Revised #7 CEHD Open House on Feb 25 (M) - a brief report

I attended the Feb 25 (M) CEHD Open House activity.

I read through the mission statement of the Academic Technology Services: Advance the purposeful use of new media and digital technologies in the educational programs of the College of Education and Human Development. Academic Technology Service is a collaborative effort between CEHD instructors, instructional Technology Fellows, and Academic Technology Service staff.

There were 21 faculty and staff projects presented in the room 320, 325 and 330.
Then I stopped by several demo stands. I would like to report two cases (due to time limit): The first one is the SmartBoard usage (the newest version- I think) of Dr. Clover. It was a good one for Art Education and any other disciplines that are heavily relying on visual input and output (which discipline is not - in this visual culture age?!) It facilitates multi-faceted functions that previous version did not offer.

Another interesting one is “The Developing Vlogs “ subbed by a grad student Ms. Doerr (the instructor has other commitment-I think). The book that they use is “Secrets of videoblogging- Vidoe blogging for the masses” by Michael Verdi and Ryanne Hodson. The Vlog production resources, in addition to the book, there are videoblogging sites, videoblogging for Dummies and iMovie/Window Movie Maker. I think a final output, which is a 2-4 minutes video product, incorporated many learning technology theories and practices (such as used wiki and blogs to collaborate and brainstorm ideas from partaking members; learned the video editing tools to combine texts, sound, videos and other interactive features to illustrate “learning by doing”). Many of their topics were situated in specific communities, for example, Ms. Doerr’s DinkyTown project. I observed the constructivist paradigm demonstrated in students’ works. Ms. Doerr’s “Commings Bookstore” of Dinky Town project was published in the YouTube, which is similar to a mini Breeze.I enjoyed and learned a lot today. I sent a thank–you note to Brad (one of the organizers).

In the cyber era, constantly learning and updating is essential. I have been a part time student for a while. To build a sense of belonging and rooting to specific learning communities is very important to me. Reflecting on my previous years’ part-time learning due to some barriers, I felt I should have learned more or should have been able to participate more if I have the luxury like right now – a full time student within the learning vicinity without being curbed by the time and space hindrances. Anyway, wouldn’t it be what the cyber learning is about – broadening the accessibility to reach population who might otherwise have no access to the learning opportunities???

Having said so, it does not mean that I did not learn well enough from my own local communities (Eau Claire and Menomonie areas), since we all belong to various types of communities and play different kinds of roles. Jumping outside of my own fish bowl (or comfort zone) to another one is a good adventurous learning experience.