Course Final Reflection

All of my assignments have been uploaded, the discussions are dwindling and I am starting to think that soon I will be able to allow myself that wonderful end of semester sigh!!! I like this part of a course, because I can think about what I learned that is important.

My expectation for a course about, Educational Applications of the Internet, was to come out of it with a zillion tools that I can use in the library this school year. This expectation was met. It was the learning that I did not expect that had the most impact on me. I have a vision, albeit a blurry one, of how to move forward in my use of technology: 1. I need to make a commitment to keep up. I found so much information on twitter. I started following some very good people that provide links to blogs, workshops, and other resources that I need to know about to stay current with my profession. I like that (unlike email) I can add and remove the people that I follow at will. 2. Equally important, I need to continue to become a better searcher. One of the greatest tools that I learned about this semester was Youtube. Of course, I had already watched a zillion videos about silly things in the past. I did not, however, realize how valuable it was as a resource. I realized this when I posted questions about 2 assignments to the course discussion board and both classmates answered with a YT link. I like to think of it as my tool for 21st century apprenticeship. 3. I also learned that to find answers to my questions I didn't always need the instructor. I think Dr. Ingram, intentionally tried to stay in the background and give us time to figure it out ourselves. This is both scary and a confidence builder. I think his goal was more about agency than giving us 50 new links to add to our delicious account. In five years the 50 links will probably be replaced by new and improved resources. It is the confidence that I have gained as an independent learner and searcher that will continue to serve me.

How do I incorporate this in my own teaching? I don't think that I have learned how to create an environment that accomplishes these goals, yet. What I did learn is that there are resources that I can find and virtual conversations that I can follow to help me to learn to create a better learning environment and become a better teacher.

Podcast

I created a podcast. It wasn't my first, but I spent a little more (okay a lot more) time on it than before. I used Garage Band and figured out how to add and align backup music and created an MP3. It was an interview and I recruited a volunteer to be the interviewee. It only took 6 tries to get it to a point that there is only 1 "umm". I am pretty happy with it. I uploaded it on Google, so I have a URL that I submitted for grading.

There is only one problem. For some reason I can't embed it in my website. I posted this question on the discussion board and one kind classmate sent me a link to a Youtube video that explains it perfectly. Unfortunately, it still doesn't work and I need a break from looking at it. I posted a followup question and am now waiting for a response.

That's the thing. There are great resources out their. One of the advantages of this kind of independent learning is that a lot of other learning happens along the way. For example, two of the "answers" that were sent to me (from questions that I asked on the discussion board) included a Youtube link. In addition to answering my question, I learned that smart people use Youtube to find answers.

But I must admit at times I would rather be spoon-fed (Sigh). I think I'll check the discussion board one more time to see if anyone has responded.

The Moral of the story is

Life is very busy right now - last semester, interviews, appointments, kids, parent.... you know the drill. So this week I was planning on writing about how hard it is to keep up. I was going to perform my obligatory read through Twitter and catch up on my RSS feeds and then Blah Blah Blah Blah about how hard it is to keep up. But a funny thing happened. As I glanced over the feeds there was a post about QR codes that caught my attention because of a recent project that I completed. It wasn't the codes that I got excited about, but rather this amazing resource - a website called LiveBinders- that has information about everything techie organized in virtual binders. There are 1,000 binders and 30 of them are about educational topics. It includes everything from how to use Twitter in the classroom to 1st grade Math word problems. It also provides a tool to organize my own binders.

This "keeping up" time was absolutely worth my while. While I am still crazy busy, I learned another lesson. Funny, it always seems like I want to end my posts with "the moral of this story is...... :) Anyway, I found paydirt today and it was only because I scheduled time to review a few preselected and technology managed sources. Scheduling time to read and write Blogs and Tweet, is a way to help me to find the right balance between information overload and being uniformed.

Evaluation of Wikis as a Resource

This week's reading in our textbook is about Wikis. After reading this chapter I have a new appreciation for the importance of using this tool. As I consider traditional criteria used for evaluating resources and goals for 21C learning, I am starting to see the value of incorporating this collaboration tool into education.

Is the resource current?

Wikis are current. Wikis that are frequently attended to obviously have an advantage over print. The author gives an example of how quickly information was published on Wikipedia during the Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami. Wikipedia currently has about 400,000 edits per day (p 57). As I think about our group project assignment it is clear that using wiki's will allow us to define purpose, pull resources together and update a lot of information quickly. The result will likely be a better product than we would have created individually.

Is the resource accurate?

Some people are concerned about this one. I had to laugh when the author mentioned that some might think that Wikepedia should be called Wackopedia (p 56). Obviously, not all wikis are accurate, but by design they have built in checks and balances.

Is the resource unbiased?

This is possibly the most advantageous reason to use a wiki in that it provides an opportunity for people with different perspectives to contribute to the thinking. This is not how education worked during my K-16 career, but collaboration is definitely a major focus in 21stC education. This is world changing. One thing that stood our in the text was the importance of "using discussion tabs by editors and contributors to carryout negotiations over what should appear in the entry being created". He advocates reading the discussions to get a feel for the different perspectives but also to "get a sense of the give and take skills that will serve our students well in the future." This seems like a good tip. In any case, the friendly challenges that occur in the collaboration process promote deeper thinking and possibly a new way of thinking.

The implications of using wikis to communicate and create new information is monumental. It provides a structure that encourages higher level thinking. It is freeing and in some respects reminds me of the transition from typewriter to word processor. The ability to correct and rearrange text made for a richer product that shifted the focus from mechanical to cognitive. The use of wikis and working in collaboration is another coupe that will shift the focus from a self reliant approach to a more synergistic approach. Using collaborative tools such as wikis helps to set the stage for the creation of a superior product with more depth and breadth as well as a richer experience for the learner.

Recipes

Finding recipes in cookbooks, on Food Network, online or in magazines has always been relaxing for me. I can spend hours browsing and thinking about how this recipe would be perfect for a given occasion or how that recipe might help me to accomplish a health goal. About a year ago, I made a conscious decision to spend less time searching and more time cooking.

As I reflect on the ITEC course that I am taking this summer I am considering making a similar commitment about my technology use. You see for the last 3 years I have been learning about Blogs, wikis, Twitter, podcast, websites, and loads of multimedia tools. My internet footprint is a graveyard for at least 3 websites, 4 Blogs, a dormant twitter account, etc... I have collected the recipes and the ingredients, but I never really started cooking.

And yes, I must continue to learn and find new tools, but it is also important that I apply what I learn when the opportunity presents itself. So, whenever I hear the little voice in my head saying something like, "that would be a good application for a wiki", I am going to start cooking. The courses that I am taking are helping me to cross over from the safe place where I read about and set up a Blog, to a scary place where I am a blogger. It is a risk to put yourself out there.

But there are some not so risky opportunities, also. Yesterday, my daughter mentioned that she is making a list with her roommates of things that they need in their college apartment. "Perfect application for a wiki," I thought. So this morning I spent 10 minutes creating a wiki for her OSU roomies to use to create a collaborative list. This was easy and not threatening, but without making the conscious effort, I would not have done it.

What is really important, whether I am taking about cooking or the internet, is that I choose to show up and be an active participant in my life and in my learning.

Bon Appetit!

iPhone as a tool

I was one of the zillion Verizon customers that jumped on the iPhone in February. I've installed some fun apps, but I haven't used it to its potential. This morning (is 2 a.m. morning) there was a terrible storm and I was wide awake. When the power went out, I was even more awake because I started worrying about how I would complete 2 online classes with no juice. Then I started wondering how much I could do on my phone and for the last 2 hours I have been playing. I was able to read the class Twitter (there is an app) and access Google Reader to read blogs. I was able to sign on to Flashline and read most of the information in the class folders. For some reason I couldn't figure out how to post to my Blog. I had a problem signing into Blogger. I started thinking about how students are always carrying their phones around. If the learning resources were accessible on the phone (audio, video, blogs, texting) work outside the classroom might be easier to coordinate with their busy schedules. One more thing to learn about.

Metablogging

Metablogging. Blogging about blogging. Isn’t that what I am doing? Although I’ve set up blogs in the past and I read a lot of blogs, I haven’t been good about posting to them on an ongoing basis. I can already tell that this class is going to take me out of my comfort zone and transform me from someone who understands blogs to a blogger.

One of our reading assignments, Content Delivery in the Blogosphere, identifies four benefits of student blogging that I want to think about as I blog about my blogging. First, blogging helps students become subject matter experts. For me this is true. Part of blogging is reading other blogs to gather and synthesize information. The best part is that digging deeper into a subject is painless. It is as easy as clicking on a hyperlink. I can also follow the bloggers that my favorite bloggers follow. Blogging can lead to student participation in a self-defined virtual learning community. Second, the use of blogs increases the student’s interest and ownership. For me personally, this is the greatest benefit of blogging as a student. I can focus on parts of the learning that are meaningful to me. As I blog about new learning, I construct new thinking and consider how it fits into what I already know and what I need to know. Blogging makes the learning authentic and provides a trail so that I can see how I arrived at a certain way of thinking. Third, the use of blogs gives students legitimate chances to participate. By its very nature blogging encourages participation by individuals. The article noted that “blogging opens up assignments beyond the teacher student relationship”, however, I contend that part of the true value is that blogging also enriches the communication between the teacher and student. It provides a window for the teacher to better understand student thinking which may result in additional consultation with a particular student or adjustments to teaching. Finally, The use of blogs provides opportunities for diverse perspectives, both within and outside of the classroom. The example in our textbook in which the author describes how he used the class blog to communicate with author, Sue Monk Kidd about her intentions when she wrote The Secret Life of Bees shows the power of blogging. I read blogs so that I can be in contact with great thinkers and get insight into their thinking. It is both informative and motivational.

It is clear that blogging can be incorporated in the classroom to promote higher-level learning. During the Orientation session, Dr. Ingram mentioned that in order to understand the true value of blogging, teachers need to become bloggers. So I am going to accept his challenge to blog at least twice a week during this course and make every effort to continue to blog after it is over.