Webex, a Colonial Connect service, is available to all GW students, faculty and staff. Webex is a collaborative meeting tool that allows for real-time video meetings and sharing computer content over the web. Features include multi point video conferencing and desktop sharing to help facilitate online meetings or teach a class. Sessions can be recorded and can accommodate up to 1,000 users in a simultaneous single session.
There is no charge for attending a Webex meeting when you use your computer to participate in the meeting. This is the preferred method of participation. If attendees opt to participate via the toll-free dial-in number (1-800 or 1-855) or through the Webex call me/call back feature, the meeting host will be charged the standard contractual rate per minute, per attendee who use this service. There is no charge from GW to the individual department for Webex attendees to attend using the 415 area code number.
To begin using your Webex account, login to gwu.webex.com with your GW email address ([email protected]) and corresponding password.
Webex Best Practices
Monitoring - Due to circumstances resulting from COVID-19 (coronavirus disease), a historic number of employees are rapidly transitioning to remote work. Webex meetings have never been more vital for staying connected. This is also putting a tremendous strain on regional internet service providers and telephony providers which may result in telephony incidents or service degradation at certain peak times.
Here are a few tips to get the best meeting experience in any situation:
Disconnect from your VPN: GW provides a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service that allows you to access the University network while working remotely. You can use Webex Meetings outside of VPN for the best experience.
Choose audio over video: Webex will suggest or automatically lower your resolution and may eventually turn off your video to adapt to your network quality. You can choose to do this yourself at any time. Learn more about improving your experience by eliminating video here.
Build in breaks: You can get a faster join experience by joining 5 minutes early or, better yet, schedule meetings on the 15th or 45th minute of the hour.
Switch to call-in audio: If your internet audio and video experience or call me/call back does not work, you can keep collaborating. Call in using the dial-in numbers in your meeting invitation to join via your cell phone or landline. If the primary phone number that is provided is temporarily unavailable, the invitation includes a long list of other global call-in numbers you can try. Learn more about opting for call-in audio here.
