Final Project

Well, here it is - my final project.

The following is description of what was expected in our written paper and technology product:

Written Paper
You will create a unit of instruction on the topic of your choice within which a technology that you have “mastered” is integrated to improve student learning. The instructional unit, which acts as the setting within which this technology is integrated, should be described with a focus on the design process. This written portion of the project should set the stage for how the technology is used. This paper should show an understanding and ability to implement the design process and include topics such as: audience, definition of the problem, goals and objectives, learning and teaching styles, implementation, assessment, etc. As with all projects completed in this course, you are asked to use correct spelling and grammar, write in a scholarly manner, and use references where necessary to strengthen and support your ideas. All references should follow APA guidelines. This paper should be no longer than ten pages in length.

Technology Products
Depending on your project choice, your technology products should include 1) all technology-related instructional products you create for use in your unit and, when appropriate 2) a model of a student project resulting from your lesson.

As mentioned previously in Week 13, my unit of instruction was a teacher training course covering the use of social bookmarking for sharing resources online. As also previously mentioned, my social bookmarking tool of choice was Diigo, primarily because of its popularity, great mix of features and ease of use. I also developed my course using a free online course authoring called Udutu. I decided to go with Udutu rather one of the mainstream course authoring tools (e.g. Adobe Captivate, Articulate Studio, etc.) for a few reasons: 1) Cost (Udutu is free), 2) Ease of use (Udutu is fairly intuitive), 3) Accessibility (Udutu courses can be accessed from any computer). Although use of Udutu isn’t so widespread, I still feel like it afforded me a valuable first experience in eLearning course development.

Aside from the tools, working on the paper was also highly beneficial. Reflecting back on all the theories we covered over the term and actually applying them in a lesson was priceless. It felt like everything we learned about finally paid off.

All in all, no doubt it was a lot of work, but an experience I will value for some time to come. I honestly never expected to learn so much in just this one introductory course. I am really excited about what other opportunities future classes in the Masters program will present.

My written paper can be found here: Final Project - Paper (http://bit.ly/iS6Bol)
My technology product can be viewed here: Final Project - Technology Product (http://bit.ly/iHoCFb)
The accompanying storyboard for my technology product can be found here: Final Project - Storyboard (http://bit.ly/jDbD6M)

My presentation is here (as posted in Week 14): Final Project - Presentation (http://bit.ly/iiJjmk)

Any comments and feedback and greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Week 14 (May 3 - 9, 2011)

We are in the final stretch as our final projects are due next week so, as you can probably imagine, no readings again this week.

Over the past week, I mostly concentrated on completing the storyboard and developing my course. So far, I have a pretty good portion completed. This week however, I need to focus more on the paper.

In addition, we also had to make a presentation in class discussing what are project is about. The following is a brief description of what was required:

Presentation
During the final days of class you will be asked to present your project to your peers for the purposes of sharing, feedback, and evaluation. This presentation should be no more than ten minutes and describe the design processes used and how the technology was integrated. This presentation should be viewed as an informal time for you to share your ideas and views on the design process and technology integration.

My presentation can be viewed below.

Week 13 (April 26 - May 2, 2011)

No readings again this week as the term is winding down now and everyone is hard at work preparing their final projects.

I will use this post to briefly talk about the final project. The following is a summary of what is expected from us:

In the final cumulative project, you will create a unit of instruction on the topic of your choice within which a technology that you have “mastered” is integrated to improve student learning. You are encouraged to take advantage of the time spent on this project to create something that would be appropriate for a current or future teaching situation (if applicable). The project contains three parts: a written paper, technology products, and a brief presentation.

This project is designed to allow you to express your understanding and experience applying the theories, concepts, and technologies taught within this course. This project should show a strong understanding of all concepts covered throughout the semester, including but not limited to proficiency with computer technologies, design techniques, and theories of learning and teaching. When designing this project, view this as your opportunity to experiment with the theories and technologies you have learned over the past semester.

For my project, I am planning to design a teacher training course on the use of Diigo (http://www.diigo.com), a popular social bookmarking tool, as a means of sharing resources online. The technology tool I have decided to use in order to deliver the lesson is Udutu (http://www.udutu.com), a free online course authoring tool. I am very familiar with Diigo but Udutu, and course authoring in general, is still new to me. Although, the assignment calls for us to use a technology we’ve “mastered” I discussed with my instructor my desire to get some exposure to course authoring tools, so I got the “OK”. Although I know this project will definitely be a challenge, I am highly motivated so am confident everything will work out.