As I move deeper into
my understanding of the benefits of Web 2.0 resources I decided to attend a
Webinar. There were two difficulties I
faced in finding the best one to attend.
First I really wanted to attend one that was interesting and worthwhile
to something that I was currently struggling with. Second, as I live on the West Coast finding
one that was not while I was teaching or driving home to pick up my kid
actually proved to be a bit of a challenge.
When all was said done I attended a Webinar from simplek12 on launching an iPad program at your school.
This Webinar was a 30
minute discussion between two people about the six steps that you need to go
through to successfully launch an iPad program.
These two people did a great job clearly explaining the required steps
and providing helpful advice and suggestions to avoid some common
mistakes. The true weakness of the show
was that it was just 30 minutes and the presenters did not have time to respond
to questions or interact much with the audience. It was just at the end of their time that
they discussed questions or even acknowledged there was an audience listening
to them.
Despite this, there
was a great deal of useful information that could be learned and this is
something that I will definitely look more into. I would recommend anyone who is looking for
creative ideas or teaching strategies to look into a Webinar as people from all
over can collaborate and create truly amazing things. I actually found it really helpful to be
seeing exactly what they were talking about on the screen and it provided me
with an idea of how I might use this with my students. I have found that often times students who
are absent during a PowerPoint lesson who review the material on their own
really do not get the main idea. If I
could record myself teaching and then post that it could be beneficial to
students. This seemed a very successful
strategy for this Webinar and one I want to look further into.
For students, a
Webinar could be a way for them to teach a mini lesson on a topic and then post
to the class website. This would allow
them the freedom to do whatever they would like for their lesson, without the
pressure of the class staring back at them.
Also, by giving them the flexibility to incorporate other mediums into
their lessons they will be able to really show their level of
understanding.
Regardless of your
level of comfort with this technology and learning style, Webinars are
something that can offer a huge benefit to anyone. By having students attend, participate or
create you are encouraging them to be global learners who can contribute to
world with their views and ideas. As the
world shifts more towards one that is constantly connected, the ability to
navigate this new way of doing things is one that our students should
participate in or even lead.
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