Final Projects

Welcome to the Final Projects' submission page.  I appreciate so many early submissions and by the end of this week  you should expect to see an email with your final grade.  I also appreciate the feedback from so many of you.  I'm happy to hear that you learned and experienced so much.

It has been a pleasure working and collaborating with you.  Even though this is the end of the semester, please feel free to contact me any time after this if you ever have any questions or need a refresher on anything.

Please submit a link to your Final Project in the comments below and include a few sentences of introduction to give your classmates a frame of reference for your audience.

525---Session 12--What the Future Has in Store for Education

Session 12--What the Future Has in Store for Education

Some believe the future will look like more of the same—more smartphones, tablets, screens embedded in every conceivable surface. David Rose has a different vision: technology that atomizes, combining itself with the objects that make up the very fabric of daily living. Such technology will be woven into the background of our environment, enhancing human relationships and channeling desires for omniscience, long life, and creative expression. The enchanted objects of fairy tales and science fiction will enter real life.

No one really has a crystal ball telling us what the future holds. Given that this course's mission was to revolve itself around, and expose you to, technology that can be used to teach the adult learner; and given the fact that the evolution of the tools and resources covered this semester are evolving at an exhausting pace I thought that we would end with 'possibilities...'

We normally would meet together for your Final Projects presentation, but we are all online now.  Please review your Final Project description  and expectations on the syllabus to make sure that you are aware of the criteria and guidelines. AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN B in case the tech doesn't work right.

Until then dream...

PS-Some of you have already completed your Final Projects.  There will be another blog entry for you to post them soon, but if you would like to submit it early, then that would be great!  

Please also check to ensure that you have completed all of your blog postings, entries, and submissions, and let me know if you have any questions.  Remember there is an example of a FP in the margin.

Good Luck!
Professor Fontaine

525-Session 11--Open Education Resources--Continued

Session 11

This week's Session will be an extension of the content that we covered in Session 10.  In Part 1 we will build open our foundational knowledge of OER's and learn how to find and recognize open content on the web.

Part 1

This challenge will help you learn how to find and recognize open content, such as public domain and Creative Commons licensed videos, images, and websites, in the 'wild'. You'll get acquainted with valuable collections of open content and discover new ways to find them. 

There are three elements within Part 1 of S11. 

1. Choosing a topic or question to focus on, (Try to choose something 'pragmatic' for your present or future work-setting.)
2. Finding your resources for #1, and 
3. Posting links to the results of your search.

You may find the exercises and details for Part 1 "Teach Someone Something with Open Content"  here.  Please return to this blog and post your information in the comments (due by Midnight on 11/24) before moving on to Part 2 below.

525-Session 9 & 10 &--The Flipped Classroom--Part 2

Welcome to Session 9 where we will be delving more deeply into tools and resources that can be used for 'Flipping' your classroom.


As some of you mentioned in your comments and reflections under Session 8, flipping an entire course, or training program, may not be the ideal scenario. Video lectures should be brief and clearly focus on specific learning outcomes.  (and not all lessons are meant to be 'flipped')  What you really want to do is slowly transition your teaching style so that you can begin to take advantage of the 'flipping concept' without getting too overwhelmed.

Several of you commented on the 'up-front' workload involved.  This is a significant factor when you are taking all of the work on yourself, but as I've preached many times this semester--'no man is an island'.  You can, and should, take advantage of the vast trove of videos and interactive lessons that others have created and integrate them to reduce your workload. As I said in Session 8, 'Stand on the shoulders of giants'.

Also this semester, we have lightly touched upon the concept of 'Open Educational Resources' or OER's.  The concept of 'Openness' becomes extremely powerful when you begin to access videos, tools, and resources that have been created by others (and are freely licensed).  They allow you to not only use the work of others, but often allow you to modify, remix, and reuse material for your own purposes.  Once you begin to dive more deeply into these resources you'll begin to see how much easier it will become to educate others.

Just like when we spoke about using wikis as a knowledge base or as an eTextbook.  If you start off small, and slowly, then your momentum can build. Also, if you can find a partner or peer group to collaborate with, then your project can really pick up some speed.

Let's start off this session by looking at some teachers that have experience 'flipping' and working as trainers.  If you haven't joined the edWeb.net community yet, then please do so now.  Once you are there you have the option of choosing different communities that offer webinars perpetually to support the theme of that specific community.  For example:  https://www.edweb.net/flipped

is the first community I would like you to join.  Once logged in please view two archived webinars to support your evolution towards becoming a 'flipper'.

The first webinar is called, "Flipped Learning---There Must Be a Better Way Than This..."

Click here for the direct link, but you have to be logged into edWeb.net to see it.  If you get lost going through links then, once logged in, go to www.edweb.net/flipped

Now, take a break and when you are done with the video above come back here.
=============================================
The next webinar for this week is: "The Top 10 Reasons to Flip".   After watching this, take the CE Quiz and email me your certificate of completion.

Next we'll delve more deeply into Google Forms and their ability to streamline your teaching, instruction, and life.

Please go through these in order.  Let's start with,

1- "An Introduction to Google Forms"

2- "Google Forms Overview"

3- "Getting Started with Google Forms"

4- "Advanced Features with Forms" (OPTIONAL)

5- "Google Forms Challenge"  (The directions for this week's 'comments' are within #5.)

Deliverable #2

Please post your response to Deliverable #2 below.

To quote the description on the syllabus:

#2- Pick the Blogging service that you think might be the most pragmatic for your work and provide a description of how you will, or potentially could,  integrate this tool into a potential class or training session. The syllabus says that it is Due before Session 8 (Oct. 26th) but let's take until the weekend.

If you have already written your response and posted it under another entry, then please copy and paste it below for ease of organization.

If for some reason,  this assignment doesn't appear pragmatic for your setting or future then please 'pitch' an alternative 'communication avenue'  that would be more viable for you.

I will post Session 8 later to b/c I have heard from some of you that you need more time.  I will email you all when S8 is uploaded and ready to go.

525-Session 8--The Flipped Classroom!

Over the past few weeks we've been slowly transitioning towards learning how to use technology to aid in teaching and learning.  The next step in this evolution is to merge your face-to-face teaching with some of these 'blended learning' tools to create what is called, "The Flipped Classroom."  It's turning the traditional classroom on its head.





Created by Knewton





Many of you may have heard of this.  Here's a brief introduction:

The concept is really simplified here (obviously given the penguins). You don't have to always make your own videos or screencasts (which we still can cover more in-depth this semester).  You can always just borrow from others.  After all, why recreate the wheel, but let's learn a little more about this by joining a discussion group on Edweb.net that focuses specifically on the flipped classroom.  Not only do they have a group of like minded educators who want to learn about using technology to teach others, but they have discussion groups and a list of archived webinars for you to pick from and watch.

So now please take a break from this page and visit: http://www.edweb.net/flipped You'll need to create an account, and then join the group, then watch the recorded webinar,  "Flipped Learning Primer Part I: Basics of Flipped Learning"

After watching the webinar take the corresponding quiz to earn the CE.

Once you have taken the quiz and earned your CE, come back to this page and watch this more in-depth video:

Now I'd like you to think this week about the different ways you may 'flip' your own classroom and reflect on the concept this week, but before you do that you should know that there are always two sides to a new initiative, so let's end this week with some criticisms of flipping.

Good luck this week. Don't get too overwhelmed, and I look forward to hearing about the connections you may make to your future classroom environment.

And this week we have Billy, Ivory, Jessica and Nancy acting as our Facilitators.  Please support and engage with them.  Remember that 25% of your semester grade is based upon your participation in the discussion forums.  

If you are interested, here are some of the responses from previous year's class to this week's topics.

525--Session 7-Creating Online Tutorials

Hello again and welcome to Session 7!

This week we will be learning how to create our own online tutorials.  There will not be any session link.  All the assignments will be below.

Now, some of you have asked to have the content slowed down a bit, so I have dropped a gear or two for Sessions 7 & 8.  Now, over the next two days I'd like you to choose one of the four Google Classroom Certification steps (Creating w/G, Using G to Share Your Work, Building a Coll. Classroom w/G...) and discuss (in our blog comments) one (or more) of the resources within that step that you feel is the most practical for your particular 'future' occupational/adult education setting.  You'll have to sign up for a free account with Sophia, so when you get to that screen choose to log in using your Google 'personal' account, not the URI Google account.

For example, in Section 2 of the tutorial, one of the resources is, "Using Google to Share Your Work."  You'll notice that we sometimes use YouTube videos in our class.  Let's say you have a YouTube account (assigned this week on the syllabus) and you want your class to easily find videos that you have made and collected that would help with your class.  You could 'publish' your videos, then add them to a 'channel' aka 'playlist' and give your class access to this list.  This is just a small example.  We'll go into more details below.

I'd like you to think about these questions when writing your reflection for this week (focusing on a specific resource covered over week 7), post it to the blog comments below, and then revisit the blog over the next 7 days and 'reply' to your peers' reflections.

Also, we have some new Facilitators this week: Maegan, Jacquie, Lisa, and Zack.     Thank you Gayla, Tyron, and Tyler for your work contributing to the conversations during Week 6 and helping us move deeper with our understanding of the content and perspectives.

Questions to consider in our discussion threads this week:

1. How could you use a Google tool to promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness?
2. Reflect on how this tool will help you address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
3. How could you use a Google tool to promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative process and participate in local and global earning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning?
4. Additionally, Google products are not the 'be all--end all', so if you have another tool or resource that you think will work better, then please share it with the group when commenting on #'s 1-3 above or in your 'reply' to others.

Lastly, nearly all of you will be incorporating 'pre-created videos' from others within your future occupational setting, so it's important you know a little about the 'behind-the-scenes' details with the largest video storage site in the world.

 (Optional)Please go through these four lessons created by the "YouTube Creator Academy" about how YouTube really works.

Now I realize that the above assignments may take up a lot of your time over the next week, but if you want even more depth, then you may review these links to deepen your learning on these topics.  If you are too busy, then please make a note that these resources are here so you may access them some day in the future, even after our semester is over.

Good Luck this week!  Please pace yourself and try to have fun.  As always, I look forward to reading and engaging with you through our discussions.

Where to go for more information if you'd like more depth over the course of this week:

• Classroom in the Cloud
• Educators Technology and Mobile Learning
• Gone Google
• Google Gooru (you may need to open this in Internet Explorer)
• ​The Google Classroom.com

Good Luck this week!  Please pace yourself and try to have fun.  As always, I look forward to reading and engaging with you through our discussions.
PS-If anyone is interested in reading the comments from your peers last year about S7's content, then you may access them here.

525--Session 6-Wikis!!! The Ultimate Tool for Online Collaboration

Please make sure you have done the readings on the syllabus, before beginning this session. This week we have:

  Gayla, Tyler, and Tyron

facilitating.  Please make sure that you are sending me your reflections after your 'facilitation week' is finished, so that I can input your grades.  Also, if you haven't posted your Deliverable #1, then please do that ASAP.
==========================================
Let's start this week with a video to keep all of what we are learning in context.  It was created using Prezi.com.  A web-based, digital presentation tool that has a unique format.  Many find it a beneficial way to showcase the 'big picture' of a topic with the option of 'drilling down' level by level, so viewers of your presentation can see a direct correlation.  It is very different than a traditional, linear slideshow format.  It makes me a little dizzy, so I don't use it much, but it is very popular and many of you may already be familiar with it.  We'll practice a little with it this week.

Let's refocus on what it means to teach in the 21st Century classroom:

This session will find us broadening the scope of our view of wikis. We will begin by taking a look at the benefits of wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools, for students, teachers, and the entire educational community. We'll view some screencasts and videos that give us students' perspectives, as well as hear from teachers from across the K-12 spectrum. Each and every one will be focused upon how Web 2.0 tools have changed the way they teach and learn.

Let's get started...

525session6

Week 6 part II

By now most of you have reached a comfort level with the 'collaborative document' mindset.  You are also fairly familiar with  Google Docs and Google Drive. (after all we used it for our 'Facilitator Signup' form).  You've also realized that there are limitations and restrictions when using technology.  For example,  I'm a big fan of Google's products, but realize that when trying to access all of the GSuite of products using your URI account, the Administrators have put restrictions on things.  That is why a number of you have had to use your personal Google accounts for this course.  On the plus side, you'll retain copies of all of this material well after your URI account has been closed.

In case you need to explain or legitimize to anyone about the benefits to education in its most simplistic form, I've included 'Google Docs in Plain English'. It's fun to watch and really simple to understand.  All the frameworks and teaching theories behind the 'collaborative mindset' stem from the foundation of this video.  Welcome to G Docs in Plain English:

Now, take a break and go grab a coffee (or something stronger if you prefer).  This next video is a little more detailed about the 'rebuilt' Google Docs.  Definitely not as fun, but still educational and you can borrow it and save it to your own archives for later reference:

And lastly, we'll end by discussing the fluid definition of the word, "literacy" and try to pin it down in a 21st century classroom---a classroom where the walls have come down and the world is flat.

Here is a 10-minute video from the college student's perspective:

Now we will look at how 'literacy' is defined from a 21st century professor's perspective: (relax---it's only 7 minutes)

And now let's bring it closer to home and connect with URI's Summer Institute in Digital Literacy.  Mike RobbGreico will introduce you to a new tool called Vialogue that you can play with this week:

 After reading your comments, it has become clear that there are lots of different interpretations out there.

Good luck and I look forward to reading your comments, insights, and reflections on this week's content.  Also, if I missed placing a link to your blog in the margin, drop me a line and let me know.

Have fun!!

Dave

525-Session 4 & 5--Edublogs and Knowledge Management

Welcome back!

I would like to start this week by offering some congratulations!

Let's start by congratulating both Zachary and Candelaria for volunteering to be our "Facilitator Guinea Pigs" they did a fantastic job at prompting the conversations and pushing the content ideas deeper.  I developed the concept of 'students' trying the role of 'Facilitators' because it seems to be a natural extension of my teaching philosophy of pragmatic learning.  You can't learn to swim without getting wet, and practicing with these tools in our course should give you the security of knowing that there aren't any serious repercussions for stumbling or flopping.  You should feel like this is a very protected place to work out the kinks w/o being in front of your own classes.

I'd like to introduce you to a new tool this week for facilitation called, 'Backchanneling'.  The backchannel is the conversation that goes on alongside the primary activity, presentation, or discussion.  You can read about it here.   This week, along with our discussions on the blog, I'd like you to experiment a little with Backchannel Chat.  We'll play with this tool this week. 

We have four 'Facilitators' this week, so you will have four opportunities to take part in their 'backchannel' practice sessions.

Please look for an email from them soon.  Good luck Nancy, Ty, Rebecca, and Shannon. I've sent you some personal directions to your email. Contact me directly with any questions.

Deliverable #1 will be posted under this entry.  As a refresher of expectations here is quote from the directions on the syllabus:

#1 – Choose or create a potential teaching /learning unit– (either classroom or professional development/training session) and provide an outline of the participants, their learning needs, topics to be included, setting (face-to-face, online, hybrid, etc.), and timeline for course/session. This may serve as the foundation for development of your final project. - Due by the end of week 4 (10/3).

Here are some additional readings and assignments for this week and some questions that I'd like you to address w/i our discussions, as well. You may respond to them under the first posting of Week 4, not under this D1 entry.  Just put your D1 response below this entry, and contact me privately with any troubles or specific questions.

Have fun!

PS--I have included the responses from last year's course participants, so you may have models to follow.

Session 3-Blogging with Students Using EduBlog!

Welcome to week 3!!!!

Blogging with Students

The good news this week is that based upon what I've been hearing and seeing, most in the class have been moving along speedily.  There are, however a number of you struggling.

So, if you recall I mentioned that I change and evolve the curriculum for this course based upon the latest information and the needs of the class right up until the last minute.  It's obvious by some of the feedback that some of you are frustrated with using Blogger.

In Session 1 I told you that you would be exposed to other blogging tools as alternatives to Blogger, so you have frames of reference to use in your 'Adult Education' setting. Therefore, I've decided to 'pivot' and have you now try a different service called 'Edublogs', but this time I will give you more 'tech-training wheels' and support with the hope that it will help eliminate some of the stress, anxiety, and frustration that some of you have been feeling.  I will be interested to hear your 'comments' on the distinctions.

This will be a self-paced step-by-step training.  For Session 3 I only want you to focus on Steps 1 and 2.

Here is a little more information before I have you dive in:

• You can work at your own pace in a time frame that suits you.
• If you complete all 11 steps you can receive a certificate and badge. (I recommend you do this to add it to your resume.)
• Each step includes reading material, examples, and a choice of tasks to demonstrate and develop your skills.
• You can pick and choose some of the activities.  Your blog comment (posted to our class blog) will focus upon what you experienced, how you chose your path to personalize the training, and a reflection on your learning for this week.
• Please post an original 'comment' at least twice this week. Once after completing Step 1 and the other after Step 2, but continue to 'reply' to comments made by others to help your peers that are practicing as 'Facilitators.'

This PDF workbook will help to keep you on track and focused as you work through the 10 steps. (Remember-only steps 1&2 during Week #3.) The workbook also explains more of what the course is about.

You can download it here to print out if you'd like,

Let's Get Started!

As Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t have to be great to start, 

but you have to start to be great.”

Now is a great time to jump right in!

Start The Personal Blogging Course

Good luck and have fun!

Dave

As I mentioned on the first day of class, I've been writing courses and building curricula for online instruction at URI for over 10 years. Edublogging has been around a long time (as you will see looking through the 'comment archives' below.  Past participants' comments from one of my previous courses about using blogs in education:

Spring '10
Spring '09

Summer '08

and older past participant comments and insights may be accessed here.

Session 2-The Power of Blogging

Welcome back to Session 2---The Power of Blogging!!

To start your creative juices flowing for S2, please watch this enlightening and entertaining video by Ken Robinson via TED Talks. It lasts for approximately 12 minutes, but it is time well spent!

When you are done, feel free to continue the dialog by commenting below.


If I may just reiterate---I've thrown most of you directly into the fire by diverging from the traditional forms of Learning Management Systems like Sakai and Blackboard for a very important reason.  In order to truly experiment with and learn how to use 21st century learning tools to aid you in your future endeavors (teaching adult learners) you really have to play in the sandbox.

I subscribe to the teaching philosophy of 'full immersion,'  so don't stress too much during this week's exercises. Mistakes will be made (and expected).  Based upon most of the emails I have been getting, the majority of the class has very little experience with this kind of communication medium.

There were many interesting conversations and comments left under our first two postings.  I've never had a class already know each other so well. Two comments (from previous students) that stood out were addressing the intensity and workload of learning (and teaching) online.  Sharyn said,

"Sharyn Vicente September 12, 2016 at 5:13 PM

Heidi, I think that you and Jason have narrowed in on how difficult it is to take an online course due to the independence it affords. An outsider may think that having more freedom online would result in it being an easier way to learn, but it is just the opposite, especially if you are not an organized student."

Then Paul responded,

"Paul RicciSeptember 12, 2016 at 8:04 PM

You hit the nail on the head when you pointed out the common misconception that online courses are easy. I've found that more time and effort (and discipline) must be used in the online setting. We've been fortunate to be part of a great group of people involved in this program, I have found that working together has been so helpful!"

These are interesting points and both very true. This course is all about using online tools and resources to help you facilitate learning. Whether you are instructing f2f and adding in a few tools, or completely teaching completely online, adding tech to your lessons can be a total 'time suck'. You blink your eyes and hours have gone by and you've gotten lost in this vacuum of cool stuff to explore with not enough time in your life to play with them all.  I've also noticed that the workload to 'prepare' an online course is heavier as well. If any of you become online instructors, or if you just do a hybridized/blended course, you'll find that you have to try to anticipate the questions and answer them ahead of time.  Whereas in a f2f setting you can easily go back and forth with Q&A's.  

 

Soon---you'll notice a change or two on our blog.  I thought that I would introduce you the first week to a stripped down version of a blog and have it slowly evolve over the weeks, so you could see other tools and abilities.

You'll be spending the bulk of your time this week moving through a number of tutorials that are asynchronous and self-paced.  Each one will walk you through a different element of a blog.  You'll go through these tutorials and experiment.  It is less important that you can envision an immediate use for this tool, but more significant that you get the opportunity to immerse yourself and think about how a tool like this (or one that has similar characteristics) forces participants to think outside the traditional classroom and encourages conversations with a wider audience.

My point with these exercises is not to give you busy work.  My hope is that you try to fit these additions and capabilities into the bigger picture----that big picture is how to use tech to facilitate teaching and learning.  Anyone can have their students play with fun tools;  it takes a focus upon the motivation for their introduction to ensure they have merit.

You may recall that we touched upon Creative Commons Licensing and Open Education Resources during our first session. All of the tutorials we'll be using this week are freely licensed.  We'll go into much more detail about CC Licensing and its benefits to you when planning future teaching or PD sessions later this semester.  Let's start by watching this brief video:

Now give this page a quick skim focusing particularly on the license distinctions half-way down the page. Just try to gain an overall understanding.You don't need to memorize it. I don't expect you to be well-versed----just aware.

==============================================

Below, you will find a list of bulleted links that will take you to the exercises for Session 2. No one is going to force you to use these tools in the future, but please make a sincere effort to try them out. Blogger, like nearly all online tools, is perpetually evolving, so if any of the directions seem to be off slightly please try to work around them.

Setting Up a Blogger Account

Adding a new post with a photo

Fine tuning your blog

Add a hyperlink from text or a photo

Changing the template & layout

Get rid of the top Navigation Bar

Adding a separate page

Adding html embed code with an Animoto example

Adding your own header photo

Editing html

Adding Recent Comments to your sidebar

Adding a label to group blog posts

Adding a gadget to the side bar

Adding an email subscription

Adding a hit counter or Clustrmap

Adding a working link to your email

Adding audio with AudioPal

Adding a Google Presentation

Adding a Google Calendar

Adding a YouTube Video

Adding a list of links in your side bar

Adding a link to class bookmarks

Adding a working clock

Adding external generated photos

Adding a jigsaw puzzle

Adding Speakpipe- audio commenting

Adding a webnote link to your blog

Adding a Photopeach Slideshow

Adding a photo to your Blogger profile

Add pdf, audio & video with Dropbox

Adding a Voicethread to your blog

Posting to your blog via email

Adding new authors / admin to your blog

Blogging from your iPad or iPhone

Keeping up with what's on other blogs

=======================================================

Part 2

(Take a break and come back to Part 2 when you are refreshed.)

Let's start Part 2 of Session 2 by continuing to analyze online teaching andragogy.

First go through these links and follow the instructions, then view the readings on the 

syllabus.

2.0 --Overview of Week Two

2.1--The Art of Facilitating Online Discussions

2.1a-Facilitation Rubric

2.2-The Fun Part: Facilitating

Good Luck and have fun practicing with your new blog this week. As you create yours, please send me the link and I'll add it to the list in the left-hand margin.

Session 1----Time for Introductions!!!

Welcome (again) to EDC525 - Website Technology in Education and Training

This is our class blog. It will serve as our discussion forum, connection to each other, and the main webpage you will be accessing. If this is your first visit, then please first read the entry below (titled, 'Welcome to EDC525---"Website Technology in Education and Training"') and follow the instructions there--- then return to this spot and continue reading.  You will find that there is some reiteration and repetition of information in this posting to serve as your 'training wheels' and to make sure that you have a solid understanding of this venue.  Once we get to Session 2 I won't be repeating myself as much.

 The content here should keep you pretty busy for the next few days until Session 2 is posted (Thursday evening)--for now, you only need to know a few things.

This blog can be viewed by anyone, but will only allow the participants of EDC525 to interact with it. When you would like to respond to someone or comment upon a session, just click on the 'comment' link below each of my postings (you should sign up for a Blogger account ASAP and choose a 'User Name' that is easily identifiable. Blogger is owned by Google, so if you already have a user account with Google for something like: gmail, gdocs,picassa..., then use that user name)

I'm sure some of you have already begun to practice a little.  If you run into any trouble and need to contact me, then please email me at DaveFontaine1@gmail.com.  A few of you have been in direct contact with me for specific problems or stumbles, so please feel  comfortable reaching out to me if you need to.  The last thing I want is to have frustration levels rising during the first week.

In the margin you will see links to individual lessons (accessible every Thursday evening).

Rather than teaching (or preaching) from Sakai about online collaboration and 21st century digital resources that can facilitate teaching and learning, I have decided to teach you about Web 2.0 and collaborative tools by 'using' a collaborative tool. This is our class edublog, or blog for short.

This blog, in addition to its use as an interactive communication tool, will also be where you can access and download your weekly sessions. An additional benefit (that I mentioned during our first class) will also be that you will retain access to all of our course content, lessons, comments, and reflections in perpetuity.

The syllabus is also linked in the margin. Google has a free service (gDocs, gDrive) that allows you to just upload any Word document and with one additional click it gets published online with its own URL. The course syllabus is an example of how easy it is to use, and we'll practice with this tool this semester. I'm still tweaking the course content, so don't jump ahead and start Session 2's readings until Thursday night (9/13).

One more aspect that will be unique about this course is that I support a completely collaborative teaching philosophy. Following that mindset, I will keep your assignments, comments, and reflections viewable and accessible to future participants of this course. The 'goal' of that is so future participants may:

1. Gain from the collective knowledge of your experiences;
2. Benefit from what you have created; and
3. Incorporate new ideas into their classroom based upon your inspiration.

The bonus for you, of course, is that this information will also always be accessible to you. This way, in the future (many semesters from now) you may revisit this site and benefit from the ideas of all the participants that took it 'after' you. In this way---YOU will gain from all the 'learning speed bumps' of those that have come after you--even though they are not currently enrolled in this course. To reduce confusion however, I am only showing you a stripped down version of this blog's visual interface.  As the semester progresses I will be slowly introducing other aspects of it, one of those is the archive from past participants.
==============================================
Some of the content for our sessions is also covered in my "Blogs and Wikis" course. When that is the case I'll also give you a link to the 'comments' of past participants from that class as well.

Before we go any further I would like each of you to practice using this forum and introduce yourself (1.4 from the Overview checklist mentioned in the first blog entry of the semester). We will be spending the semester together, so it is important to learn as much about each other as possible.

So first make sure that you have an account with Blogger (any Google user name and password will do), then click on the 'comment' link below this posting,  and write a few paragraphs about yourself.

Please include:
-your name (This will count for credit for 1.3 and 1.4.)
-email address (so that you may contact each other directly if needed),
-your educational background,
-teaching history (if any),
-current professional position with location, and lastly...
-what you hope to come away with when this semester is over, along with any additional information about you that you wish to share, like your motivation for choosing this course... (This will count for credit for 1.5, so please read the checklist in the Overview for expectations in the previous posting.)

Sometimes it takes a little while to get the hang of using this forum. I have taken this into consideration by reducing the workload/readings of the first session. (Of course, if you get distracted easily, then you could spend hours exploring.)

Week 1's primary goal is to make sure everyone is on the same page and skill level before we sink our teeth into the meat of this course,  however, if you run into any 'techno-speed bumps' then please feel free to contact me with any questions.

There are a few readings listed and linked from the syllabus.  Most are online, but this one should be read from here:

Introduction to Social Media for Business by Dennis O'Neil

Everything here is licensed by Creative Commons. This means that you have complete authority to download, save, share, and use all of the lessons in your classroom, but are prohibited from any commercial uses.

You will notice that most of the PowerPoint presentations will have the narration transcribed in the 'notes section' of each slide. We've all heard about the con's of using PPT and the desperate need for alternatives, but I've found using this sometimes makes it easiest for the largest number of people to then take and manipulate.

The transcription of my narration is because sometimes I have teachers from around the world taking my courses. I've had teachers from Canada, China, Alaska, California, Phillipines, Sudan, Singapore...taking my courses (And they may need help understanding my "Ro-diland" accent) but more importantly, the transcribed narration allows you to take these slides and use them in your own classroom. (or, if you find my voice putting you to sleep, you can just read the slides instead)

Good luck this semester! I look forward to working and collaborating with you.

Dave Fontaine
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PS-Click on the 'comments' link below to make your comments for this week.

Welcome to EDC525---"Website Technology in Education and Training"

Welcome to EDC525---"Website Technology in Education and Training"

This title is a bit outdated and doesn't clearly convey the content of this course.  It could, and some day soon will, be called, "Using Technology to Teach the Adult Learner."

Throughout this semester we will be covering a vast amount of information (but don't be too intimidated). Information and new developments about this content are exploding exponentially, so it's challenging even for me to stay current.

New sessions will be posted (here on our class edublog once a week (by the end of the day on Thursday).   I will explain why we are using this site when we see each other, but I'll also add some more information for those that may have missed our first day. 

I've sat through countless training sessions, lectures, workshops, and classes and have learned that there is no substitute for experience and practical application. 

Following this mindset, I've decided to have you immediately dive right into one of the first tools that we will be playing with and experimenting on.  

This online service is called, "Blogger" aka "Blogspot".  It is owned by Google, so it is in your best interest (when signing up) to use a Google account (If you don't have one then please create one.  I don't believe that URI's email and Google service allows you to use that account to access Blogger) .  

Ordinarily, we have our first face-to-face (f2f) meeting at URI's Providence campus (Shepard Building)  in room 317 from 4-6:30ish. We then normally would meet again for a mid-semester f2f and at the end of the term for Final Presentations. For those of you that have missed the first class,  you will have to dive right in and may have to struggle a bit until you get the hang of this interface.

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This site will be our class blog.  I'm sure by now you are all aware with what a blog is.  The term is short for 'web log'.  It's format is similar to many sites you may have used and we will be using this blog as our home page.  

Each week, you will visit here and read my weekly posting.  Often from there you will be tasked with visiting, experimenting, and using additional online resources, all of which have the potential to aid you in your endeavors to impart your vast trove of knowledge upon others.  

Please keep in mind that there are new developments and trends in online information every day, therefore we may have to be flexible when interpreting the syllabus. This may mean some modifications, changes and condensing of information. 

To ensure that we are covering the most current skills and content, I will be assimilating and collating information right up until the moment I post a session. This means that each session's link (over in the left-hand margin) will not be accessible until its respective Thursday. Even so, there may be times during a session when a cited link is dead. If that is the case, I will try to keep saved copies of all the information. Just email me (davefontaine1@gmail.com) and I will forward the data to you.

During the first few sessions we will be covering foundational skills. This is to ensure that we all have the basic essentials of online andragogy ‘down pat’. Once this is covered, we will pick up the pace and begin to delve into the mechanics, nuances, and meat of our course.

PLEASE DON'T FEEL OVERWHELMED this first week and pace yourself going through the links and readings.

Normally, I will go through all of the content in this blog posting f2f during our first session, so if you run into trouble or hit a techno-speedbump along the way, I could help.  Feel free to reach out to me with any questions if that's the case.

As I mentioned earlier, I teach this course completely from a blog. This will help those of you who have little, to no, experience with blogs.  You get to practice, participate, and even create your own, so that, down the road, you can make an educated decision about how this tool may best be used for your future teaching environment.

I'll give you all some time to practice with this a little and contact you Saturday night with our first official weekly session, so look for an email from me directing you back to this blog where you will find more details.  

I believe in immersing you in the technological tools that I am trying to expose you to, so that is one of the main reasons why I am teaching this course from a blog.  This will give you first-hand experience using a blog and also by uploading my sessions to online services like: Authorstream.com, and YouTube you will again see the distinctions between traditional slideshow tools and online services that store all of your material in the cloud.  

Hybridized and/or Blended Learning are the new models of andragogy that many colleges and universities are embracing, so most of our focus will be upon how online tools can be used to Flip your classroom. Skim this article for an overall idea.

Please remember that we are all educators/trainers (or some day hope to be), and that this is a collaborative course. In that same vein, we will all be sharing our thoughts and ideas together, so as you post your reflections and comments we will all be responding to you, therefore, timely responses are imperative. 

After you have posted your weekly assignment/reflection, make an effort to return again later to read and comment about other participants’ assignments and perspectives.

Once again remember that we are all perpetual learners; constantly growing. I hope to learn as much from you---as you will from me.

Saturday evening I will update this page with information about our first session. Along the left-hand margin you will see the syllabus, but truthfully, I will be updating it weekly, so it might be a better idea if you just save a shortcut to the live version.   There isn't a required, purchasable text, but for those of you that want more depth on blogs and wikis then I recommend Will Richardson's book.  Don't worry if it takes a week to arrive.

You may order it from most online book sellers. Until then you may want to read it online (not ideal and you usually can't access the entire text), but here is the link: Wikis, Blogs, and Podcasts

You could also check your local library here.

If you run into problems, please review the directions again. It is not uncommon for participants to 'stumble' a little getting used to this forum.

Thank you and please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have along the way.

Please follow the links below to read an overview of Week 1. As you go through it, explore the links for more detailed information.  When finished with the Overview begin to go through the additional readings/directions 1.1, 1.2... to build your foundation for this semester's content.

Overview of Week 1

1.1--Who is the Virtual Student

1.2--Who is the Virtual Teacher

1.3--Who We Are (it's all about the people)

Good Luck and have fun.  I'll post the rest of Week 1 by Saturday night.

Dave Fontaine
eBook, eLearning, and eContent Specialist
National Board Certified Educator
DaveFontaine1@gmail.com
401-835-3782