EDUC 630 Discussion Board 3 - Presentation Software as Learning Tools

Video Transcript

            Presentation software can be a valuable and powerful learning tool.  PowerPoint seems to be one of the most popular versions in use today.  With a little bit of instruction and practice, a very professional looking presentation can be created in a matter of minutes.  PowerPoint, like most presentation software, is probably most frequently associated with slide presentation related to instructional delivery.  However, it can be a useful learning tool as well.  Thorsen (2009) points out the benefits of using presentation in this manner to help students “see relationships among facts.”  She goes on to say this is helpful for two reasons because “when students organize isolated facts into a presentation, they remember the facts better” and “when students see relationships among facts, they often generalize and come to understand some problem or process more deeply.”  I have seen this in action in the classroom when I was doing some observations to complete my bachelor’s degree.  I had the good fortune to observe in a special education reading class.  Instead of writing book reports, the students put together presentation using PowerPoint.  They used the local resources on the school’s intranet and other online resources accessed through Wi-Fi to conduct research about the book or story which they read.  They used the presentation software to organize the notes and pictures they found during their research.  Their final project consisted of a five page presentation that summarized what they read and captured their thoughts and reflections.  The obvious benefit of being able to graphically organize their thoughts wasn’t the only thing the students gained from approaching a book report in this manner.  They also honed their research and computer skills.  By exploring both a local intranet resource such as a library database and conducting web searches, the students were able to see how much information was available about their subject.  They also learned the finer points of accessing websites and manipulating data and media to make presentations.  It has been my experience that there can be a variety of gains from innovatively using technology when possible and applicable in the classroom. 

 

References

 

Thorsen, C. (2009). TechTactics: Technology for Teachers (3 ed.). Boston: Pearson

 

EDUC 630 DB2 - Online Communities

My first exposure to an online community was America Online (AOL).  AOL provided a means for me to access the internet, email service, and a variety of discussion boards/chat rooms.  I also used the internet access to plays some online games.  This was prior to the popularity of massive multiplayer online gaming platforms.  I never really used it for education at that time, just for entertainment and communication.  Soon thereafter, the Navy developed its own computer network and designated the Navy and Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI).  NMCI provided us email service and internet for official use.  Business practice rules were relaxed enough for us to have limited access to the internet for unofficial use.  The Navy also created a website called Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) for eLearning and career resources.  NKO has become a valuable resource for me both professional and personal use.  I have even used some of the database access for college research projects.  As a result, much of the Navy’s training has now been transitioned to eLearning format.  Unfortunately, this training tends to be not much more than self-paced presentations with some narration.  One advantage to NKO’s eLearning program is its centralized record of training which is used to update a variety of personnel records.

More recently, I started using Facebook to help keep in touch with my family while I was deployed to the Middle East.  Since social networks have grown in popularity on a global scale, many educators have begun trying to capitalize on their use for teaching and learning.  One such social network is Second Life.  Childress and Braswell (2006) identify Second Life as a “massively multiplayer online game (MMOG)” in which students and teachers can meet in a “virtual café” to discuss course topics.  I took some time to explore this environment and found that it seems to have potential for use as an educational tool.  Other useful tools I like to use are wikis and blogs.  Clyde (2005) identifies wikis as an “interactive website” which users can use for “education, business, and library science and information management.”  They are great for collaborative projects because they provide a single point for uploading and editing project elements by multiple users simultaneously.  A similar technology is a blog, short for web log, a site used for online discussions, journaling, and web publishing.  These are also useful as collaborative learning tools and have become a central focus for a recent collaborative professional development project I am developing for my current duty assignment in the Navy.

 

References

Childress, Marcus D., and Ray Braswell. "Using Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games for Online Learning." Distance Education 27.2 (2006): 187-96. ProQuest Central. Web. 24 July 2012.

Clyde, Laurel A. “Wikis.” Teacher Librarian 32, 4 Apr (2005): pg. 54; ProQuest Central

 

EDUC 630 DB1: Response to Wesch's vision of students today

            When I consider some of the suggested educational technology and processes to which Wesch (2007) alluded in his video, I often reflect on my own learning story.  One of the first events that came to mind was when I was in the fifth grade.  I remember one of my teachers would fill three chalkboards with notes on the day’s or week’s topic.  We were expected to quietly copy everything down from the board, word for word.  This would take up the majority of the class period.  I remember how much I hated doing that and how much my fingers hurt from all the writing.  When I was a senior in high school, I had a math teacher who used an overhead projector to solve equations so all the class could see how to do the work.  These two examples were before the age of PowerPoint and digital projectors.  My teachers used the technologies and teaching methods they understood and were trained for to try and provide us a quality education.  I started college in 1988 and did not finish my first degree until 2004 when I experienced my first online course.  Since then, I have continued my education, here with Liberty University, and have seen many changes in how their program has designed.  Although I am technically considered part of Generation X, the duration of my educational journey has exposed me to many of the topics in the video which address the challenges that Millennials face.

            Thorsen (2009) talks about a digital divide resulting from factors which limit a student’s access to or ability to use technology for learning.  Wesch seems to suggest that for Millennials, the digital divide comes, in part, from antiquated teaching approaches.  The requirement for use of physical books, large class sizes, and teacher centered learning appear to be central to his theme.  Over the past eight years I have seen a shift in Liberty University’s approach which seems aimed at changing paradigms which affect the digital divide.  Videotaped lectures have been replaced with web-based video presentations.  Physical books have started being replaced by digital copies available computers and e-readers.  Learning management systems like Blackboard were once used for posting homework assignments and taking tests.  Now, they are used for collaborative projects as well.  These changes seem to come easily to online learning, but the real challenge lies in reducing the divide in the classroom.  Technology integration is not likely to be an instant solution, but it can be an aide.

References

Thorsen, C. (2009). TechTactics: Technology for Teachers (3 ed.). Boston: Pearson

Wesch, M. (Producer) (2007). A vision of students today [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

EDUC 630 Introduction

Welcome EDUC 630 classmates.  I am Dale Hicks.  I am a Senior Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.  I have been in the Navy for almost 22 years now and have had many opportunities to experience new technologies in the workplace and classroom.  I have been a student with Liberty University since 2005, all in the online program.  When I first started the program, courses were still using VHS taped lectures and Blackboard was primarily for testing.  I have seen the program grow through the use of DVDs and now online presentations while expanding the scope and use of Blackboard for online discussions, collaborations, and resource management.  It has been very exciting and has piqued my interest in the field of online learning and educational technology.  I have only two classes remaining, including this one, to complete my Master’s degree.  While I have been studying online learning and edtech , I have learned about some technologies that I have enjoyed using and since applied both my academic and professional pursuits.  There are three primary ones which come to mind; blogs, wikis, and telecommunicating.  I spent twelve of the past seventeen months deployed to the Middle East.  These technologies enabled me to be an actively involved member of several online classes.  I had the opportunity to collaborate with several classmates to complete two major research projects by using wikis to create a centralized collaboration site.  Skype allowed live communication over thousands of miles and ten time zones.  Our blogs were great for managing our metered discussion on several topics.  I have also found the use of Smartphone and tablets have become more common.  They seem to offer increased mobility which enhances the ubiquitous quality of today’s learning environment. 

My links:

Portfolio - http://hicksedtechnologist.blogspot.com/

Ed-Tech wiki - https://hicks-edtech.wikispaces.com/0.+EdTech+Home

Training-4-Sharing wiki - https://training-4-sharing.wikispaces.com/+TRAINING-4-SHARING

Navy blog - http://windjammerscpo365.blogspot.com/