(Not) The End

Once you take the final exam, the class is over. I do have to grade any questions that have essay or short answers, and once I do that, you should see your score in My Grades in WebCT. You can use the syllabus to determine your final grade using your total points.

I've posted some final thoughts for you on the last page of the class wiki. It's interactive, with video, audio, animation and more!

While you're there, you can click on a link near the top of that page (or click here) to write and leave a sticky-note with positive suggestions or comments on the eme2040 wall.



Go forth and TEACH! (and use technology wisely to do it well!)

Dr. B

Goodbye PBWiki - Hello PBWorks

PBWiki has announced a name change to PBWorks.


If you created a wiki in PBWiki, it has a new name and address. See the FAQs. Yes, your old address should work, but you might want to make note of the change--especially if you are linking to it from your portfolio.

I'm glad they waited until your final project was due and graded!

PBWiki Enhancements

PBWiki announced some enhancements to their wiki software today:

• Starred Pages- Bookmark all important wiki pages and create a personal list of information that is important to you.
• Send a Link- Tell other members of your team that you’ve updated the workspace, or to call them to review, comment, or edit the page.
• Navigator- Quickly navigate to any folder, and browse all pages on your wiki. Also a quick way to view your Starred Pages.
• Threaded Comments (Premium Feature)- Now you can reply to comments!

Enjoy!

Podcasting and Wiki Assignments

This caught my eye this morning:

Podcasting Yields Higher Scores than Attending the Lecture

Although the research was conducted with university students, the finding are interesting to K-12 teachers, too. From the article: "...when students can pause, rewind, and rewatch a lecture they learn the material better. Podcasting lecture material has the added benefit of changing what can be accomplished during class time."

Since this week's assignment is on podcasting, I wanted to share that with you.

There was a second article, too. In two weeks, Project 3 is due. You'll be creating a Teacher Wiki, the beginning of a way you can connect with students and their parents. The author, Tony Vincent, says,"Many teachers have a class homepage because it is a place where they can share information, assignments, and web links." That's what you'll be doing in the Teacher Wiki. This blog article takes it a step beyond--to an ipod touch!

You can take your Teacher Wiki a couple steps beyond, too, by adding your Powerpoint (or a Powerpoint you design for your page) and/or your podcast (or a podcast you design for your page).

If you uploaded your Powerpoint assignment to Slideshare you're on your way. If not, you can do it or create a new one and upload it. See the directions here.

If you created a podcast using gCast for your assignment, you can use that. If not, you can create one using the directions in the podcast assignment.

Once you have your wiki page created, you can find directions for adding (embedding) your presentation and/or podcast using the directions I created for you. You might also be able to create and embed some media for your final project, so keep these in mind!

Reminder: Wiki Webinar Coming Up! (Teacher Wiki Coming Up, Too!)

Project #3 is a teacher wiki. You'll also be using a wiki for your final project. The course contains some links to tutorials, but there is an opportunity coming up that you might want to take advantage of:

You are cordially invited to a live online presentation (a webinar) called "PBwiki 101: Your Guide to Wiki Basics." This webinar takes place on Wednesday, March 4th at 1pm EST / 10am PST. Sign up for the free webinar here.

For your projects you can use PBwiki, Wikispaces, or WetPaint. Your choice. Sometimes seeing and hearing someone demonstrate the features can be helpful and can extend your online learning!

Image from WebGuild.org http://www.webguild.org/images/1211573010wiki.gif