Listening and Conversation Class

Wednesday, November 27, 2002 - Michael handled the event quite fabulously. It was however, a bit frantic on my end. My internet connection was rather unstable and I was repeatedly catapulted out of the conference room. Asking for an invitation to get back into the conference once or twice is fairly acceptable but having to be invited back in for more than 10 times is utterly insane. My students were brave enough to carry on the discussion and they were pretty much focused on the topic. It would have been a very successful conference if not for the technological foul ups. I was desperately chaos navigating (maneuvering is more like it) and in the most ironic sense, technology became our biggest hurdle and conspicuously became the "end" rather than the "means to an end". I am really hoping that we could use another chat venue that allows voice (and video?). Wouldn't it be really superb to just concentrate on the topic and go smoothly with the flow of discussions without having to worry about being knocked off? I can't wait for the new TI version. In spite of all this, my students and I were able to salvage transcripts but I'm afraid they're all we've got. I wasn't able to take a snap shot of Michael's webcam (btw, Michael was sporting this new look, hair neatly pressed and combed, suave to the max!). I will be setting up a webpage for post-teacher-student conference and will include Michael's and my own comments about this online activity. http://www.oocities.org/aidenyeh/michaelc.html; what's this, more? http://www.oocities.org/aidenyeh/michaelc/index.htm

Teresa Almeida d'Eca <tmvaz@m...> wrote:Dear Aiden, I do know what you went through -- "having to be invited back in for more than 10 times is utterly insane" -- and Vance does, too, because he had to put up with my stubbornness a couple of months ago. Congrats to your students, Michael and you on the success! BTW, didn't you feel your ears quite warm between 16:30-17:00 and then again at 18:00 your time today? You and your students were referred in the paper and then a couple of times during Q&A time!!! Hugs, Teresa　

Daf wrote:

I know what you are talking about, yesterday I had a chat discussion group with the two f2f teachers, and the two external observers (Sus, one of them) who collaborated with me in the online module, and I was disconnected a couple of times. It feels very bad, especially when you are together with people who do not have much experience with this technological affairs. Aiden, I read the logs from your session, and really regret having missed the event.

hugs for you both, Daf 　

Hi friends, well - from the Wednesday session in YMS, Aiden sent us the chatlogs from her wonderful and well prepared conversation class when they met with Michael, and later on, with me, too. Aiden and myself kept being cut off from the conference, and had to login again and again. It was a frustration for me that I was only able to read three or four of the students' questions, and I had no idea why my own messages were sent in double or more. Same happened the day after when Daf had invited for an important evaluation meeting with her colleagues plus us two observers.

I am still wondering why yahoo is doing this tricky bug? I can read from the log how I was invited multiple times at the same time, and seemed to appear as a dragon with many heads. I admire your patient students, Aiden, they kept asking all their brilliant questions. (I tried to mend the damage by sending a longer message about my own life experiences on language learning and communication. I also uploaded a picture taken from my screen showing my webcam inserted in your class' homepage portraits. Both to the conversation class yahoo group). This kind of technological obstacles did serve as stressing challenge to a conversation class, as well to our meeting agenda. By a very careful reading of the chaotic chatlog, however, the multilogical action does make some sense. Yes, I do look forward to a new TI version. But, unfortunately, as far as I am informed there will still be no voice or video option, just a better file share and navigation system, and no more tricky outdated commands - (no more virtual pets or stuff, sob). I still have no news about an exact release date. More on that topic later. Hugs, Sus

Message # 2067　