Task_3 Reflection

The url to the Panda ScreenR presentation is http://www.screenr.com/uHh7

Over the past several weeks I had the previlage of working with an extraordinary team of dedicated students willing to accomplish all the skills needed to be either an educator in the future or reinforce their skill set as a educator now.  As we made this jurney through this semester together there was one attribute that stood out and that was communication.  We burned the forums up with chatter and even ised some social media to contact one another.  I felrt it was outstanding how a group of eople who had never had the opportunity to physicaly meet one another and only had a small idea of what they looked like from their picture profiles.
My contributions I feel were subtle and supportive.  For the final wrap up if this task, ideas and contributions were compiled together and ironed out. My biggest contribution was being supportive and being positive. 
The Pandas were an awesome group to be a part of.  I hope someday our paths will meet again as educators.
Aloha my PandaNation! 

Task_3-6 Reflection

As our semester winds down and is coming to an end, I was very fortunate to be a memeber of PandaNation.
Why is it important to use teams in PBL?
It is important to use teams in PBL because no one person has the solution to any one problem.  Especially when it comes to PBL.  The use of teams allow you to brainstorm with others regarding the same topic and provide more solution options.
What are some problems you see in student teams?
One of the biggest problems seen in students teams are conflicts in schedules.  Everyone has other obligations and commitments.  The key to this is communication.
What strategies can you use to manage conflict in student teams?
Using positive reinforcement and encouragement always helps people stay on task.  Delegate every student in an area or task we he/she has strength in.
Did the group have any quetions or problems this week? 
PandaNation had no real questions or concerns.  Althugh we all had so much going on with the holidays, all classes coming to the end of the semester and families, if there was any question, cummulatively we would work through and clarify our tasks. 
It was a pleasure being a part of such a professional and positive team where they exemplified their skills in communication and time management.
Pandas, thank you for making our team experience enjoyabe.  Best of luck to all of you in your future endeavors.

Task_3-5 Reflection

First of all, i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and squeezed in some time for a little relaxation with the family. This picture above represented the emotion I felt over the last week.  (AAaaaaaahhhhh!) But, the light is at the end of the tunnel and we are going to make it.
This week, I had little contribution as Kortnee took the leadership role and used our pass tasks to summarize our final submission. (Thank you Kortnee.)
Becuase of the holiday week, our communication was not as lively as previous weeks but, the memebers of PandaNation are professional and their work ethic is bar none.  I was surprised that there waas no Forum for this week but, again the Panda's powered through.  Not much encouragement was needed for members of the group as determination to enjoy a much needed holiday was definitely a goal.
As good as I feel our group is, there is always room for improvement.  At this moment i cannot think of any.  The memebers of the PandaNation make a great team. 

Task_3-4 Reflection

As we head down to the finish line of this semester, the compressed nature of balancing your school work, occupation and family begins to take a toll.  Afterall, at this time of the year it seems that everything and everyone needs your attention more frequently.  Here is where the kudos goes to my esteemed colleauges in PandaNation.  Regardless of the extra pressure from everyday episodes they continue to prevail with flying colors.  Our biggest attribute would be the continued use of communication.  I can only believe that we all wish all of our relationships, personal and business, would be as well communicated as our group has been.
My role this week again was a contributor.  I had contributed analogies of our task to sports.  Afterall, being a coach is somewhat of teacher.  I can honestly say that we use authentic assessment when during our everyday practices to evaluate players I.Q.  It is the mechanism we use to gauge a players progress and understanding of the concept and philosophy we are implementing.  i believe my analogy contributed to our groups task as it involved a real life situation that I had first hand knowledge of.
The only thing I could do better is to spend more time online with my wonderful group.  My authentic assessment of my fellow Pandas is that they are gaining the skills needed to be highly productive and successful in any work enviroment they land.

Task_3-3 Reflection

If there is one thing our PandaNation is good at it's comunication.  Our strength in this category is the base of our continued success at attaining our goals.  Our teamwork is persistent and unselfish. T.E.A.M truly means- Together Everyone Achieves More.
1) This week I chimed in personal information to give our scenario a ralistic feel. 
2) With that being said, I was again a contributor to our memos.  Our meeting on type with me gave us the opporunity to look over the drafts of the memos and we each took our turns proofing the writing.  After numerous times of combing through our memos, we democratically decided if the memos were complete or if anything else needed to be added.
3) Being that our grop has never met face to face, we have gotten familiar with each other through not only the forums but, social media and web 2.0 tools.  We give each other support by using our communication again.  We are always courteous of one another and always seem to let each other know the status of our progress.  Because the hectic schedules of each Panda, I gave some positive reinforcement in the forumwhich simply encouraged us that hteir was light at hte end of the tunnel and we were fortunate to have such cooperative members.
4) As a group we did not have any major questions.  We have had productive discussions that usually help remedy the problem. 

 

 

Task_3-2 Reflection

The role of leader for this week was taken by Landa.  She was energetic and frst to the task.  The rest of the Pandas were to contribute information on our topic.
As a contributor, I'd like to apologize to my fellow Pandas.  I had a really tough week as everyone else does but, my week was compounded with a car accident I was involved with on Halloween and a funeral to cap off the week.  I am one who prides myself on doing my part and holding up on my end of the deal and this week I was not able to contributw much.  So, again, I  woud like to publicly apoogize to my Panda Nation.
Communcation works really well with our group.  Everyone postas and responds in a timely manner.  Along with many good sources from researching, our Panda group works well together to get the task at hand done.
Continuing to our next task. whatever role I should have, I will strive to provide my best effort and information.
Mahalo to my Pandas for being so supportive and understanding in regards to my situation this week.

Task 3-1 Reflection

For the task this week, the topic of PBL was issued.  This week Kortnee really spear headed the task when she posted the first message in the forum section with the title "Busy week".  You can say that she set the tone for our Panda Nation group.  Soon after, we all had meeages on the forum and we unanimously chose Kortnee as the leader.  The rest of us Panda's were just researchers and information gathers.  As an researcher/ information gatherer, I patroled the search engines for more examples and information pertaining to our topic.  What I found was a lot of useful information and scenarios of PBL.  What relly went well this week is the communication our team had.  I actually got a tweet from Landa to quickly refer to the message forums.   Also, everyone seems to be on point and willing to contribute. Due to a conflict in schedule, I was not able to make the meeting scheduled by Kortnee.  I tried to be the best teammate possible as I provided the information I gathered to comlete our task.  I am disappointed that I will not be a part of the meeting that will polish the task to our end product.  For the next task, I will be more proactive to arrange my schedule to ensure my participation in our group meeting.  All I know is that my gropu of Panda's rock.

Week 10 Current Event Group Panda #5

This week's current event was internet skills, and our students should learn everything they need not only to succeed the classroom but, beyond in to the workforce.  For the 21st century learners, internet skills is an attribute we expected they have knowledge of,  just because of the generation they have been born into.  They are a victim of their technology generation  but, the basic skills are too many times overlooked.  After our forum discussions, the top 3 internet skills we decided on that would be both fundamental and beneficial to students. They will use these skills to excel in their current academic journey as well as prepare them for their futures, "real world".   Here are the top 3 we came up with.
1) Internet Terminology:  This may be a basic skill to open with for the learners of this generation but, although they are well inept to figure out computer baswed challenges, knowing the proper terminology could open up a whole new world for them to absorb knowledge. Terminology like web browser, URL, address bar, hyperlink and home page are used in the daily use of anyone that a computer is your vehicle to complete a task. you do not want to be greeted with puzzled expressions and a bunch of hands up in the air. Teaching terminology explicitly is a great way to make certain that your students can easily follow instructions. It is a basic knowledge, but it is something every Internet Expert needs
2) Search Engines: Knowing how to use search engines is an essential skill for doing research. There are many search engines to choose from but, the popular ones seem to be Google, Yahoo, and Bing. getting to know these search engines, will just aid students in narrowing down resources specific to their topic. So instead of students spending hours with their heads in books, or browsing through various web pages, the search engine could be a very resourceful tool.
3) Internet Safety: Another key but overlooked skill is internet safety.  It is of the utmost importance That you practice personal internet safety while surfing the world wide web.   Although you may be safe at home sitting in front of your computer, the dangers are real as you surf the net.  Their are many cyber predators that prey on young as well as inexperience users of the internet. It's the same as parents teaching their kids not to talk to stranger ont he street, the same rules should apply while engaged on the internet.  Do not connect with any unauthorized stranger that may attempt to message or chat with you while you are on a site or online program and never gie any peronal information that the stalker amy use to their advantage.  Another sub point in internet safety is the safety of others too. Using your comuter to bully or intimidate another is not proper netiquette. Nequitte by definition is the rules of etiquette that apply when communicting over computer networks.
These are three of the fundamental skills that all students should learn as their internet skills. 

 

 

Web 2.0 Tools

I had never heard f Web 2.0 tools before and I was extremely excited how these tools may benefit educators.  Because of the growing use of technology applications in the classroom,  I feel that the Web 2.0 tools provide another engaging element to capturing the attention of students.  Being that the Web 2.0 are so interactive, it creates a relevant learning atmosphere, which can also alleviate an educators concern of communicating with students.  The web 2.0 tool that I had chosen was wall wisher ( wallwisher.com ).  This tool is a great way to communicate assignments, announcements, post comments or questions and adding resource for both students and educators alike to refer to. This would definitely be a tool used in my classroom.  I may implement this tool outside of the classroom and in to our sports program. Here's my link again to view Wall Wisher.  screenr.com/bx98
Prior to using twitter as a source of finding information, whenever I needed to research a subject, I would just use search engines in google.  Having the use of twitter now as a resource provides a broader base of research as input from the twitter community is endless. 
Being that I have only been introduced to Web 2.0 tools through this exercise, I do not have any suggestions to make the applications better.  As I continue to use and experiment with the various web 2.0 tools, I will have a better analysis of what could be altered to improve it's effectiveness.  I am just glad that tools are available for this purpose and addresses another need we have as educators trying to reach the learners of the 21st century.

I feel so fortunate that we are learning simple techniques in social media.  With the speed of technology, I feel it is neccessary to keep updated with social media trends to implement in to teaching moments.  Prior to this activity I have been learning on the fly with Twitter for my job.  I currently used Twitter for networking of professionals and to follow trends that have impact in my business arena.  My business Twitter handle in conjunction with my personal handle, I have used information I have gathered from this class and applied them to be more efficient.  I think I will continue to use this social media outlet to stay on top of issues I am following.  I feel that a new teacher would find Twitter a valuable resource.  The new teacher could follow course topics and trend to keep teching plans fresh and up to date. 
My first attemot at screenR is at this address.

http://screenr.com/1j58 

Aloha-
My name is Randolph Sagon but, you can call me Randy.  Right now, my favorite techonological gadget would have to be my iPad.  It's only the 1st edition of the iPad but, I find it very useful for both my career and recreational uses. 
As required we will have to work in small groups.  My contributions to the group I am a part of would be the ability to complete tasks on a timely basis and my ability to research on the internet.
I look forward to meeting you all during our online course.

Randy
Please check out this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vil02nLfWM8&feature=colike