This course truly contained everything. Though the workload seemed tremendous, and at times a touch disorganized, I feel that the eFolio really wraps it all up neatly into a manageable package.
I was a bit confused when seeing some tabs in the eFolio that were never assigned in the weekly assignments. Some of these I found support for in the documentation, while others seemingly were confined only to the eFolio. I did what I could in all of these cases, and I truly hope that my work does the project some measure of justice.
There is even something that I find to be leaned even in this simple compilation activity however. It goes to show that even though a course may contain a massive jumble of work, giving it some measure of order and organization can help immensely in understanding its requirements. That being said, my final note is an apology that I do not know the ins-and-outs of the eFolio perfectly, and I hope it has not resulted in much error. It was very intimidating to look at at first, and I wish I could go back five weeks and show that less savvy me from then how to properly navigate it. If I had known better then, I feel that things would not be so uncertain now.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Finale and the Whole Class
Web-Based Meeting
At the end of class, we had a meeting as a whole class on Adobe Connect. I feel that this was one of the better points of the course. It was good to finally meet all of my classmates "in person," and I feel like that helped to make the whole final assignment easier to present. No matter what sort of information or how much information you share over the web with others, there's nothing quite like getting to speak with them directly and interact. There is a certain feel for interacting with others that I can't quite describe that only seems to come from either physical or verbal interaction with them, and it really helps to turn a group of people doing assignments into a class of peers.
Class as a Whole
I went into this class with a hefty bit of skepticism as to how much I actually stood to learn from a class about the type of technology that I grew up exploring for myself. That being said, I am glad that I had to take it. I learned to use many resources such as website building tools that I had never used before, and even more importantly, I learned a lot about the Copyright and Fair Use Act that is important to know how to use to your advantage as a future teacher.
I would recommend this course to other future teachers as well -- chances are, no matter how much they think that they know about this material, most of them will find that they benefit from taking the course in at least one way, if not many more.
At the end of class, we had a meeting as a whole class on Adobe Connect. I feel that this was one of the better points of the course. It was good to finally meet all of my classmates "in person," and I feel like that helped to make the whole final assignment easier to present. No matter what sort of information or how much information you share over the web with others, there's nothing quite like getting to speak with them directly and interact. There is a certain feel for interacting with others that I can't quite describe that only seems to come from either physical or verbal interaction with them, and it really helps to turn a group of people doing assignments into a class of peers.
Class as a Whole
I went into this class with a hefty bit of skepticism as to how much I actually stood to learn from a class about the type of technology that I grew up exploring for myself. That being said, I am glad that I had to take it. I learned to use many resources such as website building tools that I had never used before, and even more importantly, I learned a lot about the Copyright and Fair Use Act that is important to know how to use to your advantage as a future teacher.
I would recommend this course to other future teachers as well -- chances are, no matter how much they think that they know about this material, most of them will find that they benefit from taking the course in at least one way, if not many more.
Wow That WOW Project
The WOW project was quite the interesting task!
I had at first been hesitant -- the WOW project was to be done in one of several ways mostly using the software we had already tried out during the course. I had no interest in making another Glogster poster, as I felt that that particular site was poorly set up (unintuitive controls and selection system, lack of functions/features, etc.), especially for something that one is expected to pay for, and my free trial had long since run out. I had also already recently used Prezi, and wanted to mix things up some as well, so it fell on creating a website...
Where the Nervousness Was Rooted
To understand why I did not particularly want to make a website even though it was my last option, you need to understand what I already knew of website creation from when I was growing up. Back when I was younger and the internet was in its toddler years (yes, I know that I am dating myself now), you needed to know how to code in HTML in order to make a website. Since I loved playing games on the computer, but never was confident enough in myself to learn to code, you can imagine why I would be hesitant about suddenly trying to make a website.
Fast forward to now: Yes, I am aware of how there have been tools invented to make website creation easier, but I figured that "easier" was relative to the difficulty of learning code, and that making them would still be difficult. I was happy to see that this was not the case when I started. As it turned out, making a website nowadays can be almost as simple as putting together a PowerPoint presentation!
If you'd like to have a look, here is my site.
I had at first been hesitant -- the WOW project was to be done in one of several ways mostly using the software we had already tried out during the course. I had no interest in making another Glogster poster, as I felt that that particular site was poorly set up (unintuitive controls and selection system, lack of functions/features, etc.), especially for something that one is expected to pay for, and my free trial had long since run out. I had also already recently used Prezi, and wanted to mix things up some as well, so it fell on creating a website...
Where the Nervousness Was Rooted
To understand why I did not particularly want to make a website even though it was my last option, you need to understand what I already knew of website creation from when I was growing up. Back when I was younger and the internet was in its toddler years (yes, I know that I am dating myself now), you needed to know how to code in HTML in order to make a website. Since I loved playing games on the computer, but never was confident enough in myself to learn to code, you can imagine why I would be hesitant about suddenly trying to make a website.
Fast forward to now: Yes, I am aware of how there have been tools invented to make website creation easier, but I figured that "easier" was relative to the difficulty of learning code, and that making them would still be difficult. I was happy to see that this was not the case when I started. As it turned out, making a website nowadays can be almost as simple as putting together a PowerPoint presentation!
If you'd like to have a look, here is my site.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Thoughts on the Multimedia Project
Tagxedo -- Intresting? Yes. Educational? Um...
Tagxedo was an interesting site to demo how to use. It was a lot of fun sorting out through the different options. Its educational value however, is more indirect than direct.
As a word cloud program, it isn't particularly meant to directly teach anything, but as with most fun software online, there is almost alway a was to put an educational spin on it...
How do You Make it Educational?
A couple of thoughts initially come to mind:
First of all is posters/covers! Students can use Tagxedo to make a word cloud of their writing assignments, and then print these word clouds along with their respective assignments to use as cover pages. It's an interesting idea that allows students to include something a little more "fun" in their assignment in order to better personalize it. On a side note, a long as you check the paper and the cover for relevance, they can be an aid in ensuring that students aren't just directly copying work from each other.
Second, Tagxedo could be used as a way of broadening student vocabulary. When they make a word cloud of their paper, if the more frequently used words in it are words that don't necessarily make sense to be used so often, the student and their teacher can easily see this and work to help the student further develop their vocabulary. For example, if the first word you see is a huge, 72 point font version of "LIKE," then there may be some work ahead...
References:
Tagxedo. (2016, July 28). Retrieved from http://www.tagxedo.com/
Topic 9 (Not Chapter 9? Oh My!) Copyright and Fair Use
Getting Arrested and/or Sued is Bad
I feel that this was one of the most important topics that we have covered all class. It's vital to know where your boundaries lie, but also to be able to give your students the best education that you can, without all the equivalent legal hassle of trying to pass a bill through congress without it getting tied up in meaningless monologue. In short -- your students deserve only the best, and by knowing copyright and fair use law, you can give it to them.
The slideshow catches most of the important bits.
I feel that this was one of the most important topics that we have covered all class. It's vital to know where your boundaries lie, but also to be able to give your students the best education that you can, without all the equivalent legal hassle of trying to pass a bill through congress without it getting tied up in meaningless monologue. In short -- your students deserve only the best, and by knowing copyright and fair use law, you can give it to them.
The slideshow catches most of the important bits.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Chapter 11: Math and the Sciences
Book Advice
Two for two? It's More Useful than a Paperweight? What kind of textbook is this!?
Yes indeed. Two for two, the text suggests using sites like YouTube for demonstrations and sharing visuals that students might not otherwise ever get to see. This is a wonderful idea, as in a Physics classroom, I have made use of it to show them the launch of a space shuttle (talking about the effects of gravity), and the video footage of what happened to the Takoma bridge (standing waves). While in chemistry, they were able to see such things as how group one elements react to water, to how the process of refining uranium works, as well as how the system within a nuclear plant runs, to how the refining process for oil is run, and how they separate the different chains of hydrocarbons. All in all, the usefulness of YouTube in the classroom is something that I can vouch for myself.
References:
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
References:
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Chapter 7: Distance Learning, Blended Learning, and Their Benefits
Convenience
Certainly, distance learning is far more convenient than face to face learning. Research even supports a shift toward distance learning, showing that in many cases, it proves more effective than face to face. Let's not rush ahead of ourselves just yet though.
Blended learning shows that it is more effective than both of these other methods! In blended learning, there is a combination of face to face, as well as distance (students have both class time and online learning assignments. Flipped classrooms are becoming notably popular because of this, and the benefits it brings when done right are great indeed.
Using the Flipped Classroom as an Example of Blended Learning
In a flipped class, students are assigned basic assignments and simple topics related to the class material to practice and view online at home through presentations and interactive material set up by the teacher. Then, when these students come to class, their in-class lessons concentrate on work, practice, and discussion of more advanced concepts in the material that they are currently studying. This means that unlike traditional teaching, in a flipped class, students have access to their teacher for any help that they may need on the more difficult concepts and problems. All in all this means that flipped classroom students are learning simple concepts that they are less likely to need personal help with at home, and doing more difficult work in class, where their teacher is right their to give aid, whereas traditional classroom students learn the basics in class, and then are usually expected to apply thos basics in more advanced problems for homework.
References:
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Certainly, distance learning is far more convenient than face to face learning. Research even supports a shift toward distance learning, showing that in many cases, it proves more effective than face to face. Let's not rush ahead of ourselves just yet though.
Blended learning shows that it is more effective than both of these other methods! In blended learning, there is a combination of face to face, as well as distance (students have both class time and online learning assignments. Flipped classrooms are becoming notably popular because of this, and the benefits it brings when done right are great indeed.
Using the Flipped Classroom as an Example of Blended Learning
In a flipped class, students are assigned basic assignments and simple topics related to the class material to practice and view online at home through presentations and interactive material set up by the teacher. Then, when these students come to class, their in-class lessons concentrate on work, practice, and discussion of more advanced concepts in the material that they are currently studying. This means that unlike traditional teaching, in a flipped class, students have access to their teacher for any help that they may need on the more difficult concepts and problems. All in all this means that flipped classroom students are learning simple concepts that they are less likely to need personal help with at home, and doing more difficult work in class, where their teacher is right their to give aid, whereas traditional classroom students learn the basics in class, and then are usually expected to apply thos basics in more advanced problems for homework.
References:
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
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