My lesson participants completed their homework this week and provided some great feedback. I am in the process of writing up my report about the entire exercise. This was really a great project!  I have no teaching experience or training and feel this has given me a glimpse of all the work that goes into creating a typical lesson plan.

Thanksgiving break was super! It was wonderful to get together with family that we only see once or twice a year and catch up on each others' lives.

This week I've continued to develop my plan for testing my training module. I've asked four co-workers to serve as my guinea pigs. It was much harder to find four willing participants than I thought it would be, mostly because I felt guilty asking them to agree to assist me when I know they have their own commitments during this hectic time of year.   Although my project is not very complex, and I don't anticipate it will take a great deal of time for them to work through the steps, it could take longer for those who have to set up the different accounts. Just watching the other participants' cooking videos will take quite a bit of time.

I've been struggling a bit with developing the section of the lesson the participants are to complete using Google Drive.  I may have to tweak it some more before I'm satisfied with it.

Week Two Update

 

Title of the Activity: Using Web 2.0 to Learn a Healthier Way to Cook  

Concept / Topic for your Learners: Web 2.0 technologies are so ubiquitous in the workplace that we often fail to see how they can also be useful in our day-to-day leisure activities. Many people find cooking to be a relaxing and enjoyable leisure activity, but fail to access the vast resources available to them via the Web. Web 2.0 technologies can be used to view and learn healthier ways of cooking and then to share what has been learned with others. 

General Goal(s): To train participants to use YouTube to locate video demonstrations of healthy recipes or healthier ways to prepare various foods and then share what they find with others using Pinterest. Participants will use Facebook to comment on the other participants’ “Pins”. Participants will collaborate with each other via a Google Drive document to summarize what they have learned.  

   

Specific Learning Outcomes: After completing this project:

·         participants will have created a Pinterest account and will have learned how to add cooking videos to their own personal pin board, as well as how to share their favorite videos with other

·         participants will also be able to share comments on the other participants’ videos via Facebook

·         participants will have created a Google account and shared access to a Google Drive document to summarize what they have learned. 

Learners Characteristics: Mature adult learners with little or no experience with Web 2.0 technologies. Have an interest in developing healthier ways of preparing food. Enjoy cooking. Enjoy learning new things. Lifelong learners.

Required Materials, including Web 2.0: Access to Internet via computer or other wireless device with video, audio, and texting capabilities. Pinterest and Google accounts.

Introduction to the Activity: For this project, we will be using various Web 2.0 tools to learn how to prepare healthy recipes or use healthier cooking techniques. We will select videos from YouTube which demonstrate a healthy recipe or cooking technique that we feel others would also find helpful and “Pin” the video to our Pinterest pin boards we have each created.   

Step-By-Step Procedures
Each participant will:

1.    create an account on Pinterest and a pin board named “Cooking Videos” and locate the other participants to “follow” or “invite”.

2.    locate five YouTube cooking videos which show preparation of a healthy recipe or a healthy cooking technique and pin them to her “Cooking Videos” pin board.

3.    view all of the other participants’ videos, making notes as desired

4.    post a minimum of two comments regarding the other participants’ videos via Facebook

5.    create a Google account, if necessary, to access the Google Drive document I’ve created. Forward your gmail address to me so I can add you to the list of persons allowed to share access to the document. The document is named “IDT 516 Project Summary”.

6.    collaborate with the other participants in completing the summary by responding to the questions in the Google Drive document. 

Assessment: I will use the material from the shared document to assess whether or not the instruction was determined to be helpful and if the initial learning outcomes were achieved.

Conclusion: TBD, but hopefully, it will be confirmed that Web 2.0 tools can be used to learn and share healthier ways to cook.

Final Project Week 1

Web 2.0 technology is so ubiquitous in the workplace that we often fail to see how it can also be useful in our day-to-day leisure activities. Many people find cooking to be a relaxing and enjoyable leisure activity, but fail to access the vast resources available to them via the Web. Web 2.0 technology can be used to view and learn healthier ways of cooking and then to share what has been learned with others.  My project will attempt to combine my passion for cooking with how Web 2.0 technology can be used to learn healthier ways to prepare favorite foods. The lesson plan will require participants to use YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, and Google Drive to learn healthier ways of cooking and how to share those resources with others. They will locate videos on YouTube, pin the video links to a Pinterest board, post comments via Facebook, and collaborate with others in the group to summarize what they have learned via a Google Drive document. Participants in the project will be mature, lifelong learners who enjoy cooking, but have little experience with Web 2.0 tools and possess an introductory level of technology skills.

 

I'm still new to this whole business of blogging...

First, a little bit of experimentation to try to figure out if it is even functional yet.