Tappedin

I was really impressed with Tappedin. The first time I logged in, the help desk people immediately welcomed me in and asked me how they could help. It makes it so personal! The real life humans make the site incredibly user friendly.

Along with a few of my buddies from class, I participated in a social studies forum. It was my first time using the chat format for professional development. I thought that an hour would seem like 4 when you're online typing all the time, but it didn't. It went by very quickly. The "side" talk was a little distracting, but not terribly so. Honestly, it is exactly what would happen if we were sitting in class.

I got some good ideas from the professor, but like most things, I need to read it through and digest it a bit. It is difficult to make these ideas "your own". That's what takes all the time.

I am thinking of showing this website to my Director of Curriculum and Technology. I think she would like it a lot. From an Administrator's perspective I would think they would like the cost benefit of these classes, but I wonder if they would have any control over who actually did the seminar and who just said they did it. I'm sure they would want some type of control over that before they grant us credit for having done it.

My criticism would be too fold: the site is not very visually appealing. It looks like a text book. The font is small and boring. Otherwise, it is very user friendly and informative. My second criticism is that I still prefer learning in person, with other human beings in the room. I honestly feel you learn more that way. Then again, this certainly cuts down on the commute time! I guess the answer is that this is good, but so are other things. It is just one of many formats in which to learn effectively.