CEdO535 Week 2: Blogs vs wikis

This week we compared blogs to wikis and discovered each has its own purpose both socially and in the world of education.
Part of our assignment was to watch a TED Talk that featured Mena Trott, who is one of the first to blog in the way we see blogging done today. In the video, Mena talks about how blogging is an outlet for people to share their thoughts with the world (or with 5 other people who may read what you have to say) and then to hear what the world has to say about your thoughts--both good and bad. She talks about how this form of communication has connected individuals who might not otherwise have a chance to "meet." I found Mena Trott's discussion quite interesting and it helped me develop a better understanding about the spirit of blogging.

Wikis are places online where groups of people work collaboratively on a product that is constantly evolving. Each participant in a wiki has the potential to contribute to the work at hand. In this week's lesson we watched Wikis in Plain English which used the process of planning a camping trip as an example of how a wiki could be used. I like the idea of wikis from an organizational standpoint, as well as for the fact that it allows all participants to collaborate.

Classroom teachers are also using wikis and blogs as a way to keep classwork and assignments organized and to create an automatic archive of students' work. I think both of these tools have their place in the classroom and can serve as powerful tools in preparing students for life beyond school.

In my work I am working toward starting a wiki with a pilot group of students at one of my sites. I chose a wiki over a blog because I think it will serve as an organizational tool as well as a place for students to provide responses and reflections all in one place, rather than having each student keep an individual blog. I am looking forward to learning about what works/doesn't work so I can make any necessary adaptations and begin using the online tools in some of my other sites.

CEdO535 Week 1

This week we turned an investigative eye toward blog hosting services, which is something that is extremely relevant to my work at this time. Since beginning my coursework in the MEIT program last fall, I have been integrating what I have learned into the work I do as the supervisor of a Title I program. This year, we have been given the opportunity to work with 3 area high schools within the Milwaukee Choice Program. As a result, we decided to revamp our Strategic Reading / Study Skills program to integrate additional technology. My goal for this year has been to include a wiki or blog component where the students could contribute in an online format. We have started by using PBWorks and are piloting this format at one of the schools this year, but I am a firm believer in learning about other options available and trying new things if there are better tools available.

I am very excited to learn more about the variety of blog hosting services that are available and to gain more perspective on how they could be used in our Title I environment!

CEdO540 Week 5

This week we looked at Google Trends, which I found to be very interesting. I like the fact that you can search for comparable topics and get a graphical display of search trends since January 2004. The tool also suggests articles related to the items in the trend comparison, which I found to be quite useful. During my investigation of Google Trends I checked out the Hot Topics, which is a list of the top 20 topics searched most recently. At first I wasn't sure the relevance of the topics listed; why people would be searching the topics listed? I found by digging a little deeper, I became more informed of events occurring that have captured the interest of a large population. I could see both Trends and Hot Topics used (with supervision) in the classroom to discuss current events and to look at trends in many different subject areas.

CEdO540 Week 4

We've had a couple of weeks off and I'm feeling a little lost as far as computing z-scores and what all of the statistical data actually means. Hopefully class on Tuesday will help me regroup and get back on track!

We read articles and watched a youtube video of dataminer Bill Tancer. I found his innovative approach to market research interesting and disconcerting at the same time. I think it is pretty amazing what one can learn by analyzing online traffic patterns--what concerns me is the ability of a person or entity being able to tag certain users and follow their habits indefinitely. While I believe people like Bill Tancer are using this information for the right reasons, it is a little frightening to know that someone out there is possibly tracking my online shopping and social networking habits!

CEdO540 Week 3

This week involved some practice calculating and describing data from a statistical standpoint. The Group worksheet illustrated the importance of looking at sets of data from multiple perspectives in order to obtain the whole story. While two sets of data may have the same Mean, a look at other statistical viewpoints such as Mode, Standard Deviation and Range could provide more details to make a better informed comparison.

My group worked on developing a survey and decided to take a lighter approach in terms of subject-matter. We hope that by selecting a topic that a larger audience can relate to will increase participation, make it less of a task and more fun for thosse who do take the time to fill it out. We decided to use Google Forms to create the survey because it is easy to share and work collaboratively.

CEdO540 Week 2

This week we learned some new statistics terms, checked out http://www.capterra.com/ to help identify survey software solutions, and compared several survey tools.

I like the Capterra website--I think it is a great tool to assist in the search for the right software solutions for an organization. There are tons of features by which you can filter to narrow down exactly what it is you are looking for and how much you are willing and able to spend. I can see going back to this site for future software solution needs.

As far as the statistics go, I am continuing to feel a little foggy. I understand the basic concepts of mean, median and mode, but get confused as I look at standard deviation, variances, etc. I hope we get a little more information and practice with these terms in ways I can relate to in order to gain more of an understanding of what they are all about and how I can apply it in my work. I really want to get this, and during class I think I'm almost there, but by the time I get back to it I am once again confused! :-/

CEdO540 Getting started with Statistics

This week we began with an intro to statistics. We looked at the different ways to produce an "average" and the types of representations of data in a statistical study. The whole idea of statistics is somewhat intimidating to me. I've never considered myself a mathematical wizard, but I do appreciate the ability to use data to drive instruction and to provide concrete support for progress in an instructional program. I am looking forward to gaining a better understanding of statistics that will hopefully help me speak with more authority about the educational outcomes within the program I support.