On Friday, July 22 our group completed their first web conference using Anytime.com (formerly Freebinar). Although none of us had ever used this conferencing tool, we felt it looked easy enough for us to use. It was supposed to work like the Adobe Connect sessions we've all participated in as a part of the EdTech program here at MSU. We experienced a bit of a delay at the beginning with difficulties getting into the session. Not everyone had a microphone but they could still participate by chatting with the texting tool. We actually struggled with the technology throughout the entire conference with multiple problems that slowed our progress and resulted in a very long session. However, during our conference we were able to decide on Glogster EDU as our topic and producing the Professional Development tutorial as a slidecast using VoiceThread. Because of some confusion on the project and the frustrations with the technology during the web conference, we decided to sort out the logistics of the project using the Group Discussion Forum on our course site. Although we still haven't heard back from everyone at the time of this posting, it looks like Andrew will prepare a 4 minute script explaining what Glogster EDU is, the benefits of using it, and ways it can be used in the classroom. This will be completed by July 26th in order to pass it off for the storyboard creation. I will be doing a 6 minute tutorial on how teachers can sign up for a free account, and a step-by-step process of making a simple Glog. The outline for the order of the tutorial is due July 26th to pass off to the storyboard creator and the completed tutorial is due July 31st to pass off to Sarah. Diana will be selecting the images to go with the 4 minute introduction piece and the creation of the storyboard. This is due July 29th. Sarah will then take all the pieces, create the slides and put it all together using VoiceThread. This portion is due August 7th to allow time for all of us to view it and make any changes or editing problems.
There were a few advantages to using Anymeeting.com to conduct our web conference. Sarah was able to run the meeting and we could hear and see her. She was also able to share her screen and show us some websites to look at. Diana was finally able to also get the controls to share her ideas. I was able to be seen and heard for a very short time but lost these abilities after we all got disconnected. The audio and visuals were very clear and we successfully recorded the final part of the session (we had started the session earlier than the recording and spent some time trying to figure out the tools).
The hardest part of the conferencing session was the ongoing technical problems we encountered because we weren't familiar with it and one person didn't have the equipment to use it to its fullest potential. Being restricted to only being able to type my comments was extremely frustrating for me as I couldn't keep up with how fast everyone else was making decisions that I didn't necessary agree to. We also found some difficulties in finding one convenient time for all four people to meet with their different work schedules.
I'm sure with continued practice with Anytime.com it could be a very good tool. I actually look forward with playing with it some more. There aren't very many sites out there that offer a web conferencing tool for free with unlimited time restrictions with text chatting, screen sharing, and the option to record the session. Please click the link below to see/hear our conference.
http://www.anymeeting.com/msutech/E950DA80864F
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