Comments on: Session Eleven—Virtual Meetings http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/ Integrating Social Networking Tools Into Language & Culture Courses Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:55:37 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Barbara http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-64 Barbara Fri, 09 Nov 2007 04:57:54 +0000 http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-64 Thank YOU, Alfonso, and Nathalie, Martina, Fulvio, Felice, Renato and Manuela for sharing with me this collaborative experience. I have learned so much from and with you and appreciate very much your willingness to undertake this journey with me! I really enjoyed our sessions tonight with Barbara Sawhill, Barbara Ganley and Sean (thank you, Ben!) and the fabulous folks at E-Learning Networks in Australia. You had really interesting comments and insights and I hope you found the sessions as engaging as I did. I'm sorry that we weren't all able to participate tonight due to some technical difficulties, but, as Barbara Sawhill mentioned in her Skypecast, the conversation continues in the form of comments to our blogs—as you've done here, Alfonso! Thanks again, everyone. Thank YOU, Alfonso, and Nathalie, Martina, Fulvio, Felice, Renato and Manuela for sharing with me this collaborative experience. I have learned so much from and with you and appreciate very much your willingness to undertake this journey with me! I really enjoyed our sessions tonight with Barbara Sawhill, Barbara Ganley and Sean (thank you, Ben!) and the fabulous folks at E-Learning Networks in Australia. You had really interesting comments and insights and I hope you found the sessions as engaging as I did. I’m sorry that we weren’t all able to participate tonight due to some technical difficulties, but, as Barbara Sawhill mentioned in her Skypecast, the conversation continues in the form of comments to our blogs—as you’ve done here, Alfonso! Thanks again, everyone.

]]> By: alfonsovaronacarrillo http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-63 alfonsovaronacarrillo Fri, 09 Nov 2007 04:13:40 +0000 http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-63 Well, talking about virtual meetings, we just had our first two. [I refer to the <a href="http://networksevents.flexiblelearning.net.au/" rel="nofollow">e-Show n tell</a> and the <a href="http://www.languagelabunleashed.com/" rel="nofollow">language lab unleashed</a> podcast. I just decided to write a little bit before going to bed (if I could download my dreams I would, but I don't think that's possible yet, but imagine all the money saved in special effects). Anyway, I just wanted to let Barbara [Lindsey, just in case] how many things you have made happen for us by taking your course. I don't take things for granted, and I decided to take this space in the blog for letting you know it. Well, talking about virtual meetings, we just had our first two. [I refer to the e-Show n tell and the language lab unleashed podcast. I just decided to write a little bit before going to bed (if I could download my dreams I would, but I don't think that's possible yet, but imagine all the money saved in special effects).

Anyway, I just wanted to let Barbara [Lindsey, just in case] how many things you have made happen for us by taking your course. I don’t take things for granted, and I decided to take this space in the blog for letting you know it.

]]> By: felicebeneduce http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-61 felicebeneduce Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:42:29 +0000 http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-61 It's all too true It’s all too true

]]> By: Barbara http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-58 Barbara Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:34:37 +0000 http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-58 That's a good question, Alfonso. While UCONN has whiteboards installed in several of its classrooms (including ours here in our lab), allowing for instructors to display digital materials, annotate them and then save those files to share with students, I don't know if anyone here is also using virtual whiteboards of the kind described in our reading. We are going to try out <a href="http://www.skrbl.com/" rel="nofollow">skrbl</a> in class so you can get a basic sense of how it works. In doing a Google search I came across a rather old <a href="http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=382" rel="nofollow">article on the use of virtual whiteboards</a> in a distance learning environment. We should follow up on this to see if and how these type of whiteboards are used in a variety of learning scenarios. That’s a good question, Alfonso. While UCONN has whiteboards installed in several of its classrooms (including ours here in our lab), allowing for instructors to display digital materials, annotate them and then save those files to share with students, I don’t know if anyone here is also using virtual whiteboards of the kind described in our reading. We are going to try out skrbl in class so you can get a basic sense of how it works. In doing a Google search I came across a rather old article on the use of virtual whiteboards in a distance learning environment. We should follow up on this to see if and how these type of whiteboards are used in a variety of learning scenarios.

]]> By: alfonsovaronacarrillo http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-56 alfonsovaronacarrillo Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:57:02 +0000 http://beyondwebct.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/session-eleven%e2%80%94virtual-meetings/#comment-56 After reading <a href="http://www.educause.edu/LearningSpaces/6072" rel="nofollow">Chapter 12: Learning Spaces</a>, it becomes clear that we cannot think of the classromm in its mere physical dimension. I am not talking about the communication in Cyberspace, but the fact that a visitor no longer needs to appear physically, if we have the right tools: videoconference increases our chances to bring the outside world to the classroom. This simple fact adds possibilites to change the dynamics of a class. It becomes more practical to "invite" target language friends, with different accents, for example. I have a comment about Scenario 2. I still have to remember myself that, although Sandra's list of activities done in class and after class are familiar to me, I still see it as something "new". We should start to think that's the familiar way things are supposed to be done. There is nothing modern or avant-garde from the point of view of ours students to chat, listen to music in a i-pod, download assignments, take a photo and share with 1,000 thousands "friends" in just one minute. I like how ironically the article refers to us as being "immigrants" to the digital, multitasking world: "The underlying theme remains the same, however: cultivating learning practices consistent with learning theory and aligned with the habits and expectations of Net Gen students (and soon professors!) who have been "raised on" IT." (In the New Learning Spaces section, near the end of the article).The article points, though, that soon the first Net Gen of instructors will be here... So I guess we were caught at the middle of two worlds. I'll finish with a question for Barbara: How common are the "virtual whiteboards" for lecture halls, as describe in chapter 12? The idea for students not to take notes during a lecture, and focusing more on the information, sounds like a simple and yet important thing to implement (especially in literature, since I tend to use the board a lot: draw maps, write historical dates, compare literary texts, etc, etc). After reading Chapter 12: Learning Spaces, it becomes clear that we cannot think of the classromm in its mere physical dimension. I am not talking about the communication in Cyberspace, but the fact that a visitor no longer needs to appear physically, if we have the right tools: videoconference increases our chances to bring the outside world to the classroom. This simple fact adds possibilites to change the dynamics of a class. It becomes more practical to “invite” target language friends, with different accents, for example.

I have a comment about Scenario 2. I still have to remember myself that, although Sandra’s list of activities done in class and after class are familiar to me, I still see it as something “new”. We should start to think that’s the familiar way things are supposed to be done. There is nothing modern or avant-garde from the point of view of ours students to chat, listen to music in a i-pod, download assignments, take a photo and share with 1,000 thousands “friends” in just one minute.

I like how ironically the article refers to us as being “immigrants” to the digital, multitasking world: “The underlying theme remains the same, however: cultivating learning practices consistent with learning theory and aligned with the habits and expectations of Net Gen students (and soon professors!) who have been “raised on” IT.” (In the New Learning Spaces section, near the end of the article).The article points, though, that soon the first Net Gen of instructors will be here… So I guess we were caught at the middle of two worlds.

I’ll finish with a question for Barbara: How common are the “virtual whiteboards” for lecture halls, as describe in chapter 12? The idea for students not to take notes during a lecture, and focusing more on the information, sounds like a simple and yet important thing to implement (especially in literature, since I tend to use the board a lot: draw maps, write historical dates, compare literary texts, etc, etc).

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