The virtual co-op is going really well from many standpoints. We have had one issue. We are using WizIQ and apparently co-ops that used them last year had no issues. They have just exploded with growth and it seems that they are unable to keep up. Many co-ops have mentioned having sound issues and issues staying connected.
We have also had sound issues and during one session the teacher got locked out of the session. She couldn't say anything, no one could hear her and she had no control to turn over speaking abilities to others. We like the whiteboard concept and we love having the area where the kids (and moms) can type to each other. That has been very helpful in having the kids get to know each other better. We also like the hands raising feature. With WizIQ the teacher can take away all permission to speak and the kids have to raise their hands to be called on. This does prevent everyone from talking over each other. It also prevents having one very smart child doing all the talking and answering everything. The teacher can make sure to call on others. We have a few kids that are shy and need a bit of encouragement to speak. While we don't want to put them on the spot by singling them out, we do try to encourage them and then if they raise their hands we try to be sure they get called on. That is a fabulous feature that we don't want to lose.
So we have decided to use TeamSpeak for our sound and WizIQ for the visual (whiteboard, hand raising, and typing features). The moms have done a trial run but our first co-op is this coming Monday. I will post information on how it went. I am just relieved that I am not the guinea pig mom that has to do the first co-op with the new technology. We started looking at options the week before and then I was teaching. So glad it took some time to decided.
And during my teaching time we only had one issue - my own son got kicked off. He (thankfully) is technology savvy that he was able to get back on. That was very good as I was the teacher and unable to help him at that moment. He did well fixing it on his own.
That also has been a great aspect of the co-op -- both my son and I are learning all sorts of new technology and that has been most fun. Challenging at times but also very fun.
2 comments:
WOW... I can't even imagine trying to do this. It sounds awesome, but anything with much of a learning curve gets put to the back burner here (LOL) until I have more time which never seems to come. Virtual co-ops are really intriguing to me so thanks for posting more about yours.
You are very welcome. I am glad the information is helpful. I find we are really enjoying learning about the technology. I think for my son that is the best part. He loves technology so for him that has made the co-op even more enjoyable. I think for me the best part is that we don't have to have travel time so it cuts less into our day. I like that we are really getting into the meat of the concepts as the discussions are really good ones. I found that when it was an in-person co-op we tended to focus on the projects and crafts. And while those are great, as my son gets older he needs to be making more of the connections and really getting into more in depth discussions. Just by nature, of it being virtual it lends itself to being very in depth on discussion. I have even had my UG student listening in on the discussions and he has gotten alot out of them. He loves it and wants to be virtual, too.
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