Final Reflections for the Semester

I can't believe the course is almost over...and just in time. I'm ready to spend more time with my family, exercise again and watch the Daily Show, Colbert Report, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow every night until IT 5670 starts up...man, I'm really looking forward to that.

I spent the last 20 minutes (I'm a slow reader) reading through every post since September. I must say, I'm not a bad writer and it was a good reminder/review of what I've learned this semester.

First - music is powerful. It should be considered whenever and wherever possible when designing instruction. I need to find a way to incorporate it into my EdWeb.

Second - the collaborative nature of this class provided learning experiences far beyond my wildest expectations. Kudos to Jackie and Patrick for designing the class around our Social CIV.

Third - both texts have been fantastic. I can't say I was thrilled with Horton until I re-read chapters 2-4 (Absorb, Do, Connect activities) and it started to make much more sense. These activities are essential to good instructional design. The Williams text on the other hand I loved from page one. Simple and incredibly effective. I'm looking forward to using her text as a guide for the design of my EdWeb next semester.

Fourth - I'm now an "active" reader and love it. Thanks to all who provided examples!

Fifth - Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning and our CIVs will be with me no matter where I go from here (professionally, not personally)...like Horton and Williams, they are essential resources for great instructional design.

Finally - I really thought that Jackie and Patrick have been amazing instructors and have done a masterful job designing this course. Thanks for all of your positive, constructive feedback. I'm looking forward to working with you again next semester.

As promised, no post is complete without mentioning my life here in the San Francisco Bay Area or the NY Giants. And since the Giants looked miserable this weekend against the Eagles (don't worry, they still clinched the NFC East), I thought I would post a few pics of my family at the new California Academy of Science. It is truly inspiring!













Cam viewing one of the many tanks in the aquarium section.



















Erica and Parker at the rainforest exhibit.

Unit 11 Reflections

We're in the midst of Unit 11 and I think it best to post my thoughts now before I forget what I want to write.

I had a huge "Ah-ha" moment about a week ago while thinking about the design portion of our EdWeb document. I realized that I should be creating an online course to teach middle school students basic web design skills using HTML. This after agonizing over every little detail of my EdWeb document especially the learning objectives for my old topic. Needless to say this puts me behind a bit, not to mention all the extra work for Patrick and Jackie who need to review v2 (a brand new topic) of my EdWeb doc. I'm happy that I made the switch primarily because I think the topic is much more relevant and more exciting to design and develop.

Much like Unit 10, I've learned more and more about Bloom's Taxonomy and writing learning objectives which is incredibly helpful, not only for this project but for my everyday work life. I've already started the design portion of the EdWeb document and hope to finish it in the next few days after taking part in a few of the Unit 11 discussions.

My G-Men are still winning but some off-field antics could end up to hurt them (not to mention send one or more players to jail). You can check out the story just about anywhere, but it is always entertaining to read it at the NY Post.














The Giants beat Washington this past Sunday, 23-7 and look to knock-off NFC East rival Philly this coming Sunday. Definitely without Burress and possibly without star middle linebacker Antonio Pierce. That would hurt!

Unit 10 Reflections

Unit 10 seems so, so long ago...maybe because I had so much trouble creating learning objectives for my original EdWeb idea. It took me three days to write decent objectives but I must say, I learned quite a bit in the process. I learned more about Bloom's Taxonomy and Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning then I ever thought possible, and that is a positive, because I find these educational models/theories fascinating. I also spent a lot of time re-reading Horton chapters 2-4 (Absorb, Do, Connect activities) and the second time around it makes much more sense to me.

As I stated in an earlier post, I think the William's text is fantastic. I'm using an online resource, based on her book, with my 6th grade Digital Design class where we focus on basic web design using HTML coding. The students thought it was a very valuable resource. Here it is and I will also post it to the class Delicious page.

The typography discussion we had was enlightening...I felt like I was able to get a real sense of someone's personality based on the font face selected for the given words in the assignment. Great activity.

On to other important things...since my last post, the Giants have gone undefeated. Here are some scores:

NYG - 30, BAL - 10
NYG - 37, ARI - 29

Unit 9 Reflections

What a great few weeks...

Team Jingee's webinar went well last Sunday (Nov. 2). We got some good feedback and intend on documenting the results of the formative evaluation some time this week. Much like Chris I've been using Jing constantly at work for faculty and students alike. It is so simple yet so effective in providing a visual resource that aids in the learning process.

Because preparation for our webinar took a significant amount of time, and then getting sidetracked by the election and its aftermath, I didn't have an opportunity to engage in the Horton/Kolb/CIV discussions until late last week. I wish I hadn't waited so long because group E's discussion around the Sviniki/Dixon article was nothing short of amazing. A multitude of people either created their own diagrams to help combine our CIVs with Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning or found valuable resources like this diagram (Kolb learning styles diagram) and this synopsis (Kolb Learning Styles) both posted by Arielle.

I'm planning on using these resources and what I learned from the discussion about Kolb's Model, Horton's reading (Lessons) and our CIVs to complete the design section of our EdWeb analysis.

OK, on a personal note, no matter how you felt (or still feel) about the presidential candidates, history was made on November 4, 2008 with the first African-America elected as the President of our great nation. Amazing and inspiring!

















Less important than that historical event, but important nonetheless, the G-Men found a way to beat the Eagles Sunday night in Philly.

Jing: Educational Uses

Thanks to all of you who were able to participate in our webinar. Your enthusiastic participation, especially during the small group activity, resulted in some creative, unique educational uses for that simple Web 2.0 tool called Jing. Here they are:

Breakout Group 1

1. Use Jing to capture primary documents for analysis, debate and discussion.
2. Use Jing to make a poem or writing a visual and audio experience.
3. Use Jing to create short video stories/narratives/diaries/etc.
4. Use Jing as a way to visually ask questions for understanding (as a student, parent or instructor).

Breakout Group 2

1. Use Jing images as job aids to supplement Jing videos (demonstrations)
2. Use Jing in place of Snag It because of ease of hosting images.
3. Use Jing in this course to supplement written assignments with images.

Breakout Group 3

1. Use Jing to create video job aids that would provide instructions for using a videoconferencing tool.
2. Use Jing to create images that would provide instruction and then email to end-user.
3. Use Jing as an assessment tool for middle school students. Students create a video using Jing to show they have mastered how to use specific applications.

In Between Reflections

Another great way to start the week...I thought that our Jing webinar went very, very well. More details about that in my next post (Unit 9 Reflections). Also, the Giants completely dominated Dallas and head into next week against NFC East rivals Philadelphia at 7-1.











Finally, just used Wordle for the first time...very cool.

More Unit 8 Reflections

This post will be succinct...

Nice way to start my week with the Giants coming from behind to knock off the Steelers (sorry Elyse). Big game against NFC East rival Dallas next week.










This week was very busy trying to complete EdWeb analysis document. Suffice it to say that I'm still having problems writing learning objectives that meet Horton's criteria for good objectives: clear, precise and worthy. I'm hoping that Jackie and Patrick can offer some sage advice.

On a positive note, I spent a significant amount of time over the last two weeks working with Chris and Elyse on our Jing webinar. According to the "Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model of group development", I believe we've reached the "performing" stage. I feel very fortunate that the Jing team has been able to work incredibly well together from the very beginning with only positive interactions. This has enabled us to communicate honestly and openly about ideas and offer constructive criticism that has consistently allowed the project to move forward in a very creative way.

I'm confident our webinar will be engaging and thought-provoking. Jing really is a simple but amazing web 2.0 tool.

Unit 8 Reflections

Tough way to start the week with the Giants embarrassing loss to the Browns. No worries, they had to lose at some point and better now than in the playoffs.

Our week off was nice but I certainly don't feel like I got a break. But, it was exciting to start the Williams book, The Non-Designer's Design Book. It was an easy, fun and highly informative read. I was able to use her four design principles - proximity, alignment, repetition and contrast - to re-design our webinar PPT presentation and also my resume. I was shocked at how professional both files looked after some simple changes and also how much more organized they looked.

In addition to re-designing some of my own work (the PPT is the team' work, not just mine), I find that I look at things -PPT presentations, Word docs, websites - with a much more critical eye. For example, today I was at the Innovative Learning Conference in San Jose and attended four different workshops. One, yes, only one of the PPT presentations would I consider decent from a design perspective. And because the design was poor, each looked unprofessional and disorganized.

On a tangential note, the conference was unfortunately disappointing (except for one workshop) but it did give me some ideas for my EdWeb project.

To end things on a positive note...this time of year in the Bay Area is spectacular. I had the opportunity to spend some time with my family at Crissy Field in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Good times!

Unit 7 Reflections

It's hard to begin this post without acknowledging my beloved NY Giants...they were unstoppable while their west coast opponent seemed like a local high school team (my apologies to my Jingee teammate Chris).









This week went by in the blink of an eye quite possibly because our team (Team Jing) was feverishly working to complete the webinar proposal and associated script and PowerPoint presentation. We had an opportunity, at the beginning of the week, to experiment with Connect through a synchronous meeting that went very well. We'll certainly need to meet this way a few more times to become proficient, at least proficient enough, to use Connect successfully in less than a month for our webinar.

The highlight of the week was reading the first few chapters in the Williams book, The Non-Designer's Design Book. I've read through two of her four essential principles, Proximity and Alignment, and was astonished at how simple it is to create organization and visually stimulating content with a few clicks of the mouse. I'm looking forward to reading about Repitition and Contrast in the coming days.

During this week I felt like I really started to find my own style of "active reading" (a combination of highlighting, underlining and making notes in the margin) and it is definitely making a difference in terms of retaining and applying information. My new approach to reading applies not only to the texts/online readings for this course, but also reading other material for work and pleasure. Thanks to those who made suggestions and provided concrete examples of their own active reading styles.














Finally, on a personal note, it was another great week in Northern California with my family.

Our son Parker started smiling...check out the pic above.

Cam has been smiling for awhile now... he's below with his self-styled "mohawk".

Unit 6 Reflections

I had the opportunity to attend my first webinar this week - Introduction to Geocaching - presented by Dr. Alice Christie and sponsored by ISTE. She was a wonderful - smart, articulate, a great storyteller - and experienced educator. The presentation was informative and I learned a bit about geocaching. However, she neglected to touch on each one of our CIVs and I feel like I didn't learn as much as I could have had the presentation been more "social" and "active".

There was absolutely no interaction among participants or even between the presenter and participants. Questions were fielded by a "host" and funneled to the presenter. Yes, this was probably a very efficient way to handle the Q & A portion of the webinar, but I didn't feel any connection to anyone else taking part in the hour-long presentation. Additionally, the webinar contained only "absorb" activities, there were no "do" activities at all. Nothing active - Period! By the end of the webinar I was fighting to keep my eyes open and convince my co-workers (I was sitting in my office, which also houses 3 other people and has an open door policy for anyone who needs ed tech support) I was actually participating in a webinar and shouldn't be disturbed.

Note to self -- make sure our webinar hits all of our CIVs!!

As promised in my last post...the final paragraph is devoted to one of two things...Northern California or my beloved G-Men. Since they have a bye this week, I'll focus on my home state...way up north in a town called Fort Bragg (right near Mendicino) there's an amazing coffee company I just found out about called the Thanksgiving Coffee Company. They carry "Delicious Peace Coffee" - so if you think Peace is a good thing, and fair trade is a good thing, then check out this story and buy some incredible coffee.

JJ Keki and his youngest son Aaron look over the Namatala River Valley, and the slopes of Mt. Elgon. Photo: Ben Corey-Moran, 2007

Unit 5 Reflections

This week was crazy...maybe because work was busy, our boys weren't sleeping real well and the class activities were time-consuming (for me). Nontheless, I had some positive learning experiences and an epiphany (see my "Ah-ha Moment" post), which, two days later, may not be the grand "Ah-ha" moment I once thought it was...oh well.

I started taking Jackie's advice and writing in the margins of the Horton textbook when reading. It really has improved my concentration and I do feel like I'm more active when I read. So thanks to Jackie and to Arielle who mentioned this during one of our team discussions.

My wife found some valuable resources regarding internet safety/online behavior/social networking for kids, that I placed on my last post. Check them out when you get a chance. While posting, I started thinking about heading in a different direction for my EdWeb project. I would like to design, develop and implement an e-learning environment for the adult community at my school that focuses on the issues mentioned above. Many of the adults in our school community would be considered "Digital Immigrants", not "Digital Natives" (like their kids - read more here). These adults need to have a better understanding of the technologies that their kids are using...my EdWeb would serve the purpose of providing opportunities for these adults to become more aware and educated. Any thoughts?

Finally, I refuse to complete a reflective post without talking about one of two things (I'm going to mention both today)...first, how great it is to live in Northern California. Here are a few pics from our outing at Muir Beach yesterday...overcast day but perfect.















Erica and Parker















Digging a "giant" hole on the beach with Cam


And second, my beloved Giants... pulled it out today against Cincy...it was ugly, but a win!

A Golden Opportunity

As I was sprawled on my living room floor reading Horton this evening, trying to be a more "active" reader, my wife handed me a few pages from Parents magazine that recommended ways to keep your child safe in our digital world. The article, titled "Safety 'Net: The best strategies for protecting your kids online", contains some decent nuggets including extensive house rules to have in place. But, one of the best parts included a brief description of five "Social Sites for Little Kids" beyond the popular Club Penguin, Webkinz and Neopets. They are:

1. Kidzui
2. Zookazoo
3. Franktown Rocks!
4. Handipoints
5. Woogi World

This got me thinking...not only are these resources valuable for my family, they're valuable to all families, including the adult (parent/faculty/staff/administration) community at my school. And since adult education around internet safety/online behavior and web 2.0 technologies has been slow to develop, this could be a golden opportunity to get something moving in the right direction. Creating an e-learning environment for the community (and beyond) might be the perfect EdWeb project...

An "Ah-Ha" Moment

It doesn't happen very often, but today I had one of those moments. I was working with a very talented colleague of mine who teaches science...we were discussing ways that digital technologies could enhance the learning experience for her students. I was energized and inspired, as I always am speaking with her, by her ideas and the connections she makes between technology, science and other subject areas.

And then it hit me...that's what I eventually would like to do. Use my love of science and my experience integrating digital technologies and meld the two into a full-time gig. I don't know exactly what that position will look like, it might be a consulting position, or maybe a job at the new California Academy of Science, I'm just not sure.

If anyone has any ideas I would be more than happy to hear them!!

Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate

It seems like that's been the word of the week...better yet, the word of the semester. As I stated in my last post, I've worked with some amazing people so far and the collaborative effort has provided learning opportunities I never thought possible. Sharing thoughts, ideas, emotions, personal stories and professional experiences has provided me with a new way to process information and acquire knowledge...I love the collaborative nature of the class and I'm looking forward to our group project...a webinar about Jing. In the meantime, check it out at http://www.jingproject.com/

Oh yeah, Giants 41 - Rams 13

Stop & Smell the Roses

One of my best learning experiences this week completely blind-sided me this afternoon. While reflecting on the week via the survey questions, I realized I didn't make the time to read everyone's songza posts or listen to their music selections. Huge mistake. When I took the opportunity I was stunned at the diversity of selections and moved by the reasons behind the selection of each song. It made me realize a few things...

First, I need to take the time to enjoy the fun things in this class, and in life, and stop stressing about deadlines or grades. The people I've worked with so far have been wonderful, smart, passionate, energetic and committed people, willing to help when needed, provide their expertise when appropriate and bring a personal/emotional component to our assignments and discussions. Working with John, Valerie, Arielle, Elyse and Christopher has given me a sense of calm, a feeling that we will all (the entire cohort) succeed and we therefore have a few minutes to stop and smell the roses every so often. Like these roses...

My son Cam painting at the pottery store...

My other son Parker...

My wife Erica with Cam


Second, music is an incredibly powerful medium. It was obvious that many people looked to music as a source of strength, or encouragement, or a way to relax. Music can pack quite an emotional punch. I think it is important to remember this when designing any learning environment.

Unit 3 was chock-full of positive learning experiences for me. While a numbered list just doesn't seem "right" for a blog posting, it is the easiest way to convey my thoughts this time around.

1. Adobe Connect - very good application and I feel like I've only scratched the surface regarding tools and features. It certainly was not as intuitive as I think it should or could be, but after experimenting for a few days I got the hang of it. I'm looking forward to using the app more.

2. Learning objectives - in the 10 years I've been teaching I've never used learning objectives...why, I have no idea. I decided to create learning objectives for my 6th grade Digital Design elective class which I think will benefit the students, parents and me! They will keep me focused on the essential elements of the class...less is definitely more.

3. Instructional Themes/Values - the discussions that I had with my teammates (John, Valerie, Arielle) were fantastic. I really enjoy this collaborative element of the class. Below is the list we developed:

“Social” Learning
*Collaborate (w/peers, students, family, friends)
*Encourage creativity
*Ensure mutual respect
*Create personalized experiences
*Provide a challenging and safe environment for learning
*Use video and audio to convey emotion
*Empower
*Emotional engagement

“Pragmatic and Relevant" Learning
*Hands-on activities connected to real-life experiences
*Differentiate instruction and include practice for real assimilation
*Allow learners to control their own experience by allowing time for exploration and practice
*Limit lectures to exactly what is necessary to ensure we don't exceed the normal adult attention span
*Read and immediately apply knowledge to relevant life experiences
*Preparation and organization are imperative

4. Mr. Picassohead - great web app and I'm looking forward to using it with my 5th grade students. It is a great way to get a sense of each student's personality and creative ability. In addition, I plan on introducing the students to the site and then saying "ok, make a portrait and email it to me" without giving them any further instructions. I'm interested to see how many students are able to remain stress-free and just go-with-the-flow to figure it out. One of the goals of this class is for the teachers to begin teaching students how to "think", to become more independent and work through assignments, issues, etc on their own/in small groups before immediately seeking out an adult to assist them.