Synthesis

Precis of Flight Plan

My actual journey through ETEC 565 was well within the realm of my original expectations, but the actual time spent and benefits gained from it could never have been predicted.  I am pleased with the group collegiality found through the course in the particpants.  The participation and support for all students in the course was one of the most powerful I have seen thus far in the MET program.  In a profession where autonomy is often key and teachers can often guard created materials closely it was powerful to see the possibilities found within partnerships and group support.

My experiences with the Moodle LMS and the rest of the course allowed me to successfuly meet many of my goals for the course:

• explore interactions (teacher-student, teacher-teacher).  I was able to explore how to create an LMS environment which encouraged interactions amomgst students and the teacher
• incorporate social technology into the classroom in meaningful ways.  The Moodle LMSs created by students were using technology for learning’s sake, and not just for technology’s sake. 
• effective application of LMSs in a f2f, mixed mode, or distance setting.  While I had originally intended to create a blended learning approach, I realized that for the sake of the course (needing to explain why certain materials were omitted because they would be dealt with in class)  it would be easier to create a fully distance course.  In my classes I have begun to use a blended approach, where possible, due to technology contraints in the district.
• efficient application of LMSs (time utilization and management).  The most frustrating part of dealing with a new technology throughout the course was the time neccesary in overcoming the initial learning curve required to moderately master the software before efficient application could occur.  It is important to keep this in mind for our students as well.  While we may want to share everything with them, we do not want them to become overwhelmed with constant learning curves in which they experience too much frustration in comparison with success rates.

E-Learning Toolkit Experience

The growth possible when learning is supported and guided is often greater than when we are left to our devices.  The ETEC 565 course allowed for areas of self-exploration coupled with sections of guided learning.  Through the creation of our LMS sites we followed criteria on a gradual introduction basis, giving us the time to utilize and explore the technological possibilities outlined in the toolkit, introduce one another to useful tools, and provide the support for one another that allowed each of us to go beyond the course to create our own personal ETEC 565 experience.  The eLearning Toolkit acted as a base and resevoir of ideas and skills that we could build on where and whenever possible in accordance with our own levels of ease with the technology. 

SECTIONS model: Fablog Portfolio

This overview deals with the ePortfolio as a whole, including the weblog, story, Moodle, etc.  

1. Students (what is known about the students – or potential students – and the appropriateness of the technology for this particular group or range of students?) The MET program, open to students of a varied level of tech know-how lends itself weblog development.  The skills learned through creating the weblog and e-portfolio project are applicable to the rest of the MET program.
2. Ease (Ease of use and reliability: how easy is it for both teachers and students to use? How reliable and well tested is the technology?)  The UBC weblog site offers easy universal access which is dependable and consistent, monitered by UBC tech in order to maintain system functionality.
3. Costs (what is the cost structure of each technology? What is the unit cost per learner?)  While a cost structure is in place and hidden from the student (maintenance costs, etc) there is no direct fee for students to use the UBC weblog system. 
4. Teaching and learning (what kinds of learning are needed? What instructional approaches will best meet these needs? What are the best technologies for supporting this teaching and learning?)  The eportfolio has encompasses learning in general tech, LMS management, and social technologies.  The instruction has been based on self and group based exploration, whch has enabled students to not only find solutions together but learn about where to find supporting materials and communities through the process of finding those answers.  The best technologies have been those used, the technologies available to students.  The only issue I would have in complete satisfaction in this area is the difficulties I have had in application of my learning to my current teaching.  Due to deficiencies within my school board I am working to convince our school board leaders to make a bigger commitement to upgrading technologies to levels, at least of the school districts to directly surround us so students can have access to basic programs, such as those requiring updated Flashplayer.
5. Interactivity (what kind of interaction does this technology enable?)  While the weblog seemed quite seperate until the unveiling, the projects within the weblog were interactive amongst students (story, LMS, discussions) but perhaps the weblog is not the best location to create that interactivity (which is probably why we relied on the Vista site for interaction)
6. Organizational issues (What are the organizational requirements, and the barriers to be removed, before this technology can be used successfully? What changes in organization need to be made?).  In order for the technology to be fully applied to my own teaching, my school board needs to enable flashplayer, and other technologies, for the teachers and students.  For courses, such as the LMSs we have created, to be applied successfully to teaching, support at a district level needs to be made available.  Creating the LMS examples, however, is one step closer to realizing this goal.
7. Novelty (how new is this technology?)  Weblogs are tried and true.  Social media applications are forever changing but are based upon a principle of RSS which allows transfer of knowledge between applications.  LMSs such as Moode, Vista and Desire2Learn are not new, but have altered drastically in their make-up and organization to allow for more interactivity amongst users.  
8. Speed (how quickly can courses be mounted with this technology? How quickly can materials be changed?)  The UBC Weblog allows for easy access and manipulation of materials, ease of uploading and altering of materials.  Moodle proved to be quite user-friendly, but with glitches that created a need for creative technology approaches to realizing a quality site.

General Overview

My experience in the ETEC 565 course has helped me to gain confidence in my own technological abilties in social media and course creation.  I learned to make concious choices in course creation that would lead to meaningful and diverse learning for my students as opposed to being tempted to adopt the newest technology for technology’s sake.   The importance of community came through as well, as we worked towards common goals and were able to support eachother through the learning process, sometimes finding ourselves in a position where we were able to help more, and at others in a position of requiring a great deal of clarification.  The group collaborated as individuals worked to create projects based on the knowledge of the whole.

~~Caroline~~

Reference

Bates,A. W., Poole, G. (2003).  Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education. Accessed April 4, 2010 from:  http://www.batesandpoole.ubc.ca/chapter-4.html