About a year ago, a colleague encouraged me to sign-up for Classroom 2.0 which provides webinars the future of education using Elluminate. On the plus side, I was exposed to many new ideas, techniques, and issues about which I wanted to learn. The presenters were leading experts in their fields who I would not have had an opportunity to hear had there not been that forum. On the negative side, I did not always give the individuals my full attention, because I would usually have them on while I was working late in the library--on something else, I have to admit. The ongoing chat was distracting and, yet, seemed to draw me in. I thought that at times the moderators should have disabled it during parts of the webinar out of courtesy to the presenter. All in all, they have been positive experiences. I would not want all of education to move in this direction, but, having exposure to some of the most respected professors in the educational technology was invaluable.
Skype is a wonderful tool for face to face interaction, but I appreciate its limitations. Its best uses are for contacting loved ones or family members or for planned presentations. The hesitancy for using it for interacting with unknown individuals is totally understandable. It is a fabulous tool and, certainly, be used more and more in our libraries.
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