Doering’s Course – Designing Online Learning – Week 1 Blog
Doering’s Course – Designing Online Learning – Week 1 Blog
1. Why do you want to become an online teacher?
Leaving Latin America was a difficult decision for my family. After all, we felt that our opportunities would be greater in the USA but by moving, we would not be able to contribute to the development and improvement of the country where we were born. I am glad we came to America, and when I am able to I intend to become a U.S citizen as my parents recently decided. Yet, the Internet allows us to contribute to anywhere from anywhere. The Internet and online education can help reduce some of the problems caused by transnational migration including mitigating the effects of the brain drain. For years, it has been my goal not only to help from a distance and promote the growth of open education, but also to encourage other immigrant to give back, if not in the form of financial remittances through knowledge remittances.…
OLPD Tech Redesign Report
Year One Report (2011-2012) – Copy with Images at: http://z.umn.edu/olpdredesign
OLPD Student-led Technology Redesign
Task Group
Table of Contents
Vision Statement 3
Introduction. 3
Creating a Collaborative Space to Promote and Maximize Innovative Technology Use. 5
Innovation Lab: Potential Uses for a Collaborative Space. 8
Proposed Collaborative Independent Study Course Within the Innovation Lab. 11
Technology Showcase. 13
Purpose. 13
Presentations. 13
Logistics. 14
Technology Survey. 15
I. Technology is evolving quickly and classroom culture needs to reflect those changes. What do you suggest for etiquette, best practices, and policies for the use of technology in the classroom?. 15
II. How can technical support be improved? And what topics need the most support?. 15
III. How would you envision a new collaborative space for OLPD students? And what would you like to see in it?. 16
Innovative Uses of the iPad. 17
Useful Links: 18
Technology Proficiency Expectations for OLPD Faculty.…
Voting – Jim Owens for TED-ED
Voting – Jim Owens for TED-ED
May 21, 2012
I have never met a teacher that has touched so many. When was the last time that you knew of a teacher who had over 1,700 Facebook friends when he himself is not very fond of computers? Teaching life and critical thinking, those are two of the gifts he attempts to impart on his students.
A world traveler, connoisseur, and inspiring orator, Jim Owens instilled in many of his students a desire to make a difference, to enjoy their lives, impact the community, and maybe more. He taught us that while a straight line may be the shortest route, it is also the one most travelled. Travelling through the world, Jim worked in various different odd jobs, as a construction worker, as sailor, a balloon seller, and many more. Doing so allowed him to meet a beautiful French woman, and then travel through her on foot through Latin America, even landing on a Peruvian jail.
Back Up Sites – From Zero PC to CrashPlan
Back Up Sites – From Zero PC to CrashPlan
May 21, 2012
I recently got tired of having information in different places and not being able to access or organize all of it. My wife considers me a digital squirrel and I would agree. Originally I kept things in external hard drives, and I still do. But after hearing an unpleasant click from one of twins, I decided it was time to go to the cloud. Originally I thought of using Carbonite. They recently released an interesting mobile app and felt it their unlimited storage would be a good investment. Unlike Mozy, I could upload all of my content to Carbonite.
Yet, after looking at a series of reviews, I decided to go with CrashPlan instead. Surprisingly they are also located in Minneapolis, MN. That was a pleasant surprise as I ended up feeling as if I was contributing to the local economy.…
Gun vs. Defibrillator (AED)
Gun vs. Defibrillator (AED)
May 21, 2012
For the past two years, I have been thinking of buying a defibrillator, more specifically an AED (1). Not for me, but for my father, or more specifically for his home. It needs two people for it to be used, since the person who is used on must be disabled, but most of the time there are two individuals at home. Anyhow, they run anywhere from $1,500 to much more. In my opinion it is a worthwhile investment. Is like a fire extinguisher in a house, it is there as a preventative measure. My dad is fine now, but is one of those things that you just never know, and anything that can help someone survive by 40% is worthwhile (2).
The problem however is that he and my mom see it as buying a cemetery plot. As a jinx in some morbid way.…
Online Focus Groups Presentation
Online Focus Groups Presentation
May 21, 2012
More information about this project can be found at – http://z.umn.edu/onlinefocusgroups
This past semester 11 participants joined efforts to research various online tools in the hope of findings ways in which to conduct an online focus group effectively with limited resources. After conducting focus group for over 30 years, Dr. Richard Krueger, with the help of Dr. David Ernst, Director of Academic Technologies, organized a course around the idea of testing various online platforms’ strengths and weaknesses for hosting focus groups. The project involved 11 co-investigators at the University of Minnesota, all with a strong background in conducting focus groups and using technologies in innovative ways. The group analyzed potential platforms for online focus groups in terms of their cost, information privacy, administrative requirements, ease of navigation, hardware requirements, data capturing process, and other criteria. Our goal was to come up with cost-effective solutions for translating the anatomy and the essence of a face to face focus group to an online environment.…
GAPSA Proposal – Promoting Openness (Long Version)
GAPSA Proposal – Promoting Openness (Long Version)
The increasing need for a highly trained work force, together with the decreasing financial support for higher education by states governments across the country, encourages higher education institutions to search for new ways by which to break away from the iron triangle of higher education, or the difficult balance between cost, quality, and access to higher education (Immerwahr, Johnson, & Gasbarra, 2008; SHEEO, 2012). I believe that further “openness”, is one of the potential game changers to the future of higher education (Oblinger, 2012). EDUCAUSE, UNESCO, and COL, among other organizations have highlighted the potential of openness to greatly reduce the cost of education by encouraging the adoption of open access journals, open teaching, and open textbooks. Various institutions in the United States are currently using and testing the potential for open textbooks to help improve textbooks as well as reduce the cost of educational materials (Carpenter, 2010).
For a More Robust Evaluation of 1 to 1 ICT 4 Ed Adoption Projects
For a More Robust Evaluation of 1 to 1 ICT for Education Adoption Projects
The rapid change of information and communication technology (ICT) increases the challenge in determining how to best evaluate proficient use of these technological advances and their impact on learning. Through an overview of different initiatives, this paper illustrates the benefits of implementing a mixed-methods approach, and analyzing projects over a prolonged period of time. Looking at a program in a longer timeframe can enable us to be more aware of the impact a program has on an individual and a community. The use of mixed-methods allows us to analyze a program in various ways, studying variables that are measurable and generalizable, as well as elements that are specific to a particular situation. By incorporating these elements into evaluation studies we can potentially increase the quality and usability of the reports generated. To illustrate the benefits of mixed-methods and the continued analysis of a project, this paper discusses the 1 to 1 iPad project at the University of Minnesota.
For a More Robust Evaluation of 1 to 1 ICT for Education Adoption Projects
For a More Robust Evaluation of 1 to 1 ICT for Education Adoption Projects
May 12, 2012
The rapid chance of information and communication technology (ICT) increases the challenge in determining how to best evaluate proficient use of these technological advances and their impact on learning. Through an overview of different initiatives, this paper illustrates the benefits of implementing a mixed-methods approach, and analyzing projects over a prolonged period of time. Looking at a program in a longer timeframe can help us to be more aware of the impact a program has on an individual and a community. The use of mixed-methods helps us to take into account different ways in which we can analyze a program, studying variables that are measurable and generalizable, as well as elements that are specific to a particular situation. By incorporating these elements into evaluation studies we can potentially increase the quality and usability of the reports generated.
For a More Robust Evaluation of 1 to 1 ICT for Education Adoption Projects
For a More Robust Evaluation of 1 to 1 ICT for Education Adoption Projects
May 8, 2012
The rapid chance of information and communication technology (ICT) increases the challenge in determining how to best evaluate proficient use of these technological advances and their impact on learning. Through an overview of different initiatives, this paper illustrates the benefits of implementing a mixed-methods approach, and analyzing projects over a prolonged period of time. Looking at a program in a longer timeframe can help us to be more aware of the impact a program has on an individual and a community. The use of mixed-methods helps us to take into account different ways in which we can analyze a program, studying variables that are measurable and generalizable, as well as elements that are specific to a particular situation. By incorporating these elements into evaluation studies we can potentially increase the quality and usability of the reports generated.…
