Final Paper Reflection - post submission

As I finished up my submission for my final paper for the summer workshop, I felt it appropriate to reflect on my latest thoughts. I was thinking during the class that perhaps I could use the same Web 2.0 tools that Sandie did for my class this coming year. I think instead I will use some of them but I am still not sure how to use all of them.

The tools Sandie used that may prove useful are: Gmail and chat, Google Documents. I can't see where we would use MySpace, Skype or MSMessenger. I would ask each of the students to use or create a Gmail account. I can see where I might use the chat feature to ask a student to get stay on task or ask for an update. I don't see where a group chat feature adds much to a class that is local (I know this is a DE class, please forgive). I may use the calendar feature also. Google documents will be an easy place to post information that will roll off the calendar shortly.

The other tools we talked about that we did not use include the following:

I have used DreamWeaver to manage one previous web site but did so under the close direction of an associate. In this research a found a great article that is a great primer to DreamWeaver and I learned a bunch.

Captivate is going to be a great tool. I need to get up to speed with it before classes start.

Scholarly Research Distance Education

Besides DE, I'm looking into the optimum time for a presentation. One study called "Broken Lecture" took the traditional one hour lecture, broke it into three fifteen minute mini lectures with fifteen minutes of "self-directed learning session," presumably five minutes after each mini lecture. Intriguing??

DE

Best Practices:
Implement a community of learning, institutional peer review, rigor in learning outcomes
http://www.neasc.org/cihe/best_practices_electronically_offered_degree.htm

Captivate Notes

As I work through the learning curve of Captivate, I want to keep notes.

I am working with a template inserting the material from the Wiki training module. I inserted a question slide and it appears to be quite robust. I allows T/F Multiple choice/ Multiple response, survey, scale type questions with branching per response. We'll see how this works!!!

Captivate also inserted a second slide with the results of the question slide.

The Quiz Manager seems to be pretty narrow. There are a number of Adobe products that can work with the data, (Connect, Authorware, other). I need to find out more about SCORM. Here's a quick definition.

Now I need to find out if the other products are SCORM compliant.

Captivate Notes

As I am working through the learning curve of Captivate, I want to keep notes.

I am working with a template inserting the material from the Wiki training module. I inserted a question slide and it appears to be quite robust. I allows T/F Multiple choice/ Multiple response, survey, scale type questions with branching per response. We'll see how this works!!!

Summer Workshop Overall Reflection

Sandie is expecting each of us to grow substantially as we produce our final product of a distance education tool. Being the more experienced kid on the block, she is expecting a lot more from me. I can see why but at the same time am somewhat frustrated with her heightened expectations. For one thing, she is expecting to gauge the worthiness of the product by hours spent in production. This is a valid method of measure but Sandie does not understand how I operate. Case in point, the journal. If I enter 100 journal entries, there is 100 hours right there. I have not made a journal entry yet of less than an hour, close to two for some. I can see this project going to 300 hours or more. I hope to produce something that will apply to my teaching, not just be an academic exercise. To this end I envision a website portal that will serve as a central location for finding all learning materials as well as a repository for newly created learning modules. I am working out the concept with enough detail to secure Sandie's approval.

Summer Workshop Reflections Day 4

I know any reflection is much more accurate and effective when it is compiled immediately following the occasion upon which one is reflecting. This one will be done more from memory four days after the fact. These four days have not been with out fruit however, I have had several good ideas; I just need to remember them.

We condensed the schedule from day four and what would have been day five into a long morning.

We started with a quick exposure to Captivate, an Adobe product that creates Flash training modules using screen capture, notation, and audio. On of the real strengths, was the capability to branch to different slides based on user interaction. I had downloaded and done the demos and tutorials the night before, so I had already seen Sandie's presentation. I tried to find some training on UEN's site but did not. I guess this will be a situation of self learning. I did order the product from the bookstore.

Next, we did an activity where two teams of two were given a flag to recreate using crayons. One team had one person draw while the other referred to the image at will. The other team was given the image for a time and then it was withdrawn and the team had to recreate the image from memory. We discussed the benefits of each approach and realized there were strengths and weaknesses in each. Some observations were:
1) collaboration involves resources as well as people and individuals have strengths and weaknesses.
2) collaboration is more effective in some situations
3) feedback along the process was important

We then did two puzzles in teams of two. The "rules" were different for each team. One team could talk and work at the same time, the other could not talk and had to trade off every 30 seconds. The talking team was first to finish, while the other pronounced early that there were pieces missing (they were not). When the first team finished, Sandie left the room and then the rules were broken. The finished team went to help the non-talkers and recognized that some pieces were misplaced, giving the impression that pieces were missing. In the end the puzzle was finished and Sandie returned to discuss when we had decided to break the rules, this being the point of the exercise; that sometimes we accelerate the design process if we use untried practices.

Several notable quotes came up. Steve said, "It is better to shoot for the moon and only hit the mountain top than is is to shoot for the top of the manure pile and hit it." He shared one of his favorites, "Dream no small dreams as they have no magic to stir men's soul."

We then looked at some mash ups which are entertaining but hard for me to see any educational value in applied technology outside multimedia.

We then did a sorting activity to arrive at our "credo" in the form of a bumper sticker. Each of us produced three responses to, "Distance Education is ________." We then elected systematically which we liked the best as a group and created a virtual bumper sticker.

We then dismissed with pleasantries.