Farewell to ECU- Week 16

It seems like a lifetime ago, since I started this journey of enrichment in developing into the type of person that I have become. I never thought that I would have excelled to the level that I have while obtaining my master’s degree through East Carolina University. I have been on this journey for close to eight years now, and as I take a good look at what I have accomplished, I am extremely proud of myself. I actually started working on my AAS in computer programs back in fall 2001, after going through a devastating divorce. I needed something to take my mind off my heartache. When I signed up for my first computer class, I started to feel an empowerment that I had never felt before, a desire to want to improve the type of person that I was.

I have been very fortunate in having the opportunity to work within the college system, while completing my degrees. Since I was employed at the community college, I have also had access to the library, learning lab, and help from other teachers who have traveled down this same road.

I have been very blessed to be able to complete my degree at East Carolina as a distance learning student. The opportunity that I have received while working on my graduate degree has been extremely beneficial to me. I have never felt like I was just a number at ECU; I have always been treated with a high professional demeanor from professors who really care about you. Helping the student develop a passion and desire for what he/she is learning is what makes a great teacher. I am grateful for those experiences.

I would like to thank all of my professors at East Carolina University for helping me along this journey. I am truly grateful for all of the help and support that I have received during my past 5 years. I have had the opportunity to make a network of friends while working on my degree, and I will treasure their friendship for the rest of my life. I wanted to thank my professors for having the patience to give me the support that I needed. I know that I have not always had the patience that I needed to complete my assignments, and that my frustration level has been high sometimes, but my professors have always been there for me. This journey has been long, but I can finally see the end of the road with my Master of Science in Vocational Education degree in hand, and my horizon looks wonderful. God Bless You All and thanks ECU.

Food for thought - Week 15

Every day I try to say to myself, "Today is a brand new day so make the most of it!” This belief should be etched into the minds of all educators. If you do not go into your classroom everyday and give your entire self to your students they will not give even half of themselves back. In my opinion, a teacher strives to be a caring and commitment individual that reflective student’s lives. I want my students to trust me with all their hearts. I believe that you must have trust before you can teach.


Becoming a teacher has always been one of my goals in my life. What motivates me to become a teacher is that I love to help and teach students’ new things in life. I want to help students to grow academically and emotionally to become successful in society. In my opinion I think that a teacher can also help all students to obtain very high self-esteem, growth and integrity. A teacher can become, in certain ways, like a parent and most importantly, a friend. All of this is done without forgetting the responsibility of a teacher. This is why it is so important for me to become a teacher, to make a different in someone else life.

Creating a dynamitic presentation within a team-Week 14

In this week assignment our team was to create a Team Agreement & Work plan. This plan will help us schedule the workflow that we will need to create our final project. One of the first steps to working on a project like this is to form your relationship between your group members. Being able to establish strong communication between members will help when it comes to putting the final report together. Team members need to feel a personal and collective sense of power, having access to necessary skills and resources that will be needed to complete the project. Another step is that members must have some mutual respect and willingness to help one another. This will help members to become more motivation and by that will empowered the team in creating a dynamitic presentation that will only amaze your fellow workers.

We are using Skype to communicate between each other and we have a good plan. I am looking forward to seeing how it all will turns out, I have no doubt it going to be spectacular presentation.

WEEK 13- Social Loafing

In the week’s assignment we have started working on our final project and O’ my God, we got a lot to do. One of the articles that we are supposed to create for a synopsis was on social loafing. After doing some research on this I was a little surprise with what I found out.

In today’s business world most leaders are chosen more for their ability to do the task than for their ability to lead their fellow team members. The leader mentality is important in social loafing. These type of leader will then be in charge of assigning tasks, making sure the others in the group are completing said tasks in a timely fashion, and in the case of social loafing, will most likely be compensating for those who will be doing subpar work, in order to be prepared for the accountability of the group's accomplishments.

From the article that I read, researchers have pointed to the leader's position as an example of the individual ability to influence and encourage social loafing. In any group of people, there will be those that have the abilities necessary to do well in the task, and those that do not. Those that have these necessary abilities are often the leader or try to participate in a helpful capacity in the group, and then there are those that do not find a helpful way to participate in the group and are often the loafers. This ability level is what guides a group's dynamics; a loafer would generally be forced to either work harder to compensate on an individual tasks, but in group tasks, can simply rely upon those that are able to accomplish the task more easily.

I have always been a go getter in starting my task ahead of other; I feel that I am a leader when it comes to things like this. And I know that my frustration level get high when all party concern does not do what they are expected too. It makes me very angry, but it seems that I am always picking up that person slack and finishing the job. I need to coin a phrase from Ebenezer Scrooge; people like those needs to be burden at the stake and have a holly stake drove through their heart. I know that extreme but being the fifth wheel does not make it better for anyone involved.

Digital versus Immigant- Which are you? Week 12

In this week’s assignment, we were to create a podcast on the digital native versus immigrant native. I decided to do a video podcast. After researching my topic I thought I would use a quote by Mark Prensky. Prensky argues that students today, digital natives as he calls them having grown up in the Digital Age, learn differently from their predecessors, or digital immigrants as he terms them. Prensky’s ideas are fascinating and useful because they cause immigrant teachers to rethink their assumptions regarding their native students. This may cause better teaching regardless of their students’ technological learning preferences.

This was a good project and I enjoy creating my video podcast. Please let me know what you think and thanks for staying tune.

The World of Web 2.0

Podcasting Assignment - Week 11

In this week’s assignment we are suppose to create an audio podcast. After researching the topic I have decided to do mine on the digital native and how they have taking charge in today’s business world. The way that I decided to create my podcast is by using Camtasia 6.0 software application; I already purchase this software due to having it for another courses. Camtasia is one of the most powerful applications currently on the market for creating podcast content on a Windows PCs. Originally designed as a screen capturing and recording program, Camtasia can be used for adding annotations (‘callouts’) and audio voiceover to slideshows or movies, and can even be used as a light video editor. The Camtasia interface resembles many similar time-based editing applications, particularly Windows Movie Maker.

This will be my first attempt in creating a podcast, so cross your finger. Hopefully I will be able to upload it on screencast.com and everything works great, but time will tell. Stay tune.

Using Skype in the classroom- Week 10

In this week's assignment our group has been using Skype to communicate our group project and in my opinion Skype has been a very beneficial tool in many ways. Using Skype for an educational purpose provides opportunities for interactive exchange between students living on campus or on the other sides of state. Skype can expand the walls of the traditional classroom and engage students to write, share, and communicate with an audience that was inaccessible just a few years ago. Educators interested in helping motivate students to develop both traditional as well as twenty-first century literacy skills in the classroom needs to use every tool that is out there. Today’s students are more digital savvy and already using all types of technology. We as teachers need to enhance new learn styles to draw students in and be creative on how they learn.

I have enjoyed this assignment and I really like using Skype as one of our technology tools. Our group was able to come up with a great design and I was able to upload the design into our conversion. I am posting our final design to this week posting, please let me know what you think. Dr. Ellis always make our classes so much fun, I really hate that this is my last class with her.

Using new technologies for Module 4 assignments-Week 9

What is spring break, wish I knew? I have been one busy person this week. I have been working with my group in trying to create an awesome t-shirt design for threadless.com. My group has been chatting through Skype in trying to find the perfect design that relates to Web 2.0. This has been a challenge to get everyone to meet and we still are missing one team member, but we have to go one. You really need some technology skills to be able to use the application that threadless provides for their template kit. I am fortunate to have the Adobe suite software program that the template kit required to open their templates with. I really like reviewing threadless website and seeing all of the creative design that others have on that site. It seems to strengthen the imagination of what others perceive. I have really enjoy this assignment and I believe that my team has the winning design, well will see.

P.S.
I am posting my template jpeg; let me know what you think about them. I really would appreciate your opinion and thanks.

So what is Twitter? Week 8

In the week module we are now looking at what Twitter is. What is Twitter? After doing some research, basically Twitter is a new internet-based social networking and free messaging service that sends out updates to their “followers”

So who are the followers? Twitters “followers” are people who receive “tweets”. So what are tweets? Basically Twitter allows followers to updates or “tweets” which consisted of a 140 typed characters or less. These messages can be typed online using a computer or remotely using a cell phone or PDA. And a “tweet” can be about nearly anything, from “I’m sulking,” to “I’m eating pancakes,” to “I’m running late for our lunch meeting.”

So simply stated, Twitter is designed to keep family members, friends and co-workers in the know. Some describe Twitter as a mini-blog that’s used to update “followers” who sign-up with this web-based messaging site. Twitter is at the forefront of the social networking movement, along with other social networking sites like FaceBook.

In this week assignment, our class is taking a closer look on how Twitter works. I am trying to get the hang on “tweets” and I have been trying to tweet my class, but not sure if I am doing it right. I believe that this is going to be a fun experience and I have always loved a challenge.

To Flickr or not to Flickr, that is the question?

Are you bored with your current background image? Need photos for your blog, or for a class paper? By using Flickr you can renew your whole image library in just a few minutes.

In this week assignment, we were introducing to this new application Flickr. Flickr lets you search for the popular hosting service that use different criteria such as strings, tags, username or groups. You can download them to your hard drive an automatically let them run. The only drawback to Flickr is that it doesn't let you select which photos you want to download from your search results: either you download them all or you get none. So you better refine your search parameters if you don't want to end up downloading a zillion images.

Dr. Ellis and I had another issue with Flick last week. When I was trying to join our group, it would not let me due to being a private group. We realize that we had to make the group public and not private. With ever learning experience come ups and downs. After playing with flickr, I really like this networking application and I plan to use it a lot more after this class is over.

Thanks Dr. E for introducing us to the new world.

The World Wide Web 3.0- Week 6

In researching some new and innovate technologies, I came across this information about Web 3.0. Internet experts think Web 3.0 is going to be like having a personal assistant who knows practically everything about you and can access all the information on the Internet to answer any question. Many compare Web 3.0 to a giant database. While Web 2.0 uses the Internet to make connections between people, Web 3.0 will use the Internet to make connections with information. Some experts see Web 3.0 replacing the current Web while others believe it will exist as a separate network...

Also according to some Internet experts, with Web 3.0 you'll be able to sit back and let the Internet do all the work for you. You could use a search service and narrow the parameters of your search. The browser program then gathers, analyzes and presents the data to you in a way that makes comparison a snap. It can do this because Web 3.0 will be able to understand information on the Web.

Right now, when you use a Web search engine, the engine isn't able to really understand your search. It looks for Web pages that contain the keywords found in your search terms. The search engine can't tell if the Web page is actually relevant for your search. It can only tell that the keyword appears on the Web page.

A Web 3.0 search engine could find not only the keywords in your search, but also interpret the context of your request. It would return relevant results and suggest other content related to your search terms. It would treat the entire Internet as a massive database of information available for any query.

Here is some food for thoughts on life with Web 3.0

If your Web 3.0 browser retrieves information for you based on your likes and dislikes, could other people learn things about you that you'd rather keep private by looking at your results? What if someone performs an Internet search on you? Will your activities on the Internet become public knowledge? Some people worry that by the time we have answers to these questions, it'll be too late to do anything about it. Are we really opening ourselves too much, something we really need to think about?

Tips on Posting to your Wiki- Week 5

I have listed some tips on writing on our class wiki. Hopeful they will help you get started with this assignment.

Try writing on a wiki that interests you. It need not be an all-or-nothing proposition to edit a wiki. Do a few sample edits, get your feet wet a bit, get to know some of the people in a community? You will soon know whether or not that wiki is for you.

Edits may be small or large. Wikis benefit from writing, but they also benefit from simple cleanup tasks. Fix a little thing if you don't feel ready for big things yet.

Remember that your work will be published immediately. This can be immensely gratifying to some and intimidating to others. Remember, too, that your work can always be changed, either by yourself or by somebody else. It doesn't have to be perfect the first time out.

Take it from me, if you have never worked with a wiki before, it is very easy to remove current text but it is also very easy to replace that same text when you review the log history. I learned this the hard way, by deleting someone else log entree. We all make mistakes and this is the trial and error phase of this class assignment.

The implications of using Wiki's for teaching and learning purposes?

When I first started working with my assignment this week, I was not sure if I was going to like working with Wikis or not, but I quickly changed my mind. Wikis are one of the easiest and most effective Web-based collaboration tools that I have ever used. Their inherent simplicity provides students such as myself, with direct access to the site’s content, which is crucial in group editing or collaborative on group projects. A wiki’s capability can show the development thought processes as students interact with the site and its contents. These collaborative projects help promote “pride of authorship” and ownership in the team’s activities. In addition, wikis are being used as e-portfolios that illustrate their value as a tool for collection and reflection. Collaboration using a wiki is not limited to students. Faculty can use wikis to collaborate on projects, whether editing a textbook, preparing a journal article, or assembling a syllabus or reading list.

Wikis might also prove to be an ideal vehicle for soliciting ongoing input for research or projects where community input can help inform and direct subsequent investigation. The possibilities for using wikis as this platform for collaborative projects are limited only by one’s imagination and time. Wiki enabled group projects that can provided various levels of site access and control to team members, offering a fine-tuning element that enhances the teaching and learning experience. In beginning this group project, I have had some ups and downs, but I believe that this will be some of my best works before I graduated from ECU.

Up's and Down's of your Networking Site

In today society social networking sites have become increasingly popular among today’s students. Chatting, texting, blogging and spending times on sites like Facebook, My Space and Friendster are part of everyday life for millions of students.

Most of the information that we post on our blogs are about ourselves and how our friends can stay in touch with us. We upload everything from photos, video and basic information on our lives but how safe is this? When we think of our site being private and for our friends only, when in reality, many of them can be seen by friends, employers, university officials, and even our parents. Our information is out there for the world to see. So how can we protect ourselves from individuals that could harm us?

So here is some suggesting on how we can protect our privacy:

• Before you join a site and post your profile, find out if you can join a closed network, where only those with an email address from your school can register for example. Find out if the site allows others to see your profile without your consent.

• Never expect absolute privacy. Know what you’re getting into by reading the privacy statement and policies. Many sites allow all registered users to view all the information you post on your site with no exceptions.

• Choose the highest and most restrictive security setting available and do not give out information like your birthday, full name, phone number, social security number or address.

• Take a second to think about what you’re posting about yourself and your friends. Remember that what you post could be online forever.

So before you post, think about what you want to said, remember it could be online forever & ever.

What is your most favorite blogging site? Week 2

This week I am going to compare some of the social network site that is most commonly uses. There are many ways for a blogger to promote their blog. One of the easiest ways is using their social networking site such as Facebook, Twitter or Friendster. Each one of these site caters to various groups which has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Friendster
Friendster is one of the leading social websites within the Philippines and it still boasts of thousands of active Filipino users. From my research it indicates that many of its veteran members have shifted to Facebook, and very few bloggers use Friendster as a blogging tool.

FaceBook
Facebook is more blogger friendly because it is easy to post links that lead to your blogs. You can use the network blogs that automatically pull your blog post and is ready to be posted on Facebook.


Twitter
Twitter is almost similar to Facebook do to the fact that the posting system is similar to the way Facebook does theirs. The main difference between both is that you are limited to 140 characters in your post in Twitter and Facebook over 300 characters.

In comparison of all three social sites the list of the most effective site is:

Friendster: 17% preferred
Twitter: 33% preferred
Facebook: 50% preferred

From my research the better social media optimization sites as both Facebook and Twitter. These two websites somehow cooperated with one another. And the statistics show that Friendster is not a good platform for social media optimization (blogging). It is always good to get your feet wet in new platform; it is a trial and error stage in technology. Since I have always used Facebook, I think that I will stick with it, have you ever hear the phrase “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it”, but I am willing to try.

Welcome to the world of Web 2.0 - Week 1

This is a new topic for me and I know that I have a lot to learn about this subject, but I am ready to learn. In regards to the research that I have done on this topic I have basically found out that I am surrounding by Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is one of the most powerful forces on the web today; it is a force that replies purely on innovation that invention and a force that growing every single second. One of my favorite things of Web 2.0 is Google docs. I love being able to share my excel spreadsheets with other co-workers thought the web; it has made my life a little easier at work and home.

So I look forward to working with all of my classmates during this semester in BITE 5389 as we all discover a little more about Web 2.0. Talk with you all next week.