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. 

Doctoral Intensive Introduction

This weekend I have driven to Lynchburg, Virginia to take a week long "intensive" at Liberty University. As a requirement for the course, I will be making daily posts on my progress and reflect on what I am learning day.  Today is a reflection on technology in general.  Since I teach the technology courses at Olivet, I am a very big believer in technology, its uses in the classroom, and the direction that education is going with the development of technology for schools.  I understand the disadvantages that it brings, but in my opinion the advantages far out weigh the disadvantages.  I think it is imperative that the next generation of teachers are widely exposed and have the understanding and ability to utilize all types of technologies in their classroom. With the expansion of mobile devices, the future options will be endless for the students of tomorrow.  Its an exciting field.  There is almost too much to keep up with, but as I tell my students... find something you like and become good at it.  Then find something else you like and continue growing and developing your skills and abilities with technology.