811 Reflections

Well I am glad I made it through. Several suggestions for the future. Do not overlap with 810. Two at once, I couldn't hardly keep track of what was due for which class. I had to make a separate spreadsheet to handle it. Second, don't take a 10 day vacation, overseas, in the middle of any class, let alone a technology class. But here we are.
I am glad to have the opportunity to actually practice technologies. All of my previous professional development concerning these types of technologies were taught by outsiders or non-teachers that make the disclaimer reader at the end of a commercial seem like a slowpoke, never to be seen or heard from again. That makes technology frustrating (like it can't be anyway).
I have incorporated some of the lessons into my classroom already. I can see what does and doesn't work, but overall they seem to be successful. That was one of my goals. My other goal is to set up the cirriulum it an application such as Moodle. While I haven't got a handle on that as of yet, I can see how the lessons I have developed will work it that format.
Also, I may have my first professional development as a teacher. One of our counselors saw what I was doing with the StAIRS project and wants to use Stairs to develop a module to prepare CTE students for college. Cool.
It has been good working with the class. 812 starts today and I'll be in the summer cohort at MSU. Hope to see you there.

Online Learning

I am probably not the best advocate for online learning. These classes with limited face to face have been trying to say the least. I wonder how it is for the students? Are they more used to technology so they can handle it better or do they share the same frustrations? There is something to be said for direct interaction between student in teacher.
In my class, Diesel Technology, students have several online units they complete, but I find that while the online has great animations and explanations, many students have a hard time transfering that knowledge to a dirty, greasy part that they can hardly see. It's not quite the same.
One of the online training programs I use is the same one GM tech use, so students (though they may not like it) will be familiar with the type of training they will get on the job site. All of my online experiences require testing for content retention, build upon previous lessons and provide a certificate upon completion. That certificate is a document for their portfolio that will help them get a job. It also is proof that they completed the course. In addition to my safety lectures/lessons, students will complete an online safety program that will show when they received safety training. Good documentation is case of an accident.
The fact that students can access the programs at home lets me assign them as homework. I can use them for remedial instruction as well.
I have been trying to use Moodle off and on over the past couple of years, but I need to find the time to set it up in a way that works best for my class. I like the idea of less paper and the ability to grade assignments without dragging a them home with me.
Just some of my thoughts.
Mike

My Wikis

Our school did not have a Wikipedia page. It was tougher than I thought it would be to publish. I was encouraged by the questions you had to go through in order to publish. Someone could just answer all good right on through but they do make you reflect on what you are publishing.

I used a wiki for the CEP 810 group project. It was really easy to setup and edit. I had some difficulty following who posted what information so we just signed what we wrote. I was able to link it to my reader so I knew when someone edited the page.

Blog, Blog, Blog

Blogs are a reflection, feelings on a particular subject such as this. They allow people to put out their viewpoint and get responses. I could use blogs as daily/weekly logs. The closest we usually use are discussion groups. They could be used with the same intent we use discussion groups such as trouble shooting drivability problems. Problems could be posted and students can respond with not only what they think is the problem but their reasoning as to coming to the conclusion.
I wouldn’t try to stretch a Web 2.0 strategy to support a lesson unless it is the best solution. Otherwise it’s more about the technology than the lesson and the focus is not where it should be.

Google Presenter

I explored Google Presenter. I found it to be a bare bones version of PowerPoint. Slides are set up the same way, but I could not see how to change the template once a page was started. Text has the same familiarity as Word so it is easy to edit. Again it is limited with only six fonts available, but they are common ones. This would keep the students from picking the hard to read fonts. Transitions are on click only without fly in or fade outs or any of the other bells and whistles associated with PowerPoint. This is good in the sense that student will not be spending an excessive amount of time on froufrou and focus on content. Tables would be best made elsewhere and inserted into the document. Images and shapes are easily inserted, but…(there’s always a but). Images require an URL or need to be inserted as a image already on your computer. Presenter lacks the clipart abilities of PowerPoint. There are 12 shapes with more shapes available. The 12 were easy to insert but I was unable to insert any of the additional shapes or make drawings. I found help easy to use with simple directions. Only problem, it still didn’t work. I was able to insert slides or whole PPT documents into Presenter easily, but lack the transitions of PPT. A student could make up basic slides in PPT and upload them into a Google Presenter Doc.

I like the ability to use a Presenter Doc in collaborative, group activities. It acts the same as a wiki with the format of a PowerPoint. Students could access the document from any internet access point and changes in the document can be seen as well. I would like to compare this to the Zoho Show. Does a basic program do better to give students foundation skills of a particular type of program rather than give them in depth understanding of a single program? I have a friend that is a designer. All the manufacturers use a different program and he is trying to keep familiar with the most common, but he uses the foundation skills of how all the programs work to adjust from one system to another.

Well we are back from Ireland and my frustration with technology may have been cranked up a notch (or two). I tried to post to this blog, but it wouldn't accept the format?? I typed in just like I'm doing now and it wouldn't let me publish.
My wife and I had fun, we saw our daughter for Easter, and enjoyed some of the crappiest weather.

But now I am back home and back at it.

What A Week

And it ain't over yet. This the final week of my 810 class and I only have a couple of assignments to go. YEA! But I still have work to do for 811. After Tuesday I'll be blogging from Ireland. Have laptop, will travel. What else would I be doing in my spare time? I should be able to keep up, if not I'll be working like crazy when I get back. My middle child, Aileen, is studying abroad there and working in a 3-6 grade classroom. I'm going to have to see what that is like. It coincides with my 25th wedding anniversary. We took a family vacation there 10 years ago and have been wanting to go back. I did get approval to take a couple of days off before break, although when I met with my principal on it, he had my leave form sandwiched in a copy of the contract. I need to stop talking now and get back to the books, er, technology.
Mike