Sunday, March 22-2009

Today was a beautiful day in Jamaica. I started off the morning eating porridge and coffee at 23/7. After breakfast, Nicole and I went with Kay to the hardware store to get the paint needed for our service learning projects. It came up to $27,000 (but remember, that is in Jays so about $400 US for paint).

We got back to the Whistling Bird just in time to head out on a glass bottom boat to the Royal Palm Reserve. We walked about ½ mile from the river to the Reserve tour. We were pretty much the only people there. The Reserve is a snapshot of Jamaica with birds, flowers, and trees to view and enjoy. It was pretty and I think everyone enjoyed it. This evening we will go out for supper, though at the moment is in pouring rain. Jamaica is currently very dry so it isn’t quite as colorful as when there is adequate rainfall. Still, this is a beautiful island.

Saturday, March 21

Yesterday was our first day of exploring Jamaica. We went to YS Falls where some of the more courageous people did the canopy zip-cord tour. I would not be one of those people. Heights aren’t exactly my specialty. I was very content just laying on the rocks watching the water falls. The colors of the flowers and the water here in Jamaica are just amazing. There were little hummingbirds by the trading post (souvenir shop) that were just gorgeous. The male birds had long tail feathers making them even more colorful than the females. To get to the Falls, one rides a on a wagon pulled by a Massey Fergusson tractor (no green ones down here- they use the good stuff). Ahhh… it reminded me of the hay wagon rides we would do on the country roads with friends when I was little.

Robert is not only our driver but is also our friend. He spent the whole week with Candy, Kimberly, Nicole and I last year so we really got to know each other. On the way back from YS Falls, Robert took us to his home. It was an honor to have him share his home with us. Robert’s home is small yet meets his needs. He said that when he gets money, he would like to fix his ceiling that was damaged by Hurricane Ivan. In his back yard, Robert has a chicken coop. It looks very different than the chicken mansion I have at home. There are also goats in the back, but this is Jamaica so there are really goats everywhere.

When we leave, Robert doesn’t know when he’ll work again. The American recession has also affected the tourism industry in Jamaica. 60% of Jamaica’s economy comprised of tourism. Thus, America’s economic downturn has greatly impacted this already poor country.

We stopped at a grocery store on the way home and got a few provisions. Upon our return to the Whistling Bird, we got ready for supper and walked a tiny bit down the beach to Irie for supper. It was good. This year the menus had prices in American money instead of Jays. Our dollar is equal to about $79 Jays though the conversion rate fluctuates.

Yeah! We're in Jamaica...

Today Friday, March 20, 2009- the first official day of the 2009 Service Learning Trip to Negril, Jamaica. We flew out of Minneapolis, MN at 5:15AM today. According to airline recommendations, we arrived at the airport between 2 and 3PM. Interesting, Transportation Security Administration and Delta Airlines don’t begin checking baggage and persons until 4AM. Needless to say, we almost missed our flight due to the time crunch (but we didn’t so that was good). Our gate was changed at our connecting flight in Atlanta, Georgia so we had a chance to grab something to drink and a bit to munch on. By 10:00AM (CST), we were all quite tired. We made it to our resort, The Whistling Bird by 3ish. I’m pretty sure the word for the day is EXHAUSED. Nicole and I discussed the plans for the week with Kay, the leader from UW-LaCrosse. After an awesome Jamaican supper on the beach, several of us visited the local hangout, 23/7. Jon, the owner, remembered us from last year. The feeling of being at the Whistling Bird and going to 23/7 reminds me of being home. It’s so nice to be back.

[I realized this is posted a day late. I figured the students could do their blogs first.]

Tomorrow is the big day!

I am so excited to have the opportunity to explore Jamaica with the 2009 Service Learning Trip participants. Months of hard work and dedication are about to pay off in a way that I know those going will never forget. We have a very packed schedule, both in service and in learning. I welcome the NTC community, our families and friends, to join us in this year's adventure. Please feel free to post comments or questions about the trip or our daily activities.

Let the adventure begin...

Final Day for Assessment in E-Learning

This was the shortest 8 weeks of my life. Really. So much has happened personally and (like always) I'm doing 5,000 things professionally. The completion of Assessment in E-learning will be my "Yipee" moment for the night. During the past 8 weeks, I have learned about Breeze, AMaps, Glogster, Exploratree, Googledocs, Edublog, Blogger, Bubbl.us, Inspiration, Survey Monkey, and many other different free Web 2.0 tools. My tool box is literally overflowing! I can't wait to share this information and incorporate it in the classroom, both online and face-to-face. This week we read the article, Benefits of An Online Discussion List in A Traditional Distance Education Course (Bradshaw and Hinton, 2004) which reinforced that I have taken some quality points of e-learning and incorporated them into the classroom (such as discussion rubrics). I also completed my final project for the Child and Adolescence class that will run over the summer semester. I look forward to the next class I will take in toward the E-Learner certificate. However, due to life happening, this might get pushed back a bit in the time frame.

It's March already!

Wow! How many people can say they have a new laptop after less than one year? I can. It's interesting to me that I bought a new laptop for $499 with 3GB versus the $599 I paid last May with 2GB. I wouldn't have bought a new laptop had it not been for the accident, but I like my new Toshiba. I bought my husband one too. I had to teach him how to turn it on and off. I'm very worried for him, new into the job market, with no computer skills.

This week in Assessment for E-Learning we had to complete our final assessment and submit it online for peer review. I love writing curriculum. I've now had the chance to do it twice and I really enjoy it. I like thinking about how to best meet the needs of learners. I also created a survey using Survey Monkey this week.

We only have 11 days until we leave for Jamaica. It has been so much more work this year than last year. Hopefully, we'll have smooth sailing until we leave for this year's Service Learning trip.

Just scribbling some thoughts...

I thought last week as a long week, but it just seems to have extended into this week. Last week Friday, I lost my wallet after I left it on the roof of the car- then we drove off. I found it Saturday morning after I spent an hour looking for it. Of course, it snowed Friday night so it was then snow covered Saturday morning. I was just so happy to find it! Then I went home to a broken washing machine. Apparently, washing machines will not cook Pasta Roni very much to the dismay of my toddler. We then left for Green Bay but rolled the truck prior to actually getting to Green Bay. Gotta love Wisconsin weather! The roads weren't much better driving home from Green Bay. About 45 minutes into our drive home (we split up our family and hitched rides home with other family members), I realized that I left my bag with my laptop and all of my school books in Green Bay. So, Sunday morning the kids and I drove back to Green Bay for it so that I could do my homework for Assessment in E-Learning and put together three PowerPoints for the classes I teach on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night after class my husband told me that his company would have layoffs coming in the near weeks due to low production (he's in manufacturing). Thursday afternoon he called on his way home, crying, to tell me that he had been layed off indefinately from his job of 18 years. It is the only job he's ever held in his field, as he worked there for half of his life. My heart is breaking for him, his loss, and the struggle he is going through coming from a predominately patriarchal family. Even though our week was tough, I know that it is nothing compared to what other families are going through. I thank God that we are all safe, healthy, and that I have a good job.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, And He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

A long week-in Wisconsin

Being an instructor and a learner simultaneously can be difficult but rewarding at the same time. This week I was introduced to a new Web 2.o technology: Go! Animate. Go Animate allows the user to construct a story line using animation. I found this technology particularly interesting and could see how it could be beneficial in the online environment for assessment for comprehension and application activities. In fact, I used it as an example in my Assessment for E-Learners class. I am hopeful that my classmates will provide feedback on my postings. This week I was particularly late in posting due to an automobile accident that we survived. Let's put it simply, I'm ready for the snow to melt and go away, and I pray that I will never, ever, roll inside a vehicle again. Progressive momentum is usually good... My module 5 assessment experience...

A higher level assessment activity could be to have students use Go! Animate to create a storyline that 1) defines ethics 2) defines libel and 3) provides defenses against libel suits. See the basic example I created: Go! Animate

The Jigsaw Midterm

This week I had the opportunity to complete the midterm evaluation using the Jigsaw method of assessment. For this group project, group members and I each selected a different assessment tool, researched the tool, and then put the findings together in a collaborative end result. Here is our final project.

I always think that one of the bonuses of researching something online is the side information that you are exposed to. For example, when I was researching Breeze, I found an extremely recent review of a new tool that is free and functions similar to Breeze: WiZiQ. During the discussion feedback portion of the course, a fellow student shared the software that they used to add video/audio to their project, Jing. Neat...one more resource for my toolbox to enhance my online classroom.

Jamaica 2009 Service Learning Trip

As part of this year's service learning trip to Jamaica, we will be documentating our daily adventures by blogging. Prior to leaving for the trip, I want you to get familar with the technology we will be using. First, you will need a Google account as we will be using Blogger by Google. Simply go to Google and register for a Google account. You will only need to have an e-mail address and a password to set this up. Once you have set up your Google account, you will see My Account in the upper right hand corner. Click on My Account and select Blogger. You will then be able to create your blog. This is your task prior to our next meeting. When you have finished your blog please e-mail me your url so that I may check out what you have begun.

Let me know if you need help!
Tammy

Concept Map for Week 3

My map is definately a work in progress, but Bubbl.us is very user friendly. I will be using it in the future and can see how it could be beneficial for students to use as a visual aide in learning.

Concept Maps

I learned this week about concept maps and how they help to connect outcomes with assessment. I didn't know know about either software we were able to use to design our concept maps: Bubbl.us or Inspiration. As we learned this week in the Bonk (2004) article, "Perfect E-Storm: emerging technology, enormous learner demand, enhanced pedagogy, and erased budgets" there are many different forms of technologies that one can use in an online course or integrate in the face-to-face class room. Bonk presented 30 emerging technologies and I bet I wasn't even aware of 50% of those listed. I completed the "Interactive inventory" by Langin & Gray, (2004). The language used within the inventory was new to me, as is most of the material presented in class that is common to those in education. We were also assigned to our small groups this week. Our small group will conduct our discussions in the group section of D2L. I think the Jigsaw concept of learning (which we will be using for our project) is time effective and a nice way to collaborate. I believe I have used this method before in the classroom, just that I did realize it had a name for the method.

I think I will really like to blog...

The creation of my blog was done with ease and in much less time than I anticipated. I believe blogging will really open a new door in the way I teach my classes. Human Services deals largely with written documentation. We constantly tell our students that it is important to write clearly and concisely. I could see how reflective blogging could help them learn how to do that. Can you imagine beginning a blog your first semester of college than comparing it two years later as you graduate? Wow! The journey it would cover. I was also excited this week to learn that blogging can be the way our students can document their Service Learning class in Jamaica. What a great assessment tool. I look forward to seeing what we will do next week in class. Learning is so much fun!

Class Wiki's

Our class has two wiki's. The first was created so that we could formulate rules of netiquette for our online classroom. The second was created this week so that all of member of class could post their blog's url.

What I have learned about educational blogs and how they will apply to my course planning.

Educational blogs can be an easy and time efficient way to update and maintain contact with students. They can also offer the reader quick access to additional information if the writer links the article to other sources. What I like about the linking within a blog is that when used properly, it can be a very nice demonstration of critical thinking skills for the author and help the reader learn to link the material and search outside of the original article.

Educational blogs will now apply to my course planning by implementation into my courses . I teach a class in child maltreatment and I could see how a blog could be a very nice way to provide additional support in the educational setting. The topic of child maltreatment is very complex and we often run out of class discussion time. I could see how a blog could be a great way to continue class discussion or even be a gathering point for information (though I think a wiki might be a better tool for the information gathering). Further, I could see the benefit using the blog creation as a great tool for the students to learn from just by creating their own blogs. The downside to this is that my student’s sometimes lack the necessary “verbal filter” that would be needed when writing to a global audience, so I would need to make sure I provide them with guidelines regarding what would be appropriate for their personal blogs.

Assessment: Teacher-centered or Learner-centered?

I agree with my results [that I am strongly learner-centered]. I believe that because I come from a social work background, I naturally try to help people help themselves. However, as a new faculty member, I tried to adopt the teacher-centered orientation at the advice of another faculty member. Ick! It did not work for me at all and did not work well in my classroom. One month into the semester, I ditched those methods and went back to my learner-centered approach. It worked much better and definately improved the feel of my classroom.

The first assignment for Assessment in E-Learning: Partner Introduction

https://uwstout.courses.wisconsin.edu/d2l/orgTools/ouHome/ouHome.asp?d2l_stateGroups=grid~gridpagenum~mycoursesstategroup&d2l_stateScopes=OrgUnitSession~GridPageNum~Search~PageNum%5EOrgUnitUser~LCS~MyCoursesStateGroup%5EUser~Grid~PageSize~HtmlEditor~HPG&d2l_statePageId=273&d2l_state_grid=mcg103~0~~Asc~~0&d2l_state_gridpagenum=mcg103_pgN~0&d2l_state_mycoursesstategroup=mcg103_tree~&ou=875456

"Good Morning All, It is my pleasure to introduce Tammy Gorski to our class. Tammy shared that she is a faculty member at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, Wisconsin. Where she teaches in the Human Services Associate Degree (2 year) program, which includes the following classes: Introduction to Counseling, Introduction to Human Services, Issues in Family and Child Maltreatment, Field 1 and Field 2 (Internship classes). Tammy also shared that she was an Advanced Practiced Social Worker in the State of Wisconsin.
Tammy loves to read, and has two young children. Tammy and her husband recently complete an addition to her home which doubled the size. Tammy also enjoys working on her farm, she shares as a “hobby for fun” Tammy lives in Mosinee, Wisconsin and she shared that if you imagine Wisconsin looking like a mitten, she was in the middle or about 2 hours north of our capitol, Madison. I asked her if she could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Tammy responded “There isn't anywhere else in the world I would rather be living. I love where we live. We have everything we need and have been blessed with wonderful family and friends. Even though it is a whopping 15 degrees F today, it is a beautiful day. I love our four seasons (not the "seasons" my husband describes: bow deer hunting (September - November), gun deer hunting (November), ice fishing (December to February/March), field work (April-August), fishing season (whatever time is left from May to June).”
-Joy Schiele Assessment in E-Learning Student

The Beginning

January 28, 2009

My very own blog! If someone had told me eight months ago that I would be creating and writing my own blog, I think I would have been very surprised. Since September 2008, I've turned from being technology illiterate to being someone who embraces the opportunity to learn new technology and use it in my classroom. It's so much fun to share with my students what I am learning. Some of them are skeptical, but I like to think that my enthusiasm is contagious.

Tammy