EDLD 5363 Web Conference June 30-July2

         I didn’t get to attend all three web conferences this weekend, but I did watch the first two and participated in the last one. (I love that Dr. Abernathy records the conferences and posts them for use to view after they occur.) It was stressed that our reflections should always include what we already knew, what we learned, and how we can use this information. There was lots of information given about the assignments and the master’s program.
        The first conference was Saturday, June 30. There were web cam problems. The first thing discussed were problems people were having with their assignments being scored by the IA’s. Dr. Abernathy said to email here if we didn’t have credit for any assignments and she would take care of it. This didn’t affect me. The one assignment I hadn’t had scored was scored by Dawn K. (my IA) once I emailed her asking about it. Then it was explained that week 4 assignments are a guide just to keep us on track with our videos. Everyone should be getting full credit for this week if we are working on the video project. Week 5 assignments were talked about next. (I hadn’t looked at them yet, so this gave me an overview of what was to come.) A big concern is the length of the video (especially for my group). Dr. Abernathy said it’s okay to go over the 90 second goal. They just don’t want a video turned in that is extremely long (2 minutes or around is okay). This courses goal is to give us the experience of working in a group long distance and making and editing audio and video. Assignment 5.8 is for the group to reflect on the experience using our Google document. The last assignment to be turned in is something new being done in all courses. We have to explain where we are in our Action Research Plan and Internship. This is an awesome idea. It will definitely keep me on track with my plan and internship. It was also explained that the information needs to be placed on our Wiki site, TK20, and EPIC.
        The next conference for the weekend was Sunday, July 1. A lot of the information was already given in the previous conference. Issues with IA’s were discussed for those having problems (thankfully this isn’t me). Week 4 questions were answered. (My group already had already completed week 4 though.) Week 5 was discussed. There are nine items to turn in during week 5. It was stressed to watch the rubrics on the assignments to make sure we are doing the right thing. The main thing to do is to complete the video/audio and put them together. My group is so awesome. This process was done before week 5 and all we have to do is edit it. It was stressed that we must have Creative Commons on our video and citations (which we do). Citations must not appear and disappear too quickly on the credits in the video. They want to be able to read them. Dr. Abernathy reminded us where to post before the end of the course (Wiki, TK20, EPIC) and that 5.9 was an update of our Action Research and Internship. The new information that was very interesting was about the Principal Exam that needs to be taken. In order to take it we must pass the LAMAR Competency Exam. Also mentioned was ILD (which is a Texas requirement-so I’m not exactly sure how it will affect me). It will be a course in January, so no one will have to pay an outside source in order to take it. She also mentioned about a reception they have before Graduation ceremony and what goes on during that time. Right now, graduation seems like a long way off for me. As always she said to call if we need her.
        The final one for this weekend was Monday, July 2. I attended this meeting online. There were some connection problems in the beginning. Questions were answered about assignments (which my group pretty much has done). It was shared that assignment 5.4 was not correct, so Dr. Abernathy would be posting a new one in EPIC for us. She stressed to use the Rubrics as a guide to what to answer/turn in with the assignments. We then discussed Course Embedded Hours and Internship Hours. This gave me some clarification on what I need to do for both of these. By our seventh course we should be ½ way through our hours needed for both. It was great how Dr. Abernathy let us discuss this information and answered questions regarding it.