Week 15: Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

Well here we are, the end of another semester.  I expect that you are more than ready to be finished with the course.  If I had one X-mas wish, it would be to have my assignments grade themselves ;-)

Tonight: I want to ensure you understand all that needs to be complete to be finished with the course.  I will be checking TaskStream narratives and/or giving you time to write them in class.  Remember to use your Inspiration graphic organizer to help with the artifacts you will be using.

What else?  I have given everyone a grade for all of the hard work you did using the Google tools throughout the semester.  Ensure you submit a link to your iMovie PSA and turn in the checklist if you haven't already.  Also, you will be submitting your Emerging Technology checklist.  In Cougar Courses, I have an assignment titled, Attendance and Participation.  Please go there and complete the short reflection withing Moodle.  The course evaluation should be in your email.  Please complete the evaluation.  If possible, I would like to have proof that you completed the evaluation before the end of class tonight.

Based on the lukewarm response to my offer to show you how to use Photoshop, I wanted to provide you a sample of something you could do with the program.  My daughters are in the picture above that was taken during a soccer tournament in Coronado!  Anyway, with more time . . .

Final Question:  What is the best thing you will take away from this course?

Week 14: Is this Marathon Finally Over?

It seems that we are officially winding down for the semester.  If you have been able to keep up with everything, you should only have to finish and post your iMovie (with checklist complete) and write your narratives for NETS III-V.  If you have not been keeping up, then you may be in for a little more work than is healthy at the end of the semester. 

Grading: I have re-graded everything that was revised and re-submitted.  I have also graded all but the PLN, Journals 6-10, the Emerging Tech, and the TaskStream final narratives.  I will discuss the PLN in class tonight and the rest of the assignments aren't due yet.  If you hadn't submitted an assignment that was already graded, please talk to me.

A quick reminder about correspondence for the course:  it should take place within Cougar Courses, not my CSUSM email.  This way, I can be sure that I have addressed all questions for the course.  I have been receiving too many emails to my campus account, which can easily get lost in all of the spam and other mail that floods that mailbox.

Tonight:  You will be completing your iMovies and posting them on your blogs (don't forget your headphones!).  It is important that you have the movie checked off the the necessary content BEFORE exporting or posting on your blog.  Once a movie has been exported, it cannot be changed.  All changes need to take place in iMovie, not Quicktime.  Once your movie is complete and the checklist has been submitted, you can work on your Emerging Technology Checklist.  Don't forget that each journal entry needs to be matched with a NETS-T standard and each artifact needs a brief description.  When you complete both of these, you can work on your final NETS narratives in TaskStream. 

Next Week:  I always have as a goal to have everyone complete with the course on the last day.  I know this is a lofty goal, but I guy can dream, can't he ;-)  I will meet with everyone individually to ensure your narratives are finished or to answer any final questions you might have regarding the writing of the narratives.  One option is to show you how to create holiday cards using Photoshop as a fun non-graded project.  I can walk you through a quick and easy way to take a digital photo and manipulate it in Photoshop to create a holiday-worthy card that can be sent to Costco or another service to print. . .anyone. . .crickets

This Week's Question:  What has been your favorite assignment in the class and why??

Week 12: Lights, Camera. . . .

Keystone K-4C Movie Camera
Originally uploaded by Capt Kodak

Well here we are at the tail end of the semester.  With only the iMovie PSA project, your TaskStream narratives, and whatever redo or catch-up assignments you have left, there should be an end in sight. . .at least I hope so.
I have graded everything that has been submitted for the first time.  I will be catching up on my re-grading this week.  There are quite a few of you who seem to be further behind than I would like to see this late in the semester.  Please communicate with me if there are technical, personal, or other issues that are dragging you down.
Tonight:  We are going to be creating PSAs (Public Service Announcements) about our lovely CSUSM campus using iMovie.  This is one assignment that, if you don't have your own Mac, you will be doing exclusively in class.  There should be no reason you shouldn't finish this evening.  Remember to bring your headphones, and if you like, some .mp3s of your favorite music and/or some pictures of CSUSM life to incorporate into the PSA.  I will provide video, music, and some photos, but you are welcome to bring your own to personalize the project.  If you have your own MacBook, I suggest you bring it as well, so you can work on this after your leave class if you need to.

TaskStream Narratives:  please, please try and get ahead on these.  It will make your life so much easier if you can write one or two a week.  We all know how much the quality of writing diminishes when you are under a time constraint.  I would really appreciate a glimpse at your best writing, not something written in a panic-induced haze the evening before the last class.




This Week's Question:  What has been your most challenging assignment in this class and why?

Week 11: Breathe. . . . .

meditation
Originally uploaded by HaPe_Gera

Okay, it is time to take a breath and catch up on everything that is due or needs work.  I imagine that you are all juggling a few assignments right now.  Tonight, I want to check in with everyone individually to see how things are going, answer any questions, and give feedback on the current state of your blogs.  Tonight is a good time to take a look at the Emerging Technology Checklist to ensure you are describing your artifacts and accounting for the NETS standard in the title of the post.  If you are the one person who is all caught up with everything up to this point, you can start the TaskStream narratives for NETS-T III, IV, and V.

TaskStream narratives:  everyone has received feedback on the NETS I narrative in TaskStream that has submitted work.  Please go to your account and check your work.  You can use your Inspiration graphic organizer to guide you as you write the remaining narratives.   You are also welcome to continue to use Google Docs to share your writing with your peers to receive feedback.  You do not need to use the same group as your NETS I group, you can start a new document and share with another peer and/or me.  My goal is for everyone to have the narratives completed and in TaskStream for our last class meeting.
Here is a link for some sample narratives


All of the journal articles have been assigned (see last week's blog entry).

Next week:  we are going to be learning iMovie.  Please bring headphones with you as you will need them when you are editing your movies.  This will be the last new assignment of the semester ;-)  We will not be having class the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

This Week's Question:  What would be your ideal teaching job?  If you are not an aspiring educator, what is your ideal job?

Week 10: The Sun is Almost Setting on the Semester. . .

I was on what my daughters call "dad's walkabout" and took this amazing picture of the sunset from my iPhone.  I live by SDSU, so it was at least 10 miles away from the beach.  It just reminds me of how amazing it is to live in San Diego.                                                                                Anyway, we are really almost finished with the hard part of the course: the assignments.  You will be completing a few more projects, ensuring you have a rock star blog, then writing your TaskStream narratives.  Easy, right?

 This Week:  You will be introduced to Inspiration, which you will be using to brainstorm the remaining artifacts for TaskStream.  Also, I have included the checklist for what should be on your blog.  This checklist is actually the Emerging Technology assignment.  As a said previously in class, I want to reward everyone for the hard work you have put into your blogs.

Journal 8 & 9:  The latest issue of L&L has hit the . . .Internet?  You should be able to access the digital copy on the ISTE website.  You may choose any two articles from the issue that interest you.  Ensure you use the Citation Machine for the articles.  If you have found another great source for articles on technology in education, feel free to use one for either journal 8 or 9. 

Journal 10:  You can search L&L for an article.  Again, ensure you properly cite the article.

This Week's Question:  What is your current favorite timesucker?  This is the thing/activity/game/website/whatever that prevents you from doing other things you know you should be doing (like, say, completing work for this class).  

Currently for me, I would have to say I have an unhealthy addiction to the game Angry Birds on my iPad.  I even downloaded the Angry Birds Halloween edition and spent the entire weekend trying to beat it. . .which I did sometime Sunday afternoon ;-)

A blog in a Blog. . .Creepy. . . .

Week 9: It's Spooky how Much You are Learning!

Ooky Spooky
Originally uploaded by The Fox and the Polar Bear

As the semester eerily passes, I am amazed at how much everyone has accomplished so far.  Take a few minutes to look at all you have created and embedded on your blog: surveys, Prezis, newsletters, and all those journal entries!  Impressive!

This Week:  Creating your PLN and the CSUSM Web 2.0 Tools for Educators Wiki. . .You will be adding people to your PLN and reflecting on some of the process.  You will also investigate a web 2.0 tool, create something, and then share your results on your very own wiki page.  The PLN assignment will also count as journal 7, so you got that going for you, which is nice!

Journal 7:  This will be the Creating Your PLN assignment.  The instructions are on this blog (Look at the tabs above!)

I will be catching up on grading this week.  If you are behind, please talk to me.  If you assignment is not submitted when I grade, there will be a penalty in the points earned.  I am flexible, but not ridiculously so. . .

This Week's Question: What is something you have learned well without formal teaching?  How did you learn it?  This could be a sport, hobby, musical instrument, etc. .