Participating in Synchronous Event

I thought the Skype conference went rather well.  A couple of nights prior, I did a system check and discovered a problem with the mike I have had for years.  I purchased a headset and the problem was corrected.  The live streaming allows a synchronous meeting without having the participants at the same location.  I found out at the start of the conference call the video stream was not working.   I needed to setup my webcam feature, so the meeting was audio.  The sound quality was very good.  What I really appreciate about this tool, a chat can happen while discussions are going on.   If a student or two have questions, they can send (type) it while discussions are occurring.  Links can be exchanged as well through chat.  This would also work well for tutoring students. 

I choose Skype because of the live video stream capacity.  I can demonstrate wiring techniques to students or they can show me a piece of equipment, and I help guide them to where the neutral is wired.  Since this system is free, this may ease any additional burdens students may have in signing up for an account.  There are many advantages in having this tool.  This is a good business tool as well as an educational tool.  Another is communication across the country with family members, but I digress.

Blogging code of practice

Why reinvent the wheel?  These are good practices.

1.     I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly

2.     I will preserve the original post, using notations to show where I have made changes 

3.     I will never delete a post 

4.     I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic 

5.     I will distinguish between factual information/commentary and advertising 

6.     I will never publish information I know to be inaccurate 

7.     I will disagree with other opinions respectfully 

8.   I will link to online references and original source materials directly 

9.   I will strive for high quality with every post - including basic spellchecking 

10.   I will write deliberately and with accuracy 

11.    I will reply to emails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly 

12.    I will restrict my posting to professional topics 

And the point here is......

(from xkcd webcomic site)



Blogs related to this site

Finding blogs which relates to my content area has been a challenge.  I will stumble on more as I continue visiting different tweets and sites.  What I am able to find so far for a blog or wiki is DIY Chatroom.  Different blog sections can be found to the right of the home page.  There are a sites developed by individuals involved in construction, but some of these sites are not as active as this one.  Included in DIY Chatroom are other trades like carpentry and HVAC.  This minimizes seeking other sites for related questions, for example a particular job may include several trades.  What this site, and others like it, can provide are various opinions on solving real world problems.  The textbook has national insight and career tradesmen can include some "real time" experiences.  New electrical products come to the market daily.  This can bring to some valued discussions into the course. 

I would like to include the following sites for usage.  So far they seem very interesting:

Electrician Talk.com, Ricks Advanced Electric’s Blog, Gizmodo.com, engineerblogs.org, Learn Electrical Engineering ,

Twitter Reflection

Twitter has been setup and tweeting has started.  Be kind, this is my first steps into the social network world.  Initially I had a hard time seeing the application in the broad sense of education, particularly in the technical fields.  But when I reached sites I use in class, which target electrical subjects , I concede, this is good for our specialty too.  I noticed their links eventually goes directly to their web page (there is an index at first).  For online teaching and its student-centered focus, this tool indeed aids students.  The “hashtag” tool (a Google within the twitter site), is useful to research information easily.  The avatars are very helpful visually.  For example, the IBEW logo is shown, and when holding the mouse over the link in the “following” area of the page, the local’s # appears.  This makes it easier to locate specific links.  This can be a valuable tool for both students and faculty.

Welcome

This is my first posting on any site.  This can be a great tool for instruction, or at least, a bridge to answers.  Links to sites can be provided here, as well as discussions among peers. I look forward to using this tool in the near future.  Thank you in advance for your input.