Final

It's finally time for my last blog post of the quarter.  I'd like to use this opportunity to sum up what I believe I have learned this quarter. The most important thing I've learned in the past 10 weeks is to keep a running list of Web 2.0 sites I use along with the username and password for each site so I can continue to access all of my accounts with minimal effort. There are simply too many of them to keep it all straight in my head.

The most useful technology I learned in this class was how to create audio over my PowerPoint presentations, export them as videos, and upload them onto YouTube. I'm sure I'll be getting a lot more practice with this process over break as I continue to add pictures and artwork to my current portfolio. I also have an incredible audio-recording device I can use instead of recording my audio live.

The most relevant website for me that we covered is webex. I don't think I'll need to record or present anything else anytime soon, at least one can only hope (the presenting made me so nervous I could barely get out any of the material I wanted to cover); however, knowing how to set up online meetings will come in very handy once I begin interviewing for new job positions.

I've also enjoyed this class tremendously. Learning how to use a few of these new technologies was a bit frustrating at times, and I could certainly use a more structured, linear environment for processing all of the new information, but, overall, I'm very glad I took this course, and I believe it will benefit me greatly throughout the future.

Functionality

     Recording a PowerPoint presentation is my favorite assignment we had for this class this quarter. I know my instructor is always saying how regular PowerPoint presentations are boring, but I disagree. You do so much in PowerPoint, and I haven’t even taken the class yet. I really look forward to taking the PowerPoint class. I think it’ll be awesome to learn how to use the software much more extensively. But with the amount of knowledge I do have and the features I do know how to use, I think making a presentation on it was priceless.

     Now I can use the software to make videos for YouTube. I can make a bunch of slides using whatever pictures, annotations, texts, and animations I want; then I can record my songs to use with the visuals. I think this approach will work a lot better than presenting a video of myself singing, which is what I have now. Watching me sit and sing in front of a blank wall is not very entertaining in my opinion.

     The best part of the Web-based Technologies class is that we’re learning to use technology that we are actually going to use in real life, and we are learning how to learn how to use new technologies so we will be better at adapting and adjusting to our ever-changing world. The flow of information and products available is evolving at such a fast pace, it’s not possible to keep up with everything. But if we know how to figure things out as we go, we’re much more likely to be successful. 

Freedom

     I am so glad I front-loaded the blog assignments. The end of the quarter always gets so crazy; my load is finally beginning to lighten up. Only my final projects are left to go. I still have a few blog posts to write, but other than that, I feel like I’m doing rather well at the moment.

     Learning the various web technologies had my head spinning for a while. I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to be learning or why I needed to know it. Now, I feel much more confident about navigating the web, finding the information I need, and locating helpful tools that ease the attempts I make at online communication with the limited hardware I have access to.

     I have to admit, I felt very professional sitting in the Learning Lab with my headset on and my webcam set up. It seemed like the whole world was available to me through the digital technology before me. I also felt competent with what I was doing. The technology didn’t always work the way I was expecting it to, and downloading the programs I needed to use was challenging. It also seemed to take forever to get everything up and going, plugged in, set up, and coordinated with the system; but it got there.

     I look forward to using all of this technology in my new career path. I need to make sure I have better tools – my own headset that won’t rub the top of my head raw – but with a minimal monetary investment, I can accomplish anything I need to do from anywhere I’d like to be. That’s a very freeing feeling.  

Balance

I’m so fried by mid-quarter, I don’t know how I’m ever going to make it the rest of the way through. Between two jobs, four kids, and going to school full-time, my week is consumed by constant busyness. How do I achieve adequate self-care to keep myself going? Is there a way to maintain enough balance between work and play to prevent total breakdown?

In Web-based Technologies, we learn about how social media and collaboration software can contribute to a positive work environment. We receive an introduction to various forms of digital technology, all of which claim to save time and make life more convenient, which is true in many ways, undoubtedly. However, there’s not a lot mentioned about precautions we need to take to ensure the use of technology doesn’t consume us and take over.

As with any other life-benefiting tool, technologies possess the power to help or to harm humans, depending on our responsible or careless use of it. The ability to work from home allows us the opportunity to get all of our work done in our pajamas while tending a sick child and avoiding an atrocious commute. Yet it also affords the chance to isolate from the rest of reality until we cease to function as a normal part of society.

Therefore, while it’s absolutely imperative to be able to negotiate web-based tools, it’s also important to learn the rights and responsibilities which accompany such an awesome privilege. The accountability aspect seems to be missing from the curriculum, so far as I can tell. We are blessed to live in the information age, where everything we could ever want or need to know is simply a few clicks away at most. But now that we have this endless supply, whatever are we to do with it?

Practice

     It was really hard for me to participate in class online because there were too many distractions going on around me and in my head, and I was in the learning lab. I don’t know how I might ever be able to actually work from home where the distractions are many fold. I already had other tabs open on my PC; I was pursuing other interests online while waiting for class to start. Also, I was able to browse through YouTube on my own as the instruction was progressing. I had difficulties following along as I only had one screen available. I couldn’t see what the instructor was walking us through and my own account for the site at the same time.

     However, it was pretty cool to be able to receive moderator privileges and share the quick little test video I made using my webcam with the rest of the class. I just wish I were able to see what it looked like from the perspective of another student as I was playing through it on my own machine. I know it’s supposed to look just the same on their display area as it does on my monitor, but I would have liked to have been able to see it both ways at the same time. Hopefully, we’ll be able to walk through it all again in class next week so I can see my neighbor’s screen and my own screen at the same time. That would be cool. 

Issues

     Today it took me 45-minutes to get all of my technological pieces set up and ready for use. I certainly hope it doesn’t take this much time in the future. I had to check out a webcam from the library because, although my MacBook has a built-in webcam, I wasn’t able to figure out how to use it for Blackboard Collaborate. I also have a headset with a mic that I checked out from the library, too.

     When I finally got all of the webcam software up and running, I still had to get onto the Blackboard Collaborate site. It took forever to get everything loaded and working properly on the computer in the Trio Learning Lab. The computers here are usually really fast, but when I bogged it down with all of the equipment I was using, it slowed down significantly.

     I wasn’t able to get Blackboard uploaded on my own. It seems like any time I try to use a new piece of technology, I get lost in the process or end up going in circles with the computer asking me whether I want to open the file or save it and what application I want to use to run the software, and I have no idea what program does what with which format or anything. It’s all very confusing for me. I want the computer to just already have everything on it that I need to use so I can just sit down at it and get all of my work done.

     Now, I’m tired and frustrated, and I still have a bunch of homework left to do before I have to get to work this evening. Here’s hoping for everything else to go more smoothly for the rest of the day.

Collaboration

     Today, we discussed Google Docs, which is something I’ve been very interested in learning about. I’ve had several students in the Learning Lab present their homework assignments to me in Google Docs instead of in a Word Document. It’s a foreign concept to me, and I still think it’s better to use Word if you’re not collaborating with other individuals on an assignment, but I feel relatively comfortable using the program now for the group assignments we are responsible for completing this week.

      The problem with doing a group project, for me, is finding the time to do more homework. I’m already running from work to class to the library to work again without so much as a lunch break. My nerves are getting worn thin, and we’re not even halfway through the quarter yet.

     I am really looking forward to the group project though as it will be great experience working with someone over a long distance without any face-to-face time. I still prefer to be in the physical presence of another person. There’s a palpable energy present that simply doesn’t transfer through any form of technology. But it’s an invaluable resource to be able to communicate and get work accomplished with another individual even when there’s no possible way to meet at the same time or in the same location.

     Exploring alternative forms of collaboration software for this week’s discussion is also a helpful assignment. There’s so much information out there about an abundance of products currently available; it’ll be great to get some feedback and recommendations.