EDTC+601+Virtual+Collaboration+and+Communication

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__Reflection:__
This course was perhaps one of the most frustrating courses. While the numbering of the course suggests that it be taken second in line, we as the "pilot" cohort took the course as the 7th in our sequence. The course is designed to be an introduction to many useful topics, from Blogs and Wikis, to Web 2.0 and Social Networking. Unfortunately for us, we had already covered the majority of the material in previous courses. Through this 8 weeks, we made the most of our time and worked with the instructor to make the time useful and prevent repetition. As frustrating as it was for us to have content presented that we had already seen, it was equally so for the instructor. Thankfully the instructor was not rigidly locked into the course guide/curriculum that was given. The instructor understood that our time was valuable, and tuition is not cheap. The instructor modified the course to meet the needs of the cohort.

//Explain why you selected the artifact.// The two artifacts that I chose are the Online Learning Proposal, and the Virtual Reality presentation. Had we taken this course as currently sequenced, I am sure that I would have chosen a wikispace or blog to use as the artifact. However, I am equally proud of the work I did on the two artifacts here. Both projects were valuable in their own way.

//Include how the skills and knowledge gained from creation of the artifact advanced your skills and teaching practice.// As my school has tried one method of online delivery of instruction, with mixed results, I was ready to do some looking into what would be best practices. I was not surprised to find that the way my school currently tried to deliver online instruction does not meet many, if any, of the best practices. I also became very convinced that I made the right decision to not sign up for an online Master's program. I think that there are some benefits to an online program, and the online environment does provide the opportunity to collaborate with people at limitless distances from the user, I don't think that I personally would have been as successful as I was with the cohort in-person model. This was an odd revelation, considering that I do not consider myself a social person, yet I found the in-person interactions far more important to my learning than the one night we tried to conduct class as an online video conference.

//Identify what gaps in your skills and knowledge still exist. Suggest solutions to address the gaps.// The only thing that I am not entirely happy with is the treatment of my video by YouTube. The audio I used was part of the soundtrack from the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I made some changes to the audio, and felt like that combined with the use of it for a unique purpose made it fair use protected. YouTube did not see it that way, and although I went through the challenge/grievance process, the video is still missing its audio. I am in a constant state of learning with this topic, and continue to seek out new tools, evaluate them and then add them to my tool box when appropriate.

__Standards:__
> Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:
 * 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning**
 * a. || demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. ||
 * b. || collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. ||