Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Reflections on Week One - CEdO515 - Technology Tools

The beginning of my third MEIT class finds me reflecting on how things have changed since I was a K-12 student. When I was a boy it all seemed so simple. I went to school and studied English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science. Maybe it is the time of the year with Thanksgiving just passed and Christmas coming on so soon, but I find myself thinking back to how it used to be.

Our school technologies consisted of musty textbooks, chalkboards and erasers that were de-chalked with a machine down in the basement. The smell of a freshly mimeographed lesson handout - why did they smell so good? And, dare I say it, the excitement we would all feel when we walked into our classroom and there was a film projector setup and ready to go. "Movie in class! Movie in class!" Now that was a memorable, fun, technology-driven learning experience!

In my MEIT class we are looking at how to incorporate learning technology into lessons. Gone are the mimeographed hand-outs and filmstrip projectors of my youth. They have been replaced now in my Masters program with 'Nings' and 'Wikis and the hand-outs are links to assignments. Instead of writing-out my quiz answers and essays in longhand I do so now electronically from a computer.

Gee, do I sound like I want to bring all of the old stuff back? No way! Those filmstrips had a record player and the record was always scratched that someone always had to help over the defect. "Christopher Columbus first discovered Ameri, Ameri, Ameri, Ameri, Amer (Zzzwhaaa-sccrunnka-bonk!) in 1492". Besides, our MEIT Professor showed us an in-class movie short on Monday night - so it's all good. We still have 'Movie in Class! Movie in Class!".

Now that I have come back from my trip down memory lane, I am really looking forward to learning how to effectively integrate technology into my work. The MEIT course has shown me the possibilities with Web 2.0 resources and information resources available on The Internet.

This week I used ToonDoo to create a cartoon. My sister Mary was always the artistic one in the family but I was able to use the supplied backgrounds, characters and captions to create a 3 panel cartoon. It took a few minutes to get the hang of the Web-based application but I soon found my groove. I had a lot of fun doing this assignment.



I used Google Docs' presentation application to create something I needed for my work with 4 software implementers. I used ZohoShow for presentations in my prior class and I wanted to challenge myself with something new. I created a presentation on 'ADDIE' which I shared with my co-workers. Although I had reviewed ADDIE with them before, they were drawn-in by the presentation and the fact that I had done it on the Web.

The MEIT program and courses are exciting for me as I keep having these, for lack of a better term, 'Eureka' moments. I take what I have learned in each weeks' class and reflect on how I might apply it to my work. I also teach sailing and I am considering the possibility of creating materials and brief courses that sailing students can review during the winter months. I am rusty on sailing knots, so perhaps I will challenge myself to re-learn them and try my hand at a creating an online presentation - that could be a good start - but I need to reflect just a wee bit more.

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