Blog for Sunday, September 18
A cool thing about Gmail is the chat feature. I am able to chat with any of my contacts when they are online without using a different program to do so. Gmail also has the option of voice or video chat. I have used the voice chat when writing IEP goals with one of our division's SLPs. We were able to work on the document together using Microsoft Word from Windows Live and using our Gmail were able to discuss the various goals that we had for 4 different students and, in real-time, add those goals to the IEP. We met today and reviewed this year's IEP goals and were amazed at how good the goals were.
I have also been able to use the text/voice/video chat with classmates for some of my other Graduate Diploma classes. Last spring I was in a class with teachers from Thompson and Winnipeg, and, not only were we able to collaborate together online, we were able to connect as colleagues and friends through hearing and seeing one another. Distance was not a factor in our collaborative work because of the opportunity to use the text/voice/video chat features built into Gmail.
I like the Gmail chat and voice features and I am torn between that and Skype for this class. Google voice is also great and I like being able to use it to call landlines.
ReplyDeleteSo far I have found that Skype has a bit of an advantage in the ongoing chat and chat history.
How do the programs compare for you?