Evaluate a Webinar

1. Title of the webinar:

From Probation to Graduation: Online Learning Increases Student Success.

[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Date, start and end time of the webinar:

February 4, 2016 12pm MST – 1pm MST

[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Number of participants who attended this webinar:

I did not see anywhere that listed the number of participants. According to the chat though, there were participants from all over the country Canada.

[if !supportLists]3. [endif]URL of the webinar announcement or description:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/marketplace/webinars/webinars.html

[if !supportLists]4. [endif]Information about how to review the recording of the webinar, if available:

An on-demand version of this webinar will be available at www.edweek.org/go/webinars within 24 hours.

www.edweek.org/go/webinars

6. Name(s) of webinar presenters:

Carol Brown-Robnison

John Watson

Nicole Bono

7. Summarize the major topics addressed in this webinar:

Evolution of online learning

Online learning benefits for “at risk” students

Success of the PASS program

Technology is NOT replacing teachers

8. Describe the way in which this webinar included active learning strategies.

I don’t believe there were any “active learning strategies” incorporated in this webinar. It was very much like a lecture.

9. What is your assessment of the energy level and tone of voice of the presenter(s)? Were they excited and enthusiastic about the topic? Were they easy to listen to?

The presenters were enthusiastic and knowledgeable about online and blended learning strategies.

10. What did you think about their slides/graphics? Were they easy to read? Did your eyes get tired? Describe how they addressed or did not address CARP? What would you change?

The slides were ok. It was a lot of graphs and timelines. They were a little difficult for my bad eyes to see in the “regular” view and the graphs had a lot of very small font. I was able to enlarge them to full screen, and then they were very easy to read.

While the slides pertained to the topics and information being given, they were pretty bland. There was a lot of info contained on them, so I would get distracted reading them and not listen to the presenter. Also, the time for slides varied. Some would be up for A LONG time, so even though my eyes didn’t get tired, I did get a little bored. But other slides would be up for only a short amount of time, so that I was not able to get all the information I needed.

Reading the slides, I did notice some grammatical errors.

11. What did you think about their microphone and lighting skills? What worked and what would you change?

The presentation consisted of slides only and no live video, so lighting wasn’t an issue. The microphone and audio varied. I found the first presenter very easy to hear and understand, but Carol, the second presenter was a little more difficult to understand.

There was captioning available, which was a nice option, but as it was live captioning, most of the words I couldn’t understand, were also captioned as “inaudible” or “muffled audio,” so it was not particularly helpful.

12. What aspects of this webinar might you want to duplicate in the webinars you develop in this course, i.e., the team project? What aspects do you want to avoid? Other lessons learned, reflections, inspirations etc.

The presentation was very well organized. It followed a logical path and the presenters were experts in their field. I like the idea of having lived closed captioning, or at least having a script available for participants to read.

However, I would want to verify that all presenters had their mics set to the same level, so that everyone with a speaking part can be easily understood.

13. When you submit this assignment, include a copy of any handouts, job aids, or other documentation you received as a participant in this webinar. Were these handouts helpful? If there were no handouts, would you have liked to have one? Why?

There were two different handouts available to participants. One contained all of the slides used during the presentation (even though I don’t remember seeing off of the ones in the handout). There was also a Troubleshooting handout for technical problems.

I think these are both good to include with a webinar. Like I said, I didn’t get enough time with some of the slides, so I could have gone back to the handout. I think it’s just good practice to have a troubleshooting handout for anyone who may experience technical difficulties.