And this week I learned A LOT at the TCC online conference...

 Aloha all -

So the 2014 TCC conference is coming to a close.  It's been a great ride with great presentations and lots of learning!!  I was able to watch some of my 2012 OTEC cohort present their Master's projects - that was exciting!  I remember the seeds of these projects being planted as we persevered through our first year with the ETEC program. I even earned some badges - 2 to be exact, the one everyone gets - the Futurist Badge and the Merlin Badge - for being a social media whiz (actually I tweeted 5+ times)!  There definitely is something to be said for gamification - prizes or in this case, badges are a great motivator.

Merlin: I received credit from TCC. http://t.co/JOto6HHOeQ Yay!! Earned my second badge!! Just in the nick of time! #2014TCC #etec647e
— Terri (@bigislemom) April 25, 2014

This is actually my 2nd TCC conference, but I was much more engaged this year.  I'm not sure why - was it that I knew some of the presenters?  Was it that I was more familiar with the format?  Was it the lure of the badges?  Whatever it was, it was a worthwhile experience.  I was able to choose those sessions that I was interested in and also appreciated that I was able to watch recordings of those that I could not attend live.  I was able to learn about tsunamis, cyberbullying, needs assessments and tech tools to name a few.  Great presentations, great learning!  Mahalo to the planners, volunteers and presenters!  I look forward to next year!

Here's an overview of my experience using STORIFY:
https://storify.com/bigislemom/2014-tcc 

Enjoy!

And how was your conference?

A hui hou,
Terri

PS Sorry, I can't help it - got another one;)

Lorem Ipsum: I received credit from TCC. http://t.co/p6zRpbBD6x #2014TCC #647e I'm on a roll -lol!
— Terri (@bigislemom) April 25, 2014

And this week, I learned to augment reality...

https://www.google.com/#q=augmented+reality+definition

 Aloha all -

 This week's topic was Augmented Reality.  "Have you experienced augmented reality?" That was the first question asked of us in class this week.  "Hmmm…. I don't think so, " was my first response.  But after more discussion, we are exposed to it more often than we realize.  A weatherman in front of a green screen? The first down line on a televised football game?  The names on the swimming lanes at the Olympics?  

Bedridden weekend: It's Justin The Super Fine Weekend Weatherman/  CC 2.0

I've seen that!  Wow!  AR is all over the place.  Of course, those are simple examples that have been in use for years, but after doing a review of the readings and various YouTube videos,  the potential is amazing. 

When I created my playlist on YouTube, the examples I found on how it is used in the college arena were varied.  One college used it in a banner to display different video information about the campus at orientation.  Another used AR to enhance interactivity in their prospectus and college tour.  I also was able to see the uses in teaching and learning in the medical field.  I can see how it may be useful to use AR to "practice" virtual medical procedures without endangering any "live" patients. 

  

Here is my YouTube playlist of AR videos.  Whether it was used to animate a college banner, create an interactive college prospectus, enhance a college tour experience or teach in the medical field ,  augmented reality helps to bring education to life!  

I am excited to see how its uses will continue to develop in the future. 

And how was your week? 

Mahalo,
Terri

 

And this week, I learned about the internet of THINGS...

Aloha all -
This week, we explored the internet of things - wearables, 3D printing and internet connected devices. To gain a broad perspective, I watched a video of a Ted Talk - "The Internet of Things."  It helped me to better understand how the internet has and will continue to change our lives. 



The internet of things refers to connecting the physical world to the internet.  Everything can become THINGS in the internet of things.  Anything and everything can become THINGS – machines, appliances, vehicles, buildings and even people. 
 What can we do with the internet of things?   

• Monitor things - A person could wear a web-linked heart monitor which could provide real-time monitoring and even predict problems. 
• Search for things - Reality search engines that search for really useful things -like your keys, your expected packages, your child
• Manage things- Control traffic by monitoring when and where cars go.  Monitor energy usage and mange resources wisely.
• Control things - Meters can communicate with appliances and manage the electricity grid to balance load and efficiency.
• Play with things - Transform the face of gaming where everything around you becomes part of the game.

Reading about Google Glass along with other wearables and internet connected devices and the progression of the internet of things, was eye-opening and even a little intimidating. I love that wearables allow true hands-free usage and can provide supplementary just-in-time information, but does it create too much of a distraction?  I think the challenge will be to take advantage of the bells and whistles of technology to the extent of increased productivity, ease of use and convenience while not distracting us from the physical world or sacrificing engagement in "real life."

In closing, one comment from Dr. Barrett that I found interesting - This development of the internet of things cannot be left to technologists alone. Input from people from human and social sciences and everyday people must be given to make it positive for individuals and society. We must all work together if it will be for the common good. Great food for thought!

And how was your week?

A hui hou,
Terri

And this week, I completed a MOOC!

 

 

Aloha all -

I observed a MOOC titled "Child Nutrition and Cooking 2.0."   It was run by Dr. Maya Adam from Stanford University and highlighted nutrition and healthy cooking for our children.  The course ran for 5 weeks and included basic nutrition information and simple recipes to prepare healthy food for your family. 

MOOCs by definition are massive open online courses and this one fit the bill perfectly. It was MASSIVE - There were about 40,000 registered students from around the world (Philippines, Hungary,  Greece, Sweden) with about half participating regularly.  It was OPEN and ONLINE- it was offered with open access at no cost to unlimited participants on the Coursera website.  And it was a COURSE for student learning on nutrition and healthy eating. 

 Each weekly module included a series of short videos that covered information on healthy nutrition and several recipes to try at home.  Optional cooking assignments were encouraged to be posted to social media on the class Facebook page and twitter hash tag.  Each week there was a short multiple choice quiz with automated grading and immediate feedback. You were able to retake the quiz as many times as you wanted. During selected weeks, surveys were sent out to garner feedback from the students.

Students who complete the weekly quizzes and surveys  received a statement of Accomplishment from the instructor.  There was also a giveaway of a one-year magazine subscription to ChopChop Magazine for 10 students who complete the course!

Most of the interaction was in the discussion forum with various topics - general discussion, building community, questions for Instructor/TA, post your recipes, etc.  It was interesting to review the comments on the discussion boards as some students have strong opinions on nutrition and healthy eating. 

The class was fun, informative and low stress.  I enjoyed this MOOC and was able to learn about nutritional basics.  I have made a few of the recipes - smoothies and pasta sauce - and they were, as promised, - simple, healthy and tasted good. 

 My MOOC experience was positive in that it allowed learning at my convenience without any excessive stress.  The short videos were informative and easy to understand. I feel that the format encouraged students to stay active until the end.  I wonder if MOOC's are as successful when the topic is very in-depth and complicated.  If it involves quite a bit of work, I would think that some kind of recognized credit would motivate more participants to complete the MOOC.  The fact that it is OPEN and "FREE"  may not cause students to feel fully vested in completing the course if other things in life come up. It will be interesting to see how the future of the MOOC unfolds. 

 

 

 

And how was your MOOC?


A hui  hou,
Terri

And this week was PINTERESTING....

 

For our next student-created assignment, we were tasked with learning and using Pinterest.  I was part of the group that worked on the assignment, but as it was designed as an individual activity, initially, we were unsure how to start the assignment.  After Dr. Bert  said we had some creative license on interpretation, we embarked on our adventure as TEAM CYCLONE - Mike, Kailana and me!  Why Team Cyclone? - you may ask?  And the simple answer is, "I have no idea!"  I think Mike suggested it and Team Cylone, we became.

I already had some experience with Pinterest, so after some fumbling and trial and error, I was able to create a board that we all could pin on.  We each pinned 5 items from the suggested pin list.  We posted our board in our Google community and were also able to review the other Team Bioboards.  It was very enlightening and gave great insight into our classmates!

 Here is a link to our board:   TEAM CYCLONE'S BIOBOARD    Check it out!

Based on the experience, I can see how Pinterest is a top curation site.  I find it useful for saving useful resources and the "boards" are a great way to categorize it by topic.  For instance, I have boards titled " Recipes", "Bucket List", and "Things I will make…one day:)"  I recently opened a board named "Ed Tech" to curate resources, information and other useful tools that I may be able to use.  I was also able to find some users with similar interests and have started following them.  It's kind of like twitter but with visuals. 

One way it could be used in my locus of control as a counselor would be to share a link to a board with pins of useful resources for college students such as links to their school's website (career center, student services, tutoring,), scholarships, FAFSA, etc.  It even may be a way to easily share college success strategy articles or tips.  I may look into trying to incorporate it into my work soon. 

I really enjoyed working with my team and learning more about them through the pins.  It does give insight into one's personality since you have billions of items that you can choose from.  I'm glad I had the chance to take the time to explore the site and become familiar with its features.  If you haven't checked it out recently, you may want to try the Explore interests feature that allows you to click on topics based on your pins…easy way to find things that you like! (also possibly an example of big data in action - ha!ha!)

Hope you had a pinteresting week!

A hui hou,

Terri