Week 6 Reflection

I can’t say enough about this Web 2.0 experience over the last few weeks. After overcoming that timid feeling from lack of familiarity and a great deal of anxiety about the course load plus being given the “permission to play”, I finally relaxed and began to enjoy the journey. In addition to learning new tools, finding new resources and interacting with a great group of people, I am inspired to continue my learning experience and to share what I have learned by through blog authorship, as well as the creation and sharing content through video, voice threads , slideshare, etc. The opportunity to develop and share produsage projects and view content developed by other class members only enhanced the skills and confidence gained in the use of Web 2.0 tools. As this semester closes, I realize that I already have a pretty good professional network and that as a member of this class, I am increasing the size of that network exponentially through interaction with my learning peers. It has been a learning pleasure to have traveled this journey and one that I look forward to continuing.

Ready for the SCUBA Gear

I am so amazed that this short six-week journey has led me from being timid about getting my toes in the water of the Web 2.0 world to a desire to put on the scuba gear and stay immersed in the deep for a while to explore and understand all there is available. I realize it is impossible to ever fully experience all the Web 2.0 tools available, but I now have the ability to be selective, to confidently use those that fit my needs and to share my knowledge and skills with others in my growing professional learning network.

I am still overwhelmed by the vast array of tools and hope to continue improving my swimming skills so that I can share with colleagues and friends in ways that inspire the growth of knowledge and personal empowerment to create and disperse valuable information. 

So now, I'm swimming with the fishes!

Workplace Engagement and Performance

As members of an online class, we have all experienced learning at a distance, but how working at a distance? How about managing a remote team of employees in a collaborative project? How do you keep them motivated and engaged in the process? Well, it is much like the process of developing and maintaining a professional learning network. There has to be a need and an inspiration for participation. According to Michael Brenner in an article in the July issue of Training and Development, key principles that are essential for building and sustaining any productive, highly engaged team (especially those who are remotely connected) are

• inner work life that is positive drives performance.
• progress that feeds competence, confidence and capability drives inner work life.
• work must be meaningful and contribute value.
• small wins matter.
• catalysts such as clear goals, allowing autonomy, proving resources, time and help facilitate the work itself.
• nourishers through respect, recognition, encouragement, emotional support and affiliation build human connection.
• managers make the biggest difference through their behavior and attitude.

As I review these principles, they serve as a reminder that learning, work and play have similar factors that drive the desire to be involved with and successful in each of them.

Week 5 Reflection

There is SO much out there to use in the online classroom that will enhance learning, increase engagement with course materials and motivate students to interact. It has become evident that it will require a community of practice to share resources and network with one another to keep up with just a fraction of the Web 2.0 tools available. While this has been a whirlwind short semester experience, I am grateful for the opportunity to have become somewhat immersed in these tools for even a short period and to contemplate ways to incorporate the use of these tools in my daily work.

As I have taught online courses this summer, I have realized ways that I can improve my virtual classroom in an effort to expose students to more collaborative learning experiences. In the development of these courses for the fall semester, I intend to try at least one or two new tools. In my responsibility for professional staff development of my colleagues, I have found tools that will help my faculty engage and learn from one another without the need for a scheduled workshop, meeting or phone conversation. These tools will allow flexibility in interactions, access to knowledge on demand and a way to build professional networks from which we all will benefit.

Shallow Diving!

After spending more time with a greater number of Web 2.0 resources the last two weeks, I have gained confidence and am not afraid to dive in and explore. Granted, I am only diving in the shallows right now, but the more I see the more I know there is to experiment with for potential as classroom learning tools. At least I am going under water now and holding my breath long enough to pick up a few things and bring them back to the surface for further investigation. I have established accounts with Edmodo and Learnist and begun to create content to share with other members of my faculty. Finally, after continuing to enter my thoughts in this electronic journal – a new experience to say the least – I am considering creating new blogs covering different subject matter to share with my colleagues.

I have become a more active member in learning community groups via LinkedIn and finding that the interaction is another confidence builder as well as a way to share ideas, ask questions and experience collaborative problem solving. As a result of this interaction, I intend to establish a LinkedIn group through the school that I work for and use it to interact with others in the community about programs and services we provide. Look out – the scuba certification is next J

Experimenting with New Tools

One of the new Web 2.0 tools I have experimented with this week is Learnist. I found that I like this tool for several reasons:

1. Learnist allows for simple organization and sharing of a diversity of online materials.
2. Videos, ebooks, maps, blogs, podcasts, surveys and more can be uploaded and shared with collaborators who can then comment or add additional information to learning boards.
3. There is an abundance of “how-to” materials posted by a learning community that are easy to find and can be accessed on demand.
4. Photos and descriptions are suggested from metadata when content is added to a learning board. The content can be accepted or edited to suit the purpose of the contributor. Tag lines can be added to aid in future searches.
5. Individuals can be invited to collaborate on the development of content, which can be segregated by learning board.
6. The number of viewers is tracked; people can like, follow or repost content similar to other social learning media.
7. Learnist content can be re-broadcast via Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Google +, LinkedIn and more social media platforms.
8. Content posted on a learning board in Learnist can even be embedded in a Blog as is illustrated in the example at the end of this post.

I am impressed with this tool because it goes beyond others that function as social bookmarking sites. Comments can be made about a post, it is more visually appealing, easy to navigate and has job aids included that speed the process of uploading and sharing. 

Week 5 Prompt

Week 5 Prompt: How do you judge the value of expertise on the Web? Does it differ from your notion of expertise in face-to-face settings? Why or why not?

I tend to judge the value of expertise on the Web by several factors. The first thing I look for is the URL address to see if it is affiliated with a credible organization or and educational institution, which gives me a degree of confidence that the materials posted are based on research, valid experiences or are peer reviewed articles. The next thing I consider to determine the value of expertise is the associated work and educational background of the contributor. By considering this factor, I am more confident the individual is posting comments or opinions that are founded in experience in the field as opposed to emotion. Finally, I will judge the value of expertise on the Web relative to the content posted as well as the individual's ability to express thoughts clearly and with a level of critical analysis about the subject matter.

In some ways, my notion of expertise is similar in face-to-face settings. For example, one should have valid experience and knowledge of the subject being discussed. Additionally, passion about a subject is important in expressing one's attitudes and beliefs, but it is also important that the passion is well founded in fact, not emotion. However, some people express themselves better in writing than verbally; perhaps an individual's representation of themselves may differ in these two contexts resulting in varying impressions of expertise.