Laura's Learning & Technology Blog

My love affair with Glogster

2011-01-06T12:58:00.006-07:00

I have known about this tool for quite some time now, but just recently I did an experiential learning with it and fell deeply in love! Glogster, Glogster, Glogster! Perhaps it's that I'm finicky for a creative learning outlet, but I'm sold on using this tool for learning and evaluation. This is what I did in a nutshell:

developed a workshop wiki for teaching my college's Health Sciences division about the many ways to use Glogster for learning/assessment: https://sites.google.com/site/noboringassignments/
Then I started gathering examples of Glogsters.....realizing that there was a bit of a deficit in higher education examples, I got to thinking.....
I needed to create a legitimate higher ed example! Being that I have formed a book club at my college to read and discuss "DIY U" by Anya Kamenetz, I thought I would use my "reading comprehension/verification" assignment as an example. I read the introduction and Chapter 1 and then proved that I read it by creating a Glogster media-rich collage that depicted the main concepts discussed in these chapters:

The long and the short of it is.....I LEARNED SO MUCH BY DOING THIS! If I had to write up notes or even a paragraph to prove that I read and understood these chapters, I would have been bored out of my mind. So, three things were learned here:

I expended more time and effort doing this and therefore learned DEEPER.
I actually cared enough to expend the extra effort because the outcome was something "pretty" or as my good friend and colleague, Shelley Rodrigo, says: "it was refrigerator door worthy!"
I learned MORE because I had to make my summary visual -- i.e. had to metaphorically think about images to include as well as find literal images that depicted the concepts.

Glogster is an easy tool for students to learn how to use. It's easily shareable and can be used for many types of assessments! You should try it!

GateWay Fall 2010 Faculty Inservice

2010-08-17T09:04:00.006-07:00

Veteran's Inservice

My new Animoto introduction video

2010-08-02T11:55:00.004-07:00

So, for the past 3 semesters, I've had my online students do introductions in the discussion board using an online tool called Animoto. Students can create 30 seconds of video using still images & video, music & text and publish to the web in a very short time. I love this assignment because it immediately develops a sort of familiarity and community amongst the students. As an instructional designer and e-learning specialist, I know that community in the online classroom is paramount. My students repeatedly tell me that their favorite assignment was the Animoto introduction. They share it with their family and friends along with their classmates. What's more, when I'm responding to their emails and grading their assignments, I often times go back and look at their videos to remember who they are. It helps me to be more compassionate and a better teacher. I think that sharing my Animoto video with them lets them know that I'm approachable and human....not just a computer. Here is my Animoto video that I share with my students (I also accompany it with a brief bio/introduction):

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Can't build an LMS on a house of cards

2010-07-14T12:40:00.005-07:00

I just realized that often times I blog when I'm really frusterated....I need to work on that. I don't want to come off as a ranter -- there are really exciting things I learn about that I need to reflect on in my blog as well. I'll put that on my to-do list :).

So, I'm bothered today by the first phone call/email that greeted me as I walked into my office. Of course, it was another Blackboard issue. I was hired as an instructional designer, but have become the Blackboard technical liason for faculty instead. I don't want to complain, because there definitely needs to be support for the college Learning Management System....and I don't mind being that person. What I do mind is that the college LMS is built on a house of cards! It's crumbling beneath our noses. We upgrade every May in the hopes that it will fix the gajillion issues/bugs/quirks, but all it does is provide more and different issues/bugs/quirks that we then have to re-learn and support. My job has been consumed by Blackboard issues. My time and faculty time is being spent mindlessly trying to fix issues and create work-arounds instead of focusing on teaching & learning. Mind you, teaching & learning cannot happen without a solid LMS. I truly believe that. We need an online medium for dispersing knowledge, whether the course is online, hybrid or face-to-face. BUT, this online medium needs to have some basic functionality! What do you mean the Discussion Boards "don't work????" What do you mean that you spent four hours grading discussion boards and all the grades disappeared? This is problematic to say the LEAST.

I am a technology user and an innovator. I don't mind spending an inordinate amount of hours learning new technology.....with the thought that it may fail or not be adoptable. However, when I'm supporting the majority, I like a bit of predictability. I can deal with bugs and workarounds if I'm given sufficient enough support AND if those bugs don't change every time I finally get a handle on them (i.e. upgrading every year to a new version!) There has got to be a solution to the bugginess of a system that doesn't include the company telling you to upgrade. How about you FIX YOUR BROKE SYSTEM! We were told to upgrade the past two times to fix issues we were having. I would kill (not really) to be back on Bb 7.3. We didn't know how good we had it!

Workshops and training NEVER work: the disconnect between instructional design theory and practice

2010-06-24T08:39:00.004-07:00

I know it's a bit of a negative title to the blog....but it's how I'm feeling at this very moment. As an instructional designer, I am schooled in the business of designing instruction that is aligned and designed to move participants from a start point to measurable outcomes. In theory, all of these outcomes should be met to a particular degree. When I design my courses, I find that I have the typcial frusteration of students who do really well followed by a large gap and then students who struggle and quit due to outside factors. In comparison, I see that my workshops (faculty professional development focused) follow a similar pattern, but sometimes the success rate (acheiving the projected outcomes) is even more dismal than my academic courses. Now, if I step back and take my instructional designer hat off, I'm not as dissapointed. I look at the faculty and staff that attended and see that though they didn't acheive the exact outcomes, they did move a step or two in the right direction. Often times, they acheived what they wanted out of the workshop. With professional development, isn't that what's truly important? So then I get to thinking. Why do I prepare these robust workshops with various outcomes....spend planning time....prep time....create handouts and websites...practice my content delivery...follow-up, etc.... If they truly are going to "get what they get" out of the workshop, why don't I just customize all my professional development attempts? How about picking several faculty a year to work with individually to customize their professional development endeavors. Measurable payoff for a small portion of the faculty, but less time spent on prep for a workshop in which most participants do not reach the projected outcomes.

A Community of Writers

2010-04-14T08:10:00.003-07:00

Time to talk students. I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, but life kinda got in the way! Which brings me to my thoughts on/about my students. I love my students. They are amazing people. They have careers, families, bills, inconveniences, tragedies, and more. I can completely identify with them, and them with me. I tell them about myself and the fact that I'm over-extended too. I find that this helps to set the stage in an online class...my students tend to be more open to share, peer review, admit ignorance, ask for help, ask for clarification AND they help eachother which is paramount in an online environment. All in all, we are a community of learners. I find that in English this is instrumental...writing is a very personal experience, yet to become a good writer it's essential to involve a community of learners. That perspective was validated yesterday while talking on the phone with one of my students....this student mentioned that they would wait for another particular student to post assignments so they could get an idea or an example of how to proceed. In all of their assignments they see a lot of examples, but it's amazing how much more powerful it is for them to see examples from someone they "know".

There are so many reasons why I continue to over-extend myself by teaching each semester, but the one reason confirmed semester after semester is that I love my students. They are amazing. As funny as it sounds, I feel a sense of pride sharing their work, writing, and anecdotal stories. Sure it's discouraging to start the semester with 20 and end with 10, but those 10 impact me greatly. I realize not every student is cut out for online learning and sometimes they try again in my class the next semester....

Standardized Faculty Professional Development = Monetary Savings?

2010-02-22T08:12:00.004-07:00

I invited myself to an interesting 21st Century Maricopa Faculty Professional Development meeting on Friday morning last week. The meeting's focus was on the recommendations of the consulting firm that studied our community college district's business practices. In general their feedback was this: we need to streamline and standardize faculty professional development across the district. In doing so, we should be able to trim 207,000 dollars off our expenditures. This statement was extremely confusing to me for several reasons and I will list them below:

1. The consulting firm did not speak with any faculty professional developers from the meeting that I attended -- nor did they speak with any of the developers I know that weren't at the meeting. (do you see a major problem with that??)
2. In connection with the first concern, myself and several other colleagues (also faculty professional developers) pride ourselves in collaborating and sharing resources when delivering professional development events.
3. There is an assumption that standardizing and streamlining will save money without understanding some of the real barriers in place that make this impossible for our colleges.
4. Professional development (especially faculty professional development) is a unique area that cannot follow a cookie-cutter approach.

I will go into further detail on these concerns. My first concern is a "no-brainer". As an instructional designer, I understand the consulting model. You first need to interview ALL stakeholders in order to get a good picture of the problem and formulate an extensive needs assessment. Had they done that, they would have realized that a good majority of the Faculty Developers ARE collaborating in order to streamline FPD opportunities. Red flags raise when I hear people say "standardize," so I'm avoiding saying that we are trying to standardize any FPD opportunities. Each college and faculty member has unique needs. Standardizing an approach to FPD wouldn't be effective in meeting the needs. I also don't believe this would save us any money. Most of our FPD events are run on a shoestring budget. We have salaried employees that run events and we don't usually provide much of anything worth a monetary value. I'm confused how this consulting firm made the connection between monetary savings and streamlining and standardizing. Especially because we are already collaborating to share resources --speaker expenses and district-wide events. Is anyone else confused about what they mean in regard to streamlining and standardizing???

As for doing more streamlining and standardizing than we already do....it's important to understand that we can't completely wipe our slates clean of the various college cultures as well as the fact that our district spans about a 50 mile radius. There truly is no way to create vanilla events that will completely wipe out the need for "college-specific" professional development needs. I would argue that we've standardized our events as much as we can. With budget cuts, we have stretched our faculty and employees thin. We must provide learning opportunities in close proximity of their offices as well as specific to their particular job and college needs -- otherwise, we become irrelevant and unnecessary.

I'm probably taking this recommendation a bit too personally, perhaps it's not meant for me and what I do (???). I take my job very seriously and the colleagues that I work with do too. We have a 24/7 work ethic, we are constantly trying to meet the needs of faculty. We are extremely creative because we know it takes this creativity to come up with new ways to meet the ever-changing needs of classroom faculty. Our brains respond to innovation and creativity - if we trade that in for standardization, where will we be? My former k-12 mind shudders thinking about standardized tests -- what exactly do those tests measure? What is their value? I don't want any of my learning opportunities to be dismissed like many of these standardized tests. Let's not make incorrect assumptions. I do NOT believe that standardizing and streamlining faculty professional development opportunities will create monetary savings. I hope that we can find ways to save this money, but I'm not sure it's going to be in the way the consulting firm suggested. What do you think?

The Community College Business....

2010-02-09T10:31:00.004-07:00

I attended a conference at Scottsdale Community College last Friday (see the liveblogs below)-- Tech Tools '10. Wow! The keynote speaker really got my mind buzzing! She is Maria H. Andersen, math faculty at Muskegon Community College in Michigan. Check her out if you have time -- she is FASCINATING: http://teachingcollegemath.com/. She talked about community colleges and "what we do" for a living. She questioned the sustainability of training for re-careering and how the two year model may not be effective anymore. She used the example of the Newspaper industry and how it has been cut in half....or even more than half because the jobs just don't exist anymore. Soooo.....at the community colleges, are we training them for careers that will eventually go away? Yikes! She made a great point that we need to futuristically look at our higher education model. We need to create 'thinkers' -- not people to do jobs. Creating thinkers is more sustainable --right? She talked about restructuring curriculum so that we don't teach in silos. Instead of teaching Math, Reading, English & History, we teach things like Effective Presentations of Graphical material -- a hybrid of Math & Graphic Design OR Trend Analysis -- a hybrid of history, economics & math. See where I'm going here? The idea is to produce creative and innovative critical thinkers -- and they will never become obsolete! Your thoughts?

LiveScribe in Developmental Math

2010-02-05T09:48:00.002-07:00

Livescribe in Developmental Mathmatics

Can You Digg It? Research in the 21st Century -- live blog

2010-02-04T13:09:00.004-07:00

Can You Digg It? REsearch in the 21st Century

A Writer's Evolution in the 21st Century

2010-02-02T08:30:00.005-07:00

I'm not sure why, but I have had several conversations lately about teaching grammar and how students no longer know how to write. I find it interesting that most people I speak with talk about how we don't teach grammar in schools anymore -- that young people weren't taught the rules that govern the written word. I reflect back on my youth and think that I really learned most of my "grammar" in my college grammar course (which, by the way, was the hardest class I took in college). I also know that I was taught grammar throughout my K-12 experience. I recall each teacher having a different "flavor" in which they presented the content. It took me until graduate school and beyond to really blossom as a writer. I wonder why it took me so long. Was it because I wasn't taught grammar properly? I doubt that. I truly think that writing development is a maturation process facilitated by life experiences. With that said....our young writers today are very different than our older experienced writers. With text messaging, internet, and Twitter, our writers are learning new contexts for which to write. I think this is exciting because our means for communication in the written form has expanded! Unfortunately we still have people who think that technology and text messaging are the end of the world. See this article: Students Failing because of Twitter, Texting. Our students will no longer be able to write or communicate properly because they write so often in a cryptic text message code. I just think it gives us more to draw from when we teach writing. If we know they text message and Tweet all the time, let's use it to get them writing more. Teach them about writing for different contexts -- isnt' that the essence of rhetoric? Knowing your audience? I would say these young students are going to be even smarter than us because they will learn to communicate in so many different ways!

Making the Switch LiveBlog

2010-01-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

Making the Switch

Happy Holidays from my family!

2009-12-23T19:54:00.002-07:00

Using a tool that I promote for educational purposes, I decided to create my family holiday greeting. Glogster.com is a really neat website that allows you to create an online, media-rich collage. Check it out...at the bottom-right corner, there is a video embeded!

It's that time of year....

2009-12-22T11:53:00.003-07:00

The semester is over, I have one more day and a few hours to work before 2010. I am sitting in my quiet office reflecting on what I have done for the semester/year and pondering how I take my performance from good---to GREAT. I love my job, I love teaching, and I love the people I work with. Sometimes that's the perfect storm which motivates you to do MORE and BETTER. So, as I sit in my office, winding back up for the next semester, I wonder what my next "thing" will be. With faculty professional development, we have to stay current and relevant because we already know that faculty have very little time to devote to us and it's our job to make our learning opportunities hard to resist. In fact, we need to make them a necessity...without mandating them! What I really want is for faculty to have "conversations"...conversations get our blood pumping, give us fresh ideas, build camaraderie, and inspire us. As an example, I think of the conversations I have with my fellow techy faculty and instructional designers/technologists. We meet several times a semester to plan workshops and share ideas. I always leave those meetings feeling inspired and motivated. I would like to replicate those emotions with all my professional development opportunities. With that said, a few bland and boring ideas bubble up -- create a college technology users' group, schedule open conversations in the CTL....*yawn* HELP! Ideas please! Maybe I need a weeks vacation and the ideas will begin to flow....happy holidays

Season's Greetings from the GateWay Center for Teaching & Learning

2009-12-14T08:50:00.003-07:00

For more information about GateWay Center for Teaching & Learning events, go here: http://gatewaycc.edu/ctl

Does learning have deadlines? Philosophy vs. Policy

2009-12-11T09:53:00.004-07:00

I am reminded today, and for the past couple weeks, why teaching classes is so important to my full time gig as an instructional designer/technologist. Being "in the trenches," so-to-speak has taught me a lot about what theories apply to the real world. For example, I have always been a very liberal-minded teacher. I believe that learning does not have a timeframe, nor deadlines. I often question why we have late work policies and guidelines in our classes. Why would I NOT accept a late paper, if in fact it did prove that the student learned....perhaps a few days or weeks later than all the rest :). If my philosophy is that all students can learn and it's my job to facilitate that, then doesn't my policy of "no late work" counter that philosophy???? I'm really struggling with the insanity that accepting late work brings, because, in fact, I have a deadline to submit grades to the institution. Ugh! So what do I do? Keep my sanity; adjust my philosophy; create a policy that's a bit flexible. However, as for every semester, I have a student that wants to argue my policy about late work. Even when I've allowed them to submit it "due to special circumstances" (my "out" in my syllabus late work policy). They want to push my "late deadlines" to the extreme. "Mrs. Ballard, can I submit all 4 paper assignments two days prior to grades being due?" No! This is where I draw the line. Philosophically, I believe these students can learn, and will learn, but perhaps they need to fail (receive an F on their transcript) for this semester in order to continue on learning the next semester.

To textbook or not to textbook....that is the question

2009-10-26T09:09:00.003-07:00

While out of the office, Debby, CTL Office Coordinator, happened to assist one of my students. The student came to my office wanting to borrow a textbook for the course. Unfortunately, there isn't a program on campus that allows for borrowing textbooks. Student may go to the library and use the textbook, but cannot check them out. The problem with this is that my courses are online and students often take these courses so they DON'T have to come to campus....so going to the library to read a book kind of defeats the purpose! I completely understand the issues our students encounter trying to pay for books after they have already spent upwards of $852 to be a full time student. Our English 102 textbook is $102 dollars! Luckily students can use it for both 101 and 102. Anyways, that's a lot rambling to get to the point of -- I feel like we need to be good stewards of learning. We should make our courses more accessible and this includes textbooks. Students should have an option of e-books, used books, rented books, purchasing online, etc..... I'm really interested in mobile learning and how 24/7 access to course content on a mobile device (think iPod Touch or smartphone) has the ability to improve learning. After all, who really wants to lug around a textbook everywhere they go? Wouldn't it be great to sit at a doctor's office and read course content, interact in the course management system, or even listen to a lecture via pod/vodcast? So, please tell me what you think by responding to this poll:

Create your own sms poll at Poll Everywhere

Making an Avatar for Course Announcements

2009-10-06T13:03:00.005-07:00

Well, it's about time! I swear, why is it the Instructional Technologist has the hardest time making HER online courses techy? I help everyone else add glamour and style to their online or hybrid courses and I never have time to experiment with my own! Well enough! I've had it! I have vowed to add an avatar to my course announcements section every week. Currently I podcast announcements for my Mesa CC English course. The students actual listen to them! For my GateWay course, I thought I would take it a bit further and do a 1 minute announcement each week with an avatar. Maybe this will be motivational for my students? Heck, it can't hurt! I am also going to send them voice emails in conjunction with their text feedback for papers. I will let you know how it goes at any rate, here is my first avatar announcement: Enjoy!

What is your main modality of communication with your network of people (not people you see everyday, the extended network of people)

2009-09-28T09:05:00.003-07:00

What is your main modality of communication with your network of people?(survey)

GateWay Residential and Adjunct Faculty Please Respond!

2009-09-09T11:26:00.007-07:00

iTech for Student Success

2009-08-17T11:02:00.003-07:00

This semester I have taken a different approach to my usual instructional technology inservice offering. Usually I am burdened with Blackboard updates (yawn) or I have to train on a particular instructional technology. This time, I decided to stick with the theme of the inservice which is "Student Success." I believe that technology has a great impact on student success, so why not do a session on instructional technologies that can facilitate student success?? Instead of creating a PowerPoint presentation or a handout for this session, I used Google Sites to create a website that housed all the great ideas I will be presenting! Find the site here: http://sites.google.com/site/itech4success/home. I took the approach of identifying key factors in student success and then matching them up with an instructional technology solution. Go take a look and let me know what you think!

Quality Matters.....what exactly does this have to do with online learning?

2009-06-22T16:19:00.002-07:00

Every time faculty and administration "freak out" about the quality of online instruction, a good friend and colleague of mine (you know who you are) brings up the point that we should be concerned about quality instruction in all environments-- i.e. online, face2face, and hybrid. I totally agree with her, but today it has become very apparent to me why. I am going through the Quality Matters rubric with the intent of creating workshops to aid faculty with development of their hybrid and online classes. As I am thinking about activities for the workshop, I realize that all of these QM "standards" apply to face2face courses as well. In fact, they are just really focused on good instructional design -- modality aside. At this point, I haven't really found a standard that is exclusive to an online course. Funny that we make such a fuss about online learning when the requirements for a well-developed online course are the same as a face2face course. Expectations for face2face classes should be no different. I guess my point is this, we should be more concerned about the nuances of the online environment that are a shift from face2face. For example, "presence" in an online course is VERY hard to measure. You may be working 24/7 on your online course, however, if you haven't been communicating with your class on a "large scale," it's easy to forget about the students that aren't emailing with constant questions and needing affirmation. What the QM rubric doesn't address is the "teaching" of an online class. I would argue that the "teaching" is the skill that needs to be addressed......assuming that good course design is the same for both environments. Just thoughts.

Does your learning management system need constant attention?

2009-04-01T09:03:00.003-07:00

I'm a little fuzzy from being off on maternity leave for a couple months, but I'm back in the saddle again with no time for "easing back in" to my job! I delivered a presentation on the new features of Blackboard version 8 to my GateWay faculty on Monday and Tuesday. We had great participation with most people excited about the new features of the system. However, I did have one thought provoking point brought up during the session. The general idea of this point was this: How are faculty expected to keep up with a learning management system when we are doing DRASTIC upgrades every May? It's funny because I was just complaining at a meeting with my VP and boss that it's hard to focus on instructional design (my real job) when this learning management system needs constant attention. Soooooooo, I guess there are two real complaints here, one being from an instructional stand point and another being from a support stand point. I am a firm believer that we can no longer do anything in this world without basic technologies and students with degrees should be fairly saavy, leaving it up to each instructor to use and require these technologies. (Another) However, I couldn't help but to feel for this faculty member who is sick and tired of annual training over a learning management system. I'm sure she would love for a May to pass quietly by without hearing anything of a version upgrade. Luckily I was able to look at the positive side of this version upgrade in order to offer these simple thoughts: (1) you don't have to use the new tools and (2) the grade center feature was soooooooooooooooooo needed. It's worth the 1.5 hours of training. She happily concured and we both went on our marry ways.

HELP!

2008-08-27T08:45:00.002-07:00

This semester I'm focusing on providing learning opportunities that address a new dynamic in classroom instruction that focuses on collaborative knowledge and student engagement with new social technologies. Being fairly technology saavy, I see the value in this and tend to embrace this dynamic. However, as an advocate for instructional technology on my campus, I do realize that others may not be as comfortable with embracing technology.....especially "social" technologies. Depending on past learning experiences and educational philosophy, faculty may or may not see the value of a different learning structure that focuses on collaborative knowledge and a more social atmosphere. I "get" that, but also realize that it makes my job pretty tough. I have many subscribers to this educational philosophy, but I would like to get more! How do you do this? I have some general ideas, but would love any suggestions that those of you have out there! HELP ME!

Leaders vs. Managers

2008-07-29T08:18:00.004-07:00

I know this topic has little to do with instructional technology, but it does impact it greatly. I often wonder what the difference is between a leader and a manager. My husband just recently finished his MEd in Educational Leadership and he read many books about leadership. He would spout off a plethora of facts and figures about leadership qualities and they all rang very true in my mind. However, as I sit here pondering what makes a leader....I wonder how do you become a leader. My other thought is...do you ever become a leader if you don't naturally have those skills? Are some people just destined to be better leaders and others just cannot effectively acquire and apply those skills? I have had the good fortune to work for several exceptional leaders while working at MCCCD. I think about what my "leaders" brought to the table that enabled me to excel at my job -- (1) flexibility and trust (go together), (2) integrity, (3) connectedness, (4) human relations. As I look at this short, far-from-complete, list, I realize that these characteristics cannot be taught. These are values that you either have or don't have. What do you think?

This topic is of utmost importance as we move into a new classroom culture and dynamic led by new social technologies. I hope that our leaders in Maricopa recognize the importance of being innovative and out-of-the-box. Learning is no longer only taking place in a classroom with rows and desks with a sage on the stage.....learning is occuring everywhere and it is our job at the community colleges to spearhead and embrace that movement. Just my .02.....

Facebook annoys me

2008-07-24T14:53:00.002-07:00

Anybody out there find some of the features in Facebook annoying???? Before Facebook, I was a faithful MySpace user and abuser. I loved to pimp my page with fun HTML coding and add various pictures of me and my family. I found it was a great way to stay in touch with my circle of friends....it even helped me stay in touch with people I wouldn't normally stay in touch with. Neat-o! I decided about a year ago that I needed to explore Facebook as I am an instructional technologist that needs to stay abreast of teaching technologies. I got my account.....and just never really grew very attached to it. In fact, I loathed the thought of updating my page. I got sooooooo irritated with all the "pokes" and "waves" and "cocktails" and other sorts of various requests and notifications that I was receiving. My goodness.....who cares about all those things? What I loved about MySpace (comments, blogs, personal connections, messages, etc....) just never came to fruition on my Facebook page. Am I partially to blame? I found it very cumbersome to try and maintain the environment I had in my Myspace account in my Facebook account. Nevertheless.....those stupid notifications just get on my nerves!

Collaboration is Queen/King!

2008-06-24T12:57:00.002-07:00

I always love a good collaboration or "collabo" as I call it. Whether it be two musical artists coming together to sing a song or a well-thought-out lesson that requires my students to divvy up work and develop an end product. I do however realize that not all people think this way. For some reason, unapparent to me, there are people out there that think life is all about your own individual accomplishments and self-generated ideas. I would argue that no one's ideas are their own. They are surely a compilation of all the life experiences and people that this person has encountered. Now, you may ask....what is she ranting about? I'll tell you....

I am developing a theme for all the workshops and activities I do this coming semester. It goes a little something like this: redesigning/reimagining your classroom for student engagement and collaboration.....focusing on students generating content together.

Both my degrees are in Education and I know quite a bit about education theory and how the brain works. I truly believe that learning is social. I believe it because I've been told....and I've also experienced it. Perhaps the latter was the most powerful to me (by no surprise since we know that experiential learning is a very powerful means to learn). I just came to the realization that it is my network of colleagues that has allowed me the opportunity to be successful in my career. It is this social network of colleagues that teaches me new things -- we have created our own social networking arena online and in person. As I push my faculty to embed these social networks into their classroom, I can speak from experience that they aren't just "fluff," they are sometimes the most meaningful learning experiences a student will have. Sure, I could go out and do some research online, attend a conference, and read some journals pertaining to education technology, but it is the reflection and dialogue with my colleagues that adds meaning to this content. It's almost hard to express the impact this social network has had on my career. All I can say is that it's been amazing. I know that if I don't have the "answers," someone in my social network will. So, with collaboration, it's not always about knowing the right answer off the top of your head, but knowing where to go and who to go to in order to find it. Isn't that what life is all about?

These social networking technologies are ones that I can't live without in order of importance to me:
http://twitter.com
http://blogger.com
http://del.icio.us
http://facebook.com
http://myspace.com

I can't keep up!

2008-06-10T14:21:00.002-07:00

I am ruminating in my office about my inability to keep up with technology. *Gasp* And this is coming from the instructional designer/technologist. It's with that thought that I move on to wonder how our faculty do. I am amazed at several of our faculty members that spend hours of their own time trying to perfect their craft with new "whiz bang" technologies. Margaret Covington, Lisa Young, Cindy Gaspar-Rust, Janeen Curtiss....just to name a few. (It's funny that so many of them come from the field of Nursing at GateWay). How is it that I can't find the time to keep up? If this is my full-time gig, what exactly am I spending my full-time gig doing if it's not finding ways to enhance teaching and learning with "whiz bang" technologies? Where is it that my time goes? I have one theory.... I spend a good majority of my time helping faculty with design and development AND supporting our lack-luster course management system. Both of these things are extremely important -- but I am envious of my colleagues who have time to research new technologies. I do realize most of them do it on their own time.....my husband and daughter won't allow it. They are very possessive of their time with me. So, I'm coming up with a new game plan. I am calling it Technology Tuesday. Every Tuesday morning, I will dedicate about 2 hours to blogging and researching technologies. I will report back on how that works.

Workshop Blue Sky for Fall

2008-05-13T11:41:00.005-07:00

Softchalk uses in the classroom (softchalk is so clunky)
Google Docs for student collaborative writing and projects
Using wikis for exam reviews and other classroom activities (wet paint)
Collaborating with your students using Web 2.0 technologies
Use Diigo to annotate and comment on websites and share with your students
Tricks for getting students to engage and participate in learning.
twitter???
making students knowledge-able
voice thread for voice discussion and presentation of verbal media
creative commons -- fair use
xtimeline.com -- how to teach sequential information

Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself!

2008-04-30T16:24:00.002-07:00

In my day-to-day learning, I'm always shocked at my inability to pay attention when sitting in meetings or lecture-driven training. I have always struggled with this and been chastised by the general educator as being someone with a short attention span....or ADHD *gasp*. The more I have taught, trained, & facilitated, the more I begin to realize that it's not necessarily "my problem." Aren't we, as educators, responsible for creating a dynamic and rich learning environment?

In my journey developing a workshop about the hybrid learning environment, I have discovered that these types of courses have a high student success and satisfaction rate. I was reading an article on InsideHigherEd.com that provides a great explanation as to why:

Q: Is blended learning especially suited to a new generation of students with stereotypical traits such as shorter attention spans, different learning patterns, and more collaborative tendencies?

A: Student attention spans are short because most educational experiences are passive and lack meaning. Blended learning is intended to address these issues. On the other hand, there is evidence that technically savvy students are very critical about how technology is being used. It is clear that any use of technology must be justified and student expectations addressed. If this happens, then students will engage in more meaningful learning activities and assume greater responsibility for their learning.

So, it's not my fault! So quit picking on me! At any rate, this speaks volumes for hybrid education's successes.

Replicating F2F Courses in the Online Environment

2008-04-28T13:33:00.005-07:00

As the campus promoter for online learning, I hear over and over again that many instructors feel that they can't "do what they do" in an online environment. "What they do" is referring to their content, teaching activities & strategies, and even the sense of who they are as a teacher. I find this interesting, because I, myself felt the very same way when I began my online teaching endeavors several years ago. I always prided myself on two major things, (1) my ability to connect with my students and (2) the fun and active learning environment that I created. How was I going to be able to re-create this in an online course? I found that I was a bit disappointed my first semester teaching online -- it really wasn't the same. I didn't get to see my students, I didn't get to spend time connecting with them, I didn't get to hear the "roar" of the classroom when they were busily engaging in group dynamics.

However, now it is my 7th semester teaching online and I couldn't be happier! I learned that I could not replicate the experience, but I could create an entirely different experience that was even more valuable to me. I found that I connected even deeper with my students online -- once you take away the barriers of face-to-face interactions, people are really honest! Students that might shy away in class just blossom in an online discussion board. I also learned a very valuable lesson from the community college student perspective: time is so valuable! Our students are working 40 hours a week, are full time students, parents, spouses and more....wow, so am I! Online courses allowed all of us to manage our time in a manner that worked for us...all of us! I came to my own conclusion that I couldn't be teaching unless I could teach online....and, neither could some of my students.

There are so many other reflections that came to mind as I thought about this, but these are the ones that really blew me away. I am so satisfied as an online instructor, and I believe my students are very thankful for that!

Testing a podcast...

2008-03-17T14:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.archive.org/download/TestPodcast_600/essaypodcast_64kb.mp3

Create a Social Bookmarking Account in Del.icio.us

2008-02-20T13:21:00.001-07:00

In the address bar of an internet browser, type: del.icio.us
Press Enter
Click on the Register link in the upper-right corner of the page

Fill in the initial account information and click Register
If on a personal computer, install the buttons & then restart your browser.
Step three is a quick “button tutorial” and also gives you your direct web address to your saved pages in Del.icio.us!

Now, browse to your favorite professional website.
Once there, click the Del.icio.us button to tag the website.

The “Annotation” window will display – enter pertinent information:

A few notes on annotating websites:

· URL: This field will autofill with the site’s web address

· Description: This field typically autofills with the web site’s title

· Notes: Explanation of site, how is it valuable to you?

· Tags: keyword identifiers that can be used as filters to find important websites you’ve saved.

Use the “social” features of Del.icio.us

Link to users that have also saved the sites you’ve saved
Add a user to your network
Add a subscription to your account (user plus tag)

Add a website to your account when you don’t have access to your personal/work computer:

Navigate to a website you would like to save.
Copy the web address by highlighting the address in the address bar and pressing CTRL + C.
Navigate and login to your del.icio.us account.
Click the post button located below your username in the top-left corner.

Paste the web address in the URL box that displays by pressing CTRL + V.
Click the Save button at the end of the box.
Annotate the website.

Paperless World??? Yeah!

2008-02-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Fascinating article from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/business/10metrics.html?ex=1360299600&en=95ac95c3ed7b73d6&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

YouTube in YOUR Classroom

2008-02-13T11:09:00.002-07:00

Web 2.0 Students

· YouTube Video produced by Mike Wesch, Cultural Anthropology Faculty at Kansas State Univeristy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

What IS YouTube?

· Video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. (wikipedi.com)

· Sharing….Social Networking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc

How can YouTube work for ME?

· Help illustrate a dynamic or hard to explain concept:

o Do a keyword search in the Search field…

Have students locate video that illustrates dynamic or hard to explain concepts – analyze the sources in class, or have the students evaluate them as sources. Create a rubric for them to use.
Have students produce video and post it on YouTube

Two students use a simple webcam hooked up to a computer to sing a DNA Replication Song they wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIZpb93NYlw

Showcase your program, facilities, and student work.

Otis College of Art & Design uses this video to demonstrate some basic skills is first year students will learn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er2-q86kJ9s&feature=PlayList&p=B3607250CA957970&index=0
Otis college of Art & Design uses this video to showcase their library: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS28qydjfsg

Have students create YouTube accounts and use the social network tools to connect with others in their disciplines

Subscribe to a users videos to get notification of new videos
Become “friends” with other users that have content you find useful
Explore “friends” of “friends”

Using the Web as a Resource

2008-02-06T17:15:00.002-07:00

The following information comes from a presentation I gave at ACERT in Las Vegas, NV on February 7, 2008.

**************************************************************

Webpages

Want students accessing resources beyond the textbook? Have them do a simple Google search with particular key words. Tell the students to present their finding(s) in class OR in an online discussion board or personal blog.

These results were gleaned by using the keyword “x-ray”

Mayo website -- How X-rays work and how to prepare: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/x-ray/FL00064
Repository of information for students and teachers in Radiography: http://www.davesplacesinradiology.com/StudentPage.htm

Videos

Need to illustrate a “hard to explain concept?” Go to YouTube.com and search on a key word to see what video results display:

These results were gleaned by using the keyword “x-ray”

Patient’s encounter with cancer – x-ray of chest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXySbx_29fs&NR=1
Barium X-ray or Contrast Study: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/barium-x-ray/MM00009
Mammogram explanation: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mammogram/MM00639

Images

Do you want students to see many images to illustrate a single concept? Have your students do a Google Image search (http://images.google.com/) using keywords. Have them present their findings in class or in an online discussion board or personal blog.

Blogs

Would you like your students to write and reflect more on their experiences and ideas within the field? Have them create a blog!

http://www.blogger.com/

Would you like students to read different viewpoints about topics in the field from “real people?” Have them search blog sites for topics in the radiography field.

Social networking sites

Don’t underestimate the importance of learning being “social” – the more your students “connect” with others in the radiography field, the better they may excel in your courses! Have your students become a member of a radiography social networking site:

http://radiography.ning.com/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fradiography.ning.com%2F

Social bookmarking tools

Are your students doing research and compiling resources? Track their research by having them create social bookmarking accounts:

Consistency in hybrid design

2008-02-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in a workshop about how to develop a hybrid.....and I'm grappling with the concept of having the hybrid design be "consistent" across an institution. Though I see the positives of consistency, I'm a true believer that each course and course content have different needs in respect to a hybrid course. What are your thoughts?

Hybrid Learning: The Best of Both Worlds

2007-10-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

What is it?
The goal of a hybrid class is to blend the best features of in-person instruction with technology-enriched online experiences to create an educational atmosphere that promotes active participatory learning. By supplementing traditional in-person methods with web-based activities and resources, the course is made more accessible and interactive and cultivates increased student interest and self-exploration. [1]

Why do it?
Studies conducted at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee found that students benefited from the hybrid format by: learning more, writing better papers, performing better on tests, discussing course materials more meaningfully, and completing higher quality class projects.

Data from the University of Central Florida also indicate that students participating in hybrid courses received better grades than those taking traditional onsite classes or online courses and that student success rates in hybrid courses on the Central Florida campus are “equivalent or slightly superior” to face to face courses. Also notable is that the hybrid courses have lower dropout rates than courses that are taught solely online [2]

How is it done?
1.First, think about the types of activities that take place in a classroom environment. How can or can’t those be duplicated or enhanced in an online environment? (see Delivery Options for Online/Hybrid Activities handout).
2.Analyze your current face-to-face class outline. Are there any components of lessons that could be delivered online?
3.What are those components and how would they be delivered in an online environment?
4.Dissect a particular lesson by determining what activities can be taught in an online format and what activities are best suited in the face-to-face environment. (see Hybrid Lesson Design Tool handout).

Ideas to get you started:
•Maricopa Learning Exchange (MLX) Hybrid Resources: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/search_results.php

•Hybrid Design Resource Course:
http://bb63.maricopa.edu/webapps/login/
Username: Trainer Password: training
Click on GWC.Hybrid Design Resource Course in the list of courses (at the very end)

Sources
[1]http://teachvu.vu.msu.edu/public/pedagogy/hybrid/index.php?page_num=2
[2]http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no1/larson-daugherty.pdf

Active Learning Online...

2007-10-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Active vs. passive, what’s the difference???
Simply put, active learning is “doing.” The very nature of an online environment is active. Students very rarely are able to sit back and view or listen to anything. They must actively seek out knowledge and create their own truths.

“Most of the time, in a typical classroom setting, students are involved only passively in learning, i.e., in listening to the instructor, looking at the occasional overhead or slide, and reading (when required) the text book. Research shows that such passive involvement generally leads to a limited retention of knowledge by students…” *

What’s the big deal?
We know that student remember 90% of what they say and do and only 10% of what they read and 20% of what they hear…..(Dale, 1954)

How do I do it?
•Start small – you might already be doing it without knowing!
•Set the stage
•Approach each lesson from a student perspective
•Think about what the students will be “doing” each lesson

Activities
•Is there a lecture you typically prepare that can be more interactive (think: less reading, more research, summarizing, and synthesizing)? Have your students get into online groups and research various topics from a lecture. Use an online collaborative tool so that students can share ideas in an online area. Have them present their findings to the class in a virtual classroom or discussion board.
•Have a student or group of students moderate discussion boards. Ask them to facilitate the conversation and summarize and close the discussion board at the end.
•If students are writing papers, have them use the collaboration tools to peer review each others papers. Be sure to provide guidelines of what constitutes an effective peer review.
•Are your students involved in a practicum or field based experience? Reconnect them to their classmates by having them use a reflection or discussion tool online.
•Send students on a virtual scavenger hunt by providing resources in the form of web resources & documents.

*http://courses.science.fau.edu/~rjordan/active_learning.htm

Non-Threatening Environment

2007-10-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

A co-worker brought up an interesting point during an in-service on multiple intelligences last week. She said it was important to build a non-threatening classroom environment. This environment would better facilitate learning. My first thought was that this made perfect sense. The more I think about it, the more I see its relationship to learning. Students feel comfortable physically and emotionally in a classroom and they will preform better than students who are afraid to ask questions or participate in class discussions. Taking this even further, if students feel comfortable and safe with an instructor, they may be more motivated to attend class and work harder on assignments....less likely to drop out or just not show up. I've always fostered the student-teacher relationship in my classroom....now, I know why it's so important (especially at the community college).

Easy Ways to Incorporate Technology into Lessons

2007-09-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Find or create a simple WebQuest

Find a webquest: http://webquest.org/index.php
Example: A WebQuest for Registered Nursing Students and Maternal-Child Nursing http://www.msu.edu/user/brubak29/PregnancyWebQuest.htm
Develop/create your own: A webquest about creating a webquest http://www.bernardsboe.com/wams/academics/isaacs/webquests/index.html

Provide Web resources to explore

Does your text book publisher provide any online resources? If so, how can you integrate them in the course to promote learning and retention?
Do your own research using Google to find online resources.
What do you want your students to do with these web resources?

Have students create email accounts

Have students sign up for a gmail email account: http://www.gmail.com
Send students a weekly tip or a synthesis of a discussion item from class.
Send website links for them to explore and later discuss in class.
Send them reminders about quizzes, tests and reading assignments.
Ask them for feedback as a formative classroom assessment technique.

Use Jeopardy for in class exam reviews

Templates are available online, here are just a couple good ones:

Have students create questions in groups then select a handful of questions to use in the Jeopardy template.
Fill in the template and use it for an exam review.

Effectively Managing Discussion Boards

2007-09-17T10:41:00.001-07:00

So, you came up with a great idea to have an online discussion with your class. Wonderful! Just make sure to have some of the basics in place before this molehill turns into Mount Everest....

Things to have in place when requiring a discussion board in your course:

Points should be assigned to every required posting
A rubric should be developed and communicated with your students
Explicit posting procedures should be communicated to students:

Naming conventions for posting
How many classmates they should reply to
Types of replies that are required

Be explicit about what students should expect of you in the discussion board
Summarize and close each discussion once the due date has arrived
Have students and/or student groups moderate & summarize discussions

Blackboard tools to use:

Set up threads or forums so that you can grade postings directly from the board.
Have students rate other students’ responses using the Blackboard star system as well as reply to postings.
Use the Collect tool to easily combine and read all posts related to a single thread
Use the Search field to easily find threads with keywords

Question crafting ideas:

Select an interesting topic, one that gets them thinking and wanting to read other responses.
Think about questions/discussions that are difficult for student to spontaneously answer/discuss in class.

….And be sure to….

Log into the discussion board daily in order to keep abreast of new postings.

Resources:

Moderating & Facilitating Online Discussions

Developing Discussion Board Ideas for Your Class - worksheet

Discussion Board Rubric

Another Discussion Board Rubric

Getting Started with Discussion Boards in Blackboard

Doing More with Discussion Boards in Blackboard

Plan B....the hiccups of technology

2007-09-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

One may laugh at me using the term "hiccup"...thinking that Blackboard must be drunk by now, but I assure you these issues are temporary. However, in the meantime, what is an instructor to do when they have 20, 30, 50, 100+ students biting at the bit to access course content online? Well, I'll tell you.....

Create a Blog
Create a blog that can host class material and facilitate class discussions, have your students create blogs too. Add your student’s blog links to your page so that everyone has access to each other’s blogs. This creates a classroom community.

Go to http://www.blogger.com/
Follow the steps on the Blogger.com page to create an account

If you have a gmail account, use that login information to create the blog.
If you don’t have a gmail account, use the email address you would like students to

Create a Wiki
Create collaborative web pages for you and your students to edit, post, and comment about topics using “wiki technology.”

Go to http://www.pbwiki.com/
Fill out the information in the "Get Started for Free" area.

Paper-Based and/or Excel Gradebook
If you use Blackboard to track your grades, think about:

Setting up a back-up spreadsheet in Excel that will store and calculate your grades, OR
Track grades in a paper gradebook, or a simple notebook. This is a fantastic backup if all your technology fails!

Find Good Online Resources
If Blackboard is down, you can still have your students access the internet. Have a few websites that contain information they will be learning about for each lesson. If Blackboard is down, have the students go to these websites and discuss their findings in your new class blog!

Keep Student Contact Information “Offline”
Make sure to have current contact information for your students that is not “housed” in Blackboard. Keep a paper copy of student emails and phone numbers and one that is on your computer hard drive and/or a thumb drive. This will allow you to either email or call your students to inform them of your “Plan B.”

Always Keep Course Information in Multiple Places
You never know what technology won’t be working when you need it. Keep your course materials on a thumb drive, a CD, and on your computer. Make it a habit when you update your assignments or other course materials to also update each location that “houses” these materials. If you create a Google account: https://www.google.com/accounts/Login, you can upload documents and other course materials in the Google Docs area. This will allow you to access materials from any computer in any location.

Explore Additional Online Learning Environments
Make sure there are other places for your students to meet and learn online. These places should be in addition to Blackboard, not necessarily used only when Blackboard is down. Below is a list of free open-source online environments that have potential usage in the college classroom (please note that these environments can be private for only your class to see and interact within).

https://www.google.com/accounts/Login: Access to blogger (blog), document and spreadsheet sharing, discussion groups, etc…
http://www.myspace.com/: Access to a blog, image posting, and collaboration…

Who am I?

2007-09-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

Most techy people boast about working with technology since technology existed...I'm not one of those. I came upon technology in education as a second degree when I was in my early 2os. I hoped it would make me marketable in a world full of English teachers (my first degree). I received my Masters in Learning & Instructional Technology from ASU in 2002 and looked straight to the community college realm for work. I enjoy working with technology as I see it fit in education. Other than that, I love my cell phone in which I text message and browse the internet feverishly and I also am addicted to posting pictures of my baby girl to my Flickr account...any other time, I never log onto my computer during my "me time." Shocking isn't it???