First, let me say the hardest part of this assignment was trying to figure out a topic to share that I thought others would be willing to listen to and get something out of. I finally decided on sharing collaborative apps and websites that can be used in the classroom. Once I made that decision, the rest of the process didn't seem to be too complicated.
I chose to use Google Hangout as my platform. To do this, I simply went to my Google+ and clicked on Hangouts in the drop down menu on the left. At the top of the page is a tab that says Video Hangouts. Once I clicked on that all I had to do was click Start a Video Hangout. When the Hangout opens it gives you the option to invite people via email or use the link that is provided to invite people. On the left side of that window there are buttons for Chat, Screen Share, and Capture. I really liked that it was super simple to share what I needed to for my conference.
I will say that I was super nervous at the beginning of the conference. I think it is an ingrained fear that no one will find what I am sharing relevant. However, once I got going with the conference, it seemed to flow pretty well. Many of the tools I shared had been used by my participants, and we were able to learn from each other, which I always find great!
I'm not sure I will do any other video conferences simple because I don't have new things to share with others. However, I do enjoy attending video conferences, and I always find new things that I didn't know before.
Good for you and your fear is felt by many! I have frozen many times at the beginning of broadcast -- forgetting what I was talking about, fumbling over my topic or even my introduction. But once they get going, you forget and have fun! It seemed that you had an overall good experience and now that you are learning about all this new technology, you may have great information to share, you just don't know it yet!
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