Collaborate or BUST!

What FUN! Yes, I am actually talking about homework.

The group that we used for our web conferencing decided to join forces once again. We sent one another e-mails and decided it would be "easy" for the three of us.

The funny thing is that we are supposed to be focusing on the fact that we are collaborating using Google Docs and yet we can't let go of the fact that we want to present something FANTASTIC! So, we're working on the fantastic part. :)

I had never worked with Google Docs prior to this class. But I have to say that it really is quite easy to use and can be quite beneficial for a distance education class. Or, any class, really. It enables you to work simultaneously as well as separately while working on the same document.

Let's say I have a paper I'm working on. I ask a friend in another area to please read and edit for me. When they do the edits, I will ask them to put them in red font so I can see what they recommend. All that is necessary is for an Internet connection. I don't have to pass the document back and forth and then compare the differences. I can see their edits and suggestions.

With our group, we started a Word document and shared some ideas back and forth. We each selected a color font. I chose green, Jeff was blue and Terri selected pink. It was easier to get an idea of who was "talking." One evening Jeff and Terri were able to talk back and forth in the Word document and I signed on about an hour later. I was seriously bummed! Stupid 3 hour time difference!! But, thanks to the color font I was able to see what was discussed and add my own ideas - albeit at a later time.

I left a note in the document and said I'd be there the next evening and set a time. The following day Jeff and I chatted back and forth then decided it was time to start on the presentation. We discussed what slides we would take and then pretty much did a, "one, two, three... BREAK!"

Our presentation is not done yet... but we have another week to work through it. :-) Oh boy, I can't wait to post a link on here!! I don't even want to say what our presentation is about, I'm so excited!!

Go ahead - say it. GEEK.

I am happily updating the link to our presentation. I hope you get a kick out of it and also learn a thing or two in the process!

Quiz me!

This week's project was a lot of fun. I enjoyed creating a game as a learning opportunity. I considered a survey and a poll but it just didn't seem like as much fun! Recently I was in training and aside from some on the job training, the best training came from two different games we played.

The first was a Jeopardy style game and we were able to work in teams. It was exciting and, quite honestly,  a little nerve racking!! We wanted to WIN! Unfortunately, we came in 2nd because of a bobble answer by one of our teammates. We all learned and it was a great opportunity to hone our research skills.

The second game we played was evidently from Minute to Win It. Which, I don't watch. We had nine ping-pong balls in an empty tissue box and had to get them out. Oh wait, it was behind our backs and we couldn't use our hands! We had 30 seconds to get them out and then if we didn't get them all out we had to answer questions. Again, we were able to work as a team to get the answers and work together. We came in 2nd... but we protested because when they asked a question we looked at each other and someone said, "That's under media..." and the instructor said, "NO!" HUH? Anyway.... all in good fun and we didn't have to answer any other questions because we made sure we had ALL those ping-pong balls out each time we were up again!! :-)

So, with that so fresh in my mind - I thought it would be fun to do a quiz type game. I looked at one of the websites that Rob suggested, Quia. Once I looked at what they had to offer I was on my way! I tried a couple of the different assessment style games and thought that Picture Perfect would work best. I just wish I had been able to upload my own picture to show up underneath. Unfortunately, it just gives a different picture each time underneath.

I'm very excited at what could happen moving forward in a classroom environment. I'd just have to make sure that everyone had access to the internet during class or if it's a long distance education thing - that would be easier. Getting everything together for my final has my head spinning. I can't wait to get it out of my head and on paper!

Picture Videos

I had seen people post pictures to music and thought it was some type of Power Point. Well, I've done that. But it never quite worked the way I wanted it to. This particular assignment allowed me to really try my hand at pictures with music.

I've uploaded videos to You Tube via my cell phone so I really didn't want to do that. I wanted to try something new!

I went out to my mom and dad's house and raided the picture vault. I always viewed it as the picture vault because I just thoroughly enjoyed going in and seeing pictures of my parents wedding, baby pictures, pictures from our travels, my children's development, and even me at different stages of life. I really wanted to open up the old albums and take pictures out of them, but I'm almost afraid to do that. So, I stuck to the loose pics and went from there. Once I got home I set to scannin and uploaded them to my Flickr account. (Haven't made them public yet)

I made three different videos so far. I say so far because I will be doing more of these. The first one I created was when we visited Venice while living at Aviano Air Base in Aviano, Italy. We took the opportunity to travel Europe and I can still remember quite a bit of it! In the pictures I loaded we were in Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square.

The second one was from my High School graduation 25 years ago. I also posted them on Facebook for my HS friends to take a peek at. I have already gotten a ton of comments on line and it has been a blast from the past for all of us.

The final one I created was from our time in Dayton, OH - technically Wright Patterson AFB, my birthplace. I was getting a kick out of seeing the look on my 18month old face. In most of the pictures I just look a bit annoyed that we're taking pictures!

I could picture doing a voice over and including some interesting labor history. And hopefully, not just interesting to me! My HS History teacher was amazing at bringing history to life by telling the stories. I want to tell the stories and have the pictures behind the story. Hmmmm, that's a fun idea!!

I hope you enjoy my videos - they were fairly easy to make using PodOmatic and dig cc mixter for the music.

Podcasting - who knew??

After taking some time off and enjoying the holidays, I got down to business with my next homework assignment. For about two weeks I was thinking about what I would say on my podcast. I considered history but in the end I opted for a recipe that I love. 

I really enjoy cooking and I don’t do it near as often as I should. It’s just not as much fun to cook for yourself. (I haven’t quite mastered Diane Keaton’s character in Because I Said So) So I pick a meal I want to fix and then I tell my kids, “I’m fixing _______ on ______. What time can you make it?” This way we can sit and laugh about anything and enjoy a delicious (even if I do say so) meal together. 

Once I decided I’d talk about a particular dish I make, it made perfect sense and the podcast pretty much took on it’s own life. I wrote my script but then came the mixing issues with music. I wanted to give that a try and even at this writing I’m still struggling with that. I’ve found music that is ok for the intro and the end but getting it worked out where it plays properly is an issue for me. 

This morning, ok afternoon... I finally sat down at the kitchen table and fought with my computer to get a resolve. While Audacity was easy enough to use, I could not get my brain wrapped around how to make it an MP3. It wasn’t until after a full night’s sleep (actually got 8 hours!) that I saw that I needed to download another file. It had been telling me that for the last 3 days but I just wasn’t seeing it. 

I downloaded the file, fought with how to get it to work and where to save my new MP3, and it was if the heavens opened up and a light shown on my head, “OH, THAT is what I have to do...” It’s a good thing my recorder wasn’t running, I think I would have made a sailor blush. 

I used PodOmatic to post my podcast. That site was very forthcoming and easy to navigate!!

This one was such a tough assignment, I’m really glad that we had two weeks to get it done. Honestly, the educational aspects are endless with a podcast. Although, they could end up being a little dry and “lecturish.” I really enjoy the more interactive aspects of other web 2.0 offerings for educational opportunities. 

I hope you enjoy!