1. Urabe Hiromi Educ 190
Webinar Reflection
Webinar
Choosing the topics and webinars to attend was no easy task. I tried SimpleK12 first. It
seemed like there were a lot of topics to choose from, but later on, I kind of felt that there were
actually not enough to choose from. Most of the topic choices were basically just similar –
something to do with apps. So I tried looking in other sites. There were not much as well that
suited my interests and the available time I had. After a few clicks, I did find good topics from
www.edweek.org and www.blackboardcollaborate.com. I have already chosen the main
webinar that I would be attending (A Day in the Life of a Blackboard Collaborate Professor), but
I also noted 4 other webinars as backups. I ended up doing 3 out of the 5.
So the final list of the webinars I chose looked a little like this:
How I Learned to Let Students Learn: My One Great Lesson Last Year
6:00 AM - 6:30 AM, Wed, Feb 22, 2012
Presented by Deven Black
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/462435154/106543154
Webinar ID: 462-435-154
When Cyberbullying Spills Into School
03:00:00 a.m. Friday February 24, 2012
Presenters:
Barbara-Jane Paris, principal, Canyon Vista Middle School in Austin, Texas
Nancy Willard, executive director, Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
Moderator:
Michelle R. Davis, senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions
www.edweek.org/go/webinar/Cyberbullying
A Day in the Life of a Blackboard Collaborate Professor
02:00:00 a.m. Wednesday February 29, 2012
Event location: Web Conference using Blackboard Collaborate
https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2011010&password=M.359F811F3F976EB7AAEF700D5E1DE2&username=Hirom
i%20Urabe
Choosing Apps that Support Instruction: Tips for Administrators
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 4:00 AM - 4:30 AM SGT
Presented by Susan Brooks-Young
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/856788314/106603785
Webinar ID: 856-788-314
10 Ideas for Using Mobile Devices Offline to Motivate Learners
Thu, Mar 1, 2012 1:00 AM - 1:30 AM
Presented by Shelly Terrell
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/447973386/106618926
Webinar ID: 447-973-386
2. How I Learned to Let Students Learn: My One Great Lesson Last Year
6:00 AM - 6:30 AM, Wed, Feb 22, 2012
Presented by Deven Black
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/462435154/106543154
http://simplek12.titanpad.com/137
The first webinar I attended was really boring. It wasn’t really that much. The presenter
just talked and told stories (well, I should have figured that out from the title of the webinar).
He was just reading his slides, verbatim. The slides seemed like they were his subtitle. I wasn’t
really very happy with it; good thing I still had other webinars lined up. But, at least I got to
familiarize myself with the webinar tool GoToWebinar/GoToMeeting. Here are some
screenshots of the webinar.
A slide presented at the webinar
3. Backchannel for the webinar, www.simplek12.titanpad.com/137
Notes from the webinar
4. When Cyberbullying Spills Into School
The next scheduled webinar entitled When Cyberbullying Spills Into School seemed
really interesting. Unfortunately, I didn’t wake up on time (it was supposed to be 3AM) and I
ended up missing it. But prior to the meeting, they were asking attendees to download a free
PDF file for the webinar. I downloaded it and was able to skim it a bit. I will attach the PDF (if
anyone would want to read it). I suggest reading the article written by Michelle Davis entitled
Cyber Bullying.
A Day in the Life of a Blackboard Collaborate Professor
02:00:00 a.m. Wednesday February 29, 2012
Presented by Peter Campbell
https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2011010&password=M.359F811F3F976EB7AAEF700D5E1DE2&username=
Hiromi%20Urabe
The third webinar was my main webinar choice. Since I was worried that I would miss it
again, I stayed up all night until 2AM for this hour-long webinar. Unlike the first webinar I
attended, this webinar was not boring at all. He was really able to make the whole presentation
enjoyable and appealing, although from the title, it would seem like the presenter would just
tell his stories/experiences again, like what happened in the first webinar.
The webinar was great, I felt more connected and it felt more real since the presenter
was using both video and audio features for the webinar using Elluminate. Elluminate was
easier, more convenient and more engaging than GoToWebinar/GoToMeeting. What was nice
about this webinar was that there was really interaction between the presenter and the
audience. He fully utilized the webinar tool’s features. He enabled the microphones for those
who wanted to ask questions, but people could also still use the integrated chat box if they
prefer it. It was really nice to hear other voices/people and not just the presenter; this made
the webinar feel more genuine.
I was really impressed with Blackboard Collaborate (BC) after his presentation. He said
that he needed to address the increasing rates of attrition and drop-outs in the course Bio101
so he deployed BC and aimed to engage the students better in the course with it; and it was
effective. Campbell was really able to take us in a day (9AM to 7PM) in his life as a BC
Collaborate professor teaching Bio101 from his home while displaying the cool features of BC. I
even felt like I was one of his students enrolled in Bio101.
5. At the start of the webinar
Recorded audio of him welcoming the students in his course uploaded in their BC page.
6. Students can record audio files introducing themselves (Getting to Know You activity)
With BC, live lectures can be done from their homes (ex. Live lecture on photosynthesis)
7. Question and answer during/after presentation.
For assessment, those not getting it can go to a new room (breakout room) for further
explanations, while those who were able to understand can go on with lecture/activity.
8. Can show/link out youtube videos or embed videos, and audio format of lectures are
downloadable.
Above is the instruction for a podcast activity (instead of reflection papers).
Make students digital creators as well.
9. Can record meetings and presentations, upload powerpoint materials, and online resources. It
is convenient in reviewing content and individual participation.
Peer guides and virtual help desk.
Collaboration window, app sharing and show live desktop
10. Distant learning and seminar. Import from Moodle.
Polling, voting, and answering questions were done during the webinar.
11. Survey was also done.
I think what made this webinar more appealing was the webinar program used:
Elluminate. I just have to repeat what I said earlier that having video and audio features to it
makes the experience better and much more interesting. The presenter also demonstrated the
program/app and did not just talk about it or showed pictures/screenshots. He went to the
actual site and navigated through. He gave us a feel of how he really uses them in his class and
showed us some sample works of his students. From that, he was also able to share some cool
activities for students like instead of writing introductions about themselves or writing
reflection papers, he made them create podcasts. He also made an online role-playing activity
where students had to debate or participate in a forum of some sort in their BC page while they
remain to speak/write as their assigned/chosen character. Those were just a few cool examples
of how he made his class an online one.
12. Choosing Apps that Support Instruction: Tips for Administrators
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 4:00 AM - 4:30 AM SGT
Presented by Susan Brooks-Young
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/856788314/106603785
Backchannel: http://simplek12.titanpad.com/145
My fourth webinar was so-so. I was a bit disappointed since the apps were just
mentioned and were not really shown or demonstrated. I did like the resource page that was
created by the presenter for the webinar.
13. Checked the actual resource page.
We had a little activity where we used www.corkboard.me
15. Infographics for Android apps
Overall, the whole experience of choosing and actually attending the webinars was
great and stirring, since it was relatively a new experience for me and it’s just amazing to have a
chance to connect and learn with people from other countries – it’s like being in a big class with
them. I would really like it more if the scheduled times were not as early, but it was workable
nonetheless. I would definitely attend more webinars if I get the chance to.
