Part 1: Glad not to be me

Over the summer while I was leaning against the stairs trying to install a banister, I accidentally cracked the screen of my iphone.  The phone was working, but over time the spider web got worse, tiny pieces of glass started to fall out and it began getting dangerous for my kids if they got their hands on it.  So, I took it in to get fix.  The guy says, that it wouldn't be a problem, its a pretty easy fix.  He kept my phone so that when the new glass came in, he could fix it right away.  A week goes by, and the part was still not in. So I take my phone back because I needed it that weekend.   A couple more weeks go by and I take it back to have them fix it again.  It was only going to be a couple days...right.  Well, while trying to fix the glass, the LCD screen broke, so it was going to be another week until the new LCD screen came in. Then finally when the new LCD came in, it was dysfunctional. Finally another week and all the parts are finally in one place....oops!  As the repairman was attempting to fix the phone he severed a very important wire.  The phone is now inoperable beyond repair!  They offered to buy me a new phone (refurbished) and I agreed, but it was going to take another week for it to arrive.... what's new... I was pretty frustrated.  I was leaving next monday to go to California for the holiday.  I specifically said that I needed my phone for this trip.  Well, you guessed it! My new phone does not arrive before we leave, so I leave for California without a phone.  I ask the guy if he could send it to me.  My phone should have arrived in IL and been shipped on Dec 17.  Even with the holidays it will surely arrive before Dec 27, when I leave to go to Virginia... not a chance. I am literally in the airport waiting at my gate (with my wife's phone) when my mom calls to tell me that my phone had finally arrived.  Yeaaah, I was without my phone for almost two whole months... You have to read part two, below, to pick up the rest of the story!

Intensive Day 5

My week long intensive has come to an end.  Friday was the last day. The main focus of the day was to  deliver and listen to presentations that we had worked on all week long with our groupmates.  My groups topic was game based learning.  There is a lot of work being done in game based learning which was nice because there was plenty of literature.  In our attempt to find a gap in the literature we found that many authors realized the different types of gaming options and needs between males and females, but there was no empirical data that showed that males and females are motivated differently when it comes to games.  It seems obvious that males would be motivated to play one type or style of game and females would like another; and often times we see games designed particularly for a specific gender, yet, we found no data proving this to be true.
   The two other groups topics were "Mobile devices" and "Open Content."  Both topics are very interesting and necessary topics to think and talk about in the edutech field.  I will probably be tweaking the topics that I currently have my students do and include the topics listed above as well as augmented reality.  Very interesting technology, I am curious what that might look like in an educational setting.

Intensive Day 4

Today was designed to get our hands dirty.  The main focus of today's lessons were in the multi-media elements of instruction.  Mainly, digital photography, audio, and video.  I did not capture many news things or ideas today.  What I did capture from today was affirmation of what I do in my classroom.  We spent a great deal of time with Photostory, Audacity, and MovieMaker.  All three already have a place in my classroom.  I did enjoy the Audacity activity, I will look into stealing a portion of that in the future. Today we also got to take a few minutes and look into mobile technologies.. ipad's specifically.  This is an area I would love to learn more about and utilize in my classroom. Even though my knowledge of the use of them in the classroom in slim, and that one small problem. Olivet does not have any for me to use in the classroom.  Perhaps one day they will have a place.

Top Ten Pieces of Advice During Your Dissertation

1.    Your spouse will think you have abandoned him/her.   Help them understand its only   temporary abandonment, and that you do love them more than the dissertation, contrary to what it looks like, or the amount of time that is spent with them.

2.    No matter how right you think you are, your committee chair is more right.

3.     When defending never say, “I don’t know.”

4.     During your dissertation:  1. God    2. Committee Chair   3.  Spouse

5.     Plan you defense for the morning, use the rest of the day for minor fixes.

6.     Vomiting or fainting is not recommended during your defense.

7.     All suggestions made by your committee are good suggestions.

8.     If you use a statistician… understand every number, reason behind the number, where   the number came from, and why that number is important.

9.     Dissertations can be written on napkins.  (Dr. Dunn cited a source)

10.  If you fail to regard the above suggestions, you can purchase your degree from England!

I have taken some liberties in writing these thoughts; they are only a reflection of what I captured in today’s discussion.  These are not direct quotes from Dr. Dunn; although, he did inspire the message.

Intensive Day 3

The power of the internet... where on Monday the discussion revolved around how the internet is/was used to bi-pass the norms. Today I was introduced to a marketing video that a company used to market their product. Then another company created a video that forced the first company to change their ways. Both videos can be edgy, but both messages can be clearly received.  You will want to watch the videos in order.

Intensive Day 2

I have always known Microsoft Office products to be very powerful and very robust.  Thinking back, I have never actually been trained in Word.  All of the tricks and tips that I use in Word were things that I have found and learned on my own.  Today in class I was able to spread my Word wings and learn some pretty fascinating tools. Have you ever made a table of contents (TOC) and then over the course of the assignment you continually change the page numbers and you spend hours just on the TOC?  Well, no longer.  With the use of headings and the push of a button, Word will create the TOC and then continually change as your document changes.... brilliant.  Other highlights were the uses of SmartArt, Review, and EndNote in Word. Also, I was encouraged to see the dissertation portal and how it will be used throughout the dissertation process.

Intensive Day 1

I came into this class a sponge. With high expectations and  hopes that I can learn and draw from to then, turn around and implement into my classes.  Dr. Dunn has not disappointed. As far as my first impression, he nailed it. Its nice to learn from an educational technologist that has been around a while and has well developed thoughts, ideas, and opinions on the use of technology in schools.  He has also helped in developing my thoughts on research, but I will probably focus my blog postings on the highlights of educational technology. 

You Tube, with a series of about 6 videos, that were thought provoking, and entertaining. Each video gave the class a starting point for discussion.  The main theme I received from the discussion is that technology is used to bi-pass the common norm, and to push someone or something further toward success that would not have normally been achieved in a mainstream pathway.  In his example he showed how You Tube was used to bi-pass norms.  What are other examples of technologies that have allowed for this to take place?  Here was the first video shared, that I enjoyed as an introduction to the course.  I will definitely be stealing this idea.