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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

It's Over

This is the eighth week of my PIDP 3240 course.  Assignment 4, which is to make a blog, is due tomorrow.

In our last submission, we are to post the link to our blog and in my case it is: andreymurphy.blogspot.ca. This is a reflection on blogging.

1a.  I've learned that creating a blog is not a very complicated task, with a variety of blog sites available such is Blogger.com, WordPress.com., etc.  Once the blog is created, it's hosted by the blog site which provides the template for the blog pages.  The templates can be customized to reflect individual taste for layout, background etc.  A blog could be created on different topics or interests such as travel, cooking, education, politics and many others and usually it is an expression of a personal opinion, has links to other sites, and is updated on a regular basis.

2a.  I think my favourite blogs are http://zodiacbeacon.com/ created by Chester Comri and http://youngparentseducationprogram.blogspot.ca/ by Jody Lutzke.  The Zodiacbeacon blog page is very clear on what the blog is all about as soon as the home page opens up.  A beautiful background of the zodiac sign tells you right away the purpose of the blog.  This blog is definitely all about astrology, as one would expect.  The blog by Jody Lutzke is geared toward educating young parents, and it has extremely useful information for parents and grandparents alike.  It is updated regularly on the topics of concern.

3a.  In my personal blog, if I were to do it again, my front page would not be restricted by the information I have to put on, which is dictated by Assignment 4 of my PIDP 3240 course.  I may just keep the front page as an introduction to who I am and what my blog is all about.  I would then have different topics of interest tabbed.  I would also try starting the blog from scratch rather than using premade templates, since I now know a little bit more about creating a blog.

4a.  The strength of my blog is my opinion is the variety of information, regular updates, pictures and videos. The weakness of my blog is that it is set up using a template.  This restricts it to limited choices and may not fully reflect the content of my blog.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Ukraine in Crisis

Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and now Ukraine.  The news of uprising in that country flooded the screens of our televisions and made the front page headlines of many newspapers around the world.  Ukraine's Deadly Crisis is being reported on the CBC.ca news website.  Someone at my church came up to me, since I've lived in Russia for 21 years, and asked me a question:  "How come the Russians are trying to occupy Ukraine?" I can understand where his query is coming from, since the only sources of information he bases his opinion on is Western news feeds and newspaper articles, but what is the other side of this uprising?

I've been trying to make sense of what is happening in my old country.  Who is right?  Who is wrong?  What is going on, without being biased to either side?  I must admit that even in this information technology age, it is still hard to make an assessment on the events in Ukraine.  After searching in Russian, I came to this blog: http://www.snob.ru/profile/28114/blog.  Here is a translation in English.  It is pretty interesting and very depressing, written from a witness in Ukraine.


Saturday, February 22, 2014

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

It has been our assignment in PIDP 3240 to get to know Twitter.  After having it installed on my phone and testing it for the last 6 weeks, I came to the conclusion that Twitter may not be the best way to stay in touch with the students.  The reasons for being disappointed in Twitter are as follows:

  1. Timeline is hard to follow
  2. Ads
  3. People can re-tweet stuff I am not interested in
In the last couple of days, I looked into alternatives to Twitter and came up with two text messaging services:  ICQ and WhatsApp

Any suggestions on either one?

What are your thoughts regarding keeping discussions closed among a learning community versus opening up to a wider, public community?

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I am impressed by some people's ability to theorize the obvious.  Albert Bandura's theory of social learning states that "by watching other people one can learn new information and behavior". Here is  a short video on this topic posted by Barb Horton in our PIDP 3240 course:

http://video.about.com/psychology/Overview-of-the-Social-Learning-Theory.htm


Monday, February 17, 2014

Chinese Education System

A very interesting write-up in the Vancouver Sun on how the education system in China differs from what we are accustomed to.  A look at their education system from Canadian prospective:

Why Richmond is sending teachers to China


Saturday, February 15, 2014

How Much is Too Much?

Mark Kondo from our PIDP 3240 class had an interesting topic for discussion in the Discussion on Instructional Media forum.  I can personally attest to these issues, so I found it worth posting here:

How Much is Too Much Classroom Technology?

Thursday, February 13, 2014

How Video Games Affect our Brain

Our PIDP3240 instructor Brian Cassell posted this interesting video for online class discussion. After watching it I wonder if I should start playing video games to improve my vision, become smarter and improve my reaction time. :)

Any suggestions?



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Daily Occurrence

I wonder if, since I've started working in the educational system, I've been getting colds and flus more frequently.  Even though I constantly wash my hands, which according to WebMD is supposed to keep the flu virus at bay, I am still getting it.  Being around many students on campus does not help the issue either, so I must be getting the virus via the airborne droplets.  Being sick does not bother me much, it's somewhat annoying, but being stuck at home makes me spend time on the PIDP 3240 course I am taking online.  As I am typing this blog entry, I am reminded of the advantage of taking a course online and, in my case, is being able to do the assignments while being sick - in the comfort of my home.

When I was a child, my mother used to give me tea with raspberry jam every time I had a cold. Once I drank the mixture, she would wrap me up in the warm blanket with one purpose:  for me to sweat.  This was one of the old and tried ways to deal with common colds in my country.  It seemed to work and, even though I don't like to admit it, but I have done this myself several times. Even though the idea of sweating seems odd, I found out much later that this idea had merit.  I came across an article in a local newspaper, outlining recent research on how body temperature affects the cold and flu.  I don't have a link to that article, but surprisingly enough, it stated along the same line of thought as in this link:  "scientists have found more evidence that elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells to work better"  This probably has some weight, since many people usually feel much better after having a hot shower or a bath.  The article in the newspaper, on the other hand, wasn't giving any suggestions as to how to deal with the flu or recommending any miracle medications, but it was pointing out that there is a definite time reduction in the flu virus incubation period if someone's body temperature was elevated even by 1°C.  So, whether odd or not, there might be a reason why my mother put raspberry jam in my tea and then wrapped me up to raise my temperature. The raspberries gave me the added benefit of vitamin C and their antioxidant properties.  While there are many traditional and non-traditional ways to fight the flu, there is no consensus as to what works the best.  But in the meanwhile, I am going to have a cup of NeoCitran, wrap myself up in blankets and see what tomorrow brings.

Do you have a similar story as how the common cold or flu was treated in your country?  I would love to hear it.  Please leave a comment.  Thank you, and stay healthy during this flu season.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Journal Entry 3





Running Head:  Journal Entry 3





Journal Entry 3
    
Andrey Murphy

February 5, 2014

Institutional Affiliation:  VCC




Sunday, February 2, 2014

Journal Entry 2



Running Head:  Journal Entry 2





Journal Entry 2
    
Andrey Murphy

January 31, 2014

Institutional Affiliation:  VCC




Saturday, February 1, 2014

Journal Entry 1



Running Head:  Journal Entry 1



Journal Entry 1
    
Andrey Murphy

January 18, 2014

Institutional Affiliation:  VCC







Wednesday, January 29, 2014

I Do

This morning an article on taxation "Most have little to gain from income-splitting" in the Business section of the Vancouver Sun newspaper drew my attention.  Most mornings I scan the headlines just to get a general sense of what is happening in the world.  This time, however, I read the whole article, since it's a subject I've been interested in for the last 5 years, since my income bracket started to push toward "high earners" level.

In this article, a senior economist, David MacDonald, says "it wouldn't help the middle class either, since the top third of Canada's richest families would receive $3 of every $4 spent on income splitting".

First of all, I don't believe it's a good way to start a discussion or make someone think when an article starts with the opinion of a so-called authority such as "a think tank" or "scientists" because it supports an authority suppressing critical thinking.  I've lived long enough to see all kind of authoritative predictions or reports misfire, such as the likes of Al Gore predicting ice caps melting by 2013.  Second of all, it might do us all good just to present the facts and leave the opinions behind.

To me personally, this initiative of income splitting will benefit enormously.  I've been working 3 jobs so my wife could stay home and take care of the kids.  This is how I became a so-called "high earner" - my hard work is rewarded with a comfortable lifestyle.  My wife and I have been unofficially splitting my income since she helps me in my businesses, but it would make sense if this splitting was official.  This is a ruling I am hoping will happen.  Why should the hard working people like me be punished with paying high taxes?  Is it not the low taxes that create jobs?  Why would someone take the risk of opening up a business and as an "added benefit" face another risk of paying exorbitant tax if the business is successful.

My definite vote on this:  I do benefit from income splitting.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Teaching Naked

I find the "Teaching Naked"  textbook captivating.  Once I started this course, I thought that getting to know technology and using it in the classroom will take lots of my personal time, but it seems completely opposite to my early notion.  Time and time again the author emphasizes "technology in the form of well-designed assessments can increase opportunities for thinking, reflection, risk and reward and free up more class time for other things"

Monday, January 27, 2014

Announcements

Today was our first of this year Cross Fitness class at BCIT. This is usually a very popular class so much so that students and staff who don't sign up on time have to put their names down on the waiting list. This wasn't the case today, lots of people missing. As we are chatting before the class a question comes up: Why there  are so few people?  The answer I got from a student was very interesting. She thought that's because the class was not announced to those who signed up for it. Neither she or any other people who signed up for the class got notweet or email reminding the students about the starting time. That was an eerie feeling, someone was confirming to me what the author of our PIDP3240 text book wrote: as I was reading through this last night:

"announcing an extra class session verbally is not terribly reliable. Most of us want written confirmation of  meetings or movie times, so put everything in writing.  Students will soon learn to check email or the website instead of asking you" (Bowen J.A. p. 106). 


I am glad I started to tweet and use Facebook. What a great way to announce something to the whole class without too much effort :)
                       
                           

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Burning up

It's been 2 weeks since my course started and I am already "burning up". Not in a sense that I am getting exhausted from studying but in a sense that I am spending lots of time in front of computer and my eyes are getting tires. Yesterday I made a posting on the Social Media Forum:

Safety First
Friday, 24 January 2014, 11:53 PM

Picture of Andrey MurphyI've been spending a lot of time recently in front of a computer screen, not sure why but could because of the course I am taking :) After a period of time I feel fatigued and to relieve the eye strain I walk away from the screen for a few minutes. After a short search regarding the effect of monitors on human eye I found this: "extensive testing in government and private laboratories has not produced scientific evidence that computer monitors will harm your eyes. Research has established that computer monitors emit little or no hazardous radiation, such as x-ray or non-ionizing radiation, such as ultraviolet rays" http://www.pasadenaeye.com/faq/faq08/faq08_text.html. This is a good news but anyone can still fill the effect of being in front of screen or prolonged periods of time with the following consequences:


  • Eye discomfort
  • Headaches
  • Itchy eyes
  • Dry or watering eyes
  • Burning sensations
  • Changes in color perception
  • Difficulty focusing
  • Blurred vision

I made a posting regarding my concern on the social media study forum and here is a reply I got from Brianna Peters:




20-20-20 rule
e.g. http://www.labnol.org/software/computer-eye-exercise/14069

I have heard this rule a few times, but I think it's appropriate to your comment. The rules is that every 20 minutes, you look away from your computer screen to a point 20 feet away for a period of 20 seconds. Obviously it was designed by an American, as we Canadian don't deal in the imperial system anymore! You can set a timer on one of your electronic device to dingle every 20 minutes as a reminder. In addition you can get out of your chair and do some stretches or relaxation exercises.



Saturday, January 25, 2014

Cheating

I enjoy a controversial discussion especially relating to something I am interested in and as in my case these days the subject is PIDP3240 course I am taking on-line.

This is a posting by Robert Lees I enjoyed reading this morning. I found it very relative especially since I was a cheater when taking entry exams to a college at the age of 15.



Picture of Andrey Murphy
Re: Cheating in Online Courses
by Andrey Murphy - Saturday, 25 January 2014, 10:30 AM

Great post. Takes me back to when I was 15 taking entry exam into a college. I wasn't strong in one subject so I just asked my buddy to take the test for me. It actually worked and I got in. I found this very interesting: "Despite public suspicion about online deception, studies seem to show that there is not much difference in the amount of cheating that occurs in virtual and real classrooms"

I wonder if a better solution is not a high cost technology, but a low cost registered facility close or within a short travel distance for the students to the the final test at? Similar to having volunteers monitor the exam as suggested in the article.



I am going to make a separate tab on my blog for interesting resources posted in the Forum area of PIDP3240 course. This is also a requirement for Assignment 4 in Social Media Option and therefore I am "killing two birds with one stone". I think I am going to have lots of interesting resources at the end of this course therefore having a place to park them for future use would be handy.



Friday, January 24, 2014

War Room

Even with taking an online course, to fully understand how this works, I had to revert to the old "technology":



As I was posting this picture, I was thinking that it could be made more "dynamic' with arrows pointing to different areas with explanations, but since I am not taking Digital Media presentation, I'll omit it this time. Here is a picture of my low tech "War Room" and it's been of great assistance in understanding the flow of this course - what is it exactly I have to do, when and where.

Here is a reminder on my phone, so that every time I turn it on there is a list of things for me to do to keep up with assignments.  By the way, I also have these sticky notes at home and at work.  Low tech, but it works for me.



Thursday, January 23, 2014

Pieces of the Puzzle

I think I am slowly understanding how this online course works, and piece by piece I am connecting the puzzle.  As I was reading the textbook, interestingly called, "Teaching Naked" by Bowen J.A., I was highlighting some interesting thoughts.  As I was doing so, I looked at the highlighter and thought:  what will the highlighter be in this digital age?  So I quickly looked up Highlighter and came to this http://vimeo.com/26091209 . This is a pretty nifty little tool that could be of great help to students as well as instructors in this digital age.


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Facebook Set Up

Finally, I was forced to come out of my technology seclusion and join the Facebook world..  Today I signed up for an account and once I was through the initial set-up, a wave of information flooded the screen.  At first, it was hard to get oriented and after 5 minutes of poking around the home page I was ready to give up.  That was enough of an introduction for my first day but before calling it quit I made my first Like for the School of Instructor Education https://www.facebook.com/VCCSchoolOfInstructorEducation which has a link from http://instructordiploma.com/

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Could not Predict it

I tried blogging once previously for the purpose of connecting with people who have similar interests in cycling.  Whether it turned out any good or not, you can be the judge:  http://cycloping.blogspot.ca/

Here I am, 3 years later, working on another blog for my Media Enhanced Learning Course 3240 with Vancouver Community College.  This time around, my blog has a different purpose:  this is my assignment. So far, the course has been a very interesting experience.  Yesterday, I signed up for a Twitter account, today, I revisited blogging, and next, I will be signing up with Facebook.  Since the Social Media revolution began, I've been avoiding it as much as possible.  I didn't see a need for Social Media in my personal or work life and didn't want to bother being connected to others constantly.  The time has come when I should start paying attention to it and having to take this course has given me a push in that direction.

Here are some interesting blogs from the participants in my Social Media Group:

http://youngparentseducationprogram.blogspot.ca/

http://essaydoctor001.blogspot.ca/