teaching virtual hell

I dutifully signed up for a wimba training session, checked the hour conversion from the States to NZ twice, signed in to my distant classroom and waited, ticking past one o'clock i discovered my capacity to travel time and space was faulty and came to the realisation that there also was a dateline to accommodate. I missed wimba 101, celebrating Waitangi day.
A week later I scheduled in for wimba 102.
A time lord in training, this time with success.
However, traversing time and relevant dimensions in space (tardis) isn't all there is. I wanted to know about teaching with voice tools accessible through the net, through blackboard, since thats what my institution utilizes.

This was the session where all the other teachers/lecturers present could smile politely in their unseen spaces and think "there but for the grace of God"...
We had, i think, all been there.
At least in our nightmares.
I am left feeling cautious re experiencing the same in a virtual reality.
Significant time was spent in ensuring audio links worked, phone in connections established for the people whose computer negated audio.
The visuals seemed 'sticky'. My experience of a screen of changes being portrayed on a
whiteboard looked more like a screen of words mashed reminiscent of scrambled eggs.
Having my posting comments text box spontaneously decide to work halfway through i could make a comment that another student gave me a workaround for.
In an hour I learned that the technology takes an hour to sort.
In the last 5 mins I managed to screw up just like any dutiful student could.
Sooo embarrassing on a world stage. While playing with the buttons mimicking the instructions for being a presenter given to another participant I spontaneously took control of the class, and inflicted a cute little wmv the facilitator had in a browser list for mad cats. The class enjoyed it. Being on a mac, I didnt get it; till i opened what downloaded for me....
A great facilitator modelling cool, calm, collected, in the face of adversity. She could have been a time lord.

video courtesy of chris, username ptftulsa.
Closing thought: Future time lords have to get with the times, a telephone box???
Maybe a portaloo....