EDUC 639

Week 7:  Research Prospectus Blog

Here is a link to our group summary of our research prospectus:

 

Week 6:  Wiki Reflection Blog

The very first time I visited the Wiki I was a bit overwhelmed.  I had never done any work on or with a Wiki except for occasionally looking at information on Wikipedia.  Since the our Wiki space was created a good bit before we needed to post any information on it I was able to take the opportunity to look around the site and get my bearings a bit.  Our group leader Stephanie did an excellent job setting up our wiki and made it very easy to navigate and find where to post our information.  The next time I visited the space I worked on adding my references and writing the outline for my literature review.  At first I wasn't entirely sure where to post everything, but I found it pretty quickly.  I found that I do not like the way the spacing works when it is saved.  I tried several times to format the outline as it should be but came up unsuccessful.  The last time I worked on the Wiki was to post my Literature Review.  I decided to write the review using a Word document then copy and pasted it into the Wiki to avoid any trouble.  I thought this went pretty well, but again ran into formatting problems when saving the document.  Our group decided to color code the work that we did on our Wiki.  Each person wrote in a different color to make it easier to see the various contributions.  I wrote in purple and contributed several different resources as well as an outline and four pages for the review about BYOD curriculum.  Each group member is working on writing two questions for our test.  Since the concept is fairly new it was difficult to find resources that gave us information pertaining to the subject.  I do feel that I am much more aware of the concept of BYOD, and feel that it would be a valuable addition to a school if they were to choose to undertake a similar program.  Working on the Wiki allowed me to see some opportunities that I may not have known about before in working with students with what is available.  Not all classrooms have state of the line devices, but if there are digital devices available it would be great to try to implement them into the learning process.  I enjoyed working with my group a great deal, and I believe that the communication was very easy and helped a great deal when we really got into the meat of the project.      

Week 5:  Muddiest Point Blog

In the first video I viewed with Dr. David Brown I found the concept of metadata a bit unclear.  I understood that this metadata can be used to trace information sent from a computer or e-mail, but the use of the data was not clear to me.  I was not sure what the purpose of some of the data would be, or why it would be necessary to send the data.  Dr. Brown said it was possible to limit the amount of data that is sent from emails and from Microsoft Office Documents, but I had a bit of difficulty understanding how it was done.  I would be interested in making sure the data that is sent out with some of the documents I create is limited to only things I am comfortable with others seeing, but I did not understand how it should be done.  I have heard of metadata before, but I never knew the extent of how it could affect those who create the data or send it out unknowingly.  In the future I will definitely try to be more cautious about what others can view that is sent from my computer, and limit the private information the public can see.  I believe that this concept is overlooked in the digital age we live in, and that it is not addressed as much as it probably should be.  If it truly is an issue it seems that classes which require information to be sent over the internet should address the issue up front. 

Resource

Brown, D. (Performer) (2012). Presentation: Ask the expert- dr. david brown [Web]. Retrieved from http://bb7.liberty.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_1980527_1&url=

or

here is a link to the post on my homepage

http://meganboland.blogspot.com/

 EDUC 639 Week 1 Introductory Blog

Here is a link to visit my introductory video blog on youtube!  Megan's Introduction


EDUC 639 Most Important Blog week 2

For my interview I talked with a former teacher who now trains teachers how to integrate technology into the classroom, and how to do it well.  This woman spent about 20 years in the classroom, but was put into the position of technology training about 5 years ago.  She travels to various schools in the district, and leads classes and sessions of teachers and future teacher about how to integrate technology effectively.  During the interview one of the important facts that I found was the importance of the technology personnel developing personal relationships with teachers so that they trust them and value the information they are presenting.  It’s important to give teachers the insight as to why you think the technology is important and examples of how it has worked.  It’s a great idea to do the research, find great ways to integrate technology, but if the teachers don’t buy into the practice that is presented it will not get used in the classroom.  I believe this will help me in the future because I think this concept applies to all educational situations other than just educational technology.  If teachers do not develop good relationships with one another and value each other’s educational expertise, than chances are they will not work together in the most effective ways.       


EDUC 639   Week 3 Most Important Blog Link