Hosting a Webinar

For this activity I chose to use Cisco’s WebEx hosting platform.  While I’ve attended a few webinars over the years, this was my first experience hosting a webinar.  The topic for this activity was using Adobe Bridge software in my Digital Photography classes.  There are four teachers who teach the same class so I felt this would be a good way for all of us to get together and collaborate about a possible curricular change to the course.

 In terms of getting familiar with WebEx, I started by signing up for a Basic account.  This allows for meetings up to six people without paying a fee.  I completed a few edits to my profile in WebEx so invitations from me would be viewed as legitimate. 

 The platform itself was fairly straightforward to use and set up meetings.  I liked the ease and ability to upload files for meetings.  I completed a few Practice sessions until I felt that I was competent enough to host my webinar.

I then set up the webinar for Friday, February 27th at 2 pm.  I invited my three colleagues to attend.

 The meeting began on time.  However, we had a few issues getting audio to everyone. I used sticky notes to write messages to the attendees with instructions on turning on their audio.  It turned out that they just needed to select the audio button twice to turn in on.  It took a few minutes to work out the audio problems but we were all finally connected with video and audio.  The meeting lasted about 15 minutes.  We discussed the use of Adobe Bridge and all agreed after viewing the uploaded PDF file that it would be a good addition to the Digital Photography course we all teach.  One issue I had was the files I uploaded for the meeting could only be viewed when I shared my screen.  For some reason none of the three attendees were able to open the files. I found it interesting that the three attendees to the webinar were also very interested in the WebEx platform and trying to use it in their courses.  So essentially the webinar covered both Adobe Bridge and WebEx.  

 I was able to record the webinar but had some difficulty downloading and re-formatting it into a Windows Media Audio/Video file(.wmv).  The meeting is recorded on the WebEx site as an Audio Rich Format file(.arf) which cannot be opened unless your are on the WebEx site.  I believe this process would become easier with more use of the site.

 Overall, I felt this was a great experience and one that I believe can been used in any classroom.  It would be a great tool to record lessons and then post them for absent students to stay caught up in class.  I also feel that it could be used in a class to teach a new concept on a computer.  The ability of the host to share his screen is a great asset.  Students could follow along visually and see how to complete a specific task.  This would be a great option in my Digital Photography classes showing students how to complete assignments in Adobe Photoshop.   

Click here to view my webinar

Attending a Webinar

I had the opportunity to attend a Simple K12 webinar titled “Integrate App Building Into Any K-12 Class or Subject”.  The webinar lasted around fifty minutes.  The webinar was hosted by a classroom teacher but overseen by a K-12 “moderator”.  The webinar discussed setting up and using the TouchDevelop web 2.0 site. 

I could see this type of webinar being used with students to show them how to develop their own apps. I believe the classroom teacher would best serve as the broadcaster to show students how to use the site and begin developing their own apps.  I’m not sure the students would be confident enough to broadcast their own knowledge of the site.

Strengths: The webinar was informative and the presenter was knowledgeable using the TouchDevelop site.  The site has lots of potential for use in an educational setting.

Weaknesses:  The “moderator” often interrupted the presenter to field questions form the audience.  I got the feeling that the presenter was not able to see everyone in the webinar.  I also felt that there was a ton of information to absorb in one webinar.  It might have been better to break the webinar into 2 sessions.

Incorporating Web 2.0 Tools Into a Lesson

BACKGROUND:

For this activity, I chose to incorporate a web 2.0 tool into my Greatest Engineering Achievements Unit.  The unit of study is based off of a web site that contains a ton of information about the 20 innovations.   In the past students selected one of the 20 engineering achievements and created an information display using foam board as their medium.  They were then required to research their topic, create text, graphics and assemble the display.  After the informational displays were evaluated, I would post them throughout the room.  I’ve wanted to come up with an alternative method for this activity that would save money on color printing and the costs associated with making a quality display.  After exploring several web 2.0 tools, I felt that Prezi would be a great tool to accomplish this task.

GOAL: 

The goal of the engineering achievements activity is for students to gain a better understanding of the innovations/innovations that shaped the 20^th century in our world.

OBJECTIVES:

Students will:

1.  gain an appreciation of engineering achievements that impact our lives today           
2.  understand that most inventions have both positive and negative impacts on our environment

     3.  create an informational Prezi that will be shared with classmates

      INSTRUCTIONS:

 

      ASSESSMENT: 
     My students receive a summative grade for a test they take at the end of this unit.  I think this would be a great opportunity to incorporate some type of peer evaluation assessment.  I feel it is great for classmates to offer a grade and suggestions for improvement.  This might, in turn, motivate students to do a better job.

PREZI SAMPLE: