Final Self Evaluation Post

Upon reflection of the EDT 532 Instructional Development Plan, it would have been more advantageous if I took the EDT 500 course first. This was apparent when I found myself confused by the Instructional Design Plan, but I did make an attempt at a first draft. The review and the feedback from Dr. Sponder was very helpful.

There was some difficulty in where to place the file management and portfolio content section. I realized it would be beneficial for the students to learn how to distribute their created content in an organized way, and how file management is required for the VR Lab to run at optimal speeds. I decided to move the file management and portfolio section after Introduction into Virtual Reality (VR), as I felt that it would be best to have the students think about organization and maintaining their own portfolio. I showed the students different management systems and website options for a portfolio and let them decide on which website systems they wanted to use. The reason why I used a forum-posting format as opposed to a traditional assignment format for the Portfolio assignment was because once the student made a post in the forum, students can almost immediately see the website link. If they changed the URL, they could also repost the link into the forum. Other students would then be able to access the website. The portfolio was a tool for the students to have a copy of the information they posted so they may show it to future employers and to other higher educational institutions. Since this portable VR lab will be used by different students for many different courses, the file management section was necessary, as the amount of storage used for many of these projects can vary in size. To maintain a fast connection, we required that students do not store their files on the VR lab. All other content sections were required, so that students could learn how to setup and use VR as well as how to create and manage their own projects for VR.

The PLN’s are very useful, since it helps us learn about many different technologies. It is useful for locating a topic we read about more efficiently, such as finding instructions, guides and technologies related to our courses. I used labels on BlogSpot / Blogger to create a well-organized online workflow and sorting method.

On the RnD Tek YouTube channel, I organized the videos on the YouTube channel by creating playlists. I created a playlist for the VR, which has 7 videos. These videos are on VR which was created by various other YouTube channels, as well as myself. I created a video for VoiceThread, which incorporated a segment of a YouTube video that I made after I went to PAX East 2017 and a brief segment of a Star Trek episode. I had also created a video that showed a brief overview of my Moodle course.

Overall, I think I had accomplished what I intended: to create a way for students to learn about different VR equipment and to be able to use the VR equipment for their studies and projects.

Source: 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFuFbcID-WlcODfynGQRgig

https://www.youtube.com/YuHuMi

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJBwuoDU2JSLK5JXamR9ovAagcLvpWZIp

https://voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/9298095

http://moodle.ccsu.edu/moodle/course/view.php?id=905

Best 360 Camera

In this article they explore 360 degree cameras to find the best camera for taking 360 degree shots.

They list each camera they found and also tell you why they picked that particular camera. It is very informative.

Article: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-360-degree-camera/

Week5 Reflection

This week, I am finishing up the instructional material for my moodle. I completed and included 2 rubrics from rubistar as images to my moodle. I also included some more youtube videos and the assignment and forums since these are really the only things that make sense for the resources for the class moodle. I also made a video demonstrating the topic and outlines of my class which was a fun learning experience. The videos for my moodle can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJBwuoDU2JSLK5JXamR9ovAagcLvpWZIp and also at https://voicethread.com/share/9298095/.

Forum - Distance Teaching Training

Forum: Distance Teaching Training for week 3

Go to the link below and read the article on that site. In a post to this forum think about what you would need to learn to teach a distance learning course.

http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/Distance-Education-Masters-Programs.html

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Upon reading this article, I feel that I would need to learn more about teaching and designing a course for online instruction, as well as learning concepts that would help me become an effective Distance Learning Instructor. I feel that I would also need to look at which conceptual frameworks are the most effective and to employ them for teaching an online course.  I feel understanding these frameworks should help me become an effective distance learning instructor. I would need to learn more about teaching and conveying information to students in an online course.  In most online classes that I have taken, I would not be able to see the student. The disadvantage of distance learning is the lack of face-to-face communication, in which you can see the expressions of the students to see if they understand your explanation. Communication is much more streamlined when in the physical presence of students in comparison to online learning. It would take a lot of practice to be able to know how to design and demonstrate the information clearly without having to be physically present to instruct the students. By creating a Moodle and having a sandbox administrator account on Blackboard Learn, I have gained more knowledge in the ability to create courses, as well as experimenting with and using Learning Management Systems.

Week4 Reflection

This week I had a lot of fun learning about the process of using Augmented Reality (AR) at CCSU with my friend ScozzDimension.  He was on the design team that made the mobile AR Sandbox at CCSU.  It is very interesting as it used ‘real’ sand and an overhead projector to simulate a live feed of a mini-landscape with topographical contour lines.  AR is a method of combining virtual elements into the real world and for VR you are in a virtual world and cannot see your location in the real world so hitting objects and people might be disorienting.

AR at CCSU

One of my friends, ScozzDimension told me about CCSU's augmented reality system. Using an Xbox360 kinect and a PC running Augmented Reality Sandbox software made by UCdavis and Oliver Kreylos and using a Linux distribution and a projector which was able to display digital data augmented in the form of a mini-landscape in real time with colors to mark elevation levels, topographic contour lines, and simulated water if a user digs a hole in the sand it should adjust to the topograhical areas.  This type of augmented reality  is pretty interesting.
Article: http://www.ccsu.edu/featured/AR.html

Week3 Reflection

I incorporated a few more links I found which were informational so that students can get a grasp on how to use some of the equipment and other HTC Vive software packages in the moodle. I also learned a bit more about some of the software applications we are going to be using with the VR equipment. The Distance Education Master’s Program article from centerdigitaled.com is rather informative and makes me think about what concepts are needed and how to design and teach online effectively.