ILP 2: Digitech

For my second Independent Learning Project I attended the FSU DIGITECH exhibition event. There were so many amazing projects that blew my mind. A lot of departments that utilize technology were there like the Information Systems Department and the Computer Science Department. They were able to show me some of their software and technology they use to analyze things like WiFi use. I also went to a booth that was about assisted learning for children that have trouble communicating. There was a variety of technology that uses pictures of items or letters that children can point to and use to communicate. What was really fascinating is that this booth had really old technology and newer tools so you could see the gradual development. I also went to a booth that uses a 3D printer to recreate artifacts in museums for blind children. I never really thought about the fact that museums are primarily visual experiences. Printing out replications of artifacts lets visually impaired individuals hold the items and feel them. One presenter actually created his own Iron Man suit from trash he found in a dumpster. It took him three years to complete and it was extremely detailed. He even had a flame thrower attached to it and he wasn't even a STEM major in college, he was a drama major. He really emphasized through his presentation that anyone can create anything with technology you just have to try. Overall, I was stunned and really impressed by all of the tools and technology at this event. It was well organized and super interesting!

Blog 10

I would like to teach high school English if I become a teacher and honestly I don't really see an implication for Excel in my subject area. However, I suppose that Excel would help me keep track of student grades or attendance. I could also conduct surveys about novels to see what my students enjoy and I could log that data into Excel to analyze it.

The most interesting topics for me when reviewing my classmates' blogs were their opinions on flipped classrooms,  the use of twitter in educational settings, and their IPLs. There were many different opinions on flipped classrooms and my classmates all had different experiences with them. Twitter was also an interesting thing to read about because a lot of students have never used twitter in a class before. I liked reading what people learned through their IPLs and it gave me a lot of ideas for learning in the future.

I really want to learn how to code in Python. There is a lot of application of the program in the humanities field and I really think that it would benefit me to learn it. I learned a little bit of it before but I want to be proficient in it. A lot of professionals in academia are using Python for linguistic and structural analysis of texts. It would be in my best interest to learn Python well and be ahead of the game for graduate school. I think I am going to find lessons online, maybe through Ted X, YouTube, or Khan Academy.

Blog 9

The flipped classroom is when students watch information lectures or read chapters for homework and then do instructional activities to reinforce the material with their instructor at school. I personally had a history flipped classroom in high school and loved it. Our homework each night was to watch 10 minute lecture videos my teacher recorded with powerpoint and take notes. Then in class we would debate contemporary issues or do writing activities to reinforce the material. Here is a link to world history lectures that could be used for a class:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_w7pfulsn8&list=PL81BE1C0BAFD092AD

Open education is using technology to reach audiences that you might not be able to reach. It is the collectivization of education. Instructors can use any information that is open source to help them in their instruction, but they cannot access any software at anytime unless is it open source. Khan Academy is an example of an open source website. It contains instructional videos that anyone can learn from. https://www.khanacademy.org

In the new assignments I learned the seven points per slide rule and how to use actions to guide people through presentations. I didn't really know the limit to putting material not the slides before I learned the seven point rule. I like my design of the powerpoint but I wish I had picked better pictures. Next time I will spend more time looking for relevant pictures to help my presentation.