GeoffL_TIGS' Reflective Writing.

[GeoffL_TIGS]

The flat classroom project has been a very effective and productive experience for me. The flat classroom project has been my first online collaborative experience, and has allowed me to connect and cooperate with other members from different countries or cultures. Our class was divided into groups and assigned to a topic with students from other schools. From there we began outsourcing for one another on our topic’s multimedia artifact which summarised our research in a multimedia format, and from there we were able to watch the other groups’ progressive research into their separate topics in order to gain an outside perspective on other topics.

The wiki tasks allowed me to research, and publish information I find helpful and relevant enough to share with other users. Although I understand other students may not have been able to contribute to the page I was happy to work and post to the wiki for our group, and I made an effort to connect to every member of our group so that they could find me on both the ning and the wiki. I began reading old flat classroom project wikis so that I could improve on the information provided by them, and to be of more use to future flat classroom users who may reference the information I have contributed.

After becoming more familiar with the wiki page and the control panel for editing pages I began researching Uploading; the changing shape of information. From that I learnt about the importance and practicality of my topic, and how my topic affects such a diverse range of other topics.
The discussion tab provided helpful use for deciding on changes we might make to our background information, and the areas of impact associated to our topic wiki. I added notes on the discussion tab to indicate what I have added to our background information and how I have structured our information. I spoke with our self-appointed group editor on any changes which may have needed to take place, but no significant changes to our background were needed. I found this to be useful, as I would not have to go back to the ning to contact every other group member to inform them about the changes made, as I could just tell the group as a whole in a tab in which they could all contribute to. I did not delve into RSS feeds as I’ve had a lack of experience with using this tool, but I would like to learn about using this function in the future, as I find that it is on a large volume of websites and web browsers.

I found the ning to be an excellent home to return to after having published to the wiki. I watched other users outsourced videos to gain insight as to how I could improve my filming techniques, in order to become more useful to any other outsourcings I may need to fulfill in the future. The ning also provides recent blog posts so I was aware of what other Flat Classroom students were up to and how different our syllabus’ are from each other, yet united in one collaborative effort.

I enjoyed reading the blogs of other members of the flat classroom project, and contributed through my own introduction. I found the ning useful to communicate with other members of my wiki topic and multimedia artifact group. I was able to locate each member and keep up to date with what information we were ready to share and upload to our wikis. The ning provided support where the wiki did not and since ning is a social network, and the wiki did not support the same communication between the members which the ning provides.

I also found the communication via email to the teacher was helpful in reminding and sending links to tasks which needed to be fulfilled, as I always check my email inbox and links could have been a hassle to print or physically write out. It was also convenient for updated information, as opposed to receiving new information in class the next day. Queries and replies were easily accessible if in need and would allow the transfer of digital multimedia files to the teacher when not available to hand it in. It handles the possibility of sharing new information with teachers and students if either were to be absent.
Such emails provided a test link to the elluminate whiteboard function, similar to the ning chat feature but supports annotations and slideshows on the whiteboard as well as microphone support.

The multimedia artefact was quite difficult to produce, though I did become more acquainted with movie maker and Adobe Premier’s effects and scene transitions. If more time was spent exploring these programs and working on my video, perhaps I would have communicated my message and topic information more successfully, though I did not face any technical problems. I selected a variety of slides related to my topic to add to the atmosphere of the idea I was communicating, and to assist my narration where the microphone might not have had been as effective. I used my outsourced video as a demonstration of the variety of file types and websites the topic spans. I also found that the audio file I found under a Creative Commons license was too distracting from the focus of my video, and interfered with my narration, as a result I moved the audio file to the credits of my final video. I was happy with the idea of having to do the multimedia artifact because it provides a summary of the entire topic which we researched in class, and revises all the information we had learnt through our research. It was great to see such a variety of videos posted for multimedia artifacts, and how the information is being delivered in each video. This includes interviews, slideshows and documentary style shooting.

I believe a 2 person multimedia artefact would allow for more information to be covered, and better editing. Both collaborators can research and combine information and would have to contribute equally to the artifact, both members can email and update the file and many drafts can be considered before combining the finished product. It is possible that one member may have had better editing software and could have arranged to film and edit it in a shorter time frame. A 2 person group multimedia artifact may also succeed where one member may be absent form that day, and the information can progress through one person, whereas the other student will be able to research more information. A 2 person group would allow for greater support for the group to proceed, and would be able to communicate their information in a private chat discussion or openly on the ning.

I found this the ning and wikis simple to use and replicated the same features I could find on MySpace or facebook. The ning uses the social networking aspects of these websites in a moderated and educational sense. The chat feature provides real-time instant messages to other online flat classroom ning members. This provides good use for eliminating back and forth messages; both users are able to clarify information within a shorter time frame. I liked the variety of links on both pages which allowed me to locate absolutely anything related to our topics within both the wiki and the ning.

Overall I think this was an enriching experience which allowed me to connect, communicate and collaborate with other students in an academic sense, which I hadn’t done before. Editing a wiki and talking on ning were entirely new to me, and I had never had an in-depth look at my topic until now. I enjoyed becoming acquainted with video editing programs and outsourcing videos for other students. I feel that students all over the world should partake in events such as this, because it broadens the educational spectrum to an international and cultural sense. Students can meet and collaborate with students from other countries and removed some of the more mundane aspects of education, studying and research.
This project has been both helpful and educational and I would be more than happy to do this project or similar again in the near future.