I read Malcolm’s blog again because I agreed an was interested in a lot of the things he had to say. Once again, I totally agreed with most of what he said in his blog, especially in his 9th post when he talks about getting parents involved in children’s school work. He points out that blogging allows parents to be more involved (if the blog is a public blog; some teachers recommend private, password protected blogs, others stress anonymity, i.e. every student creates an internet name and signs a contract stating they will NOT use any real names or references to school or location) in the students homework. Hopefully if you get parents involved in homework they become more involved in their child’s education in general.
The next technology skill I would like to learn would be a toss up between working closely with a good grading/lesson planning software (one that could stand the test of time; one that wouldn’t be useless after three months because something else came out) or learning to use a smart board. I’ve never seen a smart board in action (I’ve seen the examples of the book and even talked with teachers who use them with much frequency). I think that both of these are important because one allows the teacher to be organized and up to date with grades and tracking student progress as well as keeping all lesson plans organized and easily accessible and the other really gives the students an opportunity to become more engaged and more a part of what they are learning. So they both have huge advantages and I’m sure that by the time I graduate I will have used and be comfortable with both because I believe I have to take another technology class that deals with integrating technology into the language arts classroom.
I suppose that I have already covered part of how I hope to accomplish my technological goals by saying that I have to take a 4000 level technology class aimed specifically on teaching language arts (reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, etc) to students using technology. In my classroom I plan on trying take trips to the lab frequently (if I don’t have computers in my class) and I would have them use programs like GetAClue, which helps with vocabulary development (I wrote about it in my last journal entry) especially if I teach grades 10 or 11 because that program in particular would be great for SAT/ACT/FCAT preparation. I also plan on using blogging as a way for students to communicate outside of class about assignments, and also because parents can be more involved in viewing their students progress. I read many blogs by teachers that stress that though it can be hard to get students motivated, blogging for class has helped many students become more involved: one teacher said that it gives the quiet kids in class a chance to talk, and some of the more “nerdy” kids who know a lot about technology become popular because everyone wants to know how to change their icon or add a background picture.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Web & Teachers: Working Together
In another education class that I am taking we learned about the importance of students learning new vocabulary words. We also learned that it can be difficult for students to learn new words and that you should vary your strategies for the highest effectiveness. In my search for something on the web I came across a software program that helps students build their vocabulary, which is definitely different than any other vocabulary learning strategy I‘ve ever heard of. It is also a great tool for English language learners, which as well all know isn‘t something that‘s going to end any time soon. I figured that it would also be a very effective tool in preparing for the SAT or ACT and even the FCAT tests that high school students spend hours preparing for as well as giving students a break from the normal monotonous vocabulary/analytical skill building activities. GetAClue software (www.getaclue.com) seems like it would help out a ton in the classroom!
In my classroom I would try to get all my students on the computer, using this program, once every two weeks, if possible. Whether it be a bi-weekly class visit to the computer lab (if I don’t have computers in my class) or a schedule where 5-10 students use the program a day, I think that exposing kids to new vocabulary is very important for reading comprehension as well as testing purposes. This program gives the teacher access to student scores, and the program can also be used in multiple classes with the scores being shown only to class teacher, uses pre and post test information to gauge student progress and improvement, it also helps teachers formulate offline, printer handouts to help study words at home or to create quizzes and tests based on the activities (so teachers can make sure the kids aren’t just going through the motions). You can also create individualized quizzes based on student progress with the program. I would definitely use this tool -- anything to make vocabulary more interesting.
It’s a bit tough for me to talk about a web resource I haven’t really used much that I think I would use in the classroom. But when I was doing my PowerPoint2, I found a site (www.literature-study-online.com) that seems to be a very valuable tool. I’m not sure how wide their database spans but it seems to have a lot of good articles about themes, symbols and underlying meaning in literature and would be a good research tool for any English teacher, especially if the teacher hasn’t read the novel she/he is teaching in a while. It would also be a good resource for students, probably in grades 11 or 12 for research papers, as there are a lot of critical articles.
In my classroom I would try to get all my students on the computer, using this program, once every two weeks, if possible. Whether it be a bi-weekly class visit to the computer lab (if I don’t have computers in my class) or a schedule where 5-10 students use the program a day, I think that exposing kids to new vocabulary is very important for reading comprehension as well as testing purposes. This program gives the teacher access to student scores, and the program can also be used in multiple classes with the scores being shown only to class teacher, uses pre and post test information to gauge student progress and improvement, it also helps teachers formulate offline, printer handouts to help study words at home or to create quizzes and tests based on the activities (so teachers can make sure the kids aren’t just going through the motions). You can also create individualized quizzes based on student progress with the program. I would definitely use this tool -- anything to make vocabulary more interesting.
It’s a bit tough for me to talk about a web resource I haven’t really used much that I think I would use in the classroom. But when I was doing my PowerPoint2, I found a site (www.literature-study-online.com) that seems to be a very valuable tool. I’m not sure how wide their database spans but it seems to have a lot of good articles about themes, symbols and underlying meaning in literature and would be a good research tool for any English teacher, especially if the teacher hasn’t read the novel she/he is teaching in a while. It would also be a good resource for students, probably in grades 11 or 12 for research papers, as there are a lot of critical articles.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
safety, ethics & the internet: chapter 8
I’m pretty familiar with virus’s and virus scanning software so there wasn‘t a lot that was new to me in this chapter (I had to buy a new computer because I contracted some horrible virus at an airport terminal). I was interested to learn that schools use firewalls, just like us, to keep unauthorized people from accessing secret information, such as student and faculty records. The same firewalls are used within the school to prevent students for accessing private information. I’m already very familiar with system failure, as I’ve lost many a paper and/or projects due to such unfortunate occurrences. I’m glad that this book does talk about virus scanning and it’s importance; I scan weekly and have firewalls and everything I can but that is only because I’ve lost a computer because I wasn’t smart with the networks that I connected to. I liked the ethics part as well, I’m sure I will reference the “Computer Ethics for Educators” once I have a classroom of my own.
I don’t have a back up system, but my mother and father do, for their office computers so I’ve always just assumed school systems had them. I’m sure once I have a classroom computer with grades on it, I’ll back up all the time. When the chapter gets into copyright laws and students and/or teachers webpages something else came to my mind that I read the other day. It was a newspaper article about a teacher who was home sick with the flu, surfing the web and she came across her students blog and found out way too much information. I think this book should have more on blog etiquette (a.k.a. don’t write what you wouldn’t want your teacher reading or make your blog friends only) as well as rules for the teacher (don’t read your students blogs or view their myspace profiles) so that the lines of the student teacher relationship don’t get blurred.Also teachers should be aware of what they are putting out on the web because it's just as easy for students to find teacher blogs as it is for teachers to find student blogs (in some cases the students even know more than the teachers!!).
As a teacher, I plan on definitely backing all of my information up so that a system failure or power outage won’t cause me to loose all of my information. I will also use virus scanning to make sure that my computer doesn’t become infected. I’m sure the school will have rigorous firewalls set up so that all of the school’s personal and private information is never accessed by someone not authorized to do so. I will try to be aware of all the new developments in technology because I know that it is very important to the lives of today’s students. I will also uphold all of the ethics that were discussed. I never really thought about applying all of the things I use so often (virus scan, software licenses, internet ethics, privacy measures) to teaching and my future as a teacher. I also plan on encouraging my students to use correct internet ethics because what you put on the internet never leaves and several large employers are beginning internet background checks where hired people surf the net trying to find what your name is attached to out in cyberspace (underage drinking, drug use, etc.).
I don’t have a back up system, but my mother and father do, for their office computers so I’ve always just assumed school systems had them. I’m sure once I have a classroom computer with grades on it, I’ll back up all the time. When the chapter gets into copyright laws and students and/or teachers webpages something else came to my mind that I read the other day. It was a newspaper article about a teacher who was home sick with the flu, surfing the web and she came across her students blog and found out way too much information. I think this book should have more on blog etiquette (a.k.a. don’t write what you wouldn’t want your teacher reading or make your blog friends only) as well as rules for the teacher (don’t read your students blogs or view their myspace profiles) so that the lines of the student teacher relationship don’t get blurred.Also teachers should be aware of what they are putting out on the web because it's just as easy for students to find teacher blogs as it is for teachers to find student blogs (in some cases the students even know more than the teachers!!).
As a teacher, I plan on definitely backing all of my information up so that a system failure or power outage won’t cause me to loose all of my information. I will also use virus scanning to make sure that my computer doesn’t become infected. I’m sure the school will have rigorous firewalls set up so that all of the school’s personal and private information is never accessed by someone not authorized to do so. I will try to be aware of all the new developments in technology because I know that it is very important to the lives of today’s students. I will also uphold all of the ethics that were discussed. I never really thought about applying all of the things I use so often (virus scan, software licenses, internet ethics, privacy measures) to teaching and my future as a teacher. I also plan on encouraging my students to use correct internet ethics because what you put on the internet never leaves and several large employers are beginning internet background checks where hired people surf the net trying to find what your name is attached to out in cyberspace (underage drinking, drug use, etc.).
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Evaluating Technology Use : Chapter 7
Chapter Seven gave me a ton of ideas on how to evaluate the many things that we’ve learned about up until this point. First of all, the book breaks down what makes a technology “appropriate” for use in the classroom: it has to be suitable for the educational situation, it should motivate the student, facilitate learning at students level of learning (should adjust to meet learning level of every student, in my opinion), it must also meet curriculum standards and complete learning objectives (laid out by the teacher BEFORE the lesson). I also thought it was interesting and useful to know the evaluation cycle, which suggests evaluating the lesson before it is taught, while it is being taught (gauging student interest and what parts are the most interesting can help during the next step) and finally evaluate after the lesson is finished. I suppose the main point of the final evaluation is to help hammer out what you should and shouldn’t do next time the lesson is taught.
I’ve learned about authentic assessment in my introduction to education class, and I’ve always thought that it was one of the best ways to evaluate students. It involves putting together a portfolio of sorts that contains projects, written and revised work, student research, etc. As a teacher, I won’t be able to escape testing my students as well, and I would also include tests, quizzes and class work in their portfolios. Authentic assessment, the book tells us, stems from authentic learning which helps students tie what they do in class into the real world, answering that age old questions that students love to throw out at teachers, “When will I ever use this in real life?”.
This chapter might have offered me the best suggestions of things I will actually use in the classroom. In the beginning of the chapter the book says that school districts and Department of Education’s often provide lists of approved software, some sites and districts even offer evaluations of certain approved software. I also think that attending conferences and talking to my colleagues about what their experiences have been using certain programs would be the most useful. It’s hard to read a review on a website and be sure that what they are saying is true, but if you get the information from a school board organized conference or a trusted colleague or even the Department of Education’s website, I would feel much more comfortable bringing that software into my classroom. I also think that the EDTECH mailing list would be a great tool for me, at least in my first few years of teaching. I also plan on using a lot of the information presented in the several project evaluation checklists to create my own grading rubrics (content, planning, creativity, etc.). I also liked the idea of a web scavenger hunt because I really enjoyed the one that we did in class (a lot of those websites I found in that hunt I will use as a teacher) as well as the Language Arts integration sheet; it laid out objectives and actually showed me how I would go about creating a lesson plan for something that integrated technology.
I’ve learned about authentic assessment in my introduction to education class, and I’ve always thought that it was one of the best ways to evaluate students. It involves putting together a portfolio of sorts that contains projects, written and revised work, student research, etc. As a teacher, I won’t be able to escape testing my students as well, and I would also include tests, quizzes and class work in their portfolios. Authentic assessment, the book tells us, stems from authentic learning which helps students tie what they do in class into the real world, answering that age old questions that students love to throw out at teachers, “When will I ever use this in real life?”.
This chapter might have offered me the best suggestions of things I will actually use in the classroom. In the beginning of the chapter the book says that school districts and Department of Education’s often provide lists of approved software, some sites and districts even offer evaluations of certain approved software. I also think that attending conferences and talking to my colleagues about what their experiences have been using certain programs would be the most useful. It’s hard to read a review on a website and be sure that what they are saying is true, but if you get the information from a school board organized conference or a trusted colleague or even the Department of Education’s website, I would feel much more comfortable bringing that software into my classroom. I also think that the EDTECH mailing list would be a great tool for me, at least in my first few years of teaching. I also plan on using a lot of the information presented in the several project evaluation checklists to create my own grading rubrics (content, planning, creativity, etc.). I also liked the idea of a web scavenger hunt because I really enjoyed the one that we did in class (a lot of those websites I found in that hunt I will use as a teacher) as well as the Language Arts integration sheet; it laid out objectives and actually showed me how I would go about creating a lesson plan for something that integrated technology.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Intigrating Technology: Chapter 6
I definitely liked chapter 6 much more than most of the other chapters. It’s fun for me to think of all the things I will get to do once I’m in my own classroom. Something that really struck me out of chapter 6 is that the text tells us that with the integration of technology into the classroom, the teacher becomes a facilitator of learning. Instead of standing in front of room and dictating everything your students should know and should learn, you become a driving force to help the students learn for themselves, on their own. In this day and age I feel that students need to feel independence, they need to learn how to rely on their own brains. I feel that a lot of teachers today focus on getting students to regurgitate information, this approach forces teachers to let students learn for themselves.
Page 343 tells us that by integrating technology into the classroom, the students become more engaged in what they are learning, taking a more active role in the learning process. It goes on to say that students create their own learning and the teacher should assist students in becoming active learners, not just tell them what they should know. The previous page tells us that technology helps motivate students, and can even increase students desire to attend class. Technology also helps teachers cater to students with different learning styles and disabilities.
Technology is constantly changing the way we communicate, surf the web, and with the invention of Tivo and DVR’s, even the way we watch television. It’s no surprise to me that technology is changing the way students are being taught, in fact it makes me more excited to become a teacher. Think of all the resources I’ll have! Things from this chapter I plan to bring into my classroom is definitely the ASSURE model. I think that if more teachers could put such thought and planning into each lesson, they could reach more students. No wonder most students aren’t interested in school, the technology that they love outside of school isn’t correctly utilized by most teachers in the classroom. You have to draw off of what students already know, and I think the ASSURE model helps with that. I also liked the website they featured called Mighty Mentors, where teachers can sign up to be a mentor or mentee who communicate through e-mail. It’s like having a pen pal who has been where you are now and can help answer any questions or offer support, or give you tips. I definitely plan on signing up for such a service when I become a teacher.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Chapter 5: the digital invasion!
Throughout this entire chapter I just kept asking myself: “What will the students loose by using all of these interactive computer programs?” Sure, interactive websites and programs that allow your students to virtually tour Africa or the human body but are there things that are lost? I feel that some of these programs trade actual experience for accessibility. If there is a dinosaur exhibit at the local museum, I would much rather take my students to the museum so they physically see everything rather than experience it through a computer screen. On the other hand, touring Africa through the computer (seeing as you can’t really take a class to Africa) seems to me, better than reading about Africa out of a textbook. I think that digital media and everything it entails does have it’s place in educational instruction, but when it becomes an easy way out for lazy teachers, I think the students miss out on a lot.
Computer and Web based training seem like they are the next new trend in business and education. I don’t think that enough people realize the benefits of being trained one-on-one with another human, though. You can’t ask a computer a detailed question, you would have to search FAQ and if your question has several parts that could take quite a while. And what if FAQ and the Help function don’t have the answer to your question? You have to call the customer service hotline for said software or website and try to find someone who can help you. It seems to me that if you want your students or your workers trained right, you would ask someone who knows their job well to help instruct them, not sit them down in front of a computer. This world seems to be loosing it’s ties with person to person interaction: cell phones, laptops, instant messages, text messages, e-mail -- all of these things that help us maintain in contact with people without ever having to see them. Social interaction is crucial to student development, if all the teacher does is plop the student down in front of a computer and expect them to learn everything they need to learn, the teacher is useless. Teachers are needed to personally guide students through the journey of learning, something that I don’t feel computers are able to do.
I think that using virtual tours to expose students to far away places that they may never have physical access to is great, and I plan on using such tools in my classroom. I will not use such tools to show students things that they can go out and see for themselves (I plan on teaching in south Florida, and I would take my students to the Henry Morrison Flager Museum so they could actually see everything rather than simply show them the virtual tour online). Another thing I really plan on implementing in my classroom is electronic reference programs, such as Encarta. I remember using Encarta when I was in elementary school and I loved the pictures, audio, video and such that Encarta had available. I haven’t looked at the program in several years, I’m sure that it covers so much more material now. I think that students can learn well from such software because it appeals to many different learning styles, as does most digital media. Lastly I think that tutorial software can be beneficial to non-English speaking students as well as students who are not reading or comprehending at their grade level (I want to teach high school English/Language Arts so all the math/science software is quite irrelevant to me). I would only use tutorials as tutorials though, I believe that the teacher should do the instructing and the software and digital media should be used to reinforce what the teacher wants the students to learn.
Computer and Web based training seem like they are the next new trend in business and education. I don’t think that enough people realize the benefits of being trained one-on-one with another human, though. You can’t ask a computer a detailed question, you would have to search FAQ and if your question has several parts that could take quite a while. And what if FAQ and the Help function don’t have the answer to your question? You have to call the customer service hotline for said software or website and try to find someone who can help you. It seems to me that if you want your students or your workers trained right, you would ask someone who knows their job well to help instruct them, not sit them down in front of a computer. This world seems to be loosing it’s ties with person to person interaction: cell phones, laptops, instant messages, text messages, e-mail -- all of these things that help us maintain in contact with people without ever having to see them. Social interaction is crucial to student development, if all the teacher does is plop the student down in front of a computer and expect them to learn everything they need to learn, the teacher is useless. Teachers are needed to personally guide students through the journey of learning, something that I don’t feel computers are able to do.
I think that using virtual tours to expose students to far away places that they may never have physical access to is great, and I plan on using such tools in my classroom. I will not use such tools to show students things that they can go out and see for themselves (I plan on teaching in south Florida, and I would take my students to the Henry Morrison Flager Museum so they could actually see everything rather than simply show them the virtual tour online). Another thing I really plan on implementing in my classroom is electronic reference programs, such as Encarta. I remember using Encarta when I was in elementary school and I loved the pictures, audio, video and such that Encarta had available. I haven’t looked at the program in several years, I’m sure that it covers so much more material now. I think that students can learn well from such software because it appeals to many different learning styles, as does most digital media. Lastly I think that tutorial software can be beneficial to non-English speaking students as well as students who are not reading or comprehending at their grade level (I want to teach high school English/Language Arts so all the math/science software is quite irrelevant to me). I would only use tutorials as tutorials though, I believe that the teacher should do the instructing and the software and digital media should be used to reinforce what the teacher wants the students to learn.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Chapter Four Response
I’m not going to lie, I found chapter 4 to be a bit less informative than chapter 3, as far as technologies that I feel can be applied in a classroom setting. I’ve had my own computer since I was in 6th grade, so I suppose I know most of what I know about devices and where they go from experience. A few things I read about did surprise me though. I found the pen input devices quite intriguing but I can’t imagine that the technology for such a device is perfected to the point that it will recognize everything written. It’s a very interesting take on something similar to a tablet PC but I feel like the tablet PC would work better because you are writing on the PC instead of writing with an instrument that is picking up your movements through sensors in the pens tips. The pen input devices that take up to 100 pictures a second and then transfer them to memory are quite interesting. If pen input devices can accurately understand even the messiest handwriting, I would say that they should be studied in classrooms to see how students react to them. I should think they would create a lot less distraction than a tablet PC would.
Digital cameras and flash drives both have their places in education. Kids of all ages can have their pictures taken with their work and then their teacher can display either the work or the photo, and the student can take either the photo or the work home, so that their parents can see the work and yet it is still in the classroom for all the students classmates to see. This can also be a way for students to documents projects for their portfolios, some projects are too big to include in file folder. The teacher can also keep a photo-log of all projects turned in, which would help cut down cheating (students turning in a student from a previous years project as their own, etc). Flashdrives allow students to work on a project at school and then take it home and work on it at home, and all they have to do is load the project on the flashdrive, take it home, update it when they are done and bring it back to school where they can show their teachers their projects, print their work or continue working.
In the Teaching Today section they speak of Podcasts and how universities are using them, uploading lectures, PowerPoint’s, etc and giving incoming freshman ipods so that they may utilize such technologies. I think this is very effective for college students (even though I feel it encourages students not to attend class) but I’m not sure if I feel that it would be effective for what I want to teach, high school. I think that high school students might take advantage of their knowledge of such technology and for their older teachers lack of knowledge. This is one of the biggest problems with technology is that the students know more than most of the teachers. Podcasts might be effective for college students but I feel that high school students need personal, sometimes one-on-one instruction and interaction. Podcasting lectures and lessons, in my opinion, makes actually attending class obsolete and I feel that students need personal observation and attention, they need face to face instruction for maximum learning intake. In the Software Corner they spoke of a program called Make-A-Story that helps students become more involved in the characters, plots and such in stories that you are reading. I want to teach high school and I feel that there aren’t many programs out there for high school level students, let alone the subject I want to teach, English. There are tons of math and science programs and there don’t seem to be many programs for English or Language Arts. Or perhaps they are and I am just not aware of them yet… that is why I’m in this class, isn’t it?
* Peer response: I read Malcolm's blog (I haven't met him yet but he is actually my site supervisor for a mentoring program I'll be volunteering with so I was naturally drawn to his blog because I recognized his name!) and I quite agree with what he has to say as far as input devices. I myself never knew that keyboards and such all fell under an actual catagory (I figured everything from printers to external harddrives to keyboards all fell under Accessories!) so it was interesting to learn their "title" if you will. I agree when he says that we should know what we are using is called and he's right. I don't think that teachers need to know everything in the world (but they should know exactly where to be able to find it) but I think they should know the things they use on a daily or weekly basis inside and out. I also agree with him when he says that he feels most of us aren't learning new things, it's more we are just being made aware of these things (like input devices!).
Digital cameras and flash drives both have their places in education. Kids of all ages can have their pictures taken with their work and then their teacher can display either the work or the photo, and the student can take either the photo or the work home, so that their parents can see the work and yet it is still in the classroom for all the students classmates to see. This can also be a way for students to documents projects for their portfolios, some projects are too big to include in file folder. The teacher can also keep a photo-log of all projects turned in, which would help cut down cheating (students turning in a student from a previous years project as their own, etc). Flashdrives allow students to work on a project at school and then take it home and work on it at home, and all they have to do is load the project on the flashdrive, take it home, update it when they are done and bring it back to school where they can show their teachers their projects, print their work or continue working.
In the Teaching Today section they speak of Podcasts and how universities are using them, uploading lectures, PowerPoint’s, etc and giving incoming freshman ipods so that they may utilize such technologies. I think this is very effective for college students (even though I feel it encourages students not to attend class) but I’m not sure if I feel that it would be effective for what I want to teach, high school. I think that high school students might take advantage of their knowledge of such technology and for their older teachers lack of knowledge. This is one of the biggest problems with technology is that the students know more than most of the teachers. Podcasts might be effective for college students but I feel that high school students need personal, sometimes one-on-one instruction and interaction. Podcasting lectures and lessons, in my opinion, makes actually attending class obsolete and I feel that students need personal observation and attention, they need face to face instruction for maximum learning intake. In the Software Corner they spoke of a program called Make-A-Story that helps students become more involved in the characters, plots and such in stories that you are reading. I want to teach high school and I feel that there aren’t many programs out there for high school level students, let alone the subject I want to teach, English. There are tons of math and science programs and there don’t seem to be many programs for English or Language Arts. Or perhaps they are and I am just not aware of them yet… that is why I’m in this class, isn’t it?
* Peer response: I read Malcolm's blog (I haven't met him yet but he is actually my site supervisor for a mentoring program I'll be volunteering with so I was naturally drawn to his blog because I recognized his name!) and I quite agree with what he has to say as far as input devices. I myself never knew that keyboards and such all fell under an actual catagory (I figured everything from printers to external harddrives to keyboards all fell under Accessories!) so it was interesting to learn their "title" if you will. I agree when he says that we should know what we are using is called and he's right. I don't think that teachers need to know everything in the world (but they should know exactly where to be able to find it) but I think they should know the things they use on a daily or weekly basis inside and out. I also agree with him when he says that he feels most of us aren't learning new things, it's more we are just being made aware of these things (like input devices!).
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Chapter Three Blog Response!
Chapter three, while still a bit of an overview, contained some very helpful information. For instance, I had no idea that there was note taking software that could take handwritten notes (the book says these notes are usually written on a tablet computer, which allows the user to write on a touch sensitive screen) and once saved into the computer they can be transferred to text files, as well as searched for specific words or word combinations. So if a student needs to search all of their notes for one definition or example, the software allows him to do so, which is especially helpful for students with messy handwriting. No more searching through pages of scribbled notes -- the note taking software does all that for you! There are several cons to students having computers out during class time. When I was in high school you were not allowed to use your laptop or tablet computer to take notes. In college, however, most professors allow computers in class and as a student I can say that 90% of the time, students with laptops or computers in front of them are not paying attention, they are on myspace or playing a game or chatting through IM. Especially in larger lecture classes when they are less likely to be caught for such things. Perhaps in high school classes where the number of children is more manageable, the teacher can keep close watch to make sure her students are taking notes and nothing else on their computers.
I’ve been using a word processor since elementary school but I must say I was a bit surprised by all the uses they have. We already know you can use them to make test and quizzes as well as teacher newsletters because of our in class assignments, but you can also create lesson plans, permission slips (for field trips or to view an R rater movie in class, etc.) as well as outlines for lectures and handouts. Spreadsheets also surprised me a bit -- I thought that in order to keep a grade book on the computer you needed special software (which our book also discusses) but it turns out you can create a grade book in Excel. This is quite exciting to me because I am already vaguely familiar with Excel, so I hope it should not be too hard. One must assume that software made specifically for grading and attendance records would have more opinions and features, but it’s neat to see the different ways that you can use programs that you are already familiar with in new ways.
As a future teacher, I plan on using both word processors and spreadsheet and/or grading software. I also plan on using PowerPoint, because you can appeal to a broader variety of learning styles (sound and video clips can be inserted, pictures, etc) as well as make the information more visibly appealing to the students. If I have a class website I can post the PowerPoints online so that my students may access them from home if they feel they missed something or if they just want to review. If they do not have internet access at home I could also use a slide sorter to sort and print out the slides (several slides to a page) so that the student could have a hard copy. Transferring the slideshow to paper would loose some of the visuals (video or sound clips would not work, obviously) but pictures would print fine.
In my classroom, I will be using a spreadsheet program or grade book software to keep track of my students grades, progress and attendance. I will use a word processor to send out newsletters to parents (I really like this idea, good way to keep the parents in on what is happening in the classroom) as well as tests/quizzes, lesson plans, etc. I will most definitely use PowerPoint, I believe it makes taking notes and listening to lectures a bit more fun!
I’ve been using a word processor since elementary school but I must say I was a bit surprised by all the uses they have. We already know you can use them to make test and quizzes as well as teacher newsletters because of our in class assignments, but you can also create lesson plans, permission slips (for field trips or to view an R rater movie in class, etc.) as well as outlines for lectures and handouts. Spreadsheets also surprised me a bit -- I thought that in order to keep a grade book on the computer you needed special software (which our book also discusses) but it turns out you can create a grade book in Excel. This is quite exciting to me because I am already vaguely familiar with Excel, so I hope it should not be too hard. One must assume that software made specifically for grading and attendance records would have more opinions and features, but it’s neat to see the different ways that you can use programs that you are already familiar with in new ways.
As a future teacher, I plan on using both word processors and spreadsheet and/or grading software. I also plan on using PowerPoint, because you can appeal to a broader variety of learning styles (sound and video clips can be inserted, pictures, etc) as well as make the information more visibly appealing to the students. If I have a class website I can post the PowerPoints online so that my students may access them from home if they feel they missed something or if they just want to review. If they do not have internet access at home I could also use a slide sorter to sort and print out the slides (several slides to a page) so that the student could have a hard copy. Transferring the slideshow to paper would loose some of the visuals (video or sound clips would not work, obviously) but pictures would print fine.
In my classroom, I will be using a spreadsheet program or grade book software to keep track of my students grades, progress and attendance. I will use a word processor to send out newsletters to parents (I really like this idea, good way to keep the parents in on what is happening in the classroom) as well as tests/quizzes, lesson plans, etc. I will most definitely use PowerPoint, I believe it makes taking notes and listening to lectures a bit more fun!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Chapter Two
I thought it was very interesting that the American Library Association (ALA) was actually FOR the de-censoring of the Internet in public schools. I would have thought that most people would be in favor of a censorship of the Internet in all public schools. Kids are much more Internet savvy than even my generation (which grew up on the internet). Countless news reports are showing that more and more kids are using the Internet to bully, poke fun and humiliate their peers. Not to mention the wealth of information on how to make weapons, pornography and other things that are not fit for children to be reading. The ALA says that with strict rules and constant teacher surveillance, the children should be allowed to access the Internet with no censorship at all. I’m only 21 years old and not that long ago I was in high school. I remember when a class would go to the computer lab, even if there were two teachers constantly circling a room of about 28 students, students were still able to find games and access Myspace even though we were on a censored Internet (back then Myspace flew under the censorship radar). I think that our schools have enough problems to worry about without adding the Internet into the equation. Say a student who does not have access to the Internet at home is able to research how to make a bomb online at school because his teacher who was supposed to be monitoring him was busy helping another student correctly site a source and the child actually constructs a bomb and sets it off in school. Eventually it’s all going to come back on the school, and make the school look responsible for allowing this child to research weapons on the Internet. Perhaps if there was a software that allowed the teacher to view what websites each computer was browsing all from the teachers computer, this could help control what sites are accessed. But until then, I don’t think that allowing K-12 students to search the web un-censored is a good idea.
Because I have grown up around computers and the Internet (my family first got AOL when I was in sixth grade) a lot of this chapter was a review for me. I used to manage an online magazine so I know about functions like LISTSERV, I love graphic editing so I know about the different file types for photos, and certain college classes I’ve taken have allowed me to become very familiar with Internet video as well. Something I am going to assume is a more recent technology that I was not so familiar with was VR or Virtual Reality. This allows students to see things in 3D, and also allows the student to manipulate the images. One example that the book gives is of a website that allows students to dissect frogs online. The website provides such a realistic experience that a lot of classes already use such technology to cover dissection requirements in Science classes because it’s easy, there is no smell and the students aren’t held back by not wanting to cut open a dead animal. They can learn everything they need to learn about the frog anatomy by virtually dissecting it. This is a win-win situation for everyone involved, I feel.
As a future teacher I think that all of the new educational tools the Internet is unveiling is incredible. I plan to use the site ePALS which was discussed in this chapter, because I feel that connect with people who are different from you is the best way to help understand the difference in cultures as well as helps the kids to accept their friends exactly as they are. I thought it was interesting as well that on page 84 the book tells us that “hypertext and hypermedia allow students to learn in a nonlinear way,” which will appeal to more students overall. Not all children learn from sitting down and reading a book. Some learn better with visual stimulation, some with vocal stimulation. The Internet allows teachers to cater to each child’s needs by using text, graphics, movies, sound clips, interactive games and group projects all through the use of the Internet.
Because I have grown up around computers and the Internet (my family first got AOL when I was in sixth grade) a lot of this chapter was a review for me. I used to manage an online magazine so I know about functions like LISTSERV, I love graphic editing so I know about the different file types for photos, and certain college classes I’ve taken have allowed me to become very familiar with Internet video as well. Something I am going to assume is a more recent technology that I was not so familiar with was VR or Virtual Reality. This allows students to see things in 3D, and also allows the student to manipulate the images. One example that the book gives is of a website that allows students to dissect frogs online. The website provides such a realistic experience that a lot of classes already use such technology to cover dissection requirements in Science classes because it’s easy, there is no smell and the students aren’t held back by not wanting to cut open a dead animal. They can learn everything they need to learn about the frog anatomy by virtually dissecting it. This is a win-win situation for everyone involved, I feel.
As a future teacher I think that all of the new educational tools the Internet is unveiling is incredible. I plan to use the site ePALS which was discussed in this chapter, because I feel that connect with people who are different from you is the best way to help understand the difference in cultures as well as helps the kids to accept their friends exactly as they are. I thought it was interesting as well that on page 84 the book tells us that “hypertext and hypermedia allow students to learn in a nonlinear way,” which will appeal to more students overall. Not all children learn from sitting down and reading a book. Some learn better with visual stimulation, some with vocal stimulation. The Internet allows teachers to cater to each child’s needs by using text, graphics, movies, sound clips, interactive games and group projects all through the use of the Internet.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Blog #1: Response to Chapter 1
I was quite surprised to see the differences that technology has made in the students themselves. Sure, I am aware that most students, even in middle school, carry cell phones and are well versed in the internet. But I guess I never realized that all the new technology floating around in the world would actually change the students themselves, as well as how the teachers teach. Most important, to me at least, is the fact that teaching has gone from teacher-centered to student-centered. The students are now the main focus of the classroom. Technology has also allowed teachers to teach to several learning styles using movies, sound clips, group projects (requiring groups to make PowerPoint presentations is quite popular), and more all because of technology. The students who aren’t the best auditory learners now have more of a chance to absorb the material. Students now use all of their senses to learn, as opposed to the traditional single sensory learning that used to occur in classrooms. Instead of simply sitting in a desk and having information delivered to them via the teacher, students are now a part of the information exchange. They can surf the web for information on the topic of the day, read up-to-date newspaper articles from halfway around the world. Arguably the most important change that technology has allowed for is the change from isolated work is now collaborative work. Students can work on homework together in chat rooms, without ever having to leave the house. They can get the opinions of other students from China or Russia through e-mail. They can use interactive websites that make learning math problems fun, or forums that allow kids to discuss books as well as see what their peers have thought of those same books. Technology has made learning more fun for the students, and once all teachers are well versed in such technology, it will make teaching just as fun.
John M. Keller’s ARCS Motivational Model is interesting to me, as a future teacher. Our book tells us that “Keller stressed that even the best designed instructional strategy will fail if students are not motivated to learn,” and I believe that he hit’s the nail on the head. In observing classrooms for my Intro to Education class last semester I saw that those students who seemed uninterested in the class were also those that had no reason to want to learn. Keller says that using “effective techniques” that “stimulate the sense of wonder and maintain interest” will help to effectively capture the learners attention, something Keller says in crucial. In my opinion relevance has the biggest impact on student interest. If a student doesn’t feel that anything you are teaching is relevant to them, then why should they pay attention? Keller says that if the material that you are teaching is relevant to the student, it will increase the motivation in that student to learn. Technology allows teachers to make learning relevant to everyone, because Keller says “digital media utilize(s) technologies that students value”, therefore making it relevant. Challenge/confidence is also important for maintaining student interest. The book says that lessons that are created digitally allow the teacher to control the level of the content, they can also use the lessons to challenge multiple skill levels. Satisfaction/success is Keller’s last section, and very key. “Lessons developed using digital media can be designed to provide feedback that will sustain the desired behavior” which is very interesting to me because that seems to be the hardest thing that teachers face: keeping kids interested in what they are learning.
Since my last blog post, most of what I’ve learned about technology came from chapter 1. I learned that not only are there standards for teachers using technology, there are standards for students and administrators as well. The closest thing to these standards that I can think of that I experienced in school was a typing class I had to take once in middle school and then again my freshman year of high school. Of course college also requires this (thus the reason most of us are in this class). But now they require up to six checkpoints and skill mastering for students, something that I think is very beneficial to the students since our society is starting to depend more and more on technology. Also, the section labeled “Example of How One School Uses Computers” opened my eyes. I was especially interested in the English teacher who was looking into community digital storytelling, and how her interest sparked other teachers to look into it as well. Since I want to be an English teacher, that is something that I could use to help my students be more interested in the material.
John M. Keller’s ARCS Motivational Model is interesting to me, as a future teacher. Our book tells us that “Keller stressed that even the best designed instructional strategy will fail if students are not motivated to learn,” and I believe that he hit’s the nail on the head. In observing classrooms for my Intro to Education class last semester I saw that those students who seemed uninterested in the class were also those that had no reason to want to learn. Keller says that using “effective techniques” that “stimulate the sense of wonder and maintain interest” will help to effectively capture the learners attention, something Keller says in crucial. In my opinion relevance has the biggest impact on student interest. If a student doesn’t feel that anything you are teaching is relevant to them, then why should they pay attention? Keller says that if the material that you are teaching is relevant to the student, it will increase the motivation in that student to learn. Technology allows teachers to make learning relevant to everyone, because Keller says “digital media utilize(s) technologies that students value”, therefore making it relevant. Challenge/confidence is also important for maintaining student interest. The book says that lessons that are created digitally allow the teacher to control the level of the content, they can also use the lessons to challenge multiple skill levels. Satisfaction/success is Keller’s last section, and very key. “Lessons developed using digital media can be designed to provide feedback that will sustain the desired behavior” which is very interesting to me because that seems to be the hardest thing that teachers face: keeping kids interested in what they are learning.
Since my last blog post, most of what I’ve learned about technology came from chapter 1. I learned that not only are there standards for teachers using technology, there are standards for students and administrators as well. The closest thing to these standards that I can think of that I experienced in school was a typing class I had to take once in middle school and then again my freshman year of high school. Of course college also requires this (thus the reason most of us are in this class). But now they require up to six checkpoints and skill mastering for students, something that I think is very beneficial to the students since our society is starting to depend more and more on technology. Also, the section labeled “Example of How One School Uses Computers” opened my eyes. I was especially interested in the English teacher who was looking into community digital storytelling, and how her interest sparked other teachers to look into it as well. Since I want to be an English teacher, that is something that I could use to help my students be more interested in the material.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
The most experience that I have using technology are things that I have taught myself (Word, PowerPoint, XP). I took one class freshman year of high school and that was 7 years ago (gosh that makes me feel old!) so needless to say what I learned then is mostly out of date now, with the exception of the "home keys". I've had to do two PowerPoint presentations but I spent a lot of time getting to knowPowerPoint while doing those so I'm pretty well versed in that. Plus my mom makes PowerPoint presentation for EVERYTHING (weddings, birthdays, meetings) so I was always helping her. I love Microsoft Word and Microsoft Calendar, but other than those two programs and PowerPoint I'm completely in the dark, hence why I am taking this class.
I hope to learn how to actually use Excel. I know all about spreadsheets and such, I just don't see a real use in them. Hopefully I can see what Excel is ACTUALLY used for and also learn how to use it. Also, since this is educational technology, I'm hoping we get to us a program that allows us to track student progress, including grades. It would be cool if that program allowed you to track more than just grades, though (like behavior, projects and such). I'm not too sure what else I expect to learn from this class because I'm not quite sure what we are going to be doing.
This Learning Styles test that we completed was intersting. I found out that I am more active than reflexive, even though I have always considered myself someone who spent a lot of time pondering life. I guess when it comes down to action, though, I figure that talking about solving a problem doesn't really put any energy into solving it. I scored in the middle of sensing and intuitive learners, which makes sense to me because I can learn facts quickly but I also enjoying looking into how everything around relates. Visual and verbal, I sided towards the visual side which didn't suprise me because I've taken a similar test (it only determined if you were visual or verbal, none of the other styles were tested). I'm a reader: I love to read, fiction, literature, nonfiction -- it didn't suprise me at all that I scored a 5 on the visual. The last one confused me a bit: I scored a 1 on the sequential/global. They are so different, I don't really understand how you could be BOTH, but I am. I suppose it makes sense, like with math, I learn very sequentially. If I don't know each step that leads up perfectly, I falter. But when I am reading, say a novel, things come to me in bits and pieces and begin to assemble themselves, like a puzzle. And as more pieces add on to the puzzle, I begin to see the big picture until it's clear as daylight. Who knew you could learn all that about yourself in a quick, 44 question test?
I hope to learn how to actually use Excel. I know all about spreadsheets and such, I just don't see a real use in them. Hopefully I can see what Excel is ACTUALLY used for and also learn how to use it. Also, since this is educational technology, I'm hoping we get to us a program that allows us to track student progress, including grades. It would be cool if that program allowed you to track more than just grades, though (like behavior, projects and such). I'm not too sure what else I expect to learn from this class because I'm not quite sure what we are going to be doing.
This Learning Styles test that we completed was intersting. I found out that I am more active than reflexive, even though I have always considered myself someone who spent a lot of time pondering life. I guess when it comes down to action, though, I figure that talking about solving a problem doesn't really put any energy into solving it. I scored in the middle of sensing and intuitive learners, which makes sense to me because I can learn facts quickly but I also enjoying looking into how everything around relates. Visual and verbal, I sided towards the visual side which didn't suprise me because I've taken a similar test (it only determined if you were visual or verbal, none of the other styles were tested). I'm a reader: I love to read, fiction, literature, nonfiction -- it didn't suprise me at all that I scored a 5 on the visual. The last one confused me a bit: I scored a 1 on the sequential/global. They are so different, I don't really understand how you could be BOTH, but I am. I suppose it makes sense, like with math, I learn very sequentially. If I don't know each step that leads up perfectly, I falter. But when I am reading, say a novel, things come to me in bits and pieces and begin to assemble themselves, like a puzzle. And as more pieces add on to the puzzle, I begin to see the big picture until it's clear as daylight. Who knew you could learn all that about yourself in a quick, 44 question test?
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