As I continue to look through archived presentations I wish to view, I have a confession to make. I do not like being led through material.Although I am fine with synchronous online sessions (like through Elluminate or CCCConfer), where I am “in attendance” and can participate and interact, I have discovered I really do not enjoy listening/viewing a one-hour presentation after the fact. When I start the recording, I know it will take an hour. Even with an outline, I can’t really jump around to the parts that interest me. I would so much rather just skim the whole thing in written form!
Yes, it’s true, I’m a print learner. I also have a limited amount of time. These recent online conferences have taught me why I don’t like podcasts and don’t like viewing archived presentations. They’re too slow. And no, I’m not a “digital native” (I’m 43), and I don’t require multiple simultaneous stimuli to learn. I can focus, really!
But if I cannot interact with the presenter or the group, I find myself increasingly unwilling to take the time to be led. Instead, I skip around the discussion forums to find clues as to whether or not a presentation was worth listening to.
I realize many of my students don’t have this issue, and they listen to my recorded lectures with or without accompanying text. It isn’t the first time I find myself doing for my students what I hated having done to me (such as small group classroom work), but I’m a little disappointed that I am too impatient to sit through a recorded lecture. I have not thought of myself as a social person or one who requires interactivity, but evidently I am wrong! I gradually seem to have more and more in common with the students who require frequent feedback and assurances that their contribution is important. Oh dear.
