TECHNOLOGY AUTOBIOGRAPHY REVISITED

My attitude toward technology as EDLF546 ends has not changed from my first technology autobiography entry: cautioned welcome. As an avid supporter of multimedia technology and as an ardent humanist, I am optimistic about individual and society’s use of information technology. Yes, we must be cautious, but that is how we ought to be with all things, instructional technology included.

There are many ways to express, implement, and utilize multimedia technology (i.e. entertainment, education, artistic expression). And, I strongly believe that technology can be employed through these means while bettering society and alleviating of human suffering locally, as well as worldwide.

I appreciate learning the various applications and opportunities for instructional technology from the others in the EDLF 546 class. The open forum format encouraged sharing of best practices and lessons learned. This is one of the better ways to identify innovative, or easy solutions to technology in education. Because of these things, I feel more comfortable with the technology, and more confident in my ability to better incorporate multimedia into my academic and professional life.

BOBBY AAA APPROVED REQUIREMENTS

My website doesn’t meet the Bobby AAA Approved requirements.

The first recommendation is to provide alternative text for all images. Most important, I will have to provide an alternate accessible version.

I was flagged because I used the table feature for the layout of my buttons.

I have to double check how I used color/images in Lines 49, 55, and 58. Bobby recommended that if I used color or images to convey information, that I provide another way to represent the information.

I was also cited for failing to make my website accessible. In this instance, I was flagged for not providing relative sizing and positioning values. I used absolute (pixels). I believe this is when I used images as buttons.

The second accessibility flag was in reference to making link phrases make better sense in case they are read out of context: Lines 49, 55, 58. Bobby recommended that I use style sheets to control my layout and presentation. I think it would also help for uniformity of the web pages.

The third accessibility flag refers to identifying the language of the text. This is crucial, according to Bobby, in helping the computer present the information in the best format appropriate for the language. (http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/gls/g125.html)

Now that I have the core guidelines for cleaning up my website, I certainly have a lot of work in front of me. Thanks Bobby, thanks Richard!!

DIGITAL STORYTELLING ASSIGNMENT

The digital storytelling project was both fun as well as frustrating. But, I must admit, the fun out weighed the minor complications I experienced tweaking the piece. As someone in class had mentioned, hands on learning (at least for me) is the best way to learn how to use any software application. Going over digital stories before certainly helped drive home the many and diverse applications of editing tools like Movie Make.

There is a degree of truth in the power of images. In the context of education and instruction, the power of images has currency when shaping young minds. Likewise, the combination of images with a voice that is telling a story can evoke interest and, maybe, stir the soul. It is this convergence of stories/story telling and digital multimedia that can have a powerful application in education. The delivery of instructional content can certainly be enhanced through this medium if done well. Most importantly, I see an opportunity to make education more “interactive” for student personal development, in addition to its academic potential.

By including this digital stories/story telling into a curriculum, students can not only learn hard technical skills—how to use technology, as well as traditional academic subjects. But, students can learn other important “life” lessons (soft skills like interpersonal and communication skills) that can be built on as metaphors by the educator. For example, patience, prioritizing, meeting dead lines, and attention to detail are just some of the elements of movie making that I had to grapple with when finalizing my story. Also, the student can learn something about themselves, their peers, and home/community under a “supervised” and directed environment. It is this aspect of the learning process that I think is the most important learning experience of them all—when the individual learns something about themselves, or if they are lucky enough, learn something about who they want to become.

In the end, students may forget that ever escaping calculus formula or that chemistry theorem when they leave the halls of academia. The triumph, I would say, would be to prepare students for the responsibilities of the “real world” with both academic and technical skills, as well as interpersonal and social skills they learned throughout their school years. I think digital story telling is a positive and innovative step in that direction.

Instructional Technology Implemented

The university experience is one of immense challenge and diversity. Other than graduating, getting a job is one of the few common aspects of our collective experience. This summary documents the University Career Services’ (UCS) use of technology as one of many tools. The website, http://www.career.virginia.edu/, is the core technology discussed.

The UCS is located in Bryant Hall by Scott Stadium. Upon entering the hallowed halls of UVA football ubermen, the job seeking student is welcomed by a reception area, career materials, and several rows of computers. UCS managers and career counselors are responsible for providing support to students seeking internships, job training, jobs, and other employment opportunities. To this end, UCS representatives heavily invested in a website as part of the entire career services process.

The UCS website is one of many resources that are made available to enhance students’ job search. It serves as an easy to use portal through which individuals can access an enormous database of dynamic information. This particular technology attempts to provide timely access to the appropriate information. Thousands of job listings and career information is useless to the student who cannot get through all the content and get the right information. Since access and content outweigh volume, a well organized website is the best solution here.

Can a career website be classified as instructional technology? Also, how can this particular website be used for instructional purposes? Having been introduced to instructional technology, I’ve come to realize that there are many means to incorporate instructional technology in business or professional organizations. The career service center can be considered a bridge between academia and the business sector. So, the answer to the first question is yes. Instructional technology is being used in this case.

The answer to the second question can be answered in a variety of ways. Since this paper focuses on student need and core UCS services, the immediate answer is narrower. The way in which the website is used for instructional purposes is presently textual. Several links provide students with best practices in writing resumes and cover letters, interviewing tips, and career information. It also acts as an on-line calendar and organizer, storage space for resumes and cover letters, rollerdex, and career guide.

Instructional technology, I learned, is not simply PCs and software in schools. But rather, IT encompasses a larger learning system. In this particular case, the career website not only connects students to the right job, but also to employers and hopefully the right career. A variety of multimedia technology being used here enhances the timely acquisition of leads, which materialize into interviews.

The UCS website, like all website has to be tweaked now and then, and other tools intergrated as enhancements. Some may argue that the home page is cluttered, but so is the university home page. Also, after the initial touch and feel, it becomes managable. Presently, given the variety of on-the-shelt career software available, the website is suitable for students job needs, offering a diversity of services and information. It should be noted that the technology is not designed to get the student a job, but rather get the student right sort of lead.

As a technology professional, I am always interested in the application and implementation of different technology solutions in business and professional organizations.

Instructional Technology Implemented

The university experience is one of immense challenge and diversity. Other than graduating, getting a job is one of the few common aspects of our collective experience. This summary documents the University Career Services’ (UCS) use of technology as one of many tools. The website, http://www.career.virginia.edu/, is the core technology discussed.

The UCS is located in Bryant Hall by Scott Stadium. Upon entering the hallowed halls of UVA football ubermen, the job seeking student is welcomed by a reception area, career materials, and several rows of computers. UCS managers and career counselors are responsible for providing support to students seeking internships, job training, jobs, and other employment opportunities. To this end, UCS representatives heavily invested in a website as part of the entire career services process.

The UCS website is one of many resources that are made available to enhance students’ job search. It serves as an easy to use portal through which individuals can access an enormous database of dynamic information. This particular technology attempts to provide timely access to the appropriate information. Thousands of job listings and career information is useless to the student who cannot get through all the content and get the right information. Since access and content outweigh volume, a well organized website is the best solution here.

Can a career website be classified as instructional technology? Also, how can this particular website be used for instructional purposes? Having been introduced to instructional technology, I’ve come to realize that there are many means to incorporate instructional technology in business or professional organizations. The career service center can be considered a bridge between academia and the business sector. So, the answer to the first question is yes. Instructional technology is being used in this case.

The answer to the second question can be answered in a variety of ways. Since this paper focuses on student need and core UCS services, the immediate answer is narrower. The way in which the website is used for instructional purposes is presently textual. Several links provide students with best practices in writing resumes and cover letters, interviewing tips, and career information. It also acts as an on-line calendar and organizer, storage space for resumes and cover letters, rollerdex, and career guide.

Instructional technology, I learned, is not simply PCs and software in schools. But rather, IT encompasses a larger learning system. In this particular case, the career website not only connects students to the right job, but also to employers and hopefully the right career. A variety of multimedia technology being used here enhances the timely acquisition of leads, which materialize into interviews.

The UCS website, like all website has to be tweaked now and then, and other tools intergrated as enhancements. Some may argue that the home page is cluttered, but so is the university home page. Also, after the initial touch and feel, it becomes managable. Presently, given the variety of on-the-shelt career software available, the website is suitable for students job needs, offering a diversity of services and information. It should be noted that the technology is not designed to get the student a job, but rather get the student right sort of lead.

As a technology professional, I am always interested in the application and implementation of different technology solutions in business and professional organizations.

DIGITAL DISCONNECT

Doug Levin’s group sums up the core issue in, “The Digital Disconnect: The widening gap between Internet-savvy students and their schools,” with the following sentence. Simply, “Internet-savvy students are coming to school with different expectations, different skills, and access to different resources.”

I believe that like all other instructional tools, student use of the Internet differs from teacher’s intentions or expectations. I guess what I am trying to say is that students find innovative, sometime ingenious, ways to apply the latest tools for both academic and non academic purposes. To some regard, student use of the Internet far exceeds schools and teachers’ defined guidelines. Students have, taking blocks and filters into account, direct access to a wider scope of information, content, images, and other material faster, in many regards anonymously.

The discourse of digital divide between students and teachers is not a subject that is entirely unfamiliar, nor is it new. Less than a generation ago, a similar debate surrounded calculator use in class and on tests. Some may argue that this example is a stretch, however, consider the facts. Schools and teachers integrate something new in the lesson plan, or introduce their students to a new technology. In most cases, it is to enhance learning. However, through exposure outside the school, many students are already familiar with the tool or technology.

The schools and teachers learn at the same time students pick it up from the outside. And since the student grape vine is more transparent than the opaque school communication system, the student outpaces the instructor’s learning curve. Of course, there is always that one teacher, tech-guru, who knows more than everyone. But, that is beside the point.

I think it is cool, cost effective, and makes common sense that students become Internet-savvy. It develops critical job and life skills. By doing different education-related work, they build on these skills. Also cool is that, students employ the Internet as a textbook and reference, tutor, virtual study group, guidance counselor, and storage (locker, backpack, and notebook).

To address the issue that, “schools and teachers have not yet recognized—much less responded to—the new ways students communicate and access information over the Internet,” maybe the grown-ups can conduct focus groups and collaborate with the students and integrate a dynamic lesson plan suitable, as well as appropriate to students. This would seem to make sense, at least to me since according to the authors of the article, “Students’ experiences, and those of their states, districts, schools, teachers, and parents, strongly affect how the Internet is adopted in schools.”

This is a very interesting article. More interesting to learn, would be how school and teachers reconcile the digital divide between teachers and students.

DIGITAL DISCONNECT

Doug Levin’s group sums up the core issue in, “The Digital Disconnect: The widening gap between Internet-savvy students and their schools,” with the following sentence. Simply, “Internet-savvy students are coming to school with different expectations, different skills, and access to different resources.”

I believe that like all other instructional tools, student use of the Internet differs from teacher’s intentions or expectations. I guess what I am trying to say is that students find innovative, sometime ingenious, ways to apply the latest tools for both academic and non academic purposes. To some regard, student use of the Internet far exceeds schools and teachers’ defined guidelines. Students have, taking blocks and filters into account, direct access to a wider scope of information, content, images, and other material faster, in many regards anonymously.

The discourse of digital divide between students and teachers is not a subject that is entirely unfamiliar, nor is it new. Less than a generation ago, a similar debate surrounded calculator use in class and on tests. Some may argue that this example is a stretch, however, consider the facts. Schools and teachers integrate something new in the lesson plan, or introduce their students to a new technology. In most cases, it is to enhance learning. However, through exposure outside the school, many students are already familiar with the tool or technology.

The schools and teachers learn at the same time students pick it up from the outside. And since the student grape vine is more transparent than the opaque school communication system, the student outpaces the instructor’s learning curve. Of course, there is always that one teacher, tech-guru, who knows more than everyone. But, that is beside the point.

I think it is cool, cost effective, and makes common sense that students become Internet-savvy. It develops critical job and life skills. By doing different education-related work, they build on these skills. Also cool is that, students employ the Internet as a textbook and reference, tutor, virtual study group, guidance counselor, and storage (locker, backpack, and notebook).

To address the issue that, “schools and teachers have not yet recognized—much less responded to—the new ways students communicate and access information over the Internet,” maybe the grown-ups can conduct focus groups and collaborate with the students and integrate a dynamic lesson plan suitable, as well as appropriate to students. This would seem to make sense, at least to me since according to the authors of the article, “Students’ experiences, and those of their states, districts, schools, teachers, and parents, strongly affect how the Internet is adopted in schools.”

This is a very interesting article. More interesting to learn, would be how school and teachers reconcile the digital divide between teachers and students.

SEVEN ELEMENTS

Joe Lambert set out to accomplish a very difficult task with his Digital Storytelling Cookbook. How do you fuse the artistic and emotional creativity of story telling with technical instructions or guidelines? Generations of writers, after all, have been grappling with narrative formulation—story telling—themselves through the ages.

At first, I was worried that Lambert would simply compile a how-to recipe. I think it would have been a lot harder to try to tell someone how-to go about telling their story. But, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he did not go there. One of several reasons that I was initially concerned with Lambert’s seven elements is grounded on my preference for diversity of artistic perspectives. I worry that how-to manuals constrict the creative process that has to evolve from within the individual, and not from a book.

Lambert approaches this task by focusing on the core components of the narrative. He lists seven fundamental elements for constructing a multimedia story. Of these, he includes traditional components that have been used for constructing spoken or written narratives. And since he is specifically working with multimedia storytelling, he also includes crucial elements for those working with the digital medium.

On a separate issue, Ashley raised an import point about “point of view and purpose, [being] essential to a story, because they provide organization.” I agree that “humans are natural storytellers.” Whether we organize our stories within the confines of time and space, or like our predecessors who organized their stories based on purpose and point of view, we all tell stories to get our point across.

I’ve includes a variety of on-line digital stories that I really liked below. To my surprise, there are some many professional looking ones that are free on the web. Because, of the egalitarian nature of digital stories in terms of creation and access, I am optimistic about them and their impact on our society. I hope that they continue to provide people with a medium for personal creative expression.

DIGITAL STORIES

CAPTURE WALES: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/capturewales/
FACE TO FACE: http://www.itvs.org/facetoface/intro.html
FAMILY HISTORIES: http://www.ellisisland.org/Immexp/indexframe.asp
KATHARINE DREXL: http://inquirer.philly.com/specials/2000/drexel/
PHOTOBUS: http://www.photobus.co.uk/index.html

FIELD PAPER II PROPOSAL

I have been introduced to instructional technology through EDLF courses. Instructional technology, I learned, does not simply bring PCs and software application into schools. But rather, instructional technology encompasses a broader learning system.

A multidisciplinary approach to education best describes instructional technology. First, commonly regarded ethics of use are reinforced through direct learning. Technology ethics include respect for others’ work, respect for others as the audience, and respect for the integrity of your own work. One other common ethic emphasized is that not everything transmitted electronically is factual. This includes digital images, content, and other factoids.

The second aspect of the instructional technology learning system, I dub, is train the trainer. Since, educators cannot be expected to become technology experts, teachers work with instructional technology personnel for the most appropriate use of applications in classrooms. Third, the technology used for educational purposes are applied to enhance both the teaching and the learning experience. This is most important with the discovery of different learning styles. With the appropriate instructional technology, teachers now have alternative instructional tools which can deliver curriculum cost effectively.

As a technology professional, I appreciate the Curry School’s leadership in bringing technology application into the classroom. For this particular reason, I selected instructional technology as my BIS Capstone Project topic. Likewise, I would like to interview Dr. John Bunch and Dr. Glenn Bull for my second field paper.

Specifically, I would like to learn what is the Curry’s School’s position and philosophy on instructional technology. Second, I would like to learn the scope of instructional technology education being offered at the Curry School. For example, which applications are being taught to educators? Also, which audio/visual techniques and medium are included?

Administratively, I am interested in learning which institutions are involved with UVA’s instructional technology initiative, and to what degree are these partnerships organized. Second, what are the professional categories for instructional technology professionals outside of the Curry School? Do Curry faculty and administrative leaders participate in the national or international discourse on technology use in education, and to what degree do they participate?

What, if any, initiatives are being offered to introduce instructional technology to the developing world? Are Curry faculty interested in this particular aspect of education? If so, who are these faculty members and what like projects are they currently involved with? Finally, is there interest to bring Curry’s lessons learned and best practices into the developing world area by way of USAID, UN, and NGO grant participation?

Digital Manipulation Articles

We see ourselves at an age where digital image and instructional technology application are a matter of serious social debate. For the last ten or so years digital images and computer/internet technology have been a part of children’s lives. Recently, however the national debate has complicated by several factors which include ease of use, access, and manipulation, as well as application. These particular factors have prompted educators to cautiously tread the instructional technology waters, joining the rest of society who have already integrated technology.

For the scope of this exercise, the two articles raise two larger issues. The ISTE article focuses largely on the collaborative forum established by the national community of educators, and the framework for usage and strategies they are formulating. Along different grounds, the Salon article raises the serious implications that digital images pose with regard to image manipulation. Both are of particular importance, especially when working with educators and reconceptualizing a curriculum.

My preferences lean toward Glen Bull & Ann Thompson’s ISTE article. I applaud all those who have taken the courageous step forward to create A Framework for Use of Images. Simply, this is a prime example of good leadership. Through dialogue, they managed to identify a viable initial approach and formulated a viable solution to their past and present education challenges.
As the ISTE authors indicated, this is not to be viewed as a panacea to this issue. However, this is just one approach to integrate digital images into the curriculum as a means to add value to the educational experience. This implementation is timely. With the evolution of special education program and other initiatives to provide for the special needs of students with learning disabilities, English as a Second Language students, etc. digital images offer a cost effective solution.

The Salon article does raise important issues such as validation, documentation, and tangible resource—the negative or film. However, document credibility issues have always been a concern. This issues dates as far back to the first scribes. A Harvard Business Review article stated that the ancient Babylonians whose written language is represented by pictographs safeguarded their inventory from unscrupulous scribes who altered original lists, or prepared fraudulent ones. Defacement is another example of image manipulation. The term defacement arose from the ancient practice of defacement of monuments. Such monuments were the collective historical records of earlier civilizations. Interestingly, vandals were not the perpetrators. Rather, reigning monarchs who wanted to rewrite history erased the names of those who fell from favor. These are two of many other examples of images being manipulated.
The example of the L.Cpl. Boudreaux image illustrates the serious consequence, as well as implications of image manipulation. However, as I have attempted to articulate, history has an example of image manipulation for every form of image creation. Still, the reader should still heed the Salon article.

Educators need to accept the fact that digital images enrich the learning experience. It allows for approaches to education that were financially or due to access, were prohibitive. More so, educators must continue to emphasize the importance of original work, and reinforce respect for other people’s work as well as the student’s own work. Finally, regardless of technology or image, students must continue to be taught the important values of critical and analytical thinking, question convention, and examine what they are being fed academically and socially.

VALLEY OF THE SHADOWS

Valley of the Shadow

Wow. Nice history or social studies tool. I like the flow, although I would locate the navigational links at the top of the page. It took me a while to find them at the very bottom.

I like the breath of information, from the maps, battle movements, to the newspaper materials. I was impressed by the census information that was included. It seems that this site took the effort to include as many forms of information as possible.

Students could learn more about the Civil War era from statistical information, population movements (maps), and diaries. It fleshes out "dusty old history" and gives a voice to the period.

A website like this is very useful as it contains period information. Professionally, I could see that a webpage like this could be helpful if the individual knows what information they are looking for. For those who don't, the amount of information this type of site contains could become daunting.

I like the layout. I think that it is clean and not cluttered. I would prefer that all the links be consistent. For example, the census links have different fonts and do not seem as polished.

Over all, I like this site.