Using Vyvew for Discussion

Using Vyvew to discuss the readings had its pros and cons. The pros were that it was a user friendly space that took only a few minutes to become familiar with. It allowed for chatting, drawing, posting notes, typing, and for audio conference calls (which is what Marleah, Greg and I used). I think that it was hard for the three of us to communicate in that we ended up with a lot of dead air and awkward pauses. It wasn't because we didn't have anything to say, but more because we didn't want to cut each other off from talking. There was also an echo when each one of us spoke into our respective microphones, which contributed to the confusion of when to cut in and speak. Overall, I think it was beneficial in that we experienced a new way of communicating. During our session, we discussed the effectiveness of using technology in the classroom. The times are changing in terms of what is effective instruction for students, and teachers need to keep up with those changes if they are to going to make a difference in the classroom. We questioned the willingness of teachers to dapple in these kinds of technologies and step out of their comfort zone in order to introduce new classroom activities that involve the Internet and computers (to name a couple). We proposed that sooner or later, teachers will have to accept the fact that students are learning differently because of the technologies they are growing up with, and take into account those changes when designing their classroom practices.