Project 2

Project 2 was especially helpful to my job.  I had the opportunity to assess an area of weakness and use all of the NETs Standards to provide solutions.  I am confident that I created a presentation that will prove to be helpful to me before the start of the Fall 2013 term.  This project really made me think about the issues and I have been exposed to and WHY they are issues and WHAT I can do to not only better myself in my profession, but to help better my colleagues and their students.

I am fortunate to have a license for Camtasia Studios from TechSmith from work, so I was able to produce my PowerPoint into a web-friendly slide show!  Happy viewing!  It is about 9 minutes long.

I should also probably activate Windows 8 sometime soon... :-)

Unit 4: A New Tool!

This week we learned about using different instructional tools to include in our instruction.  Today, I have embedded my Voki on my blog, which you can play below.


Note: If you are having issues actually embedding your Voki or other tools into your blog, make sure to switch from "Compose" mode to "HTML" source code mode - after 20 minutes of trying to figure out why it wouldn't embed properly, I finally had my AH-HAH moment!

Other tools I have used and found effective have been: Google Hangouts, Dropbox, Google Docs / Spreadsheets / Forms, Moodle, Photobucket, Camtasia, YouTube, Webkinz, just to name a few!  I love using new tools and figuring out how they will best serve my needs.

NETs Standards

There are many applicable NETs Standard to one's workplace.  All of the NETs standards has their own performance indicators that the standard is comprised of.  The six standards are:

1. Creative & Innovation
• Demonstration of creative thinking, constructive knowledget, and the ability to develop with technology using innovative products and processes.
2. Communication & Collaboration
• Using digital media and other platforms for collaborative communication and work - this includes distance learning, individual learning, or anything to contribute to the learning of others.
3. Research & Information Fluency
• Applying digital tools to gather, evaluation and use to its fullest extent.
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving & Decision Making
• Using critical thinking to plan and conuct research, project management, problem solving, and making informed decisions in the classroom / workplace using appropriate digital tools and resources.
5. Digital Citizenship
• Understanding issues relating to technology (human, societal, and cultural), while practicing behavior that is both legal and ethical.
6. Technology Operations & Concepts
• Understanding technology, systems, operations, and concepts of them.

At my place of employment, that standard that is being most used is Communication and Collaboration standard.  We use digital media to collaborate from a distance using our network bridge for video conferencing, as well as utilizing Blackboard for discussion boards, assignment postings, and taking exams.  If a student is in Egypt visiting family or sitting at home sick with shingles (both true experiences), they can interact with students and instructors from wherever they may be to those in Detroit.  We also have a Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest account that I post to.  They are great social media outlets for students to hear about news (i.e. faculty posting awards), or seeing pictures from graduation, and grabbing ideas from Pinterest that relate to nursing.

All of the other standards come and are at use in waves, but one standard that I would really like to implement is the Technology Operations and Concepts standard.  I would love for faculty and students to see the technology as intuitive and be confident while using it.  They touch panel that controls the room is fairly self-explanatory; if you wish to show the document camera, simply press 'document camera'; if you wish to toggle back to the computer source, press 'computer'.  This will help the instructors be more confident in the rooms and their settings and thus, teach more effectively and efficiently without any interruptions from IT.  Faculty can become more confident in these rooms my committing to training sessions at the beginning of each semester that IT holds for them.

Cheers to technology and all of the fun things it brings to learning and teaching!

The 21st Century Learner

Throughout this course, we are looking at the 21st century learner and what the 21st century learner looks like.  This learner has a preconceived notion of how the world works.  More importantly, they are able to apply what they have learned to real-world experiences.  I think this is one of the most important traits that a learner can have because it not only makes the learner appreciate the teacher and what they have been taught, but the teacher will also feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that what they taught really sunk in.  The 21st century learner also relies on social networking and learning in multiple formats, which is also key in today's world.  They can take what they are taught in person and further research it at the library, online, and / or by finding blogs or other social media sites to read up on the material.  The 21st century learner is, in my opinion, vital to the success of the future by being open to explore ideas and further their knowledge.

Unit 1: ASSURE

In the first full week of class, we learned about the different types of literacies, the 21st Century Learner, and how the ASSURE model is a successful tool to use to identify the needs of a learner.  I really enjoyed learning about the different types of literacies because it made me think about my job and how I can apply this class directly to my place of employment - it is always a bonus when you can apply what you learn in class to your everyday life!  Since 2011, my job responsibilities have grown dramatically; I now give orientations to faculty on how to use our classrooms to teach distance education (which is why I loved reading about the distance learning literacy) and how they can better their Blackboard sites to make it more 'user-friendly' to not only their students, but to themselves (or me, when they call for help and I have an issue locating the area because it is not logical).  I am just not a woman who sits behind 4 monitors all day posting and/or editing recordings or doing website edits - I am requested often for help and on the floor most of the day, especially the week or two before the start of a semester and the last week of a semester when grades are due.

What I love most about my job is teaching faculty how to better their teaching for the distance education students, so that is what my ASSURE model fixates on.  I created my survey using SurveyMonkey to see where the most common issues may be in their teaching or setting up classrooms.  This will help most when creating my presentations for the faculty orientations we give in August before the start of the Fall semester, when all faculty are required to be at the college.  This simple 10 question survey will not take up much time at all for the faculty members (which they will appreciate), but will be extremely beneficial to me when creating my lesson plans or plans of attack for the days of training.

You can access my survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2FYR33D