Back to blogging! For this week, I'd like to begin by reflecting/venting on the knowledge-sharing assignment. First, as I noted in my presentation, I learned quite a bit from the assignment, specifically about how Twitter analytics work and why they are useful. I also learned that while I come a long way technology-wise, there is still much to learn. For example, when I tried to add voice narration via Voicethread it produced separate audio files that were not in sync with the slides. Very frustrating! I consulted several sources to locate a solution but was ultimately unsuccessful. In the end, I decided that the best thing to do was to forgo Voicethread's audio features, and instead use PowerPoint's audio function. However, I had already recorded the audio files and didn't really want to repeat the narration, so I downloaded each audio file from Voicethread, renamed them so they would correspond to the appropriate slides, and used an online file converter to ensure compatibility with PowerPoint's audio requirements (I was quite proud of myself for making it work, haha). Finally, I have skimmed (but not yet commented on) my classmates' presentations and - to say the least - I am impressed and now wish I had the assignment to do over again! Some folks were able to link their work to more than one format, and I really wish I had thought of that! Oh well, I think I have late-semester malaise, but I truly am impressed by the outstanding work everybody contributed.
As pointed out in Kim et al.'s reading for this week "Effects of Group Reflection Variations in Project-Based Learning Integrated in a Web 2.0 Learning Space," participants for their study consisted of young adults who were very familiar with Web 2.0 tools, but conceded that conducting the same study with certain age groups - namely older adults and very young children - may have yielded very different results. This caused me to wonder - as instructors, to what extent should programs that rely extensively on Web 2.0 tools and technology be tailored to specific age groups? While children may not be expected to engage with an extensive amount of interactive web-based tools, the skills of older adults are likely to be much more varied. With that in mind, how can we accommodate those with more experience without losing the interest of or overwhelming older adults that may not have much experience? It seems like it would be a delicate balancing act to account for the needs of...
I am so sorry you had trouble with Voicethread. Congratulations on coming to a solution. This is often me - my IT department says I should wear magnet bracelets. :)
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