{"id":20,"date":"2009-06-21T19:47:16","date_gmt":"2009-06-22T03:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2009-06-30T10:14:12","modified_gmt":"2009-06-30T18:14:12","slug":"communication-tools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/communication-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Communication Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"

E-portfolio Assignment #3: Communication Tools: <\/span><\/p>\n

Select two or more synchronous or asynchronous communication tools other than email for your LMS course site. At least one of these must be accessed from within the LMS environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tool 1 \u2013 Vista Chat (synchronous)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Why I chose it?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I chose Vista chat because I have had many opportunities using it for several of the eight ETEC courses I have completed so far including ETEC 533 \u2013 one of the more recent ones I have taken during this past spring term. \u00a0Since\u00a0Vista chat is embedded in our courses, it is readily available for all registered MET students. <\/span>Also, in my own LMS course site for this course, I will have a Vista chat room that will be similarly set up like the ones I utilized in other ETEC courses.<\/span><\/p>\n

This communication tool has allowed me to synchronously communicate with my partners in various ETEC courses. <\/span>For example, in ETEC 533 it has allowed us to share ideas and finalize content for our group project (<\/span>www.madmack.ca\/etec533<\/span><\/a>). \u00a0Also, with working with the Vista shell for this course, the experience has given me a chance to explore how to set up a synchronous environment such as Vista chat room – which will in turn give me the knowledge to create similar chat rooms for my future courses I hope to develop in my educational career. \u00a0Therefore, hopefully providing my students with an effective approach to communicate with each other within their course work.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does this tool bring to the educational experience?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vista chat allows synchronous communication to happen with all participants using a keyboard \u2013 much like MSN Messenger.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Besides having a designated space to communicate via the keyboard, there is also a whiteboard space similar to a desktop publishing program (e.g. Page Plus) where non-text content (e.g. pictures, drawings, etc.) can be viewed by all who is in the Vista chat room.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding to the educational experience, this tool brings about the ability to share effectively and efficiently without having to meet face-to-face and over great distances if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are its limitations<\/span><\/strong>?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Unless there are specific chat rooms created for specific group members (e.g. chat room for working group one), every student who will log into the same chat room will automatically see the synchronous discussion happening. <\/span>This can cause confusion, inconvenience, and conflict. <\/span>For example, that is what happened in ETEC 533 when our group met at a specific time in the one and only Vista chat room and another group also planned to meet at the same time. \u00a0Not knowing that we were going to all be in the same chat room at the same time, one of the groups was inconvenienced and had to sign into MSN Messenger to continue their online discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, while participating in a Vista chat, one can not access other Vista sources without fully exiting from the Vista chat room. <\/span>For example, when I wanted to review information within the ETEC 533 as I was in the Vista chat room with my group, I had to sign out of the chat room in order to gain access to the learning module content. <\/span>Thus, one can not be in the Vista chat room and looking at Vista course content at the same time. <\/span>When I am creating my own Vista chat room on my LMS for ETEC 565, this is still the case; however, there is a warning about the above issue. <\/span>As one can see, this can also cause inconvenience and inefficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does it work?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vista chat does work very well. <\/span>Apart from not being able to navigate and chat at the same time in Vista, I have not encountered any lag while communicating with my group members in ETEC 533. <\/span>In my Vista LMS for this course, I have set up a chat room (“Chat Room for Student Discussions”) that can host a chat and a whiteboard \u2013 similar to the common chat room within other ETEC courses.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After setting up the chat room in my Vista shell under the “Build” option, I tested it under the “Student View” tab and chose “Chat Room for Student Discussions” in the “Chat” tab. \u00a0Although I am the only one in the chat room, it works (e.g. If I type a message in the message box it shows up; I can draw something on the whiteboard and it appears). \u00a0If other students\/classmates sign into the same chat room, they would be able to synchronously participate with me (e.g. how our group communicated with each other in ETEC 533). <\/span><\/p>\n

A reflection about my experience selecting and implementing this tool<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Having used the Vista chat room various times during the last term in ETEC 533 and knowing that I will implement one in my LMS site for this course, it was an easy choice for me to select Vista chat to access. <\/span>Hopefully, the issue of having the student being able to view Vista content while participating in Vista chat at the same time can be corrected soon \u2013 as that correction will eliminate inconvenience and will only create efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tool 2 \u2013 Vista Discussion Forum (asynchronous)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Why I chose it?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

From the very first ETEC course I have taken back in September of 2007, I have participated in countless discussion forums. \u00a0Without being involved in discussion forums, I would not be involved in learning from others in the MET program. \u00a0I chose Vista discussion forums as a communication tool to assess because I appreciate the significance of it. \u00a0In other words, I view it as the backbone to my sharing and learning in all of ETEC courses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hopefully, in the near future, as I desire to create a Vista-like online learning environment for my grade six classes – I envision discussion forums as being the essential tools for my students to communicate with each other on topics related to BC curriculum (e.g. grade six science). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What does this tool bring to the educational experience?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This tool provides a student (including myself) a duration of time to reflect and ponder about what s\/he wants to share or how s\/he wants to respond. Also, the convenience of not having to meet face-to-face is a benefit that can add to the educational experience by not requiring students to be together at the same time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, I believe discussion forums encourage all to share because students can feed off each other’s posts. \u00a0For me, I find that if I am not familiar with a certain topic, I can always read other student posts and become more comfortable with the current topic. \u00a0Thus, prompting me to reflect on what I have read or draw on experiences that are related – creating an effective approach for me to ultimately participate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For other students who need time to think of a response or do not participate well in a larger face-to-face group setting , Vista discussion forums can provide them with the same educational experience that I have appreciated.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are its limitations?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If I am too busy to log onto my Vista account and check the discussion forums, messages can pile up very quickly causing me to become overwhelmed with too much information. \u00a0This information overload may cause students to deal with too much at one time.<\/span><\/p>\n

From time to time, communicating through discussion forums can cause me to feel that I am alone in my learning experiences – i.e. no one is physically there to share with you the community of a classroom setting. \u00a0Consequently, students (like myself) may feel disconnected from other learners in the same educational community. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Does it work?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vista discussion forums work. \u00a0One needs only to look at any ETEC course and find many messages discussing about topics and issues related to the that specific course. \u00a0It is evident that everyone is participating and contributing their knowledge, ideas, and experiences within the discussion forums.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within this course, after setting up the web link in my Vista workshop under the “Build” option, I tested it under the “Student View” tab and chose “Climate Change – Support Your Opinion – Real or Hoax?” in the “Discussions” tab. \u00a0Once chosen, one can see that I have created a message “Climate Change is REAL”.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A reflection about my experience selecting and implementing this tool<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Without participating in the discussion forums, I would have never known how important this tool is. \u00a0Vista discussion forums have made me realize that selecting an alternative way to attend school can be possible (e.g. MET program is fully online) and that I can create something similar for my grade six students to participate in. \u00a0Therefore, when discussion forums are implemented, it can be effective in providing more time (not just for posting or responding to discussions) but in spending more quality time with family instead of being cooped up in a classroom setting.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an Online Learning Context.\u00a0 In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University. Accessed online 3 March 2009 <\/span><\/span>http:\/\/www.aupress.ca\/books\/120146\/ebook\/14_Anderson_2008_Anderson-DeliveryQualitySupport.pdf<\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

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E-portfolio Assignment #3: Communication Tools: Select two or more synchronous or asynchronous communication tools other than email for your LMS course site. At least one of these must be accessed from within the LMS environment. Tool 1 \u2013 Vista Chat … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/jasonlui565\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}