Web conferencing tools

Until this past week, I had used web conferencing tools in the role of participant/attendee rather than organizer or speaker.  As an attendee, I have encountered three obstacles to overcome:  1) making sure the web conferencing tool is compatible with the computer you are using; 2) figuring out the best audio solution when there are options (connect via computer vs. call-in via phone); 3) identifying options for engaging with the speaker (via chat panel or audio).

This past week, I conducted my first webinar as a speaker. Having attended several of the previous webinars in the series, I was most concerned about the audio channel, which had created multiple problems in the past.  Testing my audio connection ahead of time helped to ease my anxiety levels. I had brought in an external microphone to try to improve the quality of the audio compared to the laptop's embedded microphone.  It all worked out well from a technical perspective.  I was also surprisingly able to keep an eye on the chat panel for questions.  It helped somewhat that I work with two computer monitors. One displayed the screen that was shared with the webinar participants.  The other displayed the chat panel and other webinar tools. 

I really enjoyed it.  Much less intimidating than a room full of people.  I do need to practice getting rid of my "ums" and "ahs".  I'm afraid of listening to the recording. :)

Two connections: 

• The best video lecture content presented in the three Coursera courses I recently took was a combination of the professor talking primarily via a small window on the screen (up to half the screen) and other dynamic content on the screen.  The content was dynamic in the sense that a) specific points appeared as the professor was addressing them; b) the professor was using a stylus or some other tool to highlight, circle, or point to specific things he was talking about.  In essence, even though none of it was live, it almost felt live because you were never staring at the same screen for more than a few seconds.  That was the Gamification course.  The Physics course videos were also great, but in a very different way.  The professor was showing a lot of hands-on activities and leveraging multiple filming locations to make it more interesting.  
• We should really do much more with video to enhance knowledge sharing within my work environment.  I have to come up with a specific proposal connected to an existing activity.

10 Tools Challenge: CMAP Tools for presentations

I'm a big fan of CmapTools.  I use it extensively for a wide variety of maps.  When an opportunity presented itself to experiment with a low-risk audience, I decided to ditch PowerPoint and use CmapTools to develop my presentation. I had a number of options:
1. Use CmapTools to develop the content but then make the content fit into PowerPoint slides for presentation purposes.  I would have copied maps into the PowerPoint.

2. Use CmapTools' full functionality and both design and deliver the presentation using CmapTools.  This requires using my own computer (or using CmapTools on a USB stick).

3. Use CmapTools to design the presentation in such a manner that it can be turned into a set of hyperlinked web pages, navigated using any web browser.

I picked option 3.  While I've experimented with the presentation functions embedded in CmapTools, I've found that building a presentation that way is very time consuming and forces you to define a very specific path through your presentation, replicating the linear aspect of a PowerPoint.  I wanted a presentation that had few slides/web pages, but many options in terms of navigating from one place to another, opting in and out of various paths depending on time available, questions asked, etc... I eventually came up with a presentation that could take 10 minutes using the shortest path (10 minutes was the time I was given) and potentially an hour or more if I had clicked on every link and taken every path available.

So, how is that different from a PowerPoint with a lot of backup slides? The main difference is in how I could navigate to the backup information in the context of each core page.  Technically, it's possible to do the same with a PowerPoint by simply creating a link to a specific back up page.  Instead of thinking of my presentation as a set of sequential slides, I was visualizing it as a set of circles.  I had a core of 5-6 maps at the center, a set script or sequence for going through these maps in 10 minutes, and wider circles around that full of backup options should there be questions about any of the core maps.

Two disadvantages of using a web version of a CmapTools presentation:

1. Sitting Down: If you embedded links and you are navigating using links, you can't do it standing using a page clicker / slide changer.  Think about whether standing in front of the audience is important.  I wouldn't do it with a large audience.  It works fine in a relatively small conference room where everyone can still see you in a sitting position.  You can do it if you're standing at a podium, but make sure there's a mouse available or bring your own.

2. Fixing Size: With a PowerPoint, you are guaranteed that your slide will appear in the appropriate size, filling the screen.  With a CmapTools map transformed in html, you may need to adjust the size of the map on the screen using CTRL+ or CTRL-.  It's okay if you're comfortable adjusting quickly.  Ideally, you can open up all the pages ahead of time and set the right zoom level for each screen.  I have to look into how to set a standard / template size as I design those maps and avoid this page specific adjustments.

A reminder:  The rules that apply to PowerPoint apply to any presentation medium: pay attention to the font, font colors and always test on a projection screen.  It may look fine on your computer screen and not so good when projected.  I was particularly disappointed with the colors.  I had nice background images that didn't look as good as they should have. I might have been better off showing the background images separately, or using them for transition purposes.

Given the overall purpose of the presentation and the chance to demonstrate an innovative approach, using CmapTools was a good decision in this case. Most complex maps developed with CmapTools cannot be read when projected on a screen in a conference room.  It requires zooming in and out or slicing a map into smaller elements (which is what the CmapTools presentation functionality does).

10 Tools Challenge - Coursera (2)

Back to Coursera.  This is a follow up to an earlier post.

I'm now finishing week 4 for both courses I signed up for.  A third course is starting next week and I'll be in trouble.  I'm managing the two courses by sticking to the strict minimum of work.  I'm watching the video lectures and taking notes.  I'm not doing any of the recommended readings.  This makes taking the quizzes challenging. Sometimes I get "lucky" with my guesses and the score has nothing to do with how much I understood or absorbed.  

As a student, how much am I really learning? 

• Physics for dummies (aka "How Things Work") - 6 weeks
  Entertaining videolectures, formulas are barely touched on and there is no work involving calculations.  The quizzes are challenging because they definitely test the understanding of concepts.  Yet I managed a 10/10 on a quiz for which I would have given myself a 5/10 in terms of understanding.  If the course were offered over the summer, I would recommend it to my daughter.  She might need to take the real  version of this course in the fall.  This version would be very good prep.  I'm assuming the real course is asking for a little more from the students.
• Know Thyself (Philosophy) - 10 weeks
  Here the subject lends itself to much more reflection and deep thinking than what I am engaging in, yet it's giving me a nice, shallow introduction to some philosophers I encountered years ago or have heard of but never read. This is also a longer course and for now, I haven't made a deep connection to the materials. I'm not inclined to read much more than a wikipedia article or two on related concepts.

Now to the "discussion forums":  I tried and failed to engage in any meaningful interaction.  The benefit/cost ratio is just not there.  Too much noise.

Assuming I complete the courses and pass the quizzes, do I deserve college credits?  I don't think so. At least not for these two courses. They're really good for what they do, but I'm barely scratching the surface because I can pass without reading or writing anything.  Extensive reading and writing was 90% of my college experience.

10 Tools Challenge - Diigo - Making better use of what I bookmark

I'll be attending a course on creativity for the next three days and I decided to refresh my brain attic by scanning through my Diigo collection for anything tagged "creativity."  There were 40 items, the first one dating from 2006.

What do my bookmarks tell me?

1) If you use social bookmarking on an ongoing basis (it doesn't have to be a very consistent habit), you will end up with a very solid collection;
2) Eventhough "creativity" isn't one of my key topics, it's one that has sustained my interest over the years based on my bookmarks;
3) I am a collector.  I re-read recently the paper by Patrick Lambe on Personal Knowledge Managemement where he highlights the main KM personalities.  I'm definitely a collector, so finding useful ways to revisit my collections, rather than just categorize and move on, would add value to the process.

Eventually I decided the best thing to do was go view some TedTalks on Creativity, which I had bookmarked and most likely did not fully watch.

10 Tools Challenge - Coursera

I signed up for a few Coursera classes of interest, two of which started this week:  How Things Work (aka Physics 101) and Know Thyself.  From a course content perspective, it's a good mix of understanding the external world and understanding the self. For the purposes of this blog, I'll focus my observations on the courseware, learner interactions in a MOOC, and my own learning experience.

Week 1 - Initial Explorations
Navigating the course sites is very easy; the professors' guidance/instructions were all clear and available.  There were a couple of small things that slowed me down (finding a usable version of the video transcripts and finding the text of an introductory message that had been sent via email but was also posted on the site). These were really small details and overall, my experience as a student exploring two Coursera courses for the first time was a good one.

The week isn't over yet but I can tell that the main challenge for me will be figuring out a useful way to navigate the discussion forums or decide to completely stay out of them.  There's just too much noise in there. It's just not possible for 70,000 students to have a useful conversation.  An interesting element related to this is that it looks like for many students it's not their first Coursera course and they've already figured out how to set up smaller study groups and how to organize conversations in other forums (twitter, Google+, Facebook, even Meetups).  This is happening within the first two days of the course.

I like the delivery format: short video lectures with suggested readings.

BONUS: Both of my current courses are from UVA and they've been smart about showcasing the campus.  It's a plus for me since I have a daughter who is a student there at the moment.  I can think about her walking the same paths I'm watching on the screen.

As a side note, I took the first science quiz and failed, which means that technically I already failed the course.  The good news is that I'm too old to care about the grade per se but I did want to figure out what I did wrong and I think I've got it now (and I'll be a little more careful with the next quiz).

Question:  How many Coursera students (aka courserians) give up on the course when they fail the first test  when a passing grade means passing each and every one of the quizzes? (passing is 70% or higher)