(ETEC 527) Adventures in Aggregating Pages

Good Evening,

My name is Ralph E. Emig Jr. and what follows is the result of my “Aggregating Pages Adventure” assignment for my ETEC 527 Web 2.0 Tech for Instruction class conducted the week of 2/6/2017.

 

Aggregate.  According to definitions.net, an aggregate is a material such as sand or gravel used with cement and water to make concrete, mortar, or plaster….  “That sounds about right” I thought to myself when I first opened up the Protopage website, I had never seen anything like it before except once when my computer had contracted a virus and I was mercilessly attacked by pop-up windows but this was much, much worse.  I felt like I was wading through “concrete” while being “plastered” in the face by “mortar-rounds” of information.  In response, I shut down my computer and went to bed.  It had been a long day at work and that much material crammed into such a small space made my head hurt.  Much to my disappointment, the following day when I logged back into the site, nothing had changed.  The whirlwind of data was still there mocking me, taunting me, whispering “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” (Dante’s Inferno) and that “Strength is irrelevant.  Resistance is Futile” (Locutus, previously known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation).  My dread was palpable.  I had absolutely no idea how I was going to accomplish this week’s task of creating my own aggregating page using Protopage.com so I switched gears, and websites, and next visited Netvibes.com.  This Web 2.0 Tool looked much more promising.  Netvibes appears to be much more user friendly, easier to navigate, and nowhere near as overwhelming and cluttered looking as Protopage. 

 

I almost chose Netvibes but something in the back of my head, probably that rotten little, self-destructive homunculus of mine, kept calling me back to Protopage.  For once I’m glad I listened to him, unlike the time when he suggested that I could fly if a simply ran fast enough and jumped high enough off my parent’s roof… thank goodness it was only a one-story home and much like “Bumbles” (Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer) I too bounced!  Where am I?  Oh yes, Protopages.  I’ve always tried to steer-clear of anything too new and difficult looking, “Mediocre, that’s my Motto!” but, as I have walked down that road, although it’s safe it’s also boring as Hell.  I figured “What have I got to lose?” and well, I can say with all assuredness that it hasn’t been boring.  The Web 2.0 Tool Protopage is pretty amazing.  On a scale of 1 to 10, its versatility scores a solid 11.  I know what you’re thinking, “Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?”  Why you ask, well the answer is right there in front of you isn’t it, “These go to eleven.” (This is Spinal Tap)  I was able to completely customize this page to my particular needs/wants and so can you.  I cannot say with a clear conscience that it was easy, anything but.  It took me about 2-3 hours before things really started to get interesting and by the third day; it’s hard to believe that I had a hand in its creation.  My site is easy to read, has a wealth of information, and looks very professional.  I feel confident that I’ll be able to modify this one or create another Protopage to better suit the needs of my future teaching position, wherever and whatever that may be.  If you’d like to visit my Protopage and see what a novice like myself is capable of then please follow the link below.

http://www.protopage.com/reemig67

 

Features: 

          The Web 2.0 Tool Protopage allows users to connect with information from all over the Internet including links to Podcasts, Twitter Feeds, Blogs, News Feeds, Web Pages, and Google Maps.  Other items such as bookmarks, an email preview box, local weather, a calendar, digital clock, and even a sticky note feature make this website your one-stop-shop, an “Aggregate” of pertinent information collected in one easy to access location.  All we need is time and to give ourselves permission to succeed in implementing new technologies over time.  The quality of your work will increase until you really have something special to call your own.  The same is true for Web 2.0 Tools today just pick one, delve into it deeply, give yourself time to really get to know the application before trying something new, and the quality will come and the late nights and early mornings will decrease.   

 

Thank you for this opportunity, I would have NEVER tried this Web 2.0 Tool had it not been a requirement of this class.  It’s remarkable what can be accomplished when we leave our comfort zone behind and embrace something new.  Simply Amazing.

 

(ETEC 527) YouTube and Twitter Adventure (Continued)

YouTube Adventure
 

                I have been using YouTube for educational purposes most of my adult life….  Who am I kidding?  Just like many other users I use this Web 2.0 Tool for fun, to watch videos of cute pets being adorable and also people doing stupid stuff on film.  Rarely if ever do I use YouTube for anything constructive like coursework or as an instructional aide and I certainly never bothered to take the time to open an account, that is, until this week, and now everything has changed.  We were tasked with not only creating a YouTube account but also a series of 5 playlists including:

 

·       Videos on using Twitter and Twitter tools

·       Videos on using Wikispaces

·       Videos on Web 2.0 tools for learning

·       Videos related to one area that you currently teach or might teach when you do get to the classroom (LibGuides).

·       Playlist of your choice

      (Incorporating Web 2.0 Tool into the 21^st Century Classroom)

 

     I thought the process would be convoluted and frustrating, much like transferring a Word document into Google Sheets.  I love how it randomly makes changes to my original document including the page layout, spacing, font size and color, etc… that’s 45 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.  But, setting up a YouTube account was a piece of cake and while the creation of playlists and addition of videos took a little experimentation, I had my channel up and running in no time.  This is something which I should have done years ago when I was still teaching.  I could have easily created this channel to incorporate video presentations into my classroom instruction, saving them to be reused year after year, adding to the already strong instructional program I was fortunate enough to be a part of for 15 years.  Wow!  If I had only known then what I know now.  I was raised in the school of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  I felt that Change was scary, technology is change, ergo technology is scary!  I should have made myself get out of my comfort zone to try new things but alas, I did not.  This technology class has thrown me into the deep-end of the pool and, despite my long held beliefs, I find that I can Swim!       

 

*But remember this:

When introducing something into the classroom, especially a video, it is vitally important to preview it first to insure that there is nothing inappropriate or offensive to the students viewing the material or their parents.

 

The Twitter Adventure Continues

      Last week’s exploration of Twitter left me having to grudgingly admit that “Twitter could have a potential place in my world as an educator, possibly... Maybe, we’ll see.”  This past week I have spent many, many hours exploring Twitter’s potential integration into a classroom environment and I am more than a little impressed with some of the creative ways educators have chosen to use this Web2.0 tool within their instructional model.  For instance, when I was still a 7^th grade honors pre-algebra teacher, I would spend a great deal of time every week posting my weekly lesson plans including information on upcoming assignments, quizzes, tests, projects, etc… through our on-line gradebook program only to have my students and parents tell me that they “didn’t know about the homework assignment” or “when the unit review was due” or my personal favorite “What Test!?!”  This was a constant source of irritation and concern, sometimes I felt like I was just wasting my time and knew there had to be a better way of informing them beside or in addition to what I was already doing.  Enter Twitter.  What an incredibly simple yet effective idea, I could have simply set up a Twitter feed dedicated specifically to important class information, simple, effective, problem solved.  These Tweets could have included a reminder of my tutorial times, assignment & review due dates, late work submission deadlines, upcoming quizzes, projects, or quizzes, the end of each grading cycle, and STAAR testing dates.  I really missed an opportunity to work “Smarter not Harder.”  Any downtime I could find during the day was dedicated to calling and emailing parents, sending home reminders, and reminding students when I could have simply used the direct message feature on Twitter to speak privately with them.  I feel a little silly looking back now in the realization of how much more effectively I could have communicated this pertinent information, “Live and Learn.” 

 Other ideas for Twitter integration within an educational setting which spoke to me include:

·         Connecting Classrooms – Allowing my pupils to interact and collaborate with students from other classes, schools, cities, states, or even other countries on shared projects.

·         Facilitating Exploration – By using Twitter’s search engine to introduce and investigate new concepts.

·         Posting Sample Questions – By using Twitter to post sample questions to upcoming assignments/tests.

·         Facilitate Discussion – By carrying on a discussion, within the classroom completely on Twitter allowing all an equal voice in the conversation especially including those who do not feel comfortable contributing verbally in class.

·         Posting Syllabus Changes

·         Polling Students – Involving students in the decision making process of what types of activities, assignments, and/or projects to use within the class.

·         Teach Probability – By having students respond to broad, general questions and then chronicling and charting the results through @replies.   

·         Post Weekly Math Puzzles – By microblogging a problem of the week which students work on, solve, and then Tweet back their solution.

·         Post Videos – By using Twiddeo, a service which allows users to send Twitter updates via video, to post clips of instruction for students who are absent or those who simply need to review a specific topic.

·         TweetStats – Allows users to input account information to create a bar graph showing how and when an account is used.

·         Networking with other “Like-Minded” Educators

·         Summarization – Twitter can be used as an “Exit Ticket” for students to summarize, in 140 characters or less, the day’s lesson while also messaging any questions they might have on the topic.

And finally,

·         Join #educhat – is a community dedicated to help inform teachers of the latest trends in educational design, philosophy, and instructional technology.

 I’m just starting to appreciate the versatility of Twitter.  There’s so much more to Tweeting than I realized and I am just starting to scratch the surface. 

More to follow…