Checking the Rear View Mirror, Mapping Next Semesters Course

I was kinda looking forward to the last class meeting and then again not. As I do look in the rear view mirror and reflect on the first run of teaching in higher ed. I have missed the weekly prep, class meetings, dialogue and exchange of ideas. I compiled good memories and valuable learning experiences to draw from as I begin to prepare for the spring semester.

As we, the students and I, began the semester a needs assessment was conducted. Then, near the end I used many of the same questions to perform a growth assessment. Using that data and what was collected by the university in the formal course evaluations, I am able to see where I grew and what I need to adjust for the next offering of the course.

Start of Course: Describe Yourself as a Technology User

End of Course: Describe Yourself as a Technology User

I was pleased to see that the self-identified Reluctant User disappeared from the descriptors used by course participants. The percentage of Developing Users stayed about the same the emerging and the reluctant were absorbed. The Power Users among the group emerged and it appears only a few remained in the Proficient User category. I may or may not have assigned differing tags to the course participants yet it was more important to me to see where the learner's saw themselves.

Start of Course: Describe Self as Technology Integrator

End of Course: Describe Self as Technology Integrator

The above self-assessment was also revealing to me as the instructor. As I began conversations and discussions around the use of technology as an instructional tool, I found that it was a stretch for most participants to identify purposeful, intentional, and specific uses for technology applications and devices in a classroom instructional setting. As the semester progressed, I was able to get a sense that the connections were being made between the capability of the application and the potential outcomes, student products and learning experiences that could be afforded through effective integration of instructional technology.

Course requirements were clear, (T)he instructor returned/graded assignments in a timely manner were two areas on the formal course evaluation provided by the university where students provided feedback for improvement. I relied heavily on the student blogs for submitting assignments on a weekly basis and also for providing feedback to students. I did comment on the blogs in a timely manner, usually within 48 hours of the blog being posted, but I only commented on the blog post content and did not include specific feedback on the assignment through the blog comments. I did this intentionally as the blog comments were public and I did not want to post any criticism or praise in the public forum as to not make that part of the public record. I will need to figure out another vehicle for providing that type of specific feedback in a more private and apparently more timely and consistent manner for the coming semester. Email did not seem to work well for this purpose and I am considering a regular dialogue with students in a shared Google Doc or Spreadsheet. I am also considering the use of a Google Classroom for the course to help organize content, encourage group and individual discussions, as well as provide an experience in a highly popular tool among teachers.

I found Zoom as a delivery vehicle for the course to be effective in connecting through video, sharing screens for presentations, and recording the class sessions. I did find it to be cumbersome when sharing the screen that the chat feature was lost to the presenter. The images of participants also went to thumbnail and forced scrolling to see each participant while sharing the screen. I will need to explore further how to make better use of those features while screen sharing and hope that Zoom support or training might help me in that area. Other feedback from students has led me to re-think the agenda for class sessions to continue the use of small group interactions, direct instruction or demonstrations of applications, opportunities for larger group discussions around topics as well as individuals working as partners and reporting out their progress to the larger group. I am also working on a way to include Google Certified Educator preparation as a track for course participants.

Level of Proficiency with Learning Mobile Apps and Extensions

Most students noted their growth in skill, ability and confidence in learning educational applications and commented on their progress at the completion of the course. Overall I am well pleased with my inaugural effort as an adjunct professor yet see some areas where I can grow and develop my own skills, abilities and confidence. So, I have some ideas on mapping out the journey and setting some milestones for next semester and have documented my thoughts here as occasionally I will glance at the rear view mirror to remind myself of where I have been along the way.

Feeding on Blogs

Organizing Workflow RSS Feeds and YouTube Channels

To start I was having students email me or message me through Canvas to let me know they had posted to their blog spot. I also encouraged them to share the posts via Google+. I am not sure of how much of a presence Shenandoah has on Google+ but I was hoping that others would see the posts and comment or at least +1 the post. That system is working and I will keep it in place as a means of notification. I will also plan to use the message to provide feedback to students. Since I want them to open the blogs up for others to read, I did not want to leave the course specific feedback in the comments under the post.

Following each other's work

So how then to get the students to follow one another's blogs? I decided that I would refer back to an older system of tracking/following updates to resources like blogs...the RSS feed! Chrome Web Store has several options for feed readers. I chose one simply called feeder from feeder.co. It was fairly easy going to install and add the blogs into the feed. One variable was whether or not the subscribe link was located at the bottom of the blogspot page. One constant was to copy and paste the URL from the blog's home page.

This has been helpful in making my work flow more efficient. With a glance to the top of my browser to where the extension icons live, I can see if any of the blogs have been updated. Clicking on the icon will open a list of all the blogs I have subscribed to in the feeder. If the blog had been updated there would be a small circle with the number of updated posts. I plan to share the doc with all the blog spots with the class and
walk through a demonstration of setting up a feed reader to make following the work of others a little easier.

Conquering Zoom

Rendering a 150 minute video is always going to be time consuming and one has to be delibertae in the steps to stop the recording, end the session and save the video. It is always a little worrisome when you close the Zoom window and wait, sometimes for several long seconds for the video rendering dialogue appears and then watching the progress bar s l o w l y move across the window towards 100%.  File upload to Canvas seemed to be the solution BUT the file storage limit maxed out on me after the second session. Plan B was to set up a YouTube Channel for the course, upload the video to YouTube...yet another progress bar! Then use the embed code to post the video to the Canvas course page which requires working in the HTML editor and making some adjustments to the size of the size of the thumbnail image (it plays beautifully be the way). I would like to edit thhe video into segments and possible include some title slides and topic call out slides but two progress bars might be my limit on this project at this point. I am wondering if I can then subscribe to the YouTube Channel through the feed reader!?!?!

Sharing is Caring

Sharing is Caring

Last week in class we worked in a shared Google Doc. We explored some of the functionality of Docs including sharing settings,  viewing the version history, explore tool and experience 10 people all in a doc editing simultaneously. It was interesting to watch people contributing to the doc and then look at the version history with each contribution label by user and color coded.

Class Tasks

The class members took on roles for the class to help keep us on task and organized. I asked for volunteers for a note taker as well as a timekeeper. Calling in a class scribe was a way to deeply involve one individual in recording the notes and recording comments from the discussion. The note taker did reflect that although it did keep him on task it was sometime difficult to contribute and type at the same time. 

The timekeeper also found setting the alarm to be easy but actually interrupting the instructor in mid thought or sentence to be much more difficult. We did finish the session with some time to spare so everyone enjoyed the benefit of having the time keeper.

Zoom

I submitted a support request for Zoom as I once again had a difficult time, actually I failed, rendering the video. I have also continued to struggle with the interface when sharing my screen and keeping the video feeds and the chat window open. I toggle back and forth a good bit and it is just disruptive to my flow. I did get a recommendation to try to a dual screen and hope that will work better this coming week.

Blogspots

The student blogs are progressing nicely and some have really made attempts to enhance the blog with images and videos that compliment the content and add value to the reader experience. The reflections on the topics around the educational technology plans, ISTE Standards and Virginia TSIP requirements have been insightful.

Of Crickets and Padlets

Of Crickets and Padlets

https://www.google.com/doodles/
icc-champions-trophy-2017-begins

My Problem

One of my take-aways from the first class meeting was that I did all of the talking. When I stopped - silence...when I asked questions - maybe one response but no discussion. That may have been in part that it was in fact the first real meeting for the group. I, as the course instructor, felt that lecture was not going to serve me, the participants or the content well. In order for me to get a sense of each individual identity and help everyone contribute, I would need to make some changes. I also felt I should utilize an EdTech application to do so.

My Plan

I needed to verify that the participants had read and understood the material assigned for the week. They were to read through the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) as well as the Virginia Educational Technology Plan and one local EdTech Plan. I decided to model the use of Padlet. When we got into the the discussion about the EdTech Plans we started with the NETP.

I shared my screen and brought up the web site for the plan and asked what students thought...CRICKETS...then one brave voice and then a second and then...CRICKETS.

So, we moved on the the Virginia plan but this time I introduced Padlet. I again shared my screen and gave a short demonstration of how to add a tile and submit simple text to the Padlet. I put the link in the chat window and had everyone take about 15 minutes to revisit the Virginia plan and then post their thought on one of the plan's goals. After successfully posting I then went back to the video feed in ZOOM, went down through the Padlet submissions and ask each person to elaborate on what they had posted. Check out the Padlet.

The Outcome

The posts were good representations of the content. In a short time, as I watched the posts appear on screen, I could tell there was familiarity among the group with the goals and objectives spelled out within the plan. When each person spoke about why they chose the topic and what it meant to them as a teacher or a learner, the conversation became rich and informative. Each person connected what was in the plan to personal experiences that brought a deeper meaning to the goals of the plan and what that looked like in real life. Each spoke with conviction about what they needed as a learner and what they hoped to achieve as a teacher. 

Zoom Journey

As far as my learning curve with Zoom...I felt more comfortable switching back and forth between screen sharing and the video feed. The participants were more comfortable with opening up the mic and with muting both the mic and the video when appropriate. I gave several breaks in the class session to allow participants to complete other tasks and that seemed to go well. The transitions back and forth were fairly smooth. I was even able to include the chat window submissions for those without a microphone and add their contributions to the conversation. I was also able to utilize the Zoom session to provide some one on one support after the class ended. It took a while for the video to render so I could post it to Canvas. That gave me some time to update the canvas page for the coming week.

For next week, I need to pay attention to pausing the video during the breakout work and then at the end when I meet with students to shorten the video and clean up the dead air and close the video as the class closes. I would like to edit out some parts like the demonstrations of different EdTech tools or some of the dialogue that I mentioned above. Perhaps that will come later in the semester.

See you next week!

When first we met...

When first we met...

Course Participant Make Up

This is my first time teaching a course at this level and although I have lead professional development for years, I wanted to see what I was up against. So, I asked that everyone answer a few questions about themselves and their level tech savvy. This will prove to be very useful to me as I plan for the course sessions and assignments.

Describe Yourself as a Technology User

Using a Google Form for the survey I was able to quickly find out that less than half the participants are currently teaching and the group ranges from undergraduate through post graduate. Sixty percent viewed themselves as proficient users, thirty percent as developing users and a few as emerging users. The data collected about varying categories of applications yielded some interesting information and did not exactly line up with my assumptions about the participants in this course. 

As we spent some time introducing ourselves to the rest of the class there were varying backgrounds and experiences. This provides for some diversity and will allow us to learn from and support one another throughout the semester. I look forward to some unique and meaningful projects and outcomes.

" " From the Participants

~ Now being a public school teacher, we embrace technology so I want to learn as much as I can to use in my classrooms now/future!

~ I am often reluctant to use certain applications because of not knowing how to use them and not having the time to learn how to use them myself.

~ I am particularly interested in using ... technology to support something I started in my classroom last year called the Curiosity Project where students try to find out more about something that interests them and then share what they learn with the rest of the class.

~ I hope to be able to feel more comfortable using technology within the classroom. I also want to use technology more and I don't want to feel like it is too difficult and not worth the effort of learning.

I wasn't able to pull direct quotes from all the submissions but all mentioned something about the desire to learn new applications, become aware of the volume of new tools for teachers and learn themselves how to learn technology. 

EdTech Proficiency is the Learning Goal of this Course perhaps one of the strategies to put in place in achieving that goal might be learning to learn EdTech. IF each of us asks good questions, IF each of us shares what we know, and IF each of us follows our curiosity, emerging and developing users will become proficient and those that are proficient may just become power users.

About My Own Practice

Video Conferencing

Zoom is a new tool for me and I am figuring it out as are many of the participants. It took us a few minutes to all get into the video call and get the screen arranged so we could both see and be seen. It always takes a little practice to figure out muting microphones and cameras at appropriate times.

I need to ask everyone to use their full name when signing on for the session as that will help me put faces to names and names to faces. This will be particularly important as I begin to more closely monitor participation and contributions to the discussions.

I also have to figure out how to better manage viewing participants while sharing my screen. When I shared my screen I lost most of the participant tiles and had to scroll to see people. I also lost the chat window and that is an important feature to capture questions and comments. So, the teacher has some homework as well.

I am going to try to utilize a variety of tools during the course online meetings to allow for modeling and demonstrations of the tool being used during that particular class. This past week I used Zoom, of course, Google Forms as mentioned earlier and also introduced EdPuzzle for the Blogger tutorial. 

I was a little nervous at the start but once the session got under way I felt pretty comfortable. I am looking forward to reading the first blog post from each of the participants and also to the course meeting and discussion this coming Tuesday.