Journal #2 - WIkis

Ack! This is very late! But, all I can say is, oh well.

I chose to check out Wikispaces for this journal entry which unfortunately will be short and sweet.

The Wikispaces site was super-easy to sign up for: a username, password, and email address is all you need! Once you sign up they instantly give you a mini tutorial in which they teach you the basics and even some of the more in-depth stuff.

The site seems comparable to google sites in features and options, and they even offer news and discussion boards. What's more amazing is the small link at the bottom that read "did you know Wiki Spaces is hiring?"

I could say that teaching this to a group of second language learners shouldn't be too difficult given enough preparation and an anticipation of possible hiccups/questions. This was not very complicated and it is a great way to collaborate on ideas.

Well, sorry to say but that'll have to do it for tonight.

Reflective Journal #1 - Task 1A... and Being Sick

Well, here I am again...

I planned on getting this out at an earlier time, but as the title says: I've been feeling a bit under the weather. That said, I've taken a quick look over the two pieces of "critical thinking" software suggested by Prof. Heather.

Rationale

What I Liked/Didn't:

This seems to be a serious piece of software for serious people who are interested in serious critical thinking skills and improvement. There seem to be a large number of options for each style of "mind-mapping" available. At this point in time I haven't had a chance to use the demo (the trial is only PC compatible), but it looks very involved. Will update when I take a look at it further. I can't say that I'm too happy about the limited compatibility, especially since Macintosh is making its way into the classroom more readily.

Is it Useful in Promoting Critical Thinking?

If you are serious about mapping out your thought process, and can be dedicated to a piece of software like this, definitely. However, I have never been able to sit down and do this. Many of my friends have tried to introduce me to "mind-mapping" software, and for me, it is just too much time thinking about the process. I usually just like to jump right into my tasks and let things sort themselves out as I go along, but I assume that tis way of doing things might not be the best for a teaching career. Rationale could certainly be useful for lesson planning and classroom activity flow charting, maybe even realtime idea mapping in-class.

What Challenges are there if I were to Use Rationale in the Classroom?

Teaching patience is a large challenge with software like this. As I stated, I am not someone who would be found using this kind of software for too many things, and thus, I might have some issues trying to teach others to patiently diagram a thought process. Usually, for me, the "process" of thought is hashed out in the doing of the thing, so I might be inclined to encourage aggressiveness in terms of the assignment rather than patience and "critical" thought.

The "$64,000 Question": Does the Potential for Learning Enhancement justify the Resources?

As stated, my experience with the software is limited due to its compatibility issues; that said, the price for a single "education" license (not sure what that means), $69, is fairly reasonable. If one were to simply use it for classroom planning/realtime idea-mapping, I could see it being very useful and important to learning environments. The price for other licenses is unknown, but I definitely think the potential outweighs the price.

Inspiration

While this assignment only required us to look at one piece of software, I felt the need to explore Inspiration as well. I'll lay out a few brief points about my thoughts on this software:

-First, the software was cross-platform compatible, and I was able to download a trial for my Mac. This was most pleasing, as the cross-platform capability would allow me to move between my home desktop PC and my portable Mac laptop, they even have a version for Palm OS, which means even more on-the-go "mind-mapping" in case you have an idea and you aren't able to access your computer.

-The interface is a bit less "serious" than Rationale, which could influence users either way. I think the built-in icons allow for a more "fun" experience, but I still have yet to explore Rationale to see if they have a comparable feature.

-One-click map-to-outline button makes producing outlines from your idea-maps extremely simple.

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Both pieces of software offer potential for learning enhancements.  Both pieces of software are $69 for a single license, which is reasonable. With a bit of research one might be able to find a freeware program that does things comparable to these programs, but these professionally developed tools come with support staffs and the opportunity for multiple licenses for full classroom use. I'm very interested in the possibilities for this type of software in my upcoming teaching career!

* * *

I've been sick... It sucks! That's what I'll say on that... Hope you enjoyed tonight's entry :)

Charles Louis Hanks

First Official Post

Hello,

To those who are in my group I apologize for posting this so late... to anyone else reading who has no idea what I am talking about, read on, you shall embark on a wonderful adventure of learning and technology! :)

Anyhow... This assignment hasn't been too difficult for me.  I usually am interested in how things work, especially "technology" oriented items.  I like to click on everything and see what it does.  I've never taught a group of students, but I have had some experiences attempting to teach people who weren't necessarily technologically adept how to use technology... that said, I'm not so sure that teaching students would be very easy.  I'm sure it certainly depends on what generation they are from.  Today's generation of children are growing up surrounded by Google search keywords and myspace page URL's; I see my younger sister (she's 9) making better use of the family computer than my mother, and even my stepfather who proudly displays a certificate from a computer course of which the name escapes me.  I certainly am not trying to suggest that my mother and stepfather are not intelligent people, they simply are either uncomfortable using, or unfamiliar with technology.  I believe anyone can learn anything if only enough effort if exercised by both instructor and student.

Well... That's what I believe at this moment in my student career; I'll be sure to let those of you who stay following this blog know if my views change! :) With that said, for those interested, I'll paste the "practice" first blog below.

Keep Current!

Thanks for Reading,

Charles Louis Hanks

(Spidey C)

PostScript:

"Well, hello there.  If you are reading this than you are either in the ENGL 110/210C course atCSUS, or you have stumbled across this blog accidentally.  If you have ended up here accidentally, welcome.  You may soon feel one of many ways which could include: bored, overwhelmed, happy, excited, or just plain disappointed; if that's the case, I apologize in advance.

First let me say that this class has my full and upmost attention.  I hold two different technology degrees, so I feel this course is integrating a number of my passions, which is allowing me to be excited, and take in the information quite readily.  Today I am only supposed to write a small amount, so I will leave you, readers, with this:

We all struggle at some point, whether it be in learning, work, or maybe just in life in general.  What I've found is that the struggle, while difficult, is never lacking for excitement.  Enjoy the excitement that are your daily challenges, and live life to the upmost, learning everything you can at each separate moment.

That's my two cents, hope it buys you a nickel's worth of contentment! :)

Charles Louis Hanks

(Spidey C)"