What is Does Online Graduate School Look Like?

That's a loaded question... I'm not even gonna mention the aspect of having a full-time or kids in this post.

Online school looks a lot like this:

Reading and reading and reading. Seems like that part never ends. It's all for a good reason, don't get me wrong. We need to read about these topics to better understand and gain foundational knowledge. Then we start on the assignments where we apply that knowledge. All of that is the standard Grad School rigamarole that you come to know and expect.

Here's a few things I didn't quite prepare for....

1) A fridge full of energy drinks. At 31 years old, I thought I left my energy drink days behind me. Boy was I wrong. Don't get me wrong, I'm a solid 4 cup of coffee a-day drinker. I gotta have my caffeine. But I thought for sure I wouldn't be purchasing these again.

2) The potatoes of my childhood. I couldn't go more than a couple of days without eating these or the dreaded hamburger helper. We legitimately had an entire cabinet dedicated to the stuff in my house. I hadn't even thought about these until the other day when I was crunched for time. I always make potato dishes from scratch. I needed something easy. I had neither the time nor energy to peel potatoes. So I set a pickup order for these bad boys.

3) Dropping BIG bucks on a new monitor..... okay, okay. Maybe this wasn't a necessity. But hear me out. It's sooooooooo amazing being able to put 3, yes you read that right, THREE, different internet windows on one monitor and not have to flip back and forth on my tiny laptop. So, it was definitely a good investment.

4) Needing to brush up on my prayer skills. I'm very involved in church. I fill in for teachers and nursery, we go all the time and are involved in all of the events, and that's even where I'm doing my internship. So, I'm very familiar with the ins and outs of prayer. And as a member of an Assembly of God church (which if you're unfamiliar - believes in the tenets of Pentecost), we're all about spiritual gifts of prayer. There was something about the unsettling nature of using social media - and so much of it (that I've since warmed up to) that had me reaching for this Bible study for reassurance. I think when we're in times of uncertainty, stress, or just have a lot of moving pieces going on, it's nice to have faith to lean into.  **P.S. Not to be preachy, but if you want to, I'd love to talk to you about it :)

 

Reflecting on Week 4

 This week was busy.... and not so busy.

I found some challenges to participate in. I was awarded some new badges. Score!! 

I backed off of some social media, while I embraced others. I feel I've been spending more time on Reddit, probably because of the paper that's coming up. I've also been researching and watching videos about these tools.  Now that we're using Diigo, I'll start adding some of things I'm reading to it, so y'all can see them, too if you want.

One of my favorites from this week was found in one our readings.

Horstman, Tierney, and Tzou (2020) created a table that lists the different types of functional badges. I really enjoyed reading this article because it gives you a working knowledge of how to create and implement this into your classroom or work environment. As I read through the different types of badges, it really brought me back into gamer mode. A lot of these remind me of achievement you earn or unlock when playing video games. I enjoy just how similar these are, and I know I've said it before, but it calls to that part of me. I've seen several of these utilized in this class already, I'm curious to see if we'll hit all of these before the semester is over!

Horstman, T., Tierney, G., & Tzou, C. (2020). Design principles for creating digital badges to support learningLinks to an external site.. Information and Learning Sciences, 121(11/12), 889-907. https://doi.org/10.1108/ils-02-2020-0042Links to an external site.

Badges and Gamification

 

With all of the challenges and work towards earning badges, I thought I’d take some time to read a little about them. In other courses, I’ve read about gamification, so I was already familiar with the concept, but I’ve not had a chance to participate in anything like this. Until now.

According to Merriam-Webster (2023), gamification is “the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation.” I’ve seen this often through my academic career. Encouraging students to participate through the use of games seems to be an easy way (from a student’s perspective) to engage students in the material. I’ve seen instructors create obstacle courses, play bingo, even set up their own version of Jeopardy in the classroom. 

As a college student/grad student, when tasked with creating a game as an assignment, you really see how much work goes into the process. From start to finish, gamification is a big endeavor – so you should make sure it is going to work for your classroom. I know I respond very well to the challenge of games, but others won’t always be the same way. Some students are going to be more introverted, others aren’t going to be motivated by prizes, so it’s important to make sure that the right environment is present for the games to be effective.

Speaking of prizes…. In middle school, our prizes were candy. In high school/undergrad, our prizes were bonus points on an exam. Now, we have the opportunity to earn digital badges. I think these are pretty cool. It’s a way of showing your achievements. 

As a part-time gamer (it’s my off-season because of school), I love unlocking achievements in games. That’s one of the things you strive for, right? I don’t know any gamers whose goal is to go straight to the finish line. In doing that, you miss all of the side quests, the bonus levels, the extra gear, the hidden things, and easter eggs. You’ve gotta get those achievements, those badges, to level up your character to make the game even better.

And who doesn’t love to show off those badges just a little??

Bornfeld and Rafaeli (2017) did a study on gamifying and badges. They wanted to see if badges would have a positive impact on user behavior. They completed a big data natural experiement and collected the data from a website. They exported this data to a spreadsheet and then analyzed it.  This study did support the hypothesis of positive results to using badges as motivation but did cite issues and threats to the validity of the study.  The authors also agreed that as with previous studies, the effect of implementing badges depends on the quality of the users.

I feel like there will be a place as the world continues to dwell in the digital realm where the badges are going to become important for resumes. I took a Microcomputer Applications course, where upon completion of each section, I received a digital badge for my proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Those are now such common applications to have knowledge of that I don’t feel the need to display the badges on my resume or LinkedIn, but that’s just an example of where things might be going. If I took a course in Adobe Photoshop, instead of a printable certificate to submit with a resume, I wouldn’t be surprised if I received a digital badge nowadays.

Bornfeld, B., & Rafaeli, S. (2017). Gamifying with badges: A big data natural experiment on Stack ExchangeLinks to an external site.. First Monday, 22(6). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v22i6.7299

Merriam-Webster. (2023, June 3). Gamification definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamification 

Diigo... How the Heck Do You Use This?

Diigo is a content curation site that allows users to tag, annotate, store, and share resources from across the web. The way I understand it, it's basically a place to store your bookmarks (instead of on your browser) that can be shared with others, and can be tagged for easy searching. 

When I first opened this site, I had no clue what to do. I just stared at the screen and kind of wondered, where do I go from here? I clicked on the "My Groups" link and scrolled through the shared resources. I really like that there's a place I can go to find resources from like-minded individuals.

I ended up turning to YouTube to find a tutorial video on using Diigo - shown below. (Pssstt... there's actually already a very helpful video on the EME6414 YouTube channel but I guess my tired brain didn't think to look there first).

Once I figured out how to use the basic tools of Diigo, I embraced this content curation site a lot more. There are still some features that I have not explored, like the 'Outliners'... but I plan to play around with it a little bit and see what all it can do.

My favorite thing about it is the tagging within the groups. It's like having your own specific search engine. For example: When I went to the EME6414 group page, I typed in 'Twitter' to the search box. Anything that had been shared to the group that had been tagged as Twitter or annotated with Twitter populated in the search. This is great for communities of practice and researching/sharing resources within a specific field or area of discipline.

For anyone interested in what the Diigo site looks like when you've interacted - here are some screenshots of 1) submitting a post to the group and 2) commenting on others' contributions.

What are you going to contribute to the Diigo group?

Long, Hot Weekend Instagram Challenge

 Congrats to those of y'all that accomplished both challenges!! It was a lot. 

I was just a few photos away from completing both, but I wouldn't have been able to get this post up in time. So, I figured I'd better play it safe. 

This was a lot of fun. I already had plans to go out this weekend, so that was lucky for me I was able to get some of these. Most of them, though, are stock photos from online. 

Most of my real photos were applied to the other challenge, but oh well.

I'm going to do a quick description of why I included each of the photos.

1. Sports - My daughter is obsessed with soccer lately. Inside, outside, doesn't matter where, there is always a soccer ball being kicked. This is an homage to her.
2. Nature- This stock photo was just beautiful and reminds me of my grandparents' property growing up.
3. The arts- My kids love to paint. It is their current favorite craft.
4. A concert- This scene reminds me of every concert experience I've ever had. Until I push my way to the front, anyways.
5. The movies- This is a real shot from this weekend. My Granny and I have a tradition of seeing every Fast and Furious movie together in theaters. And before you come at me, yes, I know they've gotten pretty out there and ridiculous. But it's still a tradition. And it's still a reason to go eat popcorn and get a break from the real world for a few hours.
6. Fine dining- This is my version of fine dining. Santa Fe Cattle Co. Usually I go for their burgers or tacos, but I tried to be good and get a salad knowing I was gonna be getting all of that theater food in just a little bit :)
7. A barbecue- Some pictures are worth a 1000 words, so I'm gonna let that one speak for itself.
8. Relaxing- Not my image.. but this is my favorite way to relax. A hot cup of coffee and a good book.
9. Hanging out with friends- This picture actually had another person in it.... but you know how Instagram's dimensions are. So to make it fit, I had to crop the other person out. Gave me a good laugh thinking about how semi-anti-social I am that my idea of "hanging out with friends" was hanging out with a dog".
10. Big night out- I love, love, love fireworks. A big night out for me would definitely be grabbing a blanket, finding a place doing fireworks, and just going to sit outside and watch them. That would be perfect.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christine Wise (@christine.wise23)

Social Butterfly Challenge

Here's my attempt at the Social Butterfly Challenge..

Ok. You got me. I may be having fun with this. 

Fine... I'm having a lot of fun with this.

You add a challenge to something and I am there for it. I'm competitive by nature. It's in my bones. I don't back down from a challenge.

I started scrolling through blogs looking for post titles that caught my eye. I focused on topics that I was focusing on myself. Twitter has been my Achilles' heel so far, because it is so hard to get your message out in just a few words. So, I've been doing my research to make sure I understand this platform. I also struggle with having my social media accounts set to public during this course to allow for everyone to communicate with me. That's a big change from my norm. It allows for all of these different things to flood my news feed - or whatever the kids call it these days.... (I was just informed they don't say something's fire anymore so apparently I'm not up on the lingo.. the horror!!!!)

A Web 2.0 Learning Blog created a post titled "A Trip Through Twitter". In this, a list was created of what appears in the following feed. I thought this was a unique way to catalog what the social app is feeding you every day. Then, you can use this information to curate your feed by manipulating what you input/search.

After that, I traveled over to Bits & Pieces and encountered a post, "the lurker life." This post resonated with me on every level. It matched me to a T. I am a natural born lurker and there is nothing wrong with it. I am working on that in this course... I even branched out on my personal Facebook today and made a challenge post to my friends and family. This post linked some great resources about lurking in social media if you're interested in hearing more about it!

One of the tools we learned about that I was so excited for was the RSS feed. Inspire. Learn. Educate. created a post "Is RSS Feeds the Answer?" This post explores the idea of RSS feeds and some of the functionality, or lack thereof. There are some great comments on this post as well!

After I left the blog-o-sphere, I made my way over to Twitter. I had posted a Tweet about loving the challenges and had been receiving some feedback. So, I decided to respond to some classmates to show my appreciation for their replies! 

#eme6414 who else is thankful for these challenges? It’s keeping my brain focused and giving me purpose in the social platforms so y’all aren’t subjected to my randomness 🤣

— Christine Wise (@23christinewise) June 2, 2023

I just had to share Unreliable's Tweet. There's a goldmine of comedy here if you pay attention. A lot of the posts from this classmate are comical. In this case, I didn't think words were necessary. I let Jim Halpert's reaction say it for me :) 

Starting all these new social medias, the number of ex's that are popping up as recommended connections is giving my mild palpitations. #Eme6414

— Unreliable Blogger (@Auditorycurl) June 2, 2023

What do y'all think? I am breaking out of my chrysalis? Am I becoming a #SocialButterfly? 

Mini Post

This is from my Personal Facebook but I really felt led to share it here in case anyone needed to hear it today. It's completely unrelated to Web 2.0 topics... but I'm gonna follow what God says to do so...

(I didn't embed the link since my personal account is private)

If you don't read anything else on Facebook today, please read this...

I'll admit, I've been kind of passive lately in giving God praise for my blessings. I feel like I've been on autopilot about it. It's been one of those things that, when something good happens, I say "Thank you God, Praise God" and I go about my business.

I started a study on Prayer this week, and this is one of the prayer prompts. You write a prayer listing out all of His mercies and blessings He has given you in one place.

Y'all... If this doesn't humble you to your knees, I don't know what will. When I started writing this.... I was just in awe of how much God has done for me, in just the last couple of weeks. I think we get so comfortable living our lives, that we don't see how much these blessings add up and we can take it for granted. I pray it daily, "thank you for X, or thank you for Y or Z". But to pray "thank you for everything all at once".. WOW.

So, I'm challenging you today, use the below prompt and write out a prayer thanking God for His mercies and blessings from the past week or two. Everything you can think of He has done for you. Be specific, everything you can think of. Really reflect on it. And be humbled at how much He has done for you.

Then, Praise Him!!!

I Hope You're Hungry!

 Y'all!!

I have discovered a love for Reddit... More specifically, I have discovered a love for the subreddit r/GifRecipes. 

This community is a group of people that post recipes in a visual format. For a busy grad student and mom like me, this is a lifesaver!!  I can watch a quick recipe video or gif, and voila, dinner is planned.

Not only does a visual recipe allow you to know what the ingredients and steps are, but you can actually see what is going on in case the written directions are confusing for a beginner level home cook.

It's also nice to see someone else's technique who has created the dish before. It eliminates some of the trial and error that most people have to go through in the kitchen.

Check out this brussels sprouts video and tell me this doesn't look absolutely delicious!!

I'm a dietitian tasked with creating nutrition focused recipe videos and I have no idea what I am doing. This is my first attempt. Any feedback or advice is appreciated!
by u/Gazmocity in GifRecipes

I'm giving myself a personal challenge of creating a recipe gif over the weekend and posting it to the subreddit. So come back and visit me on Sunday and I'll link it on my reflection post! 

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The Road so Far...

 This first week has involved a lot of setting up of accounts and acquainting myself with different tools. It is taking some getting used to for sure. I've always had social media, but I've not considered myself an active participant. I use it more for keeping up with family and looking up information when I need it. It's more of a resource for me. So, as I get my feet wet this week, I feel I'm still guarding myself and using it in that manner. I've liked some posts, even made a couple, but mostly I've researched, I've followed, I've went down the rabbit hole of many different hashtags to see where it would lead me.

I've found a wealth of knowledge is available that I didn't know was possible on Twitter. The platform that I thought was for news and sharing mean opinions about others, actually contains very helpful educational tools and learning aids - you just have to know where to look and who to follow.

Blogging is another story.  There are so many kinds of bloggers out there. You can really decide who you want to be or show the world. Blogging to me feels really vulnerable. It is so far out of my comfort zone, but I want to push myself this semester and really try these different platforms to see where it will take me.

I'm excited to take this Journey into Web 2.0!

Networked Individualism

Rainie and Wellman (2013) open Part 1 of their book "Networked" by telling the story of Peter and Trudy. As a brief summary, Trudy suffers a devastating injury that results in surgeries and an intensive recovery period at the hospital. Through the use of social media in what is termed "Networked Individualism", a community far and wide rallies together to support Peter and Trudy as they navigate physical, mental, and financial recovery.

This story resonated with me. Out of all of the uses of social media, this is the one I can fully support. I love the way a community comes to the aid of someone else in a time of need.

In my experience (similar to the story in the text), it starts with a tragic accident or diagnosis. A family member sends a few messages, or one group message, to other family members to let them know what happened. Those family members share that message with others, and even post it on Facebook asking for prayers. At this point, everyone on the friends list is aware of the situation. Now, we are gaining momentum.

The next step is for someone to create a Go Fund Me account, or a similar crowd funding type account listing the affected parties as the recipients of the funds. This gets shared on Facebook, email, any other social media account that the link can be shared on. Others can even see these campaigns directly on the website, without knowing the family at all. This is a great use of the social media to reach others and form a secondary community dedicated to supporting this family in need.

Another use of social media I've experienced in this situation would be once the family returns home. My church has a Facebook group set up for the 'Women's group'. Someone will make the initial post requesting volunteers to cook dinners and lunches. From there, a schedule will be created for a minimum of a week, depending on the severity of the injury/illness, to help the family to not have to worry about cooking/providing meals. This is all coordinated over social media and cell phones.

Utilizing a service like Google calendar would be a great way to organize a meal chain or set up a cleaning schedule. It would also be helpful to organize volunteers to help with childcare or transportation to doctor's appointments. This type of calendar app can be downloaded to cell phones and shared with multiple people. 

There are so many ways social media can be used to support an individual's needs in a networked way, hence the term. 

Rainie, L. & Wellman, B. (2013). Networked: The new social operating system. Boston, MA: MIT Press. [eBook - FSU access]

The Very First Tweet

Tonight, I made my first ever post to Twitter. It was simple, nothing fancy. I included a hashtag and a request for help from my fellow classmates. 

I've spent a lot of time scrolling on this platform, simply being an observer. I don't feel that I have anything to say at this point to be an active participant. I'm hopeful that once I become more comfortable with the platform and all of its features, responding with words instead of a 'like' will be easier. 

I have discovered Twitter can be useful in the education field. This is something that I was hoping to explore when I signed up for EME6414. As I searched through various hashtags, I found #edutwitter. This hashtag led me to the below post:

Want to create meaningful collaboration in the classroom? Copy and use my FREE TEMPLATE, 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟲 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 ➡️ https://t.co/dEF4jaY46p #reciprocalteaching #blendedlearning #edchat #edutwitter pic.twitter.com/3RVOOkvVDV

— Dr. Catlin Tucker (@Catlin_Tucker) May 17, 2023

I was amazed that I could find instructional aids for a learning environment on Twitter. I continued to explore this hashtag, as well as #edchat, and I found so many great resources for education. As a completely new user to Twitter, I had no idea these resources existed. I thought Twitter was a place to express opinions and news in short synopses due to the limited character availability. 

I am excited to continue exploring this platform to uncover even more resources related to instructional design. Who knows, I might even work up the nerve to contribute my own!