End of Course and Lesson 7 Reflections

Thank you, Ruth, for your kind words. I also had felt the wonderful group dynamics and have been thankful that we have collaborated in strong group efforts. It is the end of the course now and I hope that we are able to continue into a ONLE after this course is over. I have enjoyed the social nature and also the sharing or resources and ideas. You two gals really keep me up to speed.

I was looking forward to the creation of the Wiki instructional unit. I watched a tutorial from the Spring 2010 class, the sharing of knowledge from a previous "learning community." That helped me work through a process that I was not familiar with. I was able to primarily construct the instructional piece mostly to my satisfaction. I wish that the Wetpaint design would have allowed for more refined graphics and not keep reconfiguring text the way that it wanted to and not the way that I had input it. Also, the photos did not always go where I wanted them and once they seemed to get in place they were not easily moved. So, that a bit of a disappointment and something I will want to learn how to clean up. The widgets sounded like they would be easy to add from the tool/edit/option area above but most of them did not have compatible codes and I tried quite a few, settling on a couple that I was able to finally access.

Out of all the courses I have taken, I feel that I have learned the most from this class and that the technology that I learned is what I had felt lacking over the last few years. Some digital/technology projects that I had been looking forward to working on can now be started. I have the skills to do so and also have learned how to explore closing the gaps in my learning. I have made progress in this class due to the patience and guidance of Michelle, Ruth and our instructor, Chih.

Thanks to all of you. My horizons and opportunities have been greatly broadened.

Happy times to all and thanks again!

- Teri

ETC647 Reflection

This semester has been long, with a lot of work, much of it only do-able with the excellent input of my group-mates. Thanks Michelle and Teri :-)
My students are at such low levels in reading and writing, and usually have few if any technological skills, that I didn't think that there would be anything from this course that I could apply. However, experimentation and dialogue with peers in the course has demonstrated that there are ways to integrate Connectivism with my students, and begin acclimatizing them to PLE and ONLE environments. Many of our students are with us 3 or more years, providing an opportunity to scaffold connectivist strategies within the construct of basic instruction. Conceivably, implementing these techniques in their education now, by the time they move on to College level courses they will be comfortable with online technologies, and have developed the kind of self direction online courses require, that taking online courses and pursuing PLE will not be problematic...and they will gain more from online instruction because, even in a traditional LMS, they will be habituated to working with their peers and less likely to feel the isolationism that is so daunting in traditional online courses.
Personally, I generally tend to be an anti-social over-achiever, and prefer working alone, yet I found the group work this semester to be rather satisfying. Considering the work load, it was often a relief to know that one of my group mates was taking a percentage of the work and could be relied upon to complete it--saving me the stress I have frequently experienced in group work in the past. Of course I have worked with Michelle in the past and was glad to work with her again because I already knew how well we work together. Teri was an unknown, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with her, and get to know her, as well. We make a great team!

Thanks again ladies :-)

LESSON 6 REFLECTION - COLLABORATE AND PERSONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

I see future leadership possibilities with the things I have learned in this class. Chih has been a wonderful instructor. I was so overwhelmed in the beginning of the course with the introduction of PLEs, ONLEs, Web 2.0 Tools, UGC, community-community learning, and so much more. It isn't until now as we near the end of the course that all the elements have begun to sink in and I can truly appreciate the dedication that our instructor took when he carefully designed this course. One step builds on another. Our discussion board interactions are now multi-dimensional. The various components that have been incorporated into our learning in this course: instructional strategies, Web 2.o tools, other technologies, widgets, gadgets, whozits, whatzits, a variety of community interactions with peers and even with classmates from other semesters. Wow! Who would have thought! Certainly not me. Here I am, someone quite deficient in technology knowledge at the beginning of this course, so fully immersed, who is now so ever grateful for this new learning. I can see how I can use this immediately and in the future in my learning and in my sharing. Learning how to use these new tools and community connections has broadened my horizons and I can see all kinds of opportunities. Thank you, Chih! Thank you Group 3! Without your help and guidance I would not have had such a heightened and exciting learning opportunity. You are all truly leaders and you all so beautifully lead by example.

In forever gratitude,

Teri

Reflection on Lessons 4 & 5

This last month has been extremely hectic with all the discussions, preparing our Network Training, and writing our Unit plans...busy enough that I am just now finding time for reflection. The critical issues that we addressed for creating, maintaining, and supporting an ONLE in an organization (ranging from stakeholder expectations, budgetary issues, and technological savvy) was very enlightening. Where I had thought the biggest issues to be faced were design issues, I have learned that the Networking architecture, and organization have a large impact on successful Networked Learning Environments.

As we explore more of the social networking tools and strategies for using these tools, I feel rather overwhelmed with the options available....How can any one person wade through all the possible tools?!? This is another area where having a PLE is invaluable....having a network of people who are trying out different tools and making recommendations of how the tools can be used.

Now my biggest challenge is going through all the bloggers and tweeters, who are going through the tools, and deciding which ones have the most to offer me, so that it pays to RSS their blogs or follow their tweets, without being overwhelmed with RSS feeds and Tweets!!

Lesson 5 Reflection

Lesson 5 - Reflection

Well, this was the lesson when we gave our Elluminate presentation on the Web 2.0 tool, Vyew. We worked hard on putting everything together. We held numerous meetings. Michelle had created the flyer, Dvolver teasers, and put the finishing touches on our survey. It was a good thing that I filled it out prior to the presentation, as when I sent it in to Michelle, we realized that the link was not working as planned. Therefore, there was time to fix it. Unfortunately or fortunaltely as things were, Chih was our only participant. (We did get two visits from "emre" who visited us from Turkey. That helped demonstrate the true global connectiveness in our learning experience.)

Chih seemed to enjoy the interactiveness of our presentation and said that he would fill out the survey. Hopefully, others in the class will view the recorded session so that we have more intake for our assessment of our project. Overall, I think it went over well. Ruth had some technical difficulties getting the presentation to load and had to switch browsers. Still, that is the nature of "technical" beasts. One minute they are purring like a little kitty and all is well, and the next they are alarmingly growling and misbehaving. I learned alot with this application, and as usual had a great time working in our Fantastic Group 3! Kuddos to us for a job well done. - Teri

Introducing Vyew Training Presentation

March 31, 2011

7:15 pm - 8:15 pm

 Elluminate

Michelle

Lesson 4 Reflection - global thinking

Well, after a whirlwind of getting together collaboratively, connectively with the group over the last few weeks in numerous meetings, it seems this last week is a little quiet as Ruth enjoys a much needed repose and we all are concentrating on our unit proposals, individual tasks. I find that I miss my group and keep scanning email sites for messages. We work together so well, and I know we are going to have to get together for one big push to get our Elluminate presentation polished. We have a good handle on it with some work in Vyew, narration being put together, and exploration of the Elluminate site. It is good to work ahead, that way bugs can be worked out. Michelle had a good experience with the tech help at NAU and suggested that I give them a call, as I was having difficulty with Java and getting on to some of the sites we were working on. I gave them a call last week and the young gentleman was so very helpful. When we get together again to work on our training lesson, I will have a chance to see if the "bugs" really did get worked out. Michelle stayed on top of things when there was concern about the link to the flyer for the Elluminate presentation not opening. It's all good to go now. Thanks, Michelle!

I think back to how things must have been for Missy Anna (Sir) when she was invited to teach some of the King of Siam's children. Until she became their instructor, the children viewed the world as though Siam was very big and influencial while the rest of the world was so very small. Their world view was so limited. Their new instructor brought them understanding, respect, and a new world view which expanded their knowledge and insight on a new global level.

These days global learning can take on so many aspects and take us so many places. We can go into virtual worlds of the human body, museums, space, and other explorations. We can communicate with others in our community, our classes, our state, country, and across the globe. In the future, we may even communicate with others who choose to live in other "spaces." These may be parts of our solar system, or even in tiny remote technologically enhanced places. I appreciate all this "connectivism" and realize that the PLE I am developing is so minute and tiny in perspective with this broader world, but in no means insignificant. Sharing and collaborating have taken on new meaning to me while working in my group in ETC 647. We take it very seriously to enhance each other's learning and experiences. We care about each other though we have never met formally nor in person. However, we feel that we know each other and that future endeavors and collaboration past this class are in order. It is an exciting time for me and I appreciate all that I am learning. Though, so overwhelmed initially, I am gaining new confidence. I can connect in this appreciation over time and have a fair understanding of how the excitement in new learning must have felt like to Anna's new students in Siam such a long time ago. My world, my learning, and my collaborative connections are so definitely expanding.

Teri

Lesson 3 Reflections

Lesson 3 has been interesting as I went into it knowing nothing at all about network hardware (give or take what I remember from my CIS 100 course years ago). I understand much more than I did, and came out of the lesson with a great deal of appreciation for the staff and technicians that keep the network connections running. I also learned a great deal about how the technicians view distance learning and faculty use of the hardware. There is a "software" skill in learning how to work cooperatively with technicians, as with any group of people, you have to understand things from their perspective and respect their input.

Bringing home the lesson on how fragile the hardware is, I had a little accident with my own personal computer. Nothing a little drying out didn't take care of, but everything I had been working on was lost. Fortunately, I have another computer linked to my wireless and was able to stay "networked," but it was awkward. A person gets a feel for the hardware they use most often, and using that equipment (knowing it's every little quirk and foible) becomes almost automatic. Moving over to another machine, even though it once was my primary computer, was almost like learning a new machine all over. The keyboard is slightly different making typing arduous because of hitting the keys at the wrong angle or having to stop and look for where a key is placed, the screen doesn't look "right" because of my familiarity with a smaller screen, plus it is an old laptop with a dead battery that has to be plugged in so I lost my mobility. All petty little complaints, but frustrating, and it made me realize that the software isn't just the programs that are downloaded onto the hardware, the software is also the users--and that the hardware is part of a personal network, either facilitating networked exchanges, or hindering them.

My group has been very patient with me, as I scrambled to re-write my part of our Content Development assignment around a hectic work week, and am late posting my Blog entry, and I really appreciate it :-) Thanks.

Lesson 3 Reflection

These last two weeks have been very stimulating for our group.

When we first reviewed the tasks at hand, we knew it was important for us to keep focused, to not become lost in the amount of learning about to take place.

We assumed the responsibility with great dedication and met at least twice a week for three hour work sessions in Vista Chat, Google Docs, and  Skype. 

Lesson 3

It was interesting to me to see our group responding as moderators and becoming immersed in the topics of this discussion. We communicated about posting responses, or the lack of, by email. 
It is certain as moderators we needed to be models of interactive postings.

There were many things learned from lesson. We all have little experience of networking knowledge and all discussion from our peers was very insightful. Ruth, Teri, and I  explored the use of new technology and developed a beginning plan of action for our presentation using Vyew and Prezi. I enjoyed having the opportunity to use my creativity designing the flyer. The constructive criticism was welcomed and I believe a professional product was developed. 


We also were introduced to VoiceThread and the potential it has to offer for online collaborative learning. 

I am awed at how genuine effort in our collaborative 

venture as a team is the essence of our learning experience!

Our process in Content Development seems to be 

approached with more confidence after completing 

Assignment 4 in a timely manner. We share resources 

and have no problem asking for help from each other. 

.......Following our Team Code of Ethics

Learning a little more about each other is Team 3s first item 

of each meeting agenda.

This is creating a

because...

We compliment each other in our process of learning....

We admit that we are all 50 something.....very unique....

We intend to network beyond this online classroom.....

Lesson 3 Reflection - Whew!

Whew!

We sure have been working diligently over these last two weeks. It has been very enlightening to work as moderators over the discussion area. Although we have been sharing, I think we are learning more from all the contributions and animated responses of our classmates. We started last session to work on our Network Structures and Policies paper. We are glad that we did. Ruth conducted multiple interviews and also gathered a lot of important information for us about Northern Pioneer College. We found that NPC was indeed a pioneer in technology as from the onstart they had offered distance education.

My team worked so very well together in constructing our Network Structures and Policies paper. We divided the work and gathered together in Skype and google docs to complete the final text. I enjoyed communicating with Ruth and Michelle in Skype and to hear their voices. It was my first opportunity to use Skype and I found it very easy. I look forward to exploring other Web tools and resources with them.

Michelle developed a beautiful flyer for us in regard to the presentation we will lead at the end of March in Elluminate. We explored Vyew and met in a meeting room, wrote on the main text area and in the chat area. We also drew and wrote freehand. We are looking forward to doing our presentation on Vyew using the presentation tool, Prezi, which Ruth has used before.

Although, we have to work around everyone's hectic schedules, it seems we have no problem meeting multiple times a week. We primarily use Vista chat and chat in google docs. Our group has done a great job of sharing resources, making inquiries, and keeping each other informed. We do this primarily in Vista email for ETC 647, the group space area, gmail, and the group blog site.

As we work on our Content and Development Page, we find that it works well to include material from both the discussions and from additional resources that we have found and that were provided for the lesson readings.

One of the main things that I have taken away from this lesson is that although there are times that the process may take us on a bumpy road, there are some beautiful sights along the way and alot of great things to learn. I feel much more confident in what I know about technology hard and soft structures and the using of various Web 2 tools. I look forward to using many more and collaborating using Prezi to make a presentation about Vyew in the Elluminate area.

Til the next lesson review - Teri

Lesson 2 Reflections

This has been a hectic 2 week period as we studied emerging technologies and the potentials of mLearning, learned to Twitter, and moved ahead to Lesson 3 to prepare for our duties as Moderators. There will be more to do in the Lesson ahead, with the paper on Network Structures and Policies to work on, as well as completing the Content Development page in WikiPaint. We are well on the way with those as we will learn a great deal by moderating the discussions, and our interviews are already in progress. :-)

As a group, we met together often (on average of every other day) to get up to speed with Lessons 2 and 3, and that also allowed us to get to know each other better. It also allowed us to work on improving our our skills with collaborative tools, even with the "glitches" (like when Google doc mysteriously decided to erase 2 rows of information on our table).

While I found Lesson 2 interesting, I am really excited about Lesson 3. I am a complete ignoramus when it comes to network hardware and structures, so I expect to learn a lot. There has been talk of implementing mLearning into the course structures of NPC and I hope to learn more about the policies of the institution as a foundation for exploring avenues for incorporating mobile tools in the future. Virtual desktops are the wave of the future as well, and I am contemplating networking my 3 computers into a virtual system--as soon as I learn more about it, and how to do it.

So far in this class, we have been exploring connectivism in the networks that we create with other people via Web2.0, the the networking of concepts that enhance making cognitive connections, and now we will be learning about networking through hardware and virtualization. I can see first hand how connectivism works through our group, the tools we use in the course, and am very curious about this next stage in our learning. By the end of the semester, none of us will look at networking the same as we did when we came into the course :-)

Lesson 2 Reflection - Great Joint Effort continued

One of the things I looked forward to this lesson was how to create a Wordle and then to move it to another page. I made one reflective of Lesson 2's learning experiences and with success have been able to move it to this blog page. So this continues as I had wanted it on the original page to this blog with a few additions, but it looks like another page is added instead. The learning continues. - Teri

Lesson 2 Reflection - Great Joint Effort

I have been very happy working with Group 3. We work so well together that it is time to call ourselves a team, not just a group. Ruth is a fantastic leader. Not only has she kept us on track for this lesson, but looked ahead so that we could get a head start on Lesson 3. We worked together on the Web 2 tool chart. That was a wonderful learning experience and a good collaboration. Michelle is a fantastic graphic designer. She will be working on an interactive PLE for one of our assignments. We also decided that we would like to continue working in a collaborative connective effort in a Professional Learning Environment. The bulk share of building that site will fall on Michelle. We are grateful for her skills and talents.

A very successful Lesson 2 learning experience. We are sailing high! - Teri

Lesson 2 Reflection

Feel free to read minutes of Team3 Meetings.....Link to new page on the right...

Wow...Teri and Ruth..I must say you are a hard post to follow!!

I am rewarded in many ways by our Connectivism...

As quoted in ‘Why Collaborations?’ reading; “when working with peers instead of alone (or with the instructor), anxiety and uncertainty are reduced as learners find their ways through complex or new tasks (Harasim, 1990).

I look at our chart and reading the Connectivism attributes (in blue) realize that we could indeed add another column “#7 - Team Collaboration”. It is not a Web 2.0 Technology but I can assure you our experience touched each connectivist principle listed in a most astounding way!

We each contributed technologies and even added one. I was not familiar with Prezi or Vyew while Ruth and Teri were not familiar with others. It was a add and modify process in google docs while teaching, modeling, and even delegating all for the purpose of learning and connecting.

I see how “Information flow within an organization is an important element in organizational effectiveness.” (thinking from organizational levels)
“Creating, preserving, and utilizing information flow should be a key organizational activity.” 

(a need for our team bonding)

Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era. (I predict Team 3 will flourish)

Until Next Time....

GROWTH

LESSON ONE REFLECTIONS

Connecting, Connectivism
Networks Growing, Individuals Growing
Group Adhering/Bonding/Blending
Ideas Merging and Becoming New

I enjoyed working in Group 3 on Lesson 1. We networked well, connected and interconnected.
The PLEs and ONLEs are expanding. The active learning is engaging with a lot of give and take.
In our group we have built the structure, the skeleton. We are now busy constructing new ideas and trying out new delivery systems and networking tools. Becoming proficient in their use will help to enhance and further our learning.

"Connectivism" - today's learning, speedy and volumnous - socially networked and technology charged.

Our Group + Blog + Bonding + NLE-PLE = Connectivism

To 'know' something is to be organized in a certain way, to exhibit patterns of connectivity. To 'learn' is to acquire certain patterns" (Downes, 2005 quoted at http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism_self-amused.htm )

People have a tendency to compartmentalize the facets of their life into organized patterns that are work related, home related, school related, social related, church related, etc. There cannot help but be some bleed over, say between home life and work life, or when we have a friend that is part of 2 or more of the environments. However, we generally we do not discuss all the details of work at a church function, or discuss our Facebook conversations with everyone at work. All the interesting snippets of knowledge we have gained, tend to stay in their designated section.

As shown in the George Siemens photo (2011, http://profesorbaker.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/feed-it-forward-share-cck11/), in Michelle's post below, Connectivism links those environments together to form new patterns. The Personal Learning Environments (PLE) becomes the connection points where the networks we have forged link together and makes it possible for knowledge to transfer from one group of experience patterns to another. Thus, the established patterns are altered by the acquisition of the transferred knowledge, and we grow by learning. This is true whether speaking of the learning process that occurs within the mind, or in the literal transfer of information from one person to another.

The Group work that this team will create during the rest of the semester is an example of the Connectivist PLE in action. Michelle, Teri, and I, each in a different part of the state, with entirely separate and different living and working environments, will be connecting the knowledge we have through our own experiences and PLEs to forge a new Network with this class, or Network Learning Environment (NLE). We will be utilizing each others individual strengths to create original works—and we will be learning from one another to make our weaker areas become strengths.

Lesson 1 Reflection

• Since this is a team reflection blog, how your team want to accomplish this assignment is up to your team. Teach team member can take turn or all team members contribute to the blog. At least one entry must be posted by the end of the lesson. You can reflect:
• Team work of which I am proud.
• Team work which I found exceptionally challenging.
• Reflections on technology and instructional strategies that you and your team learned from this lesson.
• Anything your team would like to share

As we begin to form a bond, I can contribute the fact that Ruth, Teri, and I are engaged in developing a learning (and teaching) relationship. 

Lesson One had many readings that focused on network learning environments, personal learning environments (PLE); and Connectivism. 

Assignment 2: PLE

Ruth's PLE

Michelle's PLE

Teri's PLE