Return-Path: <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id i2VLI7m09658; Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:18:17 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:18:17 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <fc.004c56fb01bb9b183b9aca006f2f8ac1.1bb9bac@scoe.net> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Marian Thacher" <mthacher@otan.us> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-aalpd@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1292] Re: Getting Participants Feedback - webex?? X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Status: O Content-Length: 5231 Lines: 97 Has anyone used WebEx, or something like it, to do professional development? The California Distance Learning Project recently purchased a license to do some training of teachers on new online high school courses that are being piloted. I got to lurk in one of the trainings, and it seems to me that this model could be helpful in terms of getting a sense of your audience. For one thing, it's synchronous. When you log on you get a phone number to call, and everyone is on the phone together at the same time they are online together, so you hear laughter, grumbling, snoring, whatever. There is also a way to post an emoticon next to your name on the participant list (although I never did find out how to get rid of it once it was there). There is also an instant message screen to post questions or comments. All this while we were watching the presenter's browser so he could show us some information, how to log on to the courses, what's there, etc. I think there is also a survey function. You can ask a question and have everyone respond, and the results are aggregated immediately. (Does that mean that in some ways this beats face-to-face??) It seems like having this capacity could be a great way to introduce people to an online course, because you can talk back and forth and coach while you are showing them. They can also have a separate browser window open where they are doing whatever you are demonstrating, although that involves toggling which could be challenging for beginners. Of course, there is a cost factor. I'm not sure of the cost but I know it's not cheap, but on a statewide level it might be really cost-effective. I'm interested to hear the opinions of experienced users. Marian Thacher OTAN www.otan.us David Rosen writes: >Heide and others, > >The problem for a presenter of getting feedback (information from the >audience which allows you to know whether you are hitting the mark or >not) is, as Heide pointed out, not limited to the online medium. I >have been a speaker and performer (in a musical group, outdoors, at the >Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston) where the audience was seated >so far away, and sitting in the dark, that I could not get tell if >they were awake or even there. It usually isn't as big a problem >face-to-face as it can be online. But it can be a big problem >face-to-face, and I have talked with online PD course facilitators who >say they get more feedback, much deeper and more personal feedback, >from students online than in face-to-face classes. > >Recently I gave a keynote address to several hundred people at a >conference. It was in a university chapel auditorium: very beautiful >but also quite formal. I was on a stage behind a podium, very removed >from those I wanted to dialogue with. And I didn't have as much time >as I needed. I anticipated this problem and came prepared with >hundreds of mini-questionnaires on purple slips of paper. These were >passed out for me at the beginning, and people were asked to list 5 top >trends in our society and 5 top trends in adult literacy from their >perspective. They passed these (purple) slips to the end of the row >where I had asked that they be tabulated. (Yellow) row tabulations were >passed up to a gracious graduate student who had agreed to tabulate the >yellow tabulations while I presented. When he was done I was given the >feedback, and I read the results back to those assembled. Then we had >a short discussion about what they and I saw as trends. (There was, of >course, some overlap.) This worked for me as a presenter, giving me >useful feedback for our discussion. And I think it worked for those in >the audience in several ways: 1) it helped them focus on the topic - - >trends in adult literacy - - by thinking about it from their >perspective first, then listening to mine in the context of what they >had been thinking about: how does this guy reinforce my thinking or >challenge it? 2) it gave them something to do while latecomers were >straggling in; and 3) it was amazing to all of us that we could get >nearly 100% participation in a large group and get it boiled down so >quickly. Maybe some of you also do this in your face-to-face staff >development classes and workshops. > >So, what's the online distance learning equivalent of the face-to-face >mini-survey? > >One thing I am planning to try, using Blackboard, is asking online >participants to do a short survey. I will ask them to rate each of the >course objectives in terms of their expertise -- from "don't know >anything about this" to "am an expert at this." Then I will post the >(automatically tabulated) results so everyone can see where the class >is on each objective -- not individuals, but the group. This gives us >all an idea of what we may need to spend more time on, and what's >pretty much in everybody's grasp already. > >I am looking for other ideas like this that are quick and easy ways for >online participants to give facilitators feedback.. Have you seen or >tried something that will give the online facilitator this kind of >feedback and also possibly the participants, too? > >David J. Rosen >djrosen@comcast.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Dec 23 2004 - 09:45:46 EST