I now have two or three little Java projects on the go, and I need to start doing things right, so I spent a little time reading about naming conventions, package structures, documentation through JavaDocs, etc.
May 16, 2007
May 15, 2007
Completed "Boring Conference No Vars" quandary exercise with no variables, "Boring Conference Vars" with decision points and links ready to add transactions, and "Boring Conference Vars Done" with LiesTold asset and Transactions.
Also completed draft of presentation in XML with HTML output to our standard 'PowerPoint-Like' output, ran through it a couple of times. Have strings of text in text file to copy and paste to reduce typing time.
Pretty well ready to go, will need to run through authoring again, install Quandary on laptop at home and upload site to an account and create symbolic link from hrd/etug2007
May 14, 2007
Grabbed standard xml css etc files from english 500 xml presentation set them up for use for Quandary presentation in Kamloops next week. Started filling in content based on files I created on Friday.
In breaking down the "slides" I questioned the order of my presentation and spent some time working out when and how to incorporate assets in the demonstration. Will come back at that with fresh eyes tomorrow
May 10, 2007
Created a quandary exercise with six decision points demonstrating the major elements of Quandary, including the use of assets and transactions. Created a second version with teaching notes and other commentary included in square brackets.
May 3, 2007
Participants presented one main concept, one main learning outcome and one learning strategy to reach that learning outcome for that concept. I participated in group discussion and had follow-up conversations with a number of the presenters.
Example: ideas on how to represent events under study chronologically (e.g. timeline with major events as anchors rather than specific years, use students with major events and with events under study to sort into right order and demonstrate clumping)
Example: diffusing techno-anxiety in a required methods course (e.g. acknowledging, small exercises on non-technogeeky topics, explicitly link mechanics of program to generic thinking skills they have)
May 2, 2007
Today's session was on considering instructional activities appropriate for the instructional objectives worked out yesterday. I presented on the kinds of instructional situations in which Hot Potatoes and Quandary exercises might be appropriate and facilitated considerations of technological and not-so-technological activities suitable for the situations encountered by each intstructor.
About ten instructors are taking a five-day course redesign workshop through the learning and teaching centre. My role today was to help them take the map of major concepts they had prepared yesterday and create some learning outcomes based on the concept maps. Specifically, I was to ask questions to focus their attention on the what the student would be able to do as a result of completing the course (rather than the content of the course per se, or the specific activities or delivery mechanisms).
April 25, 2007
Took top-level description I emailed last week and combined it with Clifton's notes to produce a project proposal. Also wrote notes on what features to include in "editable-in-browser" capability, what details we'll need to keep on each course offering to support that and what the implications are for the file structure and GUI features. Sent to Clifton for review. Assuming we go ahead with this project, I'll post those documents to the new blog when I create it.
Talked with Ali about how to present our material on technology, connect it to the larger objectives of the program and relate it to Mary and Catherine's presentations on technology.
Read background material for my section of course redesign workshop for next week, planned how to shape my presentation and question answering time in light of that material.