Drupal Workshop @ IT-ology

IT-ology often offers free workshops in various tech areas.  On Saturday, September 22, 2012 they offered a workshop on Drupal.  Drupal is an open source content management system and framework that is in use in about 2% of the world's websites.  It allows people to put together websites without having any programming experience.

The workshop ran from 9am to 4pm.  It seemed kind of bad at first and I was a little hesitant to sign up for it because it was an all day workshop.  Turns out, the time flew by quickly and it also gave me a chance to network with other attendees.

The workshop was interesting.  But around about the 1:00 hour I was a little lost on the more difficult parts.  I found it hard to follow the instructor after a certain point because he was going really fast.  I realized that most of the people in the workshop were already users of Drupal and were there to get help on working on their websites.  I think this made the workshop different from what I expected because the instructor went into more difficult areas very quickly.  I looked around the room and was relieved to see that I wasn't the only one that seemed a little confused.  I think if follow the instructions in the pamphlet that was given then everything will be much more clear.  I haven't had time to do that as of yet though, but it's on my to-do list.

Anyway, the objectives of the workshop were:

• Configure your site name and slogan (Did that)
• Create a static block of text (Did that)
• Add new content (Did that)
• Add a webform to collect information from visitors (Did that)
• If you have time, add a banner (Didn't do that)

I guess overall, I did complete all the objectives, I just don't feel as if I gained much from the workshop.  It was interesting though.

My Visit to the S.E.T. Career Fair

The Science, Engineering, and Technology (S.E.T.) Fair was on September 19th at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.  I decided to attend the Fair in order to find out information about possible Spring semester internships.  Let me first say, that I hate attending Career Fairs.  I don't find it fun, trying to sell yourself to numerous employers on the spot.  I prefer one-on-one interviews.  But oh well, what are you gonna do?

There was a huge turnout this year.  The thing that I noticed, which is usually always the case, is that most of the companies are looking for Computer Science majors.  Not all of them, but I will say the majority of them.  I visited numerous tables and received a ton of great information.  One problem...all the information was about JOBS.  Remember, I'm looking for an internship to fulfill graduation requirements.  Most of the companies do their internships during the summer.  This was a huge disappointment.  I still continued to visit tables though to find out about requirements for positions after graduation.  I was happy to see that Blue Cross Blue Shield and Computer Science Corporation both have entry level training programs for recent grads.  I guess that's something.  At least I got something out of the visit.

Well, that's about all that I can say about this years S.E.T. Fair.  Still looking for an internship, but I'm not too worried about that.

Learning about Moodle

Recently we had a speaker visit my Training Systems course.  Her name was Felicia Collins and she is an Adjunct Virtual Instructor for the SC Department of Education.  She spoke to us about teaching with Moodle, which is an Open Source Learning Management System.

Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is a software package for producing Internet-based courses and websites.  Ms. Collins' primarily trains teachers on how to implement this software into classroom environments. 

There are numerous learning objects that can be used in Moodle.  Examples of these objects are:  Forums, Assignments, Blogs, Quizzes, Database, Chat, Educational Games, etc.  There are also Add-On Modules that can be used with Moodle.  These include:  Polls, Certificates, Portfolio, Presentation, etc.

The advantages of applying Moodle in the classroom are numerous.  Students have 24/7 access, which basically extends education time.  Numerous activities can be added for the students to practice on their own time.  There are opportunities for collaborative opportunities and also open discussion in Discussion Boards.

There are some limitations when using Moodle.  Some students may not have Internet access.  This will limit their activities outside of the classroom.  Ms. Collins spoke of how she overcame this problem when she taught her 5th grade class.  She would simply allow those students extra time on the workstations in her classroom.  Another limitation is that student artifacts will be locked in the Moodle; therefore, outside users cannot view them. 

Moodle can be used as a virtual classroom, a hybrid, a independent learning environment, and many other ways.  It is used on many educational levels: Elementary, Secondary, University, Business Training, and Personal Sites.

The most important thing you should know about Moodle is that it is FREE!!!

If you would like additional information on Moodle you can visit these sites:

Moodle.org  

Docs.moodle.org

Moodle.tcaps.net

Let Me Introduce Myself...

My name is Kristy and I am a student at the University of South Carolina.  I am currently enrolled in the Integrated Information Technology program.  I am starting this blog to fulfill a requirement for a Training Systems course.  The purpose of this blog is to allow students to connect theory, practice, social media, and e-learning design by reflecting upon course activities, textbook readings, and other readings.  And yes, I borrowed that last sentence from the course syllabus.  It describes the point of this blog better than I ever could.  Anyway, I'm not quite sure of exactly what I will be discussing in these blogs.  But hopefully, the topics will be very interesting (at least they will be interesting to me).  The topics will most likely range from new and exciting technological advances to different professional events that I attend. 

Anyway, that's my introduction and I look forward to discovering and conquering the world of blogging.

Oh yeah...I almost forgot...GO COCKS!!!