This is the beginning of my webcaster portfolio. I joined Webcast Academy in April, 2006.

Paul Allison had initiated a Skype call once a week so a group of teachers in NYC collaborating with teachers from all over the country could plan together. He was following edtechtalk and worldbridges. I took a look and saw the announcement for Webcast Academy. It sounded interesting! I once asked Jeff and Dave - Why live? Why open up the audio live as opposed to just the closed Skype call or a podcast. Their answer was - because you never know when a Paul Allison or a Susan Ettenheim might show up. They would change the name for the person in question of course! I would listen in  - they would see my name pop up and invite me to call in. But I just wanted to listen I would babble.. and they would say - why not join in?

I had been working in online community for a few years and had spent many hours learning and honing skills on enticing users to "join in" to online text chats and message boards, but now I found myself on the other side of the fence and their warmth of invitation and the fact that I was missing that work, finally caused me to slowly, sometimes... click that button and call Worldbridges. All the rest is history of course.

It wasn't easy for me at first, which is what makes me a fair teacher at school. I know what it's like when it's hard! Below are some memorable broadcasts. I seem to be eternally famous for the monologue in the beginning when everyone could hear me but I could not hear them. I talked on, talking through the problem, hoping that if I kept talking and showed that I was trying, they would not leave and give up on me! Cheryl and I have continued this tradition with our latest jing screencasts of how to kick the stream. We each created the screencasts, but each of us only recorded our half the conversation- what a wacky screencast that made!

There were periods when everything would just fall into place Wednesday evenings for Teachers Teaching Teacheres (Paul named the show) and there were periods where nothing would go right and week after week, the show was late or the call dropped 4-5 times during the one hour. I think the greatest challenge for Paul was not planning a show but planning how to restart a show 4 times in one hour when he never knew when the call would drop - and keeping everyone engaged and coming back! At least I paid for those rough evenings by having to spend hours and hours editing to get anything to post on the blog. Another big time for me was when Paul went on vacation last summer and decided that the show must go on. Last summer and this summer, it has been interesting, but I sure will be glad when he comes back! Alex and Arvind, two webcasters I admire also know how important it is to have a partner in this work!

Finally, just to freeze this in time a little, I had my first surgery (in my whole life!) two and a half weeks ago (summer of 2007). While it was not major, it required being off the repaired foot for two weeks. For two weeks, I looked forward to getting up early every morning and turning on my Skype to catch up with those across the globe who were learning and struggling with the new programs. I would work online until I just got too tired and then turn off and sleep. As every day went by, I could stay up a little later and soon I was even back online in the evening! Then, as you will all remember, Skype went down.

I was much better by then but still sitting with my foot elevated. It was the most eerie, lonely day. I was working online and it's not as though I was ever with anyone, but all of a sudden, I felt so isolated and lonely all day! That was when I realized just how much this community has meant to me and how much it has become part of my life. I look forward to all of Jeff and Dave's crazy new ideas. I wonder and care about people I've never met all around the world. I love following the digital chalkies in the rural areas of Australia. I am fascinated by the variety of lives, jobs and things we all do for fun! I love hearing about the mountains, the beaches and the food! It's funny because I really have never loved traveling. I will go somewhere and have a great time, but generally I'm very content where I am  and find incredible beauty and challenge around me all the time. This online world though, is one in which I always love to travel and be with everyone working on these great projects!

I have been experimenting with webcasting since I first listened to BBC Radio using Real Player 1.0 in 1997.  The first audiovisual piece I produced was 'The Won Report' in Dec. 1997.   I continued producing audio and video pieces for assorted sites I was building, and finally went 'live' during the Kotesol conference in 2003.   In April of 2005, I began using skype and figuring out how my machine could be configured so I could stream a live conversation and in May went on the air with Worldbridges Livewire#1. Hundreds of webcasts later, I still feel like I'm at the beginning of a journey and still in the 'figuring things out' stage.  It's been great to work with fellow interns at the Academy to collaborate, commiserate, and extrapolate possibilities for this new media world of live, interactive webcasting.