Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Learning Styles
It is so interesting to reflect on my own learning style and compare how I was taught in Lithuania and in the U.S. In Lithuania I was taught to MEMORIZE and RECITE everything, there was no creativity or thinking involved. You had to learn everything by heart to recite all the historical facts in the history class and all the theories in mathematics class and etc. I used to learn all the lessons from the book by heart and recite the material the next day in class. Most of the lessons were lecture style and some of the science classes were taught hands on approach. I liked the hands on approach since I could remember and understand the material better.
When I started taking classes in the U.S. in the community college, I was surprised at how teachers taught here. They actually wanted to know what you thought about what you learned, and discussions in the classroom were mandatory for classroom participation, lots of visual aide was used, and you actually had to do research on the topic yourself and use Internet. I think I am both a visual and auditory learner. I learn very well by listening to discussions but I also learn very well by taking notes and reviewing them over and over again. I also learn well when I am given a lot of detailed instruction.
If I were to teach at school, I would find out learning styles of all my students and if the highest percentage of students were visual learners and a smaller percentage were auditory and tactile learners, I would use a lot of visual aid in the classroom (pictures, videos) but in addition, I would also use discussions, podcasts, and hands on activities. That way, all different learners are engaged in the learning process.
When I started taking classes in the U.S. in the community college, I was surprised at how teachers taught here. They actually wanted to know what you thought about what you learned, and discussions in the classroom were mandatory for classroom participation, lots of visual aide was used, and you actually had to do research on the topic yourself and use Internet. I think I am both a visual and auditory learner. I learn very well by listening to discussions but I also learn very well by taking notes and reviewing them over and over again. I also learn well when I am given a lot of detailed instruction.
If I were to teach at school, I would find out learning styles of all my students and if the highest percentage of students were visual learners and a smaller percentage were auditory and tactile learners, I would use a lot of visual aid in the classroom (pictures, videos) but in addition, I would also use discussions, podcasts, and hands on activities. That way, all different learners are engaged in the learning process.
Creative Commons Lab
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Photo Attribution: Original Image: "Trakai, Lithuania" By: anjci (No real name given) Released under an Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike License I searched an image of Trakai castle, one of the most historic castles in Lithuania.The above image could be used to teach children about the country of Lithuania and its historic buildings. If I were an educator, I would use images in different subject areas, from art to languages to history. It makes learning and teaching more interesting/creative and students would absorb and remember more facts/material when they are presented visually.  The longest river in Lithuania - Nemunas Image from Picasa Web Album |
Thursday, November 11, 2010
PC Maintenance
I watched quite a few tutorials on PC Maintenance and I thought all of them were very helpful and informative.
I watched Clean Up and Speed Up Your PC tutorial. I was aware of how to uninstall unwanted applications, however, I was not aware of Windows Cleanup! It was all new to me. I ran the program on my computer and was able to clean up about 360 MB! I will use this program regularly.
I also watched Blocking and Killing Spyware and Adware tutorial. I downloaded Spyware Blaster and II was surprised to find out that there are so many free products available to protect your computer.I also downloaded Avast free Anti-virus protection program for my home computer.
I also watched File Backup Options tutorial. I thought Karen’s Replicator would be very useful since I have so many important files on my computer that need to be backed up. By downloading and using Karen’s Replicator program I can backup by my files for free to my external hard drive.
I will definitely share many of the tips with my friends and my colleagues like free anti-virus application and how to clean up and speed up your computer.
I watched Clean Up and Speed Up Your PC tutorial. I was aware of how to uninstall unwanted applications, however, I was not aware of Windows Cleanup! It was all new to me. I ran the program on my computer and was able to clean up about 360 MB! I will use this program regularly.
I also watched Blocking and Killing Spyware and Adware tutorial. I downloaded Spyware Blaster and II was surprised to find out that there are so many free products available to protect your computer.I also downloaded Avast free Anti-virus protection program for my home computer.
I also watched File Backup Options tutorial. I thought Karen’s Replicator would be very useful since I have so many important files on my computer that need to be backed up. By downloading and using Karen’s Replicator program I can backup by my files for free to my external hard drive.
I will definitely share many of the tips with my friends and my colleagues like free anti-virus application and how to clean up and speed up your computer.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Educational Application of RSS Feeds
RSS is a great tool. Before I started this class I did not have RSS page. I think I will be a frequent user of RSS Reader page. Instead of checking 10 different websites everyday for different information, I can open my RSS page and have the information in front of me on one page. I even can get a shorter version of the whole article! I can even share the links with anyone who I think might benefit from the page. For example, I get feeds from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with most recent updates on immigration forms and fees. Once I see the update I can share the link with my colleagues.
I subscribed to The Rapid E-Learning Blog http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning. Since the office where I am working is trying to use different e-learning tools to provide workshops, presentations, and newsletters, I thought the blog about Why E-Learning is So Effective was very interesting. It talked about how E-Learning supports the Organization's goals (improved training costs, decreased material cost, improved productivity) and how E-Learning supports the learner's development (real-time access, freedom to fail, improved retention). I posted a comment to this blog: "I really liked the article about the effectiveness of E-learning. Since I am working at a university, I think it will be effective to offer workshops through e-learning. I like the real-time access part. Some of our students cannot attend the workshops offered at a specific time so if we offered e-learning course, they would be able to access them from anywhere and anytime."
I really like The Rapid E-Learning blog since you can get so many useful tips on how to use different technology tools. I just learned about free screencasting tool Screenr How to Use This Free Screencasting Tool for E-Learning. I think I will be using this tool in my presentations at work.
I thought the article was very interesting on how very little technology and education can produce such big results in a school in a city of Cape Town in South Africa (ISTE Connects article
South Africa Visit Shows Power of Education to Change Lives).
I have also subscribed to my classmate blogs, therefore when I log in to Google Reader, I can see if anyone posted anything recently. That way, I do not have to sign in to Blogger every day.
I have been checking the feeds almost every day for the past week. I found that there are more feeds posted on weekdays rather than weekends. Also, some sites have more feeds than others. NPR Topics: Education site and Techlearning has always the largest number of feeds. I have also subscribed to a few sites that provide most recent updates on what is going on in the world of immigration. I subscribed to USCIS Form Update site, Fragomen site, and Immigration Blog site. Lately there have been so many changes in immigration forms, fees, mailing addresses, therefore checking the reader for the most recent feeds on the above mentioned issues will be very helpful for my job. I can also inform my colleagues by sharing the appropriate link.
I already found very useful technology tools from Dzine blog, The Rapid E-Learning Blog and from The Educational Technology Blog that I will be using for my presentations and workshops.
I really like The Rapid E-Learning blog since you can get so many useful tips on how to use different technology tools. I just learned about free screencasting tool Screenr How to Use This Free Screencasting Tool for E-Learning. I think I will be using this tool in my presentations at work.
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| RSS Reader Screen Shot |
I subscribed to The Rapid E-Learning Blog http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning. Since the office where I am working is trying to use different e-learning tools to provide workshops, presentations, and newsletters, I thought the blog about Why E-Learning is So Effective was very interesting. It talked about how E-Learning supports the Organization's goals (improved training costs, decreased material cost, improved productivity) and how E-Learning supports the learner's development (real-time access, freedom to fail, improved retention). I posted a comment to this blog: "I really liked the article about the effectiveness of E-learning. Since I am working at a university, I think it will be effective to offer workshops through e-learning. I like the real-time access part. Some of our students cannot attend the workshops offered at a specific time so if we offered e-learning course, they would be able to access them from anywhere and anytime."
I really like The Rapid E-Learning blog since you can get so many useful tips on how to use different technology tools. I just learned about free screencasting tool Screenr How to Use This Free Screencasting Tool for E-Learning. I think I will be using this tool in my presentations at work.
I thought the article was very interesting on how very little technology and education can produce such big results in a school in a city of Cape Town in South Africa (ISTE Connects article
South Africa Visit Shows Power of Education to Change Lives).
I have also subscribed to my classmate blogs, therefore when I log in to Google Reader, I can see if anyone posted anything recently. That way, I do not have to sign in to Blogger every day.
I have been checking the feeds almost every day for the past week. I found that there are more feeds posted on weekdays rather than weekends. Also, some sites have more feeds than others. NPR Topics: Education site and Techlearning has always the largest number of feeds. I have also subscribed to a few sites that provide most recent updates on what is going on in the world of immigration. I subscribed to USCIS Form Update site, Fragomen site, and Immigration Blog site. Lately there have been so many changes in immigration forms, fees, mailing addresses, therefore checking the reader for the most recent feeds on the above mentioned issues will be very helpful for my job. I can also inform my colleagues by sharing the appropriate link.
I already found very useful technology tools from Dzine blog, The Rapid E-Learning Blog and from The Educational Technology Blog that I will be using for my presentations and workshops.
I really like The Rapid E-Learning blog since you can get so many useful tips on how to use different technology tools. I just learned about free screencasting tool Screenr How to Use This Free Screencasting Tool for E-Learning. I think I will be using this tool in my presentations at work.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
GTD-Getting Things Done
I really liked the GTD process. I am following a similar process at work but not at home. At work, I organized my process using Outlook Calendar such as upcoming meetings, tasks or future projects. My work outlook calendar is synced to my iPhone so I can get pop up notifications on my phone when I am not by my computer. At work I deal with a lot of sensitive deadlines. I have to keep track of 330 faculty and staff immigration visa expiration dates. The Outlook Calendar works great for that purpose. Since our office purchased a system where I can generate immigration visa expiring reports I schedule report “generation” meeting every two weeks. At work I also have a tray for things that must be done “now” and a “pending” tray where something is missing and I am waiting for departments or scholars to get back to me. I try to answer all my phone calls and emails within hours. I use Outlook for long term projects. As I am preparing for a big presentation in spring, I scheduled meeting with my coworkers for November and December to discuss and plan the presentation.
It was very helpful to go through the process and apply it to my home environment. Life can get a little hectic with a two year old, full time job and a class. I graduated in 2007 so taking classes again can be a little overwhelming. I put all my “to do things” in an “inbox.” According to David Allen, you have to learn to prioritize to get things done. After prioritization, I made a list of what had to be done today, tomorrow and what can be done next week (the list contained specific dates).
I really liked Kelly’s advise on context and time availability. For example, I had a project to be done last Wednesday, however, a lot of my coworkers were at the conference that day, and I was the only one in the office advising students and answering phone calls, therefore, I had to postpone my project until next week even though it was scheduled for Wednesday.
I am planning to to continue the GTD process. I really like scheduling an “overview” session every week. For my “at home” tasks it will be Saturday afternoon when my son goes takes a nap. For my “at work” tasks it will be Monday morning right after I come in to work.
It was very helpful to go through the process and apply it to my home environment. Life can get a little hectic with a two year old, full time job and a class. I graduated in 2007 so taking classes again can be a little overwhelming. I put all my “to do things” in an “inbox.” According to David Allen, you have to learn to prioritize to get things done. After prioritization, I made a list of what had to be done today, tomorrow and what can be done next week (the list contained specific dates).
I really liked Kelly’s advise on context and time availability. For example, I had a project to be done last Wednesday, however, a lot of my coworkers were at the conference that day, and I was the only one in the office advising students and answering phone calls, therefore, I had to postpone my project until next week even though it was scheduled for Wednesday.
I am planning to to continue the GTD process. I really like scheduling an “overview” session every week. For my “at home” tasks it will be Saturday afternoon when my son goes takes a nap. For my “at work” tasks it will be Monday morning right after I come in to work.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Social Networking
Social networking is very important in my field (international education). A big part of my social networking happens in person: attending state and national conferences. However, a lot of social networking happens on the web: most recent news, and different ideas on international education is shared on Facebook, Twitter, list serves, webinars, etc. I am a fan of NAFSA and NAFSA Region V on Facebook. I get most recent updates on what is happening in my field, information on upcoming webinars, workshops, and job openings. I am also a fan of Fragomen on Twitter (the world's leading immigration law firm) where I get informed about current procedures and processes, and up-to-the-minute information about immigration issues and anticipated changes.
I think social networking in a great tool to share different ideas and learn from each other. You can join hundreds of social networking communities with the same interests as yours or you can create your own network where you can share your own views and ideas or ask questions. It can work well in the field of education/school setting.
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