bP17_2009121_Final_Project

Check out my final project video

BP3_2009121_EduUses4Blogs

There are several educational uses of blogs and in this post I would like to discuss some of them. In my last class my group was asked to create an educational website that focused on experiential learning. The blog was used as a means to documents students experiences as the completed activities assigned to them. It was thought that the blogs would be a great opportunity for students to talk about the course content, thereby enhancing the learning experience through the creation of a learning community.
Blogs can also be a method of allowing teachers or subject matter experts to share information with the wider public. There is a teacher in Trinidad and Tobago that blogs about her experiences teaching. You could learn about her successes and trials as she tries to integrate technology in to the classroom. A fellow’s teacher has the opportunity to learn from her mistakes and build on her successes. In this scenario both the student and teachers benefit from a teacher following her blog and implementing what they have learned in the classroom.
One of the more obvious uses for blogs is that it helps students hone their writing and reading skills. Students can create portfolios of their writing with a global audience. However another not so obvious benefit is that it is identity formation. In a paper titled Presentation of self on the Web: an ethnographic study of teenage girls’ weblogs Bortee argues that blogging helps student find their own voice and consequential helps them to create their own identity.
Finally I think blogging and blogs helps students to become more active and engaged in the learning process. Blogging for a student allows them to extend their education experience to teaching and information sharing., which is not always available in the classroom. I believe that is the true benefit of blogging

Bortree, D.S. (2005). Presentation of self on the Web: an ethnographic study of teenage girls’ weblogs. Education, Communication & Information, 5(1), 25-39

http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogs-in-education.html

bp16_2009101_my comment_2

Louria,
I truly appreciate your defense of a classroom teacher. It is always good to get an alternative point of view. i agree that it is time consuming and difficult to effectively incorporate these tools into a classroom environment. My struggle with these tools is that I can use many of them in a corporate environment because of data protection issues. Thanks for blogging I enjoy reading your ideas

bp15_2009101_Reflective media asset_timeline

Please note that all pictures were taken from Microsoft clip art and from using the tool timeline

bP14_2209121_Web 2.0_Tools_Edu2.0

EDU2.0 is a learning management system for k -12. Therefore EDU2.0 cannot be used in the corporate environment, which by the way is the same story for most of the tools evaluated in this course. I have enjoyed playing with them but in the end I can’t use them. The evaluation of EDU 2.0 is the final straw, this class Emergent technology in a collaborative culture has be targeted to teachers for k through 12 not for corporate trainers. In fact I would say that most of this program is geared towards teachers and I feel pretty left out. Yes I could see the potential of some of these tools and I have blogged about them but I must protest the lack of focus on tools that can be implemented today into the corporate classroom.
Moving on, I have decided to talk about the value of LMS systems in corporate training, which has been an essential part of corporate training for the past 10 – 15 years. In an article in the New York Times titled “Within Companies, Too, Education Proves Its Value” argues that companies that invest in employee training and development out perform those that don’t. They go on to state that a company’s success depends on its human capital. What does that have to do with LMS? LMS allows companies to monitor and evaluate their human capital. For the employee LMS systems provides them with a roadmap to success as they must view themselves are learners that need to constantly update their skills in order perform their jobs and advance within the organization. LMS systems, usually offers, course listings and resources such as publications to the student, they also offer reports and assessments to the trainer all within one platform. Hey are robust and can support large organizations and ensure corporate privacy and data protection.
EDU 2.0 has similar offerings as other LMS systems for corporations and It will allow students to take school home while they are doing their homework. It looks like any other LMS system except it is clear that is gear toward children and teenagers.

bP13_2209121_Web 2.0_Tools_Fishbone

Kaoru Ishikawa invented the fishbone diagram, which is also known as the cause & effect diagram. Karou Ishikawa is also known for his work in quality management processes and his methods has been adopted by companies globally and is considered to be a pioneer of modern management systems. How do Karou and his work? His work and his diagram is part of the quality health and safety (QHSE) courses that every employee in my company must attend. So, immediately I knew that this tool and diagram would be very useful for corporate training.
The fishbone diagram is used to explore all the potential or real causes that result in a single effect. This makes the diagram invaluable part of the process of determining the root cause of an accident or quality failure. This diagram can be given to the participants in a QHSE class to determine the root cause of an accident and then determine how the accident can be prevented. As the instructor in a QHSE class I would split the class up in groups, give them an accident or quality failure and ask them to use the diagram to determine the root causes. Once they have decided on the root causes they can then figure out what measure should be implemented to prevent this incident from reoccurring.
The fishbone diagram can also be used to for brainstorming and problem solving. Students can be given a problem and asked to solve it using this tool. Their fishbone diagram can be used as part of their final presentation, which would be their solution and how they arrived at it.
The fishbone diagram is a very effective teaching and learning aid within the corporate classroom. The web 2.0 version of the fishbone diagram in its current form would be a great addition to the corporate classroom. However it needs to be updated to look more professional to be used effectively.

BP12_220912_Web 2.0_Tools_Timeline

For the purpose of this post I would like to discuss the uses of a tool called timeline. Timeline is a web2.0 tool that allows students to create a timeline of events. There are several applications for this tool. The first is to allow students to create a timeline after you have covered a topic. Timeline is an excellent tool for teachers to evaluate how effectively each student is learning, as they are expected to list the major events within the given topic. It gives the students another opportunity to cover the material again and create something interesting that can be used for further study and revision.
The second potential use of timeline is to document processes, which has a chronological order such as subjects like history and geology or process such as digestion and digenesis. Asking the student to create a timeline of events they have learned will help to keep the information straight and will be an invaluable study tool when it come time for exams. Color-coding of events adds another layer of knowledge to timeline. Once the students have listed out the events, they can use color to categorize each event. For instance in geology, during rock formation you have physical and chemical process, when using time line to described the formation of a rock you can have yellow mean physical and red mean chemical process.
Timeline can be also used by the teacher at the beginning of the topic to give the students an overhead view of the topic about be covered. Students can use the timeline to understand where they are in the grand scheme of things.
Although there are many uses for timeline within the classroom for people from ages 5 to 22, I think that the tool will not be very usable in the corporate classroom in its current state. It looks very cute and gimmicky and does not really have a professional finish with corporate students expect. We also run into the question of privacy and protection of corporate data. I have the tool thumbs up for the classroom but I would not implement it in a corporate classroom.