Thing #23. Summarize your thoughts about this program.

The finishing line!

This whole course was really a challenge honestly.

Challenge #1 : Jugging my busy lecturing schedules and taking time off to do this course. It started fine until assignment markings, other trainings and every other thing gets in the way. The flexibility of the course allowed me to do making up but I must have the discipline to meet the deadlines. So this is one attribute I had learnt. I'm ready for more online classes if any.

Challenge #2: Getting people around me to understand what I'm doing. I'm not talking about colleagues apart form just explaining how this course work but more for my family, to let them understand what I'm doing. My other half is not as tech savvy, always asks what am I doing spending almost an hour every now and then do this course. The challenge was to manage this.

Challenge #3: To apply what I had learnt to good use. So many tools, so many knowledge learnt. Now its finding the opportunity to apply them to good use. Its a challenge but so little time in hand. Nevertheless, I shall try, step by step. Maybe with a wiki or blog. I have to work things out.

In a nutshell, 2.0 technology is here and alive. Until something new appears, I think we can't avoid not knowing it, we have to embrace it. Especially as educators and dealing with a more techno savvy generation. I know i have to, my little 3 year old is growing up, one day I have to match what he knows in order not to become a dinosaur.

Brings me to this ad message I saw at the MRT stations "How did the dodo bird got extinct?"

As a whole this is a great course and suited my style and personality of flexi-learning. I'll look forward for more and it had been a wonderful experience and learning journey. Thanks to "zac" and "cheriboy" and everyone who had helped one way or another.

(Source : imagechef.com)

Week 9 : Thing #21 and #22 : Podcasts, ebooks and Audio books

These are great tools. just to share an experience, I have friends learning basic foreign languages through podcasts and audio books downnloaded onto their ipods before their backpacking advanture to spain. The best part was the pronounciation are all there! Helped them greatly in basic preparation within their busy schedules as they don't have teh time to attend a class. To help them further, they can learn it anyway! Yup, through ipod, they plugged in the earphones on buses, cabs and MRT. What a good way to maximise time.

Ebooks, I had seen a few. I'm not really a read off the screen person but it it beats carry a book around if I have a itouch. I can read the book while I'm on public transport. A good way you maximise time. On top of that, i can archive them in a hard drive, saving precious space in the house. Especially most of the time, I only read certain part of a particular book for information and not the whole book. So, stuck with an old school mindset, I still prefer the physcial book to read and to flip(can't beat that feeling), because I still print off the e-book but I can be more selective now.

In a nutshell, these are great tools to have and are here to stay. It probably complement the physical book, it had offered a convenient tool for the busy individuals to have a opportunity to catch up and do some learning during short spaces of free period without lugging the physcial book or even amount of material (cassette player, tapes etc as mow it condense to a palm size itouch).

Week 9: RSS update #Thing 20 Part Duex

I nearly forgot about this.

I had been getting some feedb this past two weeks from classroom learning 2.0 site. since then, i had actually added a few news links getting a lot of update on the latest things happening around teh world and i have to admit I'm more into finding out the news.

On the whole, the RSS is great to read the headlines and a two liner brief and allows me to read more if i choose to. Its great as everything is compiled together. I don't have to surf around 101 sites to get my information, this one reader will do and it cuts down a lot of time and multiple windows opening...aka slow feed.

Definately a great discovery!

Week 9: Podcasts, Video & Downloadable Audio #Thing 20 Youtube and the lot

I'm always amazed by Youtube for the amount of content it has, ranging form A to Z. I can almost stay here all day looking round for videos and materials. Addictive and at the same time, information. Hence I thought this is a good place from time to time source for materials taht's relevant for my classes.

Noe my first attempt on embedding a video. I will attempt to link this one. This is the article from Presidentv Obama's augural Neighborhood ball. Its not about the dance or Beyonce but the motivational speech, his charisma and his popularity,enjoy.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8eYSvlmupo - here's the link. just in case

Week 8: Online Applications & Tools - Library Thing #19

I just finish my exploration of the Librarything website. Its a good place with good resource to get a review of the books, probably if I want to read and at teh same time, a place where I can share my book review thoughts. Again, another interactive thing, using tags and ratings.

I inserted my favourite books like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Chronicles or Narnia. These literature being popularised have a lot of comments and reviews while my other two books on periodization, being technical and specific in genre, has way less.

If I have yet to read a book, and I can find and get a review, it might help me decide if I were to get it to read it. Probably save a couple of dollars. So this site is pretty handy when it comes to this.

Examining the way they do it, tagging, keywords, wiki and blog post style applications, desmonstrated the use of Web 2.0 concepts in possible classroom application. We can have a site, where we get students to review a book they read. This provided an avenue for alternative submission.

Hencve the Library thing provides another example of a Web 2.0 application that can be used for classroom purpose. I'm still new to MeL, I wonder if this is possible on a campus wide scope? I think so, just how in terms of execution I guess. Like my Uni's motto said " I am still Learning". I'm starting to learn how. :)

Week 8: Online Applications & Tools - Thing #18

Online Productivity tools. I will say they come in very handy. I uses google docs personally as i have a gmail account. such tools can be easily accessed anywhere with an internet connection or any internet terminal. Which is good if i need to do type up a quick document or spreedsheet quickly and have to share it with someone. That's the other advantage, it can be shared as long as they have a gmail account. Which is a small yet managable pain if he/she doesn't.

One of the good thing is that google docs and Zoho each comes with a user friendly interface, either Mac style or Windows style which I like. I can easily pick up the interface and use with ease. The only thing is being online, it may be slow with a slow bandwidth and my other little concern is security. One of the thing that excites me between google Docs and Zoho? I can use my gmail account to sign in both. how convenience is that!

I also tried openoffice once. Quite handy too, and with the inclusion of today's excercise at Zoho, its interesting to know more platforms are available.

Week 7 : Thing #17 Sandbox wiki thingy

Very interesting to see a wiki that invites people completes a "Dog" story. Lots of creativity, lots of openess.

This encourages me to try using wiki for next semester. I might explore a similar "Dog" method to one of my subject to encourage a certain form of participation. Especially to help those who are really quiet in class and yet displayed good knowledge and skills via their assignment. this method might help them open up a little bit and this little bit might go a long way.

As a whole, Wiki had opened up an avenue not only to provide feedback but interact as well by participation. Its easy to use, just like a word document. The only thing if I am to moderate the wiki, is just to ensure ethics and ground rules are followed closely to avaoid getting into unnecessary situations. Something, the internet is expose to constantly.

Hence, to try this avenue on MeL platform, why not? I'll start small somewhere. :-)