Online+Communication

Awareness After browsing the sites, I realized that Skype will be a very useful tool to keep in touch with family when I move to St. Louis in a few months. Since I already have a webcam, I won't have to do much other than make sure my mother and father can actually use it.

Exploration & Filtration Exploring Skype was the most beneficial long term aspect of this module. However, Jesse already has used Skype, so we decided to try out DimDim. There is an aspect that allows users to share desktops--can't imagine ever using that one in my teaching. Perhaps kids could use it to interact with each other to collaborate on projects, but the legwork required to facilitate this seems daunting. The meeting schedule aspect was intriguing and very useful, but again, I can't imagine using that one in an education setting. Most teachers and administrators seem to love meeting too much to do something practical and time saving like DimDim. The idea that meetings could be scheduled via computer and conducted without sitting in a drab conference room is just too much for some. Jesse and I participated in a 10 minute or so conference on DimDim. We both agreed that there was an odd lag time, and had a hard time imagining using it with a large number of people. Though there were tools to give certain people the floor, it seemed to be more conducive to a presentation style meeting, or one where there is a clear authority who delegates speaking time

Learning Again, I learned about Skype and its tools, and this will be extremely beneficial to me and my family. Learning about DimDim and its practical aspects were beneficial. At least now, when I sit in another small meeting, bored out of my mind, I know that I could be doing it much more efficiently.

Application Thanks to this module, Skype will be part of my life. Maybe my new school would be willing to try something like DimDim. I could see its benefits for grade level or department meetings. Stay home on professional day--use DimDim. (I should be paid for that slogan).