What a fun group for what I hope will be a fun semester!
Our discussion focused on expectations for the semester as well as what we’re going to learn for the first several classes. For now, it seems as if we’re going to be spending a lot of our time setting up various blogs and investigating various Web 2.0 technologies. Here’s an overview from my notes about what we discussed:
This course is really about everyone connecting with everyone else. Everybody has their own experience, and when they come together, that can make learning and communication that much more powerful and rich. Dr. Foreman pointed out we should join MyITEC.ning.com, so that we can share our ideas as well as our newly created blogs. Throughout the semester, we’ll be posting meaningful comments about each other’s online journals.
1) What is Web 2.0?
According to our group discussion in separate groups, below are some thoughts about what comes to mind when discussing Web 2.0:
- Blogging
- Social sites
- Interactive/online
- Sleek
- Organizational
- Convenience
- User-friendly
- Applications on the Web
- Free! (Love things that are free!)
- Accessible for the masses
- It’s a learning tool
- Net Generation!
More fun about Web 2.0 was shown in class (most amusing):
2) What is Blogging?
3) What is Wiki?
During class, we viewed, briefly, a 40-slide PowerPoint presentation which Kim said she would review in more detail during our next class. I did catch the 6 C’s which were context, content, create, collaborate, communicate, and contribute. We also briefly chatted about Other aspects of this session were tougher to follow, specifically what we were supposed to do for class next time. Here’s a summary as best I can tell from my notes and the information provided by the online syllabus:
- Create a weekly learning journal blog for this course (Done!) You’ve just been reading it!
- Post the first week reflection on your blog and post a comment on your classmate’s blog (Done!)
- Join ITEC 830 community in Myitec social networking site, and post your profile with your picture. Introduce yourself to the class in ITEC 830 Ning community. (Done!)
- Create iGoogle Personalized Home — Show and Tell next week (Okay…and…drum roll, please….done!)
- Read about Connectivism: Learning Theory for Digital Age by Siemens, George 2005
- Skim over Connectivism wiki site (articles and presentations), to get an idea about connectivsm.
- Post a brief summary and reflective thoughts on articles on Connectivism theory by Siemens on your blog
- Read classmates blog entries and make one meaningful comment as well as create a Google Reader and subscribe classmates’ blogs to it)
