The World's Englishes

So, I tried Eyejot. It was great! This week was overwhelming for me as I am not savvy with the new stuff, but I managed to get the Eyejot video going. All of this, coming from the high of having achieved my tasks quite easily in Week 13; now, my confidence is on the floor, once again.

From the reading, I realized that there are just a plethora of platforms out there that we can access for free and adapt for educational purposes. However, my task is to find the resources (i.e., platforms) that best suit my purposes or my students. As of right now, I am also at the point of knowing that if I do not use these resources on a regular basis, I forget how to use them. But to have had familiarity with a platform already is such a plus. Audacity was something I used some 3 years ago on a regular basis, and, now that I am re-introduced to it, I find it easier and comforting to use. Okay, let’s get to this Week’s assignment. Here’s my Eyejot video. Finally, it’s nice to see all of you, too! Well, I tried to get this working. It was suggested that I made sure that my Eyejot was not on view mode. I got the HTML embed code directly from Eyejot, and here it is below. NOTHING. I would have to say that after two days and a weekend of effort, I am not going to be able to get you to my Eyejot. But believe me, I will not give up. I will continue to try and come back and edit this page until I am successful, but for now, I don’t want to be behind. So here’s my Week 14′s post. And let’s try a link. I tried the link, it doesn’t work either. Oh well…heave and sigh. Thank you, Lisa and Rachele! It works. More to come. Yeah!

I am back with enthusiasm and excitement for the second half of POT.  And the first thing we do is explore. I love the low-threshold, low-barrier technology that is getting progressively user-friendly. I can see how many hosting sites like Flickr are quite easy to explore. Also, I understand what Ko and Rossen were saying about keeping it simple. I need to remember to create my online courses with the users in mind. Although I might be learning new ways of making my blog or webpage fancier and fancier as time goes by, I still need to think of how user-friendly it will be for my students. Well, since I explored Flickr, here’s trying to embed my image. Yeah, yeah. WordPress won’t let me use Mbedr. So here’s the link to the Orchids.

Okay, we’re wrapping up the first half of the POT Program, so here we go.

For Week 1, I was filled with trepidation when I saw all the fancy posts/greetings with photos, audios, and videos of fellow POTTERS. I thought for sure that I was the most technologically-challenged person in the class. So, I posted a Hello to let everyone know that I am part of the class. And I thought, hey -not too appear too behind or bottom-of-the-class-ish– I think I can include a picture!? So, that I know how to do.  I hope you all enjoyed the picture I took in El Yungue in Puerto Rico.

Week 2 was a good week. It was self-realization week for me, especially, with regard to technology and/or media use in my own classroom. I realized that I do like to use technology; however, like all things in my life, I like technology with balance. I tend to move cautiously. I do not necessarily dive in until I am confident that I can handle the situation.  And, here, I need to thank Renee and Todd for their thoughts and posts to my blog. It was really encouraging to see that others were interested in what I had to say.

Starting with Week 3, things got interesting. I learned how to link my post to a web site. And I also had to think about SLO’s. I think no matter if its an on-the-ground course or an online one – it just doesn’t matter – the SLO’s are going to be the same; however, the way we get there is a little different. In the end, without an objective, there’s no purpose in the endeavor.

In Week 4, my out of characterverbose self came out. Well, I was just annoyed for having to sit through a video clip that was way too time-consuming and not concise. The clip was from a World Literature class from Yavapai Community College. What I mean is, if you saw Week’s 11 TED Talk footage of Lawrence Lessig’s talk, now, that’s purposeful and  to-the-point. I appreciated it, learned from it, and enjoyed it tremendously. Here, I learned that as an instructor, I need to stop chattering on and on and get to the point, especially, if I am going to be doing a low-production “boring” video of my self speaking. Thank you Constance, Norm, and Ralene for your comments.

Week 5 was on the syllabus. Thanks Lisa for the tutorial on how to upload our syllabus to BlackBoard. I am going to be doing that from now on as well as have a copy of one where they can print out as well. How exciting that I will be able to have an online syllabus where I can add links to materials where it will be easily accessible to students. Of course, the reading also reminded me to think in terms of having to be very detailed with an online class’ syllabus. Thus this made me take a different perspective and to think from my students’ standpoint and to write up the syllabus with them in mind. With on the ground courses, it is easy to clarify things in the syllabus, but the online course is another ballgame. Thanks Norm, Jim, and Rachele for your input.

I am beginning to see a pattern in Week 6. So this week, Ralene and Felton commented on my blog. Ralene, I must say that you are making me feel guilty that I didn’t do much commenting on others’ blog. But I promise that I will improve on it for the second session, for sure. Thank you for your kind words. They are encouraging. It’s great to be able to follow a few blogs than all blogs; I think we are creating groups on our own somehow? I enjoyed this Week’s activities a lot. I learned that HTML can be easy. And learning how to embed videos was exciting, too! Oh, getting the Google Reader account was fun to try, and I did RSS feed. Man! So many new exciting stuff this week.

Week’s 7 was building community week. My fellow MiraCostan, Daniel and Laura, came through. They commented on my posts, and I replied. Thanks, Ladies! Who knew? We went so far in the world wide web, yet when it was time to build community, it was the people I see around campus that reached out to me. I wonder if being able to connect in physical space prompted us to connect in the virtual space. Hmm…that’s a thought. Maybe, this is why it is important that we have our students connect through audio, video, or picture in order to promote a more active community.

Week 8 was a continuation of Week 7 on community building. I explored Second Life a little. I think I was thinking more than anything to add the cool factor and, of course, the fun factor to class while building community. But I came to realize that it takes time to familiarize myself with something like Second Life. And to tread lightly with adding tools to classroom use if I as instructor haven’t gained confidence with their use. Thanks, Laura for your comment.

Week 9, I discovered that Diigo will be great for my Composition class. And Ralene reached out to me again. We even said we would try to meet in Second Life so as to try it out together. Ralene, I must apologize. I will try to practice with you next session. And I will have to be more proactive this time around. We are trying to get the know-how before we introduce it to our students. It’s so nice to meet such a dedicated instructor like you Ralene!

I was overwhelmed by the amount of online platforms we can use for our classes. Then I got apprehensive about the Open Platforms suggested for use like blogs, Facebook, or Google Sites where I thought these could prove to be something too casual and non-academic, or that students might not want to participate because of the personal nature of it. However, Rachele quelled my fears. She commented that she is testing Facebook with her class, and her students liked it so far. Thanks, Rachele. Thanks also to Jo and Scott for your comments for Week 10.

Weeks 11 & 12 are deep. I mean, how much did I know about copy right, fair use, and OER’s? Not much. As mentioned before, this is why I enjoyed Lawrence Lessig’s TED Talk footage. It was very informational. Of course, Chapter 8 in Ko and Rossen’s book was very good, too. Then seeing the possibilities for the endless supply of free eBooks out there was quite mind-bending. Wow! I am in love. My students will love me, or hate me? Not sure.

That’s it for now. Happy reading. And have a fun-filled break!

What I learned from this week’s assignments are many. One is that law is catching up with technological changes and advancements. And it will have to do so; otherwise, it will hinder our advancement, innovation, and creativity. But I am encouraged to find that some leeway is given to the educational/academic community. However, as a user of the world wide web, seeing so many tools out there that can benefit the classroom and being limited to their usage is disheartening. Nonetheless, I am glad that I am informed. I, especially, enjoyed Ko and Rossen’s simple breakdown of the differences between copyright, fair use, intellectual property, and open educational resources. Oh yes, the TED talk video was awesome. Lawrence Lessig was clear, concise, and convincing. I am persuaded; yes, we should have “common sense.”

Wow! I am – again – overwhelmed. There are so many tools out there, and the uses are endless. Okay, I think there are absolutely some advantages to having a class blog. This can serve as the main class forum for students to come to for discussions, and it will create community for our class. However, if the sponsor school already has tools like BlackBoard or Moodle for our use, adding on more sites for students to log in to can absolutely make it even more so complicated than need be.  Then there’s the “my personal stuff” effect. I remember reading a post when an instructor mentioned that her students didn’t want to use Facebook for educational purposes since this is their personal space. Is it possible that a blog might not be or seem “academic” enough for student? I am just wondering. And if we have student blogs  for the class, I can’t imagine how much creative and critical thinking skills that would stimulate.  However, this is more work as the students  and instructor now would not only have to create but read and respond to blogs. Of course, anything worthwhile or meaningful takes effort.

Finally, I am finished reading Chapter 7 of Ko and Rossen. And now I am to post my experiences trying Second Life and/or Diigo. I think that both these tools can be used to make the class become more stimulating for both students and instructor. This, of course, will spur on more participation, hopefully. I know that Diigo will be very useful for my compositon students. We can do peer review and teacher feedback using Diigo. I think it’s great that we can make comments as well as highlight key points or ideas.

Of course, there are pitfalls to using either Second Life or Diigo. The number one thing that stands out to me is the lack of skills and familiarity with the tools. I don’t think I will be confident enough to use Second Life for my classes unless I have more know-how and practice with it. Then there’s the concern that some tools might take too long for students to learn how to use. So, I say, I will probably use myself as a guinea pig and try out these tools and see how complicated or easy they are to use. Then the decision to impliment them or not will be based on how meaninglful it is for the students.

Obviously, this is what we are doing in POT, isn’t it? We are familiarizing ourselves  with the various online tools out there that will prove useful and meaningful for us and our students. Yeah! Light bulb moment.

In last week’s post, I wanted to add a fun element to the online class. So, this week, in continuation of this topic, I am thinking Second Life. As Ko and Rossen says, ” Reasons for using the virtual world for educational activities … the desire to inject some fun into education…” I am not too familiar with Second Life, except for the one time time where a friend of mine introduced me to the game some years ago. I think at least 11 years ago. And I was re-introduced to it at a recent workshop we had here at MiraCosta College. However, my skills are in question here.

I think, first and foremost, I must know what the heck I am doing before I introduce it to the class. For research purposes, I think I should try to play the Second Life game and get myself familiarized with it.

At this moment though, I am feeling overwhelmed by the tremendous amount of tools out there for our use in the educational setting. Yes, they can be easy to learn and use; however, the time factor and fear factor get in the way. For now, I just need to breathe. Hopefully, by the end of the POT Program, I will have some sense of comfort and familiarity.

I am going to continue with the discussion from my last post – to build a fun-filled learning environment, for this fosters community.

It all starts with building a rapport between students and teacher and students with other students. Pilar’s video presentation’s suggestion about contacting students before the class begins is a good idea. Also, I like that it is not only the visual aspect of it but the audio as well. Students are able to connect to the person that will be leading the class in a fuller manner than just with black and white texts only. Of course, introducing yourself as the instructor and giving some personal information like family, hobbies, and likes and dislikes give a personal touch. The sight, sound, and emotion factors are evoked. Now, we have trust. From then we can begin a class with leadership, with the instructor setting the tone for the classroom environment.

I used to teach Idiom and Vocabulary for lower level ESL classes; seeing this video brings back happy memories of fun times. Now I teach Advanced Writing courses, including a College Composition course for non-native learners. I am thinking of ways to make these classes come alive even more. Of course, I won’t have time to just play games, but I am trying to incorporate fun elements to the lessons. Besides, I have a 6 year-old niece who loves to play games. At the age of three we did flashcards of about 30 different famous sites around the world, and she memorized them all. She thought we were playing a game. She loves saying Machu Picchu. She laughs every time the card comes up. Now, she’s learning sight words. I think I am going to borrow the swat the word method from the video. I like this video, especially, because I like hearing laughter during times of learning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtwDhKso2No

I found that the workshop and the textbook information complemented each other well. I appreciated the visual examples given in the workshop, and Lisa walking us through the process step-by-step was very helpful.

The textbook’s emphasis of giving students details, details, details was not missed. I know that as an instructor, stylistically, I tend to be brief and to-the-point. But, I can see that too little detail can be confusing to students. So, the point is to put myself in the shoes of the students or my audience, anticipating their queries.

In on-ground classrooms, the syllabus is referred to or pulled out for reference many times throughout the semester. In the online setting, I see that being able to link the syllabus to internal or external sources will serve that purpose well.