I love having short weeks. If only I could get the days off to be more productive. Oh well time to finish strong. Final projects are slowly coming along. Trying to do the research for it right now. I am having a hard time finding things to back up my project. It is getting a little frustrating at times. I will get through this rough patch though. Hopefully the weekend will help. Till next time.
 
Hello. Well this long week is coming to an end. I feel pretty worn out with juggling work and school. But on the other hand I am excited for the weeks ahead.

I hope that my final project turns out how I want it to. I have started to actually see if my idea is actually a viable option. I have to start mapping things out and putting more concrete ideas on paper. Check back and see how my project goes and give me feedback. Have a great rest of the week and also a great weekend.
 
Wow I had a good birthday weekend. Hope to extend it till next weekend. But we will see. I had some real interesting reading for the mobile learning assignment. I honestly place myself into the category of not turning my computer on unless absolutely necessary. I would say I do about 95% of things through my iPhone. Does that make me a lazy person? Maybe it does. But I think of it more as a convenience than anything else. If mobile learning is the future then I think I am on the right track.
 
Another week is in the books. Much reading to do for class this weekend. On a brighter note. There is no football this weekend for me so less preparation to do at work. This next assignment has me intrigued. From the reading that I have done so far. Seems really interesting. Can't wait to dig in to it when I get home. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
 
Had a nice talk last night with Emily about our group work. She had some great ideas. I hope that everything works out like we planned. I am excited to see the finished product. Hopefully others will like it too. Have a good week. Tune in for more updates later.
 
Hello Everyone.  So yesterday I was at an informational session on Ethics.  Everyone gathered in a big lecture hall and a lady stood in front talking and showing her slideshow.  I could tell that there were more than a few people thinking that this is all a waste of time.  So it got me thinking.  I thought "All this material and presentation could be done online".  It is almost as if I could visualize how the content and everything would be laid out.  Just made me think that time is becoming of the utmost importance.  The people that are there think that the meeting is a waste of time.  They could be more productive doing other work related things.  With the informational session online, staff members could login and view the session online at any time.  The session still could be interactive with questions or even an in session survey.  Also you wouldn't need to send out emails to everyone telling them to meet at a certain time and place. Everyone could fit it into their busy schedule at anytime. Maybe one day this idea could become a reality.
 
Well here we go again with another tool I have to learn. I am somewhat familiar with using Skype but I have never used Google+ before.  I don't think that it looks too difficult to pick up though. 

Last nights class session was good.  It was nice to see everyone online and active.  I think that the information given about APA style was very helpful and made me realize the things that I may have done wrong with my own assignment.  I also liked having the opportunity to work with others on the breakout rooms.  Although I am still finding it difficult to get used to writing on the whiteboards.  Anyway hope ever
 
So last weeks class session completely slipped my mind.  I wasn't gonna be able to make it because of work but still I don't know why I didn't remember.  Anyways hope everyone had a good weekend.  My weekend was kind of mixed.  On one hand Hawaii Football won but on the other hand my Cowboys got killed.

I worked on the Week 4 assignment this weekend.  It was a bit more challenging than I had expected.  I had never used APA style citations before so it took a little getting used to.  I had only used MLA prior to this.  I hope that I did everything correctly.  Anyways hope everyone has a good week.
 
After reflecting on the above material, you will have reviewed several research- and theory-based approaches to creating quality web-based education environments. Despite the plethora of information that exists about online instruction, as with all methods, optimal online teaching comes primarily with experience.  After perusing the above information and reviewing the presentation and given that you will be designing an online learning unit, how could this material help you?  What considerations seem to be most important for creating dynamic online learning? Why (be specific)?  Reflect on how the material might fit within your own work, community, or personal environment.

The material gives us a guide or framework as to how we can succeed in creating an online learning unit.  The presentation informs us of how to cover all aspects of multiple learners.  They also mention some of the Web 2.0 tools that are the best to use as well as what different combinations of media are most successful.  The R2D2 model covers in depth another framework that can be used to incorporate different activities for online learning.  I think that they are also trying to make the designers of these web based online instruction aware of the different types of learners.

The main consideration that needs to be addressed is how to deliver the subject so that it is effective to all types of learners.  Combinations of video, text, audio, and pictures need to be utilized in various ways for the students to best absorb and retain the information being taught.  In the presentation they talk about how multimodal designs produces higher performance than single mode designs.  I do think that another consideration is that you need to consider “the limits to the amount of simultaneous and serial information”(Menchaca 2008).  

Although I am currently not in a classroom setting I still see many of the changes that distance education and technology has gone through since I was an undergraduate. I think that many of the Web 2.0 tools available to not only students, but everyone has made distance learning and communication so much more possible.  Everyone is busy with their own lives and the time used for meeting or communicating is at a premium.  I think that everyone can use online learning in their lives.  It helps people learn when they have the time in their own schedule and can also be used as a reference for future use.  People are always trying to better themselves whether it is for work or personally and online training could be the answer to the satisfying this desire.
 
I guess I jumped the gun on starting this blog.  The excitement of starting something new must have taken control and I just jumped in.  I have never written a blog before.  My goal for this blog is a self reflection on aspects of ETEC 622 that I learn or things that frustrate me or things that I enjoy. 

The feedback that I would like to get from my peers would be constructive and honest.  I hope that I don't bore anyone or cause anyone to think blogging is not for them.