Category: UBC Courses

The challenge for me has always been writing directly onto the computer screen in a timely manner as opposed to scribbling ideas in a notebook and transferring them all over at a later date. I suppose it’s the fear of ‘going live’ that keeps me pen and paper bound.

Convenience would also be another excuse. I carry the book everywhere so that I can jot things down in my spare time. I don’t have that same luxury with my computer.

However, experience has shown me that writing directly into the blog saves time. Obviously it’s a one-step process. If I write in the notebook and then transfer, I’m doubling my work. Even when I use Word to create, I lose time in the transfer because Word and WordPress speak different languages causing a coding nightmare from time to time.

One great advantage I have found with blogging directly is my connection to you, the reader. When I write on paper, I write for myself but while blogging I’m speaking directly to you. My work with DLG 8 Psychology and Phenomenology has made me realize that this connection is why I blog in the first place. Blogging isn’t just creation using software; it’s my connection to other people who will read my words.

In order to maintain this connection, I need to keep blogging until it becomes second nature. So today I begin anew . . . . with a reflection of all the past units we have covered for it’s only by looking at where I’ve been that I can determine where I’m headed. Let the journey begin.

Along the path of understanding educational technology, we were asked to write our philosophy of educational technology and create a framework demonstrating this philosophy. Please find these documents below.

A Brief Philosophy of Educational Technology

Framework

Framework Simplified

I think the most fun thing I learned to do in the MET program was create a digital story using a free Internet program called Photo Peach. This assignment taught me how to create beyond mere text which was difficult for me since I’m a writer who loves the written word.

Secondly, I had to move out of my comfort zone and use photos with sound. Third, I learned to use software I’d never used before. Check out my digital story below. Although the story plays when you click it, it plays better on the actual photopeach.com site when you double click the slide show. Please enjoy.

Hello everyone! I’m back to blogging again after a short August break from classes. My new class is ETEC 511 which outlines the foundations of Educational Technology.  Already I’ve discovered that the field I’m in is not as clear cut as I once thought because the field seems to change as new technology and new ideas develop.

Although I started off rather confused, I had an ‘aha’ moment while reading the definition primer. Now I think I understand that Educational Technology was once more about information being transmitted from the knowledgeable to the student. However, with the advent of new collaborative Web 2.0 technology, Educational Technology now includes new media. Today, knowledge is created by students and teachers, shared by all and communicated to others. I’m sure it’s more complex than this but this is all my brain can understand at the moment. I’m sure by the time I’m further along the course, my new ebrain will fully understand all!!

Good journey to all.

In wrapping up my portfolio development, I realize the pride I feel in having created a Moodle course and a weblog. Looking back, I might have run if I’d known how much work it would take in such a short time. However, I plodded along with a great team of classmates who were interesting, knowledgeable, helpful and even fun.

 

You can find my Moodle site here: http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/course/view.php?id=79

 

As required for the class, my course includes the following:

 

1. Flight Path

2. Learning Managing System

3. Two or more synchronous or asynchronous tools

4. Exam

5. Digital Story

6. Multimedia Inventory

7. Synthesis Reflection

 

Please peruse my sight and tell me what you think.

 

Although my full LMS proposal can be found on my blog in the LMS section, I would like to outline a few main points here.

 

I chose to use Moodle to develop my instruct the instructor course because it is free, easy to use and intuitive. My course will help literacy instructors develop their own courses to use in the literacy classroom.

 

As I finished my site, I added a splash page at the top of the course site using an object orientation to guide students. Initially I found the assignment simple since I just needed to add a chart with photos. However, it soon became apparent that my images were not displaying correctly. With some help from a classmate, I managed to have my images resized so I could re add them to site. Once there, I added jump links so students could move directly to corresponding pages. Although this task was overwhelming at times, I found it useful in the end because I am sure I will use this knowledge in future classes in order to make the course look more inviting.

 

Next, I created four complete content modules called Introduction, Lesson One, Lesson Two and Lesson Three. This is followed by a module programmed for selective release – Since Moodle does not have a selective release feature, I used the eye to hide all the modules after lesson three. Please take a look at Lesson Four for my sample of a selected release module.

 

I have included several general discussion topics in the first few modules:

1. A discussion called News Forum in the Introduction Module with two topics: What I Hope to Learn in this Course and Course Outline

2. A discussion called Ice Breaker in Lesson One

3. A discussion called Looking at your Moodle Page in Lesson Two

4. A discussion called Communication Tools in Lesson Three

 

One group discussion forum created for 2 groups which can be found in Lesson Three called communication groups.

 

Overall, I found it interesting and challenging to finish this assignment with all the right pieces in the right places. However, it was a worthwhile experience and I will use the knowledge I gained in many other courses.

The first task in using multimedia in my learning management system was to define multimedia. According to Siemans (2003), media formats include video, audio, text, visuals, software, collaborative, integrated and liveF2F.

 

As a writer, my favourite type of media is text. I can engage, create, communicate and collaborate with simple words on a page. However, I know text doesn’t have the same appeal for my learners especially when I was teaching literacy. Also, there are so many more types of media available that using just text seems lazy almost. I decided to investigate the other media available and realized I felt intimidated by audio and video because I didn’t know enough about it.

 

I turned to the toolkit for more information and experience but I think creating my digital story gave me the true insight I needed. Once I decided to use the free online program http://www.photopeach.com, things became fun. I was able to create a story with personal meaning using music of my choice and then share it will all my friends and family.

 

I’m now interested in learning as much as I can about the multimedia freely available online so that I can find tools to use with my learners that are easy to use and engaging. Go to my digital story page to view my video of England and then visit photopeach.com to create your own fun show.