Week 3: Online Meetings. Brenda, this week's leader, introduced us to webinars (specifically Wimba and Opal). Up to this time I was unaware as to what the online tools to conduct webinars were called--just knew they worked. I've booked marked Infopeople (http://www.infopeople.org), the George Needham and Joan Frye Williams sessions(http://infopeople.org/training/webcasts/list/archived), the SirsiDynix Institute archived webinars (http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php), and BCR (http://www.bcr.org/training/archives/f3-archive.html) so I can have easy access to a number of online webinars later long after Kansas 23 has ceased.

This week I didn't actually view one of the above archived webinars as I had another one I needed to view: "What's New in Destiny 9.5?" conducted by Follett Software Company. The actual online webinar took place January 19, 2010. Since our district just updated our software catalog I wanted to refresh my knowledge on all the enhancements added. I love webinars as one can view a number of the archived ones on his own time schedule. I've taken part in a couple of live webinars and, although there was a bit of a connection problem the one time in particular, we did finally get going. It's a great way to learn a new concept, procedure, etc. without having to travel outside the classroom to gain the knowledge. An added perk is that one can ask questions and get immediate answers right online and if one's questions isn't interpreted correctly that, too, can be voiced over the lines. With limited funds and limited time I see this Web 2.0 as an excellent tool for now and in the future. Webinars won't go away -- they will just become more popular.