CEDO540 - Session Five / CEDO550 - Week Zero

Time to wrap up another class. I'm a bit overwhelmed with the Week 5 materials for 540 and the Week 0 materials for 550 overlapping in conjunction with final exam week and starting a new semester (we're on block schedule so I have all new classes of students!) Whew, with that out of the way, I have to say that I still don't see the direct link between the tools available with GoogleTrends and my teaching. I mean I now know where tons of data can be found after completing my annotated list of sites for this week but I'm not sure how I, or if I would ever be using that in my classroom. I do however see that advantage for future use in graduate studies and I guess I could use some of the data from the WI-DPI web site as it directly relates to the student body that I work with. As far as GoogleTrends and GoogleInsight, I found those tools to be fun. One application I can think of is to check out common search terms for my family's business in Door County to see what terms and keywords people are using and comparing those to the words we advertise with. Again however, this "data" as far as I see myself using it is somewhat anecdotal.
Considering the beginning of CEDO550, I loved the modules that prepped for the online experience - I hope that some of these materials can be utilized earlier in the program for future MEIT cohorts as I found the resources exceedingly helpful and well organized. I did have a few issues with broken links but managed to find the information presented to me elsewhere. I'm hoping to create similar documents for "netiquette" to be used in my school - I think that the students and staff would benefit greatly from this information if it's formatted and ready to use and share.

CEDO540 - Session Four

So I understand the use of this competitive intelligence in data gathering and how it relates to statistics however I'm struggling with it's application to the educational field. I feel that post-secondary education may have more stake in that type of data analysis as there are ever more options for students and it would be interesting to see what keywords and search terms are resulting in hits to a big name school - say UW Madison for instance. Other schools both in and out of Wisconsin could use that type of information to gear their websites to garner more of the market.
However, I still have issue when it comes to applying this weeks material to my position in the educational field. The potential for applying this type of mainstream data analysis would no doubt prove useful in a world where the new mantra is "making data driven decisions" but until the platform exists - HitWise for education per se - this weeks exercises proved interesting but not really applicable.

CEd0540 - Session Three

Ahhhh, the return to work after the lovely vacation. I have to tell you that I really did enjoy working on the survey. Some of my perceptions about teachers and technology were supported and I'm really considering a follow-up to delve a little deeper. Who was it that said "The answer to one question only poses more questions?" OK, that was a really bad revision, but you catch my meaning - I really am wondering how to bridge the gap between great classroom instruction (utilizing technology) and just getting by with what the school requires.
I think about our technology inservice in the fall of the year and it's more about the nuts and bolts of how to get back online if you forgot your passwords over the summer or some new feature of a tool that we've previously used. Our district does offer some great trainings coupled with the time to begin implementation but topics are limited in scope again to what the district/school determines is beneficial. We have a new host for our web site that allows individual access to editing teacher or groups pages and our district currently uses Moodle so those trainings abound.
The problem is, we lack the visionary "look to the horizon" approach to see what's coming (or just recently arrived) so we can gather the energy and excitement. I can talk all I want about Prezi or Animoto and how great they are, but until educators have the opportunity to sit down and create with plenty of time, they won't learn how cool those apps are. (BTW - I did make one teacher sit down and create an Animoto to play behind her as she talked to the high school students about scheduling classes for next year...her first attempt at Animoto!)
But until we can get broad trainings and support for all teachers, then we're limited to an educational field with pockets and islands were great things happen in the realm of technology rather than an ocean of success.