This document summarizes the experiences of a teacher conducting their first webinar sessions for older learners with little technology experience. Key points include: the learners struggled with technology concepts; webinars provided real-time interaction and sharing capabilities with little equipment needed; teacher training focused on content backup and ensuring technology worked; and conducting practice sessions was important to work out issues like microphone and camera use, internet access, and optimal session length. Overall, webinars were found to be a useful resource for delivering content remotely.

1. Confessions of a webinar virgin

3. Older learners
End users had almost zero computing skills
Learners struggled with concepts of technology
Completely used to face to face – classroom delivery model
Distance delivery – teacher was located in Rotorua but the class was in
Turangi

4. Designated tutor had no experience or knowledge of the topic
Timing – we needed a solution and FAST!

7. Easy to use - simplicity
Intuitive
Real time functionality
Upload and sharing documents with ease
Record and playback functions
Sharing internet pages

8. Very little technology needed

9. Authentic interaction
Chat
Pods
Games
Two way interaction
Questions and answers

10. The cost
Cheap to access and run
Straight out of the box usability
Little to no additional software required

12. Teacher training 101
Backing up the lessons with content on Moodle
Computer access for students
Online takes just as much preparation as face to face – if not more so

15. Check it all works before you get a guest speaker in
Beginners luck ran out three weeks in
Pain free sessions became hard to do
Practise! Practise! Practise!
Internet explorer – please use Chrome or Firefox
Limited access to high speed internet for students

18. Pause your camera
Turn off the microphone
If you are using an external room microphone – turn down the input levels!
Think about what you are going to say before you open your mouth
Group work – works!

20. Length of delivery was too long – 1 hour was too much at a time
Moving video was better than paused video or a static screen shot
A lecturer in the classroom would have been better
A great resource to have and use
Using the program helped their learning – because of the content being
delivered

21. Full screen for displaying video
Ability to review video later is a big positive
Offline communication and feedback is still important
Students turned off when they had distractions at their end
Access to PowerPoint's and notes used is very important

23. A BIG thank you to -
Adele Carson – Communications Lecturer
Mandy Williams – Blend-Ed resource person
Sally Smyth – graphic design extraordinaire
The Bachelor of Maori Development Class (2012) Turangi