I have created a wireframe based on WordPress. WordPress is new to me but since both of my EDDL instructors are using WordPress, I assumed this must be a tool with potential.  Many of the course resources presented this term have been WordPress blogs and even this weeks resource on Bloom’s Taxonomy from Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence looks WordPress-like.

I wanted to explore the layout, menu and navigation options and see if they could be used specifically for presenting course material. I found the design options in WordPress are more than capable of hosting and presenting course content in a clean, logical format.  Site navigation links can be in a static page header with module/unit links in the left and/or right sidebars.  Each module can be a separate page with sidebar links to resources or further child pages.  There are also three footer areas for widgets, links, and resources.

In the past I have made webpages “from scratch” by coding directly in HTML and if nothing else, you learn how nice it would be to have some kind of WYSIWYG editing tool. WordPress does a good job of hiding the code but still allowing the user to edit the page HTML directly if needed (like getting the picture below the right size).

Here is my WordPress wireframe in PowerPoint

Assignment 1
Part B: Student Media Tools

Fellow EDDL 5101 students:

We have chosen to assess Flickr as a student content tool that facilitates the distribution of student created images and allows for comments by classmates.
The full evaluation of Flickr includes:

• Ease of use
• Confidentiality of content and discussion
• Transferability and scrubbability
• Appropriateness for academic use

We encourage discussion and want to hear from you. These questions are open below to break the ice:

• Have you used Flickr in your teaching?
• At what age would you allow students to post their own pictures?
• Is there a subject that would not benefit from images?
• Any tips/hints for educational use of Flickr?

Thanks,
Delano, Nicole and Rick

HTML Practice

EDDL 5101

A link to the EDDL 5101 site
A link to the Wilderness Downtown interactive video

An unordered list with square bullets
• item the first
• item the second
• item the third

An ordered list
1. item the first
2. item the second
3. item the third

Image file saved at http://students.olblogs.tru.ca/rking/files/2016/11

My daughter’s award winning squirrel picture appeared in SPCA calendar

Note: The border attribute of <table> or <td> is a little clunky and doesn’t seem to be supported in HTML5. I wanted to try a CSS version but you can’t use CSS in the free version of WordPress.

Lesson Title: Plagiarism in the Digital World

Lesson Objectives: To educate students in the forms and consequences of academic plagiarism. To familiarize students with TRU Student Academic Integrity Policy ED 5-0. To introduce APA referencing style.
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Test of embedded flickr slideshow

Using <iframe> seems to allow size adjustment with height and width parameters. There’s also a tag parameter that suggests you can base the slideshow on the photo tags in Flickr.

With help from:http://lifehacker.com/210683/how-to-embed-flickr-slideshows

There is a certain amount of bravery required to write on the topic of emerging technologies, and even more to predict the future trends in technology. The chapter by Delich, Kelly & McIntosh (2008) was probably more exciting in 2008, but has lost some of it’s impact in the intervening years, anything that mentions a PDA is obviously dated. They were correct in stating “Web 2.0 is centred on communication—the ability to interconnect with content, ideas, and with those who create them.” (Delich, Kelly & McIntosh, 2008 p.6).
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I read with interest the material on the changing copyright law in Canada and I am glad to see that some progress in a reasonable direction has been made.  In general, laws change at a much slower rate than the technology. While this isn’t a new problem, the pace at which the technology is getting ahead of the law is unprecedented. The way laws are created and amended is based on a slow deliberate process with layers of checks and balances to ensure nothing is decided hastily.
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Cybersafety is very important and all educators should be aware of the issues and have a strategy to address these issues. The Internet is a largely uncontrolled, anonymous environment and gives access to both the best, and unfortunately, worst works of mankind. The ways in which the Internet can be dangerous is constantly changing and a moving target for anyone trying to create guidelines for cybersafety. Education is the best defence against the dangers of our hyperconnected world and this weeks readings contained lots of advice on how and who should be doing the educating .
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For my example I am going to use the exercise I mentioned earlier this term where students use the free photo editing software, GIMP, to replace a face in a photo. The students choose their own picture (this term Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were popular choices) and swap one face for another.  I do a demonstration to show how easy it is, the students just watch and then work at their own place on their individual projects. They are encouraged to use the internet as a resource for tutorials or to answer specific questions. When they are finished the students share there work through Blackboard. Continue reading →

I have to confess to being naïve on the topic of MOOCs, I was aware of the mechanics but not that they represented a new, connectivistic, generation of learning. The Educause (2011) introduction was interesting as a snapshot of the state of MOOCs in 2011 and got me thinking about how I could use the concepts in my own courses. Continue reading →