A Hui Hou

ETEC 622 has been quite the journey.  As a new student, I feel much more prepared to integrate technology into my locus control after taking this course.  I have learend a plethora of tools and resources and have worked on many assignments in this course that I can continue to use in my education and career.

Mahalo to such supportive peers who continue to amaze me with their diverse backgrounds and varying expertise.  Group work has been a pleasure.  I bid you all a fond Aloha Oe...until we meet again.  Have a great winter vacation everyone. 

Reading, Reading and More Reading

I have been casually looking since the beginning of the semester for a good place to store my course reading material.  I wanted to find something that would allow me to highlight my PDF files and make notations while I read.  I have never been able to transition away from printing hard copies of assigned materials and I was determined to make this conversion as an OTEC student.

In the final weeks of the semester, as things are really beginning to heat up, I was lucky enough to stumble upon Mendeley.   At the moment I signed up for an account, the clouds parted and the heavens began to sing.  This is exactly what I've been looking for!

I love how the program offers a desktop and an online version.  This was great for traveling when I had infrequent access to a wireless connection.  I loaded all my files to the desktop version, but once I found a connection, I could sync my changes to my online account.  This is a handy feature for the user like me who accesses content from multiple devices in any given day.

The past couple weeks of being a Mendeley user has been a great experience.  The features are intuitive and easy to use.  The organization of material is very user friendly and I have been able to navigate the program with little time spent watching tutorials or reading "how to" guides.

This program has surpassed similar ones that I have tried and will help me tremendously with getting through this program. 



What is Mendeley? from Mendeley on Vimeo.

Mind Mapping

Mind Meister is a site that allows you to organize your ideas into a virutal mind map.  Perks of the program include the ability to collaborate with others synchronously, export maps as a variety of files, and customization features.

While the program benefits sound good, I've experienced some trouble while creating maps.  The collaboration feature experiences delays.  It is not as seamless as working in other synchronous tools such as Google Docs.  I've also had trouble sharing files with group members who were asked to sign up for a paid subscription to view the file I was sharing. 

Individually, I have not experienced as many problems.  There was a slight learning curve, but overall it was a user friendly experience.  It provides a different way of organizing your ideas than a traditional outline.  This format particularly suits visual learners. 

Moment of Genius

After the resource website assignment I was overwhelmed.  I thought there could never be enough time in a semester to check out all the interesting tools and resources that are being shared by my peers.  Then, I had a moment of genius.  What if I used my blog to talk about one tool per week?  That way I could kill two birds with one stone.  Duh, work smarter, not harder!

This week I'd like to review Khan Academy.  An Aunty of mine posted on Facebook that she was trying to help her son figure out Newton's Law.  I immediately thought, there must be something in the resource websites that can help her.  I stumbled across Khan Academy.  It is the perfect solution.  I sent her the link and she was very thankful.  I also discovered that they have SAT prep videos.  I do outreach work with high school students, many of them expressing interest in SAT prep material.  Trying to loan out one SAT prep book to 70+ students is a challenge.  By using Khan Academy, those with internet access can get more detailed instructions from the comfort of their home and don't have to stand in line for the limited number of resource books we have at the high school.  I have just scratched the surface, but I am sure there are tons of other great videos on the site.  I definitely give this site a thumbs up for visual learners who like material broken down in audio/visual format.

Learning from Peers

Echoed throughout many lectures, articles and discussions is the amount of learning that happens from our peers.  At the graduate level, instruction changes dramatically.  I remember my undergraduate years being primarily lecture based.  We rarely had group assignments and were often forced to memorize abstract concepts so we could regurgitate them in quizzes and tests.  This is no longer the case and I find myself much more excited about learning. 

In our last group assignment, we were asked to produce webpages.  I was assigned to the Red Team and our topic was synchronous tools for online learning.  The resources that we collected were plentiful and there were many that I was not exposed to prior to this project.  In fact, we had to focus on specific tools because we did not want the page to seem cluttered.  Quality, not quantity. 

Here is a link to our site:  http://sync-ed.weebly.com/ 

I learned a lot from my team and it seems each group project has been that way.  I enjoy learning from others and celebrating the unique contributions that each person brings to the table.  

Road Less Traveled

Life is full of choices.  In my current chaotic state where I am struggling to keep up with the roles of being a mother, wife, employee, volunteer, student and more  it is often tempting to take the easy way out.  Figuring where and when to cut corners is a hard decision to make.

There are so many new technologies that we are being exposed to, but at the same time there are some traditional methods that can be applied to achieve similar results.  Take presentations for example.  I am no expert on Powerpoint, but I have created quite a few in my lifetime and like to think that I am able to produce a decent presentation.  However, I was recently introduced to a new tool called Prezi.  So for my next group project that included a presentation, I had a choice to make.  Do I use the tool that I am familiar with and breeze through this assignment, or do I take some extra time to figure out this new tool that seems to be more fun and dynamic?

I chose the more difficult route and jumped on the Prezi bandwagon.  There was a bit of a learning curve and trying to navigate the features without a mouse was difficult, but I managed to survive and was quite impressed with the results.  In fact, it was so much fun, that within a couple weeks I had already started incorporating it into my work.  (This I enjoy because it's hard to impress our class full of techies, but take Prezi into the work setting and you are sure to drop jaws.)

The lesson learned from this experience brings me back to the infamous poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken.  The final lines state, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that had made all the difference."

Online vs In Person Relationships

This topic seems to be haunting me.  Friday morning I was listening to the morning radio and the topic for debate was online dating.  The disc jockeys were stating that according to research the majority of men and women who met through an online dating platform were embarrassed to admit it.  This sparked a lively discussion about online dating and whether or not people who "got game" use the internet to find partners.

Later that night, I met up with some friends and the same discussion transpired.  Makes me wonder if they too were listening to the same station that morning.  According to my friends, online dating has become respectable.  It is no longer something to be embarrassed about because it is so mainstream.

So much of our social interaction in this day and age happens online.  Certain people feel liberated online like they are free to be themselves and engage in ways they do not feel comfortable in face-to-face situations.  Online interaction frees us from the generalizations and assumptions that are often made with a first impression.  On the other hand, there are those who are online social retards who struggle to maneuver through the world of status updates, tweets, hashtags and circles.

So where do I stand is the question I keep asking myself.  My answer for right now is that I guess I would be a hybrid citizen who enjoys a nice balance of both worlds. When I tip too much on one side or the other, I feel unbalanced, like something is missing.  I enjoy the conveniences of the online world, but I also love to unplug and enjoy what my physical surroundings have to offer.  Where do you stand?

Thank Goodness for Livestream

The Na Wahine O Ke Kai canoe race is a special time for Molokai residents and paddlers from around the world.  This epic sporting event where wahine (women) cross the Kaiwi channel between Molokai and Oahu in outrigger canoes is held annually and is considered the Super Bowl of paddling.  Each year it is a treacherous feat, but this year the wahine faced especially difficult circumstances at the start.

My family and I arrived at Hale O Lono harbor around sunrise to watch the start of the race.  When we arrived we watched as 8-10 foot swells came rolling into the mouth of the harbor.  Never before have we witnessed such daunting water conditions at the start of this race.  The women who were about to embark on this journey seemed surprisingly calm and collected.  

When they were given the green light to start heading out, the canoes raced to the mouth of the harbor.  With over 70 boats rushing to get to the starting line, the chaos began.  Residents tried to navigate the boat traffic telling paddlers when to rush out and when to hold back to avoid getting caught in the unforgiving sets.  Unfortunately, some of the crews were not as lucky as others and found themselves climbing waves as tall as their canoes.  One can only imagine what was running through their minds in that moment.

As an onlooker I felt hopeless watching canoes get tossed around in the waves as women battled to keep their canoe afloat and their fighting spirit alive.  It takes a tremendous amount of training and funding to get to this race and their preservation was admirable.  One canoe got swamped, but the girls paddled in their boat, bailed it, and rushed out in time to get out of the harbor for the race.  My heroes!  It made me wonder if I would have had the energy to continue.  

It came at great relief that only one boat was damaged and a set a bruised ribs resulted from the mornings events.  The onlookers were obviously shaken up. 

My sister was one of the strong wahine that battled water conditions all day in what turned out to be close to an 8 hour race for her and her novice team.  After such a scary start, we rushed home and turned on our computers and followed the women through the channel by subscribing to the live stream hosted by Ocean Paddler TV.  Thanks to this technology our minds were put at ease knowing that the conditions they faced at the start tapered as they continued their journey across the channel.  

While watching the live feed I was amazed at how many others were tuned in.  At one point there were over 900 people watching the event.  Technology provides accessibility to things that I wouldn't have imagined 10 years ago.  I was sure thankful for the Ocean Paddler TV crew for allowing me to watch many friends reach the finish line safely.  

The Next Generation of Techies

 All this research on how quickly technology is evolving is making my head spin!  I wonder if we will be able to keep up with the techies of tomorrow.  I look at my elders and think....please let it be easier for me to adapt when I hit their age.  By then there should be an app for that, right?

Take a look at this 2.5 year old navigating the iPad with ease.  

My son is the same way at 2.5 years old and so are many of his cousins.  Their ability to navigate technology at such a young age continues to amaze me and their excitement and engagement with these tools is fun to watch. 

Watching this video, I noticed that the young girl seems to have a short attention span.  She plays one game in each app and moves on to the next.  My son likes to flip quickly through them as well.  This lead me to wonder, will the speed of technology create students with shorter attention spans or is this typical for this age group?  What are your thoughts?  

R2D2-Don't Forget Display

Read, reflect, display and do is the basis of the R2D2 model.  The witty acronym is hard to forget and that is a good thing because is an instructional strategy to remember.  Utilizing this model allows the opportunity to offer instruction in a variety of formats that address the different learning styles in any particular class.  Another benefit is the freedom to adjust the parameters of the R2D2 assignment to accommodate students at different learning levels. 

Here is a breakdown of the different stages:

• Read-Present information to the student.
• Example:  Websites, Articles, Videos

• Reflect-Allow the student an opportunity to interpret what you have presented in writing
• Example:  Journal, Blog

•  Display-Students put together a visual representation of the information
• Example:  Graphs, Charts, Images

•  Do-Hands on application of material
• Opportunities for students to test/implement what they have learned

In a hybrid course I instructed last semester, I tried to include all the elements listed above.  However, there were parts of the model that were more heavily emphasized than others. I think the area I neglected the most is providing my students the opportunity to develop displays.  For visual learners, this is an important piece and I should allow them more opportunity to work in their area of expertise. 

Often the reflect and display sectors overlap.  I will try to allow more opportunities for students to build visual representations in their online reflections.  An example of how I did that was rather than having them write about professional attire, I had them search the web for an outfit they would wear to an interview and provide a brief description as to why they chose the particular look.  The students enjoyed this activity which was different from the normal text based response.  I will try to incorporate more activities like these to build upon the display element.

Tips for Succeeding in an Online Class

I've taken about 10 online courses throughout my academic history now and I can honestly say that each one was a completely different experience.  So, when we were asked to suggest tips for succeeding in an online course I knew it would be a tough question to answer. After some deliberation, I've narrowed it down to two primary tips that I think are necessary in any online course.

The first would be to stay organized.  Without a teacher directly in front of you or classmates you "talk story" with on a regular basis, it is a little more challenging to keep track of assignments and deadlines.  Being organized is especially beneficial when you are taking more than one course and you have to juggle the different requirements for each class.  I'm currently using the Google calendar system.  I like that I can see my calendar by month, week or day and that I am able to add events or tasks which I can check off once I've competed them. 

Secondly, I would encourage getting into the habit of going online daily and if possible a few times per day.  Even when I think I've completed all my assignments sometimes I log on to my different course sites and realize I missed something or someone answered a question I posed a few days ago.  Staying connected is crucial to success and I find the more I engage by logging in, the more I learn and benefit from a course. 

As an instructor, I try to stay mindful of what helps me succeed as a student.  Knowing that organization is key, I give my students multiple formats that show course requirements and deadlines.  I post a calendar to our course site, I print a copy for each student in the syllabus and I email it to them.  I know that students organize themselves differently and I want to try and accommodate as many different organization styles as possible to ensure student success. I also encourage the students in the first day of class and in the syllabus to make sure that they log on to their email frequently and check the course site daily.

Instructors need to stay flexible when developing courses and always remain open to student feedback.  I've found that as I spend more time as a student I become a better instructor. 

Don't Blink

You know that saying, "don't blink, you might miss something?"  That was my initial reaction in ETEC 622.  The course got off to a quick start in week one.  I was introduced to three new tech tools; Trello, Wiki Spaces and Twitter.  Now, I find myself up late at night bouncing between all three platforms trying to make sure I don't miss any assignments and enjoying the opportunity to explore and discover. 

Our class is very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable instructor and two outstanding TA's who also have a wealth of knowledge.  In addition to all the tools we are being asked to use in class, this trio is constantly referring to additional tools to check out.  For now, I'm trying to stay focused on the course requirements while jotting links down in hopes of being able to find some time in the near future to start exploring outside of our course requirements.

It is only week two and I've already been exposed to many new tools that can be utilized in instruction.  If we continue moving at this pace, I can only imagine how much I will benefit by the end of this course.  I hope to continue charging forward with eyes wide open so I don't miss a thing.

“Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~ Gandhi