Personal Finance- Final Exam Comments & Financial Advice

Congratulations! You are approaching the end of your 9-week Personal Finance Course. I hope that you have learned tons, and I hope that you take what you have learned out into the world and apply it in your daily lives when it comes to your finances and money management. It's that time....EXAMS...and that means it's time for review and preparations before enjoying your Christmas Break.

As your last extra credit opportunity, I'm asking that you post a comment on my blog. I would like you to give some feedback on the class and what you have learned. Also, provide some financial advice to those who won't have the opportunity or have yet had the opportunity to take this course. The best advertisement is by word of mouth, so share your knowledge with others.

You will be awarded 2 extra credit points per posted comment. REMEMBER to leave your name at the bottom of your comment so that I know who to award credit to.

It has been a pleasure getting to know each of you & and even bigger pleasure being your teacher!

Happy Holidays!!!

WPD: Case Study- We Need an Intranet!

Mary Kate is a project manager in the IT department for a university. She has been asked to manage a project to create a faculty intranet. The university has multiple campuses in various locations, and professors and other faculty need to be able to easily post questions, schedules and other documents to share in a secure environment.



Mary Kate performed the following steps to begin the intranet project:

• She performed a needs analysis. Mary Kate interviewed the university faculty to determine their need for an intranet and the uses they foresee for it. She discovered that several of the professors were working on a research project and wanted to use the intranet to facilitate group discussions, as well as host periodic Webinars for professors at other universities.
• She chose the project team. Mary Kate enlisted members of the IT department for the project, including someone to install firewalls so users have more secure access to the Internet, and someone to set up the site to host Webinars.
• She determined the project constraints. Mary Kate determined when the intranet needed to be live. She considered how long she would have the services of the various team members, how long team members could work on this project before being assigned to other tasks, and when the first Webinar was scheduled. Once she gathered all of this information, she was able to determine the project scope and constraints.
• She created the project schedule. Mary Kate worked with the project team to outline the tasks and task relationships required to complete the project. She assigned resources to specific tasks so that each person was aware of his or her role in the overall project plan.
• She scheduled weekly meetings for the duration of the project. Mary Kate included the CIO, project team members, faculty members and all other stakeholders in the meetings.
• She created a project status and an issues log. Mary Kate used these documents in each meeting to apprise stakeholders of the project's progress and to introduce any problems or issues that had arisen since the last meeting.

Once Mary Kate had performed all these tasks, she was ready to begin the executing phase of the project.

As a class, we will discuss this scenario and then you will individually comment below on the following questions:

• Which steps already performed by Mary Kate are part of the initiating phase for this project? Which steps are part of the planning phase?
• Has Mary Kate overlooked any steps in the first two phases of this project? What other tasks might she need to perform?
• What tasks might Mary Kate perform in the executing phase? In the controlling phase? In the closing phase?
• How might scope creep occur in this project? How could it be managed?

Cyber Bullying

You have watched 2 videos addressing Cyber Bullying. Write a reflective comment to the following questions?

1. What is Cyber Bullying?
2. How can you prevent it and stop it?
3. List 3 valueable points that stick out to you or will leave a mark of rememberance in your mind fter watching the videos.

Web Page Design- WDT & Foundations

Congratulations!!! You have made it to the half way point of Web Page Design-I! I hope that you have enjoyed the class thus far, and are looking forward to more adventurous learning next term. It's that time again...EXAMs (well...midterms) and that means it's time for review. You will receive a review handout for the test that will be given at the end of the week (3rd block-Thursday, October 7, 2010; 1st block- Friday, October, 8, 2010). Look over the review sheet and post any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the class or the exam in the comments section. Be sure to add YOUR name at the BOTTOM of the comment so that I know to whom I should respond.

It's been a great ride so far, and I'm looking forward to another 9 weeks with you! Best wishes on all your exams this coming week!!!

Personal Finance- Wells Fargo vs. Bank of America Online Banking

Take a tour online banking demos for Wells Fargo & Bank of America.

After completing each demo now you must decide: "Which bank seems to fit my needs?" Please answer this question and explain why. This assignment is worth 5 pts.

Foundations-Case Study: Plan It Out

Seamus was assigned to create a Web site plan for a charity organization. He must ensure that the site includes the following features:

-A message stating the purpose of the charity
-An online form that will receive personal information from potential volunteers & place it into a database.

Seamus' first step was to discuss the plan with stakeholders. He did not have a stakeholder group, so he obtained representatives from the following departments:

-Marketing
-IT
-Web development

Eventually, all parties were able to agree on a site plan. After creating the site plan, Seamus' project manager asked him to help present this plan to upper management. Seamus decided to use the following:

-Web page examples provided via an overhead projector
- A handout listing the names of stakeholders, as well as projected costs and time lines

Upper management was very pleased, although they did have a few specific feedback points that they asked Seamus to consider. The project was approved, and Seamus was able to work closely with the project manager to create this site.


*****************************************************************

In your groups, consider this scenario and answer the following questions:

-What other features might benefit this site?
-What other stakeholders could have been consulted?
-What additional presentation aids could have helped Seamus make a positive impression?


Answer these question in the comment section. Make sure the names of every group member appear in the comments in order to receive credit!

Investigating intellectual property concepts and laws

As a bell ringer assignment for Web I- Foundations, you are to explore and learn more about intellectual property concepts and laws. After researching and reviewing, please answer the following questions by commenting on this blog (leave your name at end of the comment):

1. Which parties are responsible for protecting copyright?

2. What is plagiarism?

Website Evals

Website #1 Stossel In The Classroom
Address: http://stosselintheclassroom.org/index.php

Purpose- This site offers great teacher resources for student learning dependent on the subject area you teach. I got this site information when attending a personal finance conference, and I now use this site to supplement my personal finance class that I teach. When you sign up on the website, you will be sent a free DVD with tons of teacher resources that include video, power point, lesson plans, handouts,and so much more.

Evaluation- This a very resourceful site for teachers and even administrators. I am a fan of "not re-inventing the wheel", and when I can use other new lesson plans and information to assist with developing my own I go for it.

Website #2- Learn the Net
Address: http://www.learnthenet.com/index.php

Purpose- This site is an online guide and tutorials to things you want and need to know about accessing and using the Internet. The site is very user friendly and provides additional links for more information on a topic. This site also offers quizzes that can be used as a form or assessment of student knowledge of concepts covered.

Evaluations- Great site, easy to navigate through, resourceful, and serves the needs of every type of learner. I have found it very useful in teaching my Web Page-foundations course.

Website #3- H.I.P. pocket Change- United States Mint
Address: http://www.usmint.gov/kids/

Purpose- dedicated to providing information about the past, present, and future of money in a student-friendly approach. Teachers from economics, personal finance, accounting, family consumer science, and others may use that site as another resources to tackles standards focused on the concept of money.

Evaluation- I have just began using this site, and so far I have had no complaints. The students seems to love the site and found it to be very useful in learning about what money is. I recommend this site to anyone looking for ready-made lessons and colorful resource to go along with the teachings.

Website #4- Slide Rocket Presentations
Address- www.sliderocket.com

Purpose-This web application similar to PowerPoint but more vibrant and elaborate. This site provides the user with the tools to create and online presentations that can be accessed and displayed anywhere there is an Internet connection. it also allows for collaboration of up to 50 people at one time.

Evaluation- I see this as the new way to give presentations in the classroom, as an assignments/projects for students, and use by administrators during faculty meetings and/or professional development. There is a 30-day trial period and after that a membership fee must be paid in order to maintain the account.

Jing

I think Jing is pretty cool! It's a way to me to get my kids involved in my classroom. I could really create great demonstrations for my web design class. I can even incorporate the use of Jing in my kids assignments similar to the way I am currently using it in my 5612 Class. I don't really see the benefits of using it if I were an administrator.

Check out my video below

Gaming

I just played WinterWhirl on friv.com! I love games like this where I can color coordinate and destroy things in a "girly" way. This game reminds me of a Wii game I have called "Bust-A-Move"

UrbanSpoon.com

I was taking a look at yet another Web 2.0 app and came across UrbanSpoon. This is a pretty neat site that give restaurant suggestions and reviews for places to eat in your city. The only drawback
is that the app is not compatible with my Blackberry. However, I can still access it on my Blackberry using my mobile web browser.

Sharing A Little of Me- YouTube video

I am also a coach (basketball), but before that I was a player at this lovely institution. Back in February of this year, I was inducted into the APSU Hall of Fame. This was a very overwhelming, fulfilling, and humble experience all at the same time. I am forever grateful. See video below for more.

Why Am I in the IT Program at APSU?

I am hoping to gain some valuable knowledge and tools that will allow for me to be better at my job and possibly open doors into other areas in my career. I'm thinking that I want to remain in the education field, but I don't want to be limited to just being a teacher in the classroom. Hopefully this program will provide some insight, new found friends from networking, and some educational experience to prepare me for advancement when I am ready.

I am going into my 3rd year of teaching. I teach at Springfield High School, teaching Web Page Design I & II. In the new school year, I will be teaching adding a Personal Finance class to my repertoire. It's going to be a challenge when you are used to teaching the same course throughout the day, however I am confident I can do it.

Trial

Finally...I made it to the blog world!!! I have had this account set up since this past spring but have done nothing with it. Since then I have come up with a couple of thoughts on what to do with it, but I think for now I will use it for my EDCU 5612 course. Wish me luck!!!