For blog organization and readability, I have written my thoughts about each assignment under the assignment's respective heading. Please refer to individual entries to learn more about the assignments as well as possible applications to nursing education. (I will use some of these assignments in my professional practice this fall.)
I believe this course, IT 648, sets the standard for online courses. I will use the course to pattern the next online course I teach. Dr. Yuen, the professor, set the tone early by sending out an enthusiastic and detailed welcome note. Upon receiving the WebCT link, I logged onto the web site. My first impression was very positive, and I was excited to begin working (although a little nervous about the projects.) The course site was very well designed, visually appealing, and packed with useful information with multi-media presentations. Additionally, the listserve helped to develop a sense of community. I also appreciated knowing exactly what was expected of me as a learner and when an assignment was due. I think Dr. Yuen may have sensed when we were getting tired because we would receive a well-timed email offering suggestions and encouragement. Perhaps the number of WebCT hits was diminishing--I prefer to think he just knew when we needed a boost! In previous online classes I have felt as if the professor loaded the material and then checked out for the remainder of the term. In this course, I always was aware of the professor's presence, and that was a very positive aspect.
I liked that we shared our work with each other. The diversity of the class members and range of experience and backgrounds gives us all different perspectives. I learned a great deal from reading the posts of others on the discussion boards and reading the blogs and websites. This class was a great group of people, and I learned something from everyone in it. I also liked that we had international students and enjoyed the perspectives and insights from people who are not native to the deep south.
Wow! I learned so much in this course. I had never blogged, never tried to make a website, did not even know what HTML meant, and had no idea about the variety of tools available that we could use to integrate technology into learning. That begs the question, why use technology at all? I believe we demonstrated some aspects of the answer.
Our professor conducted a well run class while he visited Asia; I completed an assignment from a hospital waiting room while my sister-in-law had surgery; and I benefited from content presentation that appealed to my sense of sight as well as my need for auditory learning. I was able to access the course material whenever I had time, rather than having to drive 120 miles to campus to attend a lecture. I could watch a presentation over and over, and print material I wished to archive. This was great! Technology is not a fad--not bells and whistles. Rather, technology provides many different methods to assist learning. Most of us are in doctoral programs in order master our field and become scholars. We want to learn and we value learning and the pursuit of knowledge. Technology makes that pursuit more interesting, and, I believe, more effective.
Use of technology beyond making a simple PowerPoint is relatively new for me. I have much to learn. I look forward to the next IT class. I believe one will build on the other and I can not wait to begin the next project and "learn a new trick." I believe when a student eagerly anticipates the next course, the previous course can be considered wildly successful and very well done!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Assignment 7: Slideshare Presentation
View Slideshare
The presentation and use of slideshare was a great assignment. I am very interested in podcasting and distance education. My current employer, Charity School of Nursing/Delgado Community College uses Tegrity as its platform to deliver digital course content. The students love it, and I have a study in progress now to assess the effectiveness of Tegrity use as well as examine the student's perceptions regarding Tegrity. (I will post the results when we have compiled the data and written the report.) The downfall of Tegrity, though, is that the server frequently becomes jammed and lectures can sit in the queue for a very long time. It makes one want to consider independent podcasts (and then your intellectual property would remain yours--also important to remember.)
It was helpful to use slideshare, and I believe this is a very worthy site. It is a great repository of vast information and communities. I have already joined a few groups and found a lot of useful information to help improve my teaching.
The presentation and use of slideshare was a great assignment. I am very interested in podcasting and distance education. My current employer, Charity School of Nursing/Delgado Community College uses Tegrity as its platform to deliver digital course content. The students love it, and I have a study in progress now to assess the effectiveness of Tegrity use as well as examine the student's perceptions regarding Tegrity. (I will post the results when we have compiled the data and written the report.) The downfall of Tegrity, though, is that the server frequently becomes jammed and lectures can sit in the queue for a very long time. It makes one want to consider independent podcasts (and then your intellectual property would remain yours--also important to remember.)
It was helpful to use slideshare, and I believe this is a very worthy site. It is a great repository of vast information and communities. I have already joined a few groups and found a lot of useful information to help improve my teaching.
Assignment 6: The EyeJot
View The EyeJot
As I stated in the EyeJot, I procrastinated mightly with this assignment because I do not enjoy being filmed or listening to my thick southern accent. Once I realized I could wear silly Graucho Marx glasses and costumes and have fun with the EyeJot, it was not so bad.
I think this would be more appropriate to use to send the students messages and introductions. When one has had a bad day in clinical, I could also use it to send them a silly, morale-boosting message. Because the EyeJot is limited to 60 seconds, I believe its application to education projects is limited.
As I stated in the EyeJot, I procrastinated mightly with this assignment because I do not enjoy being filmed or listening to my thick southern accent. Once I realized I could wear silly Graucho Marx glasses and costumes and have fun with the EyeJot, it was not so bad.
I think this would be more appropriate to use to send the students messages and introductions. When one has had a bad day in clinical, I could also use it to send them a silly, morale-boosting message. Because the EyeJot is limited to 60 seconds, I believe its application to education projects is limited.
Assignment 5: The WebQuest
View WebQuest
This was a very useful assignment. First, I had to create another site using Google Pages exclusively for the WebQuest. (This was good practice.) And then, because I did not like the appearance of the embedded videos into the WebQuest resource list, I created a third Google Page site and embedded all the videos there. Then, for uniformity, I placed the link to the new Google site in the resource list as a hyperlink. I now feel quite comfortable working with Google Page Creator!
I am excited about the potential use of the WebQuest. I often tell my nursing students that if they can not play well with others, nursing will, indeed, be a tough and lonely profession. (One must be able to be a good team member to be successful in a busy and stressful clinical practice.) I believe the WebQuest assists in the team building process. I also like that it provides a framework for using the Web correctly to find references, and that this stimulates critical thinking and problem-solving--all essential elements needed to be successful in nursing.
I designed my WebQuest to assist with teaching physical assessment. The physical assessment is the first major skill of the semester, and the one that often challenges the students the most. The WebQuest includes actual heart and breath sounds that learners can listen to again and again. (It takes practice and a finely tuned ear to discern and grade murmurs and to learn which lung sound is which.) Additionally, the Quest includes full length assessment videos. I believe the students who use the WebQuest and complete the exercises will be well prepared and confident when they come to me to perform the assessment as a critical event necessary for "check-off" and progression in the course. I, therefore, plan to assign the WebQuest to my clinical group, though I will lighten the workload it requires a bit (they won't have to make a PowerPoint.)
This was a very useful assignment. First, I had to create another site using Google Pages exclusively for the WebQuest. (This was good practice.) And then, because I did not like the appearance of the embedded videos into the WebQuest resource list, I created a third Google Page site and embedded all the videos there. Then, for uniformity, I placed the link to the new Google site in the resource list as a hyperlink. I now feel quite comfortable working with Google Page Creator!
I am excited about the potential use of the WebQuest. I often tell my nursing students that if they can not play well with others, nursing will, indeed, be a tough and lonely profession. (One must be able to be a good team member to be successful in a busy and stressful clinical practice.) I believe the WebQuest assists in the team building process. I also like that it provides a framework for using the Web correctly to find references, and that this stimulates critical thinking and problem-solving--all essential elements needed to be successful in nursing.
I designed my WebQuest to assist with teaching physical assessment. The physical assessment is the first major skill of the semester, and the one that often challenges the students the most. The WebQuest includes actual heart and breath sounds that learners can listen to again and again. (It takes practice and a finely tuned ear to discern and grade murmurs and to learn which lung sound is which.) Additionally, the Quest includes full length assessment videos. I believe the students who use the WebQuest and complete the exercises will be well prepared and confident when they come to me to perform the assessment as a critical event necessary for "check-off" and progression in the course. I, therefore, plan to assign the WebQuest to my clinical group, though I will lighten the workload it requires a bit (they won't have to make a PowerPoint.)
Assignment 4: CircaVie
View circaVie:
I did not enjoy this assignment because many bugs remain in the Beta. I think it took about 5 attempts to obtain a finished product because the program repeatedly "dropped" entries forcing a redo. With that caveat, I believe this program could have a place in education.
It could be quite useful for students to create their own timeline or story. In my case, a student could map out the progression of a particular disease process--pneumonia for example. The student could begin by showing the lung infection or chest X-Ray, describing and posting a depiction of symptoms, treatment and the link. The research and search for images would be a good review, and a powerful visual reinforcement of the course content.
In the upcoming months I will try circaVie again to see if it is less buggy. If so, I will then assign accordingly to my nursing students.
I did not enjoy this assignment because many bugs remain in the Beta. I think it took about 5 attempts to obtain a finished product because the program repeatedly "dropped" entries forcing a redo. With that caveat, I believe this program could have a place in education.
It could be quite useful for students to create their own timeline or story. In my case, a student could map out the progression of a particular disease process--pneumonia for example. The student could begin by showing the lung infection or chest X-Ray, describing and posting a depiction of symptoms, treatment and the link. The research and search for images would be a good review, and a powerful visual reinforcement of the course content.
In the upcoming months I will try circaVie again to see if it is less buggy. If so, I will then assign accordingly to my nursing students.
Assignment 3: Google Pages
View Google Pages Site:
What a great assignment! I was initially very hesistant to approach this project because I assumed it would be beyond my capabilities. Although I wrote in my initial post that I would focus on all that I would be able to learn in this class, rather than dwell on how much I do not know, it was not easy to always maintain that attitude. Throughout the class I have used "cat herding" as the metaphor to illustrate my technology abilities. (Please view the 60 second video below.)
After some practice, the creation of the Google Pages was not so difficult. The most time consuming aspect was the CV. Initially I wrote the CV in Word and pasted it. However, the formatting was off when I viewed it on the Web and there was a mix of content with HTML code. No problem, I thought. I then returned to Word, saved the CV as an HTML file, and pasted it to the webpage....Alas, that did not work correctly either. Ultimately I typed the CV directly onto the Google Page, and that did display correctly. I remain convinced there is a less-time consuming method to accomplish the task, I simply do not know what it is at this point. Perhaps I will learn more in future classes.
Refinements for the future include better use of graphics, nicer customized link buttons and learning how to enable files to open in another window. I would also like to add a web counter. I resume my teaching job on 11 August. I am hoping to play around with the website when I have some spare time on the "break" before returning to work.
I am in the process of designing another Google Page to be used by my clinical nursing students. There I will post links to various sites, create a space for dialogue, and post case studies. I could probably accomplish these same tasks on my BlackBoard site; however, a web page would be accessible to any nursing student who desired to use it rather than open only to class members.
What a great assignment! I was initially very hesistant to approach this project because I assumed it would be beyond my capabilities. Although I wrote in my initial post that I would focus on all that I would be able to learn in this class, rather than dwell on how much I do not know, it was not easy to always maintain that attitude. Throughout the class I have used "cat herding" as the metaphor to illustrate my technology abilities. (Please view the 60 second video below.)
After some practice, the creation of the Google Pages was not so difficult. The most time consuming aspect was the CV. Initially I wrote the CV in Word and pasted it. However, the formatting was off when I viewed it on the Web and there was a mix of content with HTML code. No problem, I thought. I then returned to Word, saved the CV as an HTML file, and pasted it to the webpage....Alas, that did not work correctly either. Ultimately I typed the CV directly onto the Google Page, and that did display correctly. I remain convinced there is a less-time consuming method to accomplish the task, I simply do not know what it is at this point. Perhaps I will learn more in future classes.
Refinements for the future include better use of graphics, nicer customized link buttons and learning how to enable files to open in another window. I would also like to add a web counter. I resume my teaching job on 11 August. I am hoping to play around with the website when I have some spare time on the "break" before returning to work.
I am in the process of designing another Google Page to be used by my clinical nursing students. There I will post links to various sites, create a space for dialogue, and post case studies. I could probably accomplish these same tasks on my BlackBoard site; however, a web page would be accessible to any nursing student who desired to use it rather than open only to class members.
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