I failed to include an introduction when I created my IT 860 Blog for Dr. Yuen's course. One may say I was eager to get started and jumped in with both feet. While I had never created a blog before I knew that to be effective it should chronicle a journey through a process. In the IT860 Blog it reflects upon the following assignments we were asked to complete. It highlights the joys, struggles, and progress throughout their completion. Readers will also be able to look at the "end result" or finished assignment for each of these by clicking on the embeded hyperlinks. Below are a list of what each assignment entailed.
Assignment 1---Twitter
Assignment 2--Diigo Bookmarks
Assignment 3--Publish a Document using Scribd of Yudu
Assignment 4--Create a Screen cast and publish to You Tube
Assignment 5--Drop.io
Assignment 6--Voice Thread
Assignment 7--Second Life Presenation
Class Reflection
Contained in each blog you will be able to read about each assignment, gain insight on how I believe I can use these Web 2.0 Techologies in future courses I teach, and view the assignment. Thank you for looking and I look forward to sharing more with you in the future.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Class Reflection
I really enjoyed having the experience of taking this course. Throughout the semester of working with the various Web 2.0 applications; I gained so much useful information to incorporate into the computer concepts course I teach.
The textbook we used for the course, "Collective Intelligence and E Learning 2.0: Implications of Web-Based Communities and Networking" provided an abundance of information for educators on Web 2.0 applications. The majority of the time the book was easy to read and understand. Chapters were categorized into various Web 2.0segments which will provide a good reference in the fututre to follow up on certain topics.
Probably the two assignments I am most excited about incorporating into my courses this fall are the screen cast and voice thread. While I did have to prepare quite a bit for these assignments, and edit a number of times these will serve my students well. They target a number of learning styles such as visual and auditory that often times are lacking in online courses.
The social network created in Mixxt added an impressive flair to the traditional online courses I have taken using Blackboard. It was nice to have the collaboration element in Mixxt to converse with other classmates. I also liked how by posting assignments you could go back and look at what others had done. This motivated me to work harder and "kept me on my toes."
The Blogfolio was another interesting concept that I had not seen used before. I did like how it added the reflection component to traditional online courses. Through the Blogfolio it did change the dynamics of the course; since students are asked to reflect on the assignments. This will also prove to be useful in the fall since all of my assignments will be in one centralized location for me to pull from.
The textbook we used for the course, "Collective Intelligence and E Learning 2.0: Implications of Web-Based Communities and Networking" provided an abundance of information for educators on Web 2.0 applications. The majority of the time the book was easy to read and understand. Chapters were categorized into various Web 2.0segments which will provide a good reference in the fututre to follow up on certain topics.
Probably the two assignments I am most excited about incorporating into my courses this fall are the screen cast and voice thread. While I did have to prepare quite a bit for these assignments, and edit a number of times these will serve my students well. They target a number of learning styles such as visual and auditory that often times are lacking in online courses.
The social network created in Mixxt added an impressive flair to the traditional online courses I have taken using Blackboard. It was nice to have the collaboration element in Mixxt to converse with other classmates. I also liked how by posting assignments you could go back and look at what others had done. This motivated me to work harder and "kept me on my toes."
The Blogfolio was another interesting concept that I had not seen used before. I did like how it added the reflection component to traditional online courses. Through the Blogfolio it did change the dynamics of the course; since students are asked to reflect on the assignments. This will also prove to be useful in the fall since all of my assignments will be in one centralized location for me to pull from.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Assignment 7--Second Life
I must admit this assignment was one that I initially dreaded at the beginning of the summer, but it ended up being one of my favorites. Dr. Mark was so excited about the potential of Second Life in education and it resonated from him the more you spoke with him about it. Through seeing his passion and excitement of using the software it was hard not develop an interest in the value of this exciting technology.
Students began early in the semester working with Second Life and Dr. Mark was kind enough to meet us in Golden Eagle1 to give us some pointers. He showed us how to get clothes, change our appearance, and teleport from one place to another. While I had tried Second Life before and had an account already signed up; the few times I had used it I had never seen any other avatars. After learning how to navigate to other places for entertainment, shopping, and educational purposes I quickly began to see what the excitement was about.
Prior to our conference, Dr. Mark encouraged us to visit Texas Women's University and look at the alcoves for the presenters. After visiting I had a much clearer picture of how we would do our presentation. I also was very impressed with my fellow classmates projects. It was fun to visit in the days prior to the conference, as new items were added, to see what their projects entailed.
A couple of days before the conference took place we gathered in the theater of Golden Eagle1 where Dr. Mark gave us some last minute instruction regarding the conference. I found it amusing that you could even have virtual popcorn! This was the first time we had all met as a class in Second Life and it was interesting to see the classroom potential for this powerful software. Prior to this I also didn't know how to sit, so this was also an interesting experience.
The day arrived for the conference and it was a huge success. We had a large turnout, it was enjoyable meeting new people, and visiting with classmates. Dr. Mark had prepared us t-shirts for the conference which even made it more fun and authentic. There were comment boxes at each alcove where we could leave feedback to fellow participants, and a place where we could collect handouts. It was amazing how genuine the whole conference seemed, and I found my mind brainstorming for lesson plans I could use in my own classes I teach.
This was truly a rewarding assignment and I appreciate all of the hard work Dr. Mark did to make it possible. I learned a lot and had a wonderful time.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Assignment 6--VoiceThread
This was another fabulous assignment on how to do a presentation with voice overlay. Voicethread is a simple easy to use Web 2.0 storyboard/presentation tool. While it works great with PowerPoint it eliminates a lot of the application's quirks when working with multiple files. The beauty of voicethread is a user can select and upload multiple files needed for the presentation at the same time. It is much easier to incorporate audio into voicethread than PowerPoint, because with voicethread you record audio for each slide individually.
One of the neat features of voicethread is the presenter can navigate from the slide to the video, and draw/doodle on the screen to show the listener a particular point. Students can visit their peers presentation and leave comments. Feedback can be left using voice, text, an audio file, or video (using web cam).
This technology application is going to be very beneficial to me in my online computer concepts course, because it allows me to bring multiple files to one location. By incorporating multiple files into one thread, and then being able to narriate to my students, this allows them to have the same benefits as my traditional students. They also can post comments or ask questions where as I can go back to provide additional clarification.
Not only is voice thread a neat application it was so easy to use. In my opinion it was easier than Microsoft PowerPoint. While I realize they are two completely different programs PowerPoint can get a little cumbersome when trying to work with video and sound. By Voicethread allowing you to comment with audio on each slide; PowerPoint can get tedious with the timing and audio element; it also requires you record the audio narration as one continuous file throughout the presentation. This can become a rather daunting task with getting the timing and transitions perfected.
My voicethread can be viewed at http://voicethread.com/share/1242702/
One of the neat features of voicethread is the presenter can navigate from the slide to the video, and draw/doodle on the screen to show the listener a particular point. Students can visit their peers presentation and leave comments. Feedback can be left using voice, text, an audio file, or video (using web cam).
This technology application is going to be very beneficial to me in my online computer concepts course, because it allows me to bring multiple files to one location. By incorporating multiple files into one thread, and then being able to narriate to my students, this allows them to have the same benefits as my traditional students. They also can post comments or ask questions where as I can go back to provide additional clarification.
Not only is voice thread a neat application it was so easy to use. In my opinion it was easier than Microsoft PowerPoint. While I realize they are two completely different programs PowerPoint can get a little cumbersome when trying to work with video and sound. By Voicethread allowing you to comment with audio on each slide; PowerPoint can get tedious with the timing and audio element; it also requires you record the audio narration as one continuous file throughout the presentation. This can become a rather daunting task with getting the timing and transitions perfected.
My voicethread can be viewed at http://voicethread.com/share/1242702/
Assignment 5--Drop.io
The Drop.io assignment was probably my least favorite assignment so far this semester. It wasn't that it was incredibly difficult, but compared to the other innovative assignments we have had; it seemed antiquated.
I could see drop.io being used more in a K12 reading or English course to allow students to listen back to reports they have written. Through doing this they would be able to determine whether or not they flowed and determine if they express a complete thought. Through my research on podcasting for the research paper I am preparing for this class; I read an article about an elementary and middle school English teacher who had used podcasting this way. Since students were recorded they were more mindful of the effort put forth in the reports, and spent more time perfecting their work. Drop.io would make this process much easier and require less equipment than a podcast, but have the same results. Through the use of drop.io students would not only work on writing skills, but reading skills as well. Classmates could still listen to the report and post comments for their peers too.
The process I used to create the drop.io for this assignment was I began by outlining what I wanted to say. Initially I had tried to do the recording off the cuff and I kept making mistakes. Then I typed out a script to read for the recording. Through doing this I found I didn't stumble over my words and my voice could be heard more clearly. This also helped the flow of the topic I was speaking on, and gave me better control of the subject I wanted to discuss.
Using the drop.io site was relatively seamless and easy to use. The only problems I encountered were things such as the telephone ringing, or me making a mistake in what I said. Something I didn't realize until I received Dr. Yuen's feedback is you can rename each drop a more meaningful name. This does make since and is very beneficial I just did not realize this initially when completing the assignment.
I do believe there are many areas this can be used successfully for students to promote learning, but I do not think this will be something I incorporate in my classes other than showing them the technology.
My drop.io assignment can be listened to at http://drop.io/apayne1912
I could see drop.io being used more in a K12 reading or English course to allow students to listen back to reports they have written. Through doing this they would be able to determine whether or not they flowed and determine if they express a complete thought. Through my research on podcasting for the research paper I am preparing for this class; I read an article about an elementary and middle school English teacher who had used podcasting this way. Since students were recorded they were more mindful of the effort put forth in the reports, and spent more time perfecting their work. Drop.io would make this process much easier and require less equipment than a podcast, but have the same results. Through the use of drop.io students would not only work on writing skills, but reading skills as well. Classmates could still listen to the report and post comments for their peers too.
The process I used to create the drop.io for this assignment was I began by outlining what I wanted to say. Initially I had tried to do the recording off the cuff and I kept making mistakes. Then I typed out a script to read for the recording. Through doing this I found I didn't stumble over my words and my voice could be heard more clearly. This also helped the flow of the topic I was speaking on, and gave me better control of the subject I wanted to discuss.
Using the drop.io site was relatively seamless and easy to use. The only problems I encountered were things such as the telephone ringing, or me making a mistake in what I said. Something I didn't realize until I received Dr. Yuen's feedback is you can rename each drop a more meaningful name. This does make since and is very beneficial I just did not realize this initially when completing the assignment.
I do believe there are many areas this can be used successfully for students to promote learning, but I do not think this will be something I incorporate in my classes other than showing them the technology.
My drop.io assignment can be listened to at http://drop.io/apayne1912
Monday, July 5, 2010
Assignment 4--Screencasting
I really enjoyed this assignment and creating a screencast has something that I had been wanting to try for a long time. In December of 2009, the community college in which I teach became a part of iTunesU, and podcasting in education has been fascinating to me since. Time is one obstacle I find teachers use as an excuse to prevent them from utilizing podcasting in there courses. By having this as an assignment it forced me to make the time to figure it out. It also forced me to open my headset that the school gave me two semesters ago--terrible I know, but time has a funny way of passing by.
My screencast was on some of the new features present in the Windows 7 operating system. I purposefully chose a topic that I could use in the computer concepts course I teach. Currently people may be using Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, and I wanted students that may not have access to the newest version to see some of the changes. Since I teach both online and traditional courses it is difficult for the online students to see first hand examples that I wish to show them of certain technology applications. Through screencasting they can not only see what I am doing, but they can hear me as well.
Creating the written notes as part of the screen cast I also enjoyed, because I have had two deaf students during the past school year. It has been my experience that videos do not always have closed captioning capabilities, and I was excited to know how to incorporate this into the cast. I had a few interuptions, and had to start over four times before I was happy with the recording. The phone also rang during one occurance. I did get a little confused when trying to finialize the video in knowing which format to save it in. Through a help tutorial I was able to resolve these issues.
This was one of the first assignments where I have run into several obstacles. Initially I had set out to use ScreenToaster to create my cast. Earlier in the semester I had begun to play around with the site, but had not finalized the project. Several days before the assignment was due Dr. Yuen discovered they were terminating the site. It wasn't terribly difficult to train myself using Screencast-o-matic, and other than those few things it was a great experience. This assignment is something I will definately continue to use in future courses I teach.
My screencast can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_HWwydos5o
My screencast was on some of the new features present in the Windows 7 operating system. I purposefully chose a topic that I could use in the computer concepts course I teach. Currently people may be using Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, and I wanted students that may not have access to the newest version to see some of the changes. Since I teach both online and traditional courses it is difficult for the online students to see first hand examples that I wish to show them of certain technology applications. Through screencasting they can not only see what I am doing, but they can hear me as well.
Creating the written notes as part of the screen cast I also enjoyed, because I have had two deaf students during the past school year. It has been my experience that videos do not always have closed captioning capabilities, and I was excited to know how to incorporate this into the cast. I had a few interuptions, and had to start over four times before I was happy with the recording. The phone also rang during one occurance. I did get a little confused when trying to finialize the video in knowing which format to save it in. Through a help tutorial I was able to resolve these issues.
This was one of the first assignments where I have run into several obstacles. Initially I had set out to use ScreenToaster to create my cast. Earlier in the semester I had begun to play around with the site, but had not finalized the project. Several days before the assignment was due Dr. Yuen discovered they were terminating the site. It wasn't terribly difficult to train myself using Screencast-o-matic, and other than those few things it was a great experience. This assignment is something I will definately continue to use in future courses I teach.
My screencast can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_HWwydos5o
Assignment 3--Scribd
For the Scribd assignment each of us were asked to upload a document or presenation that we had previously created. Initially I was not familiar with Scribd, but found it very user friendly. I found it interesting initially when Dr. Yuen compared it to a YouTube for your research papers. While YouTube allows users to search for video resources, as well as play and upload directly from the site; Scribd allows users multitude of different types of files and the ability to upload personal work. Exploring the site I was surprised to learn that users could even download books for free. With the release of the Kindle and IPad; I could see a lot of potential for this particular feature.
The versatility of this Web 2.0 application amazed me. You can upload documents created in a mirage of file formats including Google Docs. There was also such a variety of resources from school works, resumes/vitaes, books, puzzles, etc. I found Scribd to be beneficial both in the courses I am taking and teaching. By being able to upload documents to this centralized site it acts as a virtual library, allowing users to upload as well as download documents.
When using Scribd everything is utilized from the web browser, and doesn't requre you to download any software. This feature was also impressive to me. Additionally users can embed hyperlinks of their documents uploaded into Scribd into a blog, web page, or directly to their Facebook profiles. With the capability to embed the hyperlinks I see a lot of potential in the courses I teach. By having all of the documents stored on the Scribd server this would ease the resources required by the students. Embeding the URLs into a Blackboard lesson, students could simply click on the link to view the resources versus having to verify they had the correct software installed on their computers. This would simplify a lot of the technology issues I have encountered in the past while teaching introductory concepts courses.
My Scribd assignment can be viewed by going to www.scribd.com/doc/33337060/Podcasting-Qualitative-Study-1
The versatility of this Web 2.0 application amazed me. You can upload documents created in a mirage of file formats including Google Docs. There was also such a variety of resources from school works, resumes/vitaes, books, puzzles, etc. I found Scribd to be beneficial both in the courses I am taking and teaching. By being able to upload documents to this centralized site it acts as a virtual library, allowing users to upload as well as download documents.
When using Scribd everything is utilized from the web browser, and doesn't requre you to download any software. This feature was also impressive to me. Additionally users can embed hyperlinks of their documents uploaded into Scribd into a blog, web page, or directly to their Facebook profiles. With the capability to embed the hyperlinks I see a lot of potential in the courses I teach. By having all of the documents stored on the Scribd server this would ease the resources required by the students. Embeding the URLs into a Blackboard lesson, students could simply click on the link to view the resources versus having to verify they had the correct software installed on their computers. This would simplify a lot of the technology issues I have encountered in the past while teaching introductory concepts courses.
My Scribd assignment can be viewed by going to www.scribd.com/doc/33337060/Podcasting-Qualitative-Study-1
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