Week One:
For week one we had to make a list of 10 things you neew to know and why. Here is my list of 10
1. Become more aware of social networks like twitter
2. Learn a little more about how to create web pages.
3. Using more blogs so that I can incorporate it in my classes.
4. Incorporating more Synchronous tools like Elluminate in my classes.
5. How to link Podcasts in my courses.
6. Learn more about surveys.
7. Learning how to use Cloud Collaboration and interaction like Voice Discussion Forums (Wimba).
8. Learn how to create a wiki using a digital scrapbook.
9. Participating in a poll like American Idol.
10. Learn if I can use the Mobile Phone Conference Calling in my classes
Week 2:
In week two we were told to make twitter accounts and post something for the whole class to see. Twitter is a little tricky because you don't really know who is following you unless you know it a person personally. I would rather not use this in my class because it is to obscure with the people using it and I'm not sure how I could incorporate it into my class.
My twitter account is http://twitter.com/1234ania
In week two we also had to create a diigo account. This was my first experience with diigo and it was very interesting. Diigo is a good way for me to organize my thoughts, but I have my web browser where I can bookmark everything as well. So I'm not really sure how often I would log in to my diigo just to paste a web page.
My diigo account's username was ania1234
I haven't really utilized diigo to its fullest as of right now. However, maybe in the future I will utilize it more in my classes.
Week 3:
In week 3 we were assigned to create a blog. Blogs are a great way to share information without a limit. Meaning that the format of the blog can be whatever you like and there is no set number of characters you can post in a blog. This is very advantageous because students and myself are not limited to only having a short couple of sentences like in a twitter account. Blogs let you write on and on about a topic.
The only way I thought of using a blog in my class was as an "icebreaker" activity. This activity would be assigned in the beginning of the class and students would be required to either create a new blog just for the class or can use an exsisting blog if are comfortable doing so. Students would just introduce themselves and share a little of there interests and hobbies.
Texting and Polling was also introduced in this week. We had the decision to either text a survey question or use a poll. I chose to text for simplicity and easy access. It was fairly simple, I just had to text an answer I chose to a question being asked. I would not really use texting in my class because I feel like students can get easily distracted.
Week 4:
This was one of my favorite weeks of the course. In this week we had to attend our Elluminate session with Norman. This time I was using Elluminate from the students point of view and I was overall very satisfied with the results of the session. I like how students can particpate in the session even though it is overline in a real-time session.
In my class I want to definetly incorporate Elluminate. I really think it is a good way to connect with students from their homes. The only issues that may occur are the time differences and time zones with students. I would have to organize a time where the most students would be able to participate and maybe assign some points for incentive for students.
Week 5:
This week we were assigned to find a video and podcast that is related to our teaching topic. Finding the video was relatively easy because I just used google and youtube to find the video. With these giant search engines I found a video specific to my topic in no time. The podcast, however was a little more tricky because i had to go through each one to make sure it was the one that I would use specifically in my class.
I want to incorporate media into my classes because they are something new and different for the class. It will make the material less dry and maybe students will actually learn from watching/listening to the media. The media is also a good way to explain to students a difficult topic in a different way which may help some students.
The link to the video was- http://www.math-videos-online.com/probability-problem.html and it was about the addition and mulitplication rule of probability.
The link to the podcast was- http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Science/Mathematics/Introduction-to-Statistics-Podcast/19721 this podcast was an introduction to advance statistics.
I also thought about making finding a piece of media that relates to the topic of the week as an assignment for students for extra credit. This will also give students incentive to find the media and maybe learn something new as well.
Week 6:
This week we were given the chance to make a prezi account. I really enjoyed the prezi presentation because it made making a presentation very differently and pleasing to the eyes. There are so many different elements that you can incorporate into prezi and I was very happy with the assignment. Although I do not fully know how to use everything in preze yet, I plan on just learning how to use all of the tools and using it in my classes.
The link to my prezi account was http://prezi.com/cmxxzacvjdgk/binomial-probability/ about binomial activity.
Week 7:
In week 7 we had the chance of creating a quiz using the listed sites. I made the quiz rather easily and quickly. It was very useful because I could set specific information that I wanted to keep out of the quiz and how i wanted the quiz to be layed out. Although this site was very easy to use, I do have a test/quiz generator for my math class that I also use. The generate has given me no problems so far and I'm rather fond of the site.
My link to my quiz was http://www.quia.com/quiz/2498785.html and it was about esitmating a population proportion.
Week 8:
This is the final week of the course! It has been a fun 8 weeks of learning and collarborating with other colleagues. The course really opened my eyes to all of the technology we have available in our hands as instructors. I have learned about so much in this course and am so thankful for it. Whether it was about creating a quiz or just about handling cheating in the classroom, we went over many topics that all seemed very revelant to teaching.
Technology has so many entry levels and it is important to get a feel of as much technology as possible. Being an online and f2f instructor especially because I need to make sure the class is up to pace with the technological tools out there. One thing the class has shown me is to make sure to write down all of my account usernames and passwords! There are so many different account that can be made that sometimes it is hard to keep track!
Overall the class was a great learning experience and it helped remind me that I need to stay on track as an instructor. Keeping up my technological awareness in these fast paced times is essential to be able to get the most out of your classes.
