Week 15: Is it Really Over?

I'll admit that I'm a little sad that this is our last class together.  I have really enjoyed my Thursday evenings this semester.  To see all of the amazing work you have created makes me proud.  The other reason that I'm not very excited to reach the end of the semester is that I have to grade all those TaskStream narratives ;-)  However, I know that you will all do such a great job with them that there will be very little revision necessary, right?  Right?
Yesterday, I started at the first assignment and worked my way up.  That way, I was able to regrade any revisions.  I still have to finish Journals 6-10 and the PLN assignment.  You all still have to complete your iMovie PSAs, emerging tech checklists (Yes, you need the physical checklist!!), your short reflection in Attendance and Participation, Sybaloo Webmix of NETS narratives, and, alas, your final TaskStream narratives.  We will take a few minutes in class to go over the checklists and Symbaloo.  I hope we can embed the webmix into TaskStream!
The majority of class time tonight will be either completing/revising work, or writing your TaskStream narratives.  I will try to touch base with each of you to see if you have any questions about the narratives.  I realize that the majority of you are not really looking forward to writing these, but I expect that you have had enough support to complete the narratives without too much trouble. Before you leave this evening, I expect the blogs to be complete and the Symbaloo webmix to be on your blog and in TaskStream. We also have to discuss the course evaluations, which should have been mailed to your CSUSM email a week or so ago.  And, and, you will be leaving this class with some mad tech skill that no one can ever take away from you. . .So you got that goin' for you, which is nice!

Final Question:  What is the best thing that you will take away from this class?

Week 14: Almost to the Top of the Mountain!

Here we are approaching the end to a fairly awesome semester.  I have been truly fortunate to have had you ladies in my class this semester.  All of your hard work is going to pay off when you become the tech guru of your future schools!  As such, I am really excited to do yet one more ground-breaking activity to show your proficiency in technology.  Now is when you will use you newly acquired Symbaloo certification to highlight your work for TaskStream.  I have created a webmix for my EDUC 578 course at USD that contains student blogs as well as the tools we used and some other exciting products the students created.  It was not only fun, but the end product is very cool.  Here is a link to the webmix: http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/educ578
A few amazing things about Symbaloo as a portfolio tool:  If you use a Google Doc as a tile, it will show without having to leave the page (e.g., your TaskStream narratives).  If you add an RSS feed of your blog, the center of the blog will show your latest posts.  The Twitter tile will function in the center as well.  You can name tiles and put pictures or screenshots of your own work on a tile.  And lastly, we will be able to embed the finished product into TaskStream!!
As far as this evening goes, you will be working on your iMovie PSAs and any other work you may be missing.  I will discuss the final TaskStream narratives as well as go over the Symbaloo webmix that will be an impressive portfolio of some of the work you have completed for this class. I also want to apologize for being behind in grading your assignments.  I have been a bit overwhelmed this semester with multiple classes and it has put me a behind in my grading.  I will do my very best to get everything graded by the end of the weekend so you can fix anything that may need to be revised. Please do not hesitate to discuss any assignments that you may need help completing or are not quite understanding.  I can create some time next week to come to campus on a separate day if I need to, but does this required communicating with me.


This Week's Question:  What has been your favorite assignment this semester and why?

Week 12: In the Spirit of Giving

Here we are the week before Thanksgiving!  It seems like just last week, we were on the eve of a holiday. . .wait we were ;-)  Hopefully, you are feeling a little less stress as we approach the end of the semester.  In the spirit of giving, we will not be having class next Thursday. . .I know, I know, I am a giver.
Tonight we will be working on our public service announcements (PSAs) for our lovely university using iMovie.  If you haven't edited video before, I think you will really enjoy the process. In order for you to edit sound, you will need headphones. . .I told you all about a month ago that you should bring headphones to class.  Try to remind your friends that tonight it is especially important to avoid the cacophony that will occur if too many of your peers forget.
Last week, we began the mindmaps for your TaskStream narratives.  If you were on of the many who was absent, discuss with a peer what you missed.  Also, there are a number of students who didn't leave a comment from last week.  Even if you were absent, you can leave a comment.
There are still quite a few assignments that you are probably working on; however, after tonight, you will only have your TaskStream narratives to complete.  This should give you plenty of time to catch up if you are behind and allow you to concentrate on completing your TaskStream narratives early if you are ahead.  Please don't hesitate to ask me if you need any help. . .I am always in the lab early.

This week's Question: What has been your most challenging assignment in this class and why?

Week 11: Becoming One with Technology

As we are approaching our last few assignments, you should have more time to be creative and less time of frantically trying to complete all of your work (well, at least in this class ;-)  Tonight, I am going to cover the all-new mindmapping assignment (previously known as Inspiration).  I am going to give you a lot of freedom to find and use a mindmapping tool to brainstorm how you have met the NETS-T.  Journal 8 has been polished up a bit. . .so I will clarify what the expectations are for this journal.  I am also releasing the final TaskStream assignment, which will not be due until the last night of class.  After this evening, the only new assignment will be the iMovie assignment!  Of course, you have multiple assignments pending and will have a lot of writing to do for TaskStream.  However, my hope is that when class ends on December 8, you will have everything completed for the course. . .It's a lofty goal, but one that I know you are all up to, right? Oh yeah, you should also have some time to work on your Google Sites tonight as well. 
Remember that for each of the artifacts that you put on your blog will also be connected to a NETS-T as well as contain a brief description of exactly what the artifact represents.  Doing this as you go makes it a lot less painful.  And don't forget to get your Symbaloo certification completed.  Forward me your email and put your badge on your blog. . .We will use Symbaloo towards the end of the semester where you will showcase all of your hard work in an amazing webmix ;-)
I want to thank all of the students who volunteered at the SDCUE Fall Tech Conference.  I saw Karla, Shayla, and Emily working hard to ensure the attendees had a good experience.  It was a record-setting event in terms of the number of people who attended.  I hope we can continue to have it on our campus for years to come!

This Week's Question: What feeds your spirit?? Watch the following video and then respond!

Week 10: Three-Quarters of Awesome!

I figure we are about 75% complete with this course.  I really want to tell you all that I am really impressed, not necessarily with the required work you have completed for this course, but with the work you are doing that you don't have to do.  Many of you are active on Twitter when you don't have to be(although I strongly recommend you do), many of you are putting extra effort into your blogs, and you are all willing to help your peers achieve success.   These are all qualities that I would look for if I were hiring teachers.  So, for that, thank you.
I believe that I have graded and regraded everything up through the presentation assignments.  I still have the PLN and some other projects that aren't technically do yet. . .well, I actually extended the PLN assignment another week so you can all participate in a quality educational chat, which is much more important to me than an artificial due date.
Anyway, tonight, I hope we can accomplish a few things:  I want the TaskStream narratives completed and ready to move to TaskStream (I will walk you through this process), discuss the Symbaloo certification and future use, and I will Introduce the CyberSafety Collaborative website assignment.  It shouldn't be too painful. . .Oh, and remind me to discuss my personal PLN experience with you. . .some cool things happened in the last couple weeks. . .An remind me to discuss Google+ hangouts!

This Week's Question: How would you describe yourself as a learner?  In what ways do you feel like you learn best?

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.