Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I am back here again, but this time more hopeful. I have been able to almost complete my portfolio (with minor tweaking still left), I have entered the information in my CMS and just need to go back through and check it against the requirements and I have began working on the class wiki assignment. I can honestly say that things are finally coming together in these last two weeks.

I think I stressed myself more than I should have - oh and I have created a consistent design for my web page that I think is really good. The class has been quite a bit of work, but I can see the need to learn how to complete the assignments. As educators or professionals in general we must try to be tech savvy and up-to-date on current technology tools. This has been quite a learning experience for me and I look forward to applying it towards real world work experience in the near future.

Until later.....

Monday, July 27, 2009

Feeling Overwhelmed

It is the start of yet another week as the semester has flown by! We are now wrapping up assignments, discussions and such. As usual at the end of the semester approaches I automatically become swamped. I have yet to finish a instructional website, create a course management structure shell, finish a portfolio and contribute to the class wiki. As you can tell I have bombarded with work, however I really enjoy them! I think that is what really makes it worth the work, the fact that you can work on something for hours without realizing that you have done so. Seeing the finishing product is so worth the hours as well.

Once I get these assignments done there will be quite a load taken off my shoulders. I am completely engaged in finishing up my semester with a bang! These are my last classes and all the hard work and time will pay off when I graduate. So until than I will stay focused and work hard!

Until next time....

Monday, July 20, 2009

Website Assignment

Okay, I am back from out of town and boy was it great. So now I am back to reality - after listening to Dr. Ingram's comments I need to do some major tweaking to my website design and rationale. I thought I was on the right track, but I know now that I am not! I need to figure out exactly how I plan to implement interactiveness as well as quizzes and tutorials.

I guess I pretty much need to start from scratch - this has become harder than I expected, but I will rise to the challenge.

My computer has crashed and right now I have limited access at work. This has been a very trying week already and it's only Monday! Lets see how the rest of the week goes...

Monday, July 13, 2009

Web Site Design

I just finished up with my website design assignment and it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. After sitting and reading the assignment criteria a few time and actually breaking it down into sections I was able to rationalize it all. I guess the initial reading made me very nervous.

I have decided to create a instructional website that teaches one how to request duplicate diplomas, transcripts, name changes and enrollment verifications. This is much needed information, especially since I work in the Registrar's Office on campus and have these questions asked repeatedly.

The chart that we had to create in Excel was quite helpful, I never realized how much planning should go into creating a website. The chart allows for one to plan ahead, with the design and the material content. This creates less of a chance to include unnecessary information or even create information overload.

The assignment has been a great help in creating the final website. It allows you to organize your ideas and create an consistent design for the site. I really liked that we had to create this assignment before we actual create the final website.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

We are in Week # 4!

The summer and this course has passed me right by! We are in the fourth week of the course already! I am amazed and excited how quickly time has flown. I have learned quite a bit in this course in a short amount of time. I have gained experience creating a WebQuest, a website, getting to know Moodle (from the instructor perspective) and creating a presence for myself in a online community.

This course has afforded me with knowledge and skills that I can and will carry into my professional career. I have become knowledgeable of new technologies from my classmates that I did not know existed. I am grateful for the diversity of our class - teachers, non teachers, trainers, etc this has allowed us all to present different ideas or suggestions on the discussion board. I think that is quite beneficial for ALL students. I will take a great deal away from this class and I am glad I chose to take this course.

Tina

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Clarification


Well we have received clarification on our website design assignment. I am still a bit hazy on this, but with the teacher's response I think I have a firmer grasp on this concept that before. I am a bit more confident that I understand what is expected - he will also attempt to post sample assignments which will be very useful.


I think that I will use Excel for the table capabilities and I will go ahead and play around with Gliffy to see how it can be beneficial for this assignment. At least at this point I can begin to start on the assignment with and understanding of what is expected. I am glad however, that I was not alone in my confusion - other students stressed the same confusion as I.

We will see how this goes...


Tina

Website Design

This week we are working towards a website design assignment. To say the least I am completely baffled as to how to begin. I understand the requirements for the assignment, but I am not quite sure how to present them. I am not alone, other students in the course has posed the same question. We are awaiting Dr. Ingram's response.

On a happy note, the semester is winding down and I went to Grad Fair today. It doesn't seem like it has been two years already but it has. The time has flown! I am very excited and yet nervous because I don't know my next step in life. Maybe I'll just sign back up for school, but we will see.

Back to the website design assignment...maybe if I begin by creating objectives and goals I may get an idea of the next step. We will see.

to be continued....

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Moving Forward

Now that we have gotten past the webquest assignment I can breathe a little easier. Even though the assignment was time consuming, I got a lot out of it. It helped me to reflect on the importance of creating a diverse environment as well as becoming very methodical. It makes one think ahead in order to create a truly effective assignment for students.

The webquest assignment is one that teaches us how to teach others. It breaks up the monotony of traditional lecture based teaching and gets students involved. It allows students to take some ownership of their leanings - which could increase their engagement, especially if it's a topic that they have a great deal of interest in. Students can take from this probably more than a lecture can offer. Utilizing other teaching methods will keep the classroom interesting as well as create a climate of inclusiveness. I think in all the assignment was much needed and important in developing each students skills.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Webquest Assignment

So I have finally completed my webquest assignment using Quest Garden. It took a whole lot more work than I thought it would. I assumed that because the template was already created that plugging in the information would be quite simple. I found this quickly to not be the case - plugging in the necessary information was quite time consuming and difficult for me. Knowing exactly what was too much and what was too little; when to include graphics and when not to; how to relay information for elementary school students, etc. The process became a bit overwhelming at times, but I just had to work on other assignments and come back to it.

Now that I am finished with it and I am looking at the finished product, I am quite happy with it. It turned out the way I expected it to, it looks aesthetically appealing and is written to speak to 3-5 grade students. I believe that the webquest will do a lot of good in helping those same students become comfortable with cultural differences and be able to put there thoughts into respectable words for future discussions on the topic. I hope that the assignment is well received.

Tina