Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Survey Time: Part 2

Preliminary results are up. The results about stress/credits are a sampling of a just a few of my friends, the test and assignment scores are completely made up :)

https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0ArgoR30wSTPDdGViRWVPYkNSZEo1Y28yN1N3YXBGTEE&hl=en&output=html

Survey Time

This link will bring you to a short 10-second survey aimed at college students (although I suppose anyone could take it). If you're bored please take the time to fill it out! Responses will be tabulated and reported back right here.

Jing: Creating a Facebook Fan Page

Think your school needs a second coffee shop? (*cough cough UMD*)
Want to meet other people who share your love of Go-Gurt?

You'll probably want a Facebook fan page.
The following video I created for class will tell you how to get started.

Find it here: http://screencast.com/t/fkVXkFwkp

Thursday, October 7, 2010

This Week

This week has got me started on 3 different projects related to the technology field.

1. Tech Council

A couple weeks ago I was chosen to participate as a member of UMD's Technology Council for the College of Education and Human Service Professions. Last Monday brought the first meeting of the semester, where we were able to discuss changes within the University (specifically the change to Google Apps) and some of the staff proposals for new equipment this year.

It was interesting to me because every year as students we pay over $100 in "technology fees." I learned that a quarter of this money goes to maintenance (think ITSS), a quarter goes to staff equipment, and the majority (about 40%) goes to special proposals put forth by faculty each year. Some examples include adding more computers/equipment to already existing labs, new photocopiers for certain departments, and new additions such as computer programs, laptops, and iPads.

All of the proposals put forth support very interesting goals and needs of the college. The bottom line however is that if you would like to get involved in influencing the dean's decision on funding you are able to talk to me or another Tech Council member (roster available online), your Department Head, the Dean, or any student organization you are involved with. My goal with the council is to be able to get suggestions from other education students via the Early Childhood Student Association and ACEI groups on campus and relay those ideas back to the faculty.

2. Grant Writing

After a recent experience in a special eduation high school classroom I volunteer at, I have decided to make an effort to get that school some new technology. Specifically iPads. What they have currently for students with disabilites is outdated and far from user-friendly. It either was very expensive or was something purchased with the teacher's own money, and I want to do something to help. It might just be one school, but I think that children will be a lot more motivated and able to succeed if they have the adaptive supplies they need.

There is one child in particular who has trouble writing, but can read and spell perfectly well. The device he uses allows him to type his answers instead of writing them, but like I said it is pretty outdated. I'm working on a way that I can get donations from a company (or possibly individuals) or even start looking at grants I could apply for for them.

3. Module 5: Photo Sharing and PowerPoint Lessons

This week's module focuses on copyright issues (pretty interesting if you wanted to look them up), photo editing, and creating a PowerPoint to share with the class. The photo editing/re-sizing can get a little frustrating, but I am done with that part now. I am currently working on a presentation on the world's water supply, a topic I am slightly familiar due to my volunteer work with the Great Lakes Aquarium. Presenting in front of my peers though? Not sure if I'm a fan...wish me luck :)

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

I'm in love.

This is probably the coolest PowerPoint theme I've seen, um, ever?

Tech 3.0: Robots & mind-reading now come standard.

The latest online discussion for my class talked about how eventually you might be able to type "Where should I eat?" and it will automatically give you directions to your favorite restaurant. Seemed a bit crazy to me, but then I started thinking and realized that stuff like this is no longer a thing of the future.

My uncle's Infiniti "rings" when he gets a phone call - the caller ID shows up on his dashboard and the ringing sound goes through his speaker system. Say "answer" and you're connected, talking hands-free not with an ear piece but through your speakers.......check out this website to see Ford's version of this technology.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Wacky Wikis

This week in class the biggest project I tackled was creating my own wiki. Once I got over the shock that Wikipedia wasn't the only "wiki" in the world, I went to wikispaces.com and logged into my account. I had a lot of issues at first trying to edit and create the wiki. It kept popping up with some weird "fast browser search" screen every time I clicked on a link. --->

I switched over to Safari and opened the page and the problem seemed to have cleared completely. (I use a Mac, not sure if it would be different for a PC.)

For my wiki I wanted to make a resource for parents and teachers, and almost at random chose Halloween for the subject. My goal is to expand it and include different ideas, games, events, costume ideas, and anything else people can share. 

If you're interested just check out www.howloween.wikispaces.com, and please feel free to add any relevant material you like!