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Curda
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| The Menu | ||
| Weekly Specials | ||
| Monthly Specials | ||
| This Week's Specials | ||
| Cafe Regulars | ||
| Checkout Counter | ||
Week 3: May 25
- Chat with the Owner
- Appetizers this Week
- Setting the Table
-
This
Week's Menu: Becoming an IT Professional
- Manager's Special: What should you know and be able to do?
- Chef's Special: Who is an IT Professional? Who is not?
- Early Bird Special: What should I join? What should I read?
- Proceed to the Checkout Counter
- Next Week's Specials
I am enjoying reading everyone's first reaction paper. You are providing me with helpful information that assists me in getting to know you better. Everyone that sent me a reaction paper should have received an email that confirmed your submission. This week you will receive individual feedback on the papers along with a brief response to your reaction paper.
I have also been reading your comments from week 1. It seems that so far most of you are enjoying the course and finding your way around. A few were a bit confused at first by the theme/metaphor for the course but now seem to be building confidence. Others seemed to be enthusiastic about the theme. To each his/her own, I suppose :-) I hope that everyone will continue to fill out the comment cards each week and give me any suggestions as we go along on things that can be improved. As always, if you have clarification questions for anything, please ask.
A few still seem a bit confused about what is required each week and throughout the course. The "monthly specials" link provided on the home page and in the header on each page links you to the major assignments in the course. These are the big ones that will take some time. The requirements and due dates are provided there (I will also mention these throughout the course within the weekly activities lest anyone should forget). In addition, each week you have participation requirements, such as setting the table and enjoying your meals (participating in discussions and other activities).
If I could make an analogy with a face-to-face course, the weekly participation requirements are like reading your text, going to class and participating in the discussion, etc to assist the instructor in gauging how learning is progressing. The major assignments are those that you normally do not complete in class (papers, projects) but are used to evaluate your learning and progress in the course. The weekly assignments are posted right here on pages 1, 2, and 3 each week and are accessed by the "this week's special" link on the home page. There is always a "checkout counter" section on page 3 that reminds you of the weekly participation requirements as well as any upcoming due dates for the major course assignments.
Some commented that they were overwhelmed by the links. The majority of the links at the top of each page are for information/introduction/overview of the course. Once you have read many of them (syllabus, etc.) then you may likely not use the links again except for an occasional reference. Other links you will certainly use weekly because they give you access to the weekly activities and requirements and provide you with the ability to monitor your progress. For example, each week you will use the "this week's specials" link to get here. Many of the other links are necessary because they provide you with help sheets and references but you may not choose to access them regularly. If anyone is still unclear on these differences and my expectations please feel free to email me. Please continue to provide me with feedback so I can continue to improve the course.
On your end of things, my feedback to you is I am very happy with the posts and replies I am seeing on the topic discussions. Some are providing excellent web resources that I will certainly save. I can also see that many of you are putting a lot of work into your posts by looking at outside resources and critically evaluating what others say while still providing encouraging words. As most of you have realized by now, it is doubtful that there is a single way to describe IT in one minute or less. And, I want to note that this will be a continuing theme on many discussions. I am rarely looking for a single right answer. If there was simply a single answer there would be no need for discussion:-) In most discussions your role will be to give your educated opinion as well as listen and respond to others. Your educated opinion may come from you reading and analyzing other sources - web sites, books, etc. - or it may come from your personal or work experiences.
Many of you have found partners and chosen a chapter to lead for open mic night. Thanks for jumping on that assignment. Those of you who have not done this need to make that a priority for this week.
I would like to invite you to review the link for the submission form you will be using for the June/ July Special on the assignment 2 page. It may assist you and your partner in preparing to submit your assignment if you look over the submission form so you can see exactly what my expectations are for the assignment. Some of you have found a partner and already picked a chapter to lead. Others of you need to make that your goal for this week. If I have not heard from you by next Tuesday I will assign you a chapter from those left. Please spend some time this week looking over the June/ July Special and the submission form and let me know if you have any questions. I will also be leading the new discussions for next week so if you need a few more examples of how I would like for you to lead your discussion then look forward to reviewing those. I also welcome innovative ways in which anyone would like to perform on his/her chosen open mike night. If you have an idea that does not fit into the conventional way I have this course set up then send me an email and we can work together.
Remember you have access to future weekly specials at the Cafe. With this you will have access to future weekly tabs at the checkout counter so you can look at the weekly tasks ahead of time to see what is required. This course is not an easy one to post ahead of time because of all the "open mike (should this be mic or mike?) nights" in which the cafe regulars provide the content for that week. Once everyone chooses his/her chapter I will fill in the gaps with my own open mike performances. As soon as you send in your content I will post it to the correct week so the earlier you send it in, the earlier everyone else will have access. Do not forget, however, that there are plenty of other things to work on ahead of time without having access to open mic performances. If you really want to work ahead, work on the major assignments. These are the ones that really take some time.
The checkout counter link at the top of each page will take you to each week's checklist and allow you to monitor your progress on weekly activities. Please review it each week to be sure the cashier has not made any errors in your tab. If you find an error please email the cashier and let her know. Each week the checklists are updated by Friday. This means the checklist for week 2 (last week) will be updated and available by Friday this week. They are only updated once a week so if you complete something late it will likely not register until the following week.
CHAT: I do not always have live chat sessions with the cafe regulars but I have decided to offer it over the next few weeks to see what kind of response I have. If the response is good, I will make it a part of the regular menu. Some prefer chat so that they feel "connected" to others in the class. If you would like to chat with me in particular or with the class as a whole feel free to suggest a drop in time for chat via the course listserv. If you would like to bring a burning question related to last week's topics or any assignment, feel free; or if you just want to chat and get to know others please do so. If you are new to chat or need refresher instructions, go to the coffee chats link and check out the chat link. Chats are not required, they are voluntary. This week, chat will be on Friday, May 28, from 8:30 - 9:30 PM. This is a convenient time for me but not necessarily for you so if you would like to suggest a different time for future weeks just let me know. It will be difficult to accommodate everyone's individual schedules, but I will do my best to vary the times each week, if that is necessary, so somewhere along the way you can make a chat time.
EARLY BIRD SPECIALS: From time to time I (the cafe owner) decide to throw an early bird special on the menu. The early bird special is available throughout the week but a special deal is given to those who enjoy this meal early in the week. (i.e., if you complete this activity early you will receive bonus participation points) This week we have our first early bird special. Five bonus participation points will be added to the final participation grade for anyone who posts to that discussion by Friday, May 28th at midnight (the cafe is open late on Fridays). If you are unable to make this deadline you must still complete the discussion by Tuesday at 5 PM and will receive regular participation credit. Early Bird Specials will be designated throughout the semester so keep your eye out.
This week is an important week in regards to information about instructional technology. Knowing the competencies that perspective employers likely expect given the degree you are working toward can be important in directing the development of your own program of study and can maybe provide a bit of motivation for you when you feel some of what you are learning is not directly applicable to your current work setting. Also, identifying professional organizations and publications in the field of IT serve many purposes. Organizations provide services to IT professionals as well as forums for collaboration, information gathering and sharing, and professional development. Publications will be important to identify in this course in terms of finding empirical research articles for your research project and in the future as sources for remaining abreast of current trends and issues in the field of IT. AECT is one of the professional organizations for professors in instructional technology. You will be reading more about it this week.
This week I would like for you to read and respond to peers on last week's 2 topics. You will also be reading 4 new chapters that will provide a further introduction to the field of IT.
- discuss major categories of professional competencies in the field of IT
- compare and contrast different IT organizations and their views of professional competencies
- identify IT jobs that might interest you and compare the description to competencies you feel you will gain from this IT Program
- discuss current issues related to employment in IT, such as the gender and minority gaps
- identify professional organizations for IT professionals and services they provide
- identify professional publications for IT professionals that may be useful for researching your topic of interest
- read and respond to at least 3 peers on each of the 2 topics from last week
- find a partner for open mike night and choose a chapter
- ask any questions you may have related to open mike night
Please fill out the following comment card:
Task
#2:
Review the June/July Special and identify someone you
would like to partner with to complete the requirements.
Choose a chapter that has not yet been chosen by other
classmates (first come, first serve) and send your
partner's name and the chapter you choose to lead to me
in an email. It will be important for
you to identify a partner and together identify the topic
you would like to lead so you can begin work immediately.
NOTE: Anyone who has not sent this information to me by
5 PM on Tuesday, June 1 will be
assigned a chapter at random so please make
sure to complete this so you have some choice in your
assignment.
