Online for Group Presentations

This is the first time I've attended and participated in an ITEC class online while some classmates were in the classroom; for the most part, it proved to be both successful and a learning experience. My hat is off to Joshua---cheers! for your able control of Elluminate and leadership as moderator of the evening. We made good use of Elluminate tools prior to the presentations, especially the shared Whiteboard.

From an online perspective... The presentations were awkward compared to a F2F setting. The affordances of F2F contact such as signaling a question became mechanical rather than spontaneous. Viewing Wikis and, especially, videos was cumbersome, until we discovered that it was better for those online to link directly to those sites rather than view them through Elluminate. However, by no means was the experience a disaster; rather, in spite of the limitations of Elluminate we interacted just as we always do.

Having interacted with everyone F2F, I could mostly tell who was chatting without seeing their name. Personalities came through quite clear. Those who usually display a sense of humor did the same online. At the end of the class, I felt as though I had been present for the class. Regardless of the mechanical aspects of communicating via Elluminate, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The presentations were great. Many presentations this evening and during our "expert" Web 2.0 tools presentations were presented from Wiki pages, mine included. What I find odd about this is that we all utilize a Wiki page as if it were a PPT deck. It's quite awkward, because as you present verbally, the Wiki page is behind you, commanding the audience's attention and urging everyone to read the page rather than focusing attention on what is being said. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this? I think it shows clearly that not all tools are equal: a PPT deck is controllable and as such makes a good background for emphasizing a presenter's verbal address; a Wiki page in form and substance is meant to be read (and viewed or listened to), and thus it does not make a good background against which to speak to a subject---unless the subject is an intro to Wikiis.