The May 7 challenge for the 2008 Comment Challenge is to reflect on what you’ve learned so far.
My biggest take-away? That I have to really think about commenting to do it. I think I’m a commenter, but in reality I’m having to star things in my Google Reader to come back to when I have time for commenting, or I won’t do it.
My other big take-away at this point? That I want to think more about online conversations in general. Greg, over at Open Stacks, had an awesome post on video comments. I even left a video comment there. Lately, I’ve been thinking about cases when text is better, cases when audio is better, and cases when video is better. I really like video lately, even if it’s not scan-able the way text is. So far I had only been thinking about video blogging, but conversations through video is neat, too. I know most people don’t want to leave video, or might not have the equipment to do so, but making the option available is a nice feature, and one I’m going to think about here, too. Thanks, Greg!!
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No, thank you! Glad to see I’m not alone in seeing the potential for multiple styles of commenting. Kudos.
Posted 08 May 2008 at 12:59 am ¶If done right, I could see potential for this sort of technlogy in distance learning. As an example, a professor (or librarian) could post a lecture (or information literacy session) and then students could send back video comments or questions about various topics covered. This would ensure a more active communcative by-play, allowing students to feel more involved in the learning process (and perhaps better able to retain what they learn).
I guess one concern might be the learning curve for this sort of technology; it isn’t for beginners. And, what is the point of an instructional technology session in which people spend most of the time resolving whatever technological bugs come their way?
Another concern would be the volume of students (i.e. if 200 students are participating in the class remotely) and how to effectively manage their feedback.
All in all, I think it has great potential!
Posted 08 May 2008 at 7:20 pm ¶Greg, expect video comments here soon!
Karen, I think there’s good potential for video in distance learning, too! As far as learning curve, I’m guessing we’re a few years out from mainstream use, but for some computers it’s a seamless experience. Macs come with a built in camera now, so to make the comment I literally just clicked “record.” It would have been a hassle with my old Mac. I would have had to find my camera, make sure it was charged up, connect it to my computer, make sure the computer knew it was there, and *then* click record. In a few years I’m hoping/guessing the camera integration will be more widely adopted.
As for the numbers, that would be a concern in a 200 person course! I can think of a few ways that could be potential answers, but all would require some sacrifice (in total watched, length of time, etc).
Interesting comments! Thanks for bringing them up!
Posted 10 May 2008 at 12:16 am ¶Post a Comment