Posts
Reviewed/summarized three 'innovative' technologies being used today in online education. Oddly enough, it took me a few hours to 'find' what i was looking for. I tried using stumbleupon, google searches, etc. My problem: I was looking at it from a net-gen perspective. Everything i found wasn't 'new.' I wanted something created/applied for the first time TODAY. Something i had never heard of before. I didn't find it. Its out there, but i didn't find it. Machinima is new however; as an example of something not 'created' today yet still considered new. Hell, many of today's educators consider wikis/blogs/podcasts 'new.' Shame.
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10/11/08
Reviewed some podcasts, expanded Toolkit, and will continue to work on general layout/navigation of this site.
Here's a review of the three podcasts i listened to...
Online Footprint- a long podcast discussing web 1.0, web 2.0, educational applications of each. Also forecasts web3.0 use.
Look What I Made - DIY indie music podcast with Kevin Pike-Episode 19 (Sea Monkey)-a podcast explaining how he creates some of his music. The topic isn't important, the fact is this podcast aims at educating a mass audience, and seeing as it is from the podcast.com channels site, and seeing how many episodes there are, i am going to assume it is relatively successful.
A night in the global village- from edutopia.org. This is actually a vodcast- this video really struck a cord in me. I will embed a shortened version (original over 9min in length) in my toolkit. The vodcast participants certainly learned a life's lesson, and viewers of the podcast could live vicariously through their experiences. This is truly a life-altering experience for the participants.
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10/10/08
Browsed other's toolkits, many of the links were similiar to ones i had, but I did note a few differences as well. Took some ideas from those differences, i'll be updating the Toolkit soon...
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10/06/08
Decided to move the following passage here as a "reflection of eportfolios" instead of using it as my homepage. I will be revising the homepage following this move.
E-portfolios are here to stay, and for good reason. Their construction is easy to manage and seemingly primitive for Web2.0 and recent technology improvements. Although an e-portfolio can be thought of as simply a data management/organizational tool, due to the capabilities of Web2.0 an e-portfolio can be so much more. Using the web2.0 we currently use, e-portfolios can incorporate interactive social networks, and allow for assessment of theory versus management tools, and create interactive learning opportunities across a wide spectrum.
There are many tools that allow creation and development of an e-portfolio. Many tools not only aid in the composing process, but also support various “application” functions. I find myself to be a huge fan of google, so lets focus on what Google has to offer!
Google’s list of applications that can aid in development in support of e-portfolios is long, ranging from blog apps, to document apps, to video and image apps, even to calendar apps. All the applications work seamlessly with each other, allowing the user to create a diverse and complete e-portfolio package. Some of the benefits with using the Google apps are: Automatic saving, data retrieval, simple function and form, compatibility with mac, pc, Microsoft, and other major labels, easy sharing, simple editing features, and more and more importantly today, accessibility from just about anywhere.
I honestly scratched my head for a while trying to think of negatives to using Google’s e-portfolio supporting apps, and I cam up empty. I admittedly am biased towards Google’s apps, yet sincerely came up empty.
All in all, there are several available services and supporting apps, it is fairly easy to compose an e-portfolio today!
References:
Barret, H (2008 Aug 3). Google Apps for e-portfolios. Retrieved September 16, 2008, from Dr. Helen Barrets Electronic Portfolios Web site: http://electronicportfolios.com/google/index.html
Batson, t (2008, April 16). ePortfolios: Hot Once Again. Retrieved September 16, 2008, from Campus Technology Web site: http://campustechnology.com/articles/60933_1/
Jafari, A (2004). The "Sticky" ePortfolio System: Tackling Challenges and Identifying Attributes. Retrieved September 16, 2008, from EduCause Web site: http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/TheStickyePortfolioSystem/40485?time=1220986967
Farmer, J (2007). The Inevitable Personal Learning Environment Post. Retrieved September 16, 2008, from Incorporated Subversion Web site: http://incsub.org/blog/2006/the-inevitable-personal-learning-environment-post
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9/28/08
After viewing profiles from other members, I have some more ideas on how to better the appearance of my e-portfolio. My choice to use Blogger instead google.sites allows for a unique outline automatically, but still changes can be made.
For one, I added an image and a more complete profile of myself, to give the viewer a better sense of who I am.
In addition, I am going to "boost" my use of multi-media on my blog, displaying my skills to incorporate videos and sound into my e-portfolio. Enjoy =D
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9/22/08
Upon progressing through the ePortfolio assignment, i see the need for additional pages. With Blogger, it does not seem easy to build additional pages into the framework of the blog. For now, this reflections post will appear as a blog post. I have enabled blog pages, so if you click on the post title it does bring you to its very own webpage; however i seem to have difficulty putting that page in a folder for easy access, rather than scrolling through my postings. (something to address in future changes)
Actually, my mind was not at ease about this issue, and i researched it quickly and found a great web tutorial video regarding the use of Blogger for ePortfolios. Check out this link here
I will be modifying my template based on that video. I'll update this page as soon as the changes have been made to reflect upon said changes.
After having made the changes, here's what I have to say:
The author of that tutorial video solved an issue with creativity. The method of producing my e-portfolio as it reads to-date is not the most efficient, or simplest, but certainly it works, something that it did not do in the past.
A blog is a vertical listing of multiple posts, not links to individual pages. Now, i can have my main page so that my blog posts are visible, and i can have links to individual blog pages =D
