Farewell IT 780 Seminar in Instructional Technology

Finally, I see the light at the end of the tunnel; IT 780 (Seminar in Instructional Technology) is almost over. I have to admit that taking a class again has helped me understand my students better. Also, I anticipate that I will continue to learn how to be a better teacher through the use of technologies in the future. In this class, I have learned a lot about instructional technology, especially about Web 2.0 applications. Below are my thoughts on my Favorite Web 2.0 Applications:

• Diigo

Of all the Web 2.0 tools I have learned about, Diigo is my favorite. I believe Diigo is a great research, teaching, learning, and community building tool. I have learned so much about Web technology through Diigo communities. I believe Diigo has brought social bookmarking to a higher level and I can’t wait to learn about new features as Diigo introduces them.

• Dabbleboard

Dabbleboard is one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools. Essentially, Dabbleboard is a simple vector-graphics editor that let you draw and write on a digital white-board. In my opinion, Dabbleboard is the best mind-mapping tool currently available because its interface is least restrictive. In addition to mind-maps, Dabbleboard lets you draw anything. Dabbleboard rocks!!!

• Twitter

Twitter is a powerful social media tool. I think Twitter is a very useful tool for businesses working to establish or maintain a brand image. I have learned a lot about technology through my Twitter community. I am proud to be part of a flock of little blue nerd bird going tweet tweet tweet. I also want my students to learn to fly in twitter flock.

• PodOmatic

PodOmatic rocks! Not only does PodOmatic make it very easy to create podcasts, it provides you with a very convenient episode-based web page that you can use to sort, organize, and rearrange your podcasts. PodOmatic also makes it easy to distribute your finished podcasts. Again, PodOmatic rocks!!!

• Winksite

Winksite taught me that creating a mobile Website is easier than I thought. So far, I have used Winksite to create a mobile website for the USM fashion merchandising program. I’m just beginning, but Winksite makes me feel really smart and confident. I still need to experiment with creating less text-based content.

• PB WIki

So far I’ve used PB Wiki to create a wiki for the fashion merchandising program at USM. I like PB Wiki because it’s extremely user friendly and easy to use. I hope that the FM program wiki will help create a multi-generation learning community of FM program students, alumni, faculty, and working professionals.

• Mixxt

Mixxt is a wonderful free social networking platform. It allows you to utilize a number of tools such as blogging, chatting, RSS feeds, and built-in tools to handle embedded images and videos.

• WordPress

WordPress is a powerful blogging platform. I have not decided that I like blogging yet. However, WordPress has a lot of useful features and is compatible with other Web 2.0 applications such as Twitter, Diigo, and Delicious.

• SlideShare

Like blogging, SlideShare is a tool that I have not become fully comfortable with. I think, this is partially because you have to pay before you can have private slideshares.

Web 2.0 technologies have the potential tools tremendously benefit education. This is true, I think, regardless of the discipline. Web 2.0 applications allow the delivery of content in numerous formats, allowing instructors to create rich multimedia online learning environments, which can appeal to and reach many types of learners. Furthermore, Web 2.0 tools can be very useful for entrepreneurs and businesses.

During this class, I have integrated many Web 2.0 tools into my own classes and my program. I will definitely continue to incorporate these technologies in the USM fashion merchandising program. However, one difficulty I foresee is the time consumed by trying to keep up and maintain online content. I sometimes wonder how Dr. Yuen keeps up with these technologies. My favorite theory is that Dr. Yuen is really a robot. Yes, he is a robot!

My Thoughts on Chapter 10: Social Bookmarking in Education

The goals of chapter 10 are 1) to introduce to use of social bookmark in teaching and learning, 2) to give practical examples of how to use social bookmarking for both graduate and undergraduate classrooms, and 3) to discuss pedagogical strategies behind of the practical examples using social bookmarking in classrooms.

Reading this chapter helps me realize that social bookmarking doesn’t only benefit me but also benefit my students. I admit that I never think of using social bookmarking for class at all before reading this article.  As an instructor, teaching strategy is an important element to ensure the successful of instructional technology.  I now have general ideas of how to use social bookmarking and recognize the pedagogical strategy for each example. However, I don’t have specific idea for my own class yet. Although this article stimulates me to consider using social bookmarking in class, I don’t feel confident enough to assign my students to use social bookmarking. I need time to explore social bookmarking before coming up with any assignment for my class. Nonetheless, it seems to me that instructors who familiar with social bookmarking can easily adopt examples provided in the article to their classes.

The strengths of this article are:

1) The authors are very knowledge in social bookmarking.

2) The authors give general ideas and practical examples on how social bookmarking can improve teaching and learning in classrooms,

3) All examples are applicable for different classroom settings and disciplines,

4) The authors identify learning objectives for each example,

5) The authors include assessment of student engagement, information literacy, research abilities, and the quality of student’s bibliographies and knowledge management skills for each example,

6) The authors link the pedagogical strategies to each assignment,

7) The authors give the framework table for educators to think through on how and why they want to use social bookmarking for class.

In addition, the authors listed the additional reading materials at the end of the article. If anyone wants to explore more about social bookmarking, they can read these materials.  Since I am not familiar with social bookmarking, I found that it would be better if the authors give one specific example of the assignment. It will help people who uncertain about social bookmarking to see the real assignment including the description, objectives, and assessment. They could provide it in an appendix. Another weakness is the titles of figures and table of this chapter are not clear.

In conclusion, as an educator, I realized that the use of social bookmarking in classroom is rising since it is a useful tool for students in any level. Additionally, the benefit of using social bookmarking is beyond classroom and research. Social bookmarking has become a place for people to create a life-long-learning community where they can share information and learn from each other. Therefore, it is necessary for instructors to equip students for skills to use social bookmarking in a constructive way.

The Wonders of Social Bookmarking: A Tool Named “Diigo”

I name this blog entry title “The Wonders of  Social Bookmarking” because I am impressed, surprised, and full of admiration because of what I have learned about social bookmarking. I never thought that online bookmarking can become an online learning community. An online social bookmarking is a remarkable teaching and learning tools in addition to its research application. I think Social Bookmarking in Plain English explains what social bookmarking means very well.

However, I have learned from Dr. Yuen class that Diigo is more than an online social bookmarking tool. According to its own website, Diigo has gone through several evolutions from version 1.0 which is a great online bookmarking tool to version 5.0 which is a tool for collecting and organizing bookmarks, notes, highlights, pictures, and more. Furthermore, users can access Diigo anywhere and easily share in any browsers and any platforms. Since I am a visual learner, I think the YouTube video can captures Diigo’s unique features better than my ten thousand words. Here is the video:

After class assignment, I have become a number one fan of Diigo. I am absolutely in love with Diigo and its potential of teaching and learning. I have learned so much from other people bookmarks especially Diigo community. Dr. Yuen created a group for our class and we as a group were required to share information. I can’t help but spending time daily to check what news technology or knowledge I can learn. I am more than eager to learn from others. I can’t stop but sharing the wonders of Diigo to my students, colleagues, and friends. I encourage everyone I encounter to visit Diigo. I even create my personal group.

In regards to fashion merchandising class, I believe Diigo is a good tool for students to share their resources for the majority class of the program such as Seminar, Entrepreneurship, and Textiles. Folksonomy may be a good assignment for Introduction to Fashion Merchandising class while taxonomy may be appropriate for Senior Seminar class.    In addition, Fashion Merchandising Program can even have a Diigo program group where our students can share information and resources.  Alumni can also be active in the community.