Complete your final e-portfolio synthesis reflection (20), including:
- 1-2 paragraph précis of your Flight Path (5)
In my Flight Path I stated that I was in the process of finishing "the 2008/09 yearbook with a group of students." We finished the yearbook and it was very successful. To inspire and thank the students who created the yearbook, I sent an e-mail to all teachers indicating which students were responsible for working on their pages. I then had the teachers send letters of appreciation to each of the students. Needless to say, students were delighted to get such praise from teachers all over the school (some of whom they’d never even met). I hope to do the same next year.
At the outset of this course, I delivered all modules and student course-work on-line but in a read-only environment. Now that I have learned the basics of building an LMS course using Moodle, I intend on converting all of my courses into a Moodle shell. "Everything I do is on computers (mostly because my hand writing is atrocious, I need spell check, and I can’t hold on to a pen for more than 10 minutes without losing it)(Stringer, Flight Path)." In my original Flight Path I stated that "I do units on Internet safety with grades 6 – 10. Topics range from cyber stalking and cyber bullying to copyright infringement, plagiarism, and computer viruses." Now that I learned to use many different types of web 2.0 sites I intend on adding more to the Internet privacy module that I include with cyber stalking and cyber bullying. Lastly, as sated in my Flight Path I currently work with all staff as a technology integrator. This includes a web team, tech integration team, Adobe Contribute and Smart Board training, and workshops with various other programs. Next year, I intend on using what I have taken from this course, Moodle, Web 2.0 apps, and Word Press and providing training for all of our staff in each area.
- Reflection on your eLearning toolkit experience overall (5)
As the eLearning toolkit was broken up into various different components, I will list each of them below and and comment on them separately and then give an overall impression.
Moodle
As I had very limited use in Moodle prior to doing this course I found this section, by far, the most useful and relevant to my own teaching. I intend to use the knowledge gained in this course in my own teaching next year and will subsequently provide training to my school’s faculty.
Word Press
I have created portfolios in many other courses. I do find that they are a good place to show other students what we have learned through an organized medium. However, it was the first time I used Word Press, and I have to admit that I wasn’t very impressed with what UBC offered. I prefer to "tinker" with setups. I found the built-in templates rather plain and difficult to work with (for example, I could not copy and paste the HTML code for my Multimedia inventory because the table was cut-off). I might have been able to change that had I had access to the original source, either XML or CSS files. However, at the same time, using UBC as the host starts everyone off on an even playing ground. Further, had I had access to the source files, I probably would have spent more time ‘tinkering’ than working!
Digital Story
For me, this was a great experience for two reasons. Firstly, having the chance to use and incorporate different Web 2.0 tools and then gauging which might be the most useful based on our own experience and the experience of others was invaluable. Secondly, the stories provided a window into the lives of my classmates in the MET program, which rarely presented itself in previous courses (apart from the original introductory posts).
UBC Vista
As I have found in previous courses, the discussions with classmates have consistently provided three valuable resources:
- Pedagogical resources and teaching theory
- Technical resources such as those provided in the Toolkit Queries
- Links to further resources
I found the above to be, by far, the most useful resource in the MET program.
Overall, I found the portfolio to be a well-balanced introduction to many useful tools that we will all be able to incorporate into our own professions. This course represented what I thought many of the MET courses would deliver, that is, hands-on application of what I hope to use in the future. I hope this course becomes compulsory in the future.
- Apply SECTIONS model to self-assess your portfolio, where applicable (5)
- Students – the work we have done in our portfolio seems appropriate for all students. Experience varied amongst students in terms of teaching experience, technological ability, and education but the various tools provided ample opportunity to have all of our questions answered. There was some confusion at the beginning of the course with page setups, blogs, RSS feeds, etc., but, for the most part, I think we managed to figure everything out.
- Ease of Use – Word Press was relatively easy to figure out. However, a few things (such as deleting pages) could have been more visible. Delete was only found by hovering over the link. I also found the amount of links in the User Toolbar excessive. For example, most of the links under User, Tools, and Settings all link to the same page. Having one link and then finding what you need on that page would be a simpler solution.
- Cost Structure – The cost of Word Press is free, minus the cost of installation and upkeep. If a server was not available, Word Press provides hosting on their site for free. However, it should be noted that Word Press is currently blocked in China, which was a major inconvenience for me in previous courses. Each program would require some training, but considering we’ve all been through this course, much of it could likely be in-house.
- Teaching & Learning – as this course was about learning the tools that we’ll be using in our own careers and professions, the tools were invaluable and engaging. As such, I suspect, they enhanced the learning experience of all those who took the course.
- Interactivity – the interactivities in creating this portfolio were numerous and worthwhile. I did find that some of them were confusing, but seeing as this is the first time this course was offered, those things are to be expected. The feedback was prompt. Grades were released quickly and instructors and TAs answered course questions in a timely manner.
- Organization – I did find the organization of the Word Press portfolio confusing. The requirements in the Assessment page vs the requirements listed in the modules were sometimes different (for example, whether to post in the blog or create a new page). I am not very impressed with Word Press’s inability to organize pages in a customized order. Instead, they appear in alphabetical order across the top of the page. Also, the div tag used to house the links does not automatically expand. Therefore, links may be pushed into the banner image and become difficult to see and/or read.
- Novelty – along with the text readings there were videos, voice podcasts, photo stories, and real-time screen cast tutorials. The varied types of interactivities and assessments would appeal to any digital native (such as myself)!
- Speed – I cannot really answer this, as we did not have the opportunity to upload and design our own templates. We were able to choose which templates we preferred and those were quick to implement and update. In terms of access, page loads and uploads were quick. However, I did experience some lag in the response time of Word Press.
- Describe next steps for you, in terms of your practice in educational technology (5)
My next steps in educational technology will be to continue what I am currently doing. That is, I intend on continuing this degree and graduating in December 09. I also intend to keep using ed tech. in my own teaching and continuing to explore, evaluate, and implement new forms of ed tech. In this regard, I will also continue in my role as tech integrator in my school. I believe in a grass roots approach to technology (and thankfully administrators are beginning to see the benefits of this as well). That is, having teachers explore new technologies, evaluating them with students, and then keeping the good and scrapping the not-so-good. By taking this approach, we only invest time and money in technologies that will benefit our students and school.
References
Boyes, J., Dowie, S. & Rumzan, I. (2005). Using the SECTIONS Framework to Evaluate Flash Media. Innovate Journal of Online Education, 2(1). Accessed online June 26 2009 http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=55&action=article.