Reflections Journal, Week 10

Mashups!

This is a brand new concept for me - I have never heard this term let alone do I even have a clue as to what it means. I have found some resources on it and I am attempting to gather my thoughts collectively on it. I have found some excellent examples of Mashups including YouTube. But I'm still unclear as to what really qualifies as a Mashup. I have a lot of work to do over this next week - hopefully I'll be a wealth of knowledge soon!

On another note, this is my first week working as the editor. I haven't had the pleasure of being the grader until now - I'm interested to read my fellow classmates responses to questions. I'm very interested in seeing how this experience goes as well.

Hopefully by this time next week, I'll have a lot of interesting facts to rehash.

Resource Log, Entry 51-55

#51 - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-mashups.html As stated on the website, "Mashups are an exciting genre of interactive Web applications that draw upon content retrieved from external data sources to create entirely new and innovative services. They are a hallmark of the second generation of Web applications informally known as Web 2.0. This introductory article explores what it means to be a mashup, the different classes of popular mashups constructed today, and the enabling technologies that mashup developers leverage to create their applications. Additionally, you'll see many of the emerging technical and social challenges that mashup developers face."

#52 - http://www.serena.com/mashups/understanding-mashups/faq.html This website is about, "Mashups FAQ - Mashups 101."

#53 - http://www.answers.com/topic/mashup-web-application-hybrid This website is about,
"Wikipedia: Mashup (web application hybrid)."

#54 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_(web_application_hybrid) This is a Wikipedia site all about Mashups and examples.

#55 - http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/119466/make_mashups_secure?fp=16&fpid=1 Directly from the website, "Mashups offer unprecedented agility in developing lightweight Web applications for the enterprise. Here’s how to keep them from becoming a security risk."

Reflections Journal, Week 9

Boy have I been out of touch with blogging. With chapter writing and editing, this has been the furthest thing from my mind. It wasn't until recently that I started to really understand the true purpose of this blog (and hopefully I understood this correctly). This is a glorified notebook for our research during the course of this class. First of all, what a fantastic idea! Secondly, here I was attempting to search the internet for misc. websites that applied to constructivism on top of my chapter research. It was becoming too much to try and balance. I went ahead and decided to put the blog on the back-burner, as the chapters are dealing in groups, and I don't want to let my group members down. A few weeks ago, I read an announcement in BlackBoard. It stated the notebook method for the blog. Talk about eye-opening. That made so much more sense! So I've spent today looking back the research that I've done out on the internet and I went back and revisited those sites. If pages were miles, I think I'd have a good start to Florida! Although it would have been ideal to have kept up with blogging along the way, it was nice to look at everything again. I think that I've taken in a lot, but I also think there's a lot I'm not going to remember, but now I don't have to - It's In My Blog! I guess I can call this my Ahh-Haa moment!

Reflections Journal, Week 8

I was visiting a blog, http://scienceguyblogs.blogspot.com/. I noticed a link on his blog for http://mywebspiration.com/. I just recently have been introduced to this website, and boy do I like it. Any type of concept map I've tried to create has always been in PowerPoint. Anyone who's tried to creat anything in PowerPoint know how teadious making changes or alterations can be. This is not the case in Webspirations. The last time I checked into a program like this to purchase, it was well over $100.00. I was shocked to see this on the internet for free! I was expecting this to be a trial version, or in a limited format. If it's limited I sure can't tell. It has everything I need to incorporate this tool into a classroom.

Resource Log, Entry 46-50

#46 - This is a Wikipedia page on, "Constructivist teaching methods." It has concrete definations as well as a discussion of theory. There are links for additional research. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivist_teaching_methods

#47 - This page is titled, "Assessment in a Constructivist Classroom." It is all about assessments that are based in constructivism. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as7const.htm

#48 - This article is called, "Using Technology Tools to Engage Students with Multiple Learning Styles in a Constructivist Learning Environment." It is summarized on the site by, "students’ perceptions of their learning experience and understanding of course content were considered in
analyzing the effectiveness of technology used to address multiple learning styles in a constructivist environment." http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v7i2languagearts1.pdf

#49 - This page is simply entitled, "Constructivism." The article written is an indepth look at constructivism - definitions, examples, theories, etc. It also has a technology tie-in. http://www.rr1.net/users/dsmbrown/Constructivism.htm

#50 - This web page is titled, "Constructivism Learning Theory." This page focuses on student responsibility in a constructivist classroom. The role of the student, and student responsibility, magnify when they are in control (to a degree) of thier own learning. https://www.msu.edu/~purcelll/constructivismlearningtheory.htm

Resource Log, Entry 41-45

#41 - This web page is a paper called, "Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology: Implications for Transforming Distance Learning." It is an in-depth look at distance learning under the umbrella of constructivism, instructional design, and technology. http://www.ifets.info/journals/3_2/tam.html

#42 - This paper is called, "Constructing on Constructivism: The Role of Technology."
The purpose of this paper, as noted directly in the paper, was to "examine the interrelationship between constructivism and technology as revealed by empirical research." http://ejite.isu.edu/Volume2No1/nanjappa.htm

#43 - There is a google book called, "Educational Foundations: An Anthology of Critical Readings." Accorging to the book discription it, "provides an exciting alternative to foundations texts currently on the market. This anthology is aimed at students about to enter the teaching profession, those new to the profession, and anyone interested in carefully examining schools and schooling." http://books.google.com/books?id=sgH97wbGEVAC

#44 - There is a website called K12 Academics. On one of the pages there is a great resource on the thoery of constructivism and constructivist learning intervention. http://www.k12academics.com/constructivism_theory.htm

#45 - There is an article called, "The Influence of Constructivism on the Instructional Practices of Teachers." This article discussed the viewpoint of the constructivist teacher, and how curriculum is effected by thier views. http://www.bsu.edu/web/jmschall/edpsy3.html

Resource Log, Entry 36-40

#36 - This web page is called, "Learning and Teaching Styles." It is a paper that addresses the idea that all learning styles cannot be reached with technology inclusion and that curriculum must reach all forms of intelligence in order to reach all students. http://www.ucalgary.ca/~jwhunter/ict/Rationale/styles.htm

#37 - This is a great Wiki entry on Learning Styles. It is ver discriptive and has a lot of links to go further with research. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_(education

#38 - This is a blog by Peter Levine. He has a great commentary on constructivism in education. http://www.peterlevine.ws/mt/archives/000039.html

#39 - This website is called, "JEAN PIAGET - INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT." This website gave a brief history on Piaget and then dove right into Piaget's theory on intellectual development. http://www.sk.com.br/sk-piage.html

#40 - This website is called APA Online: Psychology Matters. The article is called, "Think Again: Men and Women Share Cognitive Skills." This article is about the cognitive dofferences and similarities that men and women have. http://www.psychologymatters.org/thinkagain.html