It's a Wrap

It's a bit hard to believe that six weeks has come and gone. As we wrap up our time in the EME 6414 course, I find myself extremely appreciative of this journey (even if I kicked and cried a little along the way). Dr. Dennen was right when she stated that it's a 6-weeks course and meant to be intense. Let's just say, it was that and then some! This course has really transformed my way of thinking about Web 2.0 tools and how I can integrate them into my personal learning network. 

When this course began, I had major reservations about the level of engagement that would be required of me in regards to social media. Yes...I had Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram before this course started, but I also had the liberty to use them as I wished, if I chose to use them at all. While some of my social media accounts were public, most were very private by design. For those familiar with StrengthsQuest, one of my top 5 strengths is relator. Basically, it takes us a minute to warm up to others and if you think it takes a while in reality, it takes even more time online. LOL!

Here are a few lessons I learned from this EME 6414 journey:

1. Social media can be used to make online AND in-person connections. This course started around the same time as staff training for my area. I had some of the best conversations with staff during training about Web 2.0 tools. I was constantly amazed at how versed our newer professionals are at navigating these tools and using them in innovative ways. 
2. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. For all the worries that I had about living my life on the Internet, I found that it was not nearly as intimidating or intrusive as I thought it would be. I did not gain any unwanted stalkers and/or attention. If anything, I got to reconnect with family, friends, and former students/staff in ways that have been very meaningful to me. 
3. Your presence is needed. I just finished a paper for another course where I shared findings from a study of Black female administrators who reflected on how much their presence alone meant to students of color. The findings of the study resonate with me when I think about the number of colleagues who have expressed appreciation for my presence and voice on social media this summer. I am humbled just thinking about it.
4. Let Web 2.0 tools help you work smarter not harder. I can't even begin to tell you just how my mind has been blown by some of the tools we used this summer. Where has Diigo been all of my life?! I have already started using it to bookmark webpages related to my research interests. My staff and I continue to have conversations about how we can use VoiceThread in the future for on boarding and staff training.

So when it's all said and done, this course has empowered me to step up my game! I am challenging myself to keep my blog going after this course ends. So to help me accomplish this goal, I NEED YOUR HELP! If I am going to keep this blog going, it must get a new name. I am open to suggestions, so please take a minute and complete the poll on the right ---> and let me know your top picks. 

While the title of this post is "It's a Wrap," I truly hope this is just the beginning of a new journey for me. While I will be logging off for a little while to catch my breath, I am determined to return BOLDER than ever. So please feel free to join me by continuing to check out my blog and provide comments. -- Chandra 

How Avatars Can Teach Us About Inclusivity

We had another interesting class challenge this evening -- create your avatar and tweet it to one of our co-instructors. I was super excited about this challenge as I just created a blog post yesterday about the ways we are using emojis to express ourselves. (And I have been secretly obsessed with Bitmoji for a more than a week now). So what exactly is an avatar? According to Wikepedia, an avatar is a graphical representation of a user or the user's alter ego or character - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing). I basically consider it a cartoon version of yourself !

There is much to be said about the fun that comes with creating your avatar, but it can also become a humbling and alienating process when you realize there are few options that represent you. When my friend mentioned that she couldn't find an avatar hairstyle or skin tone that came even close to resembling her,  I was reminded what it was like growing up as a child without toys and/or dolls that looked like me. I vividly remember the first time Barbie dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids came in darker hues and with darker hair. I finally had a chance to become "mom" to dolls that came close to resembling what my real children might look like.

We often use the term "common" very loosely, which can unintentionally marginalize people who are not thought of when these labels are given but are absolutely impacted when the labels don't fit them. This is not to belittle or condemn tonight's avatar challenge or the spirit behind it. This is just a reminder that we still have great strides to make toward a true goal of inclusivity. 

Apple Adds Gender Diverse Emojis in New Update

Express Yourself

We've all seen them and chances are good that we've all used them. There is no doubt that emojis have become as commonplace in communication as punctuation marks. There is literally a little symbol for every emotion you can imagine. Whether you are having a good day or a bad day, you can easily express yourself with the click of an emoji as compared to a paragraph or more describing your feelings. On one hand, emojis have simplified the way we communicate, which likely results in us communicating more than ever before. The flip side is that we are spending less time thinking and truly communicating our feelings into words. Is this a bad thing? Some might say yes, while others may say no. What is undeniable is the increasing presence of emojis in our everyday communication.

Emojis: Are they changing how we communicate with each other?
And let's be clear, emojis have become BIG business! I was in a store the other day and noticed emoji-themed pillows, bedding, and stuffed toys. Really...I'm not kidding! I even stumbled upon emoji-themed birthday party materials. From balloons to napkins to plates, there were tons of party ware for those who truly want to celebrate with symbols. Now, I personally think it's a bit much when someone actually spends money on a pillow shaped like poop, but I can't help but be mesmerized at how quickly emojis have become a cultural norm.

Just when I thought I could not be more intrigued by the emoji insurgence, my staff introduced me to Bitmoji. This app allows you to create your own avatar, which then creates a horde of emoji-like captions featuring your avatar that you can be used in text messages. Mind blown! Needless to say, it did not take much to convince me to build my own avatar and before the night was over, I was sending bitmojis of myself exclaiming things like LOL and SMH! It was so much fun that I temporarily became a bitmoji ambassador and convinced a number of family and friends to create their own avatar. I still find it hilarious every time my sister-in-law responds to a text with her avatar (who happens to wear a crown). Bitmoji has definitely brought along a certain amount of playfulness that makes communicating with others more enjoyable, but what I appreciate the most is the innovative way it has allowed me to express myself.

Learning & Instruction Lottery

If you haven't noticed by now, one of the themes of this course is to try out Web 2.0 tools. LOL. This week, I checked out OER Commons and MERLOT. Both of these tools feature a digital library or collection of educational resources that can be used for learning and instructional design. It's like a jackpot for teachers/instructors everywhere! Both of these resources are also great examples of how open educational resources (OERs) can really transform education. 

While OERs will never replace actual educators, there is a lot to be said about how these resources can complement the educational experience for those on the giving and receiving ends. OER Commons and MERLOT allow you to search metadata based on varying disciplines. The data contained within includes, but is not limited to presentations, syllabi, lesson plans, activities, and training materials. What's even better is that both sources let you know if there are restrictions on use of the materials! Both provide quality resources that can be used to enhance learning in the same way (if not better than) textbooks in the traditional classroom setting.

Helping educators determine the quality of open educational resources

Cracking the Glass Ceiling

Hillary Clinton made history this week by becoming the first FEMALE to win a major-party, presidential nomination. It was all pantsuits and balloons at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia where Hillary officially accepted the nomination. As she prepares for battle against the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, there has been a lot of focus on the significance of this moment in history. Politics aside, there is reason to acknowledge and respect what it means to have a woman vie for the nation's topic office.

As much as we celebrate this moment on behalf of all women, I chose to highlight one woman in particular who should be part of this narrative but is often forgotten for our produsage assignment. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to the US Congress, the first major-party Black candidate for the President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Chisholm.) Her bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination was a watershed moment for Blacks and women. While she was not successful in her bid, she was successful in cracking the "glass ceiling" that has historically created barriers for women advancing in various aspects of society.

Cracking the Glass Ceiling (with images, tweets) · justchan11
The purpose of the produsage was to create a Web-based resource in a user-centered, Web 2.0 manner. I chose to create a story on Storify to highlight the contributions Shirley Chisholm made and to infuse her story into the current narrative of women in politics, and specifically a female presidential candidate. I wanted to use more than one Web 2.0 tool for this project, so I developed a YouTube playlist featuring videos of Shirley Chisholm throughout her political career. I created a Pinterest board and pinned visual content related to Shirley Chisholm. I also created a Goodreads bookshelf with books about Shirley Chisholm. I encountered a significant challenge trying to post URL links for these different mediums directly into my Storify story. After several hours Googling possible solutions, I finally decided to post the URL links in a tweet and send via Twitter. I then included the tweet into the Storify story. Once the story was published, I posted the Storify link on Facebook and Twitter and am hoping to generate engagement through multiple platforms.

I tried to follow the guidelines featured on the VoiceThread presentation by instructor regarding "Designing for a Community." Each platform that I created was entitled "Cracking the Glass Ceiling." I changed my profile picture on my Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest accounts so they each displayed the same picture. I also repeatedly placed the following hashtags on content in order to curate content - #ShirleyChisholm and #BlackGirlMagic. I provided "instructions" along with each platform featured in Storify as a means to encourage users to interact/engage with each platform. This is my first time using Storify, so we will see how this goes!

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHIGYftC_4IR7qliZHDKU32iCdt0BH_kL

GoodReads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/37854932-chandra-myrick?shelf=cracking-the-glass-ceiling

Pinterest

Pinterest

Designing for Community

Our instructor facilitated a presentation about important aspects of designing for community. During Week 1 of this course, the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 was discussed. I really appreciated the clarification because I had not explored either concepts in much depth. Web 2.0 is literally the next generation of the Internet that includes user-generated content and social media platforms galore! No longer is information just created by single entities and posted on webpages, but instead, content is constantly being generated by users who not only generate content but also interact with other users on social media. 

Web 2.0 has instituted a completely different meaning to the word "community." While community was once defined by groups within certain locations/proximity, it has come to mean so much more as Web 2.0 tools literally connect and allow people to engage with one another from every corner of the globe. This creates great opportunities for us to strategically design communities that will not just facilitate learning but also engagement with a particular topic and/or community.

https://thecliparts.com/couch-potato-cliparts/

When I think about Web 2.0, I have a visual in my head of a couch potato who finally gets off the couch and decides to become a participant instead of an observer. This is the essence of community via Web 2.0. While there is nothing wrong with observing content on the Web (aka "lurking"), the goal of designing for a "community of practice" is to create (1) mutual engagement, (2) joint enterprise, and (3) shared repertoire. 

• Mutual Engagement =  building relationships and developing norms within the community
• Joint Enterprise = developing shared understanding of what the members of the community are developing
• Shared Repertoire = developing resources and tools that members of the community use

As our instructor reviewed general guidelines for designing for community, a light bulb went off in my head because it was evident that these guidelines were used as the framework for our course. (As my nephew would say, "Duh!"...I mean that would only make sense, right?) Listed below are the suggested guidelines when designing for community. As we have moved through each week's assignments, we have been putting these guidelines into practice. I always appreciate when an idea comes together and this week's presentation has provided just the AH-HA moment I needed to understand the method to the madness! LOL!

General Guidelines for Designing for Community

1. Choose anchor platform...this should be the platform for which all other platforms will be built
2. Integrate secondary platforms into anchor platform...this goes a long way in providing organization and convenience for users who can quickly get overwhelmed with trying to keep up with multiple platforms
3. Platforms with clear and articulated purpose...How and why do you want users to use the platforms in your community? The clearer the purpose, the more likely users will use the platforms in the intended way
4. Consistent account names and hashtags across platforms...this will definitely make it a lot easier for users to keep up and not have to search for a needle in a haystack
5. Consider whether some platforms should be "read only"...while you want users creating content and engaging with one another, there can and should be exceptions that allow for some content to be created and managed specifically by the community designer 
6. Never leave blank pages...it's essentially asking for trouble or leading to confusion, so take them out!

Viva La VoiceThread

VoiceThread is a Web 2.0 tool we have used in this course to view presentations by our instructor. When viewing presentations, we have the ability to post comments to slides throughout the presentation, which has been a very effective way to interact with instructors and classmates. This past week, we completed an assignment that required us to use VoiceThread to narrate a presentation about a knowledge sharing/tracking project we created.  I simply created a Powerpoint presentation and uploaded it into my VoiceThread account. It did take a minute to get use to my recorded voice...I mean you never really know what you sound like until you hear it for yourself. LOL! I found it was very helpful to type narrative in the notes section of the Powerpoint presentation, which made it really easy to read as I was recording. Although this was my first time creating a project in VoiceThread, I found it to be a very user-friendly tool that I will definitely use again.

Check out my VoiceThread presentation:

There are lots of different types of staff that work in our department. Training seems to be an ongoing process as staff leave and join the team on a regular basis. It typically occurs at a set time each year, but one challenge is figuring out an effective way to onboard and train staff who start outside of these set times. I truly believe VoiceThread can be a very useful tool to create and post orientation and training materials online for staff to access as needed. It has the potential to maximize staff time and provide resources that can be a reference for staff well beyond the onboarding process.

I was so impressed with how easy it was to create and narrate a VoiceThread presentation. My excitement led to me sharing my presentation with a number of staff to discuss ways we could use the technology for training purposes within our department. I can't wait to see all the ways we can use VoiceThread to not only train our staff but to also more effectively provide instruction and information to students and their families. 

VoiceThread definitely gets a thumbs up from me!