Good ol' Face to Face

I had the opportunity to meet with my online ECMP prof today. I had no idea how to do something that I have read instructions on and seen being done step by step online beofre. After sitting down for half an hour with him right there showing and telling me what to do step by step, I totally "get it". It sort of makes me think that I could have learned alot more in the face to face class. Oh well... can't turn back time. Only move forward to online ECMP 455 (sort of ironic, now that I know face to face may be better for me).
I guess just knowing that I can come see Alec for help (even though he won't be the prof), should set my mind at ease. Right???

Technical Difficulty

OK, that blog was not successful! For some reason it ended up totally "messed up".
The COMPUTER GURU thing was what I need to finish my projects and if he has a body like Mathew the "hunk" he wIll be a deninite in. On the risk that I may possibly sound like I am not "all there" tonite, I think I am going to make a graceful exit.
I sure hope Alec does not compare my educational blogs to Clarence Fisher's. I think that I am in TROUBLE!!!

Free Software

OK, this is not an easy way out (even though I didn't have to search the web for hours like Amber-haha), but I have decided to write an testimonial-uh, I mean assessment for OpenOffice.org. Before this fine class, I was not aware of this software. Actually now that I think about it, that is not true, the school that I work at has it on it's computers, but I had never actually used it. Anyways, since the start of this class, I have used it for all of my writing. What did I use before you may ask??? WordPerfect10. OK, don't laugh. More than one person has told me that I more than likely have MicrosoftWord on my computer because I have windows, but I have yet to come across it (maybe when I find my COMPUTER GURU, who will happily make the trek to Moose Jaw to help me put the finishing touches on my projects, they will find it for me-OFFERS ANYONE??? I don't have any specific criteria that this COMPUTER GURU must posses. But you will have a definite in if you happen to have a body like the guy at the top of this posting!!!
OK, OpenOffice.org. It is great. No complaints. Beggars can't be choosers, RIGHT???
Criteria:
#1 it is free, free, free
#2 usable
#3 can I find help online if I need it
#4 did I say free?
For me any free software that is relevant to what I need is good enough for me.
Jane.

Disappointed

I had the opportunity to join in a session for discussion on e-portfolios on Nov.15th. It was not the experience I had hoped it would be. The leader was 20 minutes late, which was actually OK because I was able to learn about two of the tappedIn features (how to create an office and check the profiles of others). As it turned out the majority of the discussion was based on the people chatting to each other (I think one of the participants knew the leader and the help desk volunteer). I can honeslty say the I did not learn anything in the hour I was in on the discussion that was about e-portfolios.
OK, enough of the negative energy going on...
On the positive side (and there always is one, right?), I enjoyed the fact that I was in a discussion with persons from Taipei and New York. I can see the possibilities in making global connections. Another positive, was that there was mention of 4 sites that one can go to for assistance with e-portfolios (I haven't gone to any yet) and you receive a transcript of the discussion, so you don't really have to take notes.
So, although the experience was not that great, I will not let it discourage me from exploring tappedIN again. Maybe next time will be better!
Jane.

Blue Dot Interview

Hi everyone, I thought because one of the components of the class was to "BlueDot", this article was interesting:
http://www.folksonomy.org/2006/11/interview_with_blue_dot/.
Jane.

Another Resource

I found another handout compliments of Clarence Fisher that I think I could use in the classroom-http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/remote_access/searchskills.doc. I thought that if I start collecting resources now, I may be not ahead of the game, but at least not in last place!
Hopefully someone else will find it useful too.
Jane.

Tellecollaborative Projects

As directed by our ECMP prof, we were asked to find a tellecollaborative project and discuss the project. I found The Incredible Journey Travel Buddy Project at:
http://www.technospudprojects.com/Projects/journey/jinformation.htm.
What grabbed my attention about this project was the idea that the class receives a box that contains some items such as a video of the book that the project is based around, worksheets and 3 beanie babies to use with the project. The classroom has the box of "goodies" for three weeks before it must be sent off to the next goup of learners. The excitement that the learners would have building towards the project while waiting for the box to come in the mail alone would be great. If half of the battle of learning is peaking interest, I think that this would be one way to do it.
The theme of the project is getting to know your school, your classroom, your city, and your province. This is learning that is relevant to the learners. The learners need to journal daily and answer wiki questions that are asked by the beanie babies.
I think that this project would be great to use in Language Arts and Social Studies with learners in grade two to four. The teacher would be able to adapt many of the activities to varying degrees of learners.
I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to explore the idea of tellecollaborative projects. I love the idea that teachers are so willing to share their amazing ideas with everyone else (I am not the most creative person! and feel very relieved to know that there are so many ideas and resources available to teacher). This is a true reflection of how teachers feel towards learning for all. This will be another great technological tool to have in a classroom.