Showing posts with label fun while learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun while learning. Show all posts

Saturday, February 2, 2013

What I discovered during the Advanced Power Searching with Google online course

No spoilers in this blog post...keep searching Advanced Power Searching participants.
Last month I did a post recommending registration for the upcoming Advanced Power Searching with Google two week course. The course started January 23 and you have until February 8, 2013 to submit your final assignment.

In the "How the Course Works" information one of the additional tips is listed as:

Do not post challenge solutions publicly (on blogs, Google+, etc.), since Google may pick these up and spoil the surprise for others solving the challenges.

Since the course is still on going I won't post any challenge solutions but random bits of  information that I learned during my assignments. I opted for an assignment to learn more about my name and history. While I have blogged and share information that I share a name with a convicted sex offender, there are some prominent Winebrenners in history, quite a few authors, and even the Winebrenner Theology Seminary in Findlay Ohio.

What does your name mean?

Family Education
http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/winebrenner

1. Partly Americanized spelling of the German occupational name Weinbrenner ‘distiller’ (literally, ‘wine burner’). The original function of the distiller, attested from the 8th century, seems to have been to extract alcohol for medicinal purposes from wine; the modern sense of someone who prepared spirituous liquor for drinking is first recorded in the 14th century.
2.American bearers of this surname are descended from Johann Christian Weinbrenner, who came from the Rhineland Palatinate to Hagerstown, MD, in 1753–54.

Ancestry surname search
http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=winebrenner

Winebrenner Name Meaning Partly Americanized spelling of the German occupational name Weinbrenner ‘distiller’ (literally, ‘wine burner’). The original function of the distiller, attested from the 8th century, seems to have been to extract alcohol for medicinal purposes from wine; the modern sense of someone who prepared spirituous liquor for drinking is first recorded in the 14th century.

Using multiple sources and validating domain names through WHO IS supports those who tend to use triangulation in research or have a tendency to do a root cause analysis when resolving projects and problems.

You can always participate in the Power Searching with Google self paced course. I think everyone can learn something or revisit some skill sets you haven't used in awhile. Have fun! and feed your autodidacticism.






Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Second Life Virtual Field Trip - Another homework post

For the final assignment this week we have a choice of one of the following projects:
  1. Online Virtual Reality Project using Second Life
  2.  Cloud Computing Projects using Google Docs (now Google Drive)
  3. Blog Project using any blog tool that allows public access.


I am using my blog post to document the Second Life activity. Multi-user virtual environments have a place in the learning environment, although not on the .mil domain. I have participated in conferences and visited NASA and NOAA sites through Second Life but never truly embraced the tool in the learning environment beyond my own educational participation.

Second Life (SL) has a place in education and by the resources available one may be surprised at the educational organizations using Second Life to collaborate. From the Second Life Education Destination Guide to the Second Life Education Wiki.

The image of my teleport visit to ECU (required).

EdTech Island
Bloom's taxonomy steps
Underwater after stepping off of the submarine in NOAA's virtual island

This was another fast and fun exercise in EDTC 7030. I believe the activity benefits the participants who work in the CP32 career field as they discover a variety of tools that may not be familiar or available to them.
These activities support these course goals:
1. Explore and use Internet tools used to deliver web‐based instruction.
2. Apply instructional design components in developing web‐based instruction
3. Identify and demonstrate knowledge of selected Internet technologies and apply them to course development

Thanks to everyone who supported my participation in EDTC 7030. Comments, recommendations, reaction box checks and +1s are always welcome.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Where else do you tinker?

I have been using milSuite, which is touted as social media behind the Department of Defense firewall. Great place to connect with other professionals while feeling the parallelisms in public and the military education systems.


*To access milSuite, one needs a CAC or AKO/DKO credentials. The milSuite team has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.

As I transitioned back to Georgia I have not been lounging around like stagnated swamp water. I have a fantastic opportunity to work with some terrific officers in the U.S. Army as a Course Manager in one level of an officer's professional military education (PME), in addition to my own educational pursuits, and giving scholarship and Google product workshops at the local library.

One of the pilots I am working on is to implement electives. I facilitate the Social Media elective. Many people assume that the military only does training, when in fact we have some well known colleges such as U.S. Military Academy aka West Point, Naval War College, Army War CollegeU.S. Army Command and General Staff CollegeAir War College...which make up one part of Professional Military Education (PME). I do not participate in the education versus training argument as I leave that to the great debaters because I move forward with people who are focused on the learning.

When you Google PME or Professional Miltary Education the results are varied. The U.S. Code: Title 10 contains the links to the chapters on Armed Forces, the U.S. Naval War College has a page with a description and resources about Joint Professional Military Education, Cornell University Law School has links with descriptions for the U.S. Code, which includes Title 10 Subtitle A > Part III > Chapter 107 Professional Military Education, and Wikipedia has an article on Joint Professional Military Education.

There are a few of us who are active on milBook who still blog publicly, just not necessarily about information that may violate the Department of Defense and service specific social media policies. Working with the military has its own set of unique challenges just as the local public school system (RCSS) does, but the parallelisms exist. You are reminded that we are all human beings and the power of sharing knowledge, skills, and abilities goes beyond any walled learning environment, or whether your career field involves a two way rifle range or crossing busy streets.

We are also in the process of implementing a milWiki portal to encourage and empower learners to share information whether they are attending the residential course, future students, or alumni. Little by little we are making a difference, whether through milBook, milTube, milWiki, or milBlog. As we embark on round two of the electives option, I look forward to sharing concrete experiences, lessons learned, and connecting with people who are knowledge sharers, lurk and learners, virtual mentors, and/or the next best thing since sliced bread. 

So where have you been tinkering?

Comments, recommendations, and/or check the block of the Reaction boxes are always welcome.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Have some fun with binary and text

During this time of transition, as an empty nester, from Information Technology to Educational Technology in education, changing my blog title, and Twitter name I decided to do this post.


010001000110111100100000011110010110111101110101001000000110
011001101111011011000110110001101111011101110010000001101101
011001010010000001101111011011100010000001010100011101110110
100101110100011101000110010101110010001000000100000001000101
011001000100010001011111010001010110010001010100011001010110
0011011010000101111100110100010011010110010100111111


If you really want to know what this means check out http://tr.im/hWOm

Ever wanted to know what your techie friends are writing about when they write in binary code? Exercises with this site can add some fun in those subnetting classes, intro to computing, and for those just experimenting with binary code.

Have fun while learning something new. Work your mind like you work your body!