Week 13: Reflection on reading

I love this, "The worth of a learning management system ultimately is measure by the same yardstick as every other educational tool: student performance."
This is what it is all about, we use and try new tools to see how they effect learning. If we use them correctly and they have positive benefits then we continue to use them. Very simple. I feel that this pretty much sums up this course. We have learned so much about what we can use to ultimately improve our learning environments. We are all striving to provide the best opportunities for our students. The tools are there, we need to learn them, use them and monitor their effectiveness.
Waymack and Ross have not accumulated sufficient data to confirm the positives of LMS but they have been able to credit the LMS with improving learning environments, "the climate is better, the overall feeling of being engaged is better."
That's what we want, enthusiastic, motivated, and engaged students.

Week 13: My Thoughts

Just off the top of my head I think that on-line learning is great. It embraces the whole idea of making education accessible to all. It permits those who have time or distance constraints to continue to seek educational possibilities. It opens up the parameters of discussions making it possible to collaborate and discuss with colleagues or professionals that one would not have the opportunity to given a classroom situation. I know I always approach topics with the pros and cons, and given there are a few cons to consider, but in the long run I think that they do not measure up to all the enriching benefits that is offered through this method of learning and instruction. Now I will do the readings and comment later on what the professionals have to say!!

Week 12: Podcasting - Reflections

I learnt a lot this week presenting the topic and then leading and managing the discussions. I think that it is a great experience to oversee and direct the group discussions, it gets you really involved trying to push the thinking further, something that we always try to do with the students but it is different when dealing with adults. Some great ideas and additions were made to the subject. Thanks to all those who participated and shared their thoughts.

Week 12: Topic Presentation - Podcasting

I know that I am posting this a few days early but we will be away for the next couple of days and I thought I would put it up in order to ease my mind and scratch one more thing off my list.

This was another new tool for me, so once again there was quite a learning curve. I did quite a bit of reasearch and contmeplating at length on how to go about presenting to the group, in the end I decided to pool the information I researched into a parred down simplified version of "Podcasting for the Techno Challenged" powerpoint. I chose a wikipage which I discovered to base my presentation on. I have scaled it down in order to provide the basics. I have included the url at the end of this post, as well as in my references, please view it for further information.

So here we go, I hope that this powerpoint serves it's purpose which is basically to inform you on what a podcast is, how to create a podcast and how to incorporate it in your teaching or library.
Please view it and respond to the discussion questions.
You can access the powerpoint through slideshare at

http://www.slideshare.net/agrannary/podcasting-101-for-the-techno-challenged-3469259


As a further note, as I was about to post my discussion I discovered another amazing tool which I will try in the future. I thought that I would mention it here as it relates to my topic, it is called Slidecast. Slidecast combines both podcasting and powerpoint, allowing a voice over to accompany your powerpoint. It is a very effective tool and totally makes the powerpoint much more engaging for the viewer. Slidecasting is free and is an option available through slideshare. You can view this tutorial for a preview.

http://www.slideshare.net/jboutelle/slidecasting-101

Podcating in Schools article
http://lis5313.ci.fsu.edu/wiki/index.php/Using_Podcasts_in_Schools

week 11: vimeo

Thought I would try both tools, vimeo seemed to give better quality, I think that I maight ry it again today and see. Both tools were really easy to use, could become a new hobby and great for sharing with extended family, already sent some off to Grandma in Quebec.
Here is the vimeo video
http://vimeo.com/10275913

week 11: youtube trial

That was fun, we spent the afternoon at the beach and I filmed the kids just being crazy. The whole process is quite easy, but I am not satisfied with the quality of the video. Perhaps it is because it was taken with a camera, not a video camera, I am not sure, anyone out there who knows how to improve the picture/sound quality?
Here it is my first you tube!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izca5NIJz_4

Week 11: Video and sharing, my thoughts

I really liked last week's lesson on photo sharing, it related well to our life as we try to communicate and keep in touch with extended family on the opposite end of Canada. So this week learning about video is exciting for two reasons, one to further enrich our communication with family and second now I know what to do with the silly little videos that the kids keep taking with the camera! I am definitely going to enlist their help with this lesson! I thought I was a great director/producer when we learnt animoto, I can't wait to see what I come up with here!