FSU EME-6414 Course Blog JNSU26

 Going back to last week's readings about assessment on Social Media, one key constraint about using assessment in this way is just the sheer workload involved for a single teacher (or if a large lecture, a handful of TAs and the lead instructor).  I can envision one reason to assess student progress on social media--that it is a place where students are comfortable spending a lot of time.  I know there is this sweeping tide, if you spend much time online, for all of us to have one single access point from which we run our lives online, and that having a life online is the preferred way of living in the 21st century.  And we are bombarded with so much information about how our online lives can make our lives overall better, all while social media companies are selling our data for big profits. I have had times when I was more online and visible in my activity, for a variety of reasons--sharing photos of the kids with distant relatives or engaging in civic activities....

I enjoyed looking at several of the information-sharing project videos.  I was impressed with the work people put in and the creative ways they used to drive usage.  I did not do this version of the assignment, largely because I couldn't think of something to create that would have been interesting enough for others to engage with and potentially share.  I was also worried that I wouldn't be able to drive anyone to my site in such a short amount of time for any sort of meaningful analytics.  So, I wrote a paper where I had far more to say than I expected!  It was interesting to compare two information-sharing sites/experiences and to see how very different they were.  

 I've been working on a project using vibe-coding, which I took a brief break from early in the course.  And I'm glad I did.  After working through the assignments in the course and after each of the team members on the project had some time to think about it, we all had some good ideas for how to improve the project.  For me, it was to add several elements to the project to build a community on the site.  Given the nature of the project, it's a natural addition to the site and should make it more valuable to users.  I've had a few ideas and am eager to learn from our site testers what they think of those elements and what suggestions they have for improvement.  I'm excited that the site is at a place where it is ready for use.  I've never done anything like this, so I plan to ask each tester to respond to a set of questions about its functionality, especially around the community building aspects.   I wonder what experience others have ...

I'm not sure that it is, but I've been in a deep dive into AI for my other class, and for prep work for my position starting this fall.  One thing appears clear--a whole like of training needs to go into AI literacy.  I think it is nice to think that we'll all "figure it out" through using it.  But Dr. Dennen's post on LinkedIn shows that even scholars are duped by AI.  Working with authors over the years on large textbook projects, it takes a lot of discipline to keep all your sources and citations sorted out.  And some people are more diligent about this than others.  And really, no one, anywhere, wants to cross-check the references in a manuscript that go 30, 50, or more deep.  It is thankless work.  And many companies are using AI to do copyediting work, so those references won't get checked that way, either.  My new favorite phrase is, "human in the loop".   On another note, I just spent a good bit of time discussing social med...

 I'm not sure why, but I'm still not jumping with enthusiasm to create social media learning activities or collections of resources to distribute over social media to get interactions.  I keep doing research, and I get it that it potentially ups engagement and allows for interaction between classmates, but wow, does it take a lot to structure, plan, and manage.  One of the first questions in the lesson notes for this week is "Does using social media add value to a learning activity?"  For me, the why is where I get caught up.  I get that it can add value, but from my experience in this program, it also adds A LOT of cognitive overload.  Switching from one platform to another, then to another to create an assignment, is a lot of context switching and learning new tech.  There are sooooooo many various applications out there, and everyone chooses the one they like best.  It's tough for students.  And at this moment, it is likely specific to me,...

I'm a fan of simplicity and of doing things in a step-wise manner.  I wasn't always that way.  I used to like the shoot-from-the-hip, rip-the-band-aid-off, go-big-or-go-home approach to new things.  Over many years, and with a lot of experience, I am now happy to approach things in a small, measured, step-wise fashion where I can make meaningful efforts that can also be tested in ways that can lead to impactful revisions.  That being said, two things from this week's tools activities stood out to me as something I'd like to implement.  I have experience as a student doing activities on shared documents.  I can envision using that kind of activity in meaningful ways, though I didn't love the way it was implemented in prior classes, so I plan to do more digging into that tool.   I also really liked the two collaborative writing tools.  I'd have to think about how to incentivize using those tools, and whether it would be a required or suggested ...