My experiences with Web Conferencing...the Pros and Cons

I attended a web conference on Monday January 30, 2012 at 7:30pm. I was joined by 24 of my classmates, 2 of the course professors, and a technology consultant. I logged into the conference around 7:20pm. This conference was not unlike any other conference I have attended so far as it began with a multitude of people asking various unrelated questions. Quickly the conference turned to focus on TK20 since the technology consultant was available. These types of questions are not uncommon, in my experience, but I believe them to be more heightened on this night because of the expertise of the technology consultant.

While I do find the conferences helpful, it is frustrating that they don’t seem to have much structure and enviably the conversation turns to TK20. It is frustrating to me for two reasons; 1) I understand everyone’s panic to get everything done as most of us who were in this conference are nearing the end of our program; and 2) If there are this many questions regarding TK20, a year after its introduction, I don’t feel that the university has done a thorough job informing and training people on the use of this program. I know that they university feels that they have, but the evidence suggests otherwise. In previous web conferences many of the students have made suggestions on things that they think would help them learn this program better but none of these suggestions have been heeded.

I have to say that it was also a little frustrating that the web conferences for this course were limited to 30 participants. I usually attend weekly yet I feel that since I got in my one time that I should leave space for others to make sure that we all have a chance to attend a conference. That being said, in previous conferences the software used has lagged because it could not keep up with the demands of all the participants. In that way it was helpful to have a limited number of participants. I did not feel that we were overwhelming the system and I was able to more actively participate. I just wish that I felt comfortable attending other conferences during this course without taking a seat that someone else might need.