For my final project for EDIM 514, I created a digital portfolio using Wix. I was able to merge my work and education histories with online social media activity in one location. It also gave me a place to show off some of my photography, as well as a more personal side of myself.
Wix is a free web-hosting site and webpage builder. I was able to choose a template and easily customize it by putting in my own text, photos, clipart, and links. I couldn't believe how easy it was to use! In the past, I have had a few students use Wix to create webpages as a class project, and now I understand why. It is so user friendly that even students can use it.
Since I am not sure what the future holds for me, I may someday find myself looking for teaching jobs in a different location. I think having a digital portfolio like the one I've created on Wix would be a great resource to share with potential employers. It not only showcases the important biographical and professional information, but it also shows off my technology skills, creativity, and my personality. I could easily remove some of the more "casual content," such as links to Instagram and Flickr if I decided to use share this page as part of the job-seeking process.
I decided to link to most of the Social Media websites that I maintain a regular presence on. I recently decided to start using Twitter again and to begin following people and organizations in the educational world. This makes the decision to include a link to my Twitter profile on my Wix more relevant. Most of my recent uploads to Flickr have been related to my Wilkes courses, so I felt it would be a good idea to include that link too.
I had fun playing with the layout and choosing photos for my Wix page, which is not surprising, since I tend to be more "right-brained." For my "About Me" page, I selected a variety of photos, showing the things that are important to me: my fiance, my dog, and my sense of humor and fun. I tried to tap into that sense of humor and a little bit of whimsy by including a funny picture of my dog on the "Contact Me" page.
I hope if you check out my Wix digital portfolio, that you not only learn a little more about me, but you enjoy the experience. Now without further ado, here is my final presentation.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
EDIM 514: Live Webcast
This week I had the opportunity to host a live webcast. While this was probably a brand-new experience for most of my classmates, this is something that I do almost daily at my job as an online teacher! I am very accustomed to hosting live webinars (my school calls them "Live Lessons") for my students. After my students have read through their lesson content or completed required activities, we go through the lesson content and reinforce key vocabulary, concepts, and skills. We also play review games to prepare for unit tests, explore websites together, hold writing workshops and literature circle discussions, and complete science demonstrations and experiments. I use my webcam and a microphone headset to ensure my students can see and hear me, and students can communicate and interact in the webcast by using their own microphones at home or typing comments and questions on the screen.
So while hosting a live webcast was not a new experience in general, it was new for me to host one for a group of peers instead of students. While I'm very comfortable presenting webcasts to my students by now, I have to admit that I was a little nervous about presenting in front of my friends. It's a whole different experience presenting for a group of peers and appearing calm, composed, and organized!
Since I love to bake desserts, I decided to do a cooking demonstration in my webcast. In my idealistic mind, I pictured the webcast looking something like an episode of Giada at Home, but I should have known better! I gave it my best shot, though! I started off by emailing my closest friends and posting the date, time, and topic of my webcast on Facebook. I tried to tempt my Facebook friends to attend my webcast with offers of the recipe and tips on making my great aunt's Peanut Butter Cream Pie, which friends and coworkers routinely request that I bring to potlucks and parties. I made my initial post on Monday, repeated it on Wednesday, and then made one final plea for attendees on Friday morning (a few hours before the live broadcast). While I think my reminders were effective, I only had three friends who were able to attend.
Before my official live webcast, I spent some time investigating the website I would be using to broadcast my cooking demonstration. I am accustomed to using Adobe Connect for my class webcasts, so I decided to use something different for this assignment. I tried using Go To Meeting with the new "HDFaces" video conferencing, which I have seen countless commericals for recently. I spent some time during the week familiarizing myself with the features. While it had many of the same features and capabilities as Adobe Connect (microphone connectivity, chat log, "show my screen"), it was set up differently than what I was used to. Most of the learning curve for me with Go To Meeting came from just learning how to connect my microphone and turn it on and figuring out how to share my screen and broadcast my webcam. After spending an entire afternoon playing around with it and doing a few test broadcasts, I felt pretty comfortable that I knew what I was doing. I was even able to send out an email invite containing my meeting ID.
When the big day for my live webcast arrived, I was a little nervous but ready. I spent time making sure I had all of my ingredients and materials ready, and I also did a few tests with my webcam to make sure my camera would be lined up just right to best capture the demonstration. Once my attendees arrived and typed in their greetings, we were ready to go! My main regret is that I forgot to record the presentation. Just as I was about to begin, my dog started barking in the background. After shooting frantic telepathic messages to my fiance to grab the dog and take him upstairs, I was a little flustered and eager to start my presentation off with a smooth greeting. In my haste, I completely forgot to start the recording.
Even so, the webinar went fairly smoothly. I started off by making sure my webcam was broadcasting a live video and audio feed. Then, I introduced my demonstration by explaining that I'd be showing them how to make Peanut Butter Cream Pie, a recipe that has been in my family for at least three generations now. I was able to click the "Show My Screen" button and share the ingredients list (which I had previously typed up on a PowerPoint slide) on the screen. Then, I cut back to the video feed and got to work. While using my webcam and laptop's built-in microphone, I put all of the previously prepared ingredients together (including a pre-baked pie crust). I showed and explained step-by-step how to complete the recipe. At the end of the webcast, I displayed the final product (freshly garnished with whipped cream!) for the camera and explained that it now needed to be placed in the refrigerator to cool before serving. At that point, I opened up the webcast for questions. All three typed comments into the chat log about wanting to eat the pie or complimenting its delicious appearance. One of them, who happens to be a coworker, was brave enough to try to connect her microphone to ask a question, but she had trouble figuring out how to connect it properly. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear her. It made both of us laugh because this is a problem we routinely encounter with students trying to use their microphones during our class webcasts. In the end, she typed her question, which I was able to answer for her. I thanked my three attendees for taking time out of their busy days to come to my webcast and let them know I'd be following up with the promised recipe in an email later that afternoon.
Overall, this was a fun experience, even though it wasn't necessarily new to me. I overcame my trepidation of presenting to my peers and actually had fun pretending to be Martha Stewart on my webcam. While I will definitely stick with using the Adobe Connect software that my school has purchased for our use and requires for our class webcasts, it was interesting to try out a different broadcasting tool. The only real challenge I encountered was the microphone issue with one of my attendees. If I were to use Go To Meeting in the future, I would want to first figure out how attendees use their microphones so that I could offer more guidance in the case of technical issues. I might also consider using the phone conference option that allows all participants to call a conference line while simultaneously viewing the online visual presentation.
So while hosting a live webcast was not a new experience in general, it was new for me to host one for a group of peers instead of students. While I'm very comfortable presenting webcasts to my students by now, I have to admit that I was a little nervous about presenting in front of my friends. It's a whole different experience presenting for a group of peers and appearing calm, composed, and organized!
Since I love to bake desserts, I decided to do a cooking demonstration in my webcast. In my idealistic mind, I pictured the webcast looking something like an episode of Giada at Home, but I should have known better! I gave it my best shot, though! I started off by emailing my closest friends and posting the date, time, and topic of my webcast on Facebook. I tried to tempt my Facebook friends to attend my webcast with offers of the recipe and tips on making my great aunt's Peanut Butter Cream Pie, which friends and coworkers routinely request that I bring to potlucks and parties. I made my initial post on Monday, repeated it on Wednesday, and then made one final plea for attendees on Friday morning (a few hours before the live broadcast). While I think my reminders were effective, I only had three friends who were able to attend.
Before my official live webcast, I spent some time investigating the website I would be using to broadcast my cooking demonstration. I am accustomed to using Adobe Connect for my class webcasts, so I decided to use something different for this assignment. I tried using Go To Meeting with the new "HDFaces" video conferencing, which I have seen countless commericals for recently. I spent some time during the week familiarizing myself with the features. While it had many of the same features and capabilities as Adobe Connect (microphone connectivity, chat log, "show my screen"), it was set up differently than what I was used to. Most of the learning curve for me with Go To Meeting came from just learning how to connect my microphone and turn it on and figuring out how to share my screen and broadcast my webcam. After spending an entire afternoon playing around with it and doing a few test broadcasts, I felt pretty comfortable that I knew what I was doing. I was even able to send out an email invite containing my meeting ID.
When the big day for my live webcast arrived, I was a little nervous but ready. I spent time making sure I had all of my ingredients and materials ready, and I also did a few tests with my webcam to make sure my camera would be lined up just right to best capture the demonstration. Once my attendees arrived and typed in their greetings, we were ready to go! My main regret is that I forgot to record the presentation. Just as I was about to begin, my dog started barking in the background. After shooting frantic telepathic messages to my fiance to grab the dog and take him upstairs, I was a little flustered and eager to start my presentation off with a smooth greeting. In my haste, I completely forgot to start the recording.
Even so, the webinar went fairly smoothly. I started off by making sure my webcam was broadcasting a live video and audio feed. Then, I introduced my demonstration by explaining that I'd be showing them how to make Peanut Butter Cream Pie, a recipe that has been in my family for at least three generations now. I was able to click the "Show My Screen" button and share the ingredients list (which I had previously typed up on a PowerPoint slide) on the screen. Then, I cut back to the video feed and got to work. While using my webcam and laptop's built-in microphone, I put all of the previously prepared ingredients together (including a pre-baked pie crust). I showed and explained step-by-step how to complete the recipe. At the end of the webcast, I displayed the final product (freshly garnished with whipped cream!) for the camera and explained that it now needed to be placed in the refrigerator to cool before serving. At that point, I opened up the webcast for questions. All three typed comments into the chat log about wanting to eat the pie or complimenting its delicious appearance. One of them, who happens to be a coworker, was brave enough to try to connect her microphone to ask a question, but she had trouble figuring out how to connect it properly. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear her. It made both of us laugh because this is a problem we routinely encounter with students trying to use their microphones during our class webcasts. In the end, she typed her question, which I was able to answer for her. I thanked my three attendees for taking time out of their busy days to come to my webcast and let them know I'd be following up with the promised recipe in an email later that afternoon.
Overall, this was a fun experience, even though it wasn't necessarily new to me. I overcame my trepidation of presenting to my peers and actually had fun pretending to be Martha Stewart on my webcam. While I will definitely stick with using the Adobe Connect software that my school has purchased for our use and requires for our class webcasts, it was interesting to try out a different broadcasting tool. The only real challenge I encountered was the microphone issue with one of my attendees. If I were to use Go To Meeting in the future, I would want to first figure out how attendees use their microphones so that I could offer more guidance in the case of technical issues. I might also consider using the phone conference option that allows all participants to call a conference line while simultaneously viewing the online visual presentation.
Friday, August 2, 2013
EDIM 514: Attend a Live Webinar
Yesterday, I attended a live webinar, "Online Speech Therapy: Hot Questions, Cool Answers," broadcast by eSchool Media, Inc. I didn't realize when I first registered for the webinar that I actually used to receive email newsletters from eSchool News, which is part of the same company. They offer a lot of great resources related to educational technology.
When I initially set out to find a live webinar to attend this week, I had an unexpectedly difficult time finding one! After trying the sites recommended by my course and doing multiple web searches for "free webinars for teachers," I realized that many sites were either not offering their webinars in a live format or else they were on a summer hiatus. I got excited when I finally did come across a site that offered live webinars that not only sounded interesting but also applied to what I teach. However, quickly discovered that you had to upgrade to a paid account to register. Undeterred, I kept searching using different search terms and finally stumbled across the Online Speech Therapy webinar that was being presented on Thursday.
While I am not a a speech-language pathologist, I thought this topic was very relevant to my job as an online teacher. Over the past few years, I have had several students with IEPs for speech who received services through online virtual speech therapy. I always wondered how exactly the process worked, and I received answers to the questions I had from the presentation. Here are my thoughts on the webinar I attended, as well as live webinars in general:
What were the strengths of the show format?
The webinar I attended was broken into three parts, with time for questions from attendees in-between. The host introduced each topic, and then each of the two presenters elaborated on that topic. One strength of this format is that the presentation maintained a consistent pace and flow and it stayed on schedule.
Participants could enter their questions into a Q&A pod, and those questions could only be seen by the host/presenters. While participants could type in questions at any time, the presenters typically answered them only during the Q&A breaks. I think this helped maintain the flow of the presentation without multiple interruptions. Typing the questions privately could also be a plus because some people are not comfortable asking questions in public. For those individuals, it would be nice to be able to type them, instead of being put on the spot with a microphone, and also nice to have some anonymity in asking the questions.
What were the weaknesses of the show format?
While having the presenters only answer questions at designated times and at the end of the presentation really maintained the flow and kept the webinar on track, I feel like there would have been more of a personal connection if the questions had been answered immediately. I felt disconnected from the presenters because I really had no interaction with them. While I learned a lot from the presentation, it would have been nice to have some interaction among the presenter and attendees or to at least have my questions acknowledged and addressed to me by name during the presentation.
Would you participate in future shows of this nature?
I would definitely participate in a live webinar again. I learned a lot from the presentation, and it was helpful to have my questions answered in real-time.
How could this type of webcast be incorporated into the classroom?
Since I teach at a cyber school, my online synchronous lessons are very similar to the live webinar format. I present content by sharing PowerPoint slides, PDF or image files, and even websites on the screen, and then present orally using a microphone. My students can also interact with me and each other using microphones or by typing or manipulating items on the screen. These presentations can be recorded so that students who weren't present can watch the recording, or students who were present can go back and review. Parents are also able to watch the live presentation or the recordings to see what their kids are learning and to help support their children in their schoolwork. Students in a traditional brick-and-mortar school could benefit from webcasts, especially recorded ("non-live") ones for the same reasons. If lectures, demonstrations, experiments, or even students presentations were broadcast and recorded, parents at home or work could tune in, or students and/or parents could review those recordings at a later time while preparing for a test.
How might you use it with students? As attendees or broadcasters?
I will continue to use this with my students, in the form of attendees AND broadcasters. Since my students cannot present projects or speeches in person, I would like to utilize the web-conferencing technology more often to allow students to show off their work and practice their public speaking skills.
When I initially set out to find a live webinar to attend this week, I had an unexpectedly difficult time finding one! After trying the sites recommended by my course and doing multiple web searches for "free webinars for teachers," I realized that many sites were either not offering their webinars in a live format or else they were on a summer hiatus. I got excited when I finally did come across a site that offered live webinars that not only sounded interesting but also applied to what I teach. However, quickly discovered that you had to upgrade to a paid account to register. Undeterred, I kept searching using different search terms and finally stumbled across the Online Speech Therapy webinar that was being presented on Thursday.
While I am not a a speech-language pathologist, I thought this topic was very relevant to my job as an online teacher. Over the past few years, I have had several students with IEPs for speech who received services through online virtual speech therapy. I always wondered how exactly the process worked, and I received answers to the questions I had from the presentation. Here are my thoughts on the webinar I attended, as well as live webinars in general:
What were the strengths of the show format?
The webinar I attended was broken into three parts, with time for questions from attendees in-between. The host introduced each topic, and then each of the two presenters elaborated on that topic. One strength of this format is that the presentation maintained a consistent pace and flow and it stayed on schedule.
Participants could enter their questions into a Q&A pod, and those questions could only be seen by the host/presenters. While participants could type in questions at any time, the presenters typically answered them only during the Q&A breaks. I think this helped maintain the flow of the presentation without multiple interruptions. Typing the questions privately could also be a plus because some people are not comfortable asking questions in public. For those individuals, it would be nice to be able to type them, instead of being put on the spot with a microphone, and also nice to have some anonymity in asking the questions.
What were the weaknesses of the show format?
While having the presenters only answer questions at designated times and at the end of the presentation really maintained the flow and kept the webinar on track, I feel like there would have been more of a personal connection if the questions had been answered immediately. I felt disconnected from the presenters because I really had no interaction with them. While I learned a lot from the presentation, it would have been nice to have some interaction among the presenter and attendees or to at least have my questions acknowledged and addressed to me by name during the presentation.
Would you participate in future shows of this nature?
I would definitely participate in a live webinar again. I learned a lot from the presentation, and it was helpful to have my questions answered in real-time.
How could this type of webcast be incorporated into the classroom?
Since I teach at a cyber school, my online synchronous lessons are very similar to the live webinar format. I present content by sharing PowerPoint slides, PDF or image files, and even websites on the screen, and then present orally using a microphone. My students can also interact with me and each other using microphones or by typing or manipulating items on the screen. These presentations can be recorded so that students who weren't present can watch the recording, or students who were present can go back and review. Parents are also able to watch the live presentation or the recordings to see what their kids are learning and to help support their children in their schoolwork. Students in a traditional brick-and-mortar school could benefit from webcasts, especially recorded ("non-live") ones for the same reasons. If lectures, demonstrations, experiments, or even students presentations were broadcast and recorded, parents at home or work could tune in, or students and/or parents could review those recordings at a later time while preparing for a test.
How might you use it with students? As attendees or broadcasters?
I will continue to use this with my students, in the form of attendees AND broadcasters. Since my students cannot present projects or speeches in person, I would like to utilize the web-conferencing technology more often to allow students to show off their work and practice their public speaking skills.
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