The Light Appears Near

When I first embarked on this class I had only a shimmer of ideas on how technology could impact my educational presentations. I was standing at the beginning of the technology tunnel not fully aware of how to implement pieces of technology in my presentation. I have found technology to be a breath of fresh air and the light is shining brighter. That light represents the new technology knowledge that I have learned to improve my presentation to students. I am more confident at the computer and motivated to try new technology now then when I first started this class.

I have started to use the power point slides that are provided by the book company with more creativity, by personalizing the slides with my own ideas as well. I'm not afraid to start manipulating the information by adding snippet's of short videos that re-enforce the information. I have become more aware of presenting material in a variety of ways to enhance the learning experience of all the students.I have started to enhance the audio and visual power points with snippet's of visual procedures and including questions in between information sessions to encourage student interaction.

I have started teaching an evening class and the students are coming straight from work to class. This presents a big challenge for me because when the student arrives to class they are already drained from working an eight hour day which leaves very little energy for class.I feel the working student in an evening class needs to be stimulated with more than just lecture, but other exercises that will engage this learner a little bit more. These students need more classroom activities during lecture to engage them more so that they aren't falling asleep. It's been a challenge to teach students in the evening, so I had to come up with different teaching strategies. I have implemented small group where the students are given a case study and the students are more engaged with discussion. This makes lecture not so long and drawn out but breaks it up and keeps the students engaged.

I have found that by introducing web links via short video snippets during lecture this encourages the student to go to that web link on their own and not just look at that video but discover more information on other materials that are being reviewed. I have found that this method helps to keep those students that like computer activities to stimulate them to perform added research on various topics via web sites. For the student that isn't computer savvy this method encourages them to go to the computer without the stress of connecting the first couple of exercises to heavy assignment. This method helps get the student acclimated to computer assignments a little at a time instead of just pushing it on the student without preparation.

The digital portfolio was a big challenge for me. I have prepared the paper portfolio but never attempted the digital portfolio. Learning to manipulate and set-up presentations within the portfolio was really a challenge. Working to develop the portfolio into a finished project was fun but a lot of work. I enjoyed being able to manipulate the background and add and delete information and arrange it another format. Implementing photo's to help emphasize meaning and introduce a section was time consuming but a learning process. I would like to implement the digital portfolio in my curriculum,so that my students can store their work and look back on their progress throughout the year. This portfolio can be used when they are going out on job interviews to display their clinical and theory experience to future employers.

The final group project was a dynamic project working with new technology once again. The group project went much better than the first group project due to being able to communicate more effectively to complete the group project. The members in my group utilized new technology to enhance communication as well ascompliment our group project.The Wiki allowed the group members to work independently on their own individual page and combine the project once the indivduals were done working on their page. The Wiki allowed members of the team to view each others work and give one another feedback to improve the contributions from each one of us.

I would like to include the Wiki as a group project in clinical group projects. The students are assigned a group project to develop a careplan as a group. Each member has to develop their own nursing diagnosis and bring their completed nursing diagnosis to the group. The Wiki could be used to assist communication as well as bringing individual work together to be incorporated as one group project.

The Wiki was easy to work with once I started working with this new technoogy. I will be showing my collegesnot only the Wiki but also other forms of technology learned.I enjoyed this class and have learned much.

Reflection Blog

This class has been a learning experience for me. At the beginning I was nervous about learning so many new things. But now I feel empowered with so much knowledge and the capability of improving my blackboard class. This class has increased my awareness that all students don't learn the same way and in order to meet their needs the instructor should incorporate various teaching modalities to reach various learners. Introducing more group projects to explore topics learned in class gives the student a chance to work through solutions and learn from their peers as well. Small group interaction has allowed students to share how they devise various tools to learn material and this method has been ideal for the students that are loners and don't search out a chance to meet other students within their class.

The experiencing of participating in a live chat was really nice. This was really something I could implement in my blackboard class with discussion board. Right now I use a blog to have students reflect on their learning experience and respond on certain topics that were introduced on the blog. But to have small group sessions in live chat would really be nice. The students could get immediate feedback and a chance to interact with the instructor as well as the other students.

The LPN students who are in the transition RN program had to write resumes and had simulated interviews for perspective jobs. This was nice for the students because it gave them a chance to learn how to set up a resume and how to dress for a perspective interview. The students learned a lot. They received tips on how to dress for an interview and questions to ask during an interview. The students also are beginning to learn how to construct a portfolio. A lot of the students intend to go on to receive their BSN and many programs have implemented this within their programs.

The digital e-portfolio would be a very good project for students to prepare to have when they go on interviews to show their perspective employers and also when they go to other schools for a higher degree. This would be a good project towards graduation that would allow the student to compile all of their individual assignments and group projects. This could also improve the students computer knowledge and skills.

The students that I have really present a variety of challenges as I develop various technological projects as well as various teaching strategies to address various learning styles. I have implemented quizzes on blackboard as well as various assignments that the students have to bring to class and work through the answers in class. Some students work through the problems at home which is what I encourage. The students break off into small groups and work through case scenarios and this seems to work out well. I also have students prepare for exams by working through case studies on their virtual reality clinical disc. Which seems to assist them in answering questions related to case scenarios.

The most recent interaction activity I have introduced to the students is working hands on with a simulation manikin in skills lab. This is acting a live scenario that they have been given on their blog and researched what are the assessments that need to be done in a manner of prioritizing order. The instructor gives the student a chance to view scenarios via virtual clinical scenario on CD then review the skills in their book and come to lab and work through the same scenario with the instructor in a small group.

This technique cuts down on lab time but it gives the student time to research material and prepare better for small group learning. This works out well for the most part but some problems still need to be worked out. I have made sure all my students have various ways to communicate with me when we are out of class. But I have found that I really need to adhere to my office hours for student conferences because the students will come directly to my office after class and don't allow me to take a break after class. Viewing e-mail more frequently has allowed me to cut down on students need to make numerous office visits because the students know that I will return a response to their questions within 24 hours for students this helps a lot.