Just a quick blog about my overall experience
This project was a lot of fun but as all projects I had some last minute tech problems.
All a bit rushed towards the end.
On my way to EIT to print out my poster and do my presentation woop woop glad its going to be over and done with.
My tutorial seems to cover everything in the methodology process so happy about that.
Good luck fellow class mates…I look forward to seeing your projects today
Technology and Technical issues
Technology map
Technical problems I am facing now is adjusting the size of my SlideShare presentation so the whole thing can be seen in WordPress. Not sure how to fix this issue at this stage. Will just focus on creating all PPT and figure that technical issue later.
In regards to future proofing my learning object I believe the scope of this topic can be way bigger than my project. Having used WordPress gives me control of the site but can work for and against me. I have created a feedback page and blog page that will allow for two-way conversations on the topic for future growth and development. Can be on-going for me.
Teaching and Learning effectiveness
Pedagogical issues I have experienced designing this project are trying to implement a range of pedagogy methods within my learning object. I think having an understanding of the target audience will help choose pedagogy methods more relevant to their learning. Haha think my scope was too big and so a bit hard to define who they really are and how I think they would learn best.
Project Plan
A major change I made to the project was changing the high-level solution from Google Sites to WordPress.
This was decided due to WordPress offering a prettier interface and navigation with drop down menus. I could only find navigation through plain links on Google Sites which I think wasn’t as nice.
I feel my preliminary plan lacked finer details and this has affected this stage of the project. I have discovered my content doesn’t actually go in logical order so a few changes as been made here so it makes sense to the end-user.
Otherwise main concepts are kept in-line with the preliminary design such as all the main headings. I’ve added more headings as I discovered I was going a bit of course. The new headings reflect my methodology and ensures I stay on track. New headings include learning outcomes, methodology, activities and assessments.
Even though I don’t have a formal assessment as such I think it good to add a tool for end-users to self-assess. This is still in conjunction to my preliminary plan.
Adding OTARA approach ensures I stay on track with methodology guidelines.
Possible improvements
In the designing process I have seen a few potential developments. It would be nice to add the calendar widget but with relevance. It would be good to use the calendar to identify the seasons of the year when plants can be utilized at their best. For example at the moment there are no yellow flowers on the Kowhai tree.
There are some really neat visual effects in WordPress but have to buy them. Maybe something to consider in future to enhance visual appearance.
Time is always an issue and if more time was invested then the learning object could represent more quality weighty content.
Ethical issues
This weeks lecture covered copyright and the use of creative commons
Interesting to learn that as soon as I create something that it is automatically copyrighted no legal documentation required and that all photos I take belong to me however if I passed my camera to a complete stranger to take a photo of me then they would actually own it – strange isn’t it!
We were encouraged to collect a library of our own images – good idea
Interesting Twitter fact:
Found out that Twitter owns everything posted on there, even my own pics and tweets. Good to be aware of this
Accessibility Issues
An interesting thought is the accessibility of my learning object using WordPress. It tends to be more controlled by me. I don’t think I thought about long term implications. See if I used wiki then it would of been more of a shared collaborative project. Too late now to change this.
Posters
We also discussed the designing of our posters.- to reflect our learning object and not a marketing tool.
Poster should be fun – just pulling together everything in a short presentable way
Shared Knowledge
This week I have spoken to a few people who have shared their knowledge on Rongoa.
This has helped me decide on the plants I will use in the lessons.
SlideShare
I now have a SlideShare account. The process seems pretty straight-forward to uploading. Looks like I can upload an existing ppt or create one online.
Kawakawa
Also I was able to find some Kawakawa at the Mohaka hill Look-Out…Yah!!! However I have none left because I used it all without recording any video. So make sure that next time I have some and prepare it – that I video record this.
Tip from today’s lecture:
Reminder – I am not creating a website but a learning object. Websites are never finished. Must treat this project as a contract (paid). Target audience must know the learning outcomes so these must be stated. It must clearly state:
Also I must record any changes I make along the way. Eeem already see a few I need to make in the design structure. Will start with creating pages, ready to integrate multimedia. What have I got myself into….easily said than done!!!
Excited to start the project I have undertaken however I know I will face a few challenges stated in the proposal & preliminary design such as:
Click the links below to follow the comments to other blogs
What I have learnt
DLT has helped me become more conscience about my PLN. I have been able to explore forums and can work on extending on my PLN.
I wasn’t keen on using so many pubic forums but have learned to use new one’s and form my own opinion about them instead of he say, she say.
The different pedagogies.
What ubiquitous learning is! New word to the vocab haha.
Desirable IT skills for teachers – interesting long list of skills with room to extend. Be interesting to find out how much of these skills teachers actually do have and if schools have the necessary resources to implement training.
Overall I have learned a lot about myself and the way I tend to learn best.
Things I liked.
I really liked being exposed to other educational technologies and social media forums and the tools they offer and how I can utilize them to my advantage.
Joyce’s sharing her expertise with us and her use of different tools and encouraging us to build our own PLN. Great stuff.
Blogging been quite fun.
Reflections were good, helping to articulate what has been learnt. Interesting reading others reflections and learning more about them and their experiences.
Having seats in class because students can participate through Adobe connect and vise versa. Great stuff
In a digital learning environment it was interesting to learn that educators do not know everything and that this is ok. In this day and age with the use of computing it is possible to learn from students and that students may know more than the teachers. This learning is great.
Digital learning in the classroom does not restrict us to what the teacher knows but allows for individual engagement and growth. Wish this was around when I was at school when teachers believed they knew everything. I guess educators need to embrace this new approach to teaching and learning and have the right attitude towards implementing this or do educators like having more control over their teaching environments.
Are newer educators more adaptable to digital learning spaces with old school educators being stuck in their old fashioned mindsets controlling the learning? Just some random thoughts…
Michael is funny!!
Suggestions or things that may be improved.
Easier navigation between EIT online and the wiki resources.
Michael you talk too much sometimes haha (jokes)….always great stuff
Rongoa – Maori medicine
The following three links are examples of online courseware on Rongoa – Maori medicine (similar to my project)
http://whanaushow.co.nz/index.php/maori-medicine
http://www.titokieducation.co.nz/rongoa_medicine.html
I found that online resources or courseware on Rongoa – Maori medicine are limited. Most courses are only advertised on sites and require payment and physical attendance. Sites that did provide some knowledge on the subject lacked a variety of multimedia in their delivery. It would be nice to design content on the topic using a mixture of multimedia and for it to be freely accessible and available.
The link below will direct you to the wiki page where you can also find this comment
http://wikieducator.org/VirtualMV/Digital_Learning_Technologies/Online_Courseware_Examples
Class Discussion
OneNote maybe discussed in class.
Please comment or provide feedback on your experience with OneNote.
Click the link below to view the Cloud Tools page:
swag2016 