Farewell IT 648 Telecommunication in Education

            I can’t believe that IT 648 (Telecommunication in Education) is almost over. Five weeks is short but I manage to complete every reading material, every assignment, and every discussion. In addition to the value of learning community, I have learned that:

•  Diigo is a fantastic tool for anyone seeking to organize their online knowledge and/or build an interactive learning community. 
• Google Sites is a great tool to use to create educational webpages for educators who seek to create their class websites with limited time and resources. 
• WebQuests are a very powerful for teaching and learning tool. It is difficult but possible to design a good WebQuest. Even though WebQuest takes time and effort to design, the end result is rewarding.
•  Wiggio is an easy web application for group communication, collaboration, and management. Its applications are straightforward and effective. Wiggio is appropriate for every group and organization.
• Although the Internet has widened the window of opportunity for teachers and learners, there are some dangers associated with using the Internet in the classroom. It is important for teachers, librarians, and school administrators to be proactive to maximize strategies that they can use to enhance Internet safety and minimize risks.
• Videoconferencing is a useful tool for education. It is a two-way communication and can be used by teachers, staff, and administrators.  Videoconferencing enriches curriculum by increasing interactivity, enabling and enhancing collaboration, and effectively sharing resources. Examples of the use of videoconferencing in education are staff meeting, professional development, and enhancing curriculum (e.g. virtual field trips and meeting with experts).

Similar to coins, this class has both strong and weak points. On the bright side, I found that the class activities were diverse and covered all of class concepts. Class assignments had a good mixture of difficult levels. In addition, class reading materials and media provided both broad and in-depth knowledge for each class concept. I realized that Dr. Yuen spent lot of time building his resources for this class. Last but not least, everyone in this class helped creating a strong learning community that enhances learning experience.

On the dim side, time was the utmost weak point of this class. I took two classes this summer. Both classes are the five-week sections. It was difficult for me to find time to reflect on the reading materials and class concepts since there were so much to learn in both classes. Personally, I need time to digest and bouncing ideas back and forth in my head. Even though Dr. Yuen kindly gave us opportunity to access class materials approximately 2 weeks in advance, I still found that time was an issue for me. I wish I had more time to learn. Another weak point is that IT 648 is a fully online class. Even though I had a positive experience from this class, I prefer a hybrid format. I realized I learn better in the hybrid environment. To improve my weak areas, I need to find strategies to maximize my reflection time.  Additionally, I may need to experience more fully online class.   

I realized that some of the technologies we learned from IT 648 are easy for me to integrate into classroom while some are challenging. I already integrate blog in my classroom. In this coming fall semester, I plan to incorporate blogfolio in my FM 222 (Professional Presentation) class. I also plan to use my FM 437 (Apparel Product Development) class website that I created through Google Sites this coming fall. In addition to class website, I plan to create a Diigo group for FM 437 so my students can help each other to build knowledge about sustainability in apparel and textile industry. However, I am still unsure on how to create WebQuest for my own class. 

In conclusion, IT 648 (Telecommunication in Education) gave me a lot of useful technologies to integrate into my own class and to recommend others to use. Even though time was a big issue for me, I manage to finish this class well. Unfortunately, I feel quite sad that this class comes to an end. Because it means that I have to say farewell not only to my fellow classmates, but also to Dr. Yuen since he will retire at the end of June. I felt fortunate that I have an opportunity to learn from him and for that I am very grateful. I extend my best wishes and the heartfelt desire that Dr. Yuen’s retirement be a continuously wonderful experience.

IT 648 Telecommunication in Education: What a Wonderful Class!

Since IT 648 Telecommunication in Education lasted only the first five weeks of summer school, I felt the class was intense. In addition, IT 648 was my first fully online class, so I had to manage my time wisely to complete all class requirements. There were eleven topics covered in this class:

a.      Blogging in Education

b.      Social Bookmarking with Diigo

c.       Google Docs

d.      Google Sites

e.      Web Page Design and Development

f.        WebQuest

g.      Acceptable Use of Policies and Internet Safety

h.     Videoconferencing

i.        Satellite Technology

j.        Creating Online Groups for Communication, Sharing, and Collaboration

Dr. Yuen provided us with variety of reading materials and media for each topic. Fortunately, I am familiar with several topics including Blogging, Diigo Social Bookmarking, Google Docs, Web Page Design and Development as well as Acceptable Use of Policies and Internet Safety. Therefore, I was able to spend more time on reviewing course reading materials on topics I was unfamiliar with, especially WebQuest. However, I still found most of my time on reading class materials and watching media in order to build my understanding on class concepts, complete six assignments, and participate in four class discussions. In other words, sometimes I felt overwhelming from the information I cultivate from this class. I hope that I had more time to digest these materials. Luckily, I bookmarked most of reading materials and media on my Diigo so I can come back to review them again.

I found that each class assignment strengthens my understanding from class reading materials. I admitted that I spent so much time reflecting on what to do on each assignment. I love to read my classmates comments on each other assignments. I think these comments are very useful and in fact united our class together although we never meet in person during this course. Actually, I learned a great deal from these comments. It is important for class to form a learning community. Because of class learning community, my understanding of class concept has leveled up to another dimension. In addition, class discussions deepened my comprehension of this class. Reading ideas and opinions of other classmates opened my eyes to see different angels of the same subject. 

Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow classmates for giving feedback and suggestions on my assignments and discussions. We are actually a good learning team. I truly enjoy this class. All of you have made my online learning experience positive. Thank you very much for making IT 648 a wonderful class to learn!

Discussion 4: Acceptable Use of Policies and Filtering Software

The Internet has widened the window of opportunity for teachers and learners. For example, the Internet supplies many good search engines which allow students to gain more depth and width on their class subject. However, there are some dangers associated with using the Internet in the classroom. Students may be exposed to risks including:

·         Viewing inappropriate content (i.e. pornography),

·         Engaging in online chat, possibly with sex offenders,

·         Addiction to online gambling, or

·         Influence from violent games.

Students who become involved in one or more of these dangers may end up meeting tragic consequences if parents, teachers and schools do not have any strategies to minimize risks. 

There are many strategies teachers and librarians can use to enhance Internet safety and minimize risks. First, teachers and librarians should do some research to see what strategies out there that they can apply them in their classrooms. It is wise to take advantage of what already available when devising Internet safety programs or strategies. Second, schools can implement filter and blocker software. This software can help alleviating some risks. Schools need to define their filter and blocker parameters. They need to develop their own policies for internet safety. They also need to make sure that filter and blocker software is only activated when an actual violation of the parameters happens. It is important to note that filters can be disabled legally in some circumstances. Some filter software is very powerful, and can alert authorities when a violation happens, record web or Internet activity without informing users, and/or record and log an IP address of a person using the web. However, filter software will not be successful without commitment by staff and administrators to monitor the filter and blocker software.

Third, teachers should be proactive by communicating, educating, and creating awareness in the community, including parents, students, and colleagues.  Many proactive strategies can be implemented by schools by teaching students and parents to understand the dangers of the Internet, especially the ones they can’t see. Schools may consider offering workshops, Internet Safety Information sheets, and open discussion forums for parents and students. Schools may also want to ask for parents’ permission before allowing students to use the Internet. Additionally, it is a good idea for students to sign a contract promising that they will follow the rules regarding how to use the Internet in class. Many schools now enforce Acceptable Use Policies (AUP). However, schools need to ensure that their AUP is a community effort, and is both precise and easy to read. Additionally, schools should continuously review and revise their AUP.

Discussion 3: WebQuest

          Since I am not familiar with WebQuests, my discussion is mostly derived from the reading materials. I have read several definitions of WebQuests; however, the one I like the most is from Dr. Alice Christie’s website (http://www.alicechristie.org/edtech/wq/). She defines a WebQuest as “a well developed curricular unit or lesson that actively engages learners” and as components of “interactive learning units that use a variety of Internet resources.”

          A well designed WebQuest can be a powerful tool for teaching and learning.  In regards to the strengths of WebQuests, there are five positive points. 

1)      First, several pedagogical principles are supported by using WebQuests as teaching and learning tools. Examples of these principles include: learner-centered, active learning, motivation theory, and metacognition. Teachers can use WebQuests to foster several skills including analysis, collaboration, reflection, problem-solving, critical thinking, transformative thinking, and cooperation. Students also learn how to integrate technology into their learning.

2)      Secondly, teachers can customize WebQuests to fit students’ multiple learning levels. Not only can students work on their own pace, but they will also feel challenged, and therefore will not be bored.

3)      Thirdly, WebQuests can be used as a tool to teach students on how to use/search the Internet in constructive and effective ways. Students can thus experience a more dynamic way of conducting research.

4)      Fourth, students are exposed to different ways or aspects of viewing ideas or concepts.

5)      Fifth, WebQuests can be used for both individual and group work.  

          In regards to WebQuests’ weakness, I learned that it is quite difficult to create a good WebQuest. It is even more difficult to come up with long term WebQuests. In addition, I realize that there are more examples of WebQuests in K-12 than at university level. In my opinion, I am concerned about finding information that is written and presented at a level appealing to my students. It is hard for me to come up with authentic tasks for fashion merchandising students. In addition, I am worried that, without a lot of work, my WebQuests may fall short. 

          Examples of using WebQuests in Fashion Merchandising might be:

•  Taxonomy of the fashion industry,
• Sustainability-gaps in textile industry/supply chain, and
• Comparison of e-venues for small garment retailers/producers. 

Discussion 2: Web Page Design and Development

          Deciding which elements of Web design are important for teaching and learning depends on the purpose of the web project. Therefore, the first task the instructor needs to do is to define what they want to use the web course for. The goals/objectives/purpose the web project or web page will shape the elements and components utilized. Planning is another critical task the instructor needs to do. When the instructor plans their web course, they should draw/outline the layout and structure of the web page. They must decide what way is best in order to provide information to students.  Next, they should secure all materials (e.g. documents and multimedia) necessary for the final web project. It is important to note that web documents must be laid-out/formatted differently than printed documents.  The instructor should consider balance, simplicity, clarity, systematic organization, and consistency when designing or choosing the text, the web page navigation system, the use of links, and the style and effect of the graphics. Last but not least, the instructor should keep in mind web utility and web accessibility when designing their web page. It is recommended that the instructor makes sure that the web course is compatible with all browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox).  In addition, the instructor should provide alternative text and other considerations for special students to ensure that everyone can access the web page.  

          If I am asked to design an educational webpage, major components of my web course would include:

1.       A homepage

2.       Course information

3.       A syllabus

4.       The schedule

5.       Lecture notes

6.       Assignments

7.       Resources

          In regards to tips for designing an effective web site for teaching and learning, I would recommend that the instructor:

•  Spend time planning, planning and planning. I can’t stress enough of how important planning is for web design. Without careful planning, the web course may not be effective or achieve its goals.
• Ask for help when needed. We all learn from experience but learning from others can alleviate frustration.
• Be detail oriented.
• Check for all the links in all your pages whether or not they work.
• Make sure that links you include in your web course open in another page. 
• Send the link of your web page to other for feedback. They can also help you check for any mistakes.
• Be careful for the use of color. Some contrast colors may distract the viewers.

Discussion 1: Blogging Education

          Blogs are parts of Web 2.0 technologies. There are several types of blogs such as personal, business, and organization.  Blogging is not new in education. However, educators utilize blog differently. For examples, teachers may use blogs as a teaching and learning tool while administrators and staff may use blogs as communication and marketing tools. It is undeniable that blogs have a great impact in education. Examples of positive impact of blogging in education include:

•  Easy to use
• Grate tool for document learning process
• Fostering reflective analytical, and critical thinking,
• Encouraging collaboration among students
• Knowledge sharing
• Improving writing competency
•  Easy access anytime anywhere

          As an educator, I believe time and effort are the most challenging of blogging in education. If the class is small, it is easier for teachers to manage all reading and giving feedback. However, it is time consuming for planning, reading, providing feedback, and grading for the larger class. It is difficult for students to improve their thinking and writing competency if they don’t receive the feedback in time.

For students, the following are my thought for their challenges.

• Technological problems – even though blog is easy to use, some students may not feel comfortable with or resist in using new technology,

• Quality and adequacy of blog -- although the use of blogging in education increase students’ writing competency, some students are still struggle with writing skills. Thus, some of their comments to other bloggers may be poor and too short,

•  Fear to participate – some students may not feel comfortable to portray their ideas in the discussion or comments,

• Privacy problems – some students may include some private information and sometimes inappropriate information in their blog entry.

          Currently, I have integrated blogs into Entrepreneurship in Apparel and Interiors. I utilized blogs as:

•  Learning resources—I required to read IT 644 blogfolio on how to create blog or use other technology,
• Reading assignment– I required my students to discuss class reading materials in their blog,
•  Journal – I required my students to reflect upon class activities and assignment in their blog,
•  Peer evaluation assignment–I required my students to comment on other classmate blogs. 

          In the future, I plan to require my students to document their learning through blogfolio and giving constructive feedback through blog critique.

Have You Ever Heard of Wiggio?

          I have not heard of Wiggio before taking IT 648 Telecommunication in Education class. Wiggio slogan is “Wiggio.com is a free, online toolkit that makes it easy to work in groups”.  According Wiggio.com, Wiggio is a result of Two Cornell graduate who were frustrated from trying to communicate, collaborate, and complete group project. They came up with the Wiggio idea and were able to secure some funding for project in August 2008. The Wiggio team designed Wiggio to be a web application that is super easy to use, very straightforward for its users, and effective for every type of group applications.  

          Even though Wiggio offers variety of applications such as group calendar, poll, conference calls, and chat online, in IT 648 class, we use Wiggio mainly for class communication and summiting our assignments by posting links to the board. Wiggio acts as our class listserve by emailing us our group activity when someone posted something on the board. 

          I found that Wiggio is easy to use and very straightforward, which Wiggio fulfills its claim. However, I sometimes frustrated when I can’t reply to certain comment on the post. I think it is inconvenience and not very effective use of the application. Dr. Yuen’s required us to create our Wiggio group for class assignment. I learned that you can’t create a poll for your group unless you have your group members listed. I found it a little bit inconvenience that I can’t prepare my Wiggio group before inviting people to be a group member. In addition, I was frustrated when I can’t stop Wiggio to email every activity I did in my group though I selected “Do not SEND notification.” These are the disadvantages of Wiggio I found. However, I believe that the benefits of Wiggio outweigh its drawbacks. Therefore, I will recommend Wiggio to others if they ask my opinion about Web 2.0 application for group or organization management and communication. 

          Since my Wiggio group is a private, here is its brief information. 

Wiggio Group Name: Thai Cooking

Group Description: Thai Cooking is a group for lovers of Thai food.

Group Web Address: http://thaicooking.wiggio.com   

Group Member: 12 people (So far)

Our Goal: To create a virtual Thai Cookbook

Wiggio Tools Used in Thai Cooking Group:

• Sharing and editing files on Thai Recipes,
• Polling group opinion on their favorite Thai dish,
• Sending email and mass text,
• Creating a to-do-list for creating a virtual Thai Cookbook, and
• Creating 2 events: Thai Cooking Day and Thai Food Day

          In conclusion, Wiggio is a good Web 2.0 application for group management and communication. Wiggio lives up to its claim as “easy to work in groups”. I plan to introduce Wiggio for my students so they can use it when working in group project. Also, I plan to assign my students to  Wiggio as a mean to communication and manage for their service-learning project.

A Useful Teaching and Learning Tool Called WebQuest

          I voted for WebQuest to be the most difficult assignment in IT 648 (Telecommunications in Educations) class. The difficulty I refer to is not from using the Google Sites or other WebQuest providers to create a WebQuest. However, the difficulty I refer to is from designing a good WebQuest. I have no doubt that WebQuest is a very powerful teaching and learning tool. WebQuest provides structure for students not only to learn class concepts, but also how to use the Internet in a constructive way. A well-designed WebQuest will transform both teachers and students in their WebQuest journey.

          To be honest, it took me awhile to digest the WebQuest reading materials. I spent time reflecting on what the WebQuest is, which subjects in Fashion Merchandising are best fit to use WebQuest as a teaching and learning, how I can use WebQuest in my own class, and what the best way to design the WebQuest that will appropriate with students’ learning styles and learning levels. In addition to reading materials, I searched for several WebQuest examples for my fields by using keywords such as textiles, fashion, and merchandising; however I could not find any example. I believe this was resulted from my limited knowledge on WebQuest.

          While watching YouTube video on Webquest provided by Dr. Yuen, I found a very useful page called WebQuest Design Pattern from www.webquest.org.  This web page “list of patterns derived from existing WebQuests that are instructionally solid”. These patterns are organized by different tasks teachers what students to accomplish from the WebQuests. There are five different task categories: 1) Design Tasks, 2) Decision Tasks, 3) Creative Tasks, 4) Analysis Tasks, and 5) Prediction Tasks. I went through each category and realized that I could design a WebQuest for my friend who teaches Art Appreciation.

          I had a great experience designing WebQuest for my friend. We named it "Art Appreciation WebQuest". She plans to use our Webquest for her class in the second half of this summer. We are very excited to see what her student reactions to this teaching and learning tool. We also plan to keep working on this WebQuest since now it only has 6 journeys and covers only half of her semester.

          Below are my reflections of my learning experience through designing Webquest for others:

1.  I learned that planning and communication are critical.  It is important to have clear communication with your teammate, especially when you are not an expert in that area. Also, similarly to web design, planning is significant. I found out that Webquest design and layout help both of us understand each other better 
2. Organization is also very vital.  Each WebQuest journey is similar to a stepping stone for students to cumulate knowledge in order to accomplish the goals of Webquest. 
3.  It is important to always keep the students' actual skills and knowledge in mind. Tasks must be matched to the students’ competencies, while still being challenging enough to keep students' interest.

          In conclusion, I have learned a great deal from designing WebQuest even though it was for others. I hope that I can one day design a WebQuest for my own class; although I couldn't come up with ideas to design my own class Webquest now. Anyway, I have become a fan for WebQuest though I voted for WebQuest to be one of the most difficulty assignments for IT 648. I plan to introduce the WebQuest idea to my coworker who teaches Introduction to Fashion Merchandising and Seminar in Fashion Merchandising. She might be interested to design a Taxonomy WebQuest for either of her classes. I also plan to introduce the WebQuest to high school teachers who teach Fashion Merchandising and Interior Design. They may consider becoming a co-designer for their class WebQuests with me.

Want a Class Website? Try Google Sites.

          Last semester, I learned to use Dream Weaver in one of Dr. Yuen’s classes (IT 755: Web Instruction). During the class, I learned a lot about web design. Unfortunately, the majority of my learning came from my mistakes. I was frequently frustrated and angry when my class website didn’t come out right. However, even though I experienced many challenges when learning to create my class website, I am now proud of my accomplishment. From my errors and failed experiments, I am convinced that planning is the most vital part of the entire web design process (of course, Dr. Yuen told us that on the very first day of class, but I forgot until much much later). 

          This semester, in IT 648 (Telecommunication in Education), one of our tasks has been to use Google Sites to create an educational webpage. I chose to create a website for my Apparel Product Development (FM 437) class. I spent some time learning about Google Sites by reading, watching YouTube videos, and exploring other people’s Google Sites. However, I still made mistakes when I first created my website using Google Sites. Just as with Dream Weaver, I became frustrated and angry. However, I think it is part of learning process. 

           Basically, although Google Sites is much easier to use and has smaller learning curve than Dream Weaver, it’s not as flexible. Using Google Sites, I felt that my creativity is limited (I can’t believe I am creative). I couldn’t apply my own wall paper to the site, and the themes offered by Google Sites are limited. I know that I could adopt templates from other websites; however, I personally would rather create my own from scratch. 

          On the other hand, Google Sites has many positives aspects. First, Google Sites offers templates that users can adopt and edit. Second, the storage space Google offers is quite large. Free users get 100 Mb, while education institutions receive 10 Gb per domain. Thirdly, users can integrate Google apps and a variety of additional external features such as gadgets into their Google Sites. Users can also embed Google Documents, Google Spreadsheets, Google Presentations, and Google Forms into their sites. Fourth, just as with wikis, Google Sites allows users to designate owners and collaborators who can edit pages in their sites. Additionally, users are not required to know HTML or any other specialized language to create their webpage. Last but not least, users can make their sites available either to selected people or groups, or to everyone. 

          In conclusion, Google Sites offers useful tools to create and customize webpage. There are some limitations for using Google Sites; however, for many, the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. Therefore, for educators, Google Sites is a good tool to use to create educational webpages.  

Building Knowledge and Learning Communities through Diigo

Diigo is an online social bookmarking tool which allows users to collect, save, access, and share information anytime and anywhere. The Diigo toolbar offers many useful and convenient features such as sticky notes, highlighting, bookmarks, and integrated emailing.  The Diigo toolbar is available for many popular browsers including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer.

Therefore, Diigo is a fantastic tool for anyone seeking to organize their online knowledge and/or build an interactive learning community. Diigo offers a number of great features for community building. Examples of these features include tabbed pages labeled My Groups, My Network, and Community.  Additionally, many blog websites allow users to set up a daily auto-blog post of their Diigo library. Diigo can also integrate with Twitter. Similarly to Twitter, Diigo users can follow people or build friends lists which they can access and manage through the My Network tab. People in networks can help each other find and share good online resources. Also, by following people, you can get recommendations and useful information from people you trust.

Personally, I have already taken advantage of several features offered by Diigo. I am currently a member of 4 different groups, including an IT 648 group.

I have also downloaded the Diigo toolbar for both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on both apple and my PC. In addition to the Diigo toolbar, I also use the integrated Twitter function and the daily auto-blog function. I also visit the Diigo community from time to time to learn from others. I found that these features in particular make Diigo a wonderful learning tool.

However, there are some features I have not yet explored fully or made use of. For example, I have never used the My Network feature. Additionally, I recently learned that users can save images to their Diigo Library and then later access and/or search their Diigo Library offline through an iPhone/iPad Diigo app.

            In conclusion, I have found Diigo to be one of the most useful web apps I have ever encountered. I use it almost daily and make a habit of introducing it to everyone I know.