Notes and Exit Slip

Notes:
Presentation comments
-Do not try to talk over students. It will not work at that time, or in the future. 25 students are easily able to talk over me, if it continually happens students will learn that they can get away with it. Try to give check points like "30 more seconds", "10more seconds" so they will begin to quiet down.
-As the teacher, wait until the end of a discussion to interject. If I interject too soon, the discussion will be over. Students will rarely disagree or confront the teacher in a public forum (the discussion).
-student to student conversations and discussions. How do we get the students to carry the conversation so the teacher does not have to interject as much.
My Question- change "help" to learning, students are evaluated by how they learn not how they pay attention. specify ADD or ADHD. -specify secondary. science?

IWB lesson- look into the SMART exchange stuff. make sure to give any credit where it is due.
where do we get graphics? in notebook softwear. use the "gallery" picture tab.
-HAVE and idea before i go to ask jeff for help, or he will not have an idea either.
by thursday, submit a rough draft version of the IWB lesson. peers will give feed back, and i will have time to revise it.

EXIT SLIP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am especially interested in working on my classroom management skills. I learned a lot about the do's and don'ts of how to manage classroom volume. Also, i have a better understanding about how much a teacher can influence a discussion. I can make or break the discussion depending on when/ how i participate in it.
We are in a transition period between using paper with limited computer use to a system of integrated computer applications. This seems tough, BUT we have always struggled with technology advances in the classroom. It is nothing new, lets embrace it this time.

BWP Chapter 4- Wikis

BWP Chapter 4- Wikis
“Imagine a world where every single person on the planet was given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That’s what we’re doing.”-Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder.
This quote is inspirational yet for some reason still makes me skeptical. This is great because it has been created to help people learn but isn’t this what the internet is already trying to do? Is it really helping us to bring facts together or just adding more web pages to the internet that already exist in other forms?
Wikipedia is another way to say quick encyclopedia with a Hawaiian twist. It is definitely quick and easy to access the information on wiki. This probably explains why it is very popular with students. But Wikipedia is more than just a source of information; it is a combination of skills. The millions of editors in chief are currently making 400,000 changes to wiki every day. This means they are expressing their skills to collaborate, analyze, critique, write, read, research, be skeptic, and more.
I have heard of wiki but I actually did stay clear of it while doing research papers because I knew I couldn’t use it as a source and therefore felt it a waste of time to view. It is becoming more evident to me that one of the positives to wiki is that it is for the most part neutral. The army of editors tries their best to present accurate information in a way that is most neutral. A neutral source may be a good one to use for science research as long as it is accurate.
While using wikis in the classroom it is very important for the teacher to let the students control it. If used inappropriately it will need to be addressed. If used appropriately the teacher should keep their hand out of it because the students will start to value the ownership they have over the page. Letting the student be the editors determine what information is right, wrong, or biased will teach them valuable skills in editing. This would also be a great time to introduce the concept of “soft security”. Often times students find information from one source and accept it as truth and rarely question it. I will make it very clear to them that there is not an all seeing all knowing wiki go who makes sure that everything is accurate and truthful. It is only monitored by other people surfing wiki, but also that it is a good thing because most people really do want to see the right information rather than vandalizing.
Many teachers are very skeptical to allow students to use wiki for information. I think that I am going to allow my students to use it but not encourage it. After all, they are probably going to use it whether I allow them or not. If they do use it then I want to know about it. They will need to follow a few guidelines when using/citing wiki. They will need to cite wiki information with the date accessed, the age, how many revisions have ever been made, and an alternative source that backs up the chosen wiki info. These requirements will more so be a checkpoint for the students to keep them constantly analyzing the credibility of the wiki information.
I will need to do some wiki research myself. I need to become more comfortable with it and possibly look for information that will coincide with my curriculum and will most likely be searched by students in my class.
Lastly, even if I do not encourage them to use the wiki info to complete research projects I do need to still expose them to wiki. If not for research, do it for fun! It will still teach them the important concepts of wikis and how they work and what they can likely trust and what they may want to be skeptical about.

Rethinking Education Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Rethinking

1.       read Ch. 3 of Rethinking Education (p. 30-48); post a reflection to your reflective learning blog:

o    How does this reading impact your thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning?

o    What will you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?

Skeptics argue that computers will reduce the variety of classroom teaching and learning. They also argue that the commercial media will have too much influence on the classroom learning.

Schools are “remarkably resistant institutions”, they have resisted changes in technology for a very long time.  Changes during the 1800’s from using slate to paper would not be my first thought when I think about changes in technology but, during that time, they were.

The present school system is largely based on a long history of educational methods, especially the past 100 years. It works as a complex equilibrium like a jig saw puzzle. When a new piece is added, it threatens the position and functions of the rest of the system. Many parents, teachers, students and administrators view technology as that piece.

Many schools have responded to the potential risks of technological innovation rather than acting upon its potential opportunities. Appropriate use policies can actually ban uses of new technology that threatens the existing practices.

The introduction of high stakes testing to the classroom has pushed teachers to focus more on specific content and conventional skills. This has caused teachers to feel as if they have less time and effort to devote to developing innovations in the classroom. Some teachers are reliant on using established technologies

 Skeptics are technically correct to argue that the increased use of computers has caused lower exam scores, but there are more factors to consider. As computer typing has become more popular, written test scores have fallen and computer test scores have improved. Typing is very different from hand writing. If I choose to use technology and introduce advanced technology in my classroom, I may want to consider using more computer based evaluations too. When students have low scores I need to figure out if they were caused by a lack in my instruction, a lack in the individual student’s effort, an outside factor, or if there is a problem with my testing methods. 

Skeptics argue that computer use will complicate classroom management. They feel that when students are split into groups to share a computer it is more difficult to control the class. I agree with this for the most part, but there are other options. How about 1:1 initiatives? They feel there is too much room for breakage and vandalism. Recently, I have been observing in a 9^th grade classroom which has a 1:1 laptop initiative. I need to find out more information about how much repair has had to be done to the computers, but I have not observed any problems yet. In addition, the classroom management has been handled very well. Each student having a computer is just like each student having a pencil, it is only another tool that helps the student.  1:1 initiatives are not widely common yet, but I hope that I am able to get a job in a district which has one.

Exit Slip 9-23

Todays class covered a really wide variety of topics! We covered events in the media which directly relate to our class and Wisconsin, presentation pros cons and tips, Smart board tips, resources for interactive SMART lesson plans, and more.

Everytime we talk pros and cons about presentation i pick up new ideas and find where i need to sharpen my own skills. This class focuses on how we will be able to help our students use technology. In a round about way we learn it too, but the Smart Lesson Exchange is great to directly help me with my tech needs and ideas. Any website that is a social connection between teachers is a great way to link their ideas.

In class notes

Presentations:
+Tell the audience what you're going to tell them, Tell it to them, Tell them what you told them.
+Back up plan/improvise according to time - double and triple check the links and monitor when the audience is attempting it.
-NO Ums and Likes! especially not at the beginning of a sentence!
+Speak up, use coaching voice.
+Wait time, 7-10 seconds
+Personal connections and background knowledge.

For technology inquiry expectations
tools? Whiteboards, cell phones, smart...
populations? reluctant readers, children with autism, ell...
OR a combination between tools and populations.
Have a question ready for next Thursday, sooner the better. Is it a yes/no question? if so, reword.

SMART Lesson Plans using http://www.exchange.smarttech.com/index.html#tab=0
By State standards and by content areas

Do the digi auto-bio scavenger hunt.

Add Delicious bookmarks.

Ch. 2 of Rethinking Education

Read Ch. 2 of Rethinking Education (p. 9-29); post a reflection to your reflective learning blog:
  How does this reading impact your thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning?
  What will you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?

This chapter was from the standpoint of technology enthusiasts, technologists. Technology has heavily made impacts in business and the entertainment industry. It needs to deeply make its way into schools too. The enthusiasts feel technology will revolutionize schools by preparing students for the real world and enhancing the ways educators teach. Putting computers into the classroom in the 90’s was a good start but obviously has not been enough.  The gap between school computer use and workplace use is growing wider.  Also, the gap between school content and knowledge needed for the workplace is widening.

Just as the industrial revolution increased the amount of work done by the human body the technology knowledge revolution is increasing the amount of work the human mind can do. It is largely based on more opportunities to communicate.  Technology is offering “just in time” (JIT) ways to learn by introducing quick help programs, online tutorial, and quick comparison tools. Most people forget most of the things they learn. JIT helps them to quickly freshen up on their knowledge by giving quick answers to help them remember what they once learned.

Textbooks are starting to be designed in a way to mimic web pages by the appearance layout and linking to online material and resources. This is a good thing because when students have to use textbooks they will be able to relate it to the way they learn on the internet. Giving students options to what and how they learn is a way that technology is providing personalized learning choices.

Students are becoming interested in learning what they want to learn rather than learning in the linear fashion that traditional education has been structured. The internet has developed a way to capture the interest of specific demographics. These “push technologies” are compiling past searches and topics of interest by a particular user to give future suggestions on what the user may be interested in. These tools can narrow the user’s interests and can provide better venues to learn the material by presenting the information in terms at an appropriate level for the user’s ability. Student’s desire for personalized learning choices is growing. The No Child Left Behind act is attempting control exactly what everyone should know.  In reality, technology is creating a generation of students who are more concerned with widening what their choice of what they want to learn. Can these two different methods work together? Or are they working against each other?

Simulations are another way which students are using technology to explore their thoughts and guide what they want to learn. Simulations can vary from science lab simulations to video games. They give immediate feedback, offer different situations controlled by choices, and normally increase in difficulty. Using simulations will scaffold learning by giving opportunities for trial and error without real world consequences and posing “What if” situations. When it comes to video games children want to pay attention to find the best outcomes to their choices so that way they will be able to perform better in the later levels of the game.

I found one part that I disagree with the technologists. They feel that educators present too much material before allowing students to apply it. They used the example of a tennis coach teaching all the rules and strategies before letting students try to play. In some subjects, I think it is important to teach the correct way before students have the chance to acquire incorrect techniques and habits.

In my secondary science classroom I will be able to utilize many of the methods presented in this chapter.  In a vast ocean of sources of information students will need to know how to wade through the junk. I need to teach them the best ways to develop their skills to efficiently find the most useful information. Knowing how to ask good questions will help them to find the right information whether in or outside of the classroom. For example, while using Google search. Also, face to face learning and communication is decreasing. I need to guide students in how to communicate with non-face to face ways like e-mail and video conferences.

With many quick self help programs developing, student will be turning to them for their questions. At the same time, I want to model my technological knowledge to my students so they will still be comfortable to ask me for help.

Students want more ways to connect their technological abilities to the real world. Connecting what i teach them in the classroom to what is happening in the real world is important to motivate students to be interested in what I have to teach them. I could teach the foundations of GIS and its applications with concern to our local community. Rather than completing “meaningless” assignments in class, they could do a project directly working with the local community on a project.

Students are being born into this technological revolution. They will, with no doubt, be more knowledgeable in some areas than I will. Embracing this technology and using it to improve my pedagogical methods to interest students will be much easier than fighting this knowledge revolution.

Growing Up Online

The documentary was an hour long but I think that it was put together very well. Frontline covered the effects the internet and technology on today's teenagers. Teenagers are using the internet and technology EVERYWHERE! They use it in groups, alone, at school, at home, and where ever they have reception on their cell phone. Teachers and parents are struggling to keep up with it. The internet is a teenagers place for self expression outside the reach of parents where no one is in charge and it is a continuation of real life. Today more than ever, kids are very comfortable with being public. They want to use the internet as a venue to display their identity in a very dramatic way. Without being face to face with someone else it give teens both the chance to be completely different than they really are and also a way for them to truly be themselves. Autumn Edows (Jessica) was on the computer all day long constantly refreshing and replying, she said "didn't even feel like myself, but I liked not feeling like myself"

The internet is largely fueled by the desire for media entertainment. Students are struggling now more than ever while in traditional classrooms. Students want the impulse fast answers that technology has offered to them. Teachers need to cut through the media and capture their attention. Frontline interviewed a senior teacher who is trying to hang onto the traditional, non technological, classroom.  I could tell she was really starting to burn out. She felt the school arena is sooo different than when she began. I will need to keep up with the technology or else I a. will be replaced by it or b. will become burned out from fighting the technological growth. I do not want to become burned out from something that I have a passion for and enjoy.

Mrs. Skinner, mother of 3 tech savvy teenagers, placed the house's only computer right in the kitchen so it could be monitored closer. That is all fine and dandy but what frontline failed to address was the growing trend of 1:1 initiatives like Stevens Point's 9th graders are getting. If our system is moving toward trying to have a computer for every student, there will be no amount of monitoring in the world which could keep them out of trouble. We need to initiate more service programs that will help students learn how to use the technology responsibly as they age. When it comes to scary mishaps on the internet, are the kids victims or actually participants?

Computers and the Internet are not the primary cause of many of the problems, there are deeper issues.
This is life, how will we learn to live with it? We need to modify the players and the game.

In my classroom I want to keep up with the times and technology. In the long run it will take less energy for me to continually keep learning the new information than it will be for me to struggle with not knowing it. If I can stay up to date, I will be able to prepare my students for their future and effectively guide them to become more responsible while using technology.

BWP 1-3 reflection

BWP Chapters 1-3

I found a lot of things very interesting in the first few chapters. Technology and the internet (www) is definitely changing everything about our lives. The www is especially transforming the ways in which we teach and learn. The technology generation is growing up to be the “Society of Authorship”. Virtually anyone can contribute ideas to this larger body of knowledge called the internet. Young children and teens are especially proficient in contributing to this sea of information because it is the only thing they have ever known. I can remember the very first time I ever surfed the web. I was in 6^th grade (1996) and I was trying to find where yahoo mail was so I could set up an email account.

Today’s youth are born into it. Our text states that largest growing demographic of users are the 2-6 year olds! Traditional education taught students to become readers and writers, now students are also becoming editors, collaborators and publishers. Through social websites created for young children, such as Webkinz, they are learning how to navigate the internet and use technology faster than ever. They are learning how to learn in a very different way than adults did. They learn through navigating the internet, jumping from one URL to another. They learn using parallel methods unlike the progressive linear fashion that adults have learned to use.

Using blogs and related tools can help students and teachers with learning. By using tools like e-portfolios we can track our progress and learn about our own metacognative processes. We can evaluate the changes in the way that we think throughout a class, term, year, high school years, and even career.

In my future teaching there are many lessons that I can remember from this book. Students are using, and becoming comfortable with, these technologies at pre-secondary education ages yet they are being denied the opportunity to fully utilize them in schools. Some schools are leaps and bounds ahead of others when it comes to utilizing these natural skills.

I, along with many educators, must accept the fact that my students will often be more knowledgeable about the technology than I will, but I should not rely on them for it. Guiding student to enhance their tech skills will take more than solely showing it to them. I need to find what I am passionate about and begin using the www and technology to learn more about it. I need to understand it pretty well before I can predict how it will affect the pedagogical aspects of my classroom. Even the most reluctant students will become more interested in the technology if they see me knowledgably using it rather than only throwing it at them for one class period. Once I have showed them I care about it, I can begin to really share it with them by combining our skills.

A great concern with social networks such as blogs, Facebook, and wikis is safety and security. Before introducing a lesson which could require student involvement it is a good idea to collaborate with parents and administrators to get permission. Key points to note while doing this will be how it relates to my curriculum goals, the safety precautions taken, and the general operations of that technology.

Blogs are a very good way for students to have build communication skills. Writing papers resembles a monologue, a blog is a conversation. A good blog will offer the chance for students to carry on reflective conversations about their studies. If designed right, blogs offer a way to organize information. Organization and synthesis of ideas is important to help students excel in the growing use of collaborative learning. Sometimes blogs offer a way for shy students to voice their opinions because of the public comfort they feel through the www. I really want to use E-portfolios in my class. It gives students a way to organize their best work which will enhance their comprehension of the topic.

Blogs can be used to infuse writing into any content area. Educators must teach students how to determine credibility and reliability of a blog. Many blogs contain junk opinions and false facts, but many are credible and very useful. It is important that I teach how to find useful information.

331 Exit Slip, 9-16

The most useful part of class for me was learning some of the tips and tricks to the SMART board. I know that the tips will be very helpful during presentaions. Watching Dr. Boyer show it is great, but I know the only way that I will become better is to actually do it myself. I also liked the introduction to Prezi. I plan on experimenting with prezi and use it for at least one upcoming assignment in another class. The presentation tips were good too. Many of the tips were kind of obvious but some I had not thought about before like moving around the room and providing links rather than having the audience type the address.

Rethinking Education Chapter 1 Reflection

Read Preface and Ch. 1 of Rethinking Education (p. xiii-8); post a reflection to your reflective learning blog

How does this reading impact your thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning?

The success stories in the beginning of the chapter showed me that some students can achieve great things without the full guidance of school. Even students who dropped out of school were able to take their interest in technology to motivate themselves in pursuing careers.

Some parents will become disappointed if their child does not have the tools to best help them to succeed. Technologically advance students will become bored if they are not able to use the technology that they have grown up with and find comfortable.

There is currently a knowledge revolution from classroom learning to a focus on lifelong learning. Education does not stop at high school graduation. Students need to be exposed to resources that will help them with their lifelong learning post high school. The lifelong learning that is occurring is often driven by personal interests, not a curriculum. It is important for everyone to receive a well rounded education that offers exposure to a variety of subjects. In addition to general education, educators must focus on how to spark students’ interest in learning more about the topics they are personally interested in.

What will you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?

Embrace the technology, it makes the classroom fun. I will have the ability to have more fun with my lessons and the students will hopefully enjoy using the technology that they are interested in. Using technology I will try to help the students understand how relevant it is to their lives and schoolwork. The skills needed to be part of todays workforce are very different than the skills needed yesterday. More importantly, I need to show the students that the skills needed for tomorrows workforce will be different than the ones used today. I need to prepare the students with skills in technology that are going to be most beneficial to them.
I will face challenges in providing the best technological experience to all students in my class. Some students will walk into my class with more technological knowledge than others will accomplish throughout the entire semester. Providing every student with the same technological experience will not work. I will find the best way to scaffold each student to find what is most appropriate for them.

Website Credibility Test

Website Credibility

There is an endless amount of information that can be found on the internet. The information found covers a vast array of topics and issues. The question is if it is credible or not. The info may end up being biased, misleading, false, or even a hoax. In most cases there is no definite way to prove that a website is completely credible.

While viewing the four sites given in class, I found many red flags which made me question the credibility of the website or it’s information. There were many criteria I used to wade my way through each website’s credibility. I recommend that students should use a combination of the following questions to reach an overall decision.

Who is the author? Find out who the author is and if they offer any examples of their other work. If they have any other websites or papers, examine the credibility or the other websites. I normally view anonymous papers with caution. Does the author give their contact information? If they do, is it associated with any reputable source?

Does the web address have a long url with many backslashes and extensions? Try trimming off the end parts of the address until it eventually leads you to an original source. Does the original source have credibility such as a government agency, education system, or peer reviewed site? Use Google link to find out who links to that site.

What message does the overall appearance of the website convey? It should have a professionally clean appearance. Does it look like it was designed by an educated individual or does it have a lot of flamboyant flashy text. Often, if the information is important, the author will value presenting it in professional manner.

 How many advertisements are there? What are they selling? Who are they marketing to?  If there are a lot of advertisements, the website may have agendas other than presenting factual scientific information. Which organizations sponsor the advertisements, are they bias?

Is the information factual? How do you know if it is valid, false, an opinion, or a hoax? There are a few ways to validate the information. I use Google to find out who else has linked the website to their own. For example while searching for information about the DHMO site I went to Google search and searched “link: http://www.dhmo.org/”. It brought me to other websites that link to that site. Many sites were supporting the ban of dhmo but I also found sties that reveal that it was a hoax. Also, take articles and use Google Scholar to see if they have been peer reviewed.

None of these single tips can be a sure fire way to decide. Using a combination of these will help the reader to decide whether or not to use the information.

331 Exit Slip

The most useful part of today's class was learning about delicious.com, the social bookmarking site. It is a great way to have access to my internet resources from any computer with internet, anywhere. I am definitely noticing the times where Dr. Boyer making time for silence so students can think of questions. I will make sure to pick up on this habit for my own classroom.

Hodag Water Show- Digital Autobiography

Digital Autobiography

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/ek9AT4bb Final Autobiography
http://animoto.com/play/L0fdk6DC5RK0dm0KvMs7ew


•How much effort did you exert on this task?
I explored each of the VoiceThread, PhotoShow, Animoto, and Vuvox tools to narrow down the one I wanted to use. I created two autobiographies. I used PhotoShow and Animoto. I was most pleased with the PhotoShow project. I did like some of the features that Animoto offered, such as cooler music and visual effects, but I had trouble transferring certain photos. Once I completed my PhotoShow project I watched it and decided to go back into it multiple times for more editing and polishing. I also blogged my Animoto project because I really liked certain aspects of it.

•What is the value in completing this course task?
Creating the autobiography was a good way for me to begin exploring the giant selection of digital tools on the internet. I have heard of Animoto before but had never made anything like this on the internet before. I am glad that we were given a selection to pick from. Having multiple tools to choose from, each with their own style, showed me how investigating different possibilities can be very beneficial in producing a finish product.

There was a combination of many different skills needed to complete this task including uploading photos, reorganizing information, graphic design with test and pictures, and linking the project to other digital media. I posted my PhotoShow to my facebook page, the Hodag Water Show page, and my blog at Blogger.com. When I posted it to my blog, it was the second blog I had ever posted in my life. It was a simple task blogging it but it was something I had never done before.

In addition to the technological benefits that the assignment achieves, sharing it with the class will help students to get to know each other better. This will hopefully make for a more comfortable classroom atmosphere in our strangely arranged computer room. This was a good introductory project that was also pretty fun.

•How does completing this course task impact your future teaching?
I could definitely see using tools like these in my secondary science classroom. In the digital world that we live in it is important for students to continue learning new ways to digitally share their knowledge. Incorporating projects like this could show my students how uploading pictures has its benefits beyond using facebook.

A majority of students have already developed the introductory skills that I mentioned before. Using interesting new tools which bring these skills together could help struggling learners spark connections to technology. Reducing students’ fears in technology will build their confidence and hopefully inspire them to explore it further. Using tools like PhotoShare is not reserved only for the struggling students. These tools also allow advance students to take their skills to the next level.

It is fun! It is important to introduce material that is fun to the classroom. Keeping students having fun will help them make deeper connections with the material. Also, it will lessen the “I’m bored” syndrome.

A PhotoShow autobiography could be used to enhance a lab report. There could be an assigned photographer to each lab group during an outdoors field study. During the lab write up after their outdoor data has been taken the students would be able to revisit the photos to refresh their memories. They could use the photos to demonstrate their findings to me through a PhotoShow.

Building a safe comfortable classroom atmosphere is important to the science classroom. Creating a digital autobiography will help students get to know each other better. When students feel more comfortable they may be able to contribute more to a classroom discussion.

Finally, using digital tools can be a great way for students to build skills which are beneficial in other classes and subjects. This project also helped me to create a digital short for my water ski show’s page. During science class, students will be building skills that could later help them in a marketing or webpage design class.

EDU 331, Technology?

1. Define technology. Technology is the improvement or invention of a product. It is often, but not limited to, in the form of electronics.

2. Technology integration. It is very important for teachers to integrate technology into the classroom because often it is the same tools being used in that field of study. Integrating technology can be very exciting for students and can capture their attention. As a science teacher, I would like use advanced measurement instruments to make observations in the classroom.