Weekly Updates

Final Post

Aloha!!!

May 5, 2014

This week I bid farewell to a course that has opened my eyes to the many technologies that currently exist that can help improve access to education within the discipline of Educational Technology. This course gave me the impetus to work beyond my comfort zone and past my normal “haunts” within technology.  We know that technology is not static and many of the resources we reviewed may not even be around in the next two years.  But the individual resources weren’t the point.  Building a habit of reviewing and testing resources has been the stronger benefit from this course.  Perhaps the resource that will be most beneficial will be accessing the Horizon report on a regular basis. 

I met some excellent people that brought many of their own tools and resources to our various ad-hoc group settings.  Working with professional educators has given me inspiration to be a better human being.  I look forward to seeing what each does in their future and all of the lives you will touch.  

Week 15.5

TCC Conference 2014

April 26, 2014  

I was fortunate to be able to attend the online TCC conference this year.  It was so exciting!  It was at least as good as an in-person conference.  Actually, it was better!  I was able to take my conference (via digital device) with me to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, and to the restroom.  I didn't have to miss a darn thing!!!  

The conference was also an amazing affirmation of my choice to be part of this exciting discipline in ETEC.  The conference gave me a second wind as I am half way through my Master's program and needed a little bit of a pick-me-up.  I feel refreshed and invigorated.  The student's presentations made me extremely proud to be associated with this program.  

Week 15

An old Wizard's Ode to 647e

April 26, 2014

#647e

Week 14

Augmented Reality

April 19, 2014

I had an opportunity to familiarize myself with the meaning of augmented reality this week.  I was already familiar with some of the technologies associated with the term, but I hadn't been aware of the term.  I am a huge, huge fan!  I took a look at many different forms of augmented reality, but settled on Google Glass for a small report.  

Google Glass can supplement reality with information that is vital for the tasks at hand.  Click on the image and see what they are doing at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center...

Week 13

Prezi and a Fake Position

April 13, 2014

I am a big fan of diplomatic debate.  I am not a big fan of assignments that ask students to come up with black or white responses to nuanced and complex questions.  But, in spirit of being a good team player, and in the spirit of turning in an assignment on time, I had to facilitate a Prezi slide show from the position of "anti-rail"--as in against the Honolulu Rail.  This is quite interesting, because I am a huge supporter of Honolulu Rail as I believe that a Cosmopolitan city needs a Cosmopolitan public transportation solution.  

I made sure that I noted clearly that I am a supporter of rail in the assignment.  I am pretty active in politics in the state, so I would like to minimize the risk of someone trying to attach me to the a position that I am would rather not be attached to.  I suppose, in my critique of what has otherwise been an amazing course, I will respectfully note to the Professor that, assignments that are digitally available to anyone who chooses to search them, especially in the case of such searches harming a working adult professional student, should come with some sort of caveat of allowing a student to refrain from, or exchange components of an assignment.  

Ok, I know, shut up already! Anyway, here was our post to Prezi (Don't enjoy it!)

Week 12

Gamification Group Assignment

April 5, 2014

You will get 14873 bonus badge points for reading this entry.  

We were assigned groups this week to jointly review, and submit a post regarding our perception of "gamification" in education.  I knew as soon as I was assigned a group with Jonah and Kainoa, that I was going to have fun.  But there was a bonus group member that really impressed me, named Sean.  Sean is a Media/Social Studies teacher of junior high school students.  Amazing brain-trust that I get to work with every time!  Not sure how I snuck in there.

Here is the link to our group blog on this weeks assignment:

https://plus.google.com/108607614437524602275/posts/C4vj1gAjUpt

Week 10

Blog Review

March 19, 2014

I am going to review three Blogs from my classmates in an effort to test my ability to feel even more inferior than I already do. Inferiority might be like a muscle you work and work until it is so big, that you drink a twelve pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon every night while listening to ol' Hank Williams tunes as you desperately try hard not to kick your neighbors puppy. That puppy is so adorable--which makes the pressure to kick it that much greater. 

Let's Start--Kekai Richards Blog 

This week I was mystified by the simple elegance of Kekai's Blog.  No, really, go ahead and click on it.  It is downright gorgeous.  It is contemporary, the color scheme is mesmerizing, and the font is classy.  She does mention my name in one of her posts, but that really has no bearing on how I perceive her Blog site.  I will say this, the gracious context to which she used my name was well deserved and probably could have been a bit more embellished, but humility is a virtue that precedes me.  Or is it that I am consistently humiliated?  Whatever...I really liked her blog and because of it, I am a bit less enthusiastic about my choice to go with purple font.  

2nd Blog--The Boltswagon 

Joey B, aka the Boltswagon, aka the guy I was supposed to look like, until that crazy doctor shot too much horse tranquilizer into my moms spine as she was giving birth to me. I hold no grudges, but I am pretty sure the process of child birth is relatively painless, so that much painkiller was probably a bit of an overkill.  Good thing it didn't impact my judgement.  

Well Joe clearly brings a refreshing perspective to his Blog as he is one of the few students in my ETEC cohort not employed by a school.  His views on the materials are an added bonus and help to give a more fulfilling and colorful experience to our class.  His post on mobile learning, entitled "Mobile Learning Rant" raises some great questions on the use of mobile technology, it's proliferation, and it's relevance in the industrial education field.  His approach was inviting as opposed to preachy.  

In closing, one would be remiss if one did not point out, that on Joe's Blog page  there is a giant finger pointed directly over his head, almost as if to say, "Yes Joe, you are a good looking dude, but I am a really big finger."   I am still analyzing the whole thing.   

3rd Blog--Jon the Mystery

This third Blog is intriguing to me.  Not in a Nigerian prince that I keep supporting until he is able to access his bank account and make me rich, rich, rich, kind of intriguing...but intriguing nonetheless.  I open the page and begin to search for this "Jon."  Of course I could cross-reference the names in my class with "Jon," but that would be way too easy and my middle name is not easy.  My middle name is Philip, with one "l." That is not that easy, because the tendency is to go with two l's.  So to me, my middle name is hard.  Where was I?  Oh yeah, the mystery blogger.  

I am going to speak to "Jon" directly, so if you are not "Jon" please avert your sight.  Unless of course, you are claiming to be "Jon" and posting as such, but you are actually not named Jon, then I am speaking to you.  Here it goes:

Dear "Jon": 

The mystery of your blog has made me an instant fan.  I hope I never learn who you are because I live for the little surprises in life.  In a way, your mystery blog gives me license to create you as I want you to be.  So that alone, from a marketing perspective, says that you my friend, have some business acumen--this much I can ascertain.  You also like Apple computers and are partial to the finer things in life as evidenced by the picture of a chandelier at the top of your blog pages. I will eventually get around to reading your posts, but for now, let me basque in the mystery, that is "Jon."    

Week 8.5

Mobile Devices and Education

March 4, 2014

This week I am tasked with reflecting on mobile devices and their use in education.  Because I have been a student in emerging technologies and their relation to education for half a semester now, there is no doubt in my mind that mobile technology will be an integral part of education of the future, and probably supplant much of what is currently done in the classroom. 

As it happens, I am currently engaged in researching the flipped classroom.  Basically, the idea is to provide students with lectures, reading assignments, and other presentation prior to coming to class, so that class time can be spent on working on the actual projects, problems, assignments.  The instructor can better monitor the work of her students as she is present during the work that might have traditionally been done at home.  Hence, the term, flipping the classroom. 

The concept of the flipped classroom is catching on and the term has been generating a buzz that is inspiring instructors and institutions to visit the model.  Based upon the apparent trend, the flipped classroom is likely going to move its way out of the exception column towards the norm column.  And then, I guess, flipping won’t be flipping at all, it will just be class. 

So how do mobile devices come into play in the flipped classroom?  Clearly a mobile device, or at least today’s mobile devices, are miniature media centers with production capabilities…some happen to take phone calls as well, but I digress…  Any lecture that can be seen online, can be seen on a mobile device.  Text books can be read, highlighted, and searched on a mobile device.  Slide presentations can be produced with a mobile device, using pictures and videos taken with the mobile device.  Tests can be created with a mobile device, using multi-media examples to assist with concept attainment. There are numerous ways for students to collaborate via a mobile device.  There are hardly limits to the mobile device possibilities in education.

If all of the potentials of the mobile device are the powder keg, what has been the catalyst for lighting the fuse that causing mobile devices to explode with educational potential?  Access of course!  The cost for a decent mobile device is cheaper than many text books.  The mobile device itself has the potential to deliver way more, and way richer content than the average text book.   The mobile device will be the classroom for many hungry seekers of education around the world. 

For my educational bang, the three apps that I utilize most for educational purposes, are Youtube, Amazon e-reader, and Google plus. As you see, I have an analog of the lecture, the text book, and interaction with fellow students.  

#647e

Week 8

Bitstrips and Emerging Technology

February 28, 2014

Ok, ok, yes I had a really fun time working with Kekai and Terri on a portion of this weeks assignment.  We were tasked with highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of emerging technologies--in comic book form no less, utilizing Bitstrips.  The exercise was a great way to release a little bit of pressure from the rigors of the ETEC program.  

Until I saw myself in this cartoon, I had no idea I was so bald.  They say cartoon pictures add...well anything they want to.  But clearly, the artist had no intention of flattering me with a thick mane of locks that flutter in the wind like a Greek God standing on Olympus staring over the majestic valleys below...but I digress...

#647e

Week 7

Flipping the Classroom

February 24, 2014

As many of you know (by many, I mean my mom), I have been engaged as a non-traditional student in the University of Hawaii system for about seven years now.  Most of the courses have involved some level of apprehension on my part, as I hadn't been a student for over 20 years, prior to enrolling to UH in 2007.  In order to assist in alleviating some of that apprehension, I ate ice cream. But while I was eating my ice cream, I would get as much information I could before the class started, and I would Youtube (that is a verb on this blog) the topics that I didn't have much base information to attach meaning to.  I would then look for a few different instructor's videos on the same topic to try and gain some semblance of concept attainment.   It turns out, I was flipping before flipping was a thing.  That might make me pretty cool in some circles (by some circles, I mean my mom's circles... she draws little circles with me in them).  

Flipping is a tool that can be added to an instructor's toolbox.  Flipping is essentially choosing media for students to review at home, so that they have some level of understanding of the topic by the time they get to class.  Hopefully, some instructors perceive, less time will be needed on the lecture and more focus can be on group projects and class assignments.  

Ultimately, in my humble opinion (and by humble, I mean completely anecdotal), having access to more tools will likely assist the instructor in reaching more students and there might be some initial surprises that are very exciting. There are absolutely going to be instructors that master and utilize the flipped classroom in such a way that others take notice.  But this dynamic has been true with most innovations.  Ultimately, the instructor has to be motivated to produce exciting and diverse content, and it really helps to have motivated students.  I believe it comes down to design, content, energy, and the motivation that a student brings to the table.  The design, content, and energy are brought by the instructor, but a substantial portion of the student's motivation has a more complex genesis.  

No matter how many awesome tools that are in the instructor's tool box, the broader cultural importance in the value placed in education must grow and transcend the economic and social realities that exist within the broader environment.  

#647e

   

Week 6

Publishing in the Digital Educational Environment

February 23, 2014

     Publishers of educational materials are taking a systematic look at how the former system of textbook distribution and profitability should be adjusted to the needs of today’s students.  Perhaps the requirement of a student to purchase a complete textbook may need to be revisited.  Most college courses that I have taken in the online educational environment do not utilize any one complete textbook.  Perhaps, like a music download, textbooks can be broken up and sold like an individual song and the so-called "mash-up" could be paid for bit by bit. Perhaps there would be less financial incentives for the consumer to find work-a-rounds to paying for materials. 

     There is no doubt that the authors of textbooks deserve every ounce of credit for their work. They also are entitled to the financial rewards that hopefully incentivize others to march forward and contribute quality materials for education. Without those incentives, contributions will be limited and education suffers.  

      In the conventional textbook dynamic, a student owns the book and can sell that book when she chooses.  However, that is one book, and it is not reasonable for a student to reprint the book, bind it, and to give it away out of the back of her car.  In the online environment, it should not be permissible, without express consent of the author, or  the publishing stakeholders, for students and/or teachers to give away the hard work of contributing stakeholders no matter how altruistic the notion may seem. 

     Perhaps the idea of a book, or a even a chapter from a book is not necessarily the appropriate model.  Maybe content in whatever it’s most salient digital form is the commodity.  A publisher, or production team would have an updated learning environment that requires a subscription.  In this environment, whatever information may be copied and shared without permission may not even be perceived to be the best information, as the content will be continually developing in the subscription area.  The days of the static textbook with occasional revisions are probably going to become replaced by dynamic digital content repositories.    

#647e

Week 4

OER (Open Educational Resources)

February 16, 2014

This past week I had the opportunity to work with a couple of fellow students that I had the pleasure of working with before in Lorraine B., and Vera B.  It was also fun working a very familiar face in Kainoa Bowman.  The project was to highlight, via a two minute educational technology presentation, the topic of Open Educational Resources, aka OER.

  

For this assignment, we chose to highlight an amazing website in Web20guru.com.  This website has so many great resources for the educator desiring to include Web 2.0 into their respective curriculum.  Of course, all of the options listed are OER's.  We chose to highlight the webpage using a presentation software tool called educannon, which allowed us to intersperse questions at our chosen spots within the video presentation. 

The time frame was very short for this project.  Fortunately, we had a really good team, and an excellent leader in Kainoa, who volunteered his vision, and editing skills.  To view the project, please click on the following:

Team Kansai Project

#647e  

Week 3

Working on our Team Proposals

February 5, 2014

I had the opportunity this past week to be involved in one of my favorite aspects of the education process within ETEC--the team project phase!  Every group project within this program without fail, I get to work with the most intelligent, energetic, imaginative people I have ever met!  I learn about new tools, new techniques, and new perspectives that challenge me to be better.  

I don't want to give too much away here, but our project involves having 6th graders utilize an emerging technology to teach others within their respective class about Greek Gods.  This lesson plan ticks all of the modern educational theorists boxes.  Once the team (pre-selected by the Professor) got a hold of the assignment, we began working like a well-oiled machine, despite this being the first incarnation of this particular collective.  I barely had time to put on my seat belt and we were off!  

Gregism:  Surround yourself with people that you know are better than yourself, and hopefully you will rise to the occasion.

#647e  #Gregism

Week 2

Blogging,Twittering, Social Medias, and my wife still wants me to mow the lawn?

January 28, 2014

This week I have been exposed to Dailycreate, Moocs, Tweets, various social medias, and the limits of my attention span.  So many wonderful mediums of communication with amazingly fun and engaging interfaces--but how on earth does anyone find the time to update every one of them?  I am thinking, that I will eventually try and find those mediums that are most effective for the purposes du jour.  

What I am looking for is an app that convinces my wife that I am actually doing school work as opposed to crushing candies or visiting a high school sweet heart on Facebook.  First of all, I had hair in high school, and I don't now, so I am less than inclined to go advertising how much more wonderful I am now, than I am was then. I am sure the feedback generated would do wonders for my self esteem.  Although, the cranial juxtaposition against my more coiffured classmates might provide them with some sort of relief from their existence, as they become giddy at my barren scalp.  Providing joy to others is it's own reward isn't it?  I think someone really great said that.  Maybe it was Gandhi, or Buddha.  Either way, it was probably someone bald...just sayin'. I wonder if I could rent out the spot for advertising.  Maybe a sunscreen company, or a solar panel provider?  
  
#647e