Reflections of Innovative Learning

Technology Life

Opens with the audio of a manual typewriter.

I started out my life adventure in technology in 1975 (grade school) learning how to type on a manual typewriter…. I had to walk with the giant box a mile each way to school and back. The nuns knew what they were about - after all, the typewriter was an innovative tool then and still is; it’s just in a different case….

“Age is a state of mind.” Unknown Author
I thought long and hard about what I learned in my capstone class reflections’ paper, but with this class it was so EASY. This learning environment reminded me of how I really do not fit inside the box of a technological immigrant. Age may be what defines me by the date of the calendar as a technology immigrant, but in my mind I’m a digital native. I say this simply because I embrace technology and am not afraid to use it.

This is evident by the evolution of my moving away from using a comfortable word processor to present my work to finishing with utilizing sound bites, video, and the web. I may not like dealing with the learning curve of using new software or processes, but in the long run, it’s the challenge to accept and begin that change that makes the stereotype of age and use of technology to be a fallacy, at least with me.

Projects, Groups, and Individual
I reflected on the requirements for projects during this class and I feel there is a notable difference from other classes and project assignments. Because of the openness of the instructor to allow the students to pursue a topic that actually interested them as opposed to “required”, I personally believe I have a much better understanding of those topics.

Lucky in this class, I worked with two young ladies that were team players; bright and fun so I had no worries about “unprofessionalism in groups” that I have experienced in the past. They both brought a wealth of knowledge and insight to creating group projects. This afforded me the possibility of learning without conflict or pressure.

Discussion Forums
In previous classes, the discussion forum has been used to help facilitate communication, learning, and involvement for the entire class. I found this tread of conversation to be quite interesting and always a vehicle for my education. It seems everyone involved had great topics and interesting viewpoints, which led me to seek further information. An example is the thread discussion about right brain/left brain learning.

Watching the video and reading articles really led me to look more into the subject. I realize one of the books talked about it, but it wasn’t until I read the discussions that I search for more in-depth research.

Innovations
I was truly impressed with the depth of innovation presented during class. Each group was so different in what they wanted to develop and all were pertinent to today’s current technology trends and for future innovations. I learned a lot from the groups, not only because of their ideas, but also the simplicity of concepts and augmenting an existing idea to take them a step further. I learned I could do that too!

Personally, I might never have initiated making a video with me as the star or to show that clip to a group (self-esteem issues can hold people back). However, this class environment encouraged me and helped me feel comfortable enough to present my video sales pitch to the group. Low self-esteem flew right out the window lol so to speak.

Conclusion
I learned in this class, that it doesn’t matter where you are, what job you are doing, what age you are, or what pressures of life may be effecting you, learning something whether it’s a technology or life lessons, you must always accept the challenge and keep moving on and learn.

Intellectual Property Rights for Educational Purposes

Hi this is a 5 minute presentation about Intellectual Property Rights for Educational Purposes.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks

Kelly's Ink -- In just ONE day!

I am so excited. I wrote a resume for a close friend, who had been struggling with his company. The company had been reducing benefits, hours, and generally making life harder for the employee. So my friend was seeking work. He loves what he does, and I have to tell you, I would hate what he does. lol Lucky for him, I am not competing for the position.

Anyway, I am so happy for him, because he applied online for this position on 12/5/10 and received a call on 12/6/10 for an interview. With the economy and the hundreds of people applying for one position, having a response that quickly is amazing.

Wishing him the best of luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wahoo! I was just accepted in to the program, University of Illinois, Master’s degree in education with an e-learning concentration. The program is a totally dedicated online learning platform. Next week, 12/2010, I will have completed my first two classes and happy to say, I am learning so much.

I am not a teacher by trade or education, but I am a teacher naturally. Often helping people with whatever their needs or wants. I am a go-to person. I believe this program will go along way to help me prepare to develop and teach programs, something which I truly enjoy. Look fabulous on the resume too :-).

Working as a team, on-line, via the internet, e-mail, conference calls, Skype, etc…. has been an experience which relates directly to how the business world is evolving in their communications. I have seen how business travel has cut down significantly due to the recession and alternative ways of communications have emerged in the office. While there will always be a need to meet face to face, we are now getting by on video conferencing, teleconferencing, and emails. Even Oprah is Skyping now.

It has been interesting to me, discovering that the personality traits, drive, emotions, personal needs, management styles etc… still emerge and are prominent in the discussions and the work flow, as if you were face to face. The trick is to make sure you are not lost in the communication haze and are able to accomplish your objective in a professional and ethical way.

Working with people is ultimately the same, whether you are on video or face-to-face. Just harder if the communication is one-sided. Even that happens when working in a team face-to-face. Not everyone pulls their weight or is effective in what their contributions are. You may have to pick up the slack whether you want to or not, so the work is done.

So, as I go forward with this program, I have to keep in mind all those communications nuances that can make or break your success. So my mantra should be: Theresa, be strong, stand up for yourself, learn lots, and most importantly enjoy.

School Bus Educational Video Evaluation

Bus Safety Evacuation and Rules
Bubbly Productions

School Bus Educational SafetyVideo
http://youtu.be/CNbld-7QJ7s

I have chosen a very fun, creative, and informative video by Bubbly Productions which teaches kids school bus evacuation and safety rules. I evaluated the video based on the objective being taught and video’s production aspects.

Organization and Content: I found the information presented is very clear and is easily understood.

• The stars of the video talk about each aspect of safety while actively showing the students the correct process and action.
• The information is effectively taught both verbally and visually.
• The safety rules are also presented in a logical order, in sequence of events which correspond with the actions a student would take when entering, riding, and leaving the bus.
• The video also shows the students actively participating in a Do-Type activity. They are absorbing the information, and demonstrating their knowledge by their actions.
• There are simulations of breaking the rules, teaching the correct action, reinforcement from the teacher of the correct activity, and highlighted text of those rules are visually displayed.
• The teacher also summarized and reinforces the importance of the safety rules.

Video Production: In reviewing the video for its production value, I found they did a very good job in producing the video short.

• The actors are age appropriate for their roles. Very effective in addressing the targeted audience.
• The camera work is good. The frames are clearly focused and steady, which is especially good, considering here is a lot of activity with the actors/extras, and the variety of locations (in and around the bus).
• The scenes are well laid out and are presented in a cohesive and purposeful sequence.
• Timing of the scenes transitions appear to be seamless to the viewer.
• The lighting was excellent for the interior shots of the bus. They choose a bright, sunny day, which also went well with the upbeat theme. It is easy for the viewer to see the activity in the bus.
• The audio is clear, the music is in sync with the activities, and appropriate for the audience.
  

In conclusion, though I am sure I could make more comments about the quality or improvements that could be made to this video. The content and activity is cleverly designed to teach the students about safety in such a fun way; they may not realize just how much they have learned. I think the production was successful in meeting of their objective more than meet my expectations. Great job!