Emily Gung's Class Portfolio
for EDIT 6150E w/ Professor Choi
Summer 2008
Showcasing my:
PT Reflection: Although I had been using productivity tools for over 5 years now in my teaching, it was very interesting to explore the idea of co-creating or co-crafting these productivity tools along with my students or users of the productivity tools. Their input into the design and creation of these tools, added ownership and enthusiasm, as well as utilized the expertise or funds of knowledge already existing in the classroom or in the learning space. It was challenging to negotiate the smaller or finer details of these creations with my students. For example, one of my students wanted to get rid of a part which I liked, and we had to negotiate through this in order to move on, but the students got to know more about me and I got to know more about them, so it was a mutual learning experience. I'm glad we were able to see things differently, as it gave me more perspective. Perhaps next time, I'd split up the responsibilities better and match the productivity tool with what the students preferred to work on.
CT Reflection: I had a wonderful time crafting this sort of fancy "calculator". I think the most challenging aspect of the assignment was trying to do the same thing in MS Access, which is database friendly, and more conducive to a survey style compilation. Although the students may have enjoyed seeing the bar go up and down so immediately, I'm not sure if it was absolutely necessary. If I could do this over again, and if I had more time, I would have crafted this in MS Access and created a web-based template page where students could enter their information and have it compiled and analyzed automatically in a database-style output.
SLQP Reflection: One of the most surprising thing I learned in introducing this project to my classmates in the discussion forum I lead, was that there were so many hesitations and questions about the project, yet great enthusiasm and support for its possibilities. Although 100% of the class voted that they would use SL in their classrooms, almost everybody in the class had never even tried or gone on SL ever, nor were they so "bought" into the idea, that they could dive right into the project. It was mind-boggling how the class tended to take extremes on the matter. The oxymoronic nature of their responses certainly did contribute to the challenges, but I'm glad that it was perspective-placing or at least, interesting to the students. If there were a way I could do this project over again, and especially if I had more time, I'd craft out a specific SL Quest Project for each of the WebQuests that were proposed by each student in the class.
OEP Reflection: My main goal was to integrate Web 2.0 technologies into the our organization's website, but I realized and learned very quickly on, that I had to dedicate a large part of my time learning how to use as well as code the technologies into my existing website -- this was challenging, since I had very limited time! So, I had to dedicate my energy and effort in learning and coding 3 of the 11 Web 2.0 technologies I wanted to use. This covers at least most of what the users needed and hoped to have in their website. Perhaps next time, if I have more time, I'll try to figure out how to add "uploading" features and technologies, as well as other Web 2.0 technologies connected to the site, to make it more user-friendly and accessible across sites.
TILSC Reflection: I learned a lot about how to integrate not only myself and the technology, but also my students and their learning, especially as it relates to development and synthesis. The most challenging part of this paper was to tiptoe around the ageness of some of the ideas in the readings assigned. I would have loved to see something newer and more recent. I had some problems with the older definitions and terminologies that were used, and critiqued some of that in my paper. Nonetheless, I am grateful to have a chance to think deeply and creatively with this summary paper, and to develop or flesh out some of my ideas and theories related to the Second Life Quest Project I had been working on earlier in the semester. I can't wait to produce a curriculum or do some research on the subject of Computer-Assisted Langauge Learning! If I had to reconsider the Summary and Critique, and if I had the time, I'd perhaps would have liked to have ran some of these ideas by the authors, since they are faculty here at UGA. Their expertise would have amplified and enhanced my foundational understanding of some of the concepts and ideas that I was challenged by or wanted to develop further along.