Alpha

** Ok, I'm done with my area but cant upload today for some reason. I will put it up in the file exchange section on our group section of BB when i get home this afternoon so you can review it one more time before it gets posted for the class. --Valerie ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wiggio tutorial how to - Rosi Amador voiced this tutorial.** ** http://www.youtube.com/user/AmadorBilingualVOs#p/a/u/2/g2mCrnjF1jc ** I've added some slides to Dara's slides on LeAnne's google site. Dara - Leanne will set up an area for the word handouts so you can put yours there when ready. Brittany, I put some on brief ones on the folder options as I haven't heard back from you. LeAnne, how do you want to handle the handout documents - email? Valerie - I didn't know if you still can't get into wiggio.com so I'll work some slides for your area. You can replace mine with yours. Let me know Nancy I'll see if I can find a work around to send you more information - Nancy Creating group, subgroups, adding members, options (I’ll volunteer for this – Nancy) Calendar & To-Do list - Dara Folder Meeting LeAnne Message & Poll - Valerie (if i can get on... see above) Will need someone to put the presentation & documentation together too - I can get this started on GoogleDocs and then we can all add to it. We can do a basic slide show and handouts, unless someone just wants to try something fancier. LeAnne 4/1 I **Hey guys sorry it has taken me so long to reply I had a family emergency these past two weeks and haven't been on much-- wiggio is great. my sister has used it before in her english classes. Let me know what you need me to do. Brittany** ​
 * $&*#$(*&! content blocker @ school sucks!!!!!!!! I can't get onto wiggio.com- Valerie

've sent email about this. I'd like to go with Wiggio since I've started working with it. I'm impressed. - Nancy 3/29 Wiggio - son told me about this (uses it for a group) check it out,wiggio.com sent you email about it, set up group and poll, Brittany- I don't have your email address to add you to the group - Nancy 3/28

I don't know anything about either Adobe Presenter or Wiggio, so it doesn't matter to me which we do. Sorry I haven't been in contact. Things have been really hectic at work lately. If you already have ideas about how to divide up the presentation, just let me know what you want me to do. LeAnne 3/28

Assignment Instructions The topic for this presentation is any specific tool used in distance communication. You will then prepare a virtual presentation to share with the class. It could be as simple as a PowerPoint, but should also include at least one supplementary source such as- Word documents for handouts, web pages, or any other materials that are easily shareable. Please cite sources as necessary. These group presentations allow you the experience of creating such products at a distance, presenting such products at a distance, as well as the content itself. Post your topic on the course wiki. Here's websites to check out [] It divides up info under benefits, type, and key workflows (with videos) This site covers adding things like learner certificates [] We need to divide up our work we need to develop the presentation and handouts We could develop one as web resources for more information too. Check out the information and let me know what you would like to do. Nancy

Looking for comments from Brittany not sure if she is gone for spring break? Any ideas for which tool we want to use for the group presentation? I'm going to be out of town until Monday night but I will check in then. LeAnne 3/14 Suggestion 1 - Adobe products, maybe do an overview of several, that way we could divide up on a couple of the products. I think presenter is captivate now? - Nancy 3/14 [] [] - interesting video on google apps for education - Nancy 3/15 suggestion 2: working with google to share information- i have adigital library set up through Google that we can use as a starting point, there is also google docs, chat, email, etc... - Valerie from group discussion board Suggestion 3 - Skype and other live video communication program. I used Skype and Skype recorder when I did my interview for another class, it made an MP3 of the conversation - Nancy 3/16 Suggestion 4 - Smartphones and applications available to use with them - LeAnne 3/15 I like this suggestion too even though I don't have a smartphone - Nancy 3/16 I don't have a smartphone so i dont know what help i would be in learning these aps? I think we should stick with something everyone has access to... - Valerie Dara's comments: I like the idea of google docs...I also like the use of Adobe captivate/Presenter (although I don't know much about it.) I also like the idea of live video. Hmm...guess I'm lots of help, huh? (3/16) Dr. Odin and Dr. Kerr used presenter in classes that I took and it was nice to hear the voice, you can use it to pull in the powerpoints with the audio. Haven't created one myself but should try it.. - Nancy 3/16 Welcome back from the break! we probably need to decide on this pretty soon- have we come to a consensus yet?- Valerie No, but you're right, we need to decide. Doesn't look like Brittany has posted any comments on it.I'll send an email reminder so that we can see whatever wants to do.- Nancy Sounds good, just let me know what you want me to do with it :-) -Valerie Wiggio - son told me about this (uses it for a group) check it out,wiggio.com sent you email about it, set up group and poll, Brittany- I don't have your email address to add you to the group - Nancy 3/28

I don't know anything about either Adobe Presenter or Wiggio, so it doesn't matter to me which we do. Sorry I haven't been in contact. Things have been really hectic at work lately. If you already have ideas about how to divide up the presentation, just let me know what you want me to do. LeAnne 3/28

__Chapter 5 - Managing the Relationship to Technology__ Section 1 - The Relationship of Person to Machine (Valerie Hough) Questions for the section: 1. Considering your own experiences, what level of “attachment phenomenon” do you think you have? I really like this one, I think it makes everyone look deeper at how/how much they use technology. Maybe we can use it as a followup? Valerie Sounds like a plan to me - nancy 2. What invisible boundaries do you feel imposed on your interactions with classmates both on and offline? ​ I like questions 2 and 3 here - and think that they both discuss the same kind of issue: relationships are impacted by invisible boundaries. So - what if we combined the two questions? //**What invisible boundaries do you feel are imposed on your interactions with classmates both on and offline? How does this affect your online relationships as compared to your real world relationships?**// - Dara I like that! Nancy This is a good idea-Valerie 3. How are your online relationship different from your non-machine (real world) relationships? This would be a nice easy one to start with.- LeAnne The only problem I see with this one is that I feel it is the same question we've addressed every week in the DB ~ Britt 2/16

4. The synchronous chat rooms & asynchronous discussion boards can be the machine counterparts to a café or mail. What other social settings might you relate these online environments to? Explain.

Sections 2 & 3 - Technology as a Facilitative Tool & Excuse Us, We Are Now Experiencing Technical Difficulties (Brittany Latham)
 * 1) How should Media be used? What approaches to teaching and learning are most effective in a computer networking environment?
 * 2) According to the text, ease of use and visual appeal helps to facilitate learning in an online environment; while ease of use definitely plays a major role in classroom, how important is visual appeal in an online environment such as Blackboard?

__Chapter 6 - Moving Teaching and Learning Online__ Sections 1, 4, & 5 - Effective Teaching and Learning in the Online Classroom, The Hybrid Course and Online Community, & Moving to Specifics (Nancy Hill) (The moving to specifics about 2 paragraphs, the next chapter goes into details so I didn't do a question on it)

1. Hybrid courses involve both face-to-face and online components. Chapter 6 states Rovai and Jordan conducted a study in 2004 to address the question “How does the notion of an online community fit with hybrid delivery?” These researchers state “blending of courses consist of three areas of change - thinking less about delivering instruction and more about producing learning, reaching out to students through distance education technologies, and promoting a strong sense of community among learners”. Expand on how you feel the online community fits into hybrid delivery. Blended Learning and Sense of Community: A comparative analysis with traditional and fully online graduate courses Rovai & Jordan, [] 2. In order for a hybrid course to be designed for success some key characteristics need to be established. What would you include in your best practices checklist in order to have a successful hybrid course? ( actually have some checklist that we could use to guide the discussion on this, some which could be used for the totally online course too)

Section 2 - Roles and Functions of the Instructor in the Online Classroom (LeAnne Nichols) 1. Exhibit 6.1 on p.109 shows 3 models of Instructor Functions. The 3 models overlap, and/or fill in gaps, that are present some areas. Design your own model by choosing parts of the 3 provided or by creating your own. Use a list format, as in Table 6.1, or create your own way of organizing your list of functions. This could be used as the follow up to #2 - 2/15 Nancy 2. Using the list of competencies on p.108-110, determine which 3 competencies are the most important for an instructor to possess. Briefly explain why you chose each competency. I like this one for a starting question - should we go ahead and list these or make our classmates look at those in the book? - 2/14 Nancy I think they can look in the book, then the question doesn't seem so long and overwhelming. - LeAnne Agreed - 2/15 Nancy I like this one as well ~Britt 2/16 Me too, and i think it would be fine to look in the book- Valerie Gets my vote also - Dara

Section 3 - The Role of the Learner in the Learning Process (Dara Bigler) 1. There are three basic categories for the role of the learner in the learning process: knowledge generation, collaboration and process management. As our text discusses, some instructors choose to assign or ask students to take on these roles, while others allow roles to emerge naturally. Do you feel that one is a better approach over another? Does it depend on the subject matter? What, if any other variables should be considered? 2. In the role of knowledge generation, the learner is responsible for using the guidance provided by the instructor in a meaningful way. Another important aspect of this role is that learners are expected to challenge the assumptions and ideas of their own, their classmates and their instructor. What are some suggestions for strategies that instructors can use to facilitate this process? How do we prepare instructors for the “challenging of ideas” – as a positive and not a negative? I like number 2 for one of the first questions to post - Nancy. I'm okay with this one, too. - LeAnne I thought that this was an important question to ask - because it does requires a mindset change. Questioning or challenging, respectfully of course, can be a fantastic part of the learning process. This would be one of my choices. - Dara I'm on board with this one- Valerie

I went ahead and put my name next to the section I'll focus on. We also need to think of a timeline. When should we have our questions posted in order for the rest of the group to comment. ~Brittany.

I added mine too. Do you think allowing until Saturday night is too much time? Maybe we should plan on another synchronous chat at 7:00 pm on Sunday again? If we had our questions posted by Saturday we would have time to review them before meeting on Sunday. ~LeAnne

I added mine too. Lets plan on posting the questions by Saturday and a chat on Sunday. - Nancy I added my name after The Role of the Learner in the Learning Process. I will have questions developed by Saturday. What time for the chat on Sunday? We are posting questions to the db, correct? Thanks all. (Dara Bigler) - 7 p.m.

I posted in the group discussion discussion board about this, but as an FYI: I am out of town this weekend without internet access. That's why I didnt include it in my availability. I also did not receive notification of the sunday chat until after it was over since it wasn't posted until saturday and I was not able to check for it. I hate to miss a second chat session if we can do it early, but it appears that it is fine for everyone else. i guess I will just talk to Rachel about what to do about the chat points. Valerie*

(oops, didn't mean to remove the bullet/indention above. sorry)
 * Valerie, what time will you be back? I can be flexible. I think it's better if we can find a time that works for us all.~LeAnne

​ I will be out of town on Monday - however Monday evening would work for me (after 6:00 PM). (Dara)
 * Dara, right now we just need to post our questions on the wiki for us all to "approve". We won't actually post them on the db until our assigned week. ~LeAnne**
 * It's Valentine's day- I will be back on Monday afternoon. I can do Monday between 2:30 and 5:00, Wednesday 2:30-8:00 or Friday from 2:30-4:30
 * I don't teach Monday as it's a holiday, I probably won't be working that day either so I could do it in the afternoon - Nancy**

I posted my questions underneath my assigned section above. I don't see anyone else's yet so I will try to check back in a few days. Valerie 2/11

Looking at Valerie's available times, I could do Monday after 3:00, Wednesday after 4:30, or Friday after 3:00. ~LeAnne