Oh Yeah...

So...another night online, another "first"...the new (and hopefully much improved) online tool is set to make its' debut. Initial training, check; tutorials viewed, check; holding my breath and hoping for the best, check. Five more minutes til show time...

As the minutes tick by I grow in anticipation. This is the last time together with this group (we have only had really lousy online experiences together to date)and I want to end with a pleasant taste in all of our mouths regarding virtual teaching and learning. After all, I did move half way across the country to do this! It will be three months before I am back online with this group of graduate students and I do not want to leave them with a feeling of "I would rather be at the dentist than endure this".... My reference point for torture...others may not have the same childhood trauma...but you get the point.

Fast forward...class over...woohoo!!!

Finally...an online session where everyone remained connected in cyberspace for the duration of the class AND we could actually hear one another clearly and without lag time. Amazing what spending a little money for a virtual teaching tool can mean for the sanity of both teacher and students! Good bye Big Blue Button. Hello WebEx...my new BFF. Like all best friends in the beginning, we have much to learn about one another, but I already know that there is something there that binds us and I am feeling the love! I cannot wait to get better acquainted.

Unfortunately, I did not get to teach and try out all of the features in real time today. Today was about my students, not me. It was the day to share their final course projects. So, I promptly switched presenter roles with my students upon entry into my virtual classroom to allow them to share their multimedia projects. Although I would have liked to have clicked a few buttons, tried out a few tabs and links -wowing the students with my newfound ability to bring up a Power Point, cartoon, video segment, and documents with the click of my mouse-that skill set development will have to wait until I begin a new course in a couple of weeks. It is probably for the best, as I still have much to learn about the little nuances and idiosyncrasies of my new cybertool companion.

Besides, I can rest in knowing the likely anxiety my students were feeling about presenting from a completely foreign platform (coupled with the tragedy of the former online sessions where anything I attempted to share was rendered invisible or inaudible) quickly subsided once everyone was able to get on, hear one another just as clearly as if we were in the same room, and the first presentation went off without a hitch...well, almost...

It was almost perfect, truly! There have been times in life where I have wished for a do-over. Today was not one of them. A few kinks to work out, sure; a few questions to get answered, of course, but I actually look forward to these techie conversations over a cup of coffee with my personal cyber trainer BFF...

Starbucks, here I come!

Squeaky Wheels do get Oiled...

So, after returning from an out of country trip, I find myself back in my desk chair, booting up the computer, and excited about this week's (final class) online session.  Yes, I said excited....  Out with the old and in with new (and promised to be much improved) online teaching tool.  My week of whining paid off.  I typically roll my eyes at those squeaky wheel types, but I found little option other than to join the ranks of those who use such tactics....not proud of it, but grateful for the oil...

Thank you  to my favorite Dean for absorbing the cost and thank you to my wonderful friend and colleague for researching options, selecting the best one for us, and making it a reality!  While I was touring Spain, they were working behind the scenes to make sure that online teaching was no longer a headache for those of us who teach in the School of Education cyber world.    I know my students will be ever so thankful - just wish we could have more than this one last class session together now that we have a way to actually hear/see/enjoy the class sessions ...not the same as being with them in person, but hopeful it will be pretty close!

Blazing the Trail

Not so sure that I knew I was signing up to be a trail blazer... I thought I was just continuing on with business as usual, albeit in a virtual classroom. Boy, was I wrong!!! This is nothing like I have done before, period. I have taught face to face for thirty years-how different could this be I recall thinking just one short week ago.

The kinks from the first online class were magnified tenfold yesterday. I mean, really?! Shouldn't things get easier with each additional step? I was completely spent out by the end of two hours! From juggling disconnects/reconnects, unmuting the spontaneous muting of users (how does that happen?!), keeping an eye on the chat box so that I could respond to those who were still unable to hear or be heard, trying to make sense of broken dialogue and up to 45 seconds of lag time between my response and theirs, getting kicked out of the system eight!! times which meant having to redo all of the settings each time... all the while I was hearing the occasional student say, "Is she still on? Can you hear her?". "Yes!" I shouted through cyberspace, "I am right here! Do not log off...I'm right here!" If I had not been in the moderator chair I would find it hard to believe that so much could go so wrong. Truly, blazing new trails is not for the faint at heart.

In hindsight, I should have had a clue it would be a rough ride... The inability to upload any of the documents I would need to pull off a "seamless" class session was frustrating. The lackluster first class where a group discussion was as good as it got (because it took half the time just trying to get everyone online)was not impressive. I love this cohort and I really wanted to "wow" them with my emerging online teaching skills. I have to give another shout out to my amazingly attentive and helpful technical friend and colleague - when I could not upload my materials, she responded immediately to my plea for help- finding her online with me within a minute of my cry for "HELP!". She provided me with a Plan B- sharing my desktop...ok! Unfortunately, I needed a Plan C... As soon she logged off and my students were logging on, the desktop share option translated into the disconnect option...a prelude to a two glasses of wine kind of evening!! So heres to my colleague who was working behind the scenes during my disaster of a class session to see to it that a " new and much improved" online system would be waiting for me before I attempted class again. For those new to the world of online teachng, do NOT opt for free online tools, try it out with individuals you already have a relationship with, and find a technical genius who is the kindest person in the world- find your own...I am not sharing!

Yes, Laura...someone has got to blaze the trail...thanks for riding with me!

Maiden Virtual Voyage

Whew...I am exhausted and all we did was chat!  My dear, dear friend helped me grow some cyberlegs fast  - a half hour before the class began.  After yesterday's attempt on my own to figure this thing out, I called in the reinforcements.  Wouldn't you know it - almost all of my fabulous students decided to log into Big Blue Button ahead of the scheduled time.  What were they thinking?!  Don't get me wrong - ordinarily, I love for them to get to class ahead of schedule.  Their desire to not waste a minute warms my heart.  I love to catch up on the latest news at their respective schools and then hit the ground running at the appointed hour.  But today...their early bird status caused me some anxiety.  I was just learning my way around, hoping to give the appearance that I knew what I was doing - I am unsure that I was successful, but they are too kind and considerate to state otherwise...bless them!

The initial "Oh No.  I'm not ready!" was just the first pulse enhanced experience of the session.  In addition to my agitation that I might appear to not have it all together was the frustration of seeing folks show up online and not being able to hear them.  They were not muted, yet they were inaudible. I feel certain that it bothered me much more than it did them for they did what teachers always do - they went with Plan B on their own...using the chat box to type their messages to the rest of us.  They are teachers after all.  Flexibility is our number one tool of choice!  And another thing...I know that sometimes educators mute a student who wanes on and on by ceasing eye contact with them or shutting down their comment with one swift "Thank You" and a simultaneous turn of the head toward someone else, yet it is a totally different thing to mute a student who isn't even talking.  The trouble was on her end.  As I could not control the student's volume settings on her computer, I did what only I could do - control it on my end...mute!  The feedback from her mic was intense and the roar of my own echo each time I spoke was too much for me and the others. I felt bad and I do not like being without control to fix it (one of my struggles in life), but it had to be done.

And another thing...online discussions and face to face discussions differ, period!  I have seen plenty of remote Today show segments where there is lag time between what is said and what is heard and responded to, but I am quite certain my facial expressions mimicked my frustration - I am no Matt Lauer - no looking at ease in the interim of waiting!  I am told I will get use to this, but I am not convinced.  My brain thinks faster than my mouth moves anyway (which is sometimes problematic; sometimes downright embarrassing with the occasional Freudian "slip up"),  but adding 5 seconds to what students hear me say and then another 5 seconds to what I hear them reply is a real challenge for me (yes, patience is another struggle I have in life). I have come to realize in a very short time that I am no match for cyberspace - it has a mind of its own and when it decides to blip out and disconnect service temporarily rendering me frozen and mute, well, there's nothing I can do about it!!  I give...

What I know for sure is this - in the world of online teaching there are things I will not be able to control and there will be moments of frustration associated with computer hiccups and full blown crashes...that's just the way it is.  So, all in all, I can honestly say that yes, today was a great Maiden Virtual Voyage.  Cheers!!

Preparation Mode

Thankful for a tech savvy colleague and good friend rolled into one!! She was kind enough to produce a Big Blue Button YouTube tutorial for me and my students to view before attempting to log in and go live tomorrow afternoon. I am sure it was likely selfish on her part to a small degree to keep down costs associated with the need to consume a second or third glass of wine with all of my questions about how to make this virtual teaching a reality.

Boy was I surprised (and a little - well, ok a lot, apprehensive) to find two of my students joining me on the Big Blue Button when I was on trying to figure it all out! Talk about building the plane while flying it...there were some glitches-like a 3-5 second lag time with my mouth and words moving asynchronously. I loved the webcam capability however. One of my student's husband was caught ironing in the background. The discovery that he was being watched by his wife's prof rendered the ironing abandoned...hope he remembered to press that other shirt sleeve...

The trial run left me with more questions than answers. My fabulous colleague will find a lengthy email in her inbox in the morning. This virtual teaching journey is getting expensive. A membership to Wine Club of Month is on it's way....cheers!!

The Westward Movement

Saying goodbye to a teary-eyed daughter at the airport kiosk leaves me a little weepy myself, but the buzz of activity, continual laughing puppy tied to the neck support display (really? Someone would pay $19.99 for that level of annoyance), and the reminders to watch my belongings at all times is helping to keep the forming tears from spilling over the lower rim of my eyelids.

Today I have sent emails, made phone calls, met a colleague for coffee, and revisited photos of my beloved School of Ed friends before sending a group shot taken my last time with them just two short days ago... Of course this has all been selfish on my part-a need I have to hang on while the clock ticks on, ever closer toward Gate 26 and my new teaching opportunity. I am thrilled to remain a remote part of the faculty and excited about this new virtual venture, but I am anxious and sad, yet happy to finally be with my husband! I know both of these powerful emotions will subside with time and experience, but for now I feel a bit numb as though it is not really happening.

This blog is for me and for anyone else who finds themself writing a similar chapter in life. The virtual teaching journey begins...gate 26 is boarding all passengers...final call...