I did not think that class in Elluminate was all that great or effective. With every direction that was given, there was confusion and technical problems. Activities took much longer for everyone to understand what was going on and to complete the tasks. I would say at times it was chaotic. With almost 20 students, it was crazy when everyone was trying to type on the same page. Text boxes were scarce which led to hijackings, theft, children went missing, babies were screaming... ok, maybe it wasnt that bad!
I think this would work better with a smaller group using this program to work on a project together if they could not all meet in the same place. This would be a way for people to communicate by talking, video, chat typing and also the use of the blank page everyone could edit. There are times when this program would be useful, but I think classes should meet in person. They run much more smoothly without all the technical problems and issues. The other upside, however, is the room temperature was much nicer!
Im with you on the the confusion aspect. It did take awhile for everyone to get up to speed. I guess part of the problem is that there is so much hardware out there and im sure all systems do not work the same. The whiteboard was not effective at all either. I think there could be some value here as long as the bugs get worked out. I couldnt even imagine if we were all on cam, something tells me that would not work and might freeze program.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the technical problems, sometimes I couldn't hear the sound so that I missed something, it was really hard to me to catch the class. And, you are right that this can work for small group, I think it will be easier than the big group.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I completely agree. Lots of confusion because so many people were on at once. It could however, work with a small group of people. Especially if the people knew each other-to break down the awkwardness level a little bit.
ReplyDeleteI like your post! funny! I agree with you, Alan. Elluminate would work much better in a smaller group, but on the upside of having class in Elluminate we now have experienced its inner workers and could use it in future endeavors.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand your frustrations. It was a little buggy and sometimes hard to follow. But I supposed it'd be useful for when a college professor can't make it to class. But you wouldn't get away with that in high school/jr high.
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