Module # 7.6.1

Be aware of on-line conferences relevant to professional information

Getting there

Excuse me, but what is this stuff?

Well there are many times that professional organizations sponsor on-line conferences.  There are 2 kinds.  Synchronous (participating at the same time) and asynchronous (participating at different times).

Synchronous conferences usually use either chat programs, NetMeeting, or CU-Seeme.  These programs allow you to interact with others via the computer.   Chat programs usually only allow the user to send and receive text.  CU-Seeme takes this a step farther by allowing audio and video communications.  NetMeeting allows the sharing of applications and documents at the same time.

Asynchronous conferences are usually in the form of listserves, bulletin boards and threaded discussions.  Listserves are mailing addresses that resend mail to a large number of people for them to read and respond to.  Bulletin boards allow you to post a message on a topic that is predesignated.  Threaded discussions allow you to respond to a specific thread of a discussion.

Exercise #1

Search the web for the term discussion.  You may need to narrow your search to education.  Find a threaded discussion forum and look through some of the discussion.