EDLD 5397 Week 3 Web Conference Reflections

Dr. Gary Martin moderated this week's web conference. 

       The web conference this week was very informative and reassuring.  Among other things, Dr. Martin discussed policies concerning research with human subjects and Lamar’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), our action research progress so far, and keeping life balanced as we continue on to the completion of our year long internship.
       Just as an aside, one of the major concerns of students in this week’s web conference was the text boxes in our assignments.  The boxes were not expanding enough to contain all of the students work.    
        Dr. Martin discussed approval of projects, but that one of the main points of our assignment this week was to discuss IRB and the efforts institutions make to protect research subjects. Dr. Martin indicated that most of our research was not going to violate IRB policies.  However, he recommended talking to administrators about our research about any research policies our districts may have.        
       After discussing IRB policies, he talked about publishing our research and that would be something that could be added to our professional vitae.  He also mentioned that Lamar is trying to create an online repository of examples of students past action research.  The idea being that it would be beneficial for colleagues not only for modeling of research for first time researchers, but also for those that may have a similar problem or need for action research on their campuses.
       Lastly, Dr. Martin said that he wanted to let us know that this class was meant to be a “heads up”, and that our work did not have to be perfect at this time.  Dr. Martin also pointed out that many of our colleagues at work will be watching to see what we do and will be, somewhat, judging us and our administration training program at Lamar.  He suggested that we do not wear ourselves out as we go through our long term internship and to be sure and keep life balanced.
       I went away from our web conference feeling confident that I was making progress, but that I wished that I was farther along with my project associtated with the research. Time goes on and as my colleagues at work and I get busier, completing the research project in a timely manner gets more difficult. I am enjoying the process as Dr. Martin suggested that we might.

EDLD 5397 Week 2 Web Conference Reflections

        Dr. Martin discussed Instructional Leadership Development (ILD) training.   I found out that ILD Training is a 36 hour training required for beginning administrators seeking certification as PDAS appraisers.  He said that this training could be taken online, at Lamar, or at various region service centers. I believe that Dr. Martin said that we would have to have this training before Lamar would allow us to take our principal certification exam.  I feel that it would be essential for new principals to understand the appraisal system.  He discussed Epic vs. Blackboard.  Dr. Martin also discussed the fact that we should have been contacted by our field supervisors.  I have not been contacted by my field supervisor.  He said we should email Dr. Benavidez.   Dr. Martin discussed the Practice Lamar Comprehensive Exam (PLCE) and encouraged us to watch the reviews.  I found out that the PLCE was a part of our assignment this week and not the test that needs to completed for permission to take our principal certification.  The LCE must be taken and passed with a score of  80 or better. Dr. Martin encouraged us to contact him or anyone else in the faculty and that they really enjoyed working with students.

EDLD 5397 Week 1 Web Conference Reflections

      Dr. Gary Martin moderated the week 1, web conference. He began by discussing the transition from Epic to Blackboard. I felt a little relieved as he began to explain the course. Dr. Martin discussed reflection and suggested that we should reflect often as we completed internship activities. He discussed the length of the internship program and the benefits of that. He indicated that we would be discussing our evaluation with our campus supervisor, but that it would be finalized in our last course. Further, he said that we would be updating our internship plans in this course. It was reassuring to know that we could adjust our plans to add other activities that we have had the opportunity of experiencing.
       Dr. Martin also talked a little about how to document our hours. He said that Ed Tech students should update their logs, as should all students, and keep them backed-up. Dr. Martin mentioned that one student had lost their data completely. It made me think, I have a backup system, but I did have a question about Blackboard. Epic allowed for downloading of their system, but Blackboard does not. The learning platform of Epic is on my computer and so are the first few courses. I can go back and see the work published by others and myself. I do not believe Blackboard allows the downloading of the learning platform. That means I will need to find a way to save our discussions if I want to keep a copy of my colleagues suggestions and work.  
       Dr. Martin discussed that action research papers are usually five to ten pages long. That he would help us publish them if we desired to.       
       Finally, he discussed the Practice Lamar Comprehensive Exam (PLCE). He talked about the Lamar Comprehensive Exam and that there were tutorials available. I got the impression that we should take the PLCE and try to make an 80 or better, but it was not essential. He seemed to say that those of us who had only taken technology courses would be at a disadvantage, but that it would be advantageous for us to take the PLCE.

EDLD 5366 Week 3 Animation

EDLD 5366 Digital Design and Web Design

Principles of Design as Seen in Medieval Manuscripts

       My first impression of Medieval manuscripts, (“All virtual books,” n.d.),were that the scribes used similar design principles and that these manuscripts incorporated many modern design techniques. They seemed to know the principles of color, used columns to organize text, emphasized words using enlarged fonts, and seemed to use paragraph spacing. Further, many of the manuscripts were illustrated in the border to help the reader remember and further understand the text. 

Sherborne Missal

       As I observed the Sherborne Missal (“Turning the pages 2.0: Sherborne missal,” n.d.), a fifteenth century church book, I noticed some examples of design and typographic principles. The scribes used contrast in the size and color of their fonts and graphics. The principle of repetition was seen in their use of columns for text and illustrative borders or frames. Alignment was seen in the use of left justified text and left justified graphics that had text tightly wrapped around them. Lastly, proximity was observed in the grouping of graphics near the information they depict or are related to. These works were beautiful and informative.       
       The scribes, authors, and artists seemed to pour their lives into their work. Like a story teller builds suspense with their words, the artist used symbols, graphics, color, gold leaf, to emphasize the precious nature of their work.

All virtual books. (n.d.).British Library. Retrieved July 20, 2012, from

http://ttpdownload.bl.uk/app_files/silverlight/default.html?id=181afc99-df1f-4951-8981-df7e26625850

Turning the pages 2.0: Sherborne missal. (n.d.).British Library. Retrieved July 20, 2012, from

http://ttpdownload.bl.uk/app_files/silverlight/default.html?id=181afc99-df1f-4951-8981-df7e26625850

Week 5 EDLD 5363 Team Video: Fantastic Food Webs

EDLD 5363 Week 4 Web Conference Reflection

Web Conference 7-1-2012

       Dr. Abernathy discussed our EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology assignments for weeks 3-5.  She talked about using creative commons licensing in our work.  She said we ought to encourage our students to use creative commons copyrighting also.  Dr. Abernathy asked how our teams were working together and suggested that we use Dropbox and Sugarsync for sharing files that we were collaborating on.  One colleague mentioned using Google Drive for storing and sharing files with team members.  I feel that this week’s web conference was very beneficial.  I learn something new from Dr. Abernathy or a colleague every web conference.  I intend to revisit these reflections and blog posts after completing the coursework to recollect the things that I have learned and assimilate more of the ideas and suggestions given by fellow students.  We are learning so much that I know being able to read over my blog and others will help me to construct more information and utilize it at some point.