Reflection (week 13) - Free Online Apps

This time I will talk about the free applications available to us through the internet. There is a wide range of resources that allow us to develop new skills and stay connected with the world around us.

1- Google Docs. 

First we document editors that enable online interaction of users, facilitating access, publishing and sharing of information for the shared document. So Google Docs emerges as an extraordinary tool online where we can create and edit text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, slides, forms and even drawings. Google Docs is known for being a intuitive and easy package of applications, but powerful tools at the same time.

Its use has become popular lately because it has many more advantages than any desktop office package because of its availability from anywhere, through internet connection and especially easy to collaborate and publish among users. This turns Google Docs into a set of appropriate tools for many tasks and of course for approaches that promote the exchange of information.

Among the duties of the office, this tool is very useful because if a team member is outside the workplace, still is a participant of the documents that need his approval, so distance and time are not a limitation to perform the work.

In my experience, I remember in a class all students had to make a group presentation and by the use of Google Docs my classmates and I were able to prepare the material for the assignment, sharing the same document and editing it online simultaneously. For me, the experience of sharing information using tools like this is phenomenal.

2- PicMonkey

Then we have the photo editors. For me personally I love taking pictures and telling the story behind each one of them. So I think it's important to know about the various applications that allow us to modify, retouch and improve our pictures. As an example of these applications is PicMonkey.

I remember being very sad when Google shut down Picnik (another online photo editor, which at that time was free). But now, the developers of this application have created PicMonkey, which is an easy-to-use application through which users can edit their photos online, improving the quality of light and colors, placing texts and sharing the new image. Even, this application is available in Google Store, giving users the ability to save photos in Google applications (like Google Drive) and share images with others through Google+.

PicMonkey is a free online tool for everything that has to do with image editing and photo retouching. It is an alternative to take into account the large number of options it provides. It is also very easy to use and does not require us to be registered to use it. This is without a doubt one of the best online image editors that you can find on the Internet.

A practical use that can be given to this application is the edition of images from around the world to perform photographic exhibitions within our work environment. For example, the counselors of the Department of International Admissions and Services of WMU must travel several times a year to promote WMU academic programs in different countries and strengthening partnerships between public and private institutions. Thereby, the counselors could be asked to provide the photos they liked the most within the trips made during the year, to be retouched to improve the quality of them through PicMonkey. Then, they could write a brief summary about the meaning of each image and therefore prepare the exhibition as year-end activity about the different journeys represented in images.

I love storytelling through images and I think PicMonkey is a tremendous tool that allows the development of this kind of activity.

These apps are only two of many others available online and that's why we have to take advantage and open our mind to acquire new knowledge through the use of this technological resources that, somehow, allow the improvement of our capacities and skills. 

Reflection (week 12) - Websites

Definitely Internet has become the primary tool used by organizations to expand and broaden their field of action. This because of the large coverage that already has this economical way turns out to be, because right now there are many ways to create or obtain access to a website without spending much or anything.

This time, has been created an website for the staff that works in the Front Desk of the Department of International Admissions and Services. Through this resource, they will have access to key information about the department and university as well. All in one technological tool!

For this work we used google sites because it is a free way to create websites. The versatility of this tool is quite extensive and resources that can be included are many.

To include the use of this website within the daily work, will be required to all the Front Desk employees to indicate IAS_Access as default home page. In it, employees can find the essential information for users who are looking for any information to IAS either by phone, email or in person. Here, staff will have access to information of tuition and fees, counselors, important documents, scholarships, requirements and deadlines. This tool will be very useful to have all the basic information needed.

Thus, printing costs will be avoided, the material will be up to date and the work will be performed efficiently. Through this tool the IAS will incorporate the use of technology in the work environment for the benefit of the institution.

Reflection (week 11) - Concept Mapping

Concept mapping is a technique that's used every day in various activities both instructional and business. They are used as technique to study and even as a learning tool, as it allows the instructor to go with their learners building concepts and explore in these prior knowledge, and allows students to organize, interrelate and set the studied knowledge. Concept maps (also called charts) are an effective way to graphically represent ideas or concepts that are related. This procedure will take advantage of the conceptual power of images, facilitating learning and memory of a subject. Certainly not about memorizing maps and plays them in detail, but to use them to organize the content of study.

By means of this technique can be developed multiple activities that allow the instruction to show a system of ideas and concepts and the relationship they have. For this particular exercise, we will present the organizational structure of the Department of International Admissions and Services in WMU.

This chart is a graphical representation of the organizational structure of the IAS. It is an abstract and systematic model, which allows a uniform notion about an organization, revealing the functions of the various offices that are there. It's good that the staff working in the office knows the internal hierarchy of the department, since daily it receives students, teachers and other staff members who go in search of information and that is why the front desk (principally) must know where they have to lead the person so that he can then be addressed. Thus through this graphical representation are disclosed the essential features of the organization represented.

Finally, when training the new staff that will be working at the IAS, can be used this concept map, since the functions of each area are shown and who are the main responsible for the same. So assistance may be provided and give a good service to the person that needs it, directing him to the right personnel, whether admissions or immigration. The technique of concept mapping is a powerful teaching tool to organize information, synthesize and present it. It can be used to expose and develop any subject in a logical and orderly manner.

Reflection (week 10) - Screencasting

Among the lessons that I have planned for my students is presenting the cultures of different countries in Latin America and that includes the music of various artists from these countries. This time I will use a resource where you can create a playlist for this lesson, the program is Spotify.

Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs online. Music can be searched by artist, album, genre, playlist or record label, as well as by direct searches. Users can create and share playlists, or edit them with other users. Many Web sites support sharing playlists and Spotify songs and allow users to share, rate and discuss.

Through this video, I’ll show how to create a playlist looking for artists from a specific country, in this case Colombia and adding their songs to our playlist. The steps are:

1 - Create the playlist with the name of Colombian music.

2 - On the search bar, write the names of the artists that we will use in this case Juanes, Carlos Vives and Shakira.

3 - Once we find the artists we select the song we are interested in and use the right mouse click to add this song to our playlist.

4 - When have all the songs that would help us to present the artists, we play the playlist that will be ready for use!

I think this tool is very good because it allows students to be actively involved in school activities and be the protagonists of their own learning as they learn how to manage technology for the benefit of his knowledge.

Reflection (week 8) - Mapping

Google Maps is a free tool from Google that allows us to view many panoramic images of the earth, providing satellite photos of the world and from different locations. Even, these images can be obtained from satellite mode, panoramic or relief. Google Maps is a great technological resource and I like it because it permits students to see graphically terrestrial geography. For example, in the geography class, this tech tool is quite interesting, because through its use we can see the states of a country, its lakes and rivers, mountain systems and other components. In addition, expanding the search, students can see which countries are close to that being studied at the time of the class.

The Department of International Admissions requests current students to be “Bronco for a Day”, which is an event in order to serve as guide to future students that have in consideration attend WMU. This event consists in a tour guided through the installations of the university and other activities. I believe Google Maps is a great tool to build the logistics of the tour, with relation to buildings and places of interest that can be visited.

In that sense, I can prepare the guide from this tool, marking the places I want to visit with the group, see the most appropriate routes and even take advantage of the WMU’s internal transportation! Also, to give participation to those who will attend the tour, I can send by email information of the university and ask them if they want to visit a specific place and/or if they want to attend any class, to make the necessary arrangements.

Also, finished the preparation of the map, I can send them the link to access the route so they can get familiarized with what we’re going to do that day, allowing them to get involved into their own learning process of WMU Main Campus. Therefore, using this tool, the participants can play an active role during the whole trip. This kind of activity helps learners to be more engaged during activities and obtain good results.  It has many utilities and their uses are so varied!

Note : The information is available on the website of WMU

Reflection (week 7) - Audio Podcasts & Human Performance Technology

The Human Performance Improvement is a goal where all the human capital of the company has an interest, since the staff of the institution is a valuable resource. I like the idea of encouraging employee participation in the practice of the institution, because the achievements are shared and all are participants in the success of the project.

I understand that by allowing students to actively participate in school projects are encouraged to contribute with their ideas, they may be able to make positive reviews and can achieve better results. The teacher must find ways to work with students, facilitating the inclusion of them in the work of the class, as students are the course's human capital.

The Podcast “How to Create Effective Workplace: Wellness Programs that Sticks” is about the role of Human Resource Management is evolving. The Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. All this because the management of human resources is facing new challenges both in the present and future, where organizations must become more adaptable, flexible, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. Must be a driven function with a thorough understanding of the image of the organization and be able to influence key business decisions and policies. In general, the focus of human resources today is based on strategies for staff retention and talents development. Human Resources professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organization's members and their loyalty, in order to meet the challenges and overcome them.

The Podcast allows companies to record messages in a media file that is available online. Consumers, customers and employees can either listen to the podcast online or download the file to an Apple iPod, a smartphone or other digital audio player.

Podcasts are another way to distribute files very conveniently. You can listen to a seminar on the way to work or in the gym, providing flexibility when learning. Ultimately is another tool to get the updated information and share it!

Podcast link: 

http://www.learnoutloud.com/podcaststream/listen.php?url=http://traffic.libsyn.com/xeniumhr/Episode_22_-_How_to_Create_Effective_Workplace_Wellness_Programs_that_Stick.mp3&all=0&title=How%20to%20Create%20Effective%20Workplace%20Wellness%20Programs%20that%20Stick&productid=46484

Reflection (week 6) - Embedding Media & Psychological Foundations

I like chocolate with caramel, who doesn't? So, for this exercise I’ll use them to help students to calculate the price per ounces, from different brands.

First of all, student need to get familiar with the product, because it vary in ounces and price, depending of the size and the brand. Therefore, the learning theory of behaviorism could be used to teach students how to calculate and compare the unit cost of different brands like Snickers, Twix and Milky Way individually. We can teach students how to divide the price between the ounces of the product, and they'll practice it until they can perform this mathematical operation by memory.

Then, using the theory of cognitivism, students could know how much is an ounce of each product and then be able to know the estimated cost of the package according to size. Also, using this theory, they’ll be able to determinate which size is better for their convenience (fun size, normal size or large size). Using cognitivism, the teacher give basic instructions and help to guide the students in their own learning process.

Finally, having the information of how much cost an ounce of Snickers, Twix and Milky Way, students can choose which brand is better in price according to the ounces of the package. That's when the theory of constructivism comes in, since students will have their own experience and will built their own opinion of which brand and/or size is best. Students will be the protagonists of their learning, where the teacher is only a guide who will address the discovery process of the students.

By the time that students are able to put into practice what they have learned and can decide on the processes to be applied, in order to obtain good results, we can say that the lesson has been learned since the students were able to create and develop new skills.