Summary and Reflection

In many online classes you have to be organized and willing to communicate with your classmates and your instructor; this class was no different. Being an effective communicator not only helped in this class but also is very beneficial in the working world; throughout your entire career you will have to be able to communicate well in a variety of situations. Working in groups for two projects put our communication skills to the test. Not only did we have to correspond with each other we also had to work together as a team to make sure that the assignments were done completely and turned in on time. Working in a group in an online class seems like an unusual request but because of technology we were able to reach out to one another and communicate back and forth on what needed to be done. We mainly used email as our main source of communication but could have used the discussion boards, blogs, live chats or texting. Working with a group can be difficult but because we utilized our time well and communicated clearly there was no confusion and we did well in our assignments. Much like in the “real world” of our careers we will use these skills everyday.
Besides expanding my organizational, communication and team building skills LTEC 3440 has forced me to become more in tune with the social networking sites that so many people and companies use today. Before this class I had never Tweeted or Blogged, two new adventures for me on the web. Using these web applications weekly gave me an insight on how valuable they can be and the many ways they can be used for communicating with friends, family, schoolmates or even employers and clients. Both Blogs and Twitter use the web 2.0 version of the Internet. Web 2.0 is something else that I didn’t know about until this class. Web 2.0 basically has changed the way we use the Internet making it interactive and constantly changing instead of just static information. Web 2.0 lets you control information without having to be a code writer or computer programmer. Other social networking programs such as Facebook and YouTube are available thanks to Web 2.0. Websites like Wikipedia and other information sharing sites allow you to update, change, and post information with just a few clicks. This type of technology changes the way we get information and they way we learn.
LTEC 3440 also introduced me to many new software applications that I had no idea existed. During the course of this class I learned about and used three new applications for presentations, Prezi, Xtranormal, and iMindMap. Say goodbye to PowerPoint! These applications gave me a whole new outlook on presentations. Creating exciting presentations is a good way to relay information without boring your audience. I had a lot of fun making a short movie using Xtranormal. I was amazed by the fact that I could chose a character to look the I wanted it to and then manipulate it’s motions, facial expressions, tempo of speech and angle of the camera all while my character was saying a script that I had written. Once I figured out how to make the application work, which didn’t take long, I made a short movie in a matter of 30 minutes, amazing! One of our other assignments required us to make a mind map, something else that I had not done before. Using the software iMindMap I created a pretty cool mind map full of ideas for a presentation. Using this application proved to be fun, quick and extremely useful. Now I know how to organize my thoughts and make great presentations instead of just scribbling down notes. I didn’t realize how limiting plain, traditional note taking could be; it is a vertical process whereas mind mapping allows your thoughts to flow more freely and randomly. As you are developing “branches” you might remember or want to expand on another thought. Mind Mapping allows to you move around in your notes and ideas. I really enjoyed learning these applications, and I’m glad they were introduced to me.
All of the applications and technology that was introduced to me in LTEC 3440 has made me think of learning and teaching in a new way. Rethinking how we get information across to students or even clients has allowed me to be more creative. Learning that information sharing doesn’t have to be boring black and white text opens the door to so many possibilities. Understanding that not everyone has the same learning style is important. Knowing how to reach all types of learners is even more important. LTEC 3440 has introduced me to new teaching techniques that use current technology. Tools like cell phones can be used for giving pop quizzes, pod cast can be used for students to listen to lectures on their iPods, Blogs can be used to turn in assignments and to share ideas, Twitter can be used for getting class updates. Each one of these tools presents a way of reaching a student or client that reading a textbook or email doesn’t offer. As a ‘designer’ I now have so many more options.
Intro to Instructional Technology (LTEC 3440) has been a rewarding class experience. I am glad that I took LTEC 3440; I know that I will undoubtedly use something from every assignment that we completed.

Group Website Redesign

Group 1 - Here is the website link for the redesign project.

https://classes.lt.unt.edu/Summer_2010/LTEC_3260_020/jjn0016/hrd1100/index.html

Week 9 - Part 2 Group Assignment

This week was pretty similar to last week. There was a lot of confusion last week and this week as to what needed to be turned in. Because of this we pretty much finished most of the assignment last week. Here are the Preliminary Questions along with the flow chart.

PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
1. What is causing the frustrations Georgina and her students are facing?
Georgian seems to think that all of her instructions are clear and that the students aren’t “getting” it. However, after reading the emails from her students there seems to be a lot of miscommunication and unclear instructions for the assignments and due dates.

2. Develop a flowchart of Georgina's site as it currently exists. Develop another flowchart with your recommendations of how to solve the current problems.






3. What other improvements would you recommend for the existing pages in order to decrease student frustration?
There needs to be a course syllabus page or link to it on each page that has all of the assignments for the week and an exact due date for each assignment.

4. As design experts, how would you work with Georgina to fix these problems?
I would have a consultation with her to find out what her expectations are for the students and to have her give me detailed information for assignments and due dates to include on the class website. Simply showing her the flow charts above might help her to see the gaps in communication between her, the website, and the students.

5. What options are available for salvaging this course at this point? Which course of action do you recommend?
She will have to spend a lot of time for this but I think it needs to be done; I would have her make a list of the remaining assignments with specific instructions. If there are discussion posts then she needs to make sure that is included in the assignment list. She will need to touch base with each student to make sure that there are no misunderstandings and that they are all aware of what is expected. If they ask questions her replies should be straight forward no answering questions with questions.

Week 8 - Group 1

Wow, this week flew by… our group really worked hard trying to understand what was needed of this week’s assignment and figuring out what we wanted to accomplish for this case study. Emails were flying back and forth; I’m surprised my in box didn’t blow up;)!
One of the challenges that we faced is just trying to communicate via email. We all have super busy schedules and getting a time when we could all be on line was tough but we made it work. I enjoy working with this group and appreciate their determination in making this project come together.

Good job group 1!