Group Leadership Project

Adobe Connect Virtual Pen Pals Tutorial

We used Adobe Connect to deliver our tutorial.  We chose Adobe Connect because it doubled as the tool we were teaching about and our means of recording.  This gives viewers a first hand example of how the software can be used in the classroom.  We also included an example of how a pen pal interaction could be done using Adobe Connect.  Virtual pen pals could also conference using Skype, which is a popular web conferencing tool.  However, we wanted to broaden our web conferencing knowledge, as well as that of our viewers.

This project took a lot of thought and planning.  We worked together very well to develop a Google presentation to use while web conferencing.  We also created a detailed script that we would follow that went along with each slide on the presentation.  Since we had planned so much beforehand, I did not think the actual project would take very long.  I thought it would take less than an hour to run through as practice and then record.  However, we had some technical difficulties, so it took about 2 hours to complete.   I learned how I need to be patient with technology.  At first, I could not hear Jessica in Adobe Connect, but she could hear me.  We tried a few things and then luckily she had another set of speakers which worked.  However, then there was a delay in time from when I spoke and when Jessica could hear me.  We tried many things before deciding to move on.  We recorded two different sessions before we were happy.

If I had to do a similar project, I would use Skype.  Although Adobe Connect worked well for web conferencing, there was not only a delay in my voice for Jessica, but also a delay in the things that I shared on my screen that I noticed when I watched our final recording.  When I pulled up different websites, they came up fine when we were recording, but for some reason Adobe Connect did not register them as quickly for the screen share recording.  Also, my voice still lagged on the recording.  Since I recorded it from my computer, I do not think this should have happened.  Adobe Connect should have recorded what was going on from what I could hear on my end.  It did not do this satisfactorily.  Next time, I would use Skype because that is the software that most educators would use for their students.  Therefore, this project may hold more meaning and be more beneficial for fellow educators.