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!

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.

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.

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?