Keep discussions on task! During our discussion, it took a participating student, to bring the group back to what we should be talking about.
When it comes to course workload, keep in mind that the rule of thumb is actually 3 hours of outside effort per each credit.
We are starting to bring all of the foundation ideas of this class and the text into a summarization.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Rethinking Edu Chap 7
Rethinking Edu Chap 7
read Ch. 7 of Rethinking Education (pp. 105-111); 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?
What may be lost and what may be gained? (in the education system and society due to the technology revolution.)
If we look back to the previous revolutions we have endured, we can see how pieces and parts have lived on and how some things have been added. I think this is how the technological revolution will happen too. There will be parts of our traditional education and society that will stick around and benefit the changing technological world. There will probably even be new tech parts that will hinder the entire system. My point is that there will be pros and cons to each component in the future.
What may be lost…
With the specialization of education we will probably see more and more smaller specialized schools and more home schooling. Without less focus on public schooling we could lose parts of our social cohesion. Diversity is good, but with less places for students of different backgrounds to interact it may create more divisions between groups.
Another divide that we may see is the expanding gap between educated and non-educated citizens parallel to the gap between wealth and poverty. We call this the digital divide. Some students have much better access than others to advanced technological tools that can help their education. I think this is very evident already. Some schools are advancing through 1:1 laptop initiatives and others may not even dream such a thing. It is not a matter of slowing down access for privileged students, but making those tools more available to poorer/less affluent students.
Will the increased dependency on using computers reduce everyday personal communication skills? People can go to college, work, and even shop without ever leaving the house or their computer desk. Will this decrease interaction with neighbors, family and friends? Pessimists argue that it will and has. Research has shown that increased use of the internet/computer has caused some people to become more lonely, depressed, and reduce contact with family members and close contacts.
Let the Education Race begin… BANG!
What may be gained…
Learners will become more engaged. When we are able to learn about things that interest us we stay tuned in better. Education can be customized to the learner using interesting topics and specialized help.
Tech optimists argue that because of schoolings competitive nature many students choose to focus on other non academic activities such as sports or drugs. This comes from the fear of feeling that they may fail compared to their classmates that are the “smart ones”. If students are able to have a stronger choice on what they would like to learn, then the ability to compare themselves to other students decreases. They will be more interested and feel more successful.
The combination of allowing parents to take back some of the responsibility of their child’s education and allowing technology to let students be in charge of their own learning will benefit the students.
All in all, it is debatable if the benefits outweigh the costs. Hopefully, these education tech tools will become less expensive and more abundant to schools and outside of schools.
read Ch. 7 of Rethinking Education (pp. 105-111); 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?
What may be lost and what may be gained? (in the education system and society due to the technology revolution.)
If we look back to the previous revolutions we have endured, we can see how pieces and parts have lived on and how some things have been added. I think this is how the technological revolution will happen too. There will be parts of our traditional education and society that will stick around and benefit the changing technological world. There will probably even be new tech parts that will hinder the entire system. My point is that there will be pros and cons to each component in the future.
What may be lost…
With the specialization of education we will probably see more and more smaller specialized schools and more home schooling. Without less focus on public schooling we could lose parts of our social cohesion. Diversity is good, but with less places for students of different backgrounds to interact it may create more divisions between groups.
Another divide that we may see is the expanding gap between educated and non-educated citizens parallel to the gap between wealth and poverty. We call this the digital divide. Some students have much better access than others to advanced technological tools that can help their education. I think this is very evident already. Some schools are advancing through 1:1 laptop initiatives and others may not even dream such a thing. It is not a matter of slowing down access for privileged students, but making those tools more available to poorer/less affluent students.
Will the increased dependency on using computers reduce everyday personal communication skills? People can go to college, work, and even shop without ever leaving the house or their computer desk. Will this decrease interaction with neighbors, family and friends? Pessimists argue that it will and has. Research has shown that increased use of the internet/computer has caused some people to become more lonely, depressed, and reduce contact with family members and close contacts.
Let the Education Race begin… BANG!
What may be gained…
Learners will become more engaged. When we are able to learn about things that interest us we stay tuned in better. Education can be customized to the learner using interesting topics and specialized help.
Tech optimists argue that because of schoolings competitive nature many students choose to focus on other non academic activities such as sports or drugs. This comes from the fear of feeling that they may fail compared to their classmates that are the “smart ones”. If students are able to have a stronger choice on what they would like to learn, then the ability to compare themselves to other students decreases. They will be more interested and feel more successful.
The combination of allowing parents to take back some of the responsibility of their child’s education and allowing technology to let students be in charge of their own learning will benefit the students.
All in all, it is debatable if the benefits outweigh the costs. Hopefully, these education tech tools will become less expensive and more abundant to schools and outside of schools.
SWOT TEAM Symbaloo
SWOT TEAM Symbaloo
SWOT TEAM! Symbaloo.com
The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats about Symbaloo.com.
Strengths
It compiles your commonly visited sites all to one convenient spot.
It is SIMPLE! FREE for the most part
Recognizable pictures and logos (marketing already knows this and rakes in on it!)
Starts you out with a general template.
Personalized Organization!
It is social. Shares info with other users.
Language selection.
Gives updates about new features for the tool.
IPhone, IPad.
Quick links
You can rate pages, so others can find what they need.
Has a personalized help forum connected to a human tech person. In Community.
Weaknesses
Although it is simple, the tutorials are hard to find. Discouraging. (go to help, no where to be found)
Can get disorganized, if you let it. (Expand the pages.)
I do not like how it adds pages to the top, I think that can lead to becoming disorganized to a new user. Feels like I have less control. I just want to browse, not add pages that might be junk.
Opportunities
In blog, it gives great ideas for teachers.
Classroom organizer, attached to other sites like classroom wiki, google docs, class blog, schedule.
Portfolios.
Public or private sharing
Can assist students with making Screencasts, brings everything together to make it convenient and quick.
Threats/ issues
Some users complained that their page had gone missing and that when they logged in it took them to a blank new user page. There are still some kinks to be worked out.
There are complications when users update to the latest versions of Firefox, internet explorer, and Google chrome. Problem: students often like to have the most current versions.
This page does have a social aspect to it, some school security systems may block it.
SYMBALOO EDU may be accepted easier.
Overall, there are way more strengths than weaknesses.
SWOT TEAM! Symbaloo.com
The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats about Symbaloo.com.
Strengths
It compiles your commonly visited sites all to one convenient spot.
It is SIMPLE! FREE for the most part
Recognizable pictures and logos (marketing already knows this and rakes in on it!)
Starts you out with a general template.
Personalized Organization!
It is social. Shares info with other users.
Language selection.
Gives updates about new features for the tool.
IPhone, IPad.
Quick links
You can rate pages, so others can find what they need.
Has a personalized help forum connected to a human tech person. In Community.
Weaknesses
Although it is simple, the tutorials are hard to find. Discouraging. (go to help, no where to be found)
Can get disorganized, if you let it. (Expand the pages.)
I do not like how it adds pages to the top, I think that can lead to becoming disorganized to a new user. Feels like I have less control. I just want to browse, not add pages that might be junk.
Opportunities
In blog, it gives great ideas for teachers.
Classroom organizer, attached to other sites like classroom wiki, google docs, class blog, schedule.
Portfolios.
Public or private sharing
Can assist students with making Screencasts, brings everything together to make it convenient and quick.
Threats/ issues
Some users complained that their page had gone missing and that when they logged in it took them to a blank new user page. There are still some kinks to be worked out.
There are complications when users update to the latest versions of Firefox, internet explorer, and Google chrome. Problem: students often like to have the most current versions.
This page does have a social aspect to it, some school security systems may block it.
SYMBALOO EDU may be accepted easier.
Overall, there are way more strengths than weaknesses.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, October 21 Exit Slip
It was important for Jeff to explain the difference between peer culture and socialization. It can be misconcieved that peer culture is a good thing to be exposed to, when in all reality it is what often distracts our students.
SMART tips and tricks. I always see people messing up the board by moving things on accident. so the lock feature is good. and the infinite cloning button is good too, especially for "yes" "no" check marks and coins.
SMART tips and tricks. I always see people messing up the board by moving things on accident. so the lock feature is good. and the infinite cloning button is good too, especially for "yes" "no" check marks and coins.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Chapter 8 BWP
1. Read Ch. 8 of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (111-124); 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?
Technology has taken us leaps and bounds in a very short time with publishing media on the internet. The best way to describe it is easy, photo-video-audio, upload-it-as-you-go, as-much-space-as-you-want, whenever-wherever-you-want.
Until reading this chapter I honestly still didn’t know what a podcast was. I didn’t know that it was a simple audio recording. I thought it was like a full blown audio/video/music edited presentation. I had heard of it and never thought I would be able to do. I hadn’t realized that Dr. Boyer’s class lecture audio recordings were actually podcasts. The way I think of it, I would rather be listening to an interesting educational/informational podcast rather than just be wasting time listening to music while I work out, ride my bike, or drive. It is important to remember that these podcasters are generally everyday people and not professional radio broadcasters using high quality editing software. There might be some static, sound crackly, and be a lot of “ums” and “ahs” but the content is the important part.
Again, convenience is the important theme. Almost any podcast I can add to my RSS so it will organize what I am interested in. I can even download programs that will keep track of what I want on my IPod, manage the files at night while I am sleeping, make sure that I can unplug and go in the morning with ease. It is quick and convenient like many of the other successful tech tools out there.
I have (unknowingly) used podcasts by listening to lectures that I wanted to freshen up on. I would like to keep an audio log of my classes for students who were absent. Better yet, assign one/two kids per day to each make a 3 minute podcast that summarizes what we did. It will be helpful for other students to get a different perspective on what we did. The students doing the recordings would probably feel responsible to do a good job since their peers may be reviewing it later.
Video publishing could probably be a tool to use to interest my secondary students. Students love watch and use YouTube. So if I could mix video publishing into my classroom it probably would be a good thing. An interesting fact about YouTube: video is being uploaded to YouTube at 20hours/minute, that means about 4 years/day, WOW. These videos would be converted to MP4 files that would be viewable on IPods.
Screencasts are a very useful tool in making tutorials to help students work through a tech problem or learn a new tech program. I am a visual learner that works well by following an example. It is a bit of “monkey see, monkey do” but it is the truth.
All of these tools generally have a few things in common. They are quick, easy, fun, useful, and educational. I need to use them and get good before I expect my students to use them, but they can be helpful in making my job easier and more effective. Once I am able to introduce these tools to my students they can use them to benefit their education and their classmate’s too by doing student teaching students activities.
◦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?
Technology has taken us leaps and bounds in a very short time with publishing media on the internet. The best way to describe it is easy, photo-video-audio, upload-it-as-you-go, as-much-space-as-you-want, whenever-wherever-you-want.
Until reading this chapter I honestly still didn’t know what a podcast was. I didn’t know that it was a simple audio recording. I thought it was like a full blown audio/video/music edited presentation. I had heard of it and never thought I would be able to do. I hadn’t realized that Dr. Boyer’s class lecture audio recordings were actually podcasts. The way I think of it, I would rather be listening to an interesting educational/informational podcast rather than just be wasting time listening to music while I work out, ride my bike, or drive. It is important to remember that these podcasters are generally everyday people and not professional radio broadcasters using high quality editing software. There might be some static, sound crackly, and be a lot of “ums” and “ahs” but the content is the important part.
Again, convenience is the important theme. Almost any podcast I can add to my RSS so it will organize what I am interested in. I can even download programs that will keep track of what I want on my IPod, manage the files at night while I am sleeping, make sure that I can unplug and go in the morning with ease. It is quick and convenient like many of the other successful tech tools out there.
I have (unknowingly) used podcasts by listening to lectures that I wanted to freshen up on. I would like to keep an audio log of my classes for students who were absent. Better yet, assign one/two kids per day to each make a 3 minute podcast that summarizes what we did. It will be helpful for other students to get a different perspective on what we did. The students doing the recordings would probably feel responsible to do a good job since their peers may be reviewing it later.
Video publishing could probably be a tool to use to interest my secondary students. Students love watch and use YouTube. So if I could mix video publishing into my classroom it probably would be a good thing. An interesting fact about YouTube: video is being uploaded to YouTube at 20hours/minute, that means about 4 years/day, WOW. These videos would be converted to MP4 files that would be viewable on IPods.
Screencasts are a very useful tool in making tutorials to help students work through a tech problem or learn a new tech program. I am a visual learner that works well by following an example. It is a bit of “monkey see, monkey do” but it is the truth.
All of these tools generally have a few things in common. They are quick, easy, fun, useful, and educational. I need to use them and get good before I expect my students to use them, but they can be helpful in making my job easier and more effective. Once I am able to introduce these tools to my students they can use them to benefit their education and their classmate’s too by doing student teaching students activities.
Chapter 6 Rethinking Education
Read Ch. 6 of Rethinking Education (pp. 91-104); 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?
THE THREE ERAS OF EDUCATION
We are currently entering the lifelong learning era of education. During the apprenticeship era the parents were the main influence on the child’s future. Then during the industrial revolution we shifted to a system that made the state responsible for what a child learns and to help them choose a career path. The technological/lifelong learning era is beginning to shift that responsibility back to parents and individuals. Students are beginning to develop information research skills at an earlier age which is causing them to want to pursue topics that they are most interested in. Parents are taking some of the responsibility back too. The number of homeschooled students is rising. Many parents are providing more learning tools for their children at an earlier age.
Apprenticeship was based on a small ratio between teacher/mentor and student. 1:1-4 was a common ratio. Today it seems to be more like 1:25-30. Computers are starting to be able to offer 1:1 like interaction. Computers can provide immediate feedback to tell a student how they are doing and give suggestions o be able to more fully understand the material. Often there is a human teacher somewhere behind the distant learning machine. Computers are allowing teachers to give students quicker feedback too. It may be quicker, but is it as valuable as face to face feedback? I am not sure, and it is being disputed by many educators from each side. Also, there is speculation that computerized learning takes away from social interaction. In both apprenticeship and computerized learning there is close interaction between student and teacher. More interaction means fewer errors along the way. Specialized education plans with more interaction are better able to keep student in the “wobbly place”. This may be helping students to learn better.
Culture: From adult culture to peer culture to mixed age culture.
During the apprenticeship era there really was not a large group of children who considered themselves as being part of the “youth culture”. They were considered young adults that helped with the family business. Most times it was a serious task because the livelihood of their family depended on them learning the family trade. Into the Industrial Revolution, when students were grouped into age categories, is when the ‘youth culture” began to form. Once this group was formed, and especially now, marketers were able to focus on this identified group and offer products specifically for them. Students that did really value the knowledge school offered were easily distracted by these cool products. This peer influenced culture has really started to get out of control. Some parents have moved their children to home school based programs to avoid the non-academic peer influence. They are helping their children to learn skills that will help them adapt and learn in their quickly changing lives and jobs.
The key to lifelong learning is through interaction with many different media, people, and technology. The advanced knowledge of a student’s own metacognition and knowledge on how to find information will be more important than the information itself.
The apprenticeship times were driven by formative assessment that continually showed students what they knew, didn’t know, and where they needed to improve. They did not receive grades or exam scores for classes. The “classes” were life lessons and real world applications. The recent industrialization method of schooling has given teachers much more responsibility, over larger numbers of students, causing them to move to a summative assessment system that fits a standardized education system. Now we are transitioning to a system where students are becoming interested in learning what they want to learn and value the standardized system less. Educators need to find ways to incorporate the effective bits and pieces from each of these systems that will work together in this technological education system.
-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?
THE THREE ERAS OF EDUCATION
We are currently entering the lifelong learning era of education. During the apprenticeship era the parents were the main influence on the child’s future. Then during the industrial revolution we shifted to a system that made the state responsible for what a child learns and to help them choose a career path. The technological/lifelong learning era is beginning to shift that responsibility back to parents and individuals. Students are beginning to develop information research skills at an earlier age which is causing them to want to pursue topics that they are most interested in. Parents are taking some of the responsibility back too. The number of homeschooled students is rising. Many parents are providing more learning tools for their children at an earlier age.
Apprenticeship was based on a small ratio between teacher/mentor and student. 1:1-4 was a common ratio. Today it seems to be more like 1:25-30. Computers are starting to be able to offer 1:1 like interaction. Computers can provide immediate feedback to tell a student how they are doing and give suggestions o be able to more fully understand the material. Often there is a human teacher somewhere behind the distant learning machine. Computers are allowing teachers to give students quicker feedback too. It may be quicker, but is it as valuable as face to face feedback? I am not sure, and it is being disputed by many educators from each side. Also, there is speculation that computerized learning takes away from social interaction. In both apprenticeship and computerized learning there is close interaction between student and teacher. More interaction means fewer errors along the way. Specialized education plans with more interaction are better able to keep student in the “wobbly place”. This may be helping students to learn better.
Culture: From adult culture to peer culture to mixed age culture.
During the apprenticeship era there really was not a large group of children who considered themselves as being part of the “youth culture”. They were considered young adults that helped with the family business. Most times it was a serious task because the livelihood of their family depended on them learning the family trade. Into the Industrial Revolution, when students were grouped into age categories, is when the ‘youth culture” began to form. Once this group was formed, and especially now, marketers were able to focus on this identified group and offer products specifically for them. Students that did really value the knowledge school offered were easily distracted by these cool products. This peer influenced culture has really started to get out of control. Some parents have moved their children to home school based programs to avoid the non-academic peer influence. They are helping their children to learn skills that will help them adapt and learn in their quickly changing lives and jobs.
The key to lifelong learning is through interaction with many different media, people, and technology. The advanced knowledge of a student’s own metacognition and knowledge on how to find information will be more important than the information itself.
The apprenticeship times were driven by formative assessment that continually showed students what they knew, didn’t know, and where they needed to improve. They did not receive grades or exam scores for classes. The “classes” were life lessons and real world applications. The recent industrialization method of schooling has given teachers much more responsibility, over larger numbers of students, causing them to move to a summative assessment system that fits a standardized education system. Now we are transitioning to a system where students are becoming interested in learning what they want to learn and value the standardized system less. Educators need to find ways to incorporate the effective bits and pieces from each of these systems that will work together in this technological education system.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Chapter 7 BWP
BWP Chapter 7- Creating, Publishing, and Using images online
Flickr is a great tool to use that combines many of the technology education objectives. It helps students process information in a fun, potentially educational, way and allows students to interactively collaborate with others across the world. It is very accessible because Flickr is free (limited use) and easy, digital cameras are relatively cheap now days, and students like social networks that share photos. The interaction among users is what makes Flickr a potentially very powerful education tool.
Flickr works similar to Delicious in that it uses tags to note the photos topic. This organized system makes it easy for users to search for specific photos that relate to what they are interested in. If I were interested in ongoing research about a topic I could link a tag search to my RSS.
Students can comment on interesting photos taken by people whom they have never met without disclosing any personal information. Students can feel a closer link to the photos because they know the photos are taken by real people rather than using photos from faceless websites. Before reading this chapter, and the chapter about Wiki’s, I would not have thought of these tools as a way to get information about the most current events.
There are great collections of different Flickr tools such as Flickr Toolbox: 100+ Tools For Flickr Addicts, Flickr Magazine Cover, Flickr Color Picker, etc. These can be used to get great ideas that are already out there instead of starting from scratch. Again it is another way that Flickr is so collaborative.
In my classroom I can use it to showcase student’s good work to parents and as an example for other students. I can use it to make other online communication connections with parents. My class can keep a photo log of the field trips that we go on. While talking about field trips, another good idea is to take my students on a virtual field trip or dissection lab when the real thing may not fit the schools budget.
When students view photos across the world they can combine it with Google Earth and GPS locations to keep track of where they have “been”. This is a great way for any subject area to integrate geography into their lesson.
Any use of social online technology in schools also brings a heightened level of security. Educators need to keep their students informed on how to avoid dangerous internet situations. Luckily Flickr does have a good filter system, but I still need to remain cautious about what is being done associated to my class’ photos. It is possible for me to create an account that is only accessible by my class, but this does weaken the social potential of Flickr.
With all of these different conversations happening between students and other Flickr users it may seem impossible to keep up with it. That’s OK, if I utilize my skill learned in Edu 331 I can use RSS to track photo comment logs without even visiting the site. This will save me time and give me another opportunity to expose another tech tool to my students.
Flickr is a great tool to use that combines many of the technology education objectives. It helps students process information in a fun, potentially educational, way and allows students to interactively collaborate with others across the world. It is very accessible because Flickr is free (limited use) and easy, digital cameras are relatively cheap now days, and students like social networks that share photos. The interaction among users is what makes Flickr a potentially very powerful education tool.
Flickr works similar to Delicious in that it uses tags to note the photos topic. This organized system makes it easy for users to search for specific photos that relate to what they are interested in. If I were interested in ongoing research about a topic I could link a tag search to my RSS.
Students can comment on interesting photos taken by people whom they have never met without disclosing any personal information. Students can feel a closer link to the photos because they know the photos are taken by real people rather than using photos from faceless websites. Before reading this chapter, and the chapter about Wiki’s, I would not have thought of these tools as a way to get information about the most current events.
There are great collections of different Flickr tools such as Flickr Toolbox: 100+ Tools For Flickr Addicts, Flickr Magazine Cover, Flickr Color Picker, etc. These can be used to get great ideas that are already out there instead of starting from scratch. Again it is another way that Flickr is so collaborative.
In my classroom I can use it to showcase student’s good work to parents and as an example for other students. I can use it to make other online communication connections with parents. My class can keep a photo log of the field trips that we go on. While talking about field trips, another good idea is to take my students on a virtual field trip or dissection lab when the real thing may not fit the schools budget.
When students view photos across the world they can combine it with Google Earth and GPS locations to keep track of where they have “been”. This is a great way for any subject area to integrate geography into their lesson.
Any use of social online technology in schools also brings a heightened level of security. Educators need to keep their students informed on how to avoid dangerous internet situations. Luckily Flickr does have a good filter system, but I still need to remain cautious about what is being done associated to my class’ photos. It is possible for me to create an account that is only accessible by my class, but this does weaken the social potential of Flickr.
With all of these different conversations happening between students and other Flickr users it may seem impossible to keep up with it. That’s OK, if I utilize my skill learned in Edu 331 I can use RSS to track photo comment logs without even visiting the site. This will save me time and give me another opportunity to expose another tech tool to my students.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
BWP Chapter 5- RSS
BWP Chapter 5- RSS
I began my reflection of chapter 4 with some skepticism about wiki and that It may just be a new way to clog up the internet by creating more things to wade through in order to get to the information you are really looking for. It is ironic that this very next chapter is offering a great tool to help me wade through the information to make life and my job simpler. RSS Really Simple Syndicator, organization at last! It seems perfect, “you can read more content from more sources in less time”. WOW! This is going to make my life simpler and I think that it will be very easy to get students to use it. Why? They love things that are fast and easy.
RSS not only will bring info from sites that I request, but it will also search the internet for things that pertain to key words that are of interest to me. It can keep me up to date with the newest posts of information on the web.
I had heard about RSS but I was skeptical because I figured that there would be no way to keep all of it in order and follow it. I figured that it was just a list that kept building downward like an out of control e-mail inbox. Now I know that you can organize it with different folders and such.
I was able to begin exploring the books suggested RSS possibilities and found that I have a lot of learn if I would like to seriously maintain an RSS feed. I think the hardest part will be to acquire an eye for what information is useful and what is not.
I will need to really start to master RSS so that way I will be knowledgeable enough to instruct my students on how to best use it. I will be able to easily draw them into it if I mention the words fast, easy, and say that it will research new information for them. The new age of technology information will be all about how to navigate the growing pile of information to find what you need. RSS, if used correctly, can be a great way to wade through the junk.
I began my reflection of chapter 4 with some skepticism about wiki and that It may just be a new way to clog up the internet by creating more things to wade through in order to get to the information you are really looking for. It is ironic that this very next chapter is offering a great tool to help me wade through the information to make life and my job simpler. RSS Really Simple Syndicator, organization at last! It seems perfect, “you can read more content from more sources in less time”. WOW! This is going to make my life simpler and I think that it will be very easy to get students to use it. Why? They love things that are fast and easy.
RSS not only will bring info from sites that I request, but it will also search the internet for things that pertain to key words that are of interest to me. It can keep me up to date with the newest posts of information on the web.
I had heard about RSS but I was skeptical because I figured that there would be no way to keep all of it in order and follow it. I figured that it was just a list that kept building downward like an out of control e-mail inbox. Now I know that you can organize it with different folders and such.
I was able to begin exploring the books suggested RSS possibilities and found that I have a lot of learn if I would like to seriously maintain an RSS feed. I think the hardest part will be to acquire an eye for what information is useful and what is not.
I will need to really start to master RSS so that way I will be knowledgeable enough to instruct my students on how to best use it. I will be able to easily draw them into it if I mention the words fast, easy, and say that it will research new information for them. The new age of technology information will be all about how to navigate the growing pile of information to find what you need. RSS, if used correctly, can be a great way to wade through the junk.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Exit Slip and Class notes
Exit Slip:
We packed a lot into 75 minutes today! It was helpful to recieve feedback about out IWB and to get instruction on how to start Scratching! it will be a great tool for me to know how to use and demonstrate for a prosective principal.
CLASS NOTES:
Jeff got an Ipad, ee are free to stop by his office to check it out.
Rethinking chap 5 discussion
WORKPLACE LEARNING
Pro- specific knowledge tailored to company
Con- expensive for company
ADULT EDUCATION
pro- easily accessable, always something new.
LEARNING CENTERS
Pro- group of people with similar interests.
Con- cost, and not located everywhere
EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS
pro- can interest students more than lecture
con- minmal feedback
TECHNICAL CERTIFICATIONS
pro- prepare for specific jobs
FINAL THOUGHT: "These technology developments raise concerns about equity, social behavior, and the cultural cohesion of society." (p.90)
Discussion debriefing
(+) creative grouping, movement around the room, clear voices, didnt project their ideas, allowed time for discussion, demo'ed how to navigate to the prezi show, set a time limit, had wrtten expectations and prompts to accompany auditory directions.
(-) Assign areas for specific groups to meet, deeper commentary(reaction) to discussion responces but at the same time they were against time.
DESIGNING A SCRATCH IRLO
What are the neccassary steps?
At home install SCRATCH.
At school, go to the "having trouble" and get the winscratch zip folder, download to documents, right click winscratch 1.4 and "extract" then go into documents, open scratch(cat face logo).
Step1 create ALL of the objects ("sprites")that will be needed for the activity, even if you dont need them right away. pictures text and all the gadgets.
2. background, many options.
3. Start thinking like a programer. built scripts, they describe how different sprites act.
every script begins with a trigger, means "when i do this, something will happen".
there are A LOT OF resources, including jeff, that will help me with creating my Scratch.
We packed a lot into 75 minutes today! It was helpful to recieve feedback about out IWB and to get instruction on how to start Scratching! it will be a great tool for me to know how to use and demonstrate for a prosective principal.
CLASS NOTES:
Jeff got an Ipad, ee are free to stop by his office to check it out.
Rethinking chap 5 discussion
WORKPLACE LEARNING
Pro- specific knowledge tailored to company
Con- expensive for company
ADULT EDUCATION
pro- easily accessable, always something new.
LEARNING CENTERS
Pro- group of people with similar interests.
Con- cost, and not located everywhere
EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS
pro- can interest students more than lecture
con- minmal feedback
TECHNICAL CERTIFICATIONS
pro- prepare for specific jobs
FINAL THOUGHT: "These technology developments raise concerns about equity, social behavior, and the cultural cohesion of society." (p.90)
Discussion debriefing
(+) creative grouping, movement around the room, clear voices, didnt project their ideas, allowed time for discussion, demo'ed how to navigate to the prezi show, set a time limit, had wrtten expectations and prompts to accompany auditory directions.
(-) Assign areas for specific groups to meet, deeper commentary(reaction) to discussion responces but at the same time they were against time.
DESIGNING A SCRATCH IRLO
What are the neccassary steps?
At home install SCRATCH.
At school, go to the "having trouble" and get the winscratch zip folder, download to documents, right click winscratch 1.4 and "extract" then go into documents, open scratch(cat face logo).
Step1 create ALL of the objects ("sprites")that will be needed for the activity, even if you dont need them right away. pictures text and all the gadgets.
2. background, many options.
3. Start thinking like a programer. built scripts, they describe how different sprites act.
every script begins with a trigger, means "when i do this, something will happen".
there are A LOT OF resources, including jeff, that will help me with creating my Scratch.
Chapter 5 Retinking Edu
Read Ch. 5 of Rethinking Education (pp. 66-90); 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?
The seeds of a new education system are evident because our country’s education system is transforming from a learning system build to accommodate mass numbers of diverse immigrants to something new. These new systems include homeschooling, charter schools, distance learning, adult education, videos, and many others. These often accompany each other such as a child who is home schooled that receives online distant tutoring. Learning is becoming more important to people of all ages rather than just children. I find it interesting that research shows that the score differences due to issues of a student’s race, gender, or background are almost non-existent in standardized test scores of home schooled children. Having grown up in public schools, I have always been skeptical of homeschooling practices. I will further look into the methods of homeschooling to hopefully adjust my public school classroom practices to close the gaps in standardized test scores.
Workplace learning has always been important because it is not common for a new employee to walk onto the job on their first day and know exactly what is going on. Recently this workplace learning has been changing to a system which works to continually educate its workforce throughout its lifetime to adjust for change. Some workplaces feel that graduated college students with specialized degrees still do not have the accurate training to complete their job. These employers began to provide on the job training and started to collaborate with colleges to meet the workforce needs. I am a strong believer that educators need to prepare students for the real world. Whether it be skills for college, the workforce, or lifelong learning it will be important that I collaborate with workplace managers and college professors to determine what they will expect of my students.
The establishment of educational television and videos has been viewed negatively and positively by educators. Skeptics feel that the introduction of television and other visual media has given children the idea that learning is as easy as sitting back and observing. They feel watching is not enough and that concrete learning comes from doing hard work and concentration. Skeptics also feel that this visual media has started to diminish the experience of being a kid because of the increased exposure of adult content on T.V. and media. Enthusiasts believe that these new media venues have provided ways to turn learning into a fun thing rather than a chore. It has become fun for people of all ages. For example, the Discovery Channel has captured the attention many older people to provoke lifelong learning.
I feel that educational media is overall positive. Channels and programs such as the History Channel and the Discovery Channel have even sparked my interest to learn more about new topics. I think that the skeptics have a very good point when it comes to students feeling that learning simply comes with watching. I want to integrate this educational media into my classroom while still valuing hard work and concentration. I feel that it would be very hard to fight against the use of educational videos in the classroom because it is already well established. I think they are a great way to connect with visual learners.
All of the seeds of a new education system show evidence of a changing education system. Only time will tell if they are for the good or bad. We need to embrace the changes and work to better them. I do not think that the changes will be the downward spiral of the public education system as we know it, but we need to adapt.
"Any teacher that can be replaced by technology--should be."
--Arthur C. Clarke
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?
The seeds of a new education system are evident because our country’s education system is transforming from a learning system build to accommodate mass numbers of diverse immigrants to something new. These new systems include homeschooling, charter schools, distance learning, adult education, videos, and many others. These often accompany each other such as a child who is home schooled that receives online distant tutoring. Learning is becoming more important to people of all ages rather than just children. I find it interesting that research shows that the score differences due to issues of a student’s race, gender, or background are almost non-existent in standardized test scores of home schooled children. Having grown up in public schools, I have always been skeptical of homeschooling practices. I will further look into the methods of homeschooling to hopefully adjust my public school classroom practices to close the gaps in standardized test scores.
Workplace learning has always been important because it is not common for a new employee to walk onto the job on their first day and know exactly what is going on. Recently this workplace learning has been changing to a system which works to continually educate its workforce throughout its lifetime to adjust for change. Some workplaces feel that graduated college students with specialized degrees still do not have the accurate training to complete their job. These employers began to provide on the job training and started to collaborate with colleges to meet the workforce needs. I am a strong believer that educators need to prepare students for the real world. Whether it be skills for college, the workforce, or lifelong learning it will be important that I collaborate with workplace managers and college professors to determine what they will expect of my students.
The establishment of educational television and videos has been viewed negatively and positively by educators. Skeptics feel that the introduction of television and other visual media has given children the idea that learning is as easy as sitting back and observing. They feel watching is not enough and that concrete learning comes from doing hard work and concentration. Skeptics also feel that this visual media has started to diminish the experience of being a kid because of the increased exposure of adult content on T.V. and media. Enthusiasts believe that these new media venues have provided ways to turn learning into a fun thing rather than a chore. It has become fun for people of all ages. For example, the Discovery Channel has captured the attention many older people to provoke lifelong learning.
I feel that educational media is overall positive. Channels and programs such as the History Channel and the Discovery Channel have even sparked my interest to learn more about new topics. I think that the skeptics have a very good point when it comes to students feeling that learning simply comes with watching. I want to integrate this educational media into my classroom while still valuing hard work and concentration. I feel that it would be very hard to fight against the use of educational videos in the classroom because it is already well established. I think they are a great way to connect with visual learners.
All of the seeds of a new education system show evidence of a changing education system. Only time will tell if they are for the good or bad. We need to embrace the changes and work to better them. I do not think that the changes will be the downward spiral of the public education system as we know it, but we need to adapt.
"Any teacher that can be replaced by technology--should be."
--Arthur C. Clarke
Monday, October 11, 2010
Chapter 6 BWP
read Ch. 6 of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (pp. 85-100); 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?
In today’s technological world, everything is based on socialization and collaboration. All of this collaboration allows us to connect to more information, teachers, and learning. Students can connect with other students to make sense of the bigger picture and how they fit into it. Twitter is a common Read/Write Web tool that has many opportunities to provide learning experiences. Twitter is called a microblog. It seems that it takes a considerable amount of work to really get twitter to work for you. It appears easy to look at other peoples “tweets”, but not the easiest to get people to follow your tweets. I think that Twitter and cell phone use will need to come a long way before they can team up in the classroom.
Delicious.com is a social bookmaking site. This site has two major components. First, it helps you create an organized online collection of website resources. This is awesome because it is online, meaning that if your computer crashes you don’t lose all of your information that you have worked hard to save up. Second, as I mentioned before, it is collaborative! You are able to link up with others who have the same interests and research common topics. This greatly increases the library at your fingertips. I think that it is cool because if it wasn’t interesting, important, or useful it wouldn’t have been bookmarked in the first place. I am already using delicious and can’t wait to tap that resource once I begin to teach. It could be very helpful for students to begin to use because while moving from computer to computer for different activities, they could access their bookmarks to help them.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Exit Slip 10-7
I learned a bit about "Scratch". I am excited to start using it. It is nice to know that out of the 1million scratch pages, half of them were created by 7-14 year olds. It will be good to create a bunch of reuseable tools that will serve their purpose for at least a couple years in a row. This would really save me some time after they are created.
As far as reseraching information for the inquiry question, be careful with useing info older than 2005. Technology is changing SO fast!. If I do use tech information pre-2005, I better have a good rationale for it.
***For all these assignments, they are completely NEW to most of us, Dont freak out! The iROL SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF EVERYONE! ASK FOR HELP! JEFF WILL HELP!
As far as reseraching information for the inquiry question, be careful with useing info older than 2005. Technology is changing SO fast!. If I do use tech information pre-2005, I better have a good rationale for it.
***For all these assignments, they are completely NEW to most of us, Dont freak out! The iROL SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF EVERYONE! ASK FOR HELP! JEFF WILL HELP!
Ch. 4 of Rethinking Education
Read Ch. 4 of Rethinking Education (pp. 49-65); 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?
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?
Education until the mid 1800s was largely done by apprenticeships. They learned valuable workforce skills from their family and close peers. Then we started to switch to a universal schooling system where most children attended school daily and learned information from classroom teachers. The push for universal education was pushed along due to 4 reasons, the invention of the printing press, the Reformation, the American Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution. We are still in this system of universal schooling but I feel we are experiencing a transition today as we know it. Although teachers are still very important, I think that schooling is moving away from such a teacher centered system. It is moving in the direction which will require a unique mixture of student, teacher, and technology involvement where the student has a choice in what they want to learn and the teacher helps guide the most effective venue for them.
Just as the invention of the printing press allowed for the explosion of information distribution, the internet and technology are having the same effect today. Information can travel from coast to coast and continent to continent in a split second. Currently it is the most popular way for news and information to travel and students, particularly science students, should be proficient in using these technologies to expand their knowledge. Back then, Horace Mann argued that universal education was needed for social cohesion to connect the diverse family cultures immigrating from around the globe. Now, technology education is needed for social cohesion to help student develop the social skills needed to communicate in this globalizing world which seems to be getting smaller every day. Educators cannot ignore the demand for the technology communication skills needed to drive a student’s success once they enter the workforce.
From the perspective of a young person, such as me, the current structure of k-12 education seems to model the way it has always been. If we step back and look at the system for the past 100 years there have been many additions and changes to the “k-12” system. These changes have occurred to fix problems and make some things better, such as high schools that focus closer on more specific subject areas. If we project into the future, and imagine how technology actually will or will not play out in the school system, what will it look like? However it turns out, students will probably feel that it is the same as it has always been.
Many of these transitions have been driven by the increased flow and transfer of information. When a new technology is first introduced it is often accepted, for a while. It reaches a point where resistance to change begins. That resistance grows until something gives way. I think we are currently in the beginning stages of resistance to change.
I want to help my students develop useful kills which will help them in this fast changing, shrinking, and technological world.
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