A couple of days I ago I posted about MeBeam and how I thought it would be an easy way for my students to video conference (or audio conference only since a webcam is not required) with a class in Brazil next semester.

It is very simple to use and readers of this blog have commented on how impressed they are with the sound and visual quality.

However, Pierre Renaud pointed out that there is a small clickable “Random Room” link on the home page of MeBeam that could lead you to inappropriate content.

He suggest Tokbox as an alternative.  I had heard about it before, but hadn’t realized they had added the ability to have a conference call.  Here, too, you can participate with a Webcam or just if you have a mike. One disadvantage they have is that Tokbox allows only up to six people to participate, while with MeBeam you can have up to eighteen.

With luck MeBeam will be eliminating their “random room” button soon.  In looking through their forums I don’t appear to be the only one requesting it.

I’ve placed Tokbox next to MeBeam on the Teacher’s Page of of website under Telephone.

By the way, Pierre has a nice collection of ESL links that are worth exploring.