Week 1 Digital Age Teaching Professionals

During models 1 unit 1 we read an article by NETS. I had never heard of NETS before and found that it spoke to many important aspects of teaching using technology.In section 1 they discuss engaging students by exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resource.  I am a big believer in this concept and try to have my students complete assignments that relate to real world business situations whether it be writing a business plan, using google docs to collaborate with partners, working with photoshop to create magazine advertisements and using blogs as a communication tool.  I also found item #4 in the article interesting as it surrounded digital citizenship and responsibility. I think  the Internet has completely changed this landscape and so I find this item quite challenging to address and teach my students. In my experience many students believe that if they can find it on the Internet it is theirs to use. Any help here would be appreciated?

Week 3 Learning Management Systems

 In week three we read a 2006 article by Perkins and Pfaffman titled: Using a course management system to improve classroom communication. I found the article very interesting as it introduced me to Moodle and described how Moodle can be used in the classroom. I learnt that Moodle is an OSS (Open Source Software) program that is free to download at http://moodle.org.

After spending some time reviewing the moodle.org site and exploring some of the demonstration sites I am eager to set up my own site.  Perkins and Pfaffman (2006) describe how Moodle is easy to set up and install, however, it will require help from the technology specialists who run your school’s network and firewall.

Does anyone have any experience with this and was your technology specialist in your district willing to help you install and run Moodle on the server?

Week 5 DVD Authoring

In week 5 we were given the scenario that our neighbour has asked for our advice on if she should create a Diabetes DVD.

My advice to her would be to use a simple video editing  program like movie maker which is free to download and allows you to create videos and add in text, pictures, video clips, music etc and then upload the video to YouTube.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/movie-maker-get-started

I made my first Movie Maker video in ETEC 522 last semester and found the program extremely easy to use. Below is a short ventuure pitch I put together. Please click on the link below to view the short 1 minute clip.

1 minute Venture Pitch 

 Week 6 & 7 Communication and Assessment Tools

During weeks 6 & 7 I started to really focus on structuring my Moodle LMS site. I decided to start building my site for my Planning 10 course.  So far I have built the structure for 4 modules including:

1. Graduation Program
2. Education and Careers
3. Finance
4. Health

The week 7 activity was to develop a draft of an activity that would use either a synchronous or asynchronous tool or both to support student learning.  I decided to create a general discussion forum for my Planning 10 students where they could interact with their classmates after viewing the work safe video Lost Youth.  Have a look at the video and feel free to join the discussion:
http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/forum/view.php?id=19312

 Week 8 Assessment Tools

During week 8 in addition to completing our Moodle Quiz we had the scenario that:

Boris has been teaching Chemistry 11 at a regional high school in the Bulkley Valley of northern BC for over a decade. He uses his school district’s Moodle server to disseminate lecture notes, lab forms and to answer student questions outside of class time. There isn’t a single hour of extra time for Boris to spend on Periodic Table review in class.  He does have some extra handouts to give students who want more practice, but knows these only scratch the surface – substantive review would require a more detailed and systematic approach. Boris is trying to find some way to create a stand-alone, self-directed review tool for students learning the Periodic Table. It should allow students to review material, then test their knowledge. In a perfect world it would give students instant feedback that not only tells them if they’re right or wrong: it would give them formative feedback that helps them move towards the right answers.

What should he do?

Since Boris is already using Moodle I would suggest that Boris create a number of practices quizzes where the students could test their Periodic table knowledge. Boris could add direct feedback to the quizzes (formative) so that when the student submit each answer they would have direct feedback as to how they answered the question. In addition, Boris could structure the quizzes so that the students could write them multiple times so that they could receive lots of practice.

 Week 10 Private or Public Publishing?

Online safety is a major concern for many parents when their children are using public blogs, wikis, message boards or online forums in their classrooms. Parents want to be sure that their children are safe at all times and are discussing age appropriate topics. Below are three links to resources that parents, teacher and students should read through and discuss before starting an online public project.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2272549,00.asp

http://www.safekids.com/kids-rules-for-online-safety/

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/How-to-Stay-Safe-Online/1

If students are educated about staying safe online I beleive that public publishing is the way to go. What are your thoughts about Public or Private publishing for school based projects?

 Week 12 & 13 Features, benefits and time

Well I have to admit that it feels pretty good to have completed my Moodle site and to have added my reflection.  There were lots of features in Moodle that I thought were excelllent including the ability to add dscussion forums, wikis, chats, assignment uploads and embed video clips. Students always benefit when they are engaged in the learning process and my feeling is that Moodle has many features that would benefit the students and create a community based learning environment. Time is always a major constraints whether it be with work, study or play. I would love to keep adding and exploring with Moodle, however, I had to set a deadline as funny enough I have commitments outside of the MET program.

Thanks for a great, engaging and fun coure.