Compilation

A collection of things I read, see, hear, or create.

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BlendKit 2017 Week 5 Thoughts

The questions to ponder this week really made me think about how our Educational Technology group would like to be the trusted colleague that reviews course materials. We do not have formal standards to guide evaluation, so our faculty are not used to this practice. 

This week’s readings had some excellent resources for us to begin the conversations with faculty about course review. As members of SUNY, we are fortunate to have Open SUNY also exploring these issues. Hopefully we can make a difference with our faculty as we begin to introduce them to course review concepts!

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BlendKit 2017 Week 4 Thoughts

Connecting face-to-face content and activities with the online environment in a meaningful way takes careful consideration. Personally, my work and home schedules kicked my butt this week and I feel behind in my BlendKit “work”. This meant that I skimmed the readings and didn’t finish my ... wow, and now I have another meeting that’s taking me away. Ironic!

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BlendKit 2017 Week 3 Thoughts

This week’s readings are all about assessments. I’ve spent my whole life around education - as a student, the wife of a teacher, a parent, and now an educational technologist - but I have never really thought much about how educators create assessments beyond “multiple choice with one right answer” and “essay”.

As our college begins to increase the number (and support) of online and blended classes, we have been talking a lot about how to modify the traditional assessment. Our #1 question is also listed in this week’s reading: “How can you avoid creating a “high stakes” environment that may inadvertently set students up for failure/cheating?” I will add the suggestions from this week to my toolkit for when faculty ask for help.

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BlendKit2017 Week 2 Thoughts

“How do I contact my class?” is one of the most frequently asked questions I hear from faculty. This is also tied closely to “how do I manage my email?” and “how can I tell if a student has received and read my messages?”. 

Unfortunately for me, this week’s readings were not what I expected. I did highlight a few things that I would like to explore more:

- Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) “an environment where people and tools and communities and resources interact in a very loose kind of way”

- The educators as a “concierge directing learners to resources or learning opportunities that they may not be aware of”

- Techno Expression - allowing students to express their thoughts about the course materials using technology (blogs, wiki pages, discussion boards, etc.)

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BlendKit2017 Week 1 Thoughts

I've been thinking quite a bit about one of this week’s Question to Ponder:

Is it most helpful to think of blended learning as an online enhancement to face-to-face learning environment, a face-to-face enhancement to an online learning environment, or as something else entirely?

At the risk of sounding to glib ... yes to all of these things!

As a learner, I may feel like the online materials are the "heavy lifting" of learning, and the in person meetings are an opportunity to discuss and demonstrate what I've learned.

As a teacher, the online learning opportunities may free up class time for more meaningful activities that the class can do together.

Finally - and most complicated - as a manager of the support team for educational technology, we must bridge the gap of both environments to ensure a meaningful course is created and delivered. I also think about our College's policies. We value "seat time" and teaching online is not currently permitted during the semester. I do believe a lot of blended delivery happens, but it is all under the radar, and that means that we are not supporting it! Scary!

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I am absolutely head over heels in love with this transformation. I am trying to think of a spot in my house where I can put in such luscious benches and pillows. I just want to grab a caramel latte and sit in there all day.

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I really like these "happier at home" ideas.

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you just gotta ask yourself.....

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this is my plan for 2012 <3

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I kind of hate QR codes... Just another technology for people to overuse and misuse.

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What did I do today? I played Angry Birds to learn how to be a better manager.