Because of time and familiarity, my group chose to use Skype. During the session we decided that we would look for applications to improve our different areas of teaching. For instance, I will be looking up applications to enhance the science curriculum; someone else will focus on English, another math and social studies. Currently, we are in the process of discussing how we are going to put our project together. Our first thought was Google docs but because there is nowhere to include audio, we are looking at PowerPoint or Keynote. We are however using Google docs to setup a timeline and as a discussion forum. This helps for us to leave messages without having to meet every time. As of right now we are in the process of researching and plan on meeting on Tuesday.
By using Skype, we did not have to worry about learning how to use it before we all met. It gave us more time to focus on our project. I also thought the setup of seeing everyone's face was nice because I felt like they were sitting on the couch with me. It helped to create a more comfortable feeling which was nice because it was the first time I had met any of them face to face. I would however like to use another web-conferencing tool next time.
There were a few disadvantages to using Skype. The first was that we were trying to look at our screens to see the assignment and talk at the same time. It would have been nice to have one person share their screen and then we could have all discussed what we needed to do. I would have also liked for someone to be the leader and create polls so we could make quicker decisions. Most decisions were made after someone made a comment and we all said, "Sure that will work." By having a poll, I felt like we could have voted anonymously to make a more sound decision. Overall, I did like Skype for the first meeting because it was more about brainstorming but I feel we will need something more formal next time.
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