teach us something! (aka- "Wow, I really hate the sound of my voice")

For my first "teach us something!" experience, I talked about building computers. I went through all of the components of a computer, and quickly answered some questions. I found it incredibly difficult to say things and focus on the chat at the same time. I main goal was to stay around five minutes, and I failed at that. I should have striped it down a lot, but now I know better for next time. Watching other members of the class present, I noticed again that not many people feel comfortable using the microphone. I hope this is something that will be overcome in the future.
Speaking of microphones, I ordered a new one from Amazon and it came in today. It can be used directionally or omnidirectionally, and seems to be quite a step up from my webcam's built in mic as far as quality goes (it's purdy, too!)

Picture of the chat-- Click to enlarge.

Watching my presentation over again as well as other people's, I think that the biggest problem is trying to stimulate discussion. Perhaps people are so used to having little comments when they're teaching in a classroom, I think it's something that one has to get used to. Using Eluminate, I don't think one can expect the same level of participation from students. I'm perfectly happy being silent during a presentation and then asking a question afterward, but sometimes I don't have any questions and feel guilty when no one else is asking questions.

Looking back, I think that I did a good job acknowledging people's questions. Even if I was mid-answer, I would acknowledge questions and say that I'd address them in a moment.

I don't feeling like uploading a microphone test and linking to it, so I'm going to try to embed it as a movie. This is me, butchering an old Simon and Garfunkel song.