FOR-PD Chat Transcript
Date: September 14, 2006
Time: 7:00-8:00PM EST
Topic: Technology/General Questions about FOR-PD
Guests: Melanie Edwards, FOR-PD Helpdesk Manager, Jawann Slater, FOR-PD Helpdesk, and Catherine Glass, FOR-PD Project Director
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Hi to those that have just joined us...we will get started in a couple of minutes :)
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Well we will get started
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I would like to welcome you to tonight's chat
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> the topic of tonight's chat is technology....
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> we hold these chats to assist participants with issues they may be having ...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> a way for you to get the answers to your questions.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I would like to introduce the FOR-PD staff in the chat tonight...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> faconly runs our night help desk
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> actually his name is Jawann if you ever need to call :)
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Melanie Edwards is our new Help Desk Manager :)
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> if you call during the day you will reach Melanie
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I am Catherine Glass the Project Director of FOR-PD..and will be assisting with tonight's chat
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I will be the chat moderator tonight and will give the floor to people to speak.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> What this means is that if you have a question; please use the appropriate symbol to indicate you have a question. I will then call on you.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Now for the all important chat protocol :)
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> The Exclamation Point - !
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> An exclamation point is like raising your hand. Type this symbol whenever you have a question or a comment related to what is being discussed. The moderator will acknowledge you and you can then ask your question.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> The Pound Sign - #
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> A pound sign indicates that you are finished typing your question or comment. Use this symbol when you are finished with your thought to indicate that you are finished typing.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> The Ellipse - . . .
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Use the Ellipse when you have a great deal to type so you do not keep participants waiting to read your entire thought. By breaking your comment up, you let participants know you are actively doing something rather than just typing a long response or question.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Please use these symbols in tonight's chat :)
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> !
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I have some information I would like to share before we get started
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Help Desk Hours are:
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Monday - Friday: 9:00am - 4:00 pm and 6:00pm-10:00pm EST
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Saturday: 10am - 3pm EST
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> You can call the help desk at 1-866-863-READ (1-866-863-7323)
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> They will be happy to assist you.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Yes Roanne :)
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> ops sorry Rosanne
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> i am having trouble accessing the quiz for lesson 1. it said unavailable
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Rosanne..the quizzes are conditional...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> this means that you must take the pre-course survey before you can access quiz 1
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> have you taken that survey?
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> it was only two questions? yes
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> hmm it should be longer than that...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> the problem is probably that it needs to be force graded... we can do that for you if you call the help desk or your facilitator can force grade it for you
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> there was another quiz that was asking questions about teaching etc,,,
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Participants should remember that it is important to allow the quizzes to process through webct..this means you should touch anything until you get a view results screen...
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> but it was asking questions and I don't know where the info to read came from
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> shouldn't touch ... forgive my fingers
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> that was probably the pre-course survey
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> that is a general knowledge survey that we use to evaluate our project...there is a pre survey and a post survey
Margaret Gilroy (margaretgilroy)>> Are you guys just starting the course?
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> was it just to ask my general knowledge about reading?
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> Yes the whole group...sorry, I thought that the when I hit the exclamation point it went to all not private..I don't have you highlighted.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> we compare pre and post survey to evaluate participant growth as a whole
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> We are just beginning the Tech Chat for tonight.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Rosanne...we will look into this issue for you and email you. :)
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> !
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Deborah :)
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> The system has been down quite a bit and now I haven't been able to access the highlighted blue to pull up the read information I need to help me through lesson 3
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I am not sure I completely understand your issue Deborah
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> I have tried to logon several times yesterday and today and have not always been able to get into the program. -
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Just so I am clear you are having trouble logging into webct?
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> now when I can finally get on, when I go to click on a blue area to read or take me to a web site to read something, I can't access the material I need to read.
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> yes
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> WebCt for about 2 to 3 hours today was unavailable from my school and home computer
Melanie Edwards (melanieedwards)>> Deborah, when you click on the links to read material, nothing comes up?
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Deborah our help desk manager is going to field your question
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Melanie she is having issues logging in
Deborah Mullins (deborahmullins)>> That is correct.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Ok chat is being fussy tonight :)
Dannielle Cason (danniellecason)>> i agree
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I would like to address information to those of you who may be in a summer course
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> if you are in a summer course...your course is quickly coming to a close...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> please take the time to make sure you are caught up will all discussions, quizzes, and the literacy log.
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> I am in the fall course. My principal and I are taking the course together. We meet each day and discuss the postings that we saw and content that we have learned. I feel a stressed about their moving ahead so quickly. I feel it loses the connection that you have with the participants.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> you are absolutely right Scott...are these teachers from your school?
Dannielle Cason (danniellecason)>> scott, what week are you in?
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> The reason we have paced the course the way we have is so that all participants benefit from the discussion created by the lessons
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> No! We are currently working on week 3. I have completed all of the requirements for weeks 1 and 2.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> if participants move ahead without this ..they are losing out all this rich conversation about the material
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> !
Dannielle Cason (danniellecason)>> i am in week three and i totally agree-- i fell like it goes too quickly
Dannielle Cason (danniellecason)>> I am taking the class with another person from my school and we talk at lunch.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> It is wonderful that you are taking the course with people at your school so that you can discuss what you are learning..it adds so much to the experience.
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> I guess that is the point I am attempting to make. I know that some people want to work ahead and get finished. I just feel like it is not about finishing the course but the journey you take to finish the class.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I will work with our facilitator specialist and reading specialist to see if we can't address this with participants and facilitators.
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> Thanks.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I totally agree Scott.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Rosanne did you have a comment or question?
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> On my screen, I can't access quizzes ahead of lesson 1. it says unavailable. Am I behind?
Dannielle Cason (danniellecason)>> I agree scott. I want to be able to use what I am learning in class in a timely manner and not feel rushed
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Rosanne...do you have a grad for quiz 1?
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> No
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> have you completed the pre-course survey?
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> I was taking now but lost the chat room so I will do it as soon as this is over
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> oh...Rosanne..Jawann is going to fix your situation..he will email you once it is fixed :)
Noni Jones (nonijones)>> I am in the Summer course and am about to finish. Are the written assignments' (not Lit Logs) grades posted?#
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> I remember from the beginning of the chat
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> There is a great deal of great information about reading in this course. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to take the class this fall.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Noni..your facilitator should be grading each discussion posting..there is a link on the left of your screen in the blue column
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> titled my grades...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> if you click on this..you can see all of your grades
Noni Jones (nonijones)>> yes, I have done this-- can't find them on roster
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Noni...we will need to look into your course to see what the issue is... I will look at this after the chat
Noni Jones (nonijones)>> thanks
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> if you want to hang around for a few minutes I can do this after the chat :)
Noni Jones (nonijones)>> okay
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> are there any other questions we can answer?
Rosanne Tomaselli (rosannetomaselli)>> not right now
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> For those fall people who are just getting started... i would like to make sure you understand how to use all of the tools...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> particularly the quiz tool as that is how you post your literacy log as well...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Some facilitators will post comments to your literacy log...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> in order to see these comments you should follow these steps...
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Go to the Quiz/Literacy Log link.
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> Will the facilitators email comments to you privately or post them on the discussion board?
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Select the View Scores button next to the literacy log you wish to view.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> This will bring you to a page that lists your attempts for that Literacy Log. There will be a number that is underlined - for example 1 - click on his number and it will bring up your log submission.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> Scott...most feedback for grades are done privately...either directly in a comments section on the literacy log you submitted
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> or in an email for the discussions...
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> Thanks for the clarification. I did not know that there was a comment section on the literacy log.
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> welcome :)
Scott Hebert (scotthebert)>> Will there be another chat event during the course?
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> We hold tech chats once a month... we are working on a content chat for November...these chats are announced through Web CT
catherine glass (catherineglass)>> If there are no further questions…we will wrap up this chat. Good night!
