Group 5 - HRD1110 Redesign of Website

Group 5 - please see the link to the redesign of website HRD1110

www.hrd1100-orgpsych.webs.com

Online Group Experience Take Two!

Last Monday I was able to get together with my group via web/telephone conference. We had all agreed to meet at 7:00 p.m. It was nice to be able to speak with my peers and to get their thoughts and perspective on our last case study we were assigned. We all compared notes and discussed how the professor in the case study could improve her course. This case study was easier to do than the last because I think we had a better idea of what we were doing. I have never worked with an online group before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I felt this last week was a great experience. I was lucky to be paired with two individuals who were flexible with schedules. I know we have a life outside of work and school so sometimes it can be difficult to agree on a meeting time. Terry offered to set up the WebEx meeting which was great. I haven't had the opportunity to work with WebEx before so it was great to be able to use that medium to communicate with my peers. We were able to chat with one another in the comfort of our own homes. Out meeting moved smoothly and we were able to delegate jobs to one another quickly. Overall, the discussions went well and I'm satisified with our finished product.

Reflection of Group 2 Project

This week has been very busy for me and the rest of my group. I think we communicated rather well this time around. Everyone responded quickly and was very flexible and understanding when it came to scheduling a meeting time. We plan on meeting Monday, August 2^nd in the evening to discuss this week's group project. I think we were able to come together quickly and utilize an effective plan and action for this case study. I really look forward to meeting everyone and I am excited to see what everyone thought about this case study. I think it will be interesting to see if we came up with similar answers to the questions and to compare our flow charts.

Mind Mapping and Motivation

Mind Mapping and Motivation on Prezi

I had the opportunity to make a presentation using Prezi as my tool. I love this software! Not only did it make it simple and easy for me to create, but I was able to show my creative side with Prezi as well. I hope you all enjoy my re-design on mind mapping and what motivates me.

The Challenges of Modern Education

It is very obvious technology is rapidly evolving. It is more important now more than ever that professors and teachers incorporate and integrate technology into their instruction. Students are driven by modern technology and it is important education is up to par with the learning capabilities of their students. Three videos bring this concern to the forefront: "Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?," "A Vision of Students Today," and "The Machine is Us/ing Us." All three videos imply the importance of design instruction and integrating technology in instruction.

In "Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?" (TEDtalksdirector, 2007), Sir Ken Robinson discusses the fact that "children have extraordinary capacity for innovation" (2007, 2:49). In the video he states that "all children have tremendous talents, and we squander them pretty ruthlessly" (3:10). He emphasizes the fact that "creativity is as important now as literacy" (3:21). The reason being is because technology is taking us on a path where we no longer can ignore how important creativity is in education. We must nurture our children's creativity and imagination early on. Children are not afraid of being wrong or making mistakes. But throughout their young lives society literally squanders their creativity and makes them afraid to make mistakes. Education now makes children afraid to explore their creative sides and to be innovative. Sir Ken Robinson also emphasizes the fact, "if you're not prepared to be wrong, you won't come up with anything original" (5:55). Our society "stigmatizes mistakes" (6:05) and in doing so we prevent possible Picassos and Gillian Lynnes to blossom into wonderful advocates of the human imagination. It is possible to integrate technology into instruction by way of the internet. Students can create their own blog accounts and personalize them. They can also share pictures, events and video on their blogs. With this capability students are able to read and interact with other students via blogs while still allowing for their creativity to flourish.

In "A Vision of Students Today" (mwesch, 2007), Michael Wesch goes as far as to use his students to convey a message. The message is that of students today and "what they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes and dreams and what their lives will be like and what kind of changes will they experience in their lifetime" (2007). The video begins with a camera panning an empty classroom (0:25). Statements and questions are scribbled on the back of chairs and on the walls (0:32) begging the viewer to think about the importance of the messages. The video poses the question, "what is it like to be a student today?" (1:10). A document is edited by 200 students 367 to answer the question (1:21). Students can be seeing holding up a simple sheets of paper with the answers to the survey. The vast majority of the answers have to do with technology and how students are using it more for pleasure than education in the classroom. Many of the students bring laptops to class, but they hardly use the laptops for their lectures. Some are seen IMing or chatting online. Others surfing Facebook. The most impactful message was the one the professor wrote at the end on a chalkboard. He poses the question, "writing on a chalkboard….what's missing? (4:18). Off to the side is a list of things missing, such as photos, videos, animations and networking (4:18). The public education system needs to start taking advantage of technology more. Students can now create their own Twitter accounts to stay connected with the world around them. YouTube is a great creative outlet for students. We now have the capability to record and edit our own videos and share them with millions on the web. Skype is another way of communicating with students in the same state or across the world. Podcasts are also available. These are the things missing from a traditional classroom setting.

In the last video, "Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/ing Us" (mwesch, 2007), it opens with a message being handwritten, and erased, and then handwritten again, and then erased one more time (2007, 0:23). The video then craftily transitions to a word document and a message that is typed out and then changed by merely being highlighted and typed over. Now, instead of having to write out notes students can do so by typing them out on their laptop. The video goes on to show how in the past html format had to be typed out making it difficult to communicate on the internet (1:17). Now that we have digital text we no longer have worry about long drawn out html codes that we have to create (1:19). For example, we can simply click on a link to read the news online or go to a new web page. This technology allows us to "describe the content, not the form so the data can be exported free of formatting constraints" (1:51). A simple click of the button and we are able to upload a blog, change a status on twitter or publish our very own website. We can also use sites, such as Flickr, to upload and share pictures to family or use Google Earth to map where a city is on the other side of the world. All of these things are now available to us and we should be utilizing them and integrating them into education today.

We no longer live in an Industrialized Era. We live in an era surrounded by technology. The message of all three videos is education must evolve and incorporate technology into their design instruction. If they don't they will not be able to support or prepare our children for an uncertain future. Our children are evolving much faster than past generations and we need to make sure we can keep up with them. Supporting their creativity and innovative minds through technology is one of the first steps for preparing them for what lies ahead.

Works Cited

mwesh. (2007). A Vision of Students Today. [video] Retrieved July 17, 2010,

from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=player_embedded

mwesh. (2007). Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/ing Us. [video] Retrieved July 17, 2010, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE&feature=player_embedded

TEDtalksDirector. (2007). Do schools kill Creativity? [video]. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&feature=player_embedded

To Listen or Not to Listen...

In the beginning I had mixed feelings about listening to a topic rather than reading it. I’m very much a visual learner, but reading text books and articles can be difficult at times. I selected Ted Talks from our resource list and decided to listen to Carl Safina: The Oil Spills Unseen Culprit and Victims. It was very interesting to hear and I really enjoyed his lecture. At times it was hard for me to follow him because the examples he used were probably accompanied with visuals such as slides. However, I did like the fact I could pause the podcast if I needed too. The good thing about pausing was that I could reflect and what he was talking about. Also, if I found it more convenient to be listening to him and typing on my lap top to take notes as opposed to highlighting and scribbling notes on my textbook (which half the time didn’t make sense to me when I had to go back and reference them).

I do believe there are pros and cons to both reading and listening. As I said before, I’m a visual learner. I tend to rely on graphs and pictures when I read a text. It helps me to relate the ideas the author is trying to convey or get across. However, I often get tired when I read because usually I’m so relaxed. I usually read a book to go to sleep because it helps me to relax and wind down. Plus, if you have to read numerous chapters and pages in your text book it can be very overwhelming. I often find myself counting down the pages to the end of a chapter. It is like torture for me, but I know it is necessary.

With listening to a podcast I can hear someone speaking just like if I was in class listening to a lecture. I like the fact that I can pause the podcast when I need too or rewind if I missed something. Like I said before, I can take notes on my lap top if I need too. But the problem with podcasts is they lack the visual materials I feel I need to relate to the subject. Plus, you can’t see the professor giving the lecture.

With all of this being said, I feel I would rather listen to a podcast than read a text book. I know this goes against every fiber in my body since I feel I’m a visual learner, but I will need to adapt at some point. The way education is being taught now it wouldn’t surprise me if lectures were aired via podcasts. Plus, I think it would be helpful to the students who may be auditory learners. Right now they may feel they have to attend traditional schooling because they learn better by listening to a professor rather than reading a book. I think it would be great if online schools began to incorporate podcasts in their teaching criteria. I think it would help students learn to use their auditory skills rather than just their visual ones.

Creativity and Education

I really enjoyed this video. It shows us that if we take creativity away from children we are not properly preparing them for the future. We are not nuturing young inventors, but squandering them. The video uses Picasso as an example. If Picasso knew "F" didn't stand for "fantastic" and his paintings weren't that of the norm we would never have experienced his self-proclaimed blue period (among other periods), witnessed an artist's talents or have been positively impacted by his work. So, perhaps (as the video states) "to be creative is to remain childlike."