Lesson 6 Reflection

Hi Professor,

Although there was no group activity for my group during this lesson, I will have to say that our class behaved as a group due to their various comments, clarifications,etc on questions asked about assignments and postings. There are quite a few of students that have elaborately contributed to my learning experience besides what you have provided. Since there was no official team work, I will answer your questions in relation to me as an individual in this course. I am proud that I have made it thus far in your class, as well as others without experiencing a complete meltdown...lol. Although I haven't performed as I would have liked to, I still feel glad that I have made some contribution to my learning by producing products that you have requested and continuously using familiar tools to create more products. I have found it to be challenging to complete all the final projects in my all of my classes to my expectations. Even though I have written down a skeleton of my projects, time is not on my side. I feel that even if I complete my projects, I will not be able to complete them with the detail I would like. I guess I am saying that if I wanted to elaborate on an area that I was really interested in, I couldn't because I would have to spread my attention to my other coursework. Although I am not completing any teamwork activities, I will have to say the class has more than likely received more real-life situations on the topics we discussed in the discussion board. There are many issues in creating networked learning environments, especially if you want to incorporate popular web-based tools such as Web 2.0 and social media websites. The main problem I see is that the policies implemented in various school districts,etc is not current with the change in access to nodes of information. Another problem would be the support necessary to manage and secure these various websites that would be used. Overall, I am really understanding the time and effort that must be utilized to create EFFECTIVE learning environments. It is more than just placing information in an organized format. It is placing information in a manner that supports models of instruction, using learning theories in the activities such as Constructivism, and providing effective assessment that is not limited to multiple choice and true and false, but the creation of products such as a website or a multimedia presentation. Thanks!

Mary

Lesson 5 Reflection

Hi Professor,

Wow. The semester is really coming to an end. It's been tough trying to complete all the necessary tasks in all the classes, but the truth is if one is organized, it can be done. This assignment sort of started early with our flyer in Lesson 3. I must admit, creating an effective presentation requires time, patience, and creativity. I am proud our team came together to create a nice presentation. We were all responsible for certain components of the program. We had one member add some great pictures and formatting to create an informative yet professional presentation. What I find quite challenging is our schedules. Sometimes we have certain time schedules that conflict with external engagements. It would be great if we had more usage of mobile tools for an updated notice/development. I think our team learned how important it is to first plan a NLE before one can actually begin designing. I feel that a vision is imperative just as well as a national impact. A vision provides the foundation of the planning,but the design in most cases is based on the audience. Are they computer literate and if so, on what level? I would like to share that many individuals looking on the outside really are misinformed about the role of an educational technologist. Some associate us explicitly as curriculum designers but based on responsibilities,our job entails so much more. Thanks!

Mary

Lesson 5 Reflection

Hi Professor,

Wow. The semester is really coming to an end. It's been tough trying to complete all the necessary tasks in all the classes, but the truth is if one is organized, it can be done. This assignment sort of started early with our flyer in Lesson 3. I must admit, creating an effective presentation requires time, patience, and creativity. I am proud our team came together to create a nice presentation. We were all responsible for certain components of the program. We had one member add some great pictures and formatting to create an informative yet professional presentation. What I find quite challenging is our schedules. Sometimes we have certain time schedules that conflict with external engagements. It would be great if we had more usage of mobile tools for an updated notice/development. I think our team learned how important it is to first plan a NLE before one can actually begin designing. I feel that a vision is imperative just as well as a national impact. A vision provides the foundation of the planning,but the design in most cases is based on the audience. Are they computer literate and if so, on what level? I would like to share that many individuals looking on the outside really are misinformed about the role of an educational technologist. Some associate us explicitly as curriculum designers but based on responsibilities,our job entails so much more. Thanks!

Mary

Lesson 5 Reflection

Well, we are almost done! Lesson 5 went well for our group. We continued to use Elluminate for the group meetings and worked around each other's schedules. The network learning training for Delicious was a good experience for all of us and we received great feedback from those who participated. As a group we were able to each take a part and contribute to the powerpoint presentation. Google docs seemed to work well for this purpose. The content for the training was clear to everyone and covered all points. I was not able to present with the group, but we were able to work that out. I went ahead and used Google forms to make the survey in order to do my part. After completing the network training, I think each of us learned a little more about Delicious bookmarks and how it can be integrated into teaching and learning. We also got a little more experience in how to organize and collaborate as a group when putting together our ideas for the training session. Overall our group did very well, and made good use of the time that we had.

Lesson 4 Reflection

Hi Professor,

The previous lesson and current lesson both required extensive cooperation and collaboration . I am proud that our group does well with effectively communicating with each other via email and Elluminate. We have also used various collaboration tools such as Google Docs during this project. We all take responsibility for our assigned duties and so far have produced great products. Sometimes it is challenging to coordinate various scheduling of meetings due to various external factors such as family, careers, etc, but we have been doing quite well. Although I have worked in student computing for 3.5 years, I still had no idea about the network design. It is far more complicated that I had imagined. It takes skill and talent to configure such processes. I also learned new terminology. One thing I did see, even in a library setting is that training the staff to have digital literacy will be quiet challenging if lack computer literacy. As far as our paper , I just hope it is what you are looking for!!! ;)

Sincerely,
Mary

Lesson 3 Reflection

Hi Professor Chi,

This will be a blog submission for the entire group. WOW. I think that I have coined that word due to my extensive usage of it..lol. We have much work to be completed individually and as a group. I am proud that our group has great communication. The fact that some of are in different time zones with different responsibilities is very difficult, but we find the time necessary to sacrifice to make sure we are completing our group obligations. This week alone, we communicated greatly. We always knew that some Web 2.0 tools were great, but this week, we learned just how important Elluminate was for us. Some things must be done via voice chat, even though regular instant messaging/text is useful. I think more individuals will convert to audio because text sometimes takes longer to communicate. The challenging factor I think is just making sure we can all meet and complete our task. Sometimes, things come up or a meeting lasts longer than we think because we have to make sure the work gets done. Personally, Im still trying to find a balance amongst all my classes. Some of us are graduating this semester so its very important that we make sure our work is quality. Well, we have already made great use of Elluminate and I would recommend it for integration into the curriculum, especially for group projects and for presentation purposes. We were also discussing Skype as a possible tool to use for communication. I think at one point or another we have seen or experienced the various discrepancies that are prevalent in the age of technology. Hopefully, our wiki will allow for a more profound approach. As a team, I think we are just trying to find that balance of responsibility. In other words, I think we are all very passionate about our education and when we meet, everyone provides sound information and solutions to any problems we face. It's true what they say..."two heads are better than one."

Thanks!!!

Group 3

Lesson 2 Reflection

I think team 3 is doing very well. We have kept our lines of communication open, everyone is very helpful and willing to get things done. I am looking forward to our team moderation for the next few weeks, hopefully all will go as smoothly as planned. I didn't find anything that was too challenging on this assignment. We got more practice with the Delicious bookmarking, and I enjoyed reading everyone's posts. The discussions were interesting and I did learn much more on emerging technology and mobile learning. There is so much new and interesting technology out there..and more to come! Very exciting.

Lesson 2 Reflection

So far I feel that our team has worked together well, when necessary. I feel fortunate to have teamed up with such pros. The true test will be how well we are able to moderate the next couple of weeks’ discussions. From what I have seen so far, I don’t think it will be that big of a problem. The key ingredient to any good team is an openness and willingness to work together, and we have those elements covered. The analogy with this photo is that nothing is impossible with the right team.
Bring on Lesson 3!!

Lesson 2 Reflection

Lesson 2 Reflection

Hi Professor Chi,

Its been a difficult start to this semester overall, but things are beginning to come along. I remember you stating this course would be very different and your words are quite true. I just have to adjust. I was working but I quit due to some compelling circumstances, but I also feel that I needed to free my mind and time anyway because this is a challenging semester taking 3 ETC courses. Time management and orgnaization seem to be the main things I have to relearn. The summmer really spoiled me...lol. I think if I could have taken a summer course, it would have kept me in the swing of things. Minds at rest rust and mine became a bit rusty but I think Im making my way through.

Our team overall is great. I do feel a bit alienated but that is independent of the team. Just feel a bit behind I guess. Our team does communicate very well when it is necessary. We respond to each others' emails promptly, we compromise,etc. I feel that we really understand that group communication is vital. I have found so far no team work that has been exceptionally challenging so far, but more than likely meeting times will be a possible issue due to our various responsibilities outside of education. I was very impressed with the various points, etc about mobile learning. I have my own personal opinions about mobile learning. I feel that networking technology has multiple usages in more than the educational or business sectors. It has allowed for time-space compression and has created a global approach to learning, acquiring multiple forms of information, and communication.
I think so far our team is quite happy with each other that we are able to come together and complete our task. After our moderation is complete, then we will probably have more to share! :)

Mary

Lesson 1 Reflection

Hi Professor Chi,

Wow. This semester has been going OK for me, but the course content is great! I have learned more from classmates than I have from last semester and this is just the first lesson. I must admit that I feel a little alienated because I havent been an active participant like I desire. As far as the team collaboration goes, some of the team members have really taken advantage of numerous communication tools such as Vista Chat and email. I have had numerous live chats with teammates. I am glad that we have a leader in the team who is willing to take the reins for the sake of the team. I think we all have done our part in returning information such as email/phone,etc. I think what will be challenging is Elluminate communication possibly because of my dial-up connection and slow computer. Due to the fact that we havent done too much group work yet, it hasnt necessarily comprised a problem, but i feel eventually it will. Overall, I think our group has gotten a great start.

The lesson is great. It was nice to see the information that some of the fellow classmates gathered from the required readings. I had heard of connectivism,but never really studied the theory in depth. One of our classmates states that constructivism will be replaced by connectivism. I personally think they will work hand in hand. Thanks.

Mary

Lesson 1 Reflection

I think our team has done very well so far. We have managed to set up all our accounts, and our team governance is complete, and we have kept in contact with each other.
Some more challenging aspects have been trying to figure out exactly what all we need to accomplish and where everything is located in vista and outside of vista.
We have done well by learning the new technologies in wetpaint, delicious, blogger, google docs, etc and we still have much more to accomplish this semester but it should be interesting. I was pretty happy overall with this lesson. The concept maps are always fun. The discussion forums were interesting. I enjoyed the readings on personal learning environments and connectivism.

Lesson 1 Reflection

Here are the questions to blog about for Lesson 1.
Team work of which I am proud.
Team work which I found exceptionally challenging.
Reflections on technology and instructional strategies that you and your team learned from this lesson.
Anything your team would like to share