Blogging through the Wikis

Technology advances create a dynamic landscape in corporate and educational practices. To remain competitive in the board room or in the classroom requires stakeholders to embrace an attitude of life-long learning. Excess information bombards our senses, creating a need to filter that which is relevant and important to our individual needs and interests. Even what Ko and Rossen (2010) refer to as mid-level technology can have big impacts on student performance.

To blog or to “wik” is a decision to be made based on the desired product. Blogs are permanent in nature, so can reflect growth and change over time. Wikis are more flexible because commentaries are less permanent, they are constantly being edited to reflect current thought.

According to Dawley (2007) well thought-out Blog and Wiki assignments are useful ways that instructors help learners focus on a given set of criteria and demonstrate reflective thinking, application, and synthesis of the information (pg. 213-215). Because their work is public, students are motivated to produce a quality product, but can also bring on fear of criticism. Providing rubrics offset that anxiety and offer students a way to express themselves.

The popularity of expressing oneself through a social platform is on the rise, and as Washington State University (Pullman) assistant professor Guy Westoff notes, "It takes about five minutes to create a blog and to start using the technology. No advanced tech skills are needed and the return on your investment is almost immediate. Blogs allow faculty to extend the discussion outside the classroom and allows students who normally do not participate in large group conversations to have a voice and provide their viewpoints and feedback." (Ortega, 2011)

References

Dawley, L. (2007). The tools for successful online teaching (1 ed.). Hershey: Information Science Publishing.

Ortega, M. (2011). Future Teachers Learn to Integrate Technology in the Classroom. Pullman: Washington State University.

Susan Ko, S. R. (2010). Teaching online; a practical guide. New York: Routledge.

Vision Statement

I stopped at a roadside fruit stand last summer. The air was heavy and warm and the aroma of nectarines and strawberries embraced me as I walked into the darkened building. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness from behind sunglasses that I forgot to exchange for my “other” glasses, I made out piles and piles of fresh produce. Southern gospel music played at a too-high volume on an old cassette player while green bottle flies landed on first one piece and then another of cut “sample” fruit, gleefully rubbing their tiny forelegs in anticipation of the juicy nectar. The price was well discounted if I could afford the time and energy to go and pick my own fruit. I had time, and couldn’t resist the unexpected opportunity to traipse out into the orchard in anticipation of biting into a sun-warmed nectarine.
The owner, dressed in long sleeved plaid shirt worn under faded denim overalls connected on only one side by some sort of “work around” where the original fastener had given way, led me out to a section of maybe a dozen nectarine trees. Peering out from the brim of a sweat-stained ball cap, he began “These here are Red Havens—they’re a bit early, but you’ll find a few that are ripe.” Turning, he pointed to another section, “Those over there are ripe, but they aren’t as sweet and juicy as these…but they will keep longer.”
Smiling, he handed me the cardboard box that had previously held bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey. Cardboard dividers made compartments perfect for keeping fresh nectarines from bruising. “Over here’s a ladder if you want to get up higher; I think that tree has quite a few ripe ones on the south side.” Realizing I wasn’t in a big rush, he warmed up as he pointed here and there to the ripening fruit explaining how I would be able to see crimson freckles and smell the ripeness before I touched the fruit. If it was ripe, it would be sure to detach itself from the tree into my willing hand. I picked as he talked.
That day lingers in my mind as I contemplate another set of choices. The digital future stretches before me with limitless opportunities. Each day I behold another use for technology - another venue for distributing information to myriad learners. Asynchronous versus synchronous, Apple versus PC, face-to-face versus self-direction, apps versus text books. Choices flood the digital orchard. My vision is to be a teacher to those who would learn. My vision is that my course design will lead learners to a set of specific objectives. The owner of the orchard did not lead me to apples, cherries, or peaches. He knew I was seeking nectarines, so he took me to the fruit and allowed me to pick while he provided guidelines, visual references, and learning.
Online learners need objectives – needless energy is spent trying to sift through the maze of information that is available when objectives are unclear. Well developed courses provide direction and clarification as well as satisfying the need to know that we learners are seeking. I have found that standards help me in providing clear objectives and relevant assessments. For my secondary education students I follow the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), 2011)and the International Society for Technical Education (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) (International Society for Technology in Education, 2011).
If my vision becomes reality, my students can anticipate the best there is to be had...would you like a nectarine?

Works Cited
International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). Standards. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from ISTE: http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). (2011). Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from Core Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf

Looking for That Which is Not Lost

I'm always looking for something - and I don't mean my keys (although those who know me best would argue). I have a vision of being better—of finding the treasure found in mastering a new skill or expanding my understanding of a subject.
I grew up the middle girl-child of a family of six children. We were, and are, loud and rambunctious and competitive. I have been challenged and stretched to be better and go farther by my middle boy-child (one year older than I) sibling, and it hasn't always been friendly. If he knew something, I would look for more information so I could know it better. If he did something, I would look for do-it-yourself books at the public library so I would know how he did it.
This competitive drive morphed over the years into a personal competition where my brother and I would be more like team players in challenging one another along the timeline of our lives. He, brilliant in mathematics, is by primary profession a bio-robotics engineer who specialized in the design of above the knee prosthesis but now teaches varying levels of math to students who are just as deserving but far less appreciative of his intellect. I was successful in the business industry where I worked retail management and banking trust services while using my passion for learning to volunteer in local classrooms and tutoring ESL migrants, for as Idaho State University’s Department of Education frames it (circa 1998), “By Teaching We Learn.” I found myself looking for new ideas and methodologies to get a concept across and ended up with a Master’s degree in education.
As my world expanded, I found that my appreciation of diverse individuality was replenished by the love of God and I explored the possibilities of love-based Christianity and found deep personal insight and growth in a meaningful study of the Bible (which I believe to be true, by the way). I am still in the progress of that search…
Today I have changed careers multiple times and am looking for ways to expand this career that I love. I have long been a student and teacher in the virtual environment and have found that the possibilities of this new frontier are limited only by one’s lack of vision. So I keep looking…..