can schedule meetings and publish recordings. Students can join class meetings, view recordings and use Zoom for group projects. Staff can use Zoom for meetings and virtual campus events. |
Informal use by students, small group collaboration, on-the-fly meetings, small team meetings, |
Used for large academic events and educational lectures. They function as virtual lecture halls or auditoriums where webinar attendees don't interact with each other. Though Zoom provides options for engagement with your attendees, your average webinar has one or a few people presenting to an audience. |
| Mail and Calendar Integrations |
Gmail, Outlook |
Gmail |
No |
| Canvas Integration |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Account Login |
Use St. Edward's login |
Use St. Edward's login |
Use St. Edward's login
- Note: Restricted to Faculty and Staff Only and by request.
|
| Max Users (Video/Audio) |
300 participants |
100 participants |
500 participants |
| Multiple Presenters |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes - Host and Panelists |
| Practice Session |
No, but you could use your personal meeting room to practice on your own. |
No, but you can run a meet to practice on your own. |
Yes - Host and Panelists |
| Share Screen |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes - Host and Panelists |
| Record Meeting |
Yes - Recordings can be stored in the cloud and shared using a link.
- e.g., you could share the link and passcode via email or publish a recording within a course in Canvas.
|
Yes - Recordings will be saved to the owner's Google Drive. |
Yes - Recordings are stored in the cloud. A link would then be available for sharing. |
| Breakout Rooms |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Polling |
Yes
|
Yes |
Yes |
| Annotation on Screen or Whiteboard |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Virtual Background |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Meeting Length Limitations |
No time limit |
No time limit |
No time limit |
| Mobile App |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Scheduling Options |
On-the-fly meetings, scheduled meetings, recurring meetings |
On-the-fly meetings from within Gmail, scheduled meetings |
Faculty and staff may schedule a Zoom Webinar by reserving a webinar for planned events.
|
| More Support |
Zoom Help Center |
Google Meet Help |
Zoom Webinar Help |