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Week 4 Free Choice Entry - The Journey Is Almost Done

Here we are in month 11 with one more to go. There are so many emotions running through me that they are hard to catalog. I don't wish I didn't feel them because I have earned each and every one: excitement, fear, pride, chaos, jubilation, madness, deliriousness, hopefulness, and wonderment. Each one has taken me through a stage in this journey to my Masters degree. There were even moments of panic when I wasn't sure if I could do it. And that's where my classmates turned friends came in.

They knew where I was in my journey, what I was feeling every step of the way, and how to reassure and support me all the way through. I counted on them as my critical friends for my Action Research and as my close friends through some hard tribulations of my life. They became my support: Kimberly Coast, Amanda Beery, Nathan Eshe, Tom Kowalewski and Joy Flack in particular. I, in turn, have been theirs as well. We have become more than we set out to be: classmates turned family.

Though the journey was long, our destination is more than worth it. As we walk across that stage, we will reflect on what it took to get there. Yet what it took to get there is far more than our deepest imaginings for what it took to get there are our FRIENDS AND FAMILY!! The bond we have is something that can never be taken from us. We met for school, we remain for life! Thank you to all of you.

Week 4 Comment 2 - Amanda Beery

Ah, the blame game. My students would do better if the teachers they had last year taught them more, their parents were more involved, we have more money to spend on them. I have what I have and I am given the students I am given…I can find excuses for why they aren’t performing at the highest levels or I can look for ways to help them achieve more. I choose to look for ways to help them achieve more.

My comment:

Funny how great minds think alike. My blog runs similar course as yours because our thinking runs similar path in that we, as educators, need to change our focus into what will happen from this point versus what happened before. We can't undo what was done but we can lay an excellent framework from here. As you stated, we can either make excuses or we can change the situation.

Week 4 Comment 1 - Vandy

Where are these P's coming from: purpose, promise, project, people, passion, peers. Following right in suit, it's time to Publish. Time to wrap up all my research in a little nice package and send it out to the publishing world.

My comment:

I absolutely love this beginning to your blog entry. The P's accurately sum up our degree program at Full Sail yet you forgot three: patience, partnership, and pride. We have all come a long way and we have formed partnerships that will take us through the rest of our lives. Even being across the country, we have forged friendships that transcend distance. I am so glad to have made the journey with all of you. You ought to definitely publish because the senior community is a lot larger than previously imagined as technological advances are extending the median age. Keep it coming.

Week 4 Activity on Being the Board

'It's not you, it's me'...I have a blouse that says that. Of course, many of us associate this phrase as the break up speech headliner. Well, imagine if you will that more people used this philosophy in their everyday instead of playing the blame game. How much different would society be? How many differences would we see in the realm of education? There would be fewer instances of passing the buck and way fewer children being left by the wayside or being left behind. Sure, we have the law of No Child Left Behind but as educators, we know that there are many children still being left behind through no fault of their own yet no one takes accountability because too many are trying to pass the buck. With budget cuts being the administration's first priority, no teacher wants to be blamed for a child's shortcomings.

What a world we can have when we stop saying others did it, and say, what can I do to improve this circumstance? What can I do to make things better and keep this child from failing? How can I be the change I want to see in this child's existence? Taking accountability is not an easy thing to do however, it begins with small steps. Accountability makes us take more time to weigh decisions, use critical thinking, and seek solutions that will really work versus just applying a small Band-Aid to a gashing wound.

It isn't even just a scenario painted for educators and administration. Parents also need to embrace accountability for their child's failed educational goal. Not enough parents are involved. Not enough know what is going on in their child's school and classroom. Whether due to employment, social obligations, or total disregard, parents are just not as involved as they need to be to ensure the success of their children's education.

I am also of the mind that I am the master of my own destiny. As such, what occurs in my life is what I allow to happen even if outside influences beyond my control affect it. I must be the one to transform any negative effects into a positive framework for my existence. This philosophy creates accountability in my life. By blaming myself for anything occurring in my life, I am embracing both successes and failures for failures are learning experiences. To learn, we must often fail. Through this trial and error, we can see where mistakes happen and we can then prepare to prevent further mistakes.

When we teach children to accept responsibility, we must be mindful that we, too, must do the same. Accountability is the name of the game. We must indeed be the board that the game of life is being played on for every move our player takes, is one that we have caused whether through knowledgeable desire or ignorant indifference. I don't know about you but I prefer to be the control behind the pieces rather than just a pawn.

Week 3 Activity - AR Abstract

My AR project addresses time management and organization skills as behavior modification to improve dynamics in a single-parent family. Methodology includes identifying problem areas in organization at home, negative behaviors in school and home, listing daily and weekly time uses for parent and children, identifying areas where time management can be improved and creating modification techniques. Both parent and children used modification techniques to improve time management, organization and behaviors. Surveys taken by children and critical friends garner both internal and external opinion of family dynamics. Research identifies characteristics of happy families, strategies to acquire time management and organization skills, and benefits of effective time management and organization skills. Cycle results show further consistency needed by parent, as foundations must be reestablished.

Week 3 Comment 2 - Melissa Caruso

I think the whole idea of “things are the way we are” very closely resembles the “things happen for a reason” phrase I use often. As the text states, nature doesn’t identify good and evil as humans do. So humans need to instead look at situations more of cause and effect, what possibilities has this cause brought me? What new doors have opened that weren’t there before?....and what event would not have happened if that did not require me to change my thoughts or plans?

My comment:

I firmly agree with you that we should stop looking at what is bad or good and start to weighing cause and effect. We need to also see that even what we consider to be a 'bad' situation can bring us to a different conclusion that is better than even our imaginings.

In my life, I am going through some struggles that would test even the strongest of people. I can look at the glass as half empty and allow these 'bad' things to knock me down where I will have a horrible time rising up. These include losing my job, losing my apartment, leaving my beloved Florida, and traveling to family and friends that have shown themselves to be enemies undercover. Yet, these 'bad' situations haven't knocked me down. I have instead seen that I have been freed to recover my heart's desire that I lost 15 years prior. I have been a vagabond these months yet he has been there for me, inspiring me, lighting my spark to find a better tomorrow. He has shown me that I can do anything and supports me in all things. I have seen that had those 'bad' things not happened, I wouldn't have grown to appreciate when things were right for me...while he and I were together...and I wouldn't have grown to see that he is who I should have stayed with. Now I have been happier than I have ever been in my life and can only continue to go up from here. Things definitely happen for a reason and the way we perceive those things can change where we proceed to next.

Week 3 Comment 1 - Vandy

My Full Sail classmates…I have grown very fond of my fellow sojourners. We have iChatted, Skyped, e-mailed, texted, and talked on the phone; our relationships have grown stronger. A diploma on graduation day is nice but meeting these guys face to face will be the real reward.

My comment:

I, too, went through some of those feelings. Hesitation was the result of fear that in some ways is still with me. Excitement is mixed in there somewhere. I also look forward to graduation for the same reasons you mentioned. I have to meet those voices, texts, videos, that helped me get through those fears, anxieties, confused moments. These classmates that became friends and family. People made our education more than reading of a page, studying those words, or even lecture after lecture. People make the difference.

It's been a long road but we earned it. For each other and because of each other.

Week 3 Activity on Lighting A Spark

How many of us as parents and educators say "It's not about us. It's about them." and actually mean it? Too few unfortunately. We want to believe that we let our children come first, however, that isn't always the case. It's not that we don't want that to be, it's more that it isn't always feasible. As parents, there many obstacles and realities that come into play such as work, financials obligations, and relationships that often take full attention from children and what they wish were a reality in their lives. As educators, there are the administrative constructs that dictate what a child should learn, when they should learn it, how they should learn it, and sadly, even how the instructor should teach it to meet the previous three criteria. There is not enough trust from the administrators in that the teacher can go about meeting the criteria without thier influence.

To light a spark, we must return back to the mentality that it isn't about us and that it is about them. We must inspire confidence in our children; in our students. They must believe that they are masters of their own destinies so that they can rise to fulfill this destiny. Such as Chapter 5 in the Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Ben Zander taught us, we must consider how much greatness we are willing to grant our children/students. Will we be able to transfer some of our own desires to be great in order to provide an opportunity for our students/children to reach a level of greatness? It is not easy to do yet it is something that is possible. At home, I often let my children cook dinner because as someone that is culinarily trained, my children often want to show me that they, too, can cook a nice meal. This effort allows me to see their drive to be great in my eyes. How I choose to critique and appreciate their meal determines how great they will feel and how much more they are willing to do to maintain this feeling of greatness.

This idea is the beginning of what I have done at home to light the spark in my children. I have also maintained an academic spark in them by continuing my education and by showing them that I love to learn and exceed my limitations. They are watching me be a role model for the lessons that I try to teach them. This tends to light the fire for them to meet and exceed both their own limitations as well as meet and exceed my expectations for them.

How I plan to light the spark in my students once I begin teacher is to let them have more of an upfront role in the classroom. One thing I have always seen in education until this point at Full Sail, is that students don't have the opportunity to lead their own education. Sure, there must be someone in charge, yet we have a tendency to assume that students cannot dictate their own education. This is what sets Full Sail apart and also what made it the best school I have attended. There is a premise to how we learn. There are guidelines, dictates, and the like to keep us following the required lessons, lectures, and curriculum yet, ultimately, the student leads his or her own learning by following the deadlines, seeking additional resources and providing these that are found to their fellow classmates. Full Sail epitomizes the 'Each one, teach one' principle. This lights a spark in me and that spark and that ideal is what I will use in my classroom. Students will learn the concepts that I must teach, and then they will help each other to ensure that all learn and understand. This gives them a sense of fulfillment because they have helped someone else while learning themselves.

For some, this method will simply allow them to pass and move on to the next grade while for others, this will inspire a lifelong learning and the desire to teach others to be just as they are. This method works. I know because this is what my teacher did for me in 2nd grade and she is the reason I continue to learn and why I want to educate others; both personally and professionally. Thank you, Mrs. Cooper.

Week 2 Free Choice Entry

This week's free choice entry will be one of a somewhat personal nature. I want to express how education has gotten me through the toughest times of my life.

I had a difficult coming of age. I had a difficult childhood due to the deaths of my two sisters as many of you know. However, what I did not reveal was how my parents separated and divorced within the same year and how my mom struggled to raise four surviving children on her own while struggling with her own grief. I didn't write about how my older sister began to display classic signs of schizophrenia or how my younger sister displayed emotional disturbance and bipolar disorder. How about my brother's apparent indifference having been the oldest child and only son? That didn't exactly leave a good place for me. I was a middle child...5th, in birth order. What was my niche?

Education became my thing. I had to excel in order to secure my spot in the family. I had to bring home those great grades to receive the appropriate amount of credit or attention in the household. Sure my mom didn't say this but I felt the pressure to be 'normal' and to rise above these things that held my siblings down. So I put my nose in the books and learned as much as I could. My 2nd grade teacher made me promise to keep learning more and more and triumph so I did. My mom wanted me to learn as much as I could, too so she bombarded me with vocabulary books and reading material fit for high school and college since I hit 4th grade. I was smarter than my siblings, "Almost a genius" is all she told me over and over. I learned, learned, and learned.

Today, I realize that education was my solace. It was my escape from my home environment that in the best of times was difficult. My mother wasn't abusive, she just had a lot to cope with and I understood it. I couldn't add to her stress so I buried myself out of sight the only way I knew how...in a book...where I could go anywhere I wanted and be anyone I needed to be to get me through. I still do that from time to time when my life takes a difficult twist. I remove myself from my current situation by reading or studying and then I feel refreshed and that I can handle whatever is ahead of me.

Do I regret making my education my solace and my niche? Not at all. Sure, I can lament my reasons for doing so yet I don't because they helped to make me the strong woman and mother I am today and I wouldn't change that for the world. I strive to be the kind of educator that can help children like me, who seek solace in education. Since I've been there, I know what to look for and exactly how to help.

Week 2 Comment - Lora Cervone

I love the story about the woman throwing the starfish back into the sea and the man telling her it is pointless because there are so many of them. This story can be applied towards teaching. Realistically, a teacher isn't going to be able to touch or change every single student. But even just changing one, or helping one student, is better than none at all.

My comment:

Just today, I was speaking about 'each one, teach one'. If everyone one taught just one person, we would be a greater world. As you said, if we touch one person then that person will forever be affected in a way that will cause them to teach someone else and pass on the message. A teacher is only as successful as the student who teaches someone else. Not only has the message penetrated, but the student was so affected, he or she decided to impact the life of another. That is the meaning of true education. I know that it seems that statistics are high for the students not reached; however, we must hold to the belief that the statistics are higher for students that have been reached.

Week 2 Comment - Amanda Beery

Lighten up...this one has been hard for me. I work a lot, I am busy all of the time. I like to know whats happening well in advance, I am not a fan of surprises. My boyfriend has been very good for me. He is very laid back and knows when to take a break. By not working on grading papers all weekend I am more refreshed come Monday morning. I am able to get more done after taking a break and spending time on myself. I cannot control everything in my world, and I shouldn't have to.

My comment:

For me, you hit the nail on the head with this statement: "They are more willing to listen to what I know when they know that I will admit to them what I don’t." That is something that transcends from education all the way to parenthood through to any interaction between people. Know-it-alls are easily dismissed yet when we are willing to admit our ignorance we become humanized to those we are trying to reach. We place ourselves on their same wavelength and diminish their perception of inferiority. Once this precept has been removed, the mind is open and receptive to our advice or lesson.

Week 2 Activity - On Being a Contribution

What does it mean to be a contribution? I always used to get thrown off by this question because I always thought that it meant I should look at myself and figure out what I would bring to the world that had never been brought before. The pressure of that was sometimes too much to bear and I often came up flabbergasted and this puzzlement showed on my face. It was kind of like the "What can you bring to this establishment?" and "Tell me about yourself" inquisitions one must go through during interviews for unemployment.

And then, I read the Art of Possibility by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander and this thinking changed. Now being a contribution has taken on a whole new meaning. Contributing is not financial or something to dread being asked about. It is not a question meant to stump or undermine. I realize that being contribution means any action taken to improve the quality of life for someone else. The book also tells of how one can contribute to even the memory of someone by looking back and seeing that person's actions in a brand new light. By choosing to look back and change one's thinking, our perception of past experiences change.

How am I a contribution? I feel that I have been and will continue to be a contribution by inspiring people of all ages and walks of life to continue their education. By being supportive and providing advice towards returning to school, I am giving the person the message that I BELIEVE IN THEM. One has no idea just how important that is to someone. Too many students drop out of school at all levels because they feel that no one believes in them and that no one cares. By pushing education, I am saying "You can do it" and by being a continuing student, I am proving that I believe in the message I am sending.

I know that I have contributed to the lives of others greatly in this capacity and that is why I am headed towards the teaching career. I want to reach students at a young age to inspire them in ways that cannot be undone when they get older...just as was done for me.

Week 1 Free Choice Entry

Today is July 4th and most of the nation is celebrating what we perceive to be our independence from British Royalty and when our forefathers decided enough is enough. Yet, I sit and ponder why we should still be celebrating this independence when we have become prisoners of our own making by choosing to limit ourselves to the technology we currently have in our educational system, and choosing to let our children fall by the wayside. This week I am in my hometown of New York City visiting friends and family and celebrating this 'holiday'. To my amazement, I have met a large number of teenagers aged 14-21 that have chosen to drop out of school for idiotic reasons while their parents sit by and allow them to do so. When did it become the child's choice not to go to school? These same kids are in front of me drinking, smoking, and choosing to engage in adult behaviors without the benefit of adult self-control and discipline. Who are they kidding? Heck, who are we kidding?

The damage that these parents have inflicted on their own children is immeasurable considering the far reaching effects that these decisions will have on future generations. These dropouts are the parents of our tomorrow. We teach them that we do not care when we allow them to drop out and smoke and engage in negative activities. These kids are the ones who will care for us when we are seniors yet do we not see that these kids are being limited not by their own decisions but by those of the parents that do not parent. These are the parents that are friends to their children instead of a role model or authority figure.

As a teacher in the making, I try to do my part and talk to these teens before me. They listen with half an ear because they believe they have all the time in the world. I feel as if they have been failed and I hope they have more time than the time that is before them. This is why I chose to be a human service professional. To try to save some of them. You can't save them all but all it really takes is the first ones and the rest will follow.

Week 1 Comment 2 - William Boswell

I found this reading to be very akin to many other books I have read on the topics of positive thinking or result-minded thinking. The primary difference present that truly struck a chord with my manner of analytical thinking was the simple question, “How?” How is my approach to the problem in front of me affecting my finding the solution I need? The practice steps at the end of the chapter provide suitable guidance for focusing the analysis of the situation; assess and reassess. By slowing down and examining how I am approaching a problem, I have a much better chance to find a flaw in my thoughts that may be limiting results.

My comment:

Your viewpoint is quite interesting in that you have a real 'this is what it is' approach. I like the idea of 'out of the boat' thinking except that my take would be more of 'now that you're out of the boat, how will you adapt to the next step'...

This book did remind me of a motivational speaker type and I also look forward to reading more of it. I believe that when we cannot find our way, we need only sit down, reflect, and our way will come to us.

Week 1 Comment 1 - Tom Kowalewski

A teacher doesn’t take the test. My name is on the classroom door but it is the students who make up the class.

The teacher depends for his/her power on his/her ability to make students powerful.

My comment:

My favorite part of what you wrote is this statement: "A teacher’s job is to awaken the possibilities in others" because too many teachers seem to forget their purpose. In this new era where tests like the FCAT rule, too many focus on the child passing the test and not enough focus on having the child be ready to take on the world and teach someone else. Students today just want to pass with whatever grade is passing instead of desiring to learn as much as possible so they can teach another.

As a teacher, we should want to awaken the love of learning and the drive so that others can want to teach as well.

MAC_Week 1 Activity 1

I absolutely love and agree with Chapter 1 because I am a firm believer that we are what our minds contrive us to be. Through the limits of our own minds, we can be or not be anything we want. Our perception is what keeps us bound to or frees us from the constraints of society and regulations. We can either struggle against the shackles of our limitations or adapt to our possibilities.

As we ourselves know from our Masters program, we can create new medium to bring to children that will one day open the possibilities of their own existences but it begins with us. I have done the 9 dot puzzle before and this brought back memories. Sadly, I was one of the people who didn't realize at first that it was okay to go away from the line and to 'think outside of the box' however, I did easily adapt once that became a possibility. I believe this book is one that will help us to look for ways to adapt the regulations to benefit us and what we attempt to do for children.

I also believe that Full Sail is right on time to provide us with a motivational book instead of a text that will create less of an impact on us. This text allows to examine our own thinking critically along with our own preconceptions, assumptions, and biases. To do so only frees us from that which holds us back from what we want to do and need to do for our students and children. Critical thinking teaches us to reach beyond our regularities and makes us acknowledge and embrace our possibilities.

Week 4 Final Project Video - The Future of LMS and PLE

Here is my video for the future of LMSs and PLEs...

The UdutuTeach and UdutuLearn pages can both be found on the Facebook social networking site.

Week 4 Comment 3 Tom Kowalewski

Re-finished audio with my own creation from GarageBand. Videos and ScreenFlows are from my personal collections, including the Howard Gardner segment. My District does not allow student access to many websites so I have built the lesson as a separate site, listed third, below. Please let me know what you think as I value your opinions.

My comment:

Tom, as always you have done an excellent job. I recall this lesson from a previous class and am glad you did it again. It is a definite refresher with a way to go at your own pace. I see you really have the hang of manipulating Udutu, which is cool because it is very time and patience consuming. Keep up the great work.

Week 4 Comment 2 Joy Flack

The program was difficult to use but I think with more time it could be efficiently implemented in a fourth or fifth grade classroom. Third graders may struggle unless they were paired with at peer.

My comment:

Joy, your lesson was a great lesson on working within Google documents. The ability for a student to learn to use Google documents as a way of keeping assignments online is valuable when transitioning between school and home. Imagine a world where 'I left my homework at home' as an excuse is obsolete. With the web being everywhere we go, there is no longer a reason for homework not be hosted online.

Only recommendation I have would be about the last PowerPoint presentation transitioning too fast. I couldn't read what was on the slides because the pages turned too fast and I am a pretty fast reader.

Week 4 Comment 1 Kimberly Coast

I just finished creating my UDUTU lesson and am posting it to Facebook and will be setting it up as available to all of my former students who are on my Maestra Coast Facebook page. I am also linking it back here so that anyone who takes the course can also feel free to leave me comments on the lesson here.

My comment:

I liked your Udutu project on the Spanish verb conjugation. It brings back memories of when I took Spanish in high school to further my knowledge of my native tongue. I am now able to read, write, and speak it properly.

I enjoyed the lesson because you were very thorough and anyone taking it would be able to effectively conjugate the verbs. I especially liked your assessment screens. You really got the hang of how to manipulate Udutu...

Nice job!

Week 4: My Udutu project

My Udutu project is for my recipe, Kickin' Bleu Cheese Burgers.

The URL for the project is: http://publish.myudutu.com/published/launcheval/20429/Course36319/Launch.html

Enjoy!!

Week 3 Comment 2 - Amanda Beery

Moodle is a free Course Management System (CMS)that many teachers are using to create online courses for their classes. With the outcome features students can complete tasks on Moodle and receive a grade that the teacher can then use in their grade book. This is good for students as well because they can easily monitor their progress as they complete various activities and desired outcomes. These outcomes can be grades or statements of completion, something students can think of as a list and check them off as they go.

My comment:

Amanda, this system described here reminds me of the Accelerated Reading (AR) tests that my children used to take when they finished certain books they read. The tests would evaluate whether the student’s comprehension of the book was sufficient enough to continue to another book. Whatever grades the student received would be the grade entered into the teacher’s grade book.

I know that I am happy tools such as this exist because it will help me to create lesson plans in the future when I become an instructor. I definitely like the idea of the Hot Potatoes tool as it seems very versatile and I’m sure there is a feature that allows one to print out the exercises, crosswords, etc. created.

Week 3 Comment 1 - Kimberly Coast

Clay Shirky is a visionary with a wonderful speaking style that is open and honest and he relates well with his audience. This reading was all about the future of technology in education. I included his video because it illustrates clearly coordinated group effort and he makes a clear argument for the benefit of that structure.

My comment:

Kimberly, I love your statement, “Students and their parents and communities have a common goal of knowledge, skills, and attitudes”, because that, to me, is the only way for education on any level to succeed. If any of the parties is in contrast to the end goal, the plan will fail and education or an educational tool will be unsuccessful. And for me, this is the concept that is not sufficiently grasped in today’s educational system: “Learners need to be motivated and need to see the reason behind the learning”. If for once, educators would understand that learners need to know why they are learning, as much as they need what they are learning, then perhaps the future of education as we know it would succeed. Learning must change because this question is going unheeded, which in my opinion loses our learners.

Week 3 Activity 1

To ascertain the future of e-learning and Course Management Systems (CMSs), one must research and examine the current trends. Social networking and the freedoms granted by the Internet have greatly progressed since its release to the public. The Internet has created such a stir that many educators are calling for some type of government control. Another trend is the use of media and technology as an alternate way to learn versus what is already in place. Still another trend would be the use of phones like iPhones and PDAs as a means to access education content or learning concepts. Distance education is really taking off and will continue to do so as well as the idea of ‘embedded learning’, which is a system that allows users to self-education instead of have an offline course and receive help by an online support department. Lastly, online applications like Udutu and web tools will make creating, delivering, and using education much easier for the user and at a lower cost to the user.

The use of simulations and gaming is also in the future of education as technological advances are causing educators to seek other options to get the user’s attention and keep it as well as deliver course concepts. This brings me to the Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), which is a system that teaches students without a human teacher. The ITS uses four modules that use simulations, expertise, a student module describing student knowledge and misconception, and finally the tutor model that is tipped off by the variance between the expert model and the student model. An ITS is completely reliant on the accuracy of the four models.

With all the technological advances mentioned above, the use of the ITS is only optional and reliant on how much interaction between student and teacher is desired as well as the cost of building the system and its overall productivity. This system is very effective for mass tutoring such as is needed for high volume corporate or military training. Though we are not to give opinion based information, I must say that I do not believe that ITS would assume the position of educators but can be embraced to pick up slack in our educational systems.

What we need are web 3.0 tools such as described in W3C Semantic Web systems. Tools that connect our daily usage of the internet as well as of the tools we find most useful would be great for education because it would make teaching less monotonous and could provide more time for teachers to teach new things. For example, the curriculum that is repetitious can be offered via a web 3.0 tool while new systems can teach new concepts.

References

W3C Semantic Web Retrieved June, 2010 from http://www.w3.org/RDF/FAQ

Wikipedia (2010). Intelligent tutoring system. Retrieved June 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_tutoring_system

Week 2 Project Udutu Setup

1. Ayala, Kenya
2. How-to make Kickin' Bleu Cheese Burgers: a step-by-step guide to make my spicy blue cheese burger.
3. Digital Media and Education Applications (DAE) lesson, February 26, 2010.
4. I am using the Best Practices Scenario because my lesson is somewhat linear in that steps build upon each other. I am using the true/false areas as a means to correct any errors that the user may do when acting out the steps.
5. The URL of the original lesson is http://web.me.com/sunny1way/EMD573/interface/index.html

Week 2 Comment 2 - Billy Goins

The official Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) website provides a very detailed overview of the organization’s history and purpose. Under the direct care of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (OUSD P&R), the ADL Initiative was created in 1997 and given the task of standardizing and modernizing the delivery of training and education. On January 12, 1999, Excutive Order 13111 signed by President Clinton tasked the DoD to develop and lead a partnership with business and university groups for the purpose of creating standardized training software and related services. (http://www.adlnet.gov).

My comment:

I liked your information on ADL and standardized learning. I question whether standardized learning and training is the right way to continue in education because not all children/learners learn the same way. Standardized testing has failed child after child and should be outlawed when children can't meet the standard and fail. The standard may not have been set too high; that child may just learn in ways that the standard doesn't focus on.

What do you think?

Week 2 Comment 1 - Kimberly Coast

This week's reading was much calmer than last week. As I worked through the reading I realized that there was much more information in section 6 than in 7 or 8. I was thinking that I could deal with the cost of LCMS versus regular face to face (F2F) instruction, but that could be summed up in one sentence... It is WAY cheaper, like half the cost, to use LCMS in the long run than F2F instruction. I also considered describing ADL, Standards, SCORM but considered that something that I would easily remember. Discussing the differences between LMS and LCMS seemed mute as I did that last week and I believe that my time is best spent discussing LCMS in more depth this week. :)

My comment:

Kim, I, too thought about how we defined and explored LMSs and CMSs and I am glad that we got a good grasp of these concepts to be able to quickly acknowledge the difference between these systems and LCMSs.

I like how you summarized LCMS as 'what you want...' because it seems that LCMS is definitely accessed by the user once permissions are granted by the creator and organization. The LCMS becomes that user's PLE which allows the user to acquire and incorporate his or her own style of learning while learning content designed by the business.

Individual education is on the horizon for sure as education must eventually grasp that children don't learn equally. Education must reshape itself to the needs of the children and not to the tenures of the teachers.

Week 2 Activity 1

Learning management systems (LMSs) are mostly for smaller businesses that require training of employees on a smaller scale. Course management systems (CMSs) are used primarily by universities, like Full Sail University that focus on the coursework and delivery to the students. Databases are similar to that of LMSs but on a scale directly related to education and focus on course rather than content. Learning content management systems (LCMSs) are used primarily by large institutions like the military that must deliver content materials to a large amount of people/learners, such as in the four major military branches. Personal learning environments (PLEs) are more learner focused like LMSs but can easily take on qualities attributed to the other systems, depending on the amount of users.

In just-in-time learning, the learner gains access to data, answers, questions and the system delivers information based on when and how it is needed. Just-in-time learning systems can be viewed as part of LMSs or LCMSs. LMSs cannot create instructional content. Learners gauge and plan learning and socially and collaboratively interact. Administrators target, track, analyze and report on the user’s learning. CMSs were designed to simplify the creation of online content and the administration of said content. From the article, the organization of the online content is also an important part as well as its management.

CMSs are organized around course development, distribution, and management of the course. By contrast, LCMSs are oriented to content development, distribution and management of content. LCMSs require pre-assessment that targets content. Learner’s profiles allow the system to extract content from a database to deliver individual content or to assemble full courses.

Successful implementation of a LCMS is contingent on the understanding of the organizational skill sets. The organization’s mission and goal are relevant to the purchasing of the LCMS, as the cost of an LCMS was over $200,000 for 5,000 to 10,000 users in 2004, according to our reading. LCMSs are combined systems that have the qualities/components of both LMSs and CMSs. LCMSs are comprised of reusable learning objects (RLOs) that can be used on their own or as part of the larger whole of instructional materials.

RLOs can be single objects like graphics or video files yet they can also be smaller pieces of learning that focuses on one goal. RLOs set the goal, the content and the assessment on a specific goal-by-goal scale.

LCMSs are able to quickly create and deliver learning content modular forms rather than the one size fits all fashion for more personalized learning. This personalization expedites the employer’s business and training goals. Benefits of an LCMS include increased and expedited efficiency, the reusing of content that may become relevant in future or alternate purposes, the reduction of training time which expedites productivity, maintaining current compliance through constant updates and changes according to changes in technology or government/educational regulations, and on-demand learning through easy search methods that enhance just-in-time learning.

LCMSs use multimedia and multiple forms of media as a delivery method which makes this type of learning system the most versatile and valuable to organizations and learners.

Week 1 LMO Project Overview

Learning Management Systems (LMS) manages learners rather than just the courses the learner will take. Learners would be in different positions, age groups, and structural levels. The LMS will be able to provide learning to each user because the LMS will assess and use the skill level of each user to build and deliver the course content that the student/user needs rather than have broad courses and curriculum that is not specific to the user.

Course Management Systems (CMS) manage courses or classes used for education such as at Full Sail University. The school is already established and the student is added to a database and the student’s courses are delivered to the student through online access. CMS is able to integrate grading, registration, library resources, plagiarism checker, etc for each student after a student has been registered. CMS are not individualized for learners.

Learning Course Management Systems (LCMS) is a combination of LMS and CMS that was designed to be used by the military because of the size of its organization, and was created to bring individualized learning functionality to content/course management. Large educational institutions also benefit from LCMS by bringing courses to their registered students with individualized information to facilitate on a user level. FSO is a perfect example in that all students in EDMT receive the same course content on the dashboard, however, each is able to work at his or her pace in whatever order and the dashboard updates according to that student’s use.

Personal Learning Environments (PLE) are systems established to facilitate the learner’s control of his or her own learning space and goals. This system could be large or small, a place or a course, provided by both the learner and the institution of learning. The user would be in charge of creating an environment conducive to meeting his or her learning such as in a quiet study environment with the appropriate materials, such as notebooks, computer, etc. The educational institution would be responsible for creating an environment that facilitates the user’s learning such as learning course management systems (LCMS) that provide resource materials, textbooks, assessments, and grading.

PLE and LCMS are the type of educational tools we presently use at Full Sail University.

Week 1 Comment 2 - Joan Lourenco

In order to move forward in education, it is important to understand current circumstances, recognize problems, and assess the instructional needs of students and teachers.

In 2004, Colleen Carmean, Ali Jafari, and Patrica McGee worked with experts to identify and develop end-user needs of a course management system (CMS). They completed this multiple case study on teaching and learning environments by assessing what was working in CMS and focusing on ways to improve current practices and...

My comment:

Sometimes, I wonder if the creators of Course Management Systems (CMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) understand that to devise a system that will truly reach proper functionality, there is a need to work backwards from the user's point of reference. Only then will the system provide the desired effect and learning. It is only the user that can decide if the type of learning works for him or her as he or she is the one that will succeed or fail at learning what the system is trying to teach him or her. That is what makes these systems difficult to create because the needs and ideas of the user must come first yet the system must be broad enough to reach many types of learners.

Week 1 Comment 1 - Joy Flack

" A virtual learning environment (VLE) is a system that creates an environment designed to facilitate teachers in the management of educational courses for their students, especially a system using computer hardware and software, which involves distance learning (Wikipedia,2010).

The definition for virtual learning environments is more applicable to the present in terms of technology and applications then if it were applied to the past.

Traveling through time with the same class as now. Would you be able to earn a graduate degree with an audio/visual communication network as used in the early 1900’s? The standards have been raised and technology created to bring education into the 21st century. In 1990’s, Florida State University was still offering courses via television. The interaction between student and teacher has since tripled. Now feedback, group interaction, online class sessions, and so much more is available in and virtual learning environment. Today there are over 205 colleges and schools offering online learning and students are earning more than $300 per week with the MBA."

My comment:

It is indeed amazing that the foundation of today's online educational system was created and used for 40 years way back then yet, here we are today, struggling to prove that this type of learning works and can be better for some learners. Imagine if that type of learning would have been embraced and empowered, how many of our children would be on a better path today. How few children would there be in the judicial system if they had been given another alternative to sitting long hours in a classroom where they understood little due to the teacher's pace and not their own level of comprehension? I believe there could have been a difference. What do you think?

Week 1 Activity 1

I find it fascinating to know that the earliest distance learning was before the 1940s. This shows me that my theory that governments and school systems often conspire against progress is true. My reasoning for having this theory is shown in the many examples of distance education that I read about in the readings. The idea that Illinois Wesleyan University sponsored distance education in 1874 indicates that there was a market for that type of learning even then to change what was known about the educational system. Though distance education would not have replaced traditional education, it would have given another option for present day education. Had distance learning been embraced then, as it should have been, many of the children who dropped out of school and become statistics more than likely would have continued in school and obtained a diploma. Harvey White televised his physics lessons in 1956-1958 to over 100,000 students according to our assigned reading. This type of learning should have continued to reach the many students who could not attend regular courses but who had the desire to continue studies. I suppose that too many teachers would have become obsolete with this new type of learning and as jobs would have been lost, it was in the administration’s best interest to allow this form of learning to disappear.

According to the reading, in 1962 came the system that incorporates computers to augment learning and was called NLS, oNLine System. This is interesting as it is the beginning of what I currently recognize as OLS (online learning system), with it debuting in 1968. The PLATO system (1960) was genius at best, and this is the beginning of what we currently use (FSO). With the commission of the Internet as we know it in 1969, education changed because now the race to bring educational resources and course materials to the Internet began. By the 1980s, the technology was there to bring learning to another level; however, it seems that the development of courseware, software, and computers may have stepped on each other. The 1980s brought many technological breakthroughs however, universities weren’t releasing what they knew or had.

1987 brought online education to Norway. Europe seems to have been at the forefront of this technology. A large chunk of the technology of distance learning was overshadowed by the development of computers. As computers improved and became advanced, it seems that distance learning materials were developed. The millennium brought out a massive wave of learning management system software and ideas such as The Thinking Cap in 2001.

Learning management systems (LMS) focus on the user’s learning through the use of online systems that facilitate learning, provide assessments through collaboration between the user and the instructor/learning institution. The idea that the user doesn’t have to adhere to a classroom setting either in physicality or time is what makes the LMS work. The user can work at his or her own pace, in his or her own time frame from anywhere he or she can log on. For learners that are bound by familial or professional responsibilities, this type of learning environment is the only way he or she can meet academic desires. The solution is like the gold at the end of the rainbow at the end of what can appear to be a long, endless and lonely journey for some learners.

From early dabbling into distance education to present day online learning systems, it seems that we have always had the notion that the world of education needed to be improved yet society continues in traditional classroom and instruction methods. This is something I don’t quite understand. Is it because of the failing job market or is it because of the control government has over education? Either way, such ignorance is costing our children.

Wikipedia. (2010). History of virtual learning environments. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments