Thursday was far more productive and less stressful than I thought it would be.  Our group worked smoothly together and was able to produce a quality presentation that I believe will be informative and interactive.

The lecture this morning on software programs for audio, video, and picture editing was helpful for educational pedagogy.  I can see how I can use this for my students at the higher education level. They can use this software to do a digital portfolio regarding their student teaching experience. 

Also, I have been working on my WebQuest and am looking forward to using this with my higher education students.  They can use this program to engage their students in their future classrooms, and the experience of creating their own will be beneficial, hands-on, relevant learning for them.

I am looking forward to doing our presentation tomorrow and seeing my family again.

Well, as can be expected, Wednesday was a little bit informative, a little bit celebratory, and a little bit overwhelming.  The information gleaned from the presentation regarding research design, second life, webquests, and other research tools was helpful and will be even more helpful during my Qualitative course that I will be starting in a few weeks.  The celebratory factor was the fact that we are over halfway finished with the face-to-face portion of the class.  That does not mean that I don't want to be here at Liberty, that just means I am closer to being home again with my family.  The overwhelming portion comes from the group work to a certain extent.  As with all groups working together, it is more of a slow crawl than a sprint to complete tasks, so the frustration point came today.  I feel we are going to be fine, but it is getting closer to the presentation day, so stress levels are high.  I will certainly be praying for my group members and our efficiency.

Tuesday was insightful in helping me to understand more about using EndNote and SMART technology.  EndNote has so many implications for research and I have already mastered researching using the Liberty Online Library system as well as exporting articles into EndNote.  Today when our group was working, Chris was able to insert a citation into Word to place all of his EndNote articles into Word as a reference list by using a generic term such as "education".  I am the member of the group tasked with compiling the reference list, so I really appreciate him doing this.  Now at least one person's research is not provided in the reference page.

SMART technology is a great tool to use, especially when making graphic organizers.  When teaching in higher education, I now know that I can use this technology in organizing ideas and even presenting lessons with my students.  Like Dr. Dunn, I usually teach how to teach young children how to use a SMART board (but on a much more basic scale).  Seeing how it can be used in my own classroom was truly enlightening.

I really appreciate the time spent going over expectations for assignments, as this gives me peace of mind.  I need a detailed description of assignment expectations, and having an opportunity to have a conversation regarding this has been extremely comforting to me.

I am looking forward to learning about WebQuests tomorrow and working with my group again.

Day one of EDUC 730 was great.  Having a chance to have an overview of the course and meeting others in the course was helpful.  I actually felt accomplished that I was one of the students able to connect to the internet without instructor support.  This is important to me merely because I had significant difficulty when I came to the winter intensive. 

The discussion on philosophy was also helpful for me to categorize what I have learned previously.  I never thought about how behaviorism is not inherently Christian.  I have been inherently cognitivist and constructivist all of my educational career, and hearing a Christian perspective in person was extremely validating for me.

My thoughts on technology range dramatically.  On one hand I feel competent and capable of working with technology.  In some ways, I sometimes feel like the "big fish in the little pond, and in others, I a the "little fish in the big pond". In my former job as an administrator in a large Head Start program, I was one of the most technologically savvy administrators there.  In my current job as a professor at a local university, I am definitely not as tech savvy as those around me. 
I am proficient enough with email, word processing, making tables, typing data into excel spreadsheets (I still don't know how to do formulas in excel, however), use Blackboard and Angel, hyperlink, use Power Point and write my own with effects, timers, etc., and navigate the internet.  I am not comfortable with newer programs such as Prezi, wikispaces, webquests, etc. and items such as smart phones, iPads, and e-readers.  I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the rate at which technology evolves and my time to spend learning new things.  I am an educational leader that should be up-to-speed on technological trends.  I am very grateful for the amazing opportunity to work online for my doctorate degree.  As a result, I am looking forward to learning as much as I can during this intensive to help me to understand more of the basics and to enhance my knowledge of newer trends related to educational settings.

New Process

I am excited and anxious regarding this process.  I never blogged before and don't understand all of the "ins and outs" of it.  I am, however, very happy to be starting a new journey regarding technology to enhance my technological skills and conceptual knowledge to help me as an educator and as a student.  I am most looking forward to getting back on campus at Liberty to meet more professors and students in the online Ed.D. program.