iLinc Web and Video Conferencing Blog Collaborate and communicate online

With the July 4th holiday last week, I missed posting another entry into my weekly series of postings… I hope today’s makes up for the absense.

As a session leader, I’m constantly trying to understand if the people attending my session are paying attention to my presentation. In a quick Google search to see if others are struggling with this, I found a few papers and articles, including an article from last summer’s edition of the Internet Computing magazine and a paper from 2002 discussing if online students are actually learning.

In my recent iLinc sessions, I’ve found the Participation Meter to be extremely helpful in my figuring out what people are doing in my session. I can tell by each person’s Participation Meter indicator if they are:

• actively engaged by raising their hand or interacting with others in the session ,
• watching my presentation ,
• or if someone is not at all focused on my presentation .

Additionally, if someone has to take a break for any reason (urgent phone call, bio-break, whatever) they can let me know they have “stepped away” from the online session.

When holding online sessions, content flow and interaction with people in the session is very important. If I see that more than 10% of my session has stepped away, is “red-lined” or has fallen asleep :), I can quickly change my presentation to allow for a break. The iLinc Participation Meter is a great way to keep tabs on your attendees - to help you ask polling or feedback questions and take breaks appropriately. While other web conferencing products offer some level of session tracking, the iLinc Participation Meter gives me unparalleled insight into the effectiveness of my session.

Till next time - Christine

Posted under Industry Buzz, Learning, Travel Reduction, Web Conferencing, iLinc News