Web Conference Reflection

EDLD 5363 included many options for web conferencing with the professor, Dr. Abernathy, as well as for open discussion between the students.  In this class, several time periods were offered for conferencing, which was great because students' schedules vary.  As always, the web conferences are a welcome addition to an online class.  Without them, I would feel very isolated.  This class did involve three weeks of intensive collaboration on the the final project, but that was with only three other classmates.  During web conferences, I got to hear from and see several of the other students in the class.  It's funny - if you had told me that webcams were optional during conferences, I probably would have said I would NEVER turn on my camera...I don't particularly love seeing my image, and many of the conferences are held in the evening when I've already had a long day at work and am usually tired and a little "worn" looking!  But actually I consider it a courtesy to turn on my camera at least for part of the conference, because this mimicks the kind of connections one makes in a face to face class.  It definitely "humanizes" this mode of learning.