I was excited about the live OPAL webinar about Dashiel Hammett's Thin Man, but it was a bust. It was set up for online participation and also participation via Second Life. What ended up happening was that the Second Lifer's would text chat each other and the moderator, and then the moderator would come on and say, "We've been talking about. . . " He knew we couldn't communicate directly with them and said he would act as a conduit. Honestly, sometimes it was five minutes between his audible comments.
I sent in a note explaining that I wasn't getting much; wasn't seeing any chat, that I was getting long breaks in between, and was it supposed to be that way? I have a DSL line but an old iMac, so was wondering if that was causing delays or gaps, but in the end I don't think that was the problem.
I didn't get a reply to my note. I didn't find any kind of troubleshooting info on the site that referenced my problem. So, either it was a Mac problem (doubt it) or it was the Second Life participants that couldn't "cross over" into a place I could see their text or hear them.
I only saw my name and the teacher's name on the "In The Room" list. Again, don't know if this meant no one else was online or if I just couldn't see.
It was frustrating, but I did see the potential for the method. There is another event coming up: Friday, September 19, 2008 at , 1:00 Central: A Casual Conversation with Michael Stephens. If I'm working I won't be able to listen live, and will listen to the archived version, but I'm going to keep my eyes out for opportunites to participate "live" again.
This is a great training device. There are a lot of things that look useful and interesting!
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