Video Chat

I can honestly say that this is one of the coolest topics to discuss. However, given my school's current technological status, I am not sure how effective this will be in my classroom. In talking with my librarian, who just happens to have taken this grad program 2 years ago - but not online :), she told me that our current bandwith is only 10MB. Luckily, we were one of the winners of a grant that will increase our bandwith to 100MB starting next school year.

This added bandwith will allow for video chat and streaming online. I am very excited about this and hope that it will help move my district closer to offering courses online.

For the time being then, I'll just have to make do with the webcam I have installed on my laptop or the one I purchased on sale a year ago. It doesn't give a very clear picture, but that's alright. I tell you though, sometimes it is nice to be able to just sit here and chat online and not worry about what I'm wearing. This is my first weekend off for 3 weeks now and I have a chat session planned with my group and I haven't changed out of my pajamas yet. :)

How does this all apply to my classroom, well receiving this grant will now allow me to feel better about chatting with clinicians from far away. I still plan to try this in a few months, but I might ask someone I know, just in case things don't go as planned.

For those interested, here are a few links to other audio/video chat programs:
Skype - great for calling around the world.
TokBox - very nice for sending a video e-mail.
Sightspeed
ooVoo - very much like Skype but newer.
UStreamTV - this is more a program that allows one to broadcast a video, not chat in real time.

My plan is to use one of these online chat programs with my classroom as a distance learning tool, possibly trying it out as a clinic session, or making a call to someone for teaching advice. At home, my wife and I can use this to video chat with a friend in North Carolina and California. I'll be talking with both of them soon and will recommend getting one of the programs above.

Last weekend my group and I attempted chatting over video from our Ning network. It was challenging and we eventually ended up using the audio only, but we learned a valuable lesson in the process.

What does it mean to me?

Getting my Master's degree has been a lifetime goal of mine. I also hope to some day get my doctorate in conducting, but one thing at a time. :)

I have always been very tech-savvy, so this whole master's program being online is right up my alley. I know already that it will help me in the classroom as I will be able to post videos and show them our new smart board. The students at school are very excited about technology too and I wonder sometimes if my students could use more technology in my class, how would that effect their learning. I know I already have a lot to learn about the smart board and other online tools, but these students have learned so much already too as digital natives.

My goal as I work towards this degree, is to incorporate as much of these lessons into my own classroom and hopefully bridge the digital gap between me and my students.

Master's Program Begins

I began this blog because I am very excited to start working on my Master's Degree. I am working towards a Masters in Instructional Technology through Cardinal Stritch University.

The course meets online on Wednesday evenings and we are beginning by learning about Google accounts, Nings, and Blogging. I am ready to begin. Are you ready to read about it with me?