Home safely

Home safely and a bit rested. Now I get to start working on the Integrated Lesson Plan and the Prospectus (woohoo!!). Just thinking about the prospectus makes me feel that all too familiar feeling of being OVERWHELMED again. "swimming, swimming, swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming" has become my mantra. Thank you to all of you from EDUC 730. I learned more than I expected. I guess with technology changing so quickly, that should not have been a surprise. I showed my daughters the I-Pad movie on YouTube and they loved it. Thank you Dr. Holder for a great week. I really appreciate the explanation about the dissertation.

Mark

EDUC 730 Day 5 (Friday) FINAL DAY!

LAST DAY !! We did our presentations today. It was amazing today how consistent the themes were across all of the groups. I enjoyed hearing about the research that has been completed in technology. The best part of the class, however, was when Dr. Holder explained about how to do prospectus assignment. He laid out the process and expectations very well. I only hope that I can meet the expectations !! His explanation of how to arrive at what needs to be researched was amazing. It tied together so much of what I have learned over the years in my classes. Even though I have done work in graduate research before, I never really understood the path of research and how one part related to another. I am looking forward to moving ahead with a renewed determination to find a good topic to research for my dissertation. I know that it will be difficult, but the tassle is worth the hassle!!

Doing this blog has been interesting. I think I am too busy to keep it up regularly, but I will continue to add comments occasionally.

To my classmates,

Thank you for the week. I enjoyed learning from each of you and learning more about you and the schools you are from. If there is anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask and I will do my best to help (you have my email).

EDUC 730 Day 4 (Thursday)

Today we did some really cool stuff! We used Windows Movie Maker and learned how to make transitions. We also did some work on Audacity. I really enjoyed learning about the process of editing in Audacity and making a new conversation from only part of a conversation. Today was a great day! Here is our group's attempt at a movie.

Educ 730 Day 3 (Wednesday)

Today, among other things, we made WebQuests. My group's is published at this link: http://questgarden.com/q/fire

We hope you enjoy the Quest!! It was an interesting experience because everyone seemed to see things that could be done better.

Got a tiger by the tail

Well, I didn't quite get finished with my Photoshop project today and I don't have the program on my computer, so this is my first attempt at trying to "layer" pictures. I had planned to have the plane flying over some clouds. It was a fun practice and if I get a chance tomorrow I will try to finish it. However, the presentation is looming big on Friday and I am beginning to feel utterly unprepared! So, back to the Lit Review.

A Vision of Students Today-Think about this !!

Did You Know? 3.0 (FULL VIDEO) - 2008 Latest Edition

Educ 730 Day 2 (Tuesday)

Did you know? What a cool video! (Click Here to see the Blog where the video is from or see the "Did you know 3.0" blog I posted to watch the video.) I knew technology was moving quickly, but I didn't understand how quickly (though I thought I did). And how big are China and India? I have been contemplating these concepts today and trying to visualize what my 1st grader will be doing when she graduates from high school.

Here is my perspective: I can remember owning an HP-41C calculator and learning that and HP-41CV (the next version up) was used as the back-up computer to help land the Apollo on the moon. To imagine that I have more computing power in my cell phone than was used to get to the moon back in 1969 blows my mind!! My first computer had a 40 MB (that's MEGABYTE) hard drive. Now I have a 4 GB (that's 102.4 - 40 MB hard-drives) thumb-drive in my pocket!!!

Today was a great class, just more information than we should have covered in a whole week! Well, I'm off to continue working on the group project (Lit Review). AAAARRGGGGHHH !!!!

EDUC 730 - Day 1

Wow!! What a day! The first thing that hit me today was Dr. Holder's expectation that we are earning our Doctorates, not just for the raise, but because we should expect to continue to add value to the field of education. I felt his passion about that and it caused me to remember back to the reason I started this quest almost two decades ago. I wanted to make a difference and change the world. I'm 20 years older now, and I realize that I may not be able to change the whole world, but I can change the world around me and influence the world around those I love and care about for the better.

Then we discussed a few of the ways that technology, if used appropriately, can improve education and our society. All in all it was a very good day. I have tons to do tonight for my portion of the Lit Review, which is still quite overwhelming, but I am trying to take Dr. Holder's admonition and not stress. With God, ALL things are possible.

Mark

Getting ready

Just got back from our "Father's Day" celebration at the in-laws. Now getting ready to go to Lynchburg tomorrow. Haven't been able to sleep the last couple of days - nerves I guess. So, I'm really tired and going to bed early tonight! I'm looking forward to the next week in Lynchburg. I just submitted my application for parking privileges at LU today. Hope it wasn't too late. Looking forward to learning more about technology for my classroom. See you on Monday!!

Sneak Peak

It is very interesting getting a "Sneak Peak" into what is going to happen in the class next week. For all of you who are posting good stuff, thank you. I am really sorry I was unable to be in class with you this week, but I am looking forward to next week. (I already had all my Lit Review research completed and then had to switch groups with the new class. Oh well, as Shane says, "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming".) Thank you for all of your prayers.

Mark

New Class

Well, after waiting for technology to catch up with real life, I am finally a member of Dr. Holder's EDUC 730 class. My back is recovering, VERY SLOWLY. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment because I had tons of research for my group in Dr. Dunn's class, now I am in a brand new group. Oh well, that's how the ball bounces. Just keep jumping through the hoops is what my wife tells me and to quote a former classmate and famous Disney fish - "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. . . " See you guys next week.

Mark

PS The test doesn't follow the book (Tech Tactics) very well and it has a number of answers that are incorrect. Dr. Dunn has said he was going to look into it.

Back problems

Sorry folks, but I will be missing Dr. Dunn's class because of a recurring back injury. I look forward to staying in touch with this blog thing though. Good Luck and may God Bless each of you with the righteous desires of your hearts.

Just remember. Never, ever, ever quit. Keep on swimming, swimming, swimming. The tassel is worth the hassle! :-)

Mark

Overwhelmed!!

Just doing some reading and trying to find more articles for the Lit Review. I'm also worrying about the WebQuest. I looked at the rubric and have never seen one that expected so much in so little. At least now I know what to shoot for. I went to that website Zunal.com and boy, is it busy! So much stuff there! Oh well, to quote a fellow classmate/blogger and a little fish "just keep swimmin', just keep swimmin' . . . " :-)

Techtonics test

Is anyone else having problems with this test? I am seeing weird markings in the questions. I am also finding questions with two possible answers. Very little of the test is found in the textbook. Does anyone else feel my pain?

Mark

Sweet expectations!

I have completed the surveys and quizzes. Now I am beginning the readings. I am really looking forward to this class and learning more about technology in the classroom.

Mark