Sunday, November 27, 2011

Web Conference Reflection- Week 2

This web-conference was particularly helpful with this week's assignment. I love being able to hear others questions because it is sometimes something I will not think about until later when I have no way to receive an answer. Sometimes just having a verbal verification about what you are doing is helpful. Also, knowing that others have questions helps boost your confidence by allowing all the students to know they are not alone. Having this collaboration is so helpful because we do not meet in a physical classroom, so it is easy to become frustrated and feel alone. The mention of TK20 was helpful to me. I am still getting used to having an e-portfolio and the TK20. Dr. Abernathy gave a quick overview over the requirements for all 5 weeks. This helped me verify that what I have done is correct, explained the current week's assignment, and gave me a heads up for the next three weeks. All in all, without the web-conferences the online degree would be extremely confusing and less convenient. As before, the only inconvenience is the sound that fades in and out throughout the meeting.

Web Conference Reflection- Week 1

The Monday, November 14th web-conference was the most beneficial meeting I have reviewed through out my entire program. It is great to hear a person explaining what is required for each assignment. The web-conferences in this class have been especially helpful. I think that without this web-conference a lot of people would have found it hard to understand how we would mange collaborating with each other with so many miles between us. This class also does not have the regular Sunday due dates because of the holidays. As I mentioned this particular meeting has been the most beneficial to myself because Dr. Abernathy recapped the requirements for the e-portfolio and talked about the mentors that are available to us. Having a consistent person to offer support and direction through out the entire program will be helpful due to the fact that this is an online degree. The e-portfolio has been confusing to me because I had to take a long break due to medical reasons. Another student was not up to date on the e-portfolio and the professors would not have been aware of this if we did not have the web-conferences. WE also cleared up some questions about the difference between our blog and our wiki. I have also been very confused about the purpose of the TK20. Another significant topic was about an upcoming change. The administration and the technology leadership program will be merged. This is something we could have easily looked over and when it happened caused a great deal of confusion. Dr. Abernathy explained how the technology leadership students are able to take our state's principal certification test. The only downfall to the web-conferences is the inconsistent sound. The sound continuously cuts out and you are unable to hear a lot of valuable information. I hope there is a way we can fix this problem. The timing is also difficult for me due to the fact that I have young children that need my constant attention. Maybe one of the conferences each week can be at a later time for the people who are unable to attend the 6:00 p.m. meeting. All in all, the web-conferences are very beneficial and I will attend every meeting that my schedule allows.