Week 9: Technology is so Ghoul!

I have this haunting feeling that we are going to have a scary good time this evening ;-)  Okay, enough of the Halloween references.  However, as I have mentioned that I like to front load my course content, you should see a noticeable reduction in the number of assignments.  We will take some time tonight to go over the TaskStream collaborative narratives and discuss the Emerging Technology Rubric.  I would like everyone to leave class this evening with a complete NETS-I narrative, which can stand as a sample for you to complete NETS II-V.  As this may require some small group meetings with me, I requested that you bring headphones to class so you can work on your Excel assignment as well as becoming certified in a new tool, Symbaloo!  "What is Symbaloo?" you ask.  Think of it as a mix between iGoogle and Diigo. . .It's a way to house resources, links, and other types of web content, like RSS feeds on one visually interesting page. . .once created, you can also embed a "webmix" into your blogs.  Sounds awesome, right? The amazing folks at Symbaloo have generously offered to get your certified for free!
Here are the steps:

1. Click Here to sign-up for the certification program.  (I will give you the code in class)
2. Click Here to access the certification website.
3. Follow the tutorials by row, check out the webinar assignment & take the webinar quiz.
4. Repeat the process until you complete the four tutorials.
5. Take the final exam.
6. Wait for your confirmation email that you have been certified. . .
7. Forward the confirmation email to me: jheil65@gmail.com
8. Celebrate your new skill by sharing with friends and family!!

A few reminders. . . Even if you did not attend class, you need to answer the weekly question.  Don't forget to check Twitter and our hashtag #ed422 to keep up on class information.
Lastly, the San Diego Computer Using Educators is having the Fall Conference right here at CSUSM.  I mentioned this last week, but I want to remind you again.  I would also like to put out a plea for student volunteers.  We have over 900 people registered for the event and there is a great need for more volunteers.  If you are willing to volunteer for two hours, I would excuse one absence (keeps you from having to write any extra journals).  Here is the link to the volunteer website.

This week's Question:  What would be your ideal teaching job?  If you are not an aspiring educator, what is your ideal job?

Week 8: Is the Class Half Empty or Half Full?

I believe that tonight is actually the mid point of this amazing semester.  Gee, time flies when you are having so much fun, right?  Right?  Anyway, we are cruising along quite well in terms of the assignments.  I gave all of the NETS collaborative narratives a look.  If I can find some time today, I will try and give some more feedback before class.  Overall, I would say that you are all doing well.  Don't forget to give each other detailed feedback. . .it really does help.  The journal 1-5 assignment has been graded.  There were a lot of you who cited L&L as a paper journal.  The assignment requires you cite L&L as an online journal as that is how you are all accessing it.  Small fix, shouldn't take very long

Tonight we are going to go over the Excel assignment, the PLN assignment, and I will remind you again that Journals 6-10 have started.  If you are caught up on all of your work, you can probably finish the Excel assignment in class; however, you will need to BRING HEADPHONES as you will be watching a video tutorial.  If not, you will be completing the assignment at home.  There should also be some time to discuss TaskStream narratives and I can answer any questions the group has about the process or the content.  Lastly, we can revisit the Emerging Technology Checklist and maybe learn a new trick or two for your blogs!

This Week's Question: What is the last good book your read. . .it could have been for please or something assigned to you for a class? 
I am using a book called A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink for my other two classes.  It is an awesome book about the need for right-brained thinking in today's Conceptual Age.

Week 7: Revenge of the Nerds

As the semester moves along you may start to notice some subtle changes to your personality. . .maybe you are starting to look at cool things on web pages and think to yourself, "That's awesome! I think I could do that." Perhaps you are finding people with pocket protectors surprisingly suave. You have a sudden liking of argyle, penny loafers and sweater vests. Acronyms like HTML, JAVA, WWW and NETS are becoming sexy. You are now the person your family and friends come to for tech advice or assistance. . .Do any of these symptoms apply to you? If so, I'm afraid to tell you that you may be turning into a tech nerd . . .Not that there's anything wrong with that ;-) Well, okay, maybe it's not that bad, but you are all becoming amazingly techie–in a good way of course.

I expect that your Prezis and GoogleForm assessments are complete and you are ready to present to your peers this evening.  I will ensure that everyone can get the Prezi, the assessment, and the link to the assessment results on a page of your blog.  You should also have completed your Diigo, School 2.0, and journal 1-5 assignments.   I will get everything graded by class time next week.

You were also to have the rough draft of your NETS I collaborative narrative complete.  Tonight, we will discuss how to leave comments for your peers and how to embed links to your assignments.  I will introduce the Emerging Technology Rubric/assignment as well as the PLN assignment.  That should be more than enough to keep everyone busy.  And, oh yeah, Journals 6-10 also begin today.

This Week's Question:  Let's talk education:  Should high school exit exams be a requirement to graduate high school?  Why or Why not?

Week 6: Swimming Against the TaskStream?

Unfortunately, I am beginning week 6 with some type of cold/sinus infection or something is clearly compromising my ability to function well.  However, as a company person, I will do my best this evening to keep my distance and perhaps even get you out of class a bit early.
Tonight, I want to ensure that everyone can get the Diigo Tagroll on her blog (as a tabbed page) and I might even show you how to put your newsletter on a blog page as well.  I have graded everything that is due and even some things that aren't due until this evening (School 2.0 & Diigo), so please check your gradebook to see if you have any revision to do.  I am also giving you a gentle reminder that the journals 1-5 is due next Friday.  If you haven't completed 1-3, it is going to be more work than it should before the deadline :-(
To begin the evening, I will answer any Prezi questions that you may have and then I will show you how to use GoogleForms to create your assessment.  Remember that you will be presenting these to your peers next week and they will be taking your assessment of your presentation.  We will also begin to write the NETS-I collaborative narratives for TaskStream.  NETS I will be completed in pairs on GoogleDocs.
It is nice to see so many people using Twitter for both questions and the posting of resources. . .Thank You!
A note to my Type A Students:  Remind me to tell you about Jing as an alternative way to present the Prezi.

This Week's Question:  If this class were Pass/Fail, would you try as hard?  Why or why not?  (it's okay to be honest, your answers will not be held against you)