Up until today, I've had very positive experiences with social networking, but my first foray into an EdtechTalk show did not leave me thirsting for more. I listened in on Teachers Teaching Teachers this evening @http://www.edtechtalk.com/live, but found myself confused. Like a good student I tried to get in a little early, but heard nothing. A quick Skype call with Darren revealed that he was having the same problem, so I re-tried and nothing. I tried several times using several different buttons and nothing but a black screen with the words [no video] (see top photo). Finally, I heard sound, but I'd missed the introductions in my back and forth stuff. Then I could not figure out how to do the back channel chat because all I had was a black screen (see picture) and the panel was making reference to the chat and links they were inserting. I knew I was doing something wrong, but with no previous experience, I was floundering. I even turned to Twitter for some help from a classmate, but alas she was not on! I finally tried to open a 2nd window to the techtalk (see photo) and I was finally able to participate in the back channel chat and hear the discussion. However, because I missed a bit I did not feel connected and felt almost unnoticed. I was very frustrated with the lack of clarity in connecting!
I had Skype capabilities, but no one explained how that feature worked or what needed to be done so I essentially was voiceless. To make matters worse, the audio seemed to break up at times and I missed chunks of the conversation; I'm not sure if others had the problem, but it was very frustrating to be listening for something only to lose a portion of the point being made.
I also felt somewhat of a disconnect from the content because I did not have prior knowledge of what we would be doing and there was no agenda to follow as near as I could tell. Fortunately, it was not all a bad experience as there were things being talked about that were leading me on in my quest to understand more about practial applications of technology in school. This session was lead by what sounded like English teachers (at least originally) who were using technology to engage kids. They spoke confidently about the connections being made between literacy and technology. Much of the discussion revolved around what are the qualities we look for in a learner? I felt totally unprepared to answer this question, but the responses made me realize they were speaking from the point of view of the learner in a tech. environment. I did grasp that the leaders Paul Allison, Susan Ettenheim, and Gail Desler talked about all students needing to be teachers, learners, people who share, and people who publish. Allison sounded like he had some cool things going on with kids and social networking.
They also spoke of digital storytelling and publishing. 'Sprout' (see photo) was mentioned, but I had no idea what it was and the leaders assumed this was a known application by the listeners. I now know it is a "quick and easy way for anyone to build, publish, and manage widgets, mini-sites, mashups, banners and more. Any size, any number of pages. Include video, audio, images and newsfeeds and choose from dozens of pre-built components and web services." I also know it is a site I will want to return to.
Not a lot of links were provided at this particular session,but they did mention Clarence Fisher, and I felt good that I knew who they were talking about. I even pasted a link to his website. The links mentioned were: http://www.needleworkspictures.com/ocr/blog/?p=439 which is a blog site by Matthew Needleman called Creating Life Long Learners, a link to something called Youth Voices that I could not get to connect to during the talk, edtechtalk.com, and teachersteachingteachers.org.
In conclusion, I would have to say I was not adequately prepared for my first Edtechtalk; I won't say it is the last time I will visit, but I think I would like to be better prepared for the technical struggles so that my experience is not tainted by my own lack of familiarity with the process. I have added two of the speakers to my Twitter account as people to follow because I realize these people have a lot of worthwhile things to share with people who are willing to take the steps to learn more about their craft!
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5 comments:
I am so glad you found your way to ETT to begin with. All new networks take some getting used to and the fact is that ETT is a powerful site with much learning going on. When I first started listening to shows, I too felt a bit lost. Now I am a webcaster running two shows. I also feel like the people in the ETT community are the strongest members of my PLN. Keep trying. You'll find it is very worthwhile.
Thanks Lisa I appreciate your comments. I did realize early on that the leaders were very knowledgeable people. The learning curve on the front end was high and contributed to my frustrations, but once I had things figured out and concentrated on the message I felt much better about the experience. I believe you about the people visiting ETT being an important part of your PLN; they must be a very dedicated group of professionals to do what they do! I am curious about how do you know what is going to be talked about from week to week. Are agendas posted?
Sorry to hear of the bad experience. I am going to talk about ETT and student experiences next day in class.
Trevor and I also had trouble hearing sound on ETT. At first it appeared that everyone was having trouble but then everyone but us seemed to have audio. Through messaging in the chat room Todd was kind enough to help us connect but missing the first few minutes left us a little lost.
I was wondering why you were in and out! I floundered a bit too. I think because the usual audience is accustomed to using this technology,they may not list instructions on how to use it. It took a number of tries to get my audio going but once I did, it was very clear. It reminded me of a radio interview; very relaxed. I was asked by the moderator to Skype. I chickened out because I didn't feel comfortable speaking but I also did not know how to access Skype - I didn't look very hard though! There is a calendar you can access to find out what topics will be discussed throughout the month - it's on our EC&I wiki page.
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