Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Week 7 Reflection
Chap 29
When reading this chapter one of the arguments that the authors made and I found very important was on page 285: "Rather than making assumptions about all online learners, we should be selecting technics to create rich, flexible environments that reflect elemental outcomes, support synthetic outcomes, and provide connections to the world outside the e-learning environment".
I think the sucess or the failure of an online depends on the capacity of the instructor to create a class environment where each and everyone will participate. As full time graduate and international student at WMU , I had to take both traditional and online classes. Some online classes were very enriching and helful and others boring. I think why I did not really enjoy some of them was because of the lack of interaction among students. Indeed, some instructors based on their own assumptions believe that each student can to do alone his work and his assigments without any communication and discussion with the rest of the class. This kind of teaching philosophy that some teachers have, can impact in avery negative manner the learners. I personally believe that a class whether online or traditional needs to create a space for discussion where students can learn from one and other. When such conditions are inexistent, it becomes very difficult to get the best outcome from a course of study.
The second argument which seems to me very important was in page 287: "Just as it is important for instructional designers to receive a good basic education in the field, it is critical for them to continue the education" This passage clearly point it out that instructional designers need to update their knowledge. They always need to be aware about the new changes in teh fied. Since technology is always chaning instructional designers needs to always look for the best solutions for the organization tehy work for. The needs of education organizations in the technology have never been so important as they are today. Therefore, understanding those needs in order to come up with the best solutions should be the main goal of all instructional designers. In addition, since most designers work with different actors who are not experts in technology it is very important to know about the field of expertise of the people you are trying to help. Developing good communication skills can be a very helful tool for most instructional designers.
Chap 31
I really enjoyed and learned from all the tools we have used during this semester.
I particuary liked the screencast activity because it showed us how to share an audio/ video format to explain a new technology tool to our student. Creating your own video was something that I found interesting an helpful not only for this class but also for my activities with my students. Each student can use this method to share with his classmates new concpts.
Creating a website even a basic one was a very interesting for me. I always wanted to create my own website but was afraid to start because of what most of my friends told me .But this week activity showed me that anyone can create a website. You just need to have some basic knowledge and you are ready to go. Hopefully , I willbe able to a create a website for mu students where we will share all our class activities. Any information the students and their parents would like to have will be there.
My last favorite activity was creating the wikis. I found that wikis are one of the most poweful way to communicate and to share information with others. Anyone can have take advantage of this tool without any specific training.
When reading this chapter one of the arguments that the authors made and I found very important was on page 285: "Rather than making assumptions about all online learners, we should be selecting technics to create rich, flexible environments that reflect elemental outcomes, support synthetic outcomes, and provide connections to the world outside the e-learning environment".
I think the sucess or the failure of an online depends on the capacity of the instructor to create a class environment where each and everyone will participate. As full time graduate and international student at WMU , I had to take both traditional and online classes. Some online classes were very enriching and helful and others boring. I think why I did not really enjoy some of them was because of the lack of interaction among students. Indeed, some instructors based on their own assumptions believe that each student can to do alone his work and his assigments without any communication and discussion with the rest of the class. This kind of teaching philosophy that some teachers have, can impact in avery negative manner the learners. I personally believe that a class whether online or traditional needs to create a space for discussion where students can learn from one and other. When such conditions are inexistent, it becomes very difficult to get the best outcome from a course of study.
The second argument which seems to me very important was in page 287: "Just as it is important for instructional designers to receive a good basic education in the field, it is critical for them to continue the education" This passage clearly point it out that instructional designers need to update their knowledge. They always need to be aware about the new changes in teh fied. Since technology is always chaning instructional designers needs to always look for the best solutions for the organization tehy work for. The needs of education organizations in the technology have never been so important as they are today. Therefore, understanding those needs in order to come up with the best solutions should be the main goal of all instructional designers. In addition, since most designers work with different actors who are not experts in technology it is very important to know about the field of expertise of the people you are trying to help. Developing good communication skills can be a very helful tool for most instructional designers.
Chap 31
I really enjoyed and learned from all the tools we have used during this semester.
I particuary liked the screencast activity because it showed us how to share an audio/ video format to explain a new technology tool to our student. Creating your own video was something that I found interesting an helpful not only for this class but also for my activities with my students. Each student can use this method to share with his classmates new concpts.
Creating a website even a basic one was a very interesting for me. I always wanted to create my own website but was afraid to start because of what most of my friends told me .But this week activity showed me that anyone can create a website. You just need to have some basic knowledge and you are ready to go. Hopefully , I willbe able to a create a website for mu students where we will share all our class activities. Any information the students and their parents would like to have will be there.
My last favorite activity was creating the wikis. I found that wikis are one of the most poweful way to communicate and to share information with others. Anyone can have take advantage of this tool without any specific training.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Websites
ZOHO is a website that offers many options to teachers when it comes to educational technology. This website can be used to organized the class activities according to the academic calendar. IT has many features that can help both students and teacher the different activities, assignments and events that they have. This website is a very good tool for academic planning. In addition, it offers the opportunity for teachers to create their own grading system. There are plenty of others options that teachers can take advantage of when using this website.
The second website I found interesting for our assignment is SUMO PAINT. This is a very easy program to use.It allows his users to create pictures, images and even blogs. Students can use this website to create their own blogs and share it with their classmates and teachers. This is a very good programs for students especially the ones who like art. The website offers pretty much most of options that photoshop does and is completely free.
The second website I found interesting for our assignment is SUMO PAINT. This is a very easy program to use.It allows his users to create pictures, images and even blogs. Students can use this website to create their own blogs and share it with their classmates and teachers. This is a very good programs for students especially the ones who like art. The website offers pretty much most of options that photoshop does and is completely free.
Screencast Activity
For this activity, I have decided to teach my students how they can download and use Skype. Skype is a very popular program which is used over the world to communicate. I thought that the students can take advantage of this free technology to keep in touch with their friends and classmates during their summer vacation.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Week 6 Reflection
From our last readings, we can argue that there are many similarities between the business sector, the P-12 system and the higher education system when it comes to the use of intructional design and technology. One of the similarity is that most of the organizations in these diffrent sectors try to use news technologies in order to improve the performance of their employees. In the for profit sector for example, managers and team leaders expect that by using new technologies they will improve the productivity of their team members. In the P12 schools, admnistrators believe that introducing technology in the school can help teh teachers to improve the content and the form of their teaching. In higher education the new technologie are used in order to facilitate the elearning courses that many universities and colleages offer to their students. Therefore, all these organizations agree on the fact that the introduction of instructional development and technology can have a very positive impact not only on their different activities but also on their overall performance.
The second similarity comes from the fact that introducing a new technology requires a team work. The collaboration between the different stakeholders of the project is a key element of his sucess. For example, we have seen that trying to introduce new technologies in the schools system without the approval of the teachers can be a disaster in term of result even they are unwilling to use or to learn the new technologies which have implemented. Based on this example, I think that before deciding to implement any new project related to new technologies, it is extremely important to involve the different actors in a way that they will participate in a positive way to his implementation.
In addition to that , I would also like to point it out here that partcipation is very important when implementing instructional design and technology. The different examples in the readings tell us that the designers should not be the experts in charge of everything. They need to listen and to communicate with the people they work with. It is only by doing so that they will be able to design and implement the best systems for their clients. Indeed, each actor has his domain of expertise and by discussing and sharing with actors with different expertises, the designers will obtain the information they need.
To summarize , i will say that instructional designers no matter the types of sectors they are working in, needs to develop good communication and listening skills. They need to be able to understand what are the needs of the people their work with, and to explain to the same people what they are going to implement in order to help them slove their problems. The best instructional designers is not the one who knows each and everything but rather the one who knows what is the problem of the organization he/she is working with and try to come up with the differents actors of the organization a solution adapted to their problem.
In chapter 26, Reiser gives us many lessons that can be applied in the educational technology field but also in any another field. In fact , I am convinced that anyone who is looking or plan to apply for a job can take advantage of most of these lesons.
The first lesson which I really found interesting is Lesson 9: Dont be discouraged if you dont get the first job you apply for. This lesson in my opinion is a golden rule in any human activity. Nothing can be achieve easily or in the first try. I think it is very important to be perseverant where looking for a position. We have plently of succesful people who have tried very hard and many times before achieving their rules. This is true in the educational field but in any thing in life in general. What we might see as a failure can be an opportunity in the future. We can always learn from of previous mistakes and failures to improve ourselves. Giving up is just not an option, we should always try to move foreward.
My second favorite lesson is Lesson7: Acquire some Management skills:
I think this a very good advice. From my personal experience, I learned that no matter what your position is , you will always need to ahve some kind of mangerial skills in your work. As long as you are dealing with human beings we will have to know how to communicate, encourage, motivate, supervise people. This is a very important skill that many ignore but which can make a big difference in teh work place. This is especially true when it comes to promotion and career advancement. It is generally the ones who have the most developed managerial skills that are given the biggest opportunities to move up in the hierarchy.
Finally, I think Lesson 15: When preapring for a job interview , find out as much as you can about your potential employers.
I think the exampple of the author himself is enough to argue that it is very important to do your homework before going to a job interview. The more you know about your future employer the most chances you have to convince him to hire you. Having enough information about the employer can also give to him the impressio that you are really motivated for the job and will not spend a long on training. I think , it is defintely a plus to know and to show to your future employer that you know about his activities.
The second similarity comes from the fact that introducing a new technology requires a team work. The collaboration between the different stakeholders of the project is a key element of his sucess. For example, we have seen that trying to introduce new technologies in the schools system without the approval of the teachers can be a disaster in term of result even they are unwilling to use or to learn the new technologies which have implemented. Based on this example, I think that before deciding to implement any new project related to new technologies, it is extremely important to involve the different actors in a way that they will participate in a positive way to his implementation.
In addition to that , I would also like to point it out here that partcipation is very important when implementing instructional design and technology. The different examples in the readings tell us that the designers should not be the experts in charge of everything. They need to listen and to communicate with the people they work with. It is only by doing so that they will be able to design and implement the best systems for their clients. Indeed, each actor has his domain of expertise and by discussing and sharing with actors with different expertises, the designers will obtain the information they need.
To summarize , i will say that instructional designers no matter the types of sectors they are working in, needs to develop good communication and listening skills. They need to be able to understand what are the needs of the people their work with, and to explain to the same people what they are going to implement in order to help them slove their problems. The best instructional designers is not the one who knows each and everything but rather the one who knows what is the problem of the organization he/she is working with and try to come up with the differents actors of the organization a solution adapted to their problem.
In chapter 26, Reiser gives us many lessons that can be applied in the educational technology field but also in any another field. In fact , I am convinced that anyone who is looking or plan to apply for a job can take advantage of most of these lesons.
The first lesson which I really found interesting is Lesson 9: Dont be discouraged if you dont get the first job you apply for. This lesson in my opinion is a golden rule in any human activity. Nothing can be achieve easily or in the first try. I think it is very important to be perseverant where looking for a position. We have plently of succesful people who have tried very hard and many times before achieving their rules. This is true in the educational field but in any thing in life in general. What we might see as a failure can be an opportunity in the future. We can always learn from of previous mistakes and failures to improve ourselves. Giving up is just not an option, we should always try to move foreward.
My second favorite lesson is Lesson7: Acquire some Management skills:
I think this a very good advice. From my personal experience, I learned that no matter what your position is , you will always need to ahve some kind of mangerial skills in your work. As long as you are dealing with human beings we will have to know how to communicate, encourage, motivate, supervise people. This is a very important skill that many ignore but which can make a big difference in teh work place. This is especially true when it comes to promotion and career advancement. It is generally the ones who have the most developed managerial skills that are given the biggest opportunities to move up in the hierarchy.
Finally, I think Lesson 15: When preapring for a job interview , find out as much as you can about your potential employers.
I think the exampple of the author himself is enough to argue that it is very important to do your homework before going to a job interview. The more you know about your future employer the most chances you have to convince him to hire you. Having enough information about the employer can also give to him the impressio that you are really motivated for the job and will not spend a long on training. I think , it is defintely a plus to know and to show to your future employer that you know about his activities.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Concept Map
For this activity I decided to create a concept where students will learn the different options they have when thinking about learning a second language. As we know we are leaving in globalized society and economy. Therefore learning a second language today is more a necessity than an luxury for our young children who will be call to be global managers in the future. I think this concept will help the students to be more confident when they will decide to learn a new language.
Cedar Point trip assignment
Since it is already summer time, I thought that it will be a very enriching experience if my students use Google map during their school trip in Ohio at Cedar Point Amusement Park. The goal of this assignment is to conduct the students to draw a personal map of their trip. During this assignment each student will describe in a map the different places the class will visit during the school trip. The students can use this map to share with their friends and parents the different activities they will be involved during their trip.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Week 5 Reflection
From this week readings, we can argue that there are many lessons that schools and others education systems can take from the business sector when it comes to use and implement Intructional Design and Technology. The first approach which took my attention when readingthe chapter was the fact that most companies in the private sector use technology technology based training delivery. These companies understood that they could take a great advantage on news technologies in order to solve their problems. The believe that relying on an expert or consultant in Intructional Design and Technology can help them to solve in a better , faster and cheaper way the problems that they might be facing internally. Of course, in order to make this approach successfull , the organizations managers and staff members need to know first what their problem is and then call on expert who will then be able to help them with adequate solution. From this example , I will argue that teachers and others educators can take a similar approach in order to solve the different obstacles which exist in the school systems especially when it comes to Instructional Technology. I think that the school actors by collaboring and discussing about themselves can identify the key challenges they are facing. And using the experience of an external consultant can be sometimes the best approach to solve these problems. The intructional designers should be familiar with the education organization they are working with in order to fully take in consideration the needs of both teachers and students and to come up with the best solutions able to satisfy their needs. The designers should have a client approach and work closely with the people who will use the new technology.
In addition to the training, I think that education systems can also use Intructional Design and technology methods as tool of evaluation. Indeed, when an organization implement a new technology it should have a process by which it can compare the outcomes to the expeted results. Evaluation is a key component when it comes to measure the impact of a new technology on the performance of an education system. For example , after training teachers to use a new instructional sofware , the scholl will try to see if the the training ahs improve the performance of the teachers or not. For reaons of acountility and performance , I think it is very important that Instructional Designers include in their intervention tools of evaluation which will allow the client to determine if the technology is decided to introduction in his organization has been effective or not.
From Chapter 21, I have been surprised by the fact many states do not accord enough importance to technology when giving teaching licenses to news intructors. The artile mentions that only 21 states require technology coursework for getting a teaching license and 10 states for the recertification. This seems to be a paradox. Indeed, if states and public agencies in charge of education really want to improve the quality of education systems via the Introduction of new technologies in the classrom , they will have to do more than what has been done so far. As it is mentioned in teh article , "the teacher is the most important ingredient for sucess when using technology Good teaching comes first, technology second". In order to achieved sucessfull results one of the priorities of the education systems should be to train and to give to their teachers the well skills and knowledge they need.
I also positevely surprised by the fact that the Net Q model can have a very positive impact of the performance of education systes. If well implemented , this model can help all the school actors to achieve their goals. It will give to the students with the help of teachers all the skills they need in order to be ready for the 21st century jobs. This model emphasize on teh fact that there is a difference between using a computer and being able to take the maximum advantage of the information available on the Web. If students are well prepared, they will not only be able to effective use the computers but also to make great things with the technologies they have in hand.
In addition to the training, I think that education systems can also use Intructional Design and technology methods as tool of evaluation. Indeed, when an organization implement a new technology it should have a process by which it can compare the outcomes to the expeted results. Evaluation is a key component when it comes to measure the impact of a new technology on the performance of an education system. For example , after training teachers to use a new instructional sofware , the scholl will try to see if the the training ahs improve the performance of the teachers or not. For reaons of acountility and performance , I think it is very important that Instructional Designers include in their intervention tools of evaluation which will allow the client to determine if the technology is decided to introduction in his organization has been effective or not.
From Chapter 21, I have been surprised by the fact many states do not accord enough importance to technology when giving teaching licenses to news intructors. The artile mentions that only 21 states require technology coursework for getting a teaching license and 10 states for the recertification. This seems to be a paradox. Indeed, if states and public agencies in charge of education really want to improve the quality of education systems via the Introduction of new technologies in the classrom , they will have to do more than what has been done so far. As it is mentioned in teh article , "the teacher is the most important ingredient for sucess when using technology Good teaching comes first, technology second". In order to achieved sucessfull results one of the priorities of the education systems should be to train and to give to their teachers the well skills and knowledge they need.
I also positevely surprised by the fact that the Net Q model can have a very positive impact of the performance of education systes. If well implemented , this model can help all the school actors to achieve their goals. It will give to the students with the help of teachers all the skills they need in order to be ready for the 21st century jobs. This model emphasize on teh fact that there is a difference between using a computer and being able to take the maximum advantage of the information available on the Web. If students are well prepared, they will not only be able to effective use the computers but also to make great things with the technologies they have in hand.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Podcast Link
http://edtech101.com/
I found this link very helpful for your class. It addresses different topics about educational technology. I think anyone who is interested in learning about the use of new technology in the classroom can be take advantage of the resources available on this web site.
I found this link very helpful for your class. It addresses different topics about educational technology. I think anyone who is interested in learning about the use of new technology in the classroom can be take advantage of the resources available on this web site.
Week 4 Reflection
Chapter 4
Among the different theories that the author discuss in the book , the Schema and Cognitive load theory seems to me to most appropriate to use when teaching to the students how to calculate and compare unit cost. This theory is based on the idea that the best way to teach students is to show them the final objective. They need to see a finished example of what they are supposed to do and then they will be trained with the process leading to the final result. In this phase , the teacher will show to the students steps by steps what they are supposed to do in order to achieve the final result. I will argue that , this theory suggests that ione of the best approaches to teach calculation methods to students is learning by doing. Once the instructor gives a example to students , and show them the entire process he used in order to come up with his final result, the student will be more likely to use the same process and to learn how to calculate and compare unit prices of any product. Again the key in this theory is to give the schema to the students so that they can rely on it in any other situation.
The second theory that I found very interesting in the readings was the cognitive information processing theory. This theory is based on the assumption that student needs different types of examples in order to fully understand a concept or a technique. For example in order to teach students how to calculate and compare unit cost it will be very postive if the teacher uses different examples such as the unit price of a fruit, a pen , a soda or a chicken wing. These different examples are supposed to help the students to aplly the techniques of calculation they have just learned in different situations. The idea here is that by using different producst or items the student will ask questions if they did not fully understand how to calculate and compare the unit price of these products. If they are confortable with the calculations then the teacher can be sure that his students are ready to move on and to learn new things.
The third and last theories I will consider is the the constructivism theory. This theory is in some how differet from the other two theories I have already mentioned. It suggests that there is no best approaches to solve a specific problem or to get a result. There are always different prepectives and possibilities that students can use in order to achieve their final objective. For example if you ask students what is the shortest way between teh class room and the the public library? If student will use his own information and knowledge in order to come up with his own solution to that problem. This theory suggest that in our example if WE give the same amount to different students and ask them to spend it in a grocery store using the unit cost method, we will have different students with differents products. Each one will spend his money based on his own calculations. This approach can be very beneficial if students are organized in groups and have to work togheter in order to choose among all their different perspectives one solution that the group will agree on.
Chapter 14
I will argue here that the International Society for Performance Improvement can be a very good model that many education systems ans schools can implement. This model can be used as a an evaluation and monioring tool in order to measure the peformance of the different activities of a school. I t will give the opportunity to the school management and the teachers the opportunity to compare the results obtained to the goals. If the objectives are not meet, then togheter both actors can work in order to take the right initiatives and to achieve their objectives. However, in order to succesfully implement this model all the schools actors should be informed about the role of the HPI practionner. He should be consider by both the the teaching saff and the school administration as a partner and not a competitor.
Value of Social Boomarking
I am personally convinced that Social bookmarking can be very positive for the all actors of the school systems. Both teachers , students, parenst and school administrators can take advantage of these tools. By sing this method teachers and students can share large amount of information in a very convenient time. They can also organize their work in a very efficient way. Teachers can make information available to their students by using websites, the students can used the same method to interact with their classmates and the parents can also have important information about what their student are learning. I think social bookmarking is a very easy way to keep in touch with what is going in their children schools for many parents.
The Podcast http://edtech101.com/ offers many interesting discussions about using technology in the education field.
Among the different theories that the author discuss in the book , the Schema and Cognitive load theory seems to me to most appropriate to use when teaching to the students how to calculate and compare unit cost. This theory is based on the idea that the best way to teach students is to show them the final objective. They need to see a finished example of what they are supposed to do and then they will be trained with the process leading to the final result. In this phase , the teacher will show to the students steps by steps what they are supposed to do in order to achieve the final result. I will argue that , this theory suggests that ione of the best approaches to teach calculation methods to students is learning by doing. Once the instructor gives a example to students , and show them the entire process he used in order to come up with his final result, the student will be more likely to use the same process and to learn how to calculate and compare unit prices of any product. Again the key in this theory is to give the schema to the students so that they can rely on it in any other situation.
The second theory that I found very interesting in the readings was the cognitive information processing theory. This theory is based on the assumption that student needs different types of examples in order to fully understand a concept or a technique. For example in order to teach students how to calculate and compare unit cost it will be very postive if the teacher uses different examples such as the unit price of a fruit, a pen , a soda or a chicken wing. These different examples are supposed to help the students to aplly the techniques of calculation they have just learned in different situations. The idea here is that by using different producst or items the student will ask questions if they did not fully understand how to calculate and compare the unit price of these products. If they are confortable with the calculations then the teacher can be sure that his students are ready to move on and to learn new things.
The third and last theories I will consider is the the constructivism theory. This theory is in some how differet from the other two theories I have already mentioned. It suggests that there is no best approaches to solve a specific problem or to get a result. There are always different prepectives and possibilities that students can use in order to achieve their final objective. For example if you ask students what is the shortest way between teh class room and the the public library? If student will use his own information and knowledge in order to come up with his own solution to that problem. This theory suggest that in our example if WE give the same amount to different students and ask them to spend it in a grocery store using the unit cost method, we will have different students with differents products. Each one will spend his money based on his own calculations. This approach can be very beneficial if students are organized in groups and have to work togheter in order to choose among all their different perspectives one solution that the group will agree on.
Chapter 14
I will argue here that the International Society for Performance Improvement can be a very good model that many education systems ans schools can implement. This model can be used as a an evaluation and monioring tool in order to measure the peformance of the different activities of a school. I t will give the opportunity to the school management and the teachers the opportunity to compare the results obtained to the goals. If the objectives are not meet, then togheter both actors can work in order to take the right initiatives and to achieve their objectives. However, in order to succesfully implement this model all the schools actors should be informed about the role of the HPI practionner. He should be consider by both the the teaching saff and the school administration as a partner and not a competitor.
Value of Social Boomarking
I am personally convinced that Social bookmarking can be very positive for the all actors of the school systems. Both teachers , students, parenst and school administrators can take advantage of these tools. By sing this method teachers and students can share large amount of information in a very convenient time. They can also organize their work in a very efficient way. Teachers can make information available to their students by using websites, the students can used the same method to interact with their classmates and the parents can also have important information about what their student are learning. I think social bookmarking is a very easy way to keep in touch with what is going in their children schools for many parents.
The Podcast http://edtech101.com/ offers many interesting discussions about using technology in the education field.
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