Tuesday, February 12, 2013

EDLD 5366 WEEK 5 REFLECTION



My self assessment of the website assignment holds both positive and negative implications. The creation of a website for learning purposes is critical for educators. The future of learning and education is in technology. The assignment was truly designed to make students aware of the importance of websites for education as well as to learn how to build the content. I did not care for the group project aspect. It is very difficult to communicate with group members (in my experiences) with their work and family time.
I did learn new information such as how to edit and add new features to the Google site. From pervious class only select items were required to be posted on the site but through this course I had to learn how to add images, change text, and videos.
My personal experience with this assignment has changed the way I look at classroom websites as well as website content for educators. The website is necessary to collaborate with others in the profession as well as share one’s own ideas and thoughts.
My approach and strategies for this assignment were a combination of my previous learning, website development, and my collaboration with my group members. We had to decide who would work on what aspect of the site then formulate a plan to follow through. 
My learning and interaction with my group members was a very positive experience filled with new elements of design principals.  I had never created an animation before, neither did most of my group members, but we did a great job. My group members were terrific about working on the website; with our expertise in specific fields we believe our site is top notch!
In the future I will try to embrace the group project aspect more. I was dreading it from the start but my team members were faithful to our work assignments and made it a worth-while endeavor. I also learned the importance of website technology for educators, they are key components for colleagues to stay in touch as well as learn new materials.
Questions for the future include: Just how far will technology go in education? Will students want to deal with technology in the classroom all day and every day? How much training to educators need to become more technological to better serve their students and colleagues? The resource: Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating Multimedia in the K-12 Classroom details how we learn with technology and what we can expect technology in the future with students and teachers. It is a great resource for any educator to possess. Educators should read this selection before creating their website so they can build it with students in mind, how they learn and how they react to technology.
Websites introduced into a K-12 grade classroom should be engaging and interactive for students to get the most out of them. The C.R.A.P. principals should be in place so the site does not become “boring” or lost in the mix of every other educational website. The Non- Designer’s Design Book has many examples of C.R.A.P. elements of design that should be used when creating a website for educational purposes. The website should not be strictly educational, but a mix of student and teacher collaboration, such as a form of social media for the classroom. The website should allow students to ask questions and interact with each other, to form study groups. Features should also allow the teacher to view student progress so they can adapt their lesson plans to suite their students.  The Multimedia Applications for the Classroom resources should be implemented upon creating a website for students and educators. It details what exactly and how exactly things work in “technology speak” using tech terminology.
References
2.      Multimedia Applications for the Classroom. Multimedia Applications for the Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cited.org/output_pages/printDefault.aspx?page_id=106

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