Adobe connect review

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I remained in school during the duration of the messaging, and although there was a direct line of sight between me and the rest of the class, i felt more isolated. The only thing that kept me perturbed was the paranoia of being probed by adobe connect.  As a result, I left my webcam off and wrapped it with some tinfoil just to be sure. I also felt that the experience was draining as i found myself trying to fix several technical issues. Some of them involved broadband latency and overall connectivity issues.

I also felt that a lot of the time was taken up having to connect and disconnect to some of the classmates, and having to figure out how to fix audio issues. Maybe someday, this software will be able to fix some of the audio feedback loops but even with all of that being said, i still felt that we were but a bunch of talking heads.

On a side note, this reminded me of a talk given by economics expert and self proclaimed 1 per center peter schiff, who brought forth the fact that there were those seeking to make bitcurrency a thing. The only problem was that it was another faux substitution to conventional fiat currency.

The only reason I brought this up was because most of our interactions feel like there is an intrinsic value missing from it, and that those who inhibit this space seek so desperately to derive meaning from it. The proposed solution to the bitcurrency dichotomy was goldmoney, a system which ascribes true value. I’m not sure how this solution could be translated into third space interactions since i feel that this system is still unable to capture the nuances of human interaction such as micro-expressions, gestures and direct proximity.

 

One thought on “Adobe connect review”

  1. Alvin

    1. Isolation

    Was the isolation you felt, physical or social? What specifically caused you to feel isolated? Were you the only one at the ADM computer lab during the Adobe Connect (AC) lesson?

    I ask these questions as everyone else appeared to be at home or hostel. Tiffany for instance had at least two other people with her in the same room.

    I wonder if the sense of isolation you felt could be remedied with a change of venue with others present — to your place of residence for instance.

    Also, I realized you made 9 chat entries, the longest of which was, “going to the washroom .Will be back in a min”.

    Did the chat function amplify or reduce the isolation you felt?

    I ask this because certain students used the chat function much more than others. I wonder why.

    Why didn’t you use the Chat function more often?

    2. Paranoia of being probed by adobe connect (AC)

    Can you please tell me more about this paranoia? What specifically did you fear about being probed by AC?

    3. Technical issues: Experience was draining

    Perhaps with your own Acer notebook now, the technical issues can be resolved easily, as the free access computers at the ADM computer labs are often not configured for AC lessons. They don’t have the plug in installed, so stability may be compromised.

    Technical issues aside, was the online learning experience itself draining? If it was, which aspect?

    4. Bunch of talking heads

    I love this expression! Although, one could say that even at B1-14, we also see talking heads, as we often see only the upper half of our bodies, when seated around the large conference table. The lower half of our bodies is occluded by the desk.

    So, am I right to say that you find learning on AC unnatural? Do you think you can ever get used to interacting with talking heads? Do you find talking on Skype, and other video conferencing software, unnatural too?

    I ask this because Tiffany and her peers have actually danced on AC by stepping away from the webcam, far enough to capture 6 dancers. So you see full bodies, and not merely talking heads.

    5. Faux substitution

    It appears that AC is to you, a bland simulacrum — a poor imitation or substitution — of onsite learning.

    Apart from the technical problems you encountered, what other aspect of onsite learning, does AC fail miserably to substitute? In other words, what aspects of onsite learning do you find crucial to your learning needs and which online learning cannot substitute.

    6. Interactions: intrinsic value missing

    Let’s see if we can better describe what precisely is missing from your online learning experience. Can you tell me what “extra value” onsite learning at B-14 offers. We can then try to ascertain if they are present in online learning.

    Can you tell me specifically what works better for you onsite, than online?

    7. System unable to capture nuances of human interaction: micro-expressions, gestures and direct proximity

    Wonderful observation! Although, I am able to see facial expressions much more clearly on a larger external monitor, especially when the webcam resolution setting is set to High.

    I observed that the various gestures and paralinguistic markers (or non-verbal cues) during the most recent onsite lesson, sharply contrasted with the statuesque talking heads on webcam. Only when Randall ran the collaborative body activities online, did the mood lighten considerably.

    At B1-14 however, certain students like yourself and Wind, and even Randall display a far greater range of movement. Expressive representation on AC seems more constrained than at B-14. In fact, I was photographing these fascinating expressive representations at B1-14 — to compare them with those observed on webcam — when Xin Feng expressed her annoyance with me.

    I’m wondering though, if perhaps AC’s inability to capture the nuances could be a good thing in certain instances.

    Would you like AC to capture all the nuances of human interaction, given how as it is, AC already engenders the paranoia you stated earlier?

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