Tuesday 12 April 2016

Comments on other students blogs

As part of the assessment for our course, we needed to comment and feedback to other students.

Below are my examples


Carys - feedback on Eportfolios 

Sonya - feedback on Field trip

Reflective Blog

Activity 8.2

The reason I came to EIT was to study a GradDip in IT, having been in the work place for over 15 years, I felt I need a new challenge and hopefully the start of a new career.

Digital Learning Tech was the first paper I chose to study whilst working full time. This paper has been the most enlightening course I have been on. I studied for a BA (Hons) Business degree in UK from 1999-2002 and so much has changed since my time at University.

I have learnt so much and been exposed to so many new bits of new technology I never knew existed (that is what happens when you work full time, you become engrossed in your work and not what is going on in the world). I had had no experience at Blogging, apart from following a few friends who travelled across the US. I only ever knew Wikipedia existed, not WikiCommons, WikiEducator. I learnt Google has the answer to most questions, courses, training, youtube videos.

I have really enjoyed interacting with other students, young and same age to learn from their experiences and pass on knowledge of my experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed the PLN lecture with Joyce, it made me realise I need to look more into my personal network (and not just Facebook).

The course had engaged my thinking and thoughts about a future career, as I have always been creating notes and guides on how to run reports, I am really keen to start focusing more on that part of IT I really enjoy.

I think this course has a big future, as someone in employment I believe it would be nice to have maybe a guest speaker from a organisation who could give an insight to the digital learning they provide to their organisation.
Thank you Michael for you guidance and knowledge.

Online Courseware

Activity 8.1

One of the most useful courseware example I sue quire frequently is Excel training.

https://excelexposure.com/

I often us this website to assist with functions in Excel I am not familiar with or need to gain a better understanding.

The videos and worksheets are handy.

See below link in Wiki

Wikieducator - Online Courseware Examples
WikiEducator

Thursday 7 April 2016

Personal Learning Networks

Activity 5.1.1

This week we had a presentation from Joyce Seitzinger from Melbourne on Personal Learning Networks. This was one of the most interesting lectures, it provided a real eye open to how much technology is available, how it can be used to learning and research topics.

With the amount of technology available it can be quite overwhelming, as I am user of Facebook and LinkedIn the rolling news feeds at times can be quite intrusive. I have often save links on Facebook so I can review them at a later date, rather than searching google I use Facebook to filter and follow communities , one interesting Facebook page I am learning from is eLearning industry. I try to limit my time on Facebook especially during study time as otherwise I will spend more time on social media.

I don't believe I am using my PLN effectively. I will be reviewing the filters and researching where I can show my portfolio. I have no tools for filing websites or RSS feeds.



Activity 5.4.1

Below is my PLN.

I am mainly a resident in Facebook and Skype, I use these as way of communicating with colleagues overseas, for learning and training purposes. I use Facebook as a filter for ELearning communities.

I also used LinkedIn for the same purpose as Facebook for filtering ELearning communities, for following organisations and for research. I use Lync for training and conference calls, as well as EIT Online for course related material.

For personal learning as visitor I used BBC New and NZHerald for learning about world wide news. I used Blogger and Wikipedia as a visitor and only institutional purposes. I have recently discover ELearning Brothers website as a educational resource for creating Elearning objects.

I don't believe my PLN as thorough as it could be, I believe I could have more institutional resources. Having been out of education for 10 plus years and working, I feel I have fallen behind in learning technology available. Starting on this course has really opened my eyes to the new technology that was not available when I was studying at university.

My LinkedIn profile and Facebook profile is the most use to my learning. I use both of these to connect with elearning communities, organisations and colleagues. I believe this will have the edge in terms of connectivity.



Sunday 3 April 2016

LinkedIn and Google Sites

Activity 6.1 -  LinkedIn and Google Sites

Eportfolios come in various guises. It could be a LinkedIn profile, a CV, a Facebook page, YouTube and Googlesites are just several examples.

Eportfolios are an electronic format managed by user to show a collection of digital records such as text, files, images, multimedia extracts, blog entries and other tools that technology is creating daily. It is the perfect way for user to promote their skills and achievements.

Eportfolios are extremely useful in the emergence of the digital learning environment, many companies now recruit online, gone are the days of sending a covering letter and a CV by post, CV's are now emailed or uploaded into a jobsite such as seek.co.nz. Training and courses are done online using blogs and websites. Eportfolios can useful to users as it allows them to records their achievements, goals and work experience, this therefore allows them to sell their skills, develop and investigate new ways of learning. Websites such as LinkedIn allow user to join communities with the same interest, follow people of interest and organisations, search and apply for jobs.

Below are the links for my LinkedIn and Googlesites

LinkedIn

I used LinkedIn to connect with colleagues, follow organisations, join groups and use it as a research tool for learning.

Google Sites


Wednesday 23 March 2016

Instructional Design Models Activity - Field trip to cabin

Assessed Activity 7.1


During this week's class, we took part in a field trip to the login cabin on site at EIT campus.

Firstly, the aim was to assist a PHD student with a piece of coursework.

Secondly, it was to conduct this field trip as a live steam through Adobe Connect, with the aim to identify and reflect on the use of mobile and digital learning technology.

Initially we started the remote classroom by checking the quality of the video and audio, students that were joining the class virtual were asked to confirm the video streaming and audio were satisfactory.





During the live stream, I used a mixture of devices:

  • Samsung Galaxy Tablet - to record videos and take pictures.
          This device doesn't have data so I was unable to join the Adobe Connect live stream.

  • Samsung Phone - to record videos, take pictures and connect through Adobe Connect.
           As this phone doesn't have 4G connection, I was reliant on Vodaphone 3G connection.


The most evident issues noticed during the field trip from a personal point of view was how dated technology can affect learning, as my mobile phone isn't 4G compatible meant I was unable to stream the video and audio at the required speed, meaning learning would have been hindered.

Other factors that affected the Adobe Connect stream was the connection speed available to the technology being used to record and stream. Due to the environment of the log cabin, which is surrounded by trees, the connection speed of the internet was affected and kept dropping from 4G to 3G. Also the mobile device used to record and stream used the best version of video available meaning the video quality was quite grainy.

All of these aspects affect online learning, particularly live feeds. The quality of the video was grainy meaning it was difficult as the images where not clear.










The experience could be better if the facilitator was aware of the technology the students are using, some students don't have 4G phones or no data available. One possible work around is maybe allow students to use the Wi-Fi to undertake any digital learning.

Another experience that could have been better was maybe doing a trial run to check the connection speed and learning could therefore have been adapted accordingly.






Wednesday 16 March 2016

Cloud Activity



Assessed Activity 5.2 - Cloud Technology
Part of our digital elearning class this week was to explore Cloud technology.


I have looked at Webex as an example of Cloud Technology as I have used Webex for 7 years during employment. Webex


I found Webex a simply easy to use tool, for connecting with people around the globe, whether it to be for a training course or whether it to be for a meeting. It is an excellent tool for meetings and conducting projects meetings.
Webex enables file sharing, audio and video features.

Webex has an excellent support centre, online help functions, it is secure and reliable site. It is an excellent tool for an organisations but is specifically useful for large organisations with remote workers.
See below the changes I made in the WikiEducator site,