Friday, May 6, 2011

CEP812 - Group Leadership Project





We used a combination of tools to create are beautiful final project, such as, Windows Movie Maker, Camtasia, Jing/Screencaster, and YouTube, to upload and output the final product. Well, Jing was used to create the tutorial sections, that was the best idea that one of my group member’s wanted to go with so that we could show the actions of taking the tutorial live, instead of just screen caps.  I used Camtasia, to edit, add, cut, and enhance the tutorial clips. Camtasia because the videos files from Jing are export out as .swf (Flash file), and so when I took it into one video editing software it did not do too well, and then I took it into Camtasia and the .swf was compatible. Finally, the use of Windows Movie Maker came very last minute, due to the non-compatibility of one of the group member’s audio files in Prezi. The end product was supposed to be in Prezi, which is what the group agreed on in the very beginning.  But when the audio files did not convert as the Prezi blog said it would, an executive decision was made and was moved over to WMM. In the end, using WMM made out a lot better than using than using Prezi.  

What I learned from the development process is that every member in the group has their roles and their strengths. I considered one member the leader of the group, she was the one that made sure things got done, and kept everyone on task, and probably was the most stressed. The other member was get it done guy, and that is what he did, he got the tutorials done, and did not need much more info. My role was the creative guy, I was the one that took all the parts and put them together, which then the leader put the final touches to the whole project. When knowing what you are supposed to be doing, it makes working as a group so much easier, especially when you have a group that has the same vision. Oh and as usual, if something can go wrong, it usually does, but quick thinking, is always good to counter act the situation.

I personally would not do anything differently, except from jump, decide to not do the presentation in Prezi. It is cool tool, but it very limited to when it comes to creativity and using outside media files. I learned in my 810 class about the PowerPoint Kiosk mode, and so I might have considered running the tutorial through there, so it would be a stand-alone interactive tutorial. Overall I am greatly pleased with our final product, and the work that the whole group put into.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

CEP 812 - Professional Learning Plan

Hello World,

Well here it is, after re-doing the video clips, Camtasia having its own problems, and then Youtube and Camtasia not wanting to work together like they are supposed to.... my Professional Learning Plan brought to you by CEP 812 :) . Hope you like it. Enjoy!!







Wednesday, April 27, 2011

CEP812- Classroom 2.0 post

Here is the I joined and replied to. Classroom 2.0 Forum




CEP 812 - Poll Everywhere

So, my poll everywhere experience didn't really go as well as planned. I thought it was going to go a lot better than I thought. Only because I thought that I would have my responses to my question, and I really wanted to watch the bar status go up and down. Hence this is one reason why I kept the poll open, mainly cause this a serious question, because I really would like to know where I will going this summer.
If I had classroom, I would use this to be able to let the classroom have a say so, in some of the decision making. This would be one of the only democratic moments in my classroom.


See the results of the my Poll Everywhere question!





Monday, April 25, 2011

CEP812: Wicked Problem Project: Part D - Findings and Implications

The project, Thee Best of Both Worlds, E-mentoring program was implemented as much as could be during this course. In which if given more time, a couple things would have happened.  I would have made the pre-qualifying survey more precise with detailed questions.  From there the actual e-mentor survey would have been administered, and after a qualified pool of candidates would have been selected, mentors will be notified. After the mentor selection, there would have been a selection of high schools students that would have been given a survey of participation. A group of students would be selected based on need of academic motivation will be selected. The success would have been measured by academic performance or rather increase in academic performance over a time span, short and long term. The only part of my implementation was completed was showing that college undergrads, grad students and alumni are willing to commit to being mentors, which came from them taking the pre-qualifying survey that was created with survey monkey.

With the results I received I know that I would be able to get more mentors to take the survey. I was a little disturbed how some people could not follow the simple directions of putting their name down on the survey, seeing how it was the first question on the survey. I needed that answer so in case they qualified; I could get in contact with them. But I guess too, it is my fought for not expressing the need of knowing the name of the person that took the survey. Being limited to only the basic account of survey monkey does raise a flag, on considering if I would stay with that survey tool or use another one. As of right now, I would use another one, and one with more basic options.  Even if the survey tool would only let me create three surveys with unlimited questions, it would prove to be more useful as a startup.

Other technologies that I would incorporate would be the use of social media, of course. We would be linked into the majoring players, Facebook, Twitter, and even Foursquare. The Foursquare accounts, will a fun way to keep track of the mentees, without really keeping track, and would as serve as statistics that I would keep. This will help me understand some of the patterns of the mentees which may give some insight as to why they are in need of academic motivation.  After learning about Polling software, there would be implementation of monthly polls. This is use to get feedback from the mentees and the mentors, and this would be the same question, “As a mentee, do you feel having your mentor is helping you do better in school and life” , “As a mentee do you feel you have improved in school” and “As a mentor, do you feel your mentee is doing better in school”.

At this present time, this is no evidence from myself of a problem of practice, but by their being some literature on e-mentoring shows that their some truth to this practice. I do not think I would have done anything differently for a project of this magnitude, unless the ideal overall was different. I would probably just focus on one particular section same as I did this time. But now thinking, I would use graduate students to mentor undergraduate students, but yet still a have the same format as having two mentors. Then I would try to use the same template with slight modification on high school students. The lesson learned is allot more time, and it will prove beneficial to be able to get more completed or at least what is expected to be completed.  Given the proper resources I would try to bring this project to fruition. I know that a project/program as such would be greatly beneficial to the success of high school and college students. I personally would not change anything, and may consider still moving forward with this program.  

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

CEP 812 - Mobile Learning

 
While expIoring the mobile learning lab I actually found a very useful tool that I read about in Classroom 2.0 i saw the forum “Java applets to quizzes to mobile phones”. In that forum there was a program talked about that I would definitely implement called http://www.mobilestudy.org where you can create quizzes for mobile phones. This can be away that will be a way to let students do what they naturally do every day anyway. This probably would be better suited for college students, only because I would believe that that majority of college students would have or own smartphones.  In my classroom it would be a quick way to throw a pop quiz to see if some of the main points of the lesson were understood. It can also work well with homework assignments, being able to make sure students are aware of what is to be study that night or week. What one challenge would be, is making sure that all the students have the mobile hardware to access these types of quizzes, which could be corrected by having the students just as easily take the quiz online as an alternative.  


Outside of the mobile quiz app, there are many other mobile tools such as; iPods/iPads, flash drives, mp3 players, kindles, and flip cameras. I personally have only had experiences with using flash drives and remember one particular experience. I was working in the media lab undergrad, and was tired and rushing to catch the bus. I was in such a hurry, I left my flash drive in the computer, and of course when I realized I had left it and tried to go back the next day it was gone. The worst part is, nobody returned it to me, and I lost the majority of my work from the current course and past courses. I have only had to use flash drives for doing major media and large gaming projects and video content.  When I was adjunct game instructor, my students did not use flash drives that used external hard drives, mainly because there was not enough space on the flash drive. Some my students even used their ipods, as storage devices, and when I asked why, they told me it’s because they know that they always carry their iPod, so therefore they will always have their work. Although it made since, most of them still forgot their work, go figure.
If I had my own classroom, I would definitely use kindles as a means for text books as a second option physical text books. One so no students would be able to use the excuse of, “Oh I have too many other books” or “My book never stays open, so I didn’t bring it” (these are actually excuses I heard in my class). Another reason is because it would cut down on having my students have to carry multiple books for just my class. I would tailor the course readings to go with books that are Kindle purchasable, such as these. 



That would be the only thing I would I would definitely like to implement that on a list of uses to in the future of my teachings. Depending on what I would be teaching there is a possibility of using iPads, but I'm not quite sure how well designing or editing would work on that type of device. or if the same software that is available on Mac's are have been downsized to work on iPads.



My CEP 812 song... titled CEPCEP812

CEP812: Wicked Problem Project: Part C - Implementation



The project that is currently being implemented is the start of an The E-Mentoring Program as of now newly renamed the Thee Best of Both Worlds E-Mentoring Program. This mentoring program, takes 11th graders progressing to the 12th grade and pairs them with an undergraduate, graduate, or alumni mentor that has successfully navigated through their undergraduate college experience without any troubles and those that have. The benefit of this to be able to letter future college students be aware of possible situations that may arise and better equipped to handle them. 

In the audio talks about a few things:
  • ·         The pre-qualifying E-mentor survey is the part that is currently being implemented.
  • ·         If I had the pro service, there would be more questions to the pre-survey
  • ·         Not as many surveys taken as expected 


 Here is my podcast for CEP 812 WPP Part C. Enjoy!

 http://www.archive.org/details/CEP812WppPartC




***Pictures of the Survey***




Monday, April 18, 2011

CEP 812 : Group Leadership Project: Part B - Storyboard and Script




Script:
Technology used for tutorial:    Prezi
SCRIPT
Edmodo Tutorial
In this tutorial you will learn how to use Edmodo, a social-networking website designed for teachers and their students.

What is Edmodo?  Why use it?
Edmodo is one of the latest Web 2.0 technologies founded on the idea that students & teachers interactions with technology outside the classroom have the power to drive change within the classroom.
What could be thought of as a very close "relative" to Facebook, Edmodo is a safe and secure service that allows for communication and collaborative opportunities between teachers and students even after class has ended for the day.  As of this past January, parents are the latest audience to join so they have the ability to stay in the loop as well.  
Not only does this site attract its users because of the educational opportunities offered, it maintains its audiences with its accessible perks. Current users are able to access Edmodo in multiple languages and also on their iPhone or Andriod via an application. On top of it all, the use of the site is FREE for all users, with no “pro-version” to upgrade to for a cost.

Teacher Use of Edmodo
Once a teacher has created an Edmodo account, they are able to do many things within the site that allows for students and themselves to have an overall enhanced experience in the classroom.   Let’s take a look at some of these, starting first with the creation of a teacher account.
  Tutorial #1:  Creating a Teacher Account, Class(es), and Generating
                           Parent Codes                               
                       (Step-by-step screen cast)
                       To create a teacher account:
                       1.  Go to edmodo.com
                       2.  Click on the "I'm a Teacher" option.
                       3.  Fill out the Teacher Sign up form.
                       4.  Click on Sign Up button at the bottom
                       Once in the account, you are able to adjust your personal teacher account settings:
                       5.  Click on Settings up at the top next to your name.
                       6.  Upload a user photo, update notifications (text message or email                               capabilities), adjust privacy, etc.
                       7.  When finished, click the “edmodo” logo or the link that says “go back home.”
                       To create a class:
                       1.  Under where it says, Groups, click create.
                       2.  Create a group name, select a grade level (or range of grades),
                             a subject area, and a more specific subject within.
                       3.  Click create.                      
                       4.  Next, a box will pop up that gives you a code for joining the group.
                            This will be the code you give to students for access, so you
                            want to keep it in a safe place. Also know that you can retrieve it
                            from the group settings later if you need to.
                       To generate a parent access code:
                       After students create their accounts (which you will learn about shortly),
                       they will appear on the teacher’s page under “Members.” In order to create a                                     parent account, parents need a separate access code, and this code is unique
                       for each student. If you click “Manage” under the members, you will be directed                                   to a screen with a  list of all students. To get a parent access code for a student,
                       click on the first blue box and the code will appear.  You may click on the excel
                       link to get a list of all codes. (may want to wait until an entire class joins)
             Tutorial #2:  Sending Notes, Alerts, Adding Videos, Creating a Poll, Adding Library
(Step-by-step screen cast
Now I will walk you through some of the things that a teacher  can do in Edmodo once they have class(es) set up with students in them.
One of the most common things teachers will do is send one or more                                     students, or a class of students a note or alert. A note is a message that arrives to the students with a file or a website link attached and an alert is simply just a quick message you want students to see.  For facebook users out there, these are equivalent to a “wall post” – except you can post on multiple people’s walls at once!
To send a note or alert:
1.  Click on either “note” or “alert” and type in a message that you want   your students to see on their screen.
                       2.  If it’s a “note”, click on “file” or “link” and upload or copy & paste
                             the link in the box that you would like them to see.
                       *Show example of a “note” with a homework assignment attached. (pdf)
                       *Show example of a “note” with a link to a youtube video.
                       *Show example of an “alert”  BIG CHAPTER 8 TEST TOMORROW! STUDY!
                       3.   Select who you’d like the message sent to & click send.
                       You will be able to see what your note/alert looks like from your screen.                           You are also able to delete or edit the message afterwards as well.
          
                       To create a poll:
                       1.  Click on “poll.”
                       2.  Type in your question and answer choices.
                       3.  Select who you’d like the poll sent to & click send.
          
Student Use of Edmodo
Some of the main features of the student account in edmodo include: The ability to access homework assignments, projects, quizzes, and test reminders. Students can also send messages to the teacher and post comments on the main page for everyone to see. In addition, students can upload and access educational resources such as documents, videos and podcasts.
Tutorial #1: Creating a student account
To create a student account...
1. Request a group code from your teacher
2. Go to edmodo.com
3. Click on the " I'm a Student " option
4. Fill out the Student Sign up form
5. Click on Sign Up button at the bottom
           Once in the account, you are able to adjust your account settings:             
                       6.  Click on Settings up at the top next to your name.
                       7.  Upload a user photo and update notifications (text message or email     capabilities)
                       8.  When finished, click the “edmodo” logo or the link that says “go back home.”
Tutorial #2:  Viewing assignments, due dates, and asking a question (for students)
    a) To view assignments, notes, and alerts
        1) Login to edmodo with your student account
        2) Look for the assignment name in the middle of the screen (scroll down if you         need to) and click on the assignment to see assignment details.
    b) To check assignment due dates
        1) Click on the calendar link on the upper left hand corner
        2) Look for the desired assignment and verify the due date.
    Note: To view the details of an assignment click on the date the assignment is due on     the calendar.
   
    c) To ask a question
    1) Click inside the “Send to” field and start typing up the teacher’s name.
        2) Select your teacher’s name.
        3) Click on the “Type your note here” text box and type your question
        4) Click send.
    Note: You may also attache a file or or a link along with your message.
Parent Use of Edmodo
              Tutorial #1:  Creating a Parent Account
             1.  Get a parent access code from teacher
             2.  Go to edmodo.com
             3.  Click on the "Parent Signup" option on homepage
             4.  Fill out the Parent Sign up form shown below
             5.  Click on Sign Up button at the bottom
Tutorial #2:  Assignments and due dates, send message, add child, notifications
a) Viewing assignments and due dates
1) Login into Parent account.
2) Look at mini- feed (shows the assignments due, with a description of the assignment in the Summary Unit
3) Look right at spotlight and click on assignment due.
4) Look at the assignment overview or click submission
b) Send Message
    1) Click in the bubble that says “type note here”, type message to be sent
    2) Click “Send to” and select the teacher’s name
    3) Under Parent picture Click “Direct” to see the message(s) alone
    4) Under Parent picture, Click “Everything “ to see messages and assignments               in mini-feed area
c) Add Child
    1) Look to your left and click “Add Child”
    2) Get parent code from designated teacher
    3) Click Between the Children names
d) Notifications
    1) go to “Settings”
    2) select which type of notifications you would like “email, text message or  none”
    3) Select which notifications you would like and then click “Save Notifications”
*******************************************************************************


The part that I worked on is the Parent use of Edmodo, and will be doing the voice for the introduction. The final part that I will doing is working on the final editing of presentation and working on the steps for the Parent use of Edmodo.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

CEP812 : Web-Conferencing Tool


Our video conference went great, and I had a good time doing it, it was also a first time experience doing something like that hands on. Before it would just be for class, and I would just sit and pay attention. The web conferencing tool that we used was Vyew, mainly because that was what one of the group member’s suggested. We realized that we could not do it in Google chat, because of the limitation of that we could only have a conversion, but no visuals.  But that is one reason we created a Google doc, so that way we can save and take notes as we go. Despite using Vyew was new to the whole group, we were able to all give valid input to what we wanted to do. This is when we decided that we would make the final project be in Prezi. One major advantage to using the web conferencing tool was being able to communicate thoroughly our ideas in real time, and if one of the members of the group what to show an idea or example, then it made it easier for them to just to show the whole group at that moment with screen sharing. Personally, I don’t feel that there were any disadvantages with using a web conferencing tool to discuss our project. I feel that we were able to get a good start, and a clear understanding and expectations of what we wanted.

Here's what it sounded like
http://www.screencast.com/users/polymarch007/folders/Jing/media/9801483c-fcc1-46fe-bc64-43a0e81d0ac3

http://www.screencast.com/users/polymarch007/folders/Jing/media/9801483c-fcc1-46fe-bc64-43a0e81d0ac3


Want to see what we did?!?!?!