Entry 8 Overall course reflection

As we come to the end of this class, IT648 Telecommunications in Education, it is time for reflection. This has been one of the best classes I have ever taken and there are many things that I have enjoyed about it. 

1. Online class - This was my first online class, and my first introduction to Instructional Technology curriculum. If I had known how much I would have enjoyed taking these classes I would have probably done so much sooner. Being able to work at my own pace was a huge benefit to me. I work at USM full time, and am responsible for the business side (banking, taxes, payroll, etc.) of our restaurant so the free time that I have is limited. It was great being able to work at my own pace.
2. Technology - it is my opinion that one can not learn enough about different technologies. I'm fascinated with gadgets and thoroughly enjoy learning new applications such as those we learned about in this class. I enjoyed them all, but the most useful for me is Diigo. I've used it many times during this class, for personal use, and told my kids about it so they can use it also. I'm anxious for the time to get all of my bookmarks set up in Diigo so I will have access to them anywhere. 
3. People - the first word that comes to mind about the people is wow. I have been blown away by the quality of students who are in this class and it has been both humbling and rewarding. I'm humbled by how little I know as I have watched the quality and level of commitment that has been demonstrated by my fellow class members. I'm rewarded by having been part of the class and have had the pleasure to have shared in your learning experience.
4. Content Organization - I sincerely hope that all of the online classes that I take are as organized as I found IT648 and IT709, which are the two classes I took this summer. In addition to my work responsibilities I had an outpatient surgery scheduled the first week of June. It was bad timing, but having the materials ahead of time truly made a difference in me being able to get a jump start on the readings and assignments. I think it is important to let students know in advance what they can expect from a class and this class material exceeded my expectations in this respect. 

Dr. Yuen, if my sources are correct you were actually responsible for the creation of the Instructional Technology programs at USM, so I am honored to have participated in your final IT classes at USM as you bring this chapter to a close. I wish you the best of luck in retirement.  Godspeed.


In my original post (april-jordanjust-me) I mentioned that I had applied to the ITD PhD program. As of today, I am happy to have received my letter of acceptance into the Doctor of Philosophy program in Instructional Technology and Design. I am more than happy...I am ecstatic! I feel confident that I will continue blogging so check back on my progress for April's Updates: http://aprildjordan.blogspot.com/

Southern Miss To The Top!

Entry 7 Final Project - Blogfolio

You have navigated to the final comments section of my blog where I reflect on the blogfolio assignment, or http://aprildjordan.blogspot.com/2011/06/entry-7-final-project-blogfolio.html.


It gives me a sense of accomplishment to have joined the ranks of bloggers. Blogging is not a strange concept to me because I've known about blogs and read other's blogs, but I've never been on the posting end of it. I attribute that to being a private person when it comes to posting items for the world to see. If the truth be known, it's not sharing that I fear, it's the potential criticism that comes along with it that I dread. 

There's always someone who has something negative to say, and I have not learned how to garner my sensitivity. I appreciate criticism and realize that it can be an effective mechanism for improvement, so it's not always 'what' someone says, it's 'how' they say it or 'why' they say it. So, my unsolicited advice for others is to be wary when providing criticism on blogs, or other posts. Not everyone thinks alike, acts alike, nor feels alike. Freely offer your suggestions, while avoiding opinions that start with "you need to",  "you should have", "I would have", etc. 

Aside from the personal aspect of blogging to the public, I do like the tool itself. I found it easy and fun to use. There were many options to choose from and the template options were enough that it is not cookie-cutter, thus promoted individuality. I was very impressed with the blogs of my co-classmates and enjoyed learning from some of the best.

Entry 6 Create an Online Group for Communication, Sharing and Collaboration (Assignment 5) reflection

It was fun creating this assignment. It was one of the easier tasks we've had, but I attribute that to the tool that we were using. Wiggio is a very intuitive program, and there are so many possibilities for its use, especially the education arena. Wiggio made it simple for our class to communicate and share information. It is the perfect tool for an online class like ours.


The least favorite aspect of this assignment was being bombarded with emails as people were developing their project. Unless the invited people actually need that information I would suggest holding off until the end before adding people to the group as was suggested by Debra.


The options that this assignment taught us included how to:

• Post comments
• Create events
• Upload files
• Schedule meetings
• Send messages via text or email
• Create to-do lists
• Create poll 
• Create calendar appointments

Those are all useful, user-friendly tools. I liked being able to use the search feature when I needed to find an old post, but I would add a collapse option for the posts so only the original post shows. 

Overall, the assignment was fun and useful. I really liked getting familiar with Wiggio, and although I don't have one to use it with, Wiigio even has an iPhone app.  

The link for my assignment is: vacation2011.wiggio.com

Entry 5 WebQuest (Assignment 4) reflection

WebQuest was the most challenging assignment for me in this class so far. It was my own doing that made it difficult, because I missed part of the directions when I read through the instructions. The assignment clearly stated for us to use Google Sites to create the WebQuest, but I initially created it using QuestGarden (http://questgarden.com/128/02/7/110616193601/), which was discussed in the class materials. I realized my mistake as I was about to post it because my link didn't match the rest of those already turned in so I was scrambling to recreate the materials in Google and still meet the deadline. Perhaps it was because I'd already used Google for creating a Web site, but I did find it slightly more easy to use than QuestGarden. 


In hindsight, my mistake was helpful in understanding the components of a WebQuest assignment because the Help feature gave great hints during the build process. There are some fantastic examples of existing projects that can be searched if someone is looking for ideas, also.

Bernie Dodge is the originator of the six components to the original model. They are

1. Introduction
2. Task
3. Process
4. Resources
5. Evaluation
6. Resources

The usage for this learning tool is limitless and I think it is a great way to make learning fun.

My assignment URL is: sites.google.com/site/unv101careerresearch/home

Entry 4 Google Sites (Assignment 3) reflection

I knew that there were many options provided by Google, and I have been using Google Docs for several year, but I had not used Google Sites until this class. Other than a snag I ran into with the permissions on the site, the assignment was relatively simple to do using the GUI interface. It sure is easier than having to learn HTML, PHP, etc. to build a Web site.

From this assignment I learned that the basic elements of a good Web page are:

• Navigation - use the 3 click principle
• Layout - consistent 
• Ease of use - no clutter, easy to navigation
• Consistence - 
• Graphics - smaller file size
• Call to action - keep the purpose in mind when creating
• Simplicity - less is more

My assignment link is: https://sites.google.com/site/unv101jordan/
I was very pleased to learn this information, and have since begun creating a site for my husband's business also using Google Sites.

Entry 3. Diigo Social Bookmarks (Assignment 2) reflection

The Internet is also referred to as the Web, and what a perfect description that is. When you start researching there are so many links for drilling down to information that you can easily weave from site to site and wind up no where near the page you originally began on. It's very much like a spun spider web, and can seem tangled at times. Sure you can bookmark the sites by using your favorites setting on the browser, but in the IT648 class that I am taking at USM this summer Dr. Yuen introduced us to a free service that goes far beyond just bookmarking. At http://www.diigo.com/ you will find this wonderful tool. Their video intro refers to it as a cloud based personal information management tool, a perfect description.

Diigo has many neat options, the first of which enables you to not just bookmark a page, but it saves the information on their server so you can access it from any computer that you are on, not just locally to your machine. This is referred to as cloud computing, or 'in the cloud', which you may already be familiar with. It is great for people who use different computers for working on, such as those on a lab. You can get to your stored information from any device using all major web browsers, iPad, iPhone, and Android. For Android users there's even a QR code (shown below) for the bar code scanners to make it easier to download onto your device.

In addition to simple bookmarking you can:

• highlight text on the page (using different colors)
• use sticky notes to make notations to yourself
• add tags to your bookmark
• capture, annotate, and mark up screen shots
• download offline data for reading where there is no access to Internet

Have you ever bookmarked a link to a site and find that it's no longer there when you try to go back? You can choose options in Diigo that will save the page for you to go back and read when you are ready to. It will archive an entire web page through snapshot and save it as html as well as image.

Another neat feature is that you can collaborate and share your saved information with other people. I give Diigo a thumbs up! If you want to see it in action watch the video at: ***Diigo Intro***

Blogfolio Take 1

Allow me to introduce my blogfolio. (my what?) Yes, I said my blogfolio Until today I had never heard the term, so I will start with, for those who need it, a brief introduction. A blog is for the most part an online diary that is in reverse chronological order, and according to the Website created by two students from Brisbane, Australia, http://themify.me/themes/blogfolio, "The difference between a Blog and a Blog Folio is that a Blog Folio has labels. This is crucial when creating a Blog Folio because it separates the pages by Key Learning Area or topic." In my words, a blogfolio is a blog that is organized by virtue of labels that make it easy to maneuver through.

My blogfolio will consist of items required to complete Dr Yuen's class, IT 648 at USM. At the completion of the term this blogfolio will consist of the following:

Entry 8. Overall course reflection
Entry 7. Final Project - Blogfolio
Entry 6. Create an Online Group for Communication, Sharing and Collaboration (Assignment 5) reflection
Entry 5. WebQuest (Assignment 4) reflection
Entry 4. Google Sites (Assignment 3) reflection
Entry 3. Diigo Social Bookmarks (Assignment 2) reflection
Entry 2. Introduction to blogfolio (assignment 1, part 2)
Entry 1. Introduction to the author, April Jordan (assignment 1, part 1)

With just two posts I have already enjoyed what I have learned so far, and I look forward to the increased knowledge that each of these assignments brings with them. Isn't learning fun!