Personal Learning Reflection

I have learned that there are many more people out there that feel the same way as I do about technology in our curriculum.  This alone was worth the experience of taking CEP 810.  Aside from that, I have learned many specific technologies and have envisioned how I will use them in my classes.  I have a list going with ideas on how to create lessons using technologies I was introduced to in this course.  The idea that there is a proper tool for every job, has been reinforced throughout this course and I will continue on my path of finding appropriate technologies for lessons in order to create meaningful assignments that will build students’ 21^st century skills.

Both my campus and online sections have always integrated the internet, but this course has taught me to not fear going beyond my basic uses.  I will certainly be more creative in my uses going forward, especially in assignments that require shared documents and collaboration.  Throughout this semester, I have realized that I would like to execute more collaboration outside the classroom, not just in group work on campus.

The assignment that I feel exemplifies good teaching with technology was the SIG Presentation.  As a student, I learned a good deal from this experience.  I gained some knowledge about Learning Management Systems, including situations that inhibit student learning using an LMS, which was valuable, but also, I learned that collaboration outside the classroom, never having sat in a room with three other teammates, could still produce a desired product.  The process of the four of us working on a single project, having never met in person, was a learning experience that I will transfer to my students.  It exemplified the fact that technology can be educational, even when the teacher does not have her hands in the project.  That assignment gave practical experience, not just information.  That is good teaching.

It is funny, when I went back to review my Personal Growth Plan in order to write this assignment, I specifically listed blogs and RSS feeds as some technologies that I wanted to become fluent in, so that I could lead students down this path as well.  It is funny because blogs and RSS feeds seem like the most basic of technologies that I have learned in this course.  That is one goal I have definitely met.  Also, I wanted to become more fluent in educational technologies in general so that I could help students to practice what they will need to know for their future, namely 21^st century skills.  Through my own struggles through some technologies, I have also felt I met this goal, but feel that I have to keep learning more.  I have used not only blogs and RSS feeds, but Diigo, Google Docs, Prezi, and Popplet, but I have been introduced to many other technologies that I will pursue in order to meet my goals.

I have some new specific goals, but my overall mission has not changed.  I want to become fluent in technologies so that I can provide my students with the experience of developing 21^st century skills while learning about world religions.  And, I want to be rid of the Learning Management System forever.  But, I have made some smaller goals to help me reach the grand goals.  I’m going to finish the MAET Certificate Program at Michigan State University, which will certainly prove beneficial.  I’m hoping to deepen my knowledge of educational technologies while at the same time applying what I have learned in my courses.  My specific goals are to test some of the new assignments using technologies that I have recently learned and that are on my ever growing list of “assignment ideas”.  I think as I begin using these technologies in practical ways, I will gain a deeper understanding of how to grow myself.

Personal Technology Plan

I have created a Personal Technology Plan in response to the assignment given in CEP 810.  I really wanted to use Prezi because I have never used it before, therefore, there are two dimensions to my Personal Technology Plan.  There is a presentation format as well as a written format.  The Prezi format is not comprehensive enough to meet all the requirements of the rubric for this assignment, which is why the written format accompanies it.

The presentation form is a Prezi on You Tube. 

Personal Technology Plan

My vision for education in the future isn’t one that is brings technology to education, but one that brings education out of technology. I envision an educational environment in which technology and education aren’t sisters, but are one. Instead of just attempting to plop technology into our educational system, we need to pull out our educational experiences from technology. This doesn’t mean we need to have an iPad on every student’s lap at every moment, but we need to really use what we have to enhance learning. My vision for the future of education is that there is no longer a sense of “technology” being separated from education, just as there is no real sense that paper and pencils are independent of schools today. We don’t have to have the discussion with principals of K-12 schools, or administrators of higher education institutions, that paper and pencils will be needed in order for learning to happen. I envision a time when this will be the case with technology. In my mind, it shouldn’t exist as a separate dimension that we need to incorporate into our educational system, it should be synonymous with it.

Included in this vision is a seamless experience for students in which they can have access to course material while on campus, at home in front of their laptops, or at the local coffee shop. I’d like the educational experience to be available whenever and wherever a student is ready to receive it. If the moment strikes in an intriguing conversation over mochas and lattes at Starbucks with friends, then students should be able to grab some reliable information from a course site and use it to enhance their own teaching moment. I think that much of the course content can be digested later when one leaves class and thinks about it within the real world. Why deny students the ability to use critical thinking skills because they aren’t sitting at a desk in a classroom, or in front of their laptops in the library. It might be argued that the most substantial learning happens when the student is out in the real world applying the concepts in real time and in real, perhaps spontaneous, conversations.

All this is great, but is it realistic, at least in my workplace? Well, it can be for me. I have the freedom to develop my own class as long as it follows our Course Master. The Course Master only delineates what type of material needs to be covered in a course, not how it needs to be delivered in the classroom. As long as I am providing meaningful assignments to my students, I have the freedom to use whatever methods I deem adequate for students to learn the content of the course. I also have some support from our Instructional Technology Department, which strives to provide emerging technology and help in executing lessons and assignments for class.

This seems to be my new mission. I am hoping to set forth on the journey to carry out my mission to use emerging technology to enhance the learning of world religions and to make the experience seamless for students. This is a dreamy and lofty goal. Yes, I have the freedom to carry it out in my own class, but there is a pitfall. There isn’t a good deal of support from colleagues in this area. Many of my colleagues don’t feel the need for technology in the classroom, beyond pre-made Power Point slides. I can just imagine what will happen when I tell one of these colleagues that I am actually going to allow cell phone use in my next face-to-face classroom. They may just send in the Dean to observe me…and he really doesn’t like cell phones to even rear their digital heads in class. And so, I sit here asking myself how I will build a bridge over this pit so that I don’t fall in. I will probably quietly experiment for a semester or two. Then, when I am confident that techniques are actually working, I will begin to let it be known that technology isn’t the enemy, it is the catalyst to learning in the 21st century. I will continue on the journey, despite the possible pitfalls, because I feel that it is only fair, and therefore, my responsibility, to prepare students to get a job when they graduate. If they don’t practice 21st century skills, they won’t be able to demonstrate to possible employers that they can engage in 21st century business, which means, they didn’t receive from the educational institution what they expected. That is a disservice to students.

I teach both campus classes as well as online classes, without consistency. I always have at least one online class, but that may be combined with campus classes one semester and then all online classes the next. I actually like this. It keeps my mind fresh. I feel that I learned a good deal about teaching once I began teaching online and feel that I am a better campus teacher because of it. This is because I learned a completely different way of teaching students course material and realized that I am more comfortable, and effective, as a “facilitator” than a “teacher”. When I am employing technology in the campus sections, I am doing so with this idea in mind. I ask myself how I can help students learn about world religions while gaining 21st century skills. Even when the course is 100% on campus, I use the LMS. Of course, grades are kept there so that students understand the responsibility of keeping track of their own grades, but so is information about our class, such as test dates, final exam dates, assignment dates, announcements about current units of study, links to websites and documents that I have shown in class, as well as discussion boards used for test study. I feel that this gives them a sense of responsibility, accessibility and connection to content, as well as a sense of community outside of class on campus.

During a campus class, I currently use You Tube videos to give real life examples of rituals, religious structures, and the like. I also use websites for photos and illustrations during class and also as supplemental reading material to provide some depth to the course textbook. I have just a couple of Power Point presentations, which are used just as a broad overview of a topic. They contain less than 10 slides as I use them sparingly. And, I have assigned digital stories to the class as a Final Project option.

Beginning in the Winter 2012 semester, I plan to enhance student learning using a good deal more technology in campus classes, some created by me and some that will be assigned to be created by the students. I have some ideas as to how to create some Prezi presentations covering some of the more complex concepts that I cover in class because I would like to present another format for learning that content. Prezi presentations appeal to me for these particular concepts because they will be effective for both visual and auditory learners, as I will add audio using Camtasia, as well as connect the pieces of the concept to the concept as a whole. I plan on assigning a Popplet assignment to students in which they will investigate a certain event in religious history and connect it to other events, rituals, symbols, etc., of religions. I like that the Popplet software can be used to join together boxes. I think this would be a good way to conceptualize how events in history influence religious institutions and how those influences become influenced by other events, illustrating the religion is dynamic, not static.

Currently in online classes, more technology is used by me than in campus classes, mostly due to the venue, which of course is the computer. Outside of the LMS itself, I use You Tube videos, video from DVDs, audio clips for pronunciation of words, websites from numerous sources as well as the written word. Traditional textbooks are used in those classes for at least half of the required reading material.

Like in the campus classes, I will employ Prezi presentations to cover the same concepts as discussed above for campus classes, but will begin that in the Fall 2012 semester. The same exact presentations will serve both venues. I will also require students to create Popplet assignments as described above. And, I think I will hold some Adobe Connect sessions for office hours as well as student presentations. I’d like to get some synchronous group meetings going in online classes, so I will require some student presentations to be given via Adobe Connect. I don’t want to introduce too many new elements into the class all in one semester, lest I get too bogged down, so I will save this idea for the Winter 2013 semester.

My ultimate goal for online classes is to find a way to conduct my online sections without using the LMS. I will be working in the Instructional Technology Department this summer and I am hoping to gain some ground in this regard. I want to start collecting the content for a course in pdf to get it ready to place it in a digital magazine. I want my course to run like an interactive magazine so that it blends traditional elements of the college experience with emerging technology. This will allow students access to their content from mobile devices at any time and any place that they would like to learn.

How should I execute all of the above? I have a plan. Firstly, I’m going to continue to build my skills and expose myself to as much educational technology as I can. I am going to accomplish this goal in two venues starting the first week of May, 2012. The first venue is the esteemed Michigan State University wherein I will continue along the track to attain the MAET Certificate. I will take CEP 811 beginning in May and will take CEP 812 in the Fall 2012 semester. Then, I will consider applying to the Educational Technology M.A. program at MSU.

Concurrently with CEP 811, I will be working in the Instructional Technology Department at Henry Ford Community College, and hope to deepen my experience with educational technology there. I have certain projects slated for my semester there, but I plan on also working on transforming one of my classes into a digital magazine thereby dropping the LMS altogether. I don’t expect to be able to finish this project in the summer, but am hoping that if all works well, I can have a digital magazine course prepared to run in the Winter 2013 semester.

Also, during my semester with the Instructional Technology Department at HFCC, I expect to gain some knowledge of new technologies as well as get some additional experience in applying them to real courses. I will be running a training session for instructors on how to bring technology into both online and campus classes. This training session will focus on technologies that bring innovation and communication to established courses. I expect to gain some additional knowledge about employing technologies to various disciplines.

Overall, I would like to keep my focus on technology. I want to learn about as much educational technology as is possible because I am very passionate about providing students with a quality learning experience, which I don’t believe can happen unless they are exposed to 21st century skills in all fields. Most courses do incorporate critical thinking skills, naturally, but I believe that all courses should begin integrating some level of technology, so that students can be prepared for life beyond college. I don’t think technology for the sake of technology is good, but technology for the sake of a proper and fulfilling education, is just right.

Creative Commons Participation Assignment {Session 5}

"The Ka'ba" in Mecca, Saudia Arabia

Photo by:  Muhammad Mahdi Karim

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kaaba_mirror_edit_jj.jpg

 I would use the above image in my Comparative Religion course, WR 131. In the final unit of that course, we study the religion of Islam and one of the most important elements of that unit is an understanding of the most sacred structure in all of Islam. It is the Ka'ba, which serves as the point at which all Muslim prayer is directed. The Ka'ba carries great historic and religious value and I would include this photo as an illustration of how it is circumambulated during the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Images of this sort are important to give students a sense of the living nature of religion and how ancient rituals and structures contribute to the sense of community that religions provide to practitioners.

Here is the photo that I licensed through Creative Commons.  It seems like it has nothing to do with my world religion courses, but I have titled it "Free Will?"  I would use it as a jumping off point to discuss a most mind-boggling issue of whether religions really support the idea of humans having free will, or not.  It would work well in my Introductory to the Study of Religion course, WR 130. http://www.flickr.com/photos/79088041@N07/7080727387/   

Share: Learning Styles (Session 5 - Participation Task)

I'd say without a doubt, I am an auditory learner.  Reflecting back on my undergraduate and graduate education, I am certain of this.  I didn't really think about it at the time, but I have always preferred hearing about at topic than reading about it.  And, as a student this semester, I definitely find this to be the case.  I really like the videos and podcasts that are included in our course.  I have found most of the readings interesting, but it is just an area that is more "sluggish" to me.  I tend to understand a concept better when I hear it spoken and then, if I am having problems grasping that concept, it helps me to just talk it out.  In a situation wherein a teacher is in my physical presence, I find myself confirming what I have heard or read, by saying to the teacher, "...okay, let me just make sure I have this straight..." and then recounting my understanding to the concept in my own words.  This very act of talking it out seems to organize the concept in my mind.  Also, when I read something that is complex, I often stop, go back through the concept, and read it aloud.  This seems to seal it in my brain.  I can, obviously comprehend and retain what I read silently, but I prefer hearing information through my ears.  I do like the use of charts, graphs and such, as well as working hands-on when learning a concept as a ways of conceptualizing an idea, but a nice, thorough explanation, is always best for me. 

On the flip side, as an instructor, I realize that I cannot address every learning style in my classroom at every class meeting, but I do keep in mind that there are various types of learners trying to learn in my class.  I focus on organization of the material and incorporating many delivery methods of the material, without making the ideas convoluted.  In my campus classes, I use "the big screen" for showing web destinations, Power Point slides(only occasionally), large group discussion, small group discussion, giving students plenty of opportunities to speak, and hands-on activities, my favorite being our "clay day" when I ask students to make a creation out of clay in order to understand a complex metaphysical concept within Hinduism.  And, often, I use good old fashion chalk and chalk board.  Also, I try to list what we will be discussing that day before the discussion begins and also to keep the list organized into three main ideas.  As an instructor, I should be aware that not every person learns like I do.  My plan is that each student gets enough of his/her type of learning style incorporated into the class so learning is happening for all.  And, I do think that every student should be exposed to receiving information in a variety of formats, i.e. visually, verbally as well as kinetically, as this will hopefully help to build learning skills in other areas for them.  So, if I can focus on presenting the material in a variety of ways, then hopefully all students will have a fulfilling learning experience. 

PC Maintenance & Security Lab

The first tutorial I wanted to check out was the “Protecting your Family Online” tutorial.  I chose this one first because I have an eight year old son that will be using the internet more as he progresses through school.  One important thing that I learned is that I can check up on him.  I knew about history checks, but didn’t think about his knowledge of it.  If the history is blank, he might be up to something mischievous.  Also, I learned that I can adjust the Internet Explorer itself to filter out any content I deem inappropriate, which is probably a lot.  I will definitely be passing this information on to my husband so we can double team my son and keep him from dabbling in that which is for adult eyes only while online.  It did surprise me that Internet Explorer gave such control to the searcher.  I knew there were some parental controls, but I didn’t know that much control is available.  I’ll be putting this information to use for sure!

The second tutorial I watched was “Tips for Safer Web Browsing”, which gave me some really good tips.  One important tip I learned was about the Sandboxie software that can stand as a defense against malicious internet trappings.  It will serve as a repository of my internet interactions so that my computer remains safe and secure against malware and Trojan Horses.  I was surprised to learn that this technologyexisted and that it can be free.  Free is good.  I will be passing along information about Live CDs to my students.  This technology will allow them to safely work with an operating system from any computer they use.  Students are often using the computers of others for homework, or using campus computers.  Having an operating system on a CD or thumb drive will protect them and keep their work on hand so they can access the internet and their homework any time, or place, they find themselves.

The last tutorial I viewed was “Clean Up & Speed Up your PC”.  I chose this tutorial because my husband just “cleaned up” my laptop and I wondered if he did a good job or not.  I learned that he made some good solid steps to getting this laptop clean, but there are other areas in which he could clean a bit deeper.  I’m going to pass along to him that uninstalling and deleting “junk” from the hard drive is really good and I’m glad he did so, but that I will be also using Windows Cleanup! Or some other form of clean up tool to compress my files.  There is a lot of space one can gain from such a cleaning job, which is really the only thing that surprised me.  If cleaning up gets me my information in an instant, instead of a slow instant, then I’m all for it.