Today we attempted to use an online group meeting, using the online software called AnyMeeting, it seemed like it would be a helpful piece of software but sadly we were plagued with problems.
The software enables the tutor to run an online classroom where the students can be present with their microphones enabled as well as their webcams as to be completely interactive. the tutor can then use the software to show presentations (powerpoint etc)
and allow the student to give real time feed back and answer real time questions.
Although i like the concept of this online software and think it would be beneficial for the classroom where a classroom was not available it did not work well for us today, due to the wireless network provided by the college there was sound/camera lag which had heavy implications on the all round use of this software.
Also available through this online software is the ability for the main tutor to share a second screen which for showing a presentation and still being able to see all the students in the session is also a big plus because i noticed when you show a presentation you only see a limited amount of students.
This would have been good if it had worked..possibly? We don't know though do we, because it didn't work! I would rather spend two hours being shown how to use the Smartboard properly with students who have bothered to turn up. There are so many cool things that you can do on it, and none of us (albeit some know more than others) knows how to use it properly and confidently...what's the point of distance learning, when (most of us) don't even feel confident implementing ICT to those who are actually present? Getting students to show up at all is the first hurdle, and teaching them in the classroom is my first concern. I'd like to master that before I get my mind boggled further by the concept of distance learning...and we didn't learn anything (from a distance) anyway. Am I missing something?
ReplyDeleteAndie.