Reflection 10: ePortfolio

For my final project in EDIT 4300 I developed an ePortfolio to showcase my semester's work. I added a section for my EDIT 4510 class as well. I also included place holders for my EDIT 5600 course and my EDFN 5000 course, just incase I need to add work from those classes in the future. Even though it was a lot of work, its amazing to see all the projects we worked on throughout the course of the Spring semester. We did a lot.

I am extremely comfortable hand coding and designing traditional websites, but this project was challenging because instead of using code such as HTML/CSS I used a WYSIWYG tool, Google Sites and I had to get used to the workflow. It was also challenging integrating assignments that were text-based vs. being visual based like a piece of digital art. Then creating the navigational hierarchy took some thinking because there are a lot links to the class section, and could get cluttered if not done with careful

consideration.

By the end, I managed to get the project working in a way that I had envisioned, but I could have alleviated some of my stress if I took a traditional approach from the beginning by creating a sitemap before I started building the project in Google Sites. But that might be the great thing about Google Sites, you can just dig in and start creating a website rather quickly, no previous experience needed. All the tools to get you started are right there on the screen, and you can use one of the templates provided to make the process go even faster.

Visit my ePortfolio.

Reflection 9: Got Time to Take a Survey, or Play a Game

For my one my last assignments in EDIT 4300 with Kimberly Rubal I made a digital survey, and created a quiz game using Google Forms, and Kahoot. 

For my survey I used Google Forms, which is really good tool to use for surveys, student assignments and quizzes. I use Google Forms frequently in the classes I teach. I use them for article reviews, where I provide students a form with preset questions and they look for an article to review on Dezeen.com, Mashable.com, or Wired.com. I also use Google Forms in my Web Design class for students to answer preset questions about various websites I have them critique - last website they critiqued was MLB.com.

Google forms are great for assignments where there are definitive answers for the questions asked because points can be applied to each question, and Google Classroom will tally the points up as well as post to Google classroom when they imported. When done right, teachers do not even have to grade the quiz assignments because Google has already done that for the teacher.

The other online resource I used is Kahoot to gamify a basic Graphic Design quiz. This application allows students to compete against each other, and get points for correct answers. Although it's fun to use, I really do not use it very much. It seems clunky, and also seems to target a younger audience. I have used Kahoot in class before, but to get the most out of it you have to pay for it, and I really do not use it enough to justify purchasing the application. 

Here is the Google form I made for class.

Here is the Kahoot quiz I made for class.

Reflection 8: Let's Go Riding with Google Sheets

Before digging into my assignments for Module 7, I went mounting biking in Frazier Park with some good friends. I have not been able to get much weekend riding under my belt this Spring because I have been busy with work, coaching and grad school, so it felt good to get out on the trail and escape into the mountains for the afternoon.

For one of our assignments in Module 7 I created a short 30sec video (seen above) with the GoPro footage I shot while riding over the weekend, Mountain Biking with Michael Barcellos. It made me happy to have freedom with the content of the video short. I almost filmed my dog, Porter, but thought I would share a 30 second taste of a typical weekend for me. Especially since it was such a good weekend to hangout with my friends and spend time on adventure. Porter still had a good staycation with his best pal, Miles.

For the next two assignments, Part I and Part II, I used a Google Sheets to create two different projects. Part I is a Gradebook created from scratch (with detailed instructions provided by Kimberly Rubal), and the results were pretty remarkable. It's not like I reinvented the wheel, but I added new Sheets Functions to my arsenal of Functions in Google Sheets. In Part I I used several different functions to achieve data driven results. It kinda feels like I wrote a miniature AI machine that can help sort, organize and visualize data.

Part II is creative way to show other capabilities of Google Sheets, and its ability to sort information in various ways. I called it The Berries, because I used Sheets Functions that help me figure how many different variations of "Halle Berry" were in the Column A. Column B displays the unique spellings (or misspellings) of Halle Berry and Column C displays the number each unique "Halle Berry" from Column A.

Obviously, I enjoy mountain biking, but I also enjoyed getting back into Google Sheets, using Functions to sort, and visualize data. I like how this module paralleled with the introduction of IBM SPSS from my EDFN 5000 class. I like looking at data and especially designing for it too.