The Semester has come to a close!

With the last day of the semester for BITE 5389 arriving, I want to take a minute to reflect on everything that has happened.  I have not only learned how to use numerous new Web 2.0 technologieses but I also have learned how to utilize them in the educational field.  Programs such a Delicious.com to organize my personal bookmarks and Viddler.com to record videos have been amongst my favorites.

Also this semester, I have enjoyed working with on a collaborative team.  I have learned the difference between cooperation and collaboration when working in a group and the pros and cons of utilizing them.  The final project also refined my researching skills and abilities and gave me the opportunity to watch my teammates "in action" so that I could grow and learn from their researching techniques and abilities as well. 

I really enjoyed this semester and look forward to continuing to use Web 2.0 technologies in my personal and professional endeavors.

Andrew Lynch

Putting It All Together

As the last week of class winds down, there is many things about this semester that come to mind.   New technologies, growth in skills in Second Life, growth in knowledge about collaborative groups(especially in the virtual sense), and application of this knowledge to my workplace and life.  I have read chapters, articles, and dissertations.  I have watched videos, listened to pod casts, and created virtual objects.  Through all of these activities and reading, the one thing that has hit home is technologies continued expansion and vital role it continues to be in our society. In the distant (maybe near) future, will people solely exist in virtual worlds, such as perceived in the movies Minority Report and Inception?  Will people become so dependent on technology in the future that they loose perception of reality?  Only time will tell.  As of now, technology is a useful and ever expanding wonder that will continue to grow in its involvement and inclusion in our lives.  Hopefully, technologies growth will mainly go down the path of helpfulness instead of ignorance and hindrance.  '

Andrew

Presentations this Thursday

Tonight my team meet to edit the latest version of our PowerPoint fir Thursday's presentation.  I think that we did a great job of providing construct criticism to each other and put together a nice final presentation.   On Wednesday we plan on meeting to practice our presentation before its we deliver it on Thursday.  We have also started putting together our final paper and plan on having that finished by the beginning of next week.   We have many references that we have compiled together and I am confident that we will collaborate on a well put together piece of literature.  :)

In other news, my daughter has learned to say a few more words this past weekend and she has been a joy watching develop over these last few weeks. :)

Andrew

Coming Down the Home Stretch!

Hello All,

The last few weeks have been hectic as usual.  Report cards have gone out and parent teacher conferences have finally come to a close.  This year I am team teaching and was required to have a conference with both mine and my partner's parents.  That made for 48 conferences (really 56 because 8 did not show up and had to be rescheduled because our principal would not allow report cards to go home until parents showed up to meet with their teachers).  It was a challenge fitting in all the conferences within a two week stretch.  The last two weeks my partner and I have not had a planning period, had literally 10 minutes to eat lunch each day, and did not leave the school until 5:00 pm each night.  It was rough.  However, its over and I can put it behind me.  This week, Thanksgiving will be nice and the extra days will give me an opportunity to get caught up on grad school work, as well as, "job" school work. 

With all other assignments now completed,  full focus needs to be directed towards my final project.   I have gathered numerous resources to use for the team final paper but now must pick and choose which ones we need to use.  Once, I have plugged in papers that are relevant to aspects of my outline I think the paper will come together rather quickly.    I look forward to getting my thoughts and ideas down on paper and presenting in Dec.  My team members are great and we have been meeting regularly in Second Life, corresponding with emails, and trading documents in Google Docs.  I hope everyone has a great next few weeks and enjoys their Thanksgiving or as I like to call it "The Best Nap Day of the Year".

Andrew

Can't Sleep

Hello,

Saturday night....can't sleep.   I don't know why but I think it has to do with my father-in-law's snoring.  :)   There are visiting for the weekend.  Yeaa! (sarcastic)  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and don't forget to turn your clocks back tongiht/tomorrow.

The last few weeks of class have been a great growing experience in Second Life.   I have learned a lot about new locations within Second Life to find resources, items, and information.  I have also grown as a builder.  This week, Dr. E had us build within Second Life in our own personal team space at the Tipsey Teapot.    I spent a few hours searching for some materials by teleporting to different locations, building end tables and a carpet, and decorating some of the space.   It was actually a very rewarding time.    I look forward to viewing everyone else's building creations.

Again have a great weekend.  Relax with your loved ones.

Andrew

Another One Bites the Dust :)

Another week down and another week full of excitement.  Personally, my daughter has changed from walking at the end of August to running (sort of) at the end of October.  She sure is keeping her mom and I in shape.  My brother just had a baby boy of his own.  His name is Alexander Lynch and he is healthy and beautiful.  He looks like he has my brothers hair and eye color, as well as, some of his body features.  However, as he joked with me, thank goodness he looks more like his wife's side of the family. ;) Attached are recent pictures of my new nephew and my daughter. Enjoy!
This week brought with it many learning opportunities and plenty of hard work.  I utilized many new programs on my computer and the Internet to complete much of the work.
This Sunday, my team met to complete our virtual field trip to St. Leo's.  It was interesting to see a new campus and its design.  They definitely like to have fun at St. Leo's.  My partners and I danced in front of their two concert stages, rode on Jet Skis, and even completed some of our tour on Segways.  It was fun!  It was also interesting to see how the campus was set up to match the area that St. Leo's in located.  The university is located in Florida and the campus definitely had a Floridian feel to it.  I look forward to seeing in everyone in class on Thursday to share our field trip experiences and I wish everyone a great week. :)

Andrew

This is a video for Dr. Hodge's BITE 6100 class.  It contains audio and video on a virtual field trip that Amanda Matthews and I (Andrew Lynch) put together for a Module 3 assignment.  The field trip visits places of educational interest for teachers and students.   Enjoy!