Blog Reflection #5

My "aha" moment occurred when I was learning about wikis and podcast.  One of the biggest challenges I face in my unit is how to provide training to unit members when our schedule is jammed pack. By using the technologies that we reviewed in this course, that can be accomplished.  I was really surprised how easy it was to create a podcast!  My philosophy hasn't really changed, but I now have some technological tools that i can use to make my training program more efficient.

Reflective Blog #4

I love this section of the course regarding podcats.  I did not know it was so simple to create one.  This will be a huge advantage in training my unit members.

• Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand?  I prefer online because of the ability to spell check and edit the document in addition to sharing it (as in a wiki)
  
• Have you turned your "remembering" (phone numbers, meetings, and so on) over to a technology device? Without a doubt, YES!  I can't live without my smart phone.  I synchronize with my work computers and I rarely miss a meeting...birthday... or anniversary  :-)
   
• Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA?  Usually I take my smartphone
  
• Are you constantly connected? Is the Internet always on whether you are at home or work? Is your cell phone always with you? Yes
  
• How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time?
  
• Do you play video or computer games?  Sometimes.  I'll play a game on my son's XBOX360.  I would not consider myself a "gamer"
  
  What generational category do you fall in or are you a mixture of a few?  I believe I am a mixture of a few categories.  I believe I am digitally literate and a non-traditional learner.
  
  
  This article focused on implications primarily for higher education; however, the characteristics for the Net Gen remain true for students in K12. What and how do we need to change?    I think we need to take advantage of the capabilities of the Next Gen student.  I feel that the basic structure of education is sound for the most part, however, we should make learning available everywhere.  Think of it as "Education & Training on Demand".  We can order a movie, watch some of it, pause it, and finish it later.  Education can be the same way.  Imagine a student able to review notes from a previous class a year later.  Imagine the ability to podcast a lecture and being able to rewind until you can comprehend it.

Reflection #3

I can understand the reluctance to create and maintain a portfolio.  To the students, it seems like the never ending homework assignment.  If you look at it from a professional view point, you will see the true value of it.  First, it can be an advantage over other applicants for a job you are seeking.  What if you are able to include a URL on your resume that a prospective employer can look at and get an idea of the level of knowledge you have acquired.  They can go beyond your work history and see your educational philosophy and examples of your work.  Second, the portfolio is an excellent tool to use on the job.  I plan to use my portfolio as a reference guide to things I have learned.  I also plan to include items that I have created on my job.  This would be a “refresher” to knowledge and ideas that I acquired in the past.

Although I agree with all of the tenants, I especially can relate to two of them; AFL should focus on how students learn and AFL should be part of planning, teaching and learning.  The biggest challenge I face as a training manager for my unit is how I can ensure my personnel receives quality training in a minimum amount of time.  People use digital technology today more than anything else.  My trainees can’t tell me when their course expires, but they can tell me what someone put on Twitter a month ago.  We must take advantage of the digital medium.  Since my trainees read blogs and wikis, my training must take advantage of this.  Everyone is very busy these days, but my applying my training to the environment that my trainees use hopefully they will digest it more effectively.  Also consider many web applications are now available on smart phones.  Students can have access to learning everywhere they go.     

Blog Reflection - Week 2

After completing the MAPping information activity, what are your reactions to your findings? What will you do differently while searching on the Internet for information now? How confident are you with the information you've used in the past (as part of your college career and/or in your profession)?

I found the MAPping activity to be interesting.  I always knew that there were sites like martinlutherking.org existed, but I did not know how to validate a site’s content.  In our society, everyone has the right to their opinions, in addition, it is extremely easy to get a domain name and add any type of content to it.  I will admit I always assumed that if the site’s content came from a credible source, such as an educational institution, that the information was reliable.  Going forward, I will definite validate they websites I am acquiring information from.

What are some implications for the future of our students if we fail to teach them these skills in school? After all, the schools may block access to sites, but students still have access at home.

It’s very important that we teach students how to validate information found on the internet.  If they do not validate their sources, they will input erroneous information into their assignments which could impact their grades.  I remember taking several classes where I had to turn in my resources before I started my paper.  I would have my trainees/students do the same and show them how to validate their sources of information.  

Do you see any advantages for organizing your information via Delicious and/or Google Reader? What are some ways you think you could use these tools in the future?

Time-saving is the biggest advantage to using Google reader.  I usually browse a few sites in the mornings while drinking my coffee.  Using Google Reader, I can view updated info on all of my sites much quicker.  I also plan to create a blog for my unit member s so they can communicate with me between drills.  This would be much faster than responding to tons of emails every week.

This week, you also explored the concept of wikis and created a wiki for a specific purpose. What purpose did you have in mind when developing your wiki and have you started to implement your ideas yet?

I’ve used wikis before but never considered creating one.  Considering the training challenges that I face in my unit, I think a wiki would solve a lot of issues.  While I was creating my wiki, I was thinking about what I could put in it.  I started creating an outline so I wouldn’t forget the topics I want to address.  I’ll fill in each topic as time becomes available.

What advantages do you see in utilizing wikis? What disadvantages do you see? Think back to the digital natives reading. How do wikis have the potential for engaging them?

For me, the wikis would be a tremendous help for training members in my unit.  We have a lot to cram into two days per month and often some training is left out.  By creating a wiki that they can access anytime they want, I’m hoping they can get some of the training that they are lacking during the weekend.

In exploring the eLearning Tools Wiki, what other web 2.0 technologies did you uncover that you want to explore further?

I'm pretty much going to use the blogs and wikis for my training needs at this time.

My Educational Philosophy

     Training is the cornerstone of our lives.  We are educated and trained to do things from the onset of our existence.  We are trained to walk and educated to become better walkers.  For years I always thought of the two as separate entities.  I felt that school educated me but my job trained me.  After serving in the Air Force for many years, I’ve come to recognize that both go hand in hand.  I am a training manager in the Reserves and we use technology as an important part of training our troops.  My educational philosophy is that we must train to educate.   

One of the biggest challenges that I encounter is when someone infers or assumes that an individual possess a certain level of knowledge.  I’ve experienced this first hand when I was in the Georgia Air National Guard.  Each military member goes through a series of training and is assigned a skill level based on the training received.  My old supervisor assumed that I was capable of performing certain tasks based on my skill level.  When she realized that I required more training, she was upset and my career suffered at that unit. 

A way this could have been prevented that I should have been trained on basic skills and procedures.  The entry level training would focus on the basics.  Strictly facts with little room for deviation from the basics.  This would provide a strong basis for advance training.  Without a basic level of comprehension, how can an individual be able to analyze real world situations and apply what they have learned? 

The role of the learner in the world of training is to absorb as much knowledge as possible.  This is done through a quality training program.  A big mistake that many learners make is to receive a little bit of knowledge and make assumptions on the rest of it.  We have all made that mistake many times.  Just because we can drive a car, that does not mean we are ready to race in NASCAR. 

Once the trainee has comprehended the basics, now there are ready to be educated.  This is where they are encouraged to think outside of the proverbial box.  One of my best trainers was a sergeant in the Air Force who forced me to apply my training to real word situations.  He was always available if something went wrong, however, he let me assess the situation and make a decision.  Soon, I was able to perform advanced job functions on my own.  When he retired, I was able to not only run the section, but make improvements in it as well.  There is no way I could have been able to do so without being educated on the job tasks.  Education is teaching the student to think critically and apply what they have learned.

The role of the trainer is to not only train the pupil, but to provide them with the education to be able to constructively think and apply what they have learned.    

A good trainer will not teach an individual how to perform a task, but also how to apply what they have learned to the environment around them.  Critical thinking is important for any situation.

      Too often assumptions are made regarding what a person should know.  In addition, many people attempt to make changes based on things they do not completely understand.  The best way to combat this is to train to educate.  We must train on the basics and educate to facilitate critical thinking.

Class Expectation

In this class, I hope to gain more knowledge about the latest innovation in educational technology.  I would like to use this class to enhance the way I currently train my personnel at my Reserve unit and my civilian job.  I love being in the training field and hope to be able to use the latest technologies to bring better training to my trainees.  I look forward to learning from not only Prof Wickersham, but the class as a whole.  I’ve learned a lot already in the first week! 

Creating a New Culture for Teaching and Learning

I found this to be a very interesting article.  I was particularly impressed by the automating vs informating passage.  In the IT world, the buzz word is to automate processes to make things go quicker.  If that same concept is applied to education, you are not solving the problem; you are actually multiplying it.  When we automate scripts for a program, if the program logic is wrong, it is now wrong throughout the application instead of a single location.  Society needs to focus on what is better instead of what is faster.