Web+Conference+Reflections

6/18/11 The video of the web conference on Saturday answered some questions concerning TK20 for me. I sort of wish that we'd been asked to use the software more. The $100 price tag and using the thing only twice to submit assignments doesn't feel right to me. The conference spent a lot of time checking microphone and sound status. Jacqueline had a number of questions but I don't think Dr. Abernathy needed to mute herself so that Jacqueline could ask her question. I think that Adobe has a good enough handle on video conferencing that this roundabout process to ask questions is unnecessary. Jack's question about standard reflections was answered quite nicely by Jacqueline. I don't have to worry about writing out 33 different reflections now. The project grouping idea will work quite nicely.

6/12/11 I viewed the video of the web conference held on Saturday, June 11. We were encouraged to ask Dr. Abernathy question concerning the assignments and let Sarah do the grading which is a little strange from my perspective but understandable due to the need to get assessments of the comprehensive exam out as quickly as possible. I seem to be having a little trouble sitting through all forty minutes of the video. I find myself scanning for any relevant questions that might be asked that are typed since it seems that no one besides Dr. Abernathy is utilizing their microphones. Did learn how to best fudge the 250 word requirement for the field-based activity reflections which will be helpful.

6/3/11 I did not have an opportunity to participate in this week's web conference. I did however view the recording made of the conference held on Sunday, May 29th. This conference was helpful. I dug through the discussion board looking for the comp exam sample and found the need for continuous revisions which sent me back to my week 1 assignment. I saw the notes made to my assignments and what I need to do to make improvements. With the end of the school year, I can focus a little more on my work now and hope to be successful in all of this. The recording did not begin until 11 minutes into the conference and some questions were answered by video only so I was not able to catch everything. The rest of the conference seemed to consist of answering questions related to cohort and class numbers or clarifying questions about requirements listed in the handbook. Finished with 'sassy girls' which was strange. Useful information at the beginning but not so much afterwards.

5/28/2011 10AM The conference this morning was somewhat helpful today. I watched Dr. Abernathy mess with her new webcam and microphone setup. Everything seemed to work fine. The sound and video feed were clear. The microphone picked up a lot of background noise but I didn't hear too much of that unless I turned up my volume. A Kathy had her webcam setup outside which looked nice I suppose. There were about six of us participating in the conference and it consisted mainly of participants checking what was needed for this week's assignment and for the field-based experiences. I feel that Dr. Abernathy's responses were helpful but that she is so deeply ingrained in the terminology of the program that it is sometimes difficult to understand what she is saying. This is probably because I am not as well-versed in the language. I think I will probably have to go back and check the video again. There was one really long section of her talking that seemed useful but I didn't catch the whole thing. Everything else I felt was quite clearly stated in the handbook and assignment document but it is nice to get confirmation. The information about an APA book was good to. This is the second conference I have participated in and it doesn't seem to have changed too much.