Week 6 - Campus Visit Overview

Scott McLeod (2013).  Technology is a given.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/93393982@N00/8399337241/in/photolist-dNdNkk-7ENXBZ-aKzvE4-dZE3LC-arQ9ML-eWf2hQ-8o5MRu-efoWfy-7K2eWC-7JXjtK-7JXjxR-7K2eYC-7JXjAp-7K2f3y-7JXjzi-7JXjuH-7JXjyt-7JXjA8-7JXjw8-7K2eY1-bz9fgS-89KRMv-89vnhv-8o5N6s-8o5Mif-8o2AWB-8o5LHo-8o2B2T-8o5Mxs-8o5LXW-8o2BcP-8o2BC6-8o5Mnu-8o2Bp6-8o5LxY-8o2BYc-8o5MD3-8o5MYE-8o5LDj-8o5LtN-8o2Cs2-8o5M7Q-eiS8nD-eiSgUz-eiXJUu-eiSbNH-eiY2LG-eiXXfj-eiSgGz-eiSa4R-eiRZuP

This week included a visit to Old Dominion University for face to face meetings with our classmates and professors.  In addition to creating the video you saw here, we had the opportunity to explore many different technology formats over the three days. 

The first day was filled with video production, however, the second day we got to explore an iPad filled with free apps.  There were apps for all grade levels and all subject areas.  My partner for this activity was a high school government teacher.  (You may remember that my experience is with little folks, so the apps that got us excited were very different!)  One app that we both could agree on was a Bone app.  We could click a button and break a bone and then magnify and explore the break all the way to the atomic level.  While I am sure this app has a practical use in a high school anatomy class, for my elementary mindset, the app was just cool.  I think that many fourth and fifth graders would be enthralled with app, just because it's cool.  

The day continued with a skype meeting about ebooks and a meeting on Adobe connect.  I sat through those presentations thinking about how amazing it would be to do an author study and invite the author to the school via skype.  It's amazing how we can open the world to students with technology.

We also had a presentation on assistive technology and all that it can do for students, from text magnifiers, to pencil grips, to an alternative mouse for the computer.  As the presenter said, "not all mice are created equal."  There are so many amazing ways to help students access the material and succeed.

The final interaction with technology was a virtual classroom.  It was filled with 5 avatars, controlled by college students in Florida, that could talk to me and interrupt and ask questions while I was giving them a booktalk.   It was almost like a simulator for driver's education.  It was realistic, but not real.  It gave me an idea of what it would be like to walk into a classroom full of teenagers without having to actually walk into a classroom full of teenagers.

While the technology experiences and presentations were informative and worthwhile, I think that the most exciting part of the campus visit was getting to know the professors and my classmates.  The lack of personal interactions is something that is missing for me in online learning.  Now, when I see a post, I can match a face to the name.  That will make this online adventure much more personal from here on out.