Course Reflection

My Course Reflection

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

To me, the best thing about this class was that it was completely online, and it was about teaching online. It was the first time that I have used Blackboard completely in an online course. I also enjoyed my classmates in this class. Some had online teaching experience, some had in-class teaching experience and others had “real world” learning and teaching experiences. It made for a well-rounded group that brought a lot to the table. I have learned many strategies and techniques from my classmates through our weekly discussions and through our group projects. I know that I will use most, if not all, of the tools in the future, personally, professionally or educationally.

It was also the first time that I used Google Sites to create a website. I enjoyed the simplicity of it, and realized that there are many uses for it. It was also good to see because like some of our readings and discussions pointed out – teaching online classes is no cake walk. There is a lot of preparation to it and it is very different from a traditional classroom setting.

WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS

I felt this class accentuated strong points from my classmates and myself. We all learned from each other things that work and don’t work. I love trying out technology tools. Even though I do not always have the easiest time grasping them, I will try anything once. One of my strongest points was during the group project three. That assignment could have been a hassle, but I have used some of them in the past so it really helped me excel there.

My weak points in this class were probably that I did not get to jump in on some of the discussions as quickly as everyone else. If that happened, then you didn’t get as much feedback on yours or you miss all the “action” in the discussion. I work full time and take other classes in the communications department, which is more writing and not a lot of tools. I’m not as versed in education practices as most people in our class were. I come from a communications background and that made it more difficult for me to “make a class up.” I learned a lot from all of my peers though. And, if I ever decide to teach, I will be a better teacher for having classes like this.

CLASS AND INSTRUCTOR INTERACTION

I enjoyed all of my interactions in this class. The discussions were great and it was a good place to kind of “get to know” my classmates and see how they interact with technology and teaching. In the discussions, it was great to actually see much dialogue happening between everyone. Everyone in the class knows so much and it was great interaction for everyone, I think.

I enjoyed the online format for my peers and my instructor. We had some issues with our group, but it was able to be resolved quickly with the help of the instructor.

TOOLS

Gmail is great. I love email and think this is one of the simplest and timeless pieces of communication. Gmail was great because you could do groups and chats, plus an array of things including the Google sites, Google docs and Google reader.

I liked the discussion board and felt that it was used fairly well in this class. I do wish that it would send messages on the comments being made instead of having to check it all the time. And, at times, there was almost too much text to decipher through. I felt like I spent more time reading than learning, which defeats the purpose of the class.

The chat room was good, both in gmail and in Blackboard. Both of them archived the conversation for later use in case you needed it. That can be very helpful. I wish the video chat would have worked better and been more user-friendly. My group could not get the video chat to work for more than a few minutes and it was very choppy. We were able to video chat on Gmail, but only with one person at a time. Video chat could be improved in the next few years and it will be much easier to use.

The voice board was interesting, but it was my least favorite. I can see some benefits to it, but overall I was just unimpressed. It is a neat idea and concept, but one that could easily be left out and not be missed.

I liked the Live Classroom. The way the students could interact was great. The emoticons and the way you could raise your hand, clap, etc. was fantastic. However, our group had problems using it. We figured it out eventually, but by that time, we could have discussed what we needed to already. So, unless there is a specific reason to use Live Classroom, it would be just as useful (and less time consuming) to simply talk over chat.

Blogs are good for any occasion. I would argue that blogs are almost too inundated in society, but they are good nonetheless. Blogs are good for reflecting and learning from others like the one we are doing in class. The problem one might run into when using blogs in the classroom, is there could be too much to read. At some point when all 15-20 students have their own blog and everyone has to read the others, etc. things get lost in translation and people stop listening/reading.

GROUPS

I thought the group work was very good. Being an online class, it allowed us to actually be on the other side of the classroom as the student using the technology. That gives you the experience of feeling of what your students would go through using these same tools. You could do them on your own, but interacting with a group shows you the potential that these tools have.

SUGGESTIONS

I thought this class was good. I like the discussions and the group projects. For the sake of things being in the same place, maybe try incorporating a Ning class site. Students can communicate through that as well as blackboard. They could also post their blogs there and chat, etc. I like Gmail chat and groups, but that can be done in Ning also. Things just started to run together because everything was in a different place. It might help the student and the instructor if everything was more organized and together.

Research Paper

My final paper: Technology and Public Relations
I researched teaching technology tools and Public Relations together. Studies in public relations will need to involve hands-on technology. PR educators need to teach students that emerging technologies will be part of their real-world job descriptions. Because Public Relations professionals use technology tools everyday to get their message across, it makes sense to incorporate the two in the classroom. I am starting to see this some in larger universities, and I think this is the way to go. At some point in the future, I would love to actually teach a class like this. I looked specifically at what kind of technology interaction was going on presently and what could be improved and added. The audience for this type of thing would not only include the students, University administrators, public relations practitioners and finally business leaders, including government and nonprofits. I looked specifically at E-mail, Websites, Blogs and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. By preparing the students with job-ready skills, while understanding historical theories, yet knowing how and when to include and embrace emerging technologies in the field of public relations is being a true public relations educator.

Website

My Google Site: http://sites.google.com/site/williamsit648/home

I have uploaded websites using a couple of different tools, but mostly in Dreamweaver. There is a definite process to how things have to be laid out and planned beforehand. Initially, I started creating my website in Dreamweaver. However, I am now doing it in Google Sites. I have a couple of friends who have used this and like it. Since, I have never used it before and I have worked on Dreamweaver, I thought I would do this to gain even more experience. I thought that it would be much easier considering the fact that you do not have to host the site, however that is not really true. I spent a long time on the site with colors, layout, etc. Since my class was on Public Relations Technology teaching, I tried to pull photos that would be appropriate. The most difficult thing about doing my website was actually coming up with the content. Unlike most in our class, I have never taught a class and therefore had to come up with all the content for this class. The schedule was the hardest to determine. With all that said, I really like Google Sites and will use it again. I like the fact that pretty much anyone could create a Google Site.

Group 2, Project 3

Project 3

This project was pretty fun. I found it very useful to test these within a group. There were some things that I would not have thought of that my group members did. It was a great collaborative project.

We looked at Ning, Twitter, Second Life, Google Docs, Wikispaces and TaPingYa. There are so many sites out there that can be used in education if used correctly. Collaboration is key in many online classes, and it makes sense for us to explore some of these within our group as a project. After using Ning in one of Dr. Yuen's classes, I became a huge fan. We used it so many ways, and it was very easy because you had everything right there. We used other tools in the class for our benefit, but the class could have easily used only Ning to communicate, if wanted or needed.

I enjoyed all of our sites that we chose. Twitter is huge right now, and in my field of Mass Communication, it is being widely researched. I'm not sure how keen I am on really using it in my classroom, but I do see benefits to it being used by students for other things including research and collaborations.

Overall, my group worked well together during this project. We only needed 4 sites, but we thought that by each doing 2, we would gain more experience for this project and for us in the future. I enjoyed reading the other groups projects and really liked this assignment. It gave me a lot to think about and many great ideas!

Group 2, Project 2

Project 2

My group met on Saturday for two hours. We used Blackboard Chat, Wimba Live Classroom and Voice Board. I have a love/hate for Blackboard. I think it has amazing potential, but it just doesn't work that well. Voice Board was very easy to use, and I had zero problems with any part of that. I think it would be an easy tool for the students to use.

I found that Blackboard Chat is very easy. It reminds me of one of the AOL rooms from the 1990s. It is very basic and easy to read. This function was also very easy to use for the group. When you were in Blackboard Chat, you could not navigate around the online classroom. I really wanted to read some things and paste them to the group for us to chat about, but had to log out of chat in order to do that.

Wimba Live Classroom was a disaster for us. :) I love the idea of this classroom and I enjoy it when used as asynchronously. When we used it in Dr. Wang's Flash class last semester, I felt that was more productive. If I recall, we had problems then, also, but it was not an obstacle. Blackboard seems to be full of problems with Wimba, but it has many possible uses in the classroom.

Overall, my group experience is going great on this project. It is almost the beginning of the week and we are working on the written part as I type. My group works well together, and I have enjoyed working on these tools with them.

Group 2 Project 1: Gmail

Project 1

I'm a huge fan of Gmail. I think it is by far the best email provider out there. There are just so many great functions that can be used. Our group found the listserv and email very easy to use and to communicate with each other. Everyone in our group has a full time job and goes to school, so it's always difficult to find times for everyone to meet up at once. Luckily, our group is flexible and we were able to meet and chat for a while.

I really enjoyed the chat function and the video chat even more. However, my main complaint so far about gmail is the video chat. Only two people can chat at a time. Video chat is great because it allows you to get to know people on a more personable basis. When you take an online class, you lose that personal level and sometimes that can affect the dynamics of a group.

Even without the video, I like the chat functions. Sure, you can send an email back and forth rather quickly, but chat allows you to converse without any real wait time other than the typing. It's such a great communications tool. I enjoyed our group meeting and look forward to many more! :)

About Me

My life in a nutshell…

I was born early in the morning on May 30, 1979 in Baton Rouge, LA. My mother is a Social Worker, and incredibly driven. She took a big risk when she married my father. He is 25 years her senior, and a retired Air Force fighter pilot that fought in WWII, Vietnam, and Korea. I have a half sister and an older brother. My brother is, like most older brothers, a pain in the you know what and a great friend. And, I guess it doesn’t hurt that he has the two most beautiful girls that are the apples of my eye!

When I turned 1, my family moved to my father’s birthplace in Osyka, MS. I went to kindergarten at the Little Red Schoolhouse in Kentwood, LA. I attended Parklane Academy in McComb, MS, from 1st grade all the way through 12th. During these years, I formed a love for art and painting, dancing, and having fun. After graduating 1997, I attended Mississippi College for two years. It was a miserable experience for me, and I took off for TN to finish my degree at MTSU in Film and Television Production and minors in Art, Theatre, and Art History.

The December following September 11 2001, I graduated and left for Salt Lake City, UT. I became a nature loving, granola eating, indie film nut that worked at the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival(I interned the previous 4 festivals while in college). Feeling a little homesick, and with other opportunities on the horizon, I returned to Nashville and worked in the Comedy Industry. For a year and a half, I had laughed all I could, and I moved to Oklahoma to help my brother and his family. My niece was born with a dysfunctional left kidney, and needed surgery. I became her nanny during that time before her surgery. What a wonderful experience, and she is my namesake! From there, I returned to the West. Bypassing SLC, I headed to LaLa Land (aka Los Angeles). I became intertwined in the music industry world, where I worked for a management company that handled mostly producers and songwriters. I fit in quickly and was making my way up the food chain. Then it hit me, “is this the life I really want?” My parents were not getting any younger, and the people that meant the most to me were thousands of miles away. I woke up early one morning with a yearning for home. So, two weeks before a little storm called Katrina hit the South, I decided I would return home at the beginning of September. Katrina left me with no communication with my family or friends for 2, almost 3 days. The trip back home was a long ride.

I came back to a place I barely recognized, but was undeniably happy to be home. I knew that I would continue with my education, and I was seriously considering LSU (the alma mater of my parents, and where my father taught). However, fate stepped in and I wound up in Hattiesburg at USM. I completed my Masters in 2007, and I am currently in my last year of classes in the doctoral program in Mass Communication. I am the External Relations Manager for WUSM-FM 88.5. My father was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and passed away last year, making me grateful that I moved home when I did. My friends and my family are my lifelines. Without them, I would be lost.

These are a few of my favorite things:

L-S-U**GEAUX TIGERS!**I love ART. My true passion is Traveling. Music defines my moods. I love film, the good and the bad. SUNDANCE. Reading and Sudoku keep my mind sharp. King Tut(my cat) and Cleo[patra](my dog) make me smile everyday. Snowboarding keeps me laughing at myself. USM. Yoga gives me peace and strength. I believe in GOD. The Mountains are my second home. Good Cocktails and great friends = some of the best times of my life. Beaches make me giddy. MTSU. Laughter and SMILES are the best medicine. I LOVE Sunsets. I believe in making wishes on stars. Reading a GOOD BOOK. The sound of the ocean calms me down and makes me feel one with the world. Champagne makes me silly. I love spicy Bloody Marys. Live shows get me excited. Muscians have the tendency to make me weak in the knees. I love going to the Theatre. I love LEARNING NEW THINGS! I believe that knowledge is power.