ECMP 355 Summary of Personal Learning
Created by mcfarla on Dec 3, 2010
Last updated: 12/05/10 at 08:04 PM
It's the last day of the Fall 2010 semester, which means it is the last day of ECMP 355. I have learned so much about technology and different tech tools that can be used in the classroom. I am excited to keep building my PLN and adding to my tech toolbox. Good thing Alec is only a Tweet away
For our last class before presentations, Alec had us collaborate our thoughts and compiled the tools we learned throughout the course by using an online whiteboard. This was a very interesting idea and seemed great at first, but quickly became a mass confusion. I learned that this is probably not a tool that I would use with my students but is still a good one to have in my toolbox.
http://www.twiddla.com/
I've heard of wiki's before, I've even looked at quite a few of them, but I've never made my own. We need a Major Project for ECMP 355? I'll go in a group with Katie and Jenn and we'll see what these Wikispaces are all about. They're actually pretty easy to use.
http://businesseducationtoolbox.wikispaces.com
Not only do I now know what a PLN is (Personal Learning Network), I actually have one! I'm following other educators on Twitter, reading and commenting on blogs, joining Nings, and creating a great network for myself. I'm learning so much!
Who would have thought when I starting blogging as part of my tech tasks that I would actually enjoy it? I want to share all of my knowledge and insight, with everyone! Maybe if I tweet about my post someone will read it. Oh look, a few people read it. Now they're commenting on what I say. People actually read and respond to what I'm blogging about? Blogging is awesome!
http;//mcfarla.wordpress.com
What are Creative Commons? I know that there are copyrights, but I don't know how they apply to education. I don't want to be sued! Why don't they teach us these things in school? Oh, ECMP 355 does!
Wow, Twitter really is as amazing as everyone says it is! I'm finding new resources every day and connecting to educators from around the world. Over 150 followers and 500+ tweets later, I Love Twitter!
www.twitter.com/@mcfarla
The task was to create a video. That's pretty easy since I've made a few videos in my life and to make it even easier, I've used iMovie to edit all of those videos... it'll be a piece of cake! Wait... iMovie '08? Why does it look so weird? Why am I having so many difficulties? Why would anyone ever want to use this program? After many frustrating hours, Katie, Jenn, and myself finally produced a semi-decent video... but never again iMovie '08, never again.
So many Tech Tools! Prezi, Edmodo, Xtranormal, Typewith.me, Google Reader, Bit.ly, Jing, Voicethread, Dropbox, Flikr, Screenr, LinkedIn, Flavors.me, SoundCloud, it's never ending! At least now I can keep up with them by adding them to the class Google Doc, bookmarking them with my Delicious account, or blogging about them.
http://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1FpPK3Y16FKoJyPOdP9vHuYv5dVgg0BpoyhfQ5aKE73g&hl=en&authkey=CJ7CkZ0G&pli=1#
Guest speakers are great for education, but it's so hard to get a speaker to come to the classroom with everyone having such conflicting schedules. How do we get around that? Skype! An online video chat that I can use anywhere I have an internet connection... I can connect students to anywhere in the world; the possibilities are endless! I will definitely have to use this tool in my classroom.
www.skype.com
Wouldn't it be great if there was some sort of a homepage that I can access anywhere and where I can link to all of my favorite sites from one location? Oh, there already is? Symbaloo! Hello new homepage
www.symbaloo.com
What a weird name for online bookmarking. What is online bookmarking anyway? Oh, it means I can bookmark anything, anywhere? Why haven't I heard of this before? I'm going to have to start using this!
http://www.delicious.com/mcfarla
I've never heard of a photo story before. It looks pretty cool. Photo Story 3? Easy enough. And I get to make a Mastercard - Priceless video of whatever I want? I'll join a group with Katie and Jenn and make a video about our SBTA conference.
I've heard of Google Docs before, but I've never used them. What's the point when I have Microsoft Office? Why would I use an online word processor or spreadsheet? Oh, you can collaborate and share with others? That beats having to e-mail documents back and forth... Google Docs rock!
I've had Twitter for almost a year now and I really don't think it's that useful... why is Alec making such a big deal about it? I rarely find anything interesting and it's so annoying only being able to use 140 characters.
www.twitter.com/
The first tech task involved creating a blog and writing about myself. I've never blogged before... What do I write about? Who will read it? How do I make it look the way I want it to? Should I be concerned about publishing online? So many questions!
http://www.wordpress.com
While Alec is in Shanghai we are going to have class online. But this is not like any online class I've ever had before... move over Moodle, Elluminate is taking over! We can use audio and text chat, link to websites and use an interactive whiteboard... It's almost like we're sitting in class together except I am in the comfort of my warm bed and wearing my pj's.
http://www.elluminate.com/
I entered the computer lab on the first day of class and was overwhelmed with all of the cool tech tools and ideas Alec talked about. There were so many things to learn, so much to look at, just so much stuff! But most importantly, what the heck is a PLN!? It's the first day and I'm lost already... oh boy.
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