EC 1241 Group 2 project

EC1241 Group 2 project - Rubric

Here is an example of a Holistic Rubric:

Holistic Rubric for Lab Write-Ups
Frequent and proper use of scientific terminology appropriate for the lab.
1 strongly disagree	2	3 somewhat agree	4	5 strongly agree
Data collection was within expected norms, explanations were given where they deviated.
1 strongly disagree	2	3 somewhat agree	4	5 strongly agree
Conclusion is appropriate for the data collected and shows a strong grasp of the scientific concepts.
1 strongly disagree	2	3 somewhat agree	4	5 strongly agree
Writing style shows neatness, grammatical correctness, good spelling.
1 strongly disagree	2	3 somewhat agree	4	5 strongly agree
The lab write up was complete with graphs and charts where appropriate. Check the parts present. Purpose _____ Materials List ______ Procedures _____ Data and Observations _____ Calculations _____ Questions____ Conclusion ______
1 strongly disagree	2	3 somewhat agree	4	5 strongly agree
The response to the questions were carefully thought out and well-reasoned.
1 strongly disagree	2	3 somewhat disagree	4	5 strongly agree

23 things, hummm...

The final assignment for the Technology tools for online learning included generating a list of 23 things an online facilitator would need to teach.  This class, and its students, has provided me ideas on ways to disseminate information to students.  This class has been time consuming but very rewarding.  The video tape needs work, but I now have a foundation to work off of.   

The 5 things I most needed/wanted to learn during the past eight weeks were: 1.) convert video file from my current camcorder to an MP3 file, 2.) with technical tools, help students understand intuitively, 3.) how to create a website, 4.) an understanding of HTML, 5.) a better handle on OL teaching.  I was told this may have been a bit ambitious.  It was, but I have a better handle on OL teaching.  I have generated a blog site.  I have had a chance to experiment on different tools to help students understand intuitively.  I am looking forward to the remaining classes toward this certificate.

Teach Back using a Tool of Your Choice

I have chosen MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to “teach back” basically because it is something very new to me.  The approach I have taken was to kill 2 birds with one stone.  My grandson, who is visiting for the summer, is with me on this video.   As for MOOC itself, I really do like the option of taking courses such as these, but the subjects appear limited.  Fortunately, a few covers the teaching related topics.  An advantage to MOOC courses is "they are free".  This would be useful if you want to accumulate knowledge.  If the credits provided from these courses are needed, then there are payments due.  This maybe very useful to me in building my teaching skill set at minimal cost.  I will explore this option in the near future.

Create a Survey: Alternative Energy

My survey’s link is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G332NVZ

There wasn’t any particular reason why I chose SurveyMonkey other than a colleague used this particular tool while working towards their doctorate.  It seems pretty intuitive.  I am a big fan of randomization tools and in order to use question randomization, I needed to upgrade to pro.  There are other tools provided when there is an upgrade, but I’ll let someone else pay for that one.

I would use this type of survey at the start of the course to give me and the students a sense of what their knowledge is on the subject.  Let’s take for example the question on the survey about ceiling fans.  They serve a dual purpose.  Not only it cools/heats an area, it circulates the air.  An individual may investigate this question about energy cost ($).  In regards to the opinionated questions, this provides me an idea of the class mindset.  Surveys in general seek this.

I sort of do this at the start of both my Residential wiring classes.  At the beginning of the course I show images, ask them to write down what they see could be wrong (thank you EC&M).  This is not a graded activity.  At the conclusion of the course, we go over the answers they wrote.  At that time they can witness their improvements (or stagnation). 

These surveys, polls (ex. Polleverywhere) are readily available to us (anyone).  With this easy access, we can monitor the type of students and possibly use tools to cater towards their thinking.  Another advantage is anonymity.  Surveys taken in F2F settings may be skewed (teacher’s eval from students), at least more than in an OL environment.       

Create Content Assignment

I chose to use Prezi as a demonstration, applying Jing to do a voice over, and then downloaded it to Vimeo.  The Prezi tool has proven very cool to some of the students I have shown this to.  I wanted to use Jing too.  So using it in this capacity was great.  One drawback with Jing is I am allotted 5 minutes.  Applying Jing went well, but then came the biggest challenge: downloading to Vimeo.  After some trials and a few tutorials, I was able to download the Jing video.  Going through all this has been VERY educational.  I have learned various uses of these tools through this process of immersion.  A few hours was involved in putting this video together.  I started the Prezi a few weeks back for the workshop.  This type of presentation may be beneficial on short presentations (boards meetings) or for students, their class presentations.  This was really a fun project. 

   

                     

RSS Feed

A class discussion question:  What is an RSS feed and what is its relationship to podcasting and other content delivery? How can it be leveraged in an online environment for teacher-made content?

In essence, RSS feed is a set up to allow access to other sites.  Literally, RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”.  Instead of checking different “favorite” sites each day for refreshed, updated or new information, these articles, blogs, podcasts or other means of communication will be sent to you.  What is needed is a site though, to send this information to, which you need establish.  This is where a “reader” comes into play.  It sounds simple, and in many ways it appears it is (RSS in Plain English).  There are many readers to choose from.  Some readers are free and some aren’t (How to explain RSS…).  With my server, the RSS symbol is part of the toolbar.  When the symbol displays, it has detected a feed for the site I am on.  I would click on the symbol and follow the instructions.

How RSS can be “leverage” in an OL environment is it allows the information the facilitator provides the students to be current.  An example is where a RSS can be set up to a trade magazine.  When the reader receives the headline about a new type of tamper resistant GFCI outlet, access to the specific article can be retrieved from the reader (↓below↓). 

This would be useful for all curriculums.  This would be particularly useful for OL courses or F2F courses which doesn’t use textbooks.  This way the information provided to students is as real time as possible.