Synthesis
Final e-portfolio Synthesis Reflection
Flight Plan Précis
Technology integration has always been a key descriptor of my teaching. Students utilize technology in my classroom through means of discussion forums, collaborative teamwork, online review and reflective journaling/wiki-building. When I signed up for ETEC 565 I wanted to build upon these skills to create a more engaging learning environment. Within my course flight plan that I developed at the beginning of this course I stated three goals I wanted to achieve.
- To increase usage of peer to peer interactions
- To increase variety of multimedia used within the classroom
- To create a functional Spanish 20 moodle site.
Peer to Peer Interactions
Throughout this course, the importance of peer collaboration and communication has been thoroughly exemplified. The time-released nature of the course helped demonstrate strategies to encourage peer support and communication as well as instructional strategies to facilitate learning communities. Multi-modal forms of interaction were encouraged with the integration of Wimba to add an auditory component to the class. Students were given the opportunity to interact verbally with one another adding a new dimension to the course.
Multimedia Use
There has been a wide array of multimedia exhibited throughout this course. Within the digital storytelling assignment, we were given the opportunity to explore Alan Levine’s “50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story” (2007). This was a great site to enhance awareness of different multimedia web 2.0 tools available. Within the context of the class, we were able to see demonstrations of many of the tools showcased in the website and derive practical applications for our own teaching contexts.
Moodle site
The moodle site has been the highlight of this course for me. This practical component has utilized many of the tools and strategies developed throughout this course, and is a product I can integrate directly into my teaching. The design principles and instructional strategies developed through both exploration of the e-learning toolkit, synchronous Wimba meetings and peer discussion has helped to create an aesthetically pleasing product. I am very pleased with the moodle site and its design, and will be implementing this streamlined format into my other online courses.
E-learning toolkit
The e-learning toolkit was a great resource throughout the course. The guidance and information provided was beneficial for both the completion of course assignments and to aid in further learning. Below is a reflection on my e-learning toolkit experience.
LMS
Prior to this course, I had experience with designing both WebCT and Moodle courses. It was interesting to compare the two systems as well as contrast abilities that were present with one system but absent with the other. One of the features available through WebCT is the ability to automatically selectively release units. Selective release can be achieved through moodle, but it must be done manually at this point.
The following website provides a side-by-side comparison of the two systems (special thanks to Maurice Last for bringing it to the class’ attention) http://www1.umn.edu/moodle/transition/mapping.html
Web design and HTML
Having a basic knowledge of webdesign rules and html, I found this tool to be a great refresher on sound practice. Prior to this course my html experience was limited to basic font adjustment commands, but I found myself going beyond these entry level skills and integrating more advanced coding into daily communications. I also utilized Dreamweaver for the first time to create webpages outside of moodle and then bring the code in. I think this is a great entry tool to help increase html code comprehension.
Synchronous Communication Tools
Some of the synchronous tools I had used academically prior to this course were Vista chat, Skype, Google docs , moodle chat and Elluminate, as well as MSN and traditional online chatrooms for personal use. The synchronous communication tool that was of most interest to me and for which I see excellent implementation opportunities in my classroom is the use of Wimba. There were four different Wimba tools made available to us through this course: Wimba Voiceboard, Wimba Classroom, Wimba Voice Direct and Wimba Voice Email. Wimba Voiceboards are similar to discussion forums in which threaded messages can be left, but instead of traditional text, authors can share their message using their voice. Wimba classroom is similar to Elluminate. The instructor can share their desktop, live webcams display the speaker, students may chat with one another through a text chat on the side or using a microphone with the ‘talk’ feature and all ‘lessons’ can be archived. Wimba Voice Direct is similar to Skype. Student can chat synchronously with one another using voice whenever their classmates are online. Wimba Voice Email is an asynchronous communication tool that allows people to send audio emails to one another.
Social Software
I do not usually use social software tools, but I have used Facebook during political campaigns in the past. I have explored Second Life but did not enjoy the experience, mostly due to some of the people’s attitudes and vulgarity. I have used Flickr, Picasa and Creative Commons to access free media but I have not yet uploaded or contributed to either site. I also have explored Delicious and Groove, but do not use them on a regular basis.
Weblogs and Wikis
The MET experience has forced me to start using Weblogs. I have used WordPress extensively for my courses and have created courses specific weblogs for ETEC 565, ETEC 531 and a general program blog. Next semester in ETEC 590 I will be creating a summative digital artefact that will be combining and synthesizing all of the work I have created throughout the program.
I am also planning on using Weblogs and wikis with my students to help them organize their work and creative summative reflections of their learning. I have used wikis in my classroom as collaborative review tools and as a space to share assignments and provide feedback to each other. Prior to implementing course management systems into my classroom, wikis were the primary online source my students used for collaboration.
Multimedia
This course has been an eye-opening experience for me in regards to multimedia exposure. Through exploration of the toolkit and sites used for the digital storytelling assignment I now have a plethora of multimedia available. The exploration of multimedia and practical application of these strategies was one of my main goals for this course. Tools such as Picasa, Flickr and Creative Commons have been used for images. I’ve used Audacity, Voicethreads and Vokis for audio recording (and looking forward to using Wimba next year). I discovered Jamendo this term for open source music access and Camtasia for mp4 productions. I’ve created digital stories toondoo, GoAnimate, Xtranormal, Photopeach and Slide. I look forward to exploring additional digital storytelling tools (such as Blabberize, Yodio, Moviestorm and Scrapblog) and including activities in my teaching that will promote the use of these tools to students. Web 2.0 tools such as Prezi, Animoto, Slidecasts and basic wikis can be great tools for housing all of this multimedia.
Accessibility
Web Accessibility has not been something I have focused on in previous course development. I try to use multi-modal approaches to e-learning due to the enhanced impact of student language acquisition. These strategies should be more descriptive and thorough to allow access to all learners. Taking into consideration adaptive technologies and strategies used to decrease the need for such technologies in web design is something I will now be more cognizant of as I design my courses.
mLearning
I had the experience of accessing both Vista and Moodle using my new blackberry this semester. I had not used mlearning before and my initial experience was slightly frustrating. The first time I accessed Vista, I needed to get on to a synchronous chat. It took an extremely long time to access the site and by the time I was able to view the chat feature, I found out that the necessary apps were not available. I had much more success viewing my course site in moodle. I could access the audio recordings and discussion forums easily and the pages loaded quickly. I was very excited with the level of convenience the moodle site afforded mlearning, and foresee this as being a very useful option for high school students.
Overall ETEC 565 experience
Overall I was very impressed with the ETEC 565 experience. This course was very practical and provided me with a wide array of strategies to implement in my teaching. The level of discourse was very professional and helpful and there was a strong sense of learning community. I appreciated the clear expectation and prompt instructor feedback. There was a strong instructor presence, he’s always watching… J but it was not overbearing. Classmates were very helpful throughout and we built upon each others’ experiences.
I truly enjoyed this course and found it to be one of the most practical and beneficial courses I have taken thus far in the MET program.
Future Implementation
My main goal at the beginning of this course was to create a LMS that could be implemented in my classroom. I now have created a fully functional Spanish 20 moodle site and will be implementing these ideas and design principles into my three other Spanish courses. I am currently in the process of creating fully online Spanish courses and so the timing of this course was perfect to help me with this course design. The feedback from colleagues was really constructive and helped me to create a site I am proud to use in future courses.
The multimedia explored throughout this course will serve as excellent tools for my students as they explore alternate means of communication. I already have designed lessons and units surrounding digital story telling as it ties in directly to the learning outcomes of all four Spanish courses.
I will also be integrating numerous kinds of peer interactions throughout future courses including general and group discussion forums, voice forums through use of Wimba and synchronous classroom communication via Elluminate.
This course has expanded my horizons in the field of e-learning and I look forward to implementing all the strategies learned!
References
Alan Levine. (2007). “50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story.” Accessed 25 March 2009. http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools