Telephonic Tutorial with Stevie, Fred, Angie and me

Rough transcript of the telephonic tutorial with Stevie, Fred, Angie and Sumita:

Supporting and engaging students.
Technology isn’t there yet.
An analogue phone in my room, at NTU we will get phones to conference with people on campus. Easier for students on placement, …
Fred: highlights tech not wquite there yet. Skype issue- difficulty there.
Maybe my hand set.
How else can she join us.
Wonderful that it can happen at all I’m hard of hearing.
Meet up in the chat.
Really need to concentrate hard. Hard work.

Stevie: Sumita, what do you feel?

Sumita: The line maybe unclear because I am trying to load webcam software in the background for this meeting. It might also unclear because I need a change of equipment
Fred and Stevie: it might be the skype connection to India.
Sumita: I am sorry for the inconvenience that you have to speak slowly, etc. but it is wonderful to be able to participate in this tutorial. I now feel like working after having talked to Fred and Angie. I had already talked to Stevie earlier. I now feel like working and feel I have come out of my isolation. That’s all from me.
Stevie: Laughed.

Stevie: Fred, You could contact Sumita on Skype. There are many ways you can all be in touch. Try the chat room or discussion..

Angie: I’ll write to you on email. Sumita – sure, I will try and reply)

Stevie: Ok I am going to wind up the session now. Bye Sumita. (Sumita- Bye), Bye Fred (Fred- Bye), Bye Angie (Angie- Bye)


Reflections: Participating in a telephonic tutorial makes a person concentrate hard. Depending only on one sense requires high concentration. There is only sound and no other sense collecting information.
A telephonic tutorial/ discussion requires discipline of talking one after another. Can only have a single track – speak one at a time about one thing at a time. So, could work better for learning.
Maybe it can be recorded by using the recorder device in built into Windows. I should try it next time.

The tutor has to come in very clear about objectives, should not allow undue diversions, or diverting into other tracks of thought or conversation. Tutor has to come in prepared –
What is your case study going to be about?
Ask the members what they think about the case study proposed by another member? Get discussions going. Get suggestions for each other’s work.
e.g. Stevie asked: Is what you are planning manageable within the given time?
Do you have the literature resources?
This kind of synchronous chat can have only few people because of the single track.
Stevie said she was going to keep out of it, but actually did not. She kept the control of the discussion with her.

Loaded a webcam today- 22 April.

Starting on the wiki

22 april 09 - Iwrote this on 22nd in my word file, posted it on my blog on April 24

Found 9 comments in the pbwiki. Feel the need for synchronous communication. This offline communication of observations and comments is difficult to hold a discussion. Also cannot find what I wrote about the scene from my window.

Sumita

April 10, 09- I contributed part of this to one of the discussions threads

Currently this e-learning module is an e-learning experience for me. I would not be able to study in this module if it were not e-learning based. E-learning in my context is simply 'learning from a great distance'. The very fact that this is possible is incredible. It could have been the old fashioned printed material coming to me from Pete and Stevie, but now it is email, hopefully a chat and the most lively is this discussion forum through which I am learning and interacting with a class. Having said this, the experience is very patchy for me. As long as I am able to log onto the internet and stay connected I receive the module and the experience. As soon as my internet goes off, which it has numerous times, I am shut out. When I am finally able to log on again, I have to catch up on many threads of discussion and have not yet been able to cover all that I seem to have missed in between.
The other fact Iam most concious of is the time lag. And it is because of this I have not yet been able to connect through a chat. With all the obstacles this module still remains a miracle. And I hope I am able to learn all that I need to at the end and complete it.
Amy tells me that I am still not enrolled and I wonder at that because I am participating in this discussion!

Sumita

Getting into NOW

This is a note I wrote when Iwas unravelling my account in NOW

I was not able to get into NOW as I did not have a password. I filled in the prescribed form many times but nothing happened. It was so exasperating. For many days I avoided taking time out to straighten out my account in NOW. I wonder why the resistance? I finally decided I had to try something. Reaching out and writing to the support desk helped, following it up everyday also finally got me to the solution- I was not filling in my pin code. It was not a mandatory field in the form but apparently it was needed to access my password finally. This is inconsistent. And all the time I felt stupid at not being able to access my password. It is this feeling of helplessness when I come up with a problem that I think made me resist trying to straighten out my account. It is this feeling of not being in control of the process, of feeling stupid, of not knowing enough, that seems to be a major hurdle to overcome in e-learning.
Learning 1: when I develop e-learning material for others I should be sensitive to this feeling of ‘not being in control.’ Navigation needs to be kept simple. The same feeling hit me when I entered the learning room and could not find My Home to write in My Profile.

Learning 2: In communication or instructions, it is important to indicate the position of a button in the screen. … ‘to reach the My Home button look for it on the top left corner of the screen.’

Being at a distance

This feeling was real till I entered the learning room in NOW. Once I opened the discussions it felt suddenly real, the opportunity to observe people in the module, listen to what they were saying, and then adding my own responses felt REAL and not distant. After work, returning home I fixed up my computer to see if Pete had put in a comment- he had. This felt good. I think to keep the experience real it will be important to keep posting something on the discussion forum, invite interactions from others and wait for them. The fear of not connecting seems almost like it would happen in a normal classroom.

March 31, 2009

My first entry in NOW, in a discussion
I am Sumita and writing from India. This is truly distance learning. I feel I am on another planet. Thankfully we share the same language and now computers. I have taken up this module to get a taste of what e-learning really is. In the past I have developed many CD-Roms and web based material but have never experienced e-learning directly and I can tell you it is lonesome starting so far away. I am greatly encouraged to know that I am not the only one who has missed the first session. And also its great to know that there are so many of us who are battling for time to manage doing all that is required in this module. I was greatly tempted to write in my profile that my only hobby is going to be doing my elearning module. I will clock in at my computer as soon as I reach home since my time is about 4.5 hours ahead of you.
Its been good meeting all of you online like this. Makes me feel less lonely!

Sumita

Introduction

I am part of an elearning module run by Nottingham Trent University. I read predictions that elearning will 'transform all all forms of education and learning in the 21st century.' This blog is my online journal reporting my transformations as I experience the module. I would welcome comments from others in the module- in whatever capacity.
Sumita