Week 5 Web Conference

Due to some concerns that I had regarding the completion of my Internship Plan, I participated in the last web conference for the EDLD 5306 course. It was comforting to know that my cohorts had many of the same questions that I had about meeting the requirements of our internship. I was especially grateful that Ms. Borel outlined in detail what we needed to include in our Course-based Embedded Assignments Reflection Log upon our completion of the course. If I had not attended the web conference, I would not have fully understood what was expected of me. I was a little concerned to learn that we would need to include at least twenty-eight different activities on our Internship Plan. I work on a one-to-one campus and teachers on our campus attend technology-based professional development sessions at least twice a month. All new technology in our district is piloted on our campus and finding something new and inventive for my internship plan was difficult. The two web conferences that I attended during the course were very helpful in better understanding what I needed to do in order to be successful in the course.

A Brief Overview of My First Web Conference

I had the opportunity to participate in my first web conference with my EDLD 5306 professor and cohorts this week. I really didn’t know what to expect as I’ve been rather reluctant to even consider exploring the possibility of communicating with others using a webcam and microphone.

About fifteen years ago, I remember accidentally launching some type of chat feature on Netscape that required the use of a brand new tool called a webcam. I didn’t even realize that I had launched the application until a window popped open with a stranger’s face staring at me. I was so scared that I immediately closed the window and ran out of the room. My first instinct was that the strange face in the pop-up window could see me. It was late at night and I wasn’t wearing any makeup. Once my heart rate returned to normal, I laughed at my ignorance. The strange face obviously couldn’t see me, but for some reason I found the whole idea of webcams very unsettling. Needless to say, the experience made a lasting impression on me.

Fifteen years later, I finally took the plunge and logged-in to my first face-to-face web conference. I loved the fact that we all had the opportunity to put a face to names that show up on the discussion board for our class. There were some technical difficulties, but it went remarkably well on my end. The audio was a little choppy, but that was due to the number of students participating in the web conference. I was relieved that all of us seemed to be overwhelmed with the assignment for the first week. I’m still overwhelmed, but at least I know that I’m not the only one feeling the pressure. I also appreciated discovering that if we have to miss a course, we can continue with the program and go back at a later date to complete the missed course.

Overall, I was really glad that I overcame my reluctance and took the time to actively participate in a web conference. I’m really looking forward to the next one!