As our conference culminates with the Technology Summit today, we will take new ideas for exploration in our interactivities with colleagues and students. Next year this time, we will be talking about effects on student learning with at least one of the depositories, applications, or social sites. I have even collected poetry from the web describing actions upon the world as a result of living in the renaissance of virtual learning. The poem below, written by a screenwriter and librarian, does a good job of reflecting who we have become as consumers and users of the web. The poet incorporates links to each web resource that he references and his own website, lost here, but in the original post (CF footnote).
Barbara Glenn
“I’M PRETTY WELL CONNECTED”
(a Web 2.0 poem) by Gregory K.
I’m pretty well connected:
Facebook’s got my face.
I AIM and blog.
Of course I vlog.
Come see me at MySpace.
I Flickr, and I Twitter.
I wiki and Squidoo!
I’m Live. I Ning.
I’m there on Xing.
I’m really LinkedIn, too.
I Hulu, Yelp, and Google.
My YouTube channel’s hot.
I share Goodreads,
Have many feeds,
And Digg and link a lot.
Second Life and Classmates?
Xanga? RateItAll?
I’m on those four
And dozens more
Plus some I can’t recall
I’m pretty well connected:
My friends are EVERYWHERE.
I bet I’d meet
Them on the street...
If I’d just leave my chair.
Gregory K, Friday, September 19, 2008, as found at http://gottabook.blogspot.com/2008/09/im-pretty-well-connected-web-20-poeman.html, April 28, 2011.
Friday, April 29, 2011
"Dunno" Where Thursday Post Went: Here It Is Again!
My cat, Katie, took her annoying tummy perch earlier than usual this morning, alerting me to this day being Thursday and I’d better get my web log - she’s so technical -written before Leadership Council. Of course, I did not adhere; so, I’m late. Anyone who missed the Illinois Conference yesterday should be sure to delve into the archives, since they will be available for several months to us. Alied Health and Nursing faculty certainly got a variety of successful mobile device uses for instruction – from field work to case studies. I’m still thinking of how I can adapt the Google Maps scavenger hunt activity presented by both a librarian and Geography professor. In fact, I found a similar use in the Presidio Commons website for mapping the sites visited by an author, tracing the narrative events. From texting announcements to polling surveys with mobile devices, the uses are tremendously rich resources for us all. Session 6 is also a must. Although it will take me six months or more to explore the numerous “apps” introduced by the presenters and colleagues from around the country, I’m excited, and so will you be, as well.
Barbara Glenn
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Free Shots For Academic Influenza
The JSR Virtual Conference is providing rich resources for many of us that we may, or may not, have recognized. Some examples are the resources we have been given in our sessions to ease the tasks of professional tasks and discussions or engaging students with effective web storage sites and applications. A specific example is the set of resources for all of us during the times we chair committees, serve as program head or department chair, carry out a specific reassignment or professional development grant. During my tenure at Alabama, we used the phrase “academic flu” to describe the unforeseen loss of free time and heavy management tasks that accompanied these services. In bamaspeak (Alabama that is), it sounds like “ackardeema flew.” We really should no longer contract this “flew” as a result of this conference, as we have received more than sufficient injections in the form of web options these two weeks. An article on the Academia.com site summarizes the types of gems for these types of duties that we are meeting in this conference.
Barbara Glenn
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Bonuses Keep Coming
Congratulations to our JSRCC Leadership on seeing the need to award incentives to those who are embracing the “technology shift,” as Allison Cerra terms it, in CJ Bracken’s presentation today. Dr. Hashmi explained the details in her presentation today. We are seeing the views on the undeniable shift from Australia to Mexico to all around the USA. Are we open to change? Many feel we must be, but there are still those who are hesitant – not necessarily because they object, but because of budgetary concerns, as well as the question, do we really know what to do? Do we keep technology as a supportive thing? Are we headed to a “bring your own” culture? What do we want our classrooms to look like and should not the supportive technology be installed there?
Whatever the outcome, one thing is for certain – we have to be open for change (Michael McGrath), and we are at the beginnings of transitioning to using mobile devices to teach concepts, critical thinking, and applied learning activities. Right now, I have begun Bracken’s course focusing on these applications, ENROLL. At the same time I am reading Take Your iPad to Work. As my smart phone has such a small face, I’m turning to the Pad for better reading, tracking work completion, spreadsheet mobility, transmitting content in my hand to the larger screen for others to see during discussion and reporting, and other work related tasks. Here I have consolidated all my e-mail accounts, and when I make a change in a contact, it automatically changes on all my devices. When I rolled down the window to say hello to a colleague yesterday, she commented that she had set up her class attendance sheets on her iPad.
I thank the Center for Distance Learning for making available to us free tomorrow’s all-day International Online Conference 2011: “Going Mobile in Higher Ed.” (Shh! don’t tell anyone, but the conference would have cost us individually, close to $100 bucks.) Each session sounds informative to help us decide what may be best for us – not necessarily immediately, but certainly in the coming semesters: You will find out more about the Mobile Educational Landscape, Communication Strategies, Class work Uses, Assessable Delivery Tools, Assessment Uses, and even Top Education Apps. We are indeed fortunate to be in the JSRCC Virtual Conference.
Barbara Glenn
Whatever the outcome, one thing is for certain – we have to be open for change (Michael McGrath), and we are at the beginnings of transitioning to using mobile devices to teach concepts, critical thinking, and applied learning activities. Right now, I have begun Bracken’s course focusing on these applications, ENROLL. At the same time I am reading Take Your iPad to Work. As my smart phone has such a small face, I’m turning to the Pad for better reading, tracking work completion, spreadsheet mobility, transmitting content in my hand to the larger screen for others to see during discussion and reporting, and other work related tasks. Here I have consolidated all my e-mail accounts, and when I make a change in a contact, it automatically changes on all my devices. When I rolled down the window to say hello to a colleague yesterday, she commented that she had set up her class attendance sheets on her iPad.
I thank the Center for Distance Learning for making available to us free tomorrow’s all-day International Online Conference 2011: “Going Mobile in Higher Ed.” (Shh! don’t tell anyone, but the conference would have cost us individually, close to $100 bucks.) Each session sounds informative to help us decide what may be best for us – not necessarily immediately, but certainly in the coming semesters: You will find out more about the Mobile Educational Landscape, Communication Strategies, Class work Uses, Assessable Delivery Tools, Assessment Uses, and even Top Education Apps. We are indeed fortunate to be in the JSRCC Virtual Conference.
Barbara Glenn
Monday, April 25, 2011
Brainstorming Possibilities: Ripple Effect (s) of Virtual Conference 2011
Over a hundred years ago Ralph Waldo Emerson used the phrase, “concentric circles” to point out that our lives, deeds, and events affect our world. Today, we use “the ripple effect” as a similar metaphor. As we move into the second week of our online conference, we are beginning to look at how the conference presentations can affect our approaches to teaching and learning, mainly online, but concentrically in the physical classroom as well. What will our syllabi contain in the fall (summer is already upon us) as a result of this conference? How will interacting with students change? What new or revised opportunities can we make for students to learn by experiences online? What new or revised opportunities can we make for students to interact for learning from each other through Blackboard, strategies presented at this online conference or with a combination of these and various web 2.0 technologies not covered here? How might our professional dialogues be affected by what we absorb these two weeks? Last, but just as important, how will Institutional goals and objectives develop as a result of what we have learned?
As one of my esteemed colleagues often says, “Let me know what you think.”
Barbara Glenn
As one of my esteemed colleagues often says, “Let me know what you think.”
Barbara Glenn
Friday, April 22, 2011
What is a five-letter word that means "open content"?
If you go into downtown Richmond this weekend, you will see lots of pink and green!
“Free” is the word that comes to mind, especially after viewing Tasha Brown’s presentation on Open Content Resources. There are a variety of resources – course content, interactive learning modules, application software, etc. – available to us. Tasha has pointed us to many resources, some that I have heard of and have used such as MERLOT and MIT Open Courseware. Other resources I had not heard of or have not yet tried, such as Quandary and Hot Potatoes. Tasha (and Janice in her presentation on Going Global) encourages us to just get in there and try these resources. Great idea, but where can we find the time?
About two years ago, Joyce Barnes and I did a presentation, Working Smarter and Not Harder, on time management for instructors. We talked about ways to use the tools to keep from being overwhelmed by the demand for interaction. In just the two years since that presentation, the number of new resources that have become available is amazing. I think Tasha has given some good advice - just pick a few and try them. Later in the conference, Joyce will be sharing more suggestions for resources to tap in “Why Create It? It Might Be Out There”.
Next week you will have the benefit of a different perspective and a different voice in the conference blog. Be sure to check daily for comments by Barbara Glenn, Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences at JSRCC.
“Free” is the word that comes to mind, especially after viewing Tasha Brown’s presentation on Open Content Resources. There are a variety of resources – course content, interactive learning modules, application software, etc. – available to us. Tasha has pointed us to many resources, some that I have heard of and have used such as MERLOT and MIT Open Courseware. Other resources I had not heard of or have not yet tried, such as Quandary and Hot Potatoes. Tasha (and Janice in her presentation on Going Global) encourages us to just get in there and try these resources. Great idea, but where can we find the time?
About two years ago, Joyce Barnes and I did a presentation, Working Smarter and Not Harder, on time management for instructors. We talked about ways to use the tools to keep from being overwhelmed by the demand for interaction. In just the two years since that presentation, the number of new resources that have become available is amazing. I think Tasha has given some good advice - just pick a few and try them. Later in the conference, Joyce will be sharing more suggestions for resources to tap in “Why Create It? It Might Be Out There”.
Next week you will have the benefit of a different perspective and a different voice in the conference blog. Be sure to check daily for comments by Barbara Glenn, Dean of Humanities & Social Sciences at JSRCC.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Seeing is Engaging
If you haven’t already, see Ken Fairbank’s presentation and then join the discussion on Face 2 Face with Facebook: Connect With Your Students Where They Live! Ken has inserted a short video to encourage us to join with him in discussion. What a great way to grab your students’ (and your) attention and draw them (and you) into a discussion. In her presentation on using blogs in her composition class, Bev has a video that gives students screen by screen and mouse click by mouse click directions on setting up the blog as a homepage. Both of these are useful examples of how “seeing” can encourage students to engage.
Highlights of the keynote presentation by Dr. Hilyard: Acknowledging that the dropout rate in community college is too high, in her keynote comments, Dr. Hilyard suggested that we should take advantage of the advances in instructional technology to focus on “mastery learning by responding to a student’s knowledge base and taking them to the next step.” The technology supports things like scenario applications, use of adaptive software, sequential modules capped with quizzes, and other instructional strategies to help students “be involved in challenging learning environments where they can progress at their pace, continually learning new information and applying it”. Considering the desire of the millennial student for lots of engagement and the adult learner for practical, shorter, and focused study, Dr. Hilyard suggested that we are challenged to “create stimulating learning environments where one’s thirst for information and learning (curiosity) remains constant and the level of excitement for learning remains high … The challenge for us as teacher/creators of online courses is to build into our courses the stimuli that enable our students to be excited about their learning.”
Coming soon to the Virtual Conference: You will be able to view a short interview with Dr. Hilyard in which she shares more about her views on the future of distance education and teaching with technology.
Marian
Highlights of the keynote presentation by Dr. Hilyard: Acknowledging that the dropout rate in community college is too high, in her keynote comments, Dr. Hilyard suggested that we should take advantage of the advances in instructional technology to focus on “mastery learning by responding to a student’s knowledge base and taking them to the next step.” The technology supports things like scenario applications, use of adaptive software, sequential modules capped with quizzes, and other instructional strategies to help students “be involved in challenging learning environments where they can progress at their pace, continually learning new information and applying it”. Considering the desire of the millennial student for lots of engagement and the adult learner for practical, shorter, and focused study, Dr. Hilyard suggested that we are challenged to “create stimulating learning environments where one’s thirst for information and learning (curiosity) remains constant and the level of excitement for learning remains high … The challenge for us as teacher/creators of online courses is to build into our courses the stimuli that enable our students to be excited about their learning.”
Coming soon to the Virtual Conference: You will be able to view a short interview with Dr. Hilyard in which she shares more about her views on the future of distance education and teaching with technology.
Marian
Monday, April 18, 2011
Technology...Great When It Works
And I thought that I wouldn’t have anything exciting to blog about for the second day of the Virtual Conference. Well, I had problems viewing all of the keynote presentation. It turns out that there are some technical problems with the file. (That is why I always have a Plan B.)
It is 10:53 p.m. and I can’t just go to Patrick in the next office and ask for help. This experience is a great reminder of what students must feel like at 10:30 at night when they can not access files or view videos and there is no one to call.
However, I am looking forward to viewing the keynote. Dr. Hilyard has a very “laid-back” conversational style. Her presentation is basic, not lots of bells and whistles, but she talks in a practical way about how technology has changed the higher education landscape and has reduced the socio-economic barriers to higher education. She also talks about how, with the technology available, we can address the learning needs of both the millennial students and the adult learner.
Today, check out Cloud Computing in the Concurrent Sessions. While a presentation on "going to the cloud", this presentation is also a demonstration of Panopto, a lecture capturing system. Some instructors at Virginia Western and at Rappahannock ( maybe other colleges) are using this system to record what actually happens in the classroom lecture and offer it to their students for further review or if they missed the class. As you will see in this presentation, the lecture capture system does capture all of the instructor’s comments and whatever is projected. While this is a lengthy presentation, you can actually skip to any section that interests you and can replay any section.
Enjoy the day!
Marian
It is 10:53 p.m. and I can’t just go to Patrick in the next office and ask for help. This experience is a great reminder of what students must feel like at 10:30 at night when they can not access files or view videos and there is no one to call.
However, I am looking forward to viewing the keynote. Dr. Hilyard has a very “laid-back” conversational style. Her presentation is basic, not lots of bells and whistles, but she talks in a practical way about how technology has changed the higher education landscape and has reduced the socio-economic barriers to higher education. She also talks about how, with the technology available, we can address the learning needs of both the millennial students and the adult learner.
Today, check out Cloud Computing in the Concurrent Sessions. While a presentation on "going to the cloud", this presentation is also a demonstration of Panopto, a lecture capturing system. Some instructors at Virginia Western and at Rappahannock ( maybe other colleges) are using this system to record what actually happens in the classroom lecture and offer it to their students for further review or if they missed the class. As you will see in this presentation, the lecture capture system does capture all of the instructor’s comments and whatever is projected. While this is a lengthy presentation, you can actually skip to any section that interests you and can replay any section.
Enjoy the day!
Marian
Virtual Conference 2011 - Day One
Welcome to Day One of the 2011 Virtual Conference!
Today’s special focus is the keynote by Dr. Janice. Hilyard.
This year we have presenters from Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, and from Wytheville and Virginia Western Community Colleges. Also, a number of our JSRCC colleagues are presenting.
Take advantage of the ability to drop in on the conference at any time and be engaged for a short time (see Short Takes that begin Day Two) or for more extended presentations.
We hope that you will get into the conference spirit and introduce yourself to others in the conference, exchange “virtual” business cards, and enjoy the networking experience.
Enjoy!
Marian
Today’s special focus is the keynote by Dr. Janice. Hilyard.
This year we have presenters from Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, and from Wytheville and Virginia Western Community Colleges. Also, a number of our JSRCC colleagues are presenting.
Take advantage of the ability to drop in on the conference at any time and be engaged for a short time (see Short Takes that begin Day Two) or for more extended presentations.
We hope that you will get into the conference spirit and introduce yourself to others in the conference, exchange “virtual” business cards, and enjoy the networking experience.
Enjoy!
Marian
Friday, April 15, 2011
It's almost time!
I have to second Marian's declaration of this as "conference season." We're wrapping up New Horizons and ready to turn on the Virtual Conference. I hope you all will join us! If you have not yet registered, go to the conference page through the link on the left and click on the Register link.
This is my first New Horizons and it has been an amazing, rewarding experience! I've enjoyed the networking and informative sessions. The advantage is that we are "on the same page" in regard to systems, policy, and other requirements. That means that the focus can be on methods and tools that will actually work in our environment...unlike those national conferences where you get so many ideas that will not work with your situation. We're hoping that the Virtual Conference has the same benefit and is highly useful to participants.
I want to encourage you to visit the vendor sites through the Virtual Exhibit Hall. These vendors have provided some great prizes for which you will be eligible based on your selection at registration. We also need your feedback so we can continue to improve the Virtual Conference for the future. As participants, you are the ultimate judge!
Generally, we have 2 new presentations launching each day, which will be up for the week. At the end of the conference, the entire two weeks of presentations will be open for your review or first time viewing. We hope you will see them fresh and participate in the discussion on some of the topics
Join us on Monday!
Patrick Whitaker
This is my first New Horizons and it has been an amazing, rewarding experience! I've enjoyed the networking and informative sessions. The advantage is that we are "on the same page" in regard to systems, policy, and other requirements. That means that the focus can be on methods and tools that will actually work in our environment...unlike those national conferences where you get so many ideas that will not work with your situation. We're hoping that the Virtual Conference has the same benefit and is highly useful to participants.
I want to encourage you to visit the vendor sites through the Virtual Exhibit Hall. These vendors have provided some great prizes for which you will be eligible based on your selection at registration. We also need your feedback so we can continue to improve the Virtual Conference for the future. As participants, you are the ultimate judge!
Generally, we have 2 new presentations launching each day, which will be up for the week. At the end of the conference, the entire two weeks of presentations will be open for your review or first time viewing. We hope you will see them fresh and participate in the discussion on some of the topics
Join us on Monday!
Patrick Whitaker
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Virtual Conference 2011 begins in one week!
The Virtual Conference 2011 begins in one week!
I feel like we are in “conference season”. Last Friday I was in Charlottesville during the last day of the Region 2 NACADA conference. Even though I was not attending the conference, I still got some of the conference “fever”, the urge to pick up freebies from the vendors, to meet and chat with total strangers, to exchange business cards, and of course to play the “do you know”/”have you been to” game.
In fact I had the chance to have lunch at the Tavern (a Charlottesville experience where town, tourist and students meet) with several members of the planning committee. So… what does this have to do with the Virtual Conference???
At lunch I met the two bloggers (Allen and Calley Taylor) who designed and posted the technology blog for the Region 2 NACADA blog. These two techies write about some Web 2.0 technologies in plain English . They generously welcome all of us to check out their blog - http://nacadaregion2.blogspot.com/search/label/Tuesday%20Tech%20Talk.
For those, like me, who don’t tweet or own a smart phone, I especially recommend reading the Tuesday, February 15, 2011 blog post, Twitter (or, I can do it, so can you). Also, check out the Tuesday, February 8, 2011 blog post on RSS feeds (its about keeping up with what is new on your favorite websites and online journals and not about which restaurants have buffets).
This week it is on to New Horizons. Check out the Live Blog feature at http://nhlive.email.vccs.edu/.
Also, you can follow New Horizon conference tweets at #nh11.
M.Macbeth
I feel like we are in “conference season”. Last Friday I was in Charlottesville during the last day of the Region 2 NACADA conference. Even though I was not attending the conference, I still got some of the conference “fever”, the urge to pick up freebies from the vendors, to meet and chat with total strangers, to exchange business cards, and of course to play the “do you know”/”have you been to” game.
In fact I had the chance to have lunch at the Tavern (a Charlottesville experience where town, tourist and students meet) with several members of the planning committee. So… what does this have to do with the Virtual Conference???
At lunch I met the two bloggers (Allen and Calley Taylor) who designed and posted the technology blog for the Region 2 NACADA blog. These two techies write about some Web 2.0 technologies in plain English . They generously welcome all of us to check out their blog - http://nacadaregion2.blogspot.com/search/label/Tuesday%20Tech%20Talk.
For those, like me, who don’t tweet or own a smart phone, I especially recommend reading the Tuesday, February 15, 2011 blog post, Twitter (or, I can do it, so can you). Also, check out the Tuesday, February 8, 2011 blog post on RSS feeds (its about keeping up with what is new on your favorite websites and online journals and not about which restaurants have buffets).
This week it is on to New Horizons. Check out the Live Blog feature at http://nhlive.email.vccs.edu/.
Also, you can follow New Horizon conference tweets at #nh11.
M.Macbeth
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Welcome to the Virtual Conference 2011
Although the Virtual Conference does not officially begin until April 18th, let’s start the conversation.
Take a look at my posting from April 2010: To Be or Not To Be: Virtual or Real? Can you add to the lists? While there will be a few real-time sessions in the 2011 conference, even these will be recorded so that you can re-visit them and have more time for reflection.
From now until the end of the conference, we hope that you will frequently check this conference blog for (hopefully) interesting commentary and conference news. Please join the conversation by posting responses.
Enjoy the conference!
M.M.
Take a look at my posting from April 2010: To Be or Not To Be: Virtual or Real? Can you add to the lists? While there will be a few real-time sessions in the 2011 conference, even these will be recorded so that you can re-visit them and have more time for reflection.
From now until the end of the conference, we hope that you will frequently check this conference blog for (hopefully) interesting commentary and conference news. Please join the conversation by posting responses.
Enjoy the conference!
M.M.
Friday, April 2, 2010
To Be or Not To Be: Virtual or Real?
During the past two weeks, I have participated in two conferences – one virtual and one in person (real). Today, I have been reflecting on the merits of each and trying to decide which I prefer (which is “better”?).
Merits of a face-to-face conference:
1. I like people and people-watching. It is interesting to watch the interactions, the facial expressions, the body language of the presenters and attendees in a conference session. I enjoy sitting in the hotel lobby or the conference break area and watching the variety of people who walk by.
2. I like the immediacy of the interaction. You ask a question and you get an immediate answer. You introduce yourself to the person sitting next to you and immediately a conversation begins.
3. I like picking up the freebies from the vendors and talking with them about their products.
4. I like the sense of community and connection that comes with wearing the conference badge or carrying the conference bag. Strangers on the elevator or even on the street quickly become colleagues because of the immediate recognition of the conference connection.
5. I like being away from my office or away from home so that my attention is not pulled to the regular work/home activities. In the conference session, my email notification does not pop up, my phone does not ring (I’ve turned it off), no one comes to my office to take my attention away from the session.
6. I like nice hotels, great restaurants, and shopping away from home. A great conference site offers the opportunity for all of these.
Merits of the Virtual Conference:
1. I like the fact that I don’t have to miss a session that I really want to attend because it conflicts with another session or with my own presentation. Most virtual conferences have many, many asynchronous sessions and/or they record for later play-back any synchronous sessions. Also, presenters are very willing to leave extra handouts in an open area so that anyone interested may take them. (My complaint about the Innovations Conference: Innovations is using something called iStream to which you must pay a fee to subscribe in order to see the recorded conference sessions. The registration fee for this conference should include access to the achieved conference sessions and presentations.)
2. I like the fact that I have time to reflect before and again after “speaking”. Sometimes my best thoughts come sometime after the session is over. With the Virtual Conference, I can go back into the discussion and post any additional thoughts and reply to others who also might have posted again later.
3. I like the fact that I often get to know a little more about the real person through reading the personal blog or webpage. Surprising to me but much appreciated is the fact that folks tend to share a little more of themselves in the virtual world. (See Skip’s dog and Joyce’s pink house in their conference blogs.)
4. I like the fact that I don’t have to get up early to make that 8:00 a.m. session. Because of the asynchronous presentations/participation, I can drop in and out of the conference at my convenience.
5. I like the fact that I can replay/re-read sessions or parts of sessions. Sometimes tied to the "time to the reflect" merit but other times just because I want to hear it again, I can go back to a session that I really enjoyed or from which I want to get clarification or information.
6. I like the fact that I only have to go as far as my desktop or laptop to be in session. While I like to travel, there are real advantages to no packing (clothes get bigger when you pack to come home), no concern about plane connections or train schedules, no concern about what to wear to the conference banquet (is it really a “banquet” or just dinner with a speaker?), no need to get the receipts for reimbursement or to be concerned about how much of the per diem allowance is left for dinner.
As I think about what I like about the face-to-face conference, I ask myself which of these things can in some way be achieved in a virtual environment for conference or for instruction. There are a number of tools and design strategies that can be added to virtual settings to increase the engagement that I like. As we explore the use of more of the Web 2.0 tools and we look at the judicious use of synchronous connections, I think that we can get closer to feeling “real” in the virtual world.
I have enjoyed sharing my reflections with you this week. Hope to see you around (virtually or in person).
Merits of a face-to-face conference:
1. I like people and people-watching. It is interesting to watch the interactions, the facial expressions, the body language of the presenters and attendees in a conference session. I enjoy sitting in the hotel lobby or the conference break area and watching the variety of people who walk by.
2. I like the immediacy of the interaction. You ask a question and you get an immediate answer. You introduce yourself to the person sitting next to you and immediately a conversation begins.
3. I like picking up the freebies from the vendors and talking with them about their products.
4. I like the sense of community and connection that comes with wearing the conference badge or carrying the conference bag. Strangers on the elevator or even on the street quickly become colleagues because of the immediate recognition of the conference connection.
5. I like being away from my office or away from home so that my attention is not pulled to the regular work/home activities. In the conference session, my email notification does not pop up, my phone does not ring (I’ve turned it off), no one comes to my office to take my attention away from the session.
6. I like nice hotels, great restaurants, and shopping away from home. A great conference site offers the opportunity for all of these.
Merits of the Virtual Conference:
1. I like the fact that I don’t have to miss a session that I really want to attend because it conflicts with another session or with my own presentation. Most virtual conferences have many, many asynchronous sessions and/or they record for later play-back any synchronous sessions. Also, presenters are very willing to leave extra handouts in an open area so that anyone interested may take them. (My complaint about the Innovations Conference: Innovations is using something called iStream to which you must pay a fee to subscribe in order to see the recorded conference sessions. The registration fee for this conference should include access to the achieved conference sessions and presentations.)
2. I like the fact that I have time to reflect before and again after “speaking”. Sometimes my best thoughts come sometime after the session is over. With the Virtual Conference, I can go back into the discussion and post any additional thoughts and reply to others who also might have posted again later.
3. I like the fact that I often get to know a little more about the real person through reading the personal blog or webpage. Surprising to me but much appreciated is the fact that folks tend to share a little more of themselves in the virtual world. (See Skip’s dog and Joyce’s pink house in their conference blogs.)
4. I like the fact that I don’t have to get up early to make that 8:00 a.m. session. Because of the asynchronous presentations/participation, I can drop in and out of the conference at my convenience.
5. I like the fact that I can replay/re-read sessions or parts of sessions. Sometimes tied to the "time to the reflect" merit but other times just because I want to hear it again, I can go back to a session that I really enjoyed or from which I want to get clarification or information.
6. I like the fact that I only have to go as far as my desktop or laptop to be in session. While I like to travel, there are real advantages to no packing (clothes get bigger when you pack to come home), no concern about plane connections or train schedules, no concern about what to wear to the conference banquet (is it really a “banquet” or just dinner with a speaker?), no need to get the receipts for reimbursement or to be concerned about how much of the per diem allowance is left for dinner.
As I think about what I like about the face-to-face conference, I ask myself which of these things can in some way be achieved in a virtual environment for conference or for instruction. There are a number of tools and design strategies that can be added to virtual settings to increase the engagement that I like. As we explore the use of more of the Web 2.0 tools and we look at the judicious use of synchronous connections, I think that we can get closer to feeling “real” in the virtual world.
I have enjoyed sharing my reflections with you this week. Hope to see you around (virtually or in person).
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
On the train ride home, I debated about sharing my observations about train travel in the mid-Atlantic corridor or genuine Maryland crab cakes. Well…Riding in the hotel elevators during the conference, I participated in and/or overheard numerous conversations about the best places to find the best crab cakes. Obviously, I am not the only one who realized that you can only experience the gold standard crab cake in Maryland. I even talked with a lady from North Carolina (or Michigan or some other distance place) who had the foresight to bring a cooler so that she could take some of those gems home with her. I actually fought the urge to stop at Lexington Market on my way to the train station to bring a supply back to share with my friends and co-workers, but Baltimore is still just a very comfortable day-trip on the train.
Last Innovations Conference highlights:
“The essential difference between a successful and not successful online class is the faculty member.”
“Student outcomes are strongly affected by the quality of the faculty.”
“A bad[ly designed] online course with a great instructor is better than a great course with a bad instructor.”
These are statements made by Susan G. James and David A. Binder, the co-presenters of one of the Innovations Conference forum sessions on Tuesday. These presenters, experienced online instructors and researchers from Walden University, talked about the importance of faculty development for online faculty and about the need to use principles of adult learning theories to design and deliver effective training to faculty. James and Binder strongly believe that faculty need training in pedagogy (andragogy), not just how to use the technology. This resonated with me because that same concern was included in comments from the SACS’ QEP evaluation team.
Faculty development is essential, so essential that this topic is a part of the last Virtual Conference 2010 Around the Water Cooler conversation that begins on Thursday. Please participate in the short poll and then join the conversation and share your views on whether we need faculty prerequisites for online courses. (A second thread is whether there should be gate-keeping prerequisites for students.)
Also on Thursday, watch C.J. Bracken’s presentation on Teaching with Web 2.0 Tools and then join him to discuss ways to use these tools to improve student success.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
If It Is Tuesday, This Must Be Baltimore
A highlight of the day at the Innovations Conference was the opportunity to participate in a roundtable discussion led by Paloff and Pratt, authors of a number of books about online instruction. The discussion was really a discussion, not a presentation, and the people at the table asked really practical questions and shared real world experiences. The discussion focus was generally about alternative and authentic assessments in online courses. This discussion naturally moved to questions about how to handle cheating if testing is not proctored.
The experts suggested that we should not rely solely on tests and quizzes to assess student learning. These, particularly if multiple choice and true/false questions, are not necessarily a testing of learning but a test of memory. Assessments that require application, demonstrations, critiques, reflections, and other higher order thinking give better feedback about true student learning. With candor, all folks at the table acknowledged that building and grading these kinds of assessments require greater commitment of effort and time.
Pratt and Paloff recommend using rubrics. This helps students know what the instructor wants and makes grading easier and faster. They both often use a technique where they have the students to complete the rubric, explaining why they rate themselves as they do. This then is the basis for formative dialog between the instructor and student, especially where they do not agreed with the student’s assessment. For more information about using rubrics, join Evaluation Rubrics: Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning in the Virtual Conference 2010 and see Ghazala Hashmi’s explanation of rubrics and how they can be useful.
Another interesting point with which we all agreed at the table: No matter how you design the test (using timed test, lock down browser, randomized questions), consider any testing done at home to be an open book test. (I met the regional sales rep for Respondus and she was delighted to meet someone from the Virginia Community College System, a premiere Respondus client.)
We are now in the second week of the Virtual Conference 2010. While sharing information about many issues related to teaching and learning with technology, the Virtual Conference offers an introduction to Blackboard 9 from the student perspective. I hope that you are trying out some of the new features.
Have a great day!
Monday, March 29, 2010
For part of this week, I will be attending the League for Innovations Conference 2010 in Baltimore. So some of my blogging early in the week will be about the Innovations Conference and my experiences in Baltimore.
When I arrived in Baltimore on Saturday, my first stop after checking in and picking up conference material was Lexington Market – an invigorating five block walk for those with good knees. My mission – to get a genuine Maryland crab cake. Mission was quickly accomplished with crab cakes from a vendor who for year years has achieved the distinction of having the best crab cakes in Baltimore. Wow!
The sessions that I attended on Sunday were inspiring, informative, and affirming.
I started the day by attending this session: Professors Are From Mars, Students Are From Snickers: Humor and Multimedia as Teaching Tools by Ronald Berk, Professor of Biostatistics and Measurements, John Hopkins University.
This session’s focus was how to teach the students we have today. The lecture style through which most of us received instruction is not effective, actually is not well received by many of today’s college students. To be more effective we should match teaching strategies to student characteristics. Students have high interest in media (music, videos, movies, YouTube), they are image oriented, like teamwork, prefer kinesthetic/experiential learning, have multiple intelligences. Teaching strategies for this population of students could include incorporating media to introduce topics and in content presentations; using videos, TV, movies, and class demonstrations; planning cooperative learning activities, games, and improvisations; developing hands-on exercises; and tapping 4 -6 intelligences in class activities/presentations.
Ronald Berk’s descriptions and prescriptions matched many of those we discussed with Amanada Hartman in the synchronous Adobe Connect session on teaching Millenials. The presenter shared many examples of ways to use contemporary humor and media to get students’ attention and to get them engaged with the subject. This session, punctuated by frequent chuckles and some outright laughter, was a great way to start the conference day.
Three of the great benefits I get from attending conferences are the opportunities to learn new things, the chance to see how others are handling problems/goals similar to those we have at JSRCC, and the affirming experience of hearing that other colleges are using similar strategies to address some of the goals (and to find out that we are sometimes ahead of the pack and are doing it better). While attending sessions on the values of course redesign, developing online courses for use across the college, and engaging adjunct faculty, I found that JSRCC is on track and sometimes leading in the way as we are actively addressing these issues. I was particularly pleased at the way we are moving to actualize the vision of a dynamic, easily accessible resource for adjunct faculty. This was a theme in at least two conference sessions and one of the smaller campuses of St. Louis Community College presented their Virtual Center for Teaching and Learning - designed specifically for their adjunct faculty- that was developed using a model much like what we are moving to implement at JSRCC this fall.
Now to the Virtual Conference 2010.
a. If you feel tied to the standard objective assessments as the most efficient way to evaluate students’ work, join Evaluation Rubrics and learn more about how using rubrics can help you offer richer learning activities to your students without overloading you with grading papers.
b. Join the conversation Around the Water Cooler : Double Digit Growth in Enrollment in Online Classes and the “Creep to the Outer Limits on Class Size”.
c. At 2:00 p.m. or at 3:30 p.m. join a synchronous presentation featuring MyReadingLab and MyPsychLab technology. Even though your teaching area may not be Reading or Psychology, we encourage you to join one of these sessions to see what publishers are now offering. There is a critical question that textbook selection committees need to consider: Are the supplemental materials and interactive delivery actually worth the additional cost to the students?
Also join Eric to talk about Publishers’ Websites – Do they make students think or block thinking?
Back to Baltimore: The recommendation for the day is Mo’s Crab and Pasta Factory.
Enjoy the day!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Play it Again, Hoagy!
Sleuthing this Rubric Gig: What's Up Ghazala?
Rubrics are an important tool to align the course objectives to each of the course units an instructor designs; then to align these with the expected activities of each unit, and with the tools and materials provided, and to the expected learning outcomes of each unit. Alignment is the key concept here. Take this all in, please, by visiting Dr. Ghazala Hashmi's (the QEP maven's) presentation today.
What's doin' Friday, March 26?
What's up with these millennials?
Just returned from Amanda's presentation on millennials-- at 27, she's one herself. This group is typically made up of young-uns born from 1980/1982 to 1996/2000, generally just entering the workforce through middle schoolers.
Hmm. 'typically' veers toward missing what's untypical and unique? However, according to the studies, millennials want to be typical: have been described as deeply nurtured by parents (even if the couple is divorced); they are upper middle class: they live by the social norms, expect rules and are comfortable within the boundaries.
Added to the mix, they are not readers of hard copy but get information from the Internet: Facebook, popular search engines. They live in a culture of re-mixing (e.g., the musical pastiche of layered snippets from other works)--so that the ideas of ‘plagiarism’ as we academics understand it is not close to their experience.
Being digital natives, they expect instantaneous responses; they have been described as being in a state of ”continuous partial attention" and are frustrated quickly to get information in the time they want and in the way they want. Millennials like certain forms of 'teamwork': interesting that social networking is interpreted as 'team work' (makes sense).
(Not to paint these millennials as spoiled brats: they hold down responsible part-time jobs, are invited to prestigious internships, study abroad: they have opportunities--not goldenly offered--but worked for in hard earnestness.)
Have I sleuthed out the basics here? So what's this got to do with us instructors? Something I'd call negotiation: in our learning centered classrooms (bricks & mortar or online), we might encourage millennials out of their comfort zones but also for ourselves to emerge to a degree from our comfort zones--meet each other half way.
Some targeted pedagogical techniques might be to incorporate more group work--but turned over to the group to manage -- within boundaries that also offer freedom. Teach in modules that depend on frequent feedback and big doses of encouragement (they expect that, having received the same from doting and sometimes from contending parents competitive for their child's affection). Incorporate Web 2.0 connections (Luckily we have Blackboard 9!).
Thank you, Amanda! Adobe Connect is cool!
More Sleuthing for Blackboard 9
Just uncovered these BB plots . . .
1) Ya know that pesky problem of breaking editing links in BB8 because a developer might copy/paste Modify/Delete editing tools along with other text into a new BB space? This glitch prevented the developer to edit in that location--such as deleting modules. In BB9, the editing codes are not visible. Click an arrow close to the title of the module: a pop-up menu offers the choice to Edit (called 'Modify' in BB8) or Delete.
2) Other BB9 tools are menu driven with a click to an arrow next to a module title.
3) Ya know about that mysterious Export glitch in BB8 when Discussion Boards would not copy over? Same's true in BB9: but . . . there may be a motive. In BB9, for each instructional module the developer creates, there is a" build" link to choose from a menu of designated activities connected with that instructional module. For example, one of these menu choices is a Discussion Board. This means that the student-user remains in one location and will understand how each activity is connected by virtue of the layout.
4) Here's the catch: when BB8 spaces are converted to BB9, the instructor-developer will have to copy/paste or re-develop a Discussion Board for each instructional module--and other activities as well. (Oh, little worried owl-face and sorry little cat-eyes see their summer dwindling away).
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
A Big Conference Day: Thursday, March 25
Yes, folks, come early. The crowd is queing up for . . .
See the left-hand Conference Menu for Tutorials: Click on Denise Woetzel's Off-Campus Connections to Library Resources Workshop.
Then you might swing on over to the Presentations menu link to find a connected discussion: An Information Literacy Module (Blackboard) for Distance English 111.
Later in the day, from 3:00 to 4:00 tune into Amanda's synchronous discussion on Teaching Millennials: Understanding and Reaching the Next Generation. Point your browser to http://reynolds.acrobat.com/hartman/
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Amanda's E-Get-Together on Teaching the Millennials: Scheduled for Thursday, March 25
We're sleuthin' out these so-called "millennials." We're surfin' on down to Amanda Hartman's e-discussion Thursday, March 25 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Adobe Connect. Just point your browser to http://reynolds.acrobat.com/hartman/
More BB9 Sleuthing
I've been clicking through the BB9 Conference Platform intermittently: I think I SEE a pattern, an organization of units. Check me out on this: if the course developer creates an instructional module or learning unit--say instruction on writing summaries, in BB8, what has been a folder containing several items with links to other BB compartments such as the Discussion Board or Group Pages is now organized in ONE self-contained module. Or rather, through a developer's menu choices, the instructor clicks to create connected units BELOW the main instructional module.
Continuing with the example of an instructional unit on Summary: First there is the main instructional unit. But then the developer can create--just below this unit--a File Exchange space for students to upload their summary samples. Beneath this she can create a Discussion Board where students can review and give feedback on the summaries submitted. This is the ideal model fostered by BB9 allowing the student to remain in ONE LOCATION to accomplish the SEVERAL TASKS & ACTIVITIES related to the target assignment.
However, when I exported the organization of an English 111 course from BB8 to BB9, the former BB8 was preserved--but it did not take advantage of the organizational opportunities the newer model affords.
I can see that to re-organize the material from BB8 to BB9 is a long and arduous task in a 16 Week Platform that contains 16 learning modules connected to Discussion Boards and Group Pages. How to manage this workload? A developer could for the present remain satisfied with the less-than-desired old organization transferred to the new--but incrementally would re-develop one course at a time in development space--even as the BB9 courses are actively being instructed.
Any thoughts? You see this ole' owl face is worrying, worrying, worrying. . . .
Monday, March 22, 2010
Yup: That Ole' Rascal's at it Again!
We'll get off to an energetic start with the ole' rascal, Eric Hibbison, who is orchestrating a provocative theme that hints of resistance to the publisher-centered mode of instructional delivery.
Don't miss this collaborative (so Web 2.0) discussion. Your trusty, 24/7, hard-boiled, super sleuth will be listening in.
Dr. Joy Hatch, Keynote Speaker: Blackboard 9 is all about Interactive Learning
Blackboard 9 is all about Interactive Learning says Dr. Joy Hatch, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, Virginia Community College System. Our Keynote Speaker gets right to the heart of our misgivings with this news. "Change!" is the way we will do the business of education--that change finds its source in technology--Web 2.0 Interactive open access technology.
Dr. Hatch invites us to think of education as 'developmental,' tied to life-long learning. The center for this confluence of change, life-long learning, and technology is the Community College. We are situated in the right place and the right time to educate our teens and returning worker students in ways that will foster their economic and civic vitality--lifelong. Blackboard 9 is a key player for these goals of collaboration, connectedness, and interactivity.
Here's the action plan: we want to achieve a balance between technology & instruction: introduce a variety of methods for teaching & learning: podcasts of lectures & online access to slides/videos to reinforce the content and activities of the face-to-face instructional environment.
Our students are good at social networking: we have the responsibility to our students to do well what they do well: for example, Dr. Hatch tells us that students form online study groups w/o the knowledge of their instructors.
Hurry, let's catch up!
Sleuthin' Around Blackboard 9: How's it Goin'?
Good plan to populate the Reynolds Virtual Conference in Blackboard 9--from the students' view. The look is professional and visually coherent, don't you agree? About two weeks ago, to experiment how one of my BB 8 spaces would look all dressed up as 9, I requested development space on the Explore server (where we are now) so that I could export a Blackboard 8 course. My BB8 was too dressed up for this svelte BB9: m'thinks my frills will be pared down to a minimalist style: no graffiti artists’ pics, no HipHop images from back in the day. Will I be comfortable in this glossy brand? Some might kvetch "too top down," but--hmmm-- I might be willin' to give up last decade's style for the up 'n comin' ?
Will BB9's new wardrobe keep us clothed with the invention, imagination, and spontaneity that generate those unexpected teachable moments-- those moments of student-centered learning?
My musings lead me to thoughts of Tuesday's (March 23) presentations: Eric Hibbison, I notice, is providing a provocative conference theme that hints of some resistance to the publisher-centered mode of instructional delivery.
Your trusty, 24/7, hard-boiled, super sleuth will be listening in on Eric's interactive discussion. Please join him.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Awake the Dead--and Make them Sing!
Joyce introduced me to a useful source at http://techntuit.pbworks.com/Avatars-In-Education. I played around with CrazyTalk, styling an icon from a menu of choices. I added my voice using my microphone/headset. Then I saved the file, which downloaded to RealPlayer (not my first choice). However, just my voice over was saved. How then to capture the image and voice? And more importantly, how do I upload a completed avatar to, say, this posting?
Any gurus impromptu out there to give me some hints?
This failed experiment and greatly-wished for success to create really captivating avatars—not the crazy-talk kind-- is a request to our Reynolds’ technical gurus to plan a PDO. Hmmm?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Registration Open for the Virtual Conference!
Our free Virtual Conference registration is now open.
The conference will begin March 22nd and run through April 2nd. Remember, you can attend at your leisure and enjoy the tutorials, discussions, debates, and virtual field trips. Don't miss this opportunity to mingle and share with your peers and learn something new. You might win a prize!
We look forward to visiting with you at the Virtual Conference.
~~~The Center for Distance Learning~~~
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Registration will soon be open!
We're making the last revisions to the JSRCC Virtual Conference schedule this week.
Watch your email for an invitation to register for this free, asynchronous conference. We all look forward to visiting with you a while in cyberspace, experiencing Blackboard 9 together, and learning something new.
Center for Distance Learning Staff
Watch your email for an invitation to register for this free, asynchronous conference. We all look forward to visiting with you a while in cyberspace, experiencing Blackboard 9 together, and learning something new.
Center for Distance Learning Staff
Registration for the Virtual Conference will soon be open!
We're making the last revisions to our Virtual Conference schedule this week. Watch your mail for your invitation to register for this free, asynchronous conference. We all look forward to visiting with you a while in cyberspace, experiencing Blackboard 9 together and learning something new.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Virtual Conference Call for Proposals
Help to make this your conference! You can participate in many ways:
• Submit a draft paper or extended abstract for a refereed paper on which you would like colleague feedback and further discussion.
• Propose a tutorial, a step by step guide demonstrating how to use a technology tool or course material.
• Prepare a poster session in which you showcase a special use of technology in teaching or learning, showcase an effective assignment that engaged your students, or other learning activities and instructional strategies that have worked well for your classes.
• Suggest a speaker or topic. The topic need not be new or unique but should be connected to promoting/supporting student success in a technology-enhanced learning environment and be timely, relevant and, perhaps, entertaining.
• Submit a proposal for a workshop. Workshops are hands-on, participatory, interactive sessions where small groups have discussions ranging from highly detailed “how to” sessions to discussions of practical applications of current technologies and even futuristic discussions.
• Organize a Birds of a Feather session –BOF or Roundtable-. These may be discipline specific sessions to discuss the use of technology to improve teaching and learning in the discipline. This is an opportunity for colleagues to discuss the benefits and challenges of using technology to teach the discipline and to improve student success. Also, this is an invitation to those who are responsible for the administration of academic courses and programs to discuss the challenges in areas such as faculty evaluation, class size/workload/efficiency, recruiting, supporting, and supervising adjunct faculty.
• Organize or join a “Talking Circle” – The Talking Circle, a community-building communication strategy that has its roots in Native American culture, is an opportunity for a very small group of participants (3 -5) to engage in focused “listening” and sharing on topics of particular interest to individuals in the group. Anticipated outcomes for this experience are better understanding of the interests and points-of-view of colleagues, possible consensus on actions, or at least clarification of concerns and questions that need to be explored by the larger community and/or administrative leadership.
• Serve as conference recorder for a session. The recorder will post a short summary of the discussion at the end of the session.
• Lead a Sandbox Session. The sandbox is where you get to play with the technology, possibly exploring the use of new “free stuff” .
• Serve as a conference blogger during the first or second week of the conference. This blog will be a place where conference participants can have ongoing exchange about conference activities.
• Set up and moderate a topic or discipline specific blog.
• Join the conference Tweeters.
• Suggest vendors. Let us know contact information for your book publishers’ reps and others who might be interested in promoting their products and services to conference attendees.
• Email any ideas for the virtual conference to mmacbeth@reynolds.edu, or jmbarnes@reynolds.edu.
This conference continues to be successful only because of your active participation. To submit a proposal or to volunteer for other conference activities, submit the Call for Proposals form by February 23, 2010.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
What is the JSRCC Virtual Conference?
A Virtual Conference is a FREE conference where the meetings and sessions are presented virtually asynchronously or synchronously. You can attend sessions of interest at your convenience.
Conference participants will have the opportunity to view the Blackboard 9 course management system from the student perspective as they engage in small roundtable discussions, large group (conference) discussions, participate in synchronous chats, experience some of the latest technology for instruction, and download and view video clips. Participants who complete the conference schedule may request a certificate of completion and certification of 10 hours of professional development credit (PDO credit).Thursday, April 23, 2009
A Gift to All Technology Chalkies
I am signing off-line and into the Summit. Now that I have learned much about using technology these two weeks, I'm leaving you with my puzzle that I think reflects the the many pieces that create the perfect technology chalkie ( I love that Aussie idiom). Click image to enlarge it.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Discussion Board
I was signing into the conference over coffee this morning when a funny thing happened. I hit some key and landed outside of the conference on a Google site. There I saw a hotlink designated by a phrase that I had not heard of ( not that I know everything). Digital Chalkie was the phrase. Ah! I thought, CJ Bracken missed a least one free resource in his Panel presentation last week. I clicked the hotlink and found myself in an Australian, really an Oceania website, dedicated to this thing, Thinking I had found out about a new type of digital coloring stick, I went on. I could see I was on an educational web page, but this digital chalkie was never described, but revealed a synonym, technology chalkie. I became so curious that I could not come back to the Conference until I found out what a digital chalkie is. I launched another search and found my answer. A digital (or technology) chalkie is an online teacher – chalkie being “an affectionately defunct Aussie term for teachers.” So now that I know the term refers to people like those of us “attending” the conference, I realize just how important we teachers are. Australia and the surrounding islands even coined a name for us.
My lesson was not over, however. Did you know that "e-mail is for old people"? That is what one of the web logs, or blogs, linked on the site pointed out (http://www.digitalchalkie.com/). Now here is the point of my madness. “E-mail,” the blogger went on to say, “is for old people,” ( probably, a metaphor for anacronistic) with the innovative ways we are now capable of interacting with students and other professionals. And if I were not cognizant of this before, this free virtual conference is letting me know it by covering a broad spectrum of teaching and learning devices and approaches for facilitating thinking processes that lead students to know how it is that they know.
My eyes caught another connection while I was still wandering (sort of like the students are doing when they get all glassy-eyed or look down on the desks or don’t come into the class discussion board for days). Somehow, I felt compelled to visit the vendors before getting back to the discussion boards. The Blackboard site gave me information on its Building Blocks, its built-in wiki plug-in. The more I use this Blackboard template, the more respect I have for it. But, enough with my tardiness - the discussion boards are waiting.
My lesson was not over, however. Did you know that "e-mail is for old people"? That is what one of the web logs, or blogs, linked on the site pointed out (http://www.digitalchalkie.com/). Now here is the point of my madness. “E-mail,” the blogger went on to say, “is for old people,” ( probably, a metaphor for anacronistic) with the innovative ways we are now capable of interacting with students and other professionals. And if I were not cognizant of this before, this free virtual conference is letting me know it by covering a broad spectrum of teaching and learning devices and approaches for facilitating thinking processes that lead students to know how it is that they know.
My eyes caught another connection while I was still wandering (sort of like the students are doing when they get all glassy-eyed or look down on the desks or don’t come into the class discussion board for days). Somehow, I felt compelled to visit the vendors before getting back to the discussion boards. The Blackboard site gave me information on its Building Blocks, its built-in wiki plug-in. The more I use this Blackboard template, the more respect I have for it. But, enough with my tardiness - the discussion boards are waiting.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Lost in Translation?
With so much from which to choose in the conference today, I am resorting to cyber snooping because I want it all. I have to absorb Camtasia to be able to combine it with the upcoming tutorial on voice-over tomorrow. It’s the applied learning syndrome. The Program Heads and Deans Panel is dragging today, so far. Where “arrrr” you? (That’s the way we’ve learned to get our puppy to come from behind the trees.) I’ve just learned that I probably have not won a prize from one of the vendors because I’ve not sent an e-mail to the vendor. Now that I’ve said that, I guess I will still not win among all the competition. Do you know what? I’m not sure whether I’m blogging or twittering.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
All I Needed to Know About Being Tech Savvy, I Learned in Elementary School
I went to Grandparents’ Day at my grandsons’ school only to have an “Ah Ha” moment. The importance of this conference became ever so clear to me when I made a connection between what the teachers are doing there with these young students and what we need to know to simply keep up with our college students’ technological capabilities. First, I spent time in my fourth grader’s class, where during our one-on-one time together, he introduced me to the online stock market applications he and his classmates use to purchase, sell, and tract their investments. Then he showed me the digital story he had created on Booker T Washington. He had enhanced the text with music, pictures – some with animation. By the time I got to the first grader’s classroom, I was sure there would be the usual game playing and reading time. But, no, he took me to the website where he, too, had composed a chapter in a collaborative class narrative. Using Story Maker, each boy had learned to incorporate pictures and music in his chapter for the rest of the class to critique. I felt momentarily like Rip Van Winkle returning to a different world after a twenty-year sleep. But I quickly came back to the rich professional development in technology we are getting through tutorials, synchronous demonstrations, panel and group discussion in this free online conference. Now that I know how to collaborate in Google or conference in Dimdim, paste notes in an alternative way, and voice-over more effectively– all simple orchestrations, I will be going to IT to set up a more functional organization site in Blackboard. If any of the IT people are surfing through, I promise to only use what IT can support.
Monday, April 20, 2009
A Step Back and a Leap Forward
| DAY SIX, Monday, April 20th Good day, Colleagues. I’m Barbara Glenn, Blogger # 2 now logged in for this second week of the JSRCC Virtual Distance Learning Conference. Looking back ion last week momentarily, I was quite surprised to have met someone, not an "Old R" who knows the "very Richmond-speak ." I met someone who calls herself an old fogy, and even someone not afraid to call himself a digital immigrant in the Twitter Age. Of the 123 conferees last week, half of them are originally from out-of-state. I feel fortunate to be among those whose institutions implemented long-term professional development programs back in the nineties to prepare early adopters for quality online instruction. Remember, last week’s keynote speaker, who moved from computer lab to Director of Distance Learning at Halifax?As we continue discussions from last week, especially the Faculty Research Symposium held last Friday, be sure to take advantage of the full programming for this final conference week (Conference at-a-glance appears below). And if you have not yet signed up for the spring 2009 Technology Summit on Friday, April 24th, hurry! I’ve already selected my concurrent sessions and look forward to the hearing our keynote speaker present again on that day. |
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Please click on image for a better view
Friday, April 17, 2009
Conference Day Five: Play it Again, Harry!
Asynchronous deliveries are sweet: you can keep playin' them again. Why not take a second spin round some of the presentations? ---and it's not too late to sign up for additional round-tables.
http://inside.reynolds.edu/profdev/FacultySymposium.2009/default.htm
Today's a BIG day: JSRCC Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences is hosting a CC-wide Faculty Research Symposium. Place the link above into your browser to check out the conference sessions. Co-coordinator Ashley Bourne did a GREAT job of putting the project together. Come say 'hello' in person (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) in the Gallery, Georgiadis Hall, Parham Road Campus--or virtually.
To participate in the Faculty Research Symposium Q&A session, go to the designated Discussion Board in our Virtual Conference (Remember you will find our Virtual Conference in your Blackboard program: See My Organizations). To find the Q&A Research Symposium Discussion Forum, go to the Confernce in your BB program. See the Conference Menu at the left-hand side of your screen. Click the link Faculty Symposium.
About the Faculty Research Symposium presenters: Not to be missed (RESCHEDULED) for 10:00 a.m. is Richard Goover's presentation on Dragonflies of Hanover County, Virginia (now how cool is this?). Check out Gayle D’Andrea's Dropping Back in: Navigating a Path to a GED and toward a College Degree. Gayle is excited: she has just earned her Ph.D. (University of Virginia): her presentation recaps her dissertation. Better yet, Gayle’s research centers on the Middle-College initiative here at Reynolds (this is way past cool).
TTFN
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