Week 13 Apps Review

I decided to review Google Documents as an office suite. This was because throughout the course we have been working with other platforms on Google including Blogger. I liked how easy the suite works and that to work in their word and excel was easy. Your files could be easily saved and were available to other platforms. The spell check and editing is as functional as Office. Images were easily imported from Google search which is better than having to look through clips or go off program in office. When I opened documents I had to download Google Drive which is similar to the cloud on Microsoft. I sometimes feel Google is already too much into my life they seem to be collecting way to much information about me such as my calendar, what I write, my blog, my photos and email. Sometimes I feel they are big brother and I wonder who can get into my cloud. One thing I couldn’t figure out was how to make a powerpoint in Google Docs it was only after I had downloaded drive and clicked on create that I found the program.

I tried Google docs on both windows and apple it works well on both and the nice thing is that I can produce documents in one and edit in another the two systems are compatible. Also I can send my documents to other to edit or add they can then send them back.

I really liked the Form function I would use this to schedule meetings and pre assess people's needs via the question poll function. I like its consensus building capability. I love that you can choose if a document is to be shared and you can just send the link to other people.

I would recommend this app to fellow staff members as we can share information easily and as much of Google is centralized around the app it would be very quick. For a free app it is very good. For my I Pad it works great. I wish I had found this before I spent $29 on Quick Office Pro for I Pad.

When I started to look at reviewing the Image Editing apps I first tried on my I Pad but the first two Pic Monkey and FotoFlexer would not work without Flash Player. The last one Sumopaint just wouldn’t work it gave me a blank screen. So I tried PHIXR it is not an app app but a bookmark on my home screen. But it did work. As a photo image editing tool it is adequate for a free app. As I enjoy photography I much prefer to spend money on a program like Photoshop as they are geared to photo editing in a better quality. The PHIXR program or app is more for fun editing. You can change tone, tint, and exposure; however, I feel the adding of shapes cutouts to put faces into and speech bubbles are more for kids and I probably would not use them. This type of app are really a dime a dozen especially on the droid and IOS systems. If my students wanted to have some fun and use this for a project it will do its job. But for a professional editing job I would spend the money on a high end editor. 

Another app I think is worth looking at  for IPAD is educreations this visual lesson building tool that has preformatted lessons, and also allows teachers to create great visual lesson of their own that are recorded. Lessons are then stored in the cloud for later useage.  

Week 12 Website Building

I spent 12 hours building a website using google sites. I have to say it was very complicated. I feel I am reasonably computer savy but this task was mind numbing. I actually built four sites as I got so messed up and had to abandon them as I could not delete them or content. I would add things and not then be able to get them off. I couldn't remove things or change the titles in the template. I ended up going into HTML and rewriting. I wanted to add more gadget and things to the home page and I just could not figure out how.
Anyway, I wanted to produce a website that I would really get some use out of so I used the template as it had many of the elements I wanted for my classroom website.
Some of the elements are homework updates, calender, class photos, my bio and newsletter. All of which will make my communication with the parents and kids easier as everything is now centralized. I also added reading lists, a google document presentation on fractions and vocabulary builder. All of which will enhance the students learning. There is a page with links that the students can access from home to go to their extra math programs and their kidsblog website where they work on writing and peer editing, I was happy with my end result.  Although it took so long I feel I have so much time invested that I have to use it. Maybe over time I will become more adept with google sites.
Here is my MY WEBSITE I hope you enjoy.

Week 12 Reflection

The lessons that I feel are relevant to my current professional development are lesson 5 and lesson 8
Lesson 5 is that you need to acquire a strong set of skills in the production of instructional media. This last year I was interviewing for a teaching job and often the question was asked as to how much experience I have had with media and technology. Luckily I had taught a year as a computer and media specialist in a local school. So was not a complete dummy, and got the job. I agree with Reiser that instructional media has changed frequently. (Reiser. 257) When I started my quest to go into teaching the technology was still very simple. Now we have smart boards, blogs, websites, e- courses and many more different programs. I still don’t think I have acquired a strong set of media skills as the field is changing so fast. All I can do is continue to grow my knowledge by studying and being part of courses like this one. I believe if I want to be a 21^st century teacher I need to know the technology of the 21^st century.
Lesson 8 is developing a strong set of communication skills. Strong and clear communication skills are important whether you are in ID or a teacher. You have to be able to get your point over to students, faculty, and co workers. The great thing with technology is that it can be used to help you get you message across. We just set up a blog through kidblog in my class and it opens up communication with all students and helps develop written content and reading skills. Communication is so pivotal in our lives. And we need to be masters of that domain.

Week 11 Reflection

I think that the three contexts business, P-12 and higher education do have some similar themes when it comes to instructional design.  I think they are all looking to design student or employee centered instruction and training. However, each has different successes within their fields for different reasons. ID is very large in industrial and business settings as the training is better funded because the rewards are more profitable. With P-12 education it is and has been very student centered and often many packages of software and systems are remakes or clones that are not advancing ID. It did surprise me that Ed was one of the lowest implemented ID contexts. Funding is a big problem and yet  with NCLB and now the common core requiring students to be more college and job ready, I think industry and government need to provide funds and systems. Higher ed while student centered driven by faculty is where the innovation should come from. Research fellows who specialize in ID need to cultivate peer relationships and work to enhance and cultivate educational demands for students coming into this field.

I believe that P-12 education could learn from the business model by using ID systems and technology to train educators. There by generating more buy in by educators who in turn would become comfortable with technology and be willing to use the student centered technologies. I also would like Higher Ed to come into the schools especially during jobs fairs and college recruiting fairs to let students know that there are great careers in ID. There are opportunities within the higher ed system to do research and develop designs that really matter.  

Week 11 Concept Mapping with Bubbl.us



This week we were introduced to Bubbl.us. It is very similar to kidspiration that I have used before. The nice thing about bubbl.us is that it's free and I can work on this from home and bring it to the classroom. My concept mapping is for our science fair project in fourth grade. I give them a rubric and this map work help them follow the Scientific Method when they are doing and writing up their experiments. We teach this method of reasoning throughout our practical labs, and the students could use this chart to become familiar and consistent on their science reporting. The bubbles are different colors. the yellow are numbered and are the order of their experimenting. The purple are guides as to what needs to be recorded. The green are tips or reminders. The orange are important instructions. If the students follow this map they will have a solid understanding of the scientific method that they can use every time we are in the lab.

Scientific Method Concept Mapping

 

Week #10 Sceeen Casting

Screen Casting Lesson
This week’s assignment of embedding a screencast video into my blog was a lot easier than I thought. I really like how Jing makes it user friendly to accomplish this task. I also played with Camtasia and I think it would be great to use as more advanced screencast. I liked the various add-ons built into the editor. I would use this week’s example I have posted to guide my students on how to add items to their blog sites. They could watch on my blog then follow along on their blogs on a split screen to complete this task. There are many applications for this technology. They could be gathering information and displaying videos during a science fair.

I could even leave an entire a days substitute plans that could be put up on my smart board. They could have lessons built right into the screencast that the students could follow along and I would know they are doing what I want while I am gone.

Week #8 Reflection IDT in Business and Industry

This week when I read about Instructional Design in Business and Industry I was astonished that 40% of training expenditure went to external consultants. I can understand that having an outsider approach to problem solving and training but this is a one time fix, Wouldn’t it be better to have more focused internal approach that know the organizations culture and methods. IDT could be more specific to that company if it is designed and implemented by someone or a group within the organization. It must surely if an outside designer is being use, take time and resources away from the organization so as to provide the information to the external designer.  It would be more cost effective if an internal designer could develop programs based on prior knowledge. It would be quicker and more coast effective. Within the classroom we are always pushing the accessing of prior knowledge, as students are often their own experts. Outside consultants do not have as much a vested interest in the organizations success as their own capital gain.

On the subject of instructional design in industry and business I can see that internal instruction that can train employees and solve the majority of situations is important and cost effective. However, there is a place for external IDT that can be focused on a problem or specific skill that needs to be enhanced. The different perspective on a problem may be very cost effective in correcting the problem with the right well designed instructional technology.

Finally the new concepts of cross-cultural training is wonderful but the only thing that designers would have to be sure that they know their audience. Cultural programs need to cater to local cultures. I worry that if the cultural designed programs are too broad they would lose their effectiveness. I agree that the idea of problem solving with instruction that is “better, cheaper, and faster” and if it can be applied throughout organizations it’s a win win situation. However, it has to be grounded on research and often the culture of the organization. It is no good developing new things if there is not a vision to improve from the top down. So often I have seen box sets of software, or programs that have never been applied because teachers, principals and admin did not buy into the changes.

Applying any of these concepts in a school can be relevant.  Targeted designed instruction can be used to close achievement gaps and assess specific skills taught. The idea of cross cultural training and problem solving is a important subject in schools. The culture of the schools hierarchy, and the student social racial and economic status can be involved with well design training for staff and instructional materials and systems to bring about discussion about diversity and cultural diffusion.