Course Reflection

This course was fun to take. I enjoyed learning about all the different tools presented. All of the activities that were planned demonstrated great instructional tools. Each one expanded my horizon and I enjoyed completing them. There were parts that were more difficult than others and some were pretty frustrating. The frustrating parts had more to do with being kicked out - having sites freeze up repeatedly - and problems with accessing sites. Some of my frustrations were from trying to complete parts of the assignment before reading like I should have. Once I read and watched the videos in the resource section most of the time it answered my questions. The assignments were all something I felt was relevant and would be useful in my field to know about. I like how Dr. Yuen has listed multiple resources in the Lecture Notes - this gives me plenty to choose from and different ways to learn it, so it appeals to students who have varying learning styles. I think this is something I will use if I teach. This helped me more thoroughly learn the content seeing the material in more than one way and also seeing it multiple times. I had never heard of Mixxt before so this was a great way to experience it – be forced to be immersed in it! I have liked using Mixxt, but found some of the pages difficult to navigate. The only activity I dislike in this class will be the last one I have left and that is the research paper. I like the discussion forum - I think it is important for the teacher to plan interaction for students. The discussion forum allows students to really be part of a class, ask for help, help other classmates, and exchange ideas. Commenting on other people’s assignments can help the student look at things in a different way. This also helps the student see the value of their work and/or see how maybe they can make some changes to improve. Having this feedback helps the student determine if they are on the right track. The other students in the course really have taught me a lot and have provided some great examples. I have enjoyed looking at others' work and have appreciated the work they have put into their projects. My classmates have great ideas and I can certainly see the value of implementing many things in the classroom.

Reflection #7 Eyejot

I really like Eyejot and would be very interested in seeing the full capabilities. One of the reasons I really like how this is set up is the fact that you do not have to download any software nor do you have to store the videos yourself. This helps in schools when you have to go through quite a lot to download any software on the school computers. This aids in storage issues for the students also. The students and teacher won’t have to worry about forgetting their thumb drive or having large files stored on the school computer. This assignment was very easy to do and I can see this would be a very fun activity for students. Teachers are always looking for fun inexpensive ways to bring learning to students and this has great potential. The types of things you can do with this tool are leaving short video messages for students for lots of things. You could give directions for an assignment using this tool. This helps students who need to learn by viewing a way to learn. This also gives students a chance to use technology. Students can also be taught to create their own video messages. Students could answer discussion questions and send them to the teacher. Students could be assigned a section of a reading for students to read and discuss in a group. The group could then present key facts about the section using Eyejot. I think this tool also helps in the class atmosphere. I thought it was a great idea that we had to upload our video. The discussion board really doesn’t do what seeing a person speak can. This really helps me see our classmates as being more a part of the class and puts us a tiny step toward personal interaction. This assignment is very useful in my current field and could be something easily done throughout the college I work for. For instance, employees could use this as a recruiting tool. Recruiters could create a video talking about how great the college is and what it has to offer and post the video on Facebook and the college WebPages. It is also something I would use if I teach. This activity was a great hands-on assignment. My future learning goals in this area are to continue using this tool and learn what I can about it. Click here to access my Eyejot assignment.

Reflection #6 WebQuest

I had created a WebQuest before, but it was simpler than this one. The WebQuest I created prior to this one also dealt with the same subject area. Any computer course naturally lends itself to using this tool, but so do all other subjects. There are so many uses for this tool. Such as, an English teacher could create a WebQuest to learn about William Shakespeare and evaluate his works. This would give a fresh way for students to explore a difficult subject, while enhancing the technology skills. One subject I think could benefit from using a WebQuest is Personal Finance. Two different times in my student teaching experience I had to teach students about managing a checking account. Creating a WebQuest to take the student through the process could help students really get it. I was surprised at how little the students knew about managing a checking account or using a debit card and they had difficulties with the concept. I really think having a WebQuest take them from the Federal Reserve to reconciling an account could be done through a WebQuest. A WebQuest in college subjects could also work well. For example, in an Archeology course the instructor could create a WebQuest taking students through getting prepared for a dig and take the student through taking the find back to the lab for cleanup and cataloging. An accounting WebQuest could drive home the concept of creating an Income Statement and Balance Sheet along with incorporating reasons these items are used and how. Maybe if students can see the whole picture the concept would be easier to comprehend. I learned I have to pay close attention to detail and really sit back and look at it like the student would. Sometimes it is easy to overlook things since in my mind I know what it should say rather than what it does say. I learned that the assignment was a bit easier after I wrote it out before actually creating it. I think it always helps to jot down ideas, plan out what your end result will be, then, begin to create. I don’t always do this, but I do feel I do a better job when I do. I think this is a really great tool for students. This is something I will use in the future and I hope to learn more about in the future. Click here to access my WebQuest.

Reflection #5 Google Sites

I had used Google Sites before, but this assignment really forced me to look deeper and learn more. In a previous course I learned how to upload documents, PowerPoint presentations, and documents from Google docs. I find this tool is not easy to use with graphics and you don’t have much control like you do in Microsoft Word. This is a good assignment because it has a great use and really is a practical real-world result. This is something I can use and learn from. I know I will be using it in the future. This tool really makes creating a Website in the grasp of those who are technologically challenged. Google Sites makes it much easier to create a Website. All teachers should have a class Website. I believe a class Website is necessary to keep students and parents in the loop, especially if class is missed. Even though this requires some work at the front end for the teacher, this only helps with time management for the teacher later. The teacher could have all documents uploaded for easy access for students. All assignments could be posted for students to access. The Website could also serve as a method for students to upload their own assignments as they complete them. The class Website should enable parents to check on their child’s workload and see what their child is learning. The teacher can also use the Website as a class project to be worked on throughout the course. The Website can be an assignment the students work on together to create. Another great feature about Google Sites is that it is free. With all of the templates and choices on Google Sites there are options for the teacher to assign a group project for students to create a Website for a community service project and a grade. Students could choose an upcoming event, such as, a Community Theatre production, and create a site for it. This helps students to learn how to create a website for someone else and how to work in a group. This assignment is relevant and a real-world activity. The teacher could even have a guest speaker from each organization speak to the class and the students could get a better feel for what the organization is about to incorporate in the site. I hope to learn as much as possible about Google Sites because it is a great tool. Click here to access my Google Sites assignment.

Reflection #4 Diigo

I had never even heard of Diigo before, much less used it, so I learned a lot about it. I like being able to bookmark sites. Diigo has a search feature that could be neat. I searched for online learning, but came up with no useful information. However, you do have the option to search your site and the bookmarkings of others by name, email, tags, site, and URL. I like the message option, which also allows you to add it to a blog (Easyblog). Diigo allows you to import your bookmarks from Delicious, Simpy, Blinklist, Connotea, and Furl. Another thing I learned is that you can highlight and use sticky notes to make notes on web pages. You can also make notes, upload pictures, files, and videos. It states that even after a time it remains as it would if you had highlighted it in a printed book. According to Diigo, when you bookmark a page you can “upload the page and capture a snapshot”. The web pages are stored in your Diigo account, so you can access them from any Internet access. You can share your bookmarkings or keep them private. You can use Diigo to collaborate with your team or group by sharing with each other your findings. This gives each member time to check out the sites prior to group meetings. This would be a great tool for an assignment for students to collaborate for a class project. The students could upload their portion of the project in a Word document, upload their resources, make notes and share them, bookmark web sites they find that may help each other, and leave sticky notes for their teammates. You can also send all of your stuff to your blog, Twitter, Facebook and others. This allows you to “archive multiple versions of the same URL”. Diigo could really help when a student has multiple classes and has to do a lot of Internet research. Diigo could really help keep things straight and organized. I do like how you can get updates whenever someone in your group adds a bookmark. This helps me stay on top of things. This assignment was great to show me a great tool I could include in my future classes in my school and also if I get to teach. I plan to learn more about Diigo and use it now and in the future. Click here to access my Diigo assignment.

Reflection #3 Twitter

I had never used Twitter before, so every part of the process of this assignment was a learning experience. I really so little value in using Twitter. I guess it is neat to “follow” people or interests, but I can access the Internet and look a lot of things up that I am interested in using a search engine and not have to check my Twitter account and get partial short messages. I can look it up and read all about it. At this time this tool is not important to me at all, but since a lot of people seem to use and like it I think it is important to know what I can about it. I do not find it fun or entertaining. I just see it as something else I would have to spend my time on and it isn’t worth it to me. I professionally do not see the value in Twitter. I do not really see the value of using Twitter in class, so I cannot see myself as using it at all in an educational environment. There is too much in a high school curriculum to spend much time on excess or nonessential things. However, I could see the value of teaching about Twitter in college classes for media and journalism. I think since so many people use Twitter it should be taught and practiced in courses dealing with newscasting, sports broadcasting, broadcasting, media, and journalism. According to my husband it is important when trying to keep up with athletes, training camps, injuries, etc. My children tell me their friends find Twitter important to keep up with their favorite celebrities - what they are up to, where they are, and what they are thinking. I did see that Lindsey Lohan tweeted after her court appearance about how she was feeling about her impending term to spend some time in jail – come on – are we that bored with our own lives? I think it would be ok to touch on Twitter in business and computer courses. Spending a lot of time on Twitter would be very unnecessary, since it is simple to sign up and use and I am sure plenty of students Twitter. I think texting and emailing make more sense than adding Twitter to the list of things to do. My future learning goals include not a whole lot to do with Twitter at this time. To access my Twitter assignment click here.

Reflection #2 Blog

I learned more about creating a blog this time I created my blog. I like creating blogs and hope that when I am done with my master’s degree I will have a bit more time to create a blog just for fun. The more I do it – the more comfortable I become with it. I plan to continue to practice with blogging and utilizing this tool. This assignment is important to my field because I hope to teach online one day soon and this is a great assignment for my future students. I do believe blogs are perfect places for students to showcase their work. This gives students a way to publish their work right away. This gives students a sense of pride and accomplishment. Students can also get MUCH needed practice writing – and all without it seemingly like writing. This is a great way for students to create a blogfolio and upload all of their assignments. With all of the student’s work within the blog, teachers, students, and parents can also see the progression of work. You can read older blogs and compare them to newer blogs and see progress. This is a good way for students to assess each other’s work and make comments. This is a good way for students to start looking at what they think is good or bad and learning from each other. I think this can make them a better writer. This tool could be used in any course at almost any level. Students in 3rd grade and up could participate in blogging in some way. Third graders could create a simple blog using a template and write short stories from week to week adding a paragraph each week. Eight grade students could create a blog about possible jobs, showcasing and discussing one new job a week. Students could then post on their peer’s blog what they know or have experienced about that job. Twelfth graders could create a blog for a blogfolio uploading key assignments and then loading them on a CD to take to potential employers and/ or schools to showcase their talent. College students can use blogging as a blogfolio, to journal, or any number of things – journal their personal journey through college, use the blog as a team project to collect parts of the assignment through the semester to culminate at the end of the semester by linking the final project with a reflection. To access my blog (you are on it) click here.

Reflection #1 Web Searching

I have completed a similar assignment in another course, but the focus was on finding good websites rather than different search engines. This is a good exercise to focus more on the content and attractability of a website. I learned a lot about different search engines. I had no idea there were so many! I usually use Google to search for everything, but I will incorporate some variety in my personal and professional searches. This aspect of the assignment is very important to my job. I do a lot of searching on the Internet and have difficulties finding some things, so this assignment will really help me. This would be a great assignment for students in junior high and up. Students are not taught how to actually search for things on the Internet and this would certainly help them tremendously for the rest of their life. I have had to use the Internet, search engines, and all manner of web sites throughout all of my college and my children have used it throughout all of their schooling from 3rd grade on. Searching and accessing the content on websites are skills that can be taught and cultivated. There are obvious deficiencies in students’ skills in researching. Having students learn to search for web sites and determine if it is good and why makes them think on a higher level, which is the goal. This would be a great assignment for any course, but especially in English when writing an essay or research paper. Before the teacher has students write the essay or research paper, the teacher could demonstrate the various search engines. The teacher could then have students access various websites using a mixture of search engines and practice assessing the usefulness of the content, its visual appeal, and the sites’ interactivity. Variations could also include students presenting their findings on their blog, giving an oral presentation about the differences in search engine results, or creating a PowerPoint presentation about the pros and cons of two websites – one good and one bad. My future learning goals for this area are to learn more about different search engines and try looking at websites a little differently to see what is attractive and what my future students might like so that I can continue to get better at creating websites. To access this assignment click here, search for it, or scroll down and find it in my blog!

Assignment #6 - WebQuest

I had to create a WebQuest for this class. Please click here to access it.

Discussion #5 - Internet Dangers & Software Filtering

Dangers:
Pornography
Inappropriate language
Immoral content
Information that goes against the student’s religion
Students may spend way too much time on the Internet
Not good for eyes
Not good for health (lack of exercise)
Less time being with family and friends
Predators
Gives students another avenue to find ways to get into trouble
Gives students opportunities to plagiarize easier – ethical issues


Strategies:
Introduction and regular review of the Acceptable Use Policy
Position computers so the teacher can view every screen
There is software available that teachers can see every screen on the teacher’s computer screen, as well as, lock students out of access, demonstrate on the student’s computer, and let students see your computer screen
Proximity to the student – walk around often
Use WebQuests – direct the student’s clicking


Effectiveness of Internet Filtering:
From my experience one school I student taught at had no filtering at all. The students regularly accessed sites that had nothing to do with education. The mentor teacher allowed it to go on – most of the students did not turn their work in on time and some did not turn anything in. The next school I went to had filtering and it was very frustrating. Many educational sites were blocked and a request to add the site to the approved list took forever – so, you either had to plan very far in advance or do something else altogether. What I observed was that the filtering was inconsistent in that it sometimes allowed sites and sometimes did not. According to “no filtering system is 100 percent fail proof. A diligent student will be successful at locating inappropriate material if it is out there.” The third school I taught at had filtering set at a minimum level, but also had software the teacher could view every computer. This seemed to work the most effectively at keeping the kids safe.

Assignment #5 - Google Sites

I had to use Google Sites to create a site for a course. Click here to access it.

Discussion #4 WebQuests

I created a WebQuest for an assignment. The WebQuest led my students in creating a trip for their "boss". Students were broken into small groups. They each had jobs to do. Together, they had to create an itinerary including every minute detail. They had to acces the links to learn all about hotels, eateries, sites to see, money exchange rates, costs of everything, flights, etc to put the whole trip together and present it as a group. This also went along with the next lesson - which was Global etiquette and they had to continue learning about the country they chose in regards to etiquette, which included a meal and showing proof they had learned how to set a table, greet people properly, try not to offend, and could behave properly at a dinner party. The students had a ball with this project and really learned a lot.
The WebQuest was easy to create and fun. It also allows you to lead the students to the sites that you have already checked out and keeps the time down that the student would be looking on their own at hundreds of sites. This also gives students a list of the things they need to accomplish and can be saved in Word. All of these make WebQuests user friendly.
You really have to watch your time with this project because students seem to really get into using it and it can be hard to manage. You really have to be diligent and keeping students on task. I did have a couple of issues with the links I had gathered and had to replace them during class - so be watchful of that.

Assignment #4 - Diigo Social Bookmarks

I had to create an account with Diigo and bookmark at least 15 items. Click here to visit my Diigo site.

Discussion #3 Web-based Instruction

I can use the Web in teaching by letting students research topics for a paper, use a WebQuest for making travel arrangements, blog as their reflections journal, find out about the latest NASA news, learn how to bring a recycling program to their school – there are many more ways. For learning, I can use the Web to research all about my research paper topic, the latest teaching strategies, examples of projects to implement, etc.

The Good:
Virtually unlimited potential
With limited resources you can still broaden your students’ horizons
Learn from other cultures
Hands-on
Students learn to research
Students see more examples
Good for students who are more shy
Good for students who cannot always make the drive to the campus
Can ask questions and access content any time

The Bad:
Inappropriate sites
Network/server issues
Connection issues
Lack of money for equipment and to keep up with the latest
Not everything you find is true – have to weed through
Lack of personal interaction
Harder to motivate students
Harder to get to know students

Communications and Interactions Issue:
There is good and bad in this issue. On the positive side, WBI allows students who have difficulty being successful in social situations the opportunity to focus on their school work instead of the social aspect. On the negative side, the personal interaction is great to learn. The more you do it – the better you get. Students not getting it lose out on the opportunity to get practice. There is also some loss in group collaboration in WBI. It is hard to read someone in an online environment and get to know how someone thinks and will be in the group setting. Not having the non-verbal interaction in the group is difficult to overcome. However, I had to do multiple group assignments last semester and loved it – our whole class was great and especially my group. I had a great experience with it, but I do realize that many groups are not like that at all. There are issues with groups in the traditional setting also. The non-verbal communication is also lost in chat, email, and discussion. It is more difficult to convey a dry sense of humor and it may be easy to ruffle feathers.

Assignment #7 - Eyejot Video