Pioneering the World of WebEx

Last night was my first online meeting for Literacy and Technology using WebEx. After being introduced to the program at our face-to-face meeting at MSMC, I was amazed to see the vast amount of capabilities that the program had. However, I could not truly appreciate WebEx until I was given the opportunity to work with it with Dr. Smirnova and my classmates. I was surprised by the quality of audio and video that we were able to use in such a large group. Web-cams have truly advanced since I last used one, and I enjoyed being able to use mine for the first time since purchasing a new computer. Despite some technical problems with the audio, I was still amazed at how well we were able to communicate with one another and learn from Dr. Smirnova throughout her presentation!

Meeting through WebEx definitely helped ease some of my nerves that I originally had about the class. Dr. Smirnova took the time to clearly review some of the course requirements and the class Moodle page. I understand a great deal more about the course readings and discussion forum. I have been having a great time adding to my blog as Dr. Smirnova suggested.

Sharing our group projects was one of the highlights of the meeting for me. I loved that we had the opportunity to virtually "raise our hands" and share our ideas with our classmates. I thought that all of the groups did an excellent job with their digital introduction cards. Each of the cards were unique in their own way and nicely represented the different group members. After a last minute group change, I was relieved to see how well my group pulled together and collaborated with this assignment. I look forward to working with all of my group members in the upcoming weeks!

Overall, the WebEx meeting was very interesting and informative. Dr. Smirnova introduced me to some terms and ideas that I was either unfamiliar with or had not thought of much before our meeting. For example, she mentioned the term "Netiquette" to the class. Although, I was aware that it is important to respect other web users while communicating with them, I never knew that someone had taken the time to create different guidelines that should be followed while on the web. After taking a closer look at these guidelines, I realize how necessary they truly are. What is written can never be taken back and it is important for internet users to remain aware of what they are saying and how it may come across to others. Learning this will help me to become even more aware of my actions in the future.

I look forward to meeting on WebEx again and seeing what else our course has in store for us. As Pioneers of this program, I would say that our first meeting was a great success!