Web+conference+reflections

[|video conference 9/17/2010]
Today's video conference was rather frustrating. It took quite a while to enter the conference, the sound went in and out, and the same questions were being asked repeatedly. I did find out that I need to add a link to our team wiki on my discussion board. I also learned that I supposed to blog about the conference. Participating in a video conference is interesting, and I believe they will become more commonplace in the future. I think the conferences would be more beneficial if the number of participants was reduced. Perhaps conferences could be held by last name(in alphabetical order)A-H on one day, I-O on another day, and P-Z on yet another day. I do think that video conferencing is beneficial, but I don’t think that it should be utilized until we have an application that is powerful enough to handle the load. Perhaps a class wiki might be more advantageous. Questions could be posted by students, and answered by the coaches and/or professors.


 * __video conference 2/26/2011- Internship class week 1__**

I was able to attend the last 10 minutes of the today's web conference because there was a mix up with the link. After speaking with a class mate, and texting Dr. Abernathy, I was able to get in. Thee were some concerns about group work in this class, but that was easily cleared up by Dr. Abernathy. Much of the conversation had to do with graduation and how the university confers degrees. Apparently, you can receive a transcript that shows completion of all coursework, but the degree is not conferred until you receive the diploma. The remainder of the meeting consisted of questions about the timing of the conferences and APA style formatting of our final paper. Dr. Abernathy warned us to carefully read the rubric and consult the APA style guide. She clarified the title page for us and told us to remove "Introduction" form the first page.


 * __video conference 3/5/2011. Internship class week 2__**

At the beginning of the conference, I got an overall impression that people are overwhelmed. Many described week 1 as brutal. Dr. Abernathy informed us that this final course is very demanding and rigorous, but the faculty will not let us fail. We turn in our comprehensive exam in parts, so that it can be critiqued and corrected along the way. Hopefully, by week 5, our paper will be "A" quality. If it is not, then it will get send back to us.

Dr. Abernathy stressed the importance of following the APA syle(6ht Ed.) for citations, and we also talked about formatting and headings as well.

We discussed principal certification, and what is required to take the exam. Currently, Educational Technology students are not eligible to take the exam without taking an addition four courses. In the future, Lamar plans to change the Educational Technology program so that students can take the principal certification at the end of their Masters degree.


 * __video conference 3/12/2011. Internship class week 3__**

I was unable to attend the web conference on this date, but I did review the transcript. Dr. Abernathy put everyone's mind at ease again this week by informing us that our weekly grades are formative, and as long as we make corrections, we should end up with a better final grade. In addition, if we have any issues with the grading, we should email Ms. LaPuma for help.

Our field based summary report must be signed by a principal or technology person on campus. The faculty at Lamar are currently dong research on the benefits of eportfolios. They may ask to use our eportfolios for their research.

Overall, students are understanding the expectations better which makes the mountain of work easier to manage.


 * __video conference 3/20/2011, Internship class week 4__**

Many students asked about an extension in order to complete their e-portfolio. Dr. Abernathy assured us that if we request an extension by email, then we could have until April 15th to complete everything and still graduate on time in May. If April 15th does not work, then the student would have to graduate in August. Dr. Abernathy said she would look into this further.

All assignments must be uploaded to our eportfolio prior to submitting the week 5 assignment. In addition, the curriculum vitae not only needs to be posted in our eportfolio, it has to be included in our final paper in an Appendix according to APA formatting standards.

The rest of the conference was spent discussing graduation. We have all worked very hard and are ready to complete the program. Dr. Abernathy informed us that we will continue to stay in touch after graduation due to the LU faculty's eportfolio research. It would be nice if we could all meet right after the graduation ceremony. Dr. Abernathy would like to meet at the Hotel Elegante. It will be a come and go affair, and those that cannot attend will be connected electronically.


 * __video conference 3/26/2011, Internship class week 5!!!!!!__**

The crux of the conversation this morning had to do with the purchase and use of TK20. All students are required to purchase this program. It will not only store all assignments and projects, it will enable students to store an e portfolio as well. Our cohort is not required to purchase this because we are at the end of our program.

Some students will need more time to complete their final assignments. They will receive an I and submit all work by Arpil 15th to graduate on time. Furthermore, since Dr. A and Sarah are inundated with papers, they are running behind with feedback. The deadline to submit the week 5 assignment has been extended to April 3rd.

The conference was short and sweet. Everyone is excited to be at the end of our journey!