Part A - Brainstorm Session

            After some last minute glitches, our group managed to get into the Vyew room for our web-conference and brainstorm session.  We used the chat feature because the microphones were not working and the feedback was too much.  Regardless, we managed to accomplish all of our preliminary goals.

            For our Group Leadership Project, we have chosen to create a PowerPoint presentation that will teach educators within our districts about wikis.  We chose this topic because we each have a basic, limited knowledge of wikis and want to learn more.  We feel that by immersing ourselves into this material, we will be able to craft a presentation that will benefit not only our learning experience, but for those with whom we share our knowledge, they too will benefit.  Also, by learning about, creating, and understanding the nature of wikis, we will be able to guide students in their learning, thus enabling them to become contributors to the global content of the Internet. 

            To facilitate the learning about wikis, we debated the pros and cons of several tools.  We like Jing, but since the typical account only allows for up to a five-minute recording, it would not serve our needs because we need ten minutes.  Therefore, we have decided to use PowerPoint. 

            Tai Kimmerly and I will work on the script.  We are collaborating through a document setup in Google Docs, therefore, we anticipate finishing by the 27^th of July in order to edit and receive input from our group before we submit our final product.  This will enable each member of the group to voice their concerns or provide input is a technical detail was missed or misconstrued.  Nichole Humitz will create the wiki using Wikispaces.com.  Not only will she create one, but we, as a group, have decided to each explore the technology in order to become familiar with it and fully understand its capabilities and benefits so we will feel comfortable sharing our knowledge with our colleagues.  Karen Delaney will construct the PowerPoint based on our script before exporting the file to Julie Gill who will narrate our project.  Once it is complete, the file can be exported as a movie file, which can then be distributed and posted among the group.  Additionally, we will all work on the storyboard aspect of this project to ensure that the important criteria for understanding a wiki are present.

            For our Brainstorm Session, we used Vyew.com.  While it seems to have many promises, it was difficult to get the meeting started.  First our room was not open, and then it would not let all of the users enter.  I finally managed to send a link to our group members and we were all successful.  We tried the voice chat, but a microphone was not working and then the feedback we were getting was unbearable.  We finally opted out of sound and typed our questions and answers in the chat window.  This was a suitable solution because we were able to keep a document of what was said.  You can read our chat notes on our Google Doc at this link. 

            Some advantages for using this tool to discuss our project were immediate feedback, voice and text chat options (unfortunately, voice would not cooperate), the ability to download a transcript of what was said, and the fact that it is a web-based application, meaning: we did not have to download any software in order to use this service.  These all helped us to collaborate, especially the transcript because we can easily refer back to that document for guidance as we work through this project.

            Some disadvantages to this tool were difficulties in entering the meeting room, voice chat was less than ideal, and I did not quite get a full transcript of what we discussed.  However, I did get the most important parts, which took place near the last part of our session.  Due to these factors, especially when dealing with deadlines, I doubt I would use Vyew.com again.

            However, due to Tai missing our meeting, I met with her this week on Skype.  I am a new Skype user, but it was very easy to use.  Our video connection was instant.  We could see each other and share our work with ease.  We had not been on each other’s contact lists, but immediately found each other.  This made our meeting go fast and easy.

            I did not have any disadvantages with Skype.  Like I said, it was an easy application to use.  The only thing about it that I do not like, but will go over, is the fact that it is an application that must be downloaded in order to be used.  But that is a minor issue when compared to how difficult it was to use Vyew.

            Here is a link to our meeting, which is posted on YouTube.

Web-Conferencing

            Our group chose the web-conferencing application of “Vyew” for our meeting.  Needless to say, we were not impressed.  The concept of the site is very promising, but we ran into a lot of bumps along the way.  First, no one could initially get into the room.  I set it up a few days ago and everyone was ready at launch time, but we kept getting error messages saying the meeting room could not be opened.  Finally, I found a link that I sent everyone through our emails and they were able to follow it and enter successfully. 

            Our next issue was with sound.  There were four people in our group, but we experienced awful feedback and echoes.  It was very annoying, so we finally simply decided to use the chat box and conduct our meeting in that manner.  Needless to say, it is a good thing we are all proficient typists.  Once we adjusted the chat box to a suitable length, we were able to discuss the class and ask each other what we wanted to study for our upcoming Group Leadership Project.  Ideas flew back and forth very quickly.  I was pleased that Vyew.com did not lag too much when it came to using the chat feature.  Everyone was able to keep up with the conversation and provide their input and make the voices and opinions heard.  In that respect, our meeting was very successful. 

            If we were to meet again via web-conference, I would not use Vyew.  It had too many issues for us to work productively.  I have literally only used Skype about three times before now, so I would probably lean in that direction for a future meeting.  From what I have learned and used with that program, sharing and setup was easy.  It was simply a matter of “calling” someone and having them answer without the need to setup a “meeting room.” 

            I think that web-conferencing has many promises, despite our somewhat negative experience with it tonight.  When we were able to communicate via our microphones, communication went quickly.  However, by typing out our answers, we have a quick visual record of what was being said.  I recorded our session using QuickTime, but seeing that we simply typed our discussion, that did not seem necessary.  Once we were done, I pasted our conversation into our Google document for future reference.

            To use a web-conferencing tool in the classroom would be an amazing benefit for students.  We could easily schedule a live meeting with students in other schools or professionals we would like to interview based on work we are learning.  This tool would enable students to understand that even when we are separated by distance, we are still connected through technology.