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.