SMART Board Revolution Global Virtual User Group (SBRGVUG) October Meeting

[Matt Granger]

So, Anymeeting.com let us down. We had so much trouble passing control to the different presenters and being able to hear them, that we lost a lot of time. Now I am looking for another platform to use. Ludmila suggested wiziq.com, which I've checked into a little. Sue offered an Elluminate meeting room from another ning, but we would be strongly encouraged to join that ning as well to use that. Bridgit has been suggested, but I've never used it. I looked at the info at the SMART website. I guess that it would work. There can be up to 4 or 6 speakers at a time. I just need to play with it some more, I guess. Either way, we will probably do the November meeting with a different platform.

 

SEE Jennifer Uhl did a great presentation on the mixed reality tools in Notebook 10.8. You have to check the box at installation. You get a 90 day trial. It appears that the only way to get them for keeps is with the SMART Doc Cam 330. 

 

SEE Lori Reed presented her top 10 tips for stepping away from the board. There were some very practical ways to get the students up and involved.

 

Johnny Hamilton shared how to engage high school math students with a lesson using the measurement tools and Google Earth. He also provided a link to a video of the same lesson. Check it out.

 

Ludmila Smirnova, Debby Caven, and Harvey Almarode were also scheduled and ready, but with all our problems it got too late for them. My thanks to them for their preparation, and apologies for not getting to them. They have graciously agreed to share at a future meeting.

 

• Johnny's video of the lesson with more detail
• Johnny's CE credit courses
• Lori Reed's site

Link to the recording: On the left, click the named cue points other than "screen recording". The named links take you to the good parts. When one obviously ends, click the next one to skip all the technical problems.

 

 

We had Tom in Paris and Melissa from India on with us in the US and Canada. So, four countries represented makes it another global user group! And all of the attendees were so gracious and patient with the glitches. Most hung around until amymeeting kicked us all out. I guess there is a time limit or something because it just abruptly ended the meeting. Oh well. As soon as we get the delivery platform nailed down, we are going to have some great meetings. Join us, won't you.

[Matt Granger]

Here is one of the forum discussions about this. I'll see what my machine has. Maybe that's the issue. Other Mac users may have the same issue when trying to connect with Connect ;-) sorry.

http://smartboardrevolution.ning.com/forum/topics/smart-notebook-an...

[Matt Granger]

This is awesome. I think we've found the platform. Thanks. Adobe connect still crashes every time I start it on my Macbook Pro OS X Lion. The crash report comes up, I click reopen, and it works. Maybe I have to do that twice sometimes. 

 

I know there were some posts on here about Flash and notebook and some Adobe permissions or something that weren't set automatically. I wonder if that is it.

[Levi Patrick]

Alright! You're set up as a Host in the Adobe Connect room within the SMART Board Revolution group (http://k20alt.ou.edu/groups/smartboardrevolution). You should have received an e-mail with your log in information. Once you log in, it should ask you to change your password.

 

Adobe Connect can be a great tool, but it still has its limits. I suggest limiting video usage to the main presenter... you can change this setting in the actual meeting room by turning off the Auto-Promote feature. Participants do not have speaking/videoing ability unless it is granted by the Host. If you'd like to meet in the room sometime, just let me know.

 

The host has a lot of abilities to change the layout and deal with breakout sessions. I would definitely suggest playing around with it for a while. Keep me posted and good luck!

[Matt Granger]

OK Levi, Let's try it for this month. I used Adobe Connect for another webinar the other day and it seemed pretty solid. I've sent you mu email address in a message. Thanks.

[Levi Patrick]

Great Q's.

1. In fact, you don't even have to load the Add-In. It should run in-browser, but it loses some capabilities.

2. Nope. They can get to it through K20alt w/o a login and if they go to it directly, they just enter as a guest.

3. I'll double check with our tech guy, but I think no.

4. You can't be an admin, but we can set you up as a Host. This gives you tons of permissions, like setting up break-out sessions, layout, and more. Just message me your e-mail address.

5. Yes... meetings can be recorded. This can be done in Adobe Connect or through a third-party program like Screenflow.

Mac OS X - this is something we don't have any info on. Again, I'll talk with our tech guy and see what the word is with that.

What's really cool is that the meeting room will always be live. This means that you (or anyone) can schedule meetings in there anytime. If you upload something to share, it stays. If you chat, it's there. Pretty cool.

Keep me posted.

 

Levi

[Matt Granger]

Levi, This is very cool. I think this is exactly what we need for the monthly meetings. I have a few questions:

1.Aside from the Adobe Connect Add-In, is there anything else people have to download?

2. Do people have to create an account to attend the meetings?

3. Is there a limit on the number of attendees?

4. Can I be set up as an admin so I can create or control meetings, or whatever I have to do?

5. Can the meetings be recorded? That is crucial for those that can't attend due to time zone issues, among other things.

Also, I'm running MAC OS X Lion. Every time I click the link above, using Safari 5, it starts Adobe Connect and crashes. I reopen it and it works. Is this a known issue? I know that Lion and flash don't play nice together right off the bat. Is there something I need to do to one or the other to make them get along?

 

Thanks. This could be just what we are looking for.

 

Matt

[Levi Patrick]

By the way, once you follow the link to the group, you can click the "Collaborate" button and enter the Adobe Connect room as a Guest. I think you'll like what you see.

[Levi Patrick]

I'm a new member to this group, but I might have a solution. I work at the University of Oklahoma on at an educational research center, The K20 Center. My project, K20 Authentic Learning & Teaching develops authentic resources for teachers. Each lesson is under constant development through groups that utilize Adobe Connect and Google Docs to collaborate.

 

It is completely free. I set up a group for the SMART Board Revolution folks to use. Please check it out and see if it works for you.

 

http://k20alt.ou.edu/groups/smartboardrevolution

 

Best,

 

Levi