Exciting Online Event for Educators....

LearningTimes. net sent me an email regarding the K12 Online Conference 2008 free event, which began on October 13 with preconference keynote speeches and continues through October 31. Participation is open to everyone. Check it out at the K12Online 2008 Help Desk hosted by wikispaces.com. Since pre-conference events have already taken place, there area audio podcasts available. If you decide to attend any of the sessions, or listen to the audio podcasts, etc., let me know what you think.

Awesome Asynch???

This week's class met online in asynchronous environments created by students in CI 5323, Online Learning Communities. The purpose of the online meetings was to present readings assigned to the class, create an activity and discussion--asynchronously. I have enjoyed viewing the presentations and answering questions as part of the asynchronous experience. Up to this point, I have simply submitted my answers and reflections to the questions asked--and added comments to a few other student's posts.

I most enjoyed the variety of the presentations as well as the convenience of being able to participate online when convenient to my own schedule. One aspect that I have not enjoyed is the repeated checking for posts from other class members--so that I might read their responses and discuss various points. I personally don't care for the wait-time between my responses and responses from others to "discuss" comments. The time lag that the asychronous assignment presents takes patience and requires rereading my notes to be thorough in my responses to other students. I am tempted to shorten my answers just to be finished with the assigned task--so I can check this off my list. I guess, although I have read the articles well, I am finding less engagement in this asychronous assignment that in the synchronous assignment.

What a Concept....

Found another online tool that is nicely collaborative, easy to use, and freely available after a sign-up. Check out Webspiration, which creates a visual concept map online based upon the stand-alone software, Inspiration. I really liked it as it is quite easy to use. It is drag and drop, resizable, and allows multiple invitees to work on the map at the same time.

I have been familiar with MindMeister and CMap from previous experiences. MindMeister does not allow real-time collaboration, is sometimes slow in creating large concept maps. It does provide a history of changes and has features for saving and exporting that Webspiration does not. CMap does allow real-time collaborative mapping, recording, and saving and exporting in many formats. It is not as glitzy as Webspiration, but seems to have more features useful to sharing of the finished product. Unlike MindMeister and Webspiration, CMap requires a free software download to your computer. Choosing a tool for mindmapping depends upon the purpose, depth of mapping required, and features needed to accomplish the goals of the learning activity. Check them all out--you decide!