Tag Archives: support

infrastructure, technology, funding and human resources for project development

Any feedback is good

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Just noticed that I have not yet written any reflections from April. Possibly the most busiest time for me so far in this semester. Had the second synchronous session today which was very successful indeed. The ifree recorder for Skype is a good tool for recording and distribution of live Skype sessions. I am so happy for the following positive feedback on the course:

Rubric for communication/participation is a useful guidance according to the students.
Peer review exercise was useful though the tool PeerMark was not very intuitive to use.
The theoretical concepts and models introduced in the learning spaces topic e.g. 5 stage model, conversational framework, ADDIE, OTARA and SECTIONS were considered really effective in planning for technology integration. It has made participants consider the rationale for technology integration rather than just the mere availability being an advantage or a per-requisite for use in teaching and learning.

Participants are finding the strategies and tactics used in ACADPRAC 703 really useful for their teaching!

Curse of technology? More reflection on ACADPRAC 703

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Apart from all the enrollment concerns, I have begun to feel that most of the students are yet to feel confident online. At least one of them is fully engaged (having completed their student page!) and raring to go while the rest are very cautious. It is hard to find the balance between catering to the needs of the very active and those who are lurking not because they don’t want to engage but just haven’t found the confidence to put their thoughts out there. A good last minute teaching strategy for me was to hold back the summary of topic 1 until all students have had a go at the readings and have posted a response to the online activity. Have decided to publish the announcements using the comments feature as it is auto subscribed. There was bit of a drama over where it should appear on the site and whether the comments bubble should be active when it is on the homepage. We tried to suppress the bubble but realised that the ajax code does not behave and the like button disappears after the first person has used it! Now, a dedicated page called announcements has been created and that has the full comment feature.

Information literacy in course design

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When designing any technology intervention, I try and incorporate the following skills from the graduate profile:

  • Develop an understanding and appreciation of current issues and debates in the field;
  • Develop the capacity to locate, evaluate and use the information effectively;
  • Make appropriate use of advanced information and communication technologies; and
  • Work independently and in collaboration with others.

With the rise of Web 2.0 (social technologies), it becomes essential for teachers to scaffold collaborative learning mediated through technologies in relevant contexts. This provides students with (1) an experience of the collaborative process online, including familiarity with the technology e.g. wiki, (2) exposure to etiquette online (netiquette) and (3) awareness of the challenges that influence good collaboration and the quality of the output e.g. copyright.

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Managing digital repositories

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Digitool, an existing digital repository that is available through the University Library is currently being trialled.  Initially it will be used to store and catalogue a range of digital resources around the teaching themes for use in BIOSCI100 & 100G. The Dublin core is used to standardise the metadata descriptors. In designing the digital repository, the team is mindful of issues around copyright and access.  The project will investigate the potential of this repository as a teaching resource and the practicality of maintaining and building on such a system in the longer term.  It will also consider the long term costs for investment in such a system and likely usage by the staff within the School of Biological Sciences.

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Generation “MySpace”

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Social networking and its impact on students and education

This was my first overseas seminar since joining the University of Auckland as an academic in Technology Enhanced Learning. The seminar – focused on social networking – began with Dr. Dahle Suggett raising important issues around social networking and its impact on the social and emotional wellbeing of our youth. According to him, social networking begins a new era of cultural management where it becomes essential for educators and school administrators to plan the management of the social aspects of technologies. Many schools and universities end up blocking the access to tools such as ‘YouTube’ and ‘MySpace’. Is this the right approach? How do schools respond to students’ use of advanced technologies?

Affordances of Web 2.0

Keynote by danah boyd
Networked publics concept began with the inception of Usenet in 1979. Web 2.0 has provided more opportunity for networking in the public sphere with the use of modern social networking tools.

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