Good morning! We had a Wimba session this morning, which was a great comparion to the Skype session we had before. I was hoping Eva would be in the session, but I am sure we will have time to talk in the future!
We discussed the digital divide in terms of technology for the "have" and the "have-nots". I agreed that the divide will increase as technology does. We discussed a variety of factors, but I believe cost is always the biggest issue. I tend to think about this in terms of other third-world countries. By the time they have received certain technologies such as the computer or laptop, there have been several other versions created in the meantime. So though they have a form of current technology, it is not the latest form and that alone places them at a disadvantage because there will always be something new created thus increasing the gap. We can also transition this thought into schools, where those with more money will often have access to the latest technology such as the Ipad. (In my opinion I think the Ipad is a waste of money, but if I was given one for free...I doubt I would complain about it.)
My view on Wimba: I think it is a wonderful tool. It had a lot more options for an educational setting compared to Skype. Of course, I doubt Skype was created for a school setting so I don't know the two can be compared but I will do so any way. Wimba had a lot of features that aided in the discussion process. We had some issues with responses in Skype because there was no real way to decipher who would be speaking next. Response buttons were built-in for easy access, as well as a chat function on the side. Holding down the talk button took a little bit of practice, but was easy to use in the end. I enjoyed the emoticons - you could select built-in tools for laughing, agree or disagree, one even offered a way to ask the professor to slow down. The best function of all was the hand raising tool because it also kept the order in which everyone raised their hand!
There was more opportunity to interact in this session as well. Together, we each chose a color and were able to write on a chart that Gila and Jim had created. It was better than being in a classroom because we were able to write on it ourselves and could do it at the same time. Paul totally stole one of my answers, but that made it more fun because he was quicker than I was putting his answer on the page!! We also took a survey and answered questions that Jim was able to post in a chart format - and that was better than him having to take the time in a f2f classroom writing it all down.
Overall, I really appreciated the session because it opened my eyes to the various ways we can interact in a synchronous way even though our course is designed to be asynchronous. Thanks again to Gila and Jim for taking the time to speak with us. I will be working on my paper this weekend, but that is by choice I promise! I will be sure to make some time to catch some BBQ food this holiday weekend!!
Hi Aloma,
ReplyDeleteI really wish I could/would have participated in the Wimba session too and after reading your post about it I am even more disappointed that I missed it. Wimba certainly sounds like a wonderful tool (thanks for the great examples) especially for education. I have family in town (they arrived Thursday, which messed up my Friday Wimba opportunity as well) and on Saturday we left way before 9:00 a.m. to go into D.C. for the day. It was a great day, but I do regret missing this session. I think my circumstances are a perfect example of one of the major disadvantages of using synchronous technology – you have to be available when it happens or else you miss it! UGH!!
I’d like to as you a couple questions about your experience and if they sound silly please forgive me. I’ve never experienced Wimba so I am only going off of what you wrote. You described the many Wimba tools that allowed you to interact which sound wonderful, but I am wondering if using them distracted you from the conversation that was taking place. I suppose with practice the tools might become second nature, but, for example, if you start to type in a response while someone is still talking didn’t you miss part of their message? Did you feel at all rushed to get in a response, i.e., to beat someone else from taking your point? I ask the latter because of what you said about Paul stealing one of your answers. I know it wasn’t a competition and the fact that he did so didn’t make you angry, but do you think it put you “on guard” to respond quicker and in turn perhaps miss some of the conversation? The hand raising tool sounds really cool and I would think could alleviate some of the potential rush to respond (if I am even right about that) since it puts you all on equal footing. I think the feature that bugged me the most about Skype was the “talking over one another” so I can see where the hand tool in Wimba would help take care of this issue.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts. I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed and stressed lately and am starting to wonder whether this distance education stuff is for me. I wish there were more synchronous opportunities for us to learn, even though I know I have to be available to participate in them. Knowing that you’ve been very successful and happy with your distance education experience does give me hope that I can hang in there and succeed too. In a post awhile back you mentioned something about enrolling in a hybrid course … maybe this is something I should look into too.
Eva
Hi Eva!! I'm sorry you missed it too. I think you really would enjoy Wimba, and you should be able to have the chance to experience it shortly in OMDE 601, I think?
ReplyDeleteIt does take a little bit of time to get used to multi-tasking and learning the nuances of the program such as hand raising and using the "whiteboard". I didn't find it difficult to multi-task the way I did using Skype, and I think that is because Wimba has educational tools built in that make it easier.
With the "whiteboard" segment, we were brainstorming and Paul totally came out of nowhere and stole my answer! The speed of the brainstorming was lively, and Paul stealing my answer made it a lot of fun. The funny part of this was that having the chat function on the side made it fun to have side conversations or comments without disturbing what was on the main screen. Does that make sense? It was almost as if we have several channels of communication to use, in addition to the main component. It also came in handy when everyone was acclimating to the program in the beginning because Gila and Jim could talk to the person, but also use the chat function with them. So if someone's microphone is not working, or if they don't understand how to use it, they can still participate.
The hand raising tool is really cool, it totally helps out when having a discussion, though there is still potential to speak over someone or at the same time.
I've been feeling stressed too, it is difficult coming back to school after being out for a couple years. Technology has definitely changed since my last enrollment. Hybrid classes may help you, but I think for the DE program at UMUC, almost all of your courses will be online as part of the program design. Hybrid classes, just for information, are usually in-class every other week and the remainder of the time online.
I hope I answered your questions!! Please let me know if I did not!!
-Aloma
Hi Aloma,
ReplyDeleteThis description you gave of Wimba sounds similar to the program I’ll be using as a Studio Coach for Rosetta Stone. I’m getting ready to start my third week of training and then I’ll start teaching classes. The program I will use also has a chat function that can be used for the whole group (at most four students) or to an individual student. There isn’t a hand raising tool, but there are others that I can use (like pointers, question marks, etc.) to help with the lesson. I’ve never used Whiteboard, but from what I understand about it I think it, or similar to it, is what I will be using in this job. I’m nervous but excited too! As part of my training I have to “learn” a language (I have to go through one whole unit) and then participate in a session as a student. I’m “learning” Arabic and am really nervous about going to “class” this week, but I know it will be a great experience for me to see and understand what it’s like from the student perspective. Anyway, thanks for answering my questions.
I think I will look into the hybrid classes although they may not fit into my schedule. It’s crazy that I’m having doubts about learning online and yet one of the reasons that drew me to it was the scheduling flexibility. Still, for experience if nothing else I think it would be good to take a hybrid course at some point so I will have to look into further.
Chat with you again soon,
Eva