Digital Portfolio

Digital Portfolio

Three weeks ago I received a furlough notice from my school district.  Myself and eleven others.  After twelve years.

To say that it was a devastating experience is an understatement.

In my panicked search for a new job, I noticed several ads for WIX, and decided to set up a basic portfolio / resume as something that I could take on interviews and show perspective employers some of my past projects and information.  I had actually done a WIX site some time back through of all things a CAD class that I had taken at Pennsylvania College of Technology.  The site then, to say the least, was (is) somewhat "cheesy", with a lot of moving slides and difficult to track, but it was fun to make at the time.

This time I used a different layout, and made things somewhat more professional.

To make a simple, effective portfolio, WIX is a great site to go to.  If you don't mind the ads, the site is for free.  The upgrade costs are monthly as opposed to annually, but depending upon what you want to use it for, it could be well worth it.

Before looking at this assignment, I had set the site up with the following pages:

Home

Resume

Portfolio

After reading the assignment, I changed the site to include the following pages:

Home

Resume

Class / School Project

Wilkes Portfolio

The site itself is extremely user friendly, and can handle a large amount of pictures and information.  It is easy to alter information, add new pages and subpages, as well as images, vector art, videos and extra documents.  In addition, anything uploaded for one WIX page is available on any other subsequent page set up through the same login.  That allowed me to transfer many of the pictures from the first site to my new portfolio.

Depending upon where I end up with future employment, I think that I will develop a lesson plan to have students create a similar WIX portfolio for their work done in class.

My WIX portfolio is located at:

https://techmanb707.wixsite.com/portfolio

a shortlink to this site is:

https://tinyurl.com/abakerportfolio

 

Thank you!

Attending a Live Webinar:  Autodesk Fusion

In all honesty, I usually get an invitation to several live webinars each month for one of my various

CAD softwares.  I also normally do not attend them due to class scheduling or other reasons.  With this assignment, however, I actually found it difficult to find one that ascertained to my specific field of instruction.  While I could have gone to one of the ones posted in our assignment (I actually did sign up for one on Saturday, but I was asked to facilitate at a funeral for a Masonic brother, so I will be going there instead), I wanted to try ones that fit more of my curriculum.  Unfortunately, most of them were either held last week, or next week.  I did, however, find one which focused on an Autodesk software which I have been investigating for use in my classroom:  Autodesk Fusion.  Fusion is a parametric modeling software that is relatively easy to use, and which also can act as a CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) software that assists in programing automated mills, lathes and cutters.  The more that I research this software, the more amazing it is to me...

The program was set up using GoToWebinar (www.gotomeeting.com)  It was a rather simple format, with the two instructors / presenters seated behind a desk to begin with, then shifting to the computer screen showing the software.   The site had a q&a button along the right side, where questions could be asked by various people.  It also allowed the presenters to turn on or off the microphone system for anyone who was watching the presentation live.  I look on that as being both a positive and negative aspect of things, as it kept people from interrupting the session, yet it didn't allow for instant questions.  Written questions were also visible only to the presenters (at least from what I could tell), who then answered when there was an appropriate time.

With the conclusion of this webinar, I looked into others that were being hosted by this company, as they definitely know their software, and they seemed to have a good progression of topics coming up for the future.  I will definitely be looking into attending more of these in the future as they were a great influence on my learning even the two or three simple topics that were covered today.

If I were to incorporate this type of webcast into the classroom, I would most likely contact the company first, and determine if they would be willing to engage the microphone for q&a sessions with the students.  I would also see if they would send me sample files of the parts and pieces that they used in the webinar so that I could incorporate them into follow-up lessons / problems using the software.  In this instance, the students would be attendees, and the webinar itself would most likely be projected onto a large screen or Promethean board, with the students writing relevant questions to be asked / posted as the lesson progressed.  The students themselves would watch the webinar, post questions, then proceed to attempt the work as shown (with my assistance and files for the first try). 

Another way that I would consider integrating such a program into the classroom would be for the students themselves to research and produce a webinar depicting the development of one of their projects, or a method of creating something either on the computer or by hand.  I could easily see using it as a way to do a robotics lesson for elementary students where we describe and run a robot, describing its function and purpose then answering questions posted by the younger students.  This would also probably work with our 3d printing system, and maybe a few other projects as well.  It would be a neat way to bring STEM from a senior high setting into an elementary one without actually taking students and equipment out of the classroom.  It would, however, take some better equipment than what we currently have to make a good production.

Integrating Social Media into an Architecture Class

While I have been using a form of Social Media - Wikispaces - for some time now, they are closing down that platform.  This means I have to begin to re-adjust many of my programs and projects to use other social sites.

As a starter plan for integrating social media into at least one of my programs, I chose Architecture.  In looking at the ways that it can be adapted in, I took a look at three different assignments / projects which I already incorporate, and how they could be simplified in their execution through the use of Pinterest.

In all honesty, I have never really / truly used much of the social media that is out there and available, primarily because I never really had the time to explore it and see what it can do.  However, with some discussion with students who do use such sites, I have come to realize that some of my projects could be made much easier with the adaptation / integration of some of these sites, and that the students might actually participate more than what they do with their use.

In evaluating my Architecture program, I currently have three different projects where students are required to do some research, and then create a presentation or submit pictures for.  With each of these, getting the students to take and then submit the pictures is always problematic due to lack of hard drive space, the fact that the school blocks cell-phone plug-ins to their computers, and of course the old Apple / Android issues.

Two of the projects in which I would integrate social media into would be as follows:

1. Architectural Design:  

Identify different architectural designs / styles of houses within our school district / county.

2. Roofing Design:

Identify different roofing designs / styles within our school district / county.

With both of these projects, the goals are relatively simple.  In the classroom, we investigate and discuss different housing designs (Victorian, Colonial, Neo-Classic, etc.).  In the past, I have had them go online to investigate and create a presentation on a specific style.  

With the new format, I would use Pinterest as both a collection and reference site.   After setting up a specific Pinterest Board, I would set up an invite for all students enrolled in the class, which would give them the ability to look at the site, as well as post information on it. 

Students would either be assigned a specific house or roof design, for which they would then find examples of that style in a given region, take pictures of the house, then post it into Pinterest with a description of the house and what qualifies it to be considered that format of house.  The other option would be where the students have to find a certain number of different house styles and do the same research but with multiple styles as opposed to one specific style.

Roof Style Description in Pinterest Board

Pinterest Invitation Board

A major benefit to this would be that students would be able to see what other's have done, and not use the same house or roof for their own example and description.  In addition, as an instructor, I could maintain a much better record of who is actually doing the work, as the posts are listed by email / name, and can be updated and checked at almost any time.

Evaluation would be rubric based, most likely on a 1-5 scale, with a list of evaluated items that would include:

• House / roof style
• Address
• Multiple pictures
• Style description

 

I KNEW I WAS GOING TO BE AN EDUCATOR WHEN...

In developing this project, I work it three different ways, with two different outcome (produced) postings.

Using a Samsung S6 phone, I recorded both video and audio in several different settings.   I also discovered how to take screen shots of what was on my phone and how to do some basic editing of those shots as soon as I took them.  All of the still shots in this production were taken using this method.  While I could have gone online and simply downloaded the still images, I opted for this method as a way to expand what I can do with the phone.

I posted two different versions of this project.

The first is in Voice Thread, where I took the video and audio, cut them into separate tracks using CAMTASIA, then imported them into the VoiceThread software.

The VoiceThread version of this can be found at:

I Knew I was going to be an Educator When...

 While the Voice Thread is set up as a slide show, I also used CAMTASIA to create an actual video with some simple transitions, using the same images and voice recordings.  I then downloaded this into a YouTube account, which can be accessed at:

I Knew I was going to be an Educator When...