The importance of incorporating the use of technology into the classroom of the 21st Century cannot be overstated. Considering how pervasive technology has become in everyone's lives, to not include technology in the classroom would be regressive and counterintuitive.
For students, technology allows for greater engagement, collaboration, and ownership. Additionally, given technology's ever-increasing, omnipresent nature, it is absolutely imperative that students gain as many technological skills as possible. These skills will only become more important as technology continues to expand and improve. Technological skills must also stay current in order to meet demands.
For teachers, today's technology opens up a whole range of new teaching methods never before available. From the ability to collaborate globally to the ability to have the world available at your fingertips; technology allows educators boundless creativity in writing and delivering lesson plans.
As to the challenges to technology in the classroom, there are many. The globally interactive nature of the Web 2.0 presents issues with regard to student safety and preventing "unsavory elements" access to students. And educators must be fluent in the use of technology in order to not only maintain classroom management, but also effectively communicate a lesson plan.
Personally, my entire attitude toward technology has changed during the course of this class. I no longer view the Internet and all of the latest gadgets as a means of separating people from their "real" lives. I now view these things as a conduit to the world around. This is not to say that my previous concerns were unfounded. With the use of technology comes responsibility. Part of that responsibility includes a weariness to pitfalls and the knowledge of how to avoid them. To continue to believe, as I previously did, that technology is inherently negative is to distance myself from what is now a global community.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Reflection on Presentations
1. In our reserach about digital portfolios, I found that one of the benefits of a portfolio, as well as other digital mediums, is that it can be a window to elements of our own personalities that we may not have previously known. Applying that knowledge to my reflection on my classmates’ digital presentations, I find that the theory of multiple intelligences comes across as bluntly as a sledgehammer. I find that I have a new understanding of may of my classmates, as well as myself.
2. Producing an online digital presentation, whether it be a video, a Glogster poster page, or a PowerPoint file, can be just as much of a talent as anything else. You may find that although you are speaking quite clearly the microphone might not be recording your voice as well as you think. Certain kinds of text may not appear very well over certain backgrounds. Things may not translate as well for the viewer as were intended.
It is not my intention to be critical of anyone’s presentation other than my own, however, as a class, we are, more or less, new to this technology and cannot be expected to have any mastery over what we are doing yet.
Fortunately, with proper reflection and time spent honing skills, these issues can be overcome. This issue echoes one of the things I learned from one of the videos, which I believe was Mandy’s. “Teachers must be learners themselves.” I think this is something I’ve known for a long time, but to have the words right there in front of you is a much different experience.
3. I discovered that a vast wealth of information can be can be delivered to a user in a small amount of time. In the 30 to 45 minutes it took me to look through everyone’s presentations, I absorbed the most information of over a dozen technology in education articles all on different topics. The speed with which I obtained this information would not have been possible had I chosen to read all of those articles myself.
What is clear to me know is that this project was not solely about individual learning. It was an exercise in collaborative learning between my fellow classmates and I. Without necessarily being conscious of it, we’ve laid the groundwork fo a collaborative learning experience as we each pursue our teacher’s certificates and to become collaborative professionals beyond this experience.
2. Producing an online digital presentation, whether it be a video, a Glogster poster page, or a PowerPoint file, can be just as much of a talent as anything else. You may find that although you are speaking quite clearly the microphone might not be recording your voice as well as you think. Certain kinds of text may not appear very well over certain backgrounds. Things may not translate as well for the viewer as were intended.
It is not my intention to be critical of anyone’s presentation other than my own, however, as a class, we are, more or less, new to this technology and cannot be expected to have any mastery over what we are doing yet.
Fortunately, with proper reflection and time spent honing skills, these issues can be overcome. This issue echoes one of the things I learned from one of the videos, which I believe was Mandy’s. “Teachers must be learners themselves.” I think this is something I’ve known for a long time, but to have the words right there in front of you is a much different experience.
3. I discovered that a vast wealth of information can be can be delivered to a user in a small amount of time. In the 30 to 45 minutes it took me to look through everyone’s presentations, I absorbed the most information of over a dozen technology in education articles all on different topics. The speed with which I obtained this information would not have been possible had I chosen to read all of those articles myself.
What is clear to me know is that this project was not solely about individual learning. It was an exercise in collaborative learning between my fellow classmates and I. Without necessarily being conscious of it, we’ve laid the groundwork fo a collaborative learning experience as we each pursue our teacher’s certificates and to become collaborative professionals beyond this experience.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Portfolio Examples
Good example: http://kids-learn.org/
This portfolio contains complete lesson plans that Susan Silverman taught to her second-grade classes. Each lesson plan has a title that clearly denotes what the plan is about and they are all listed and linked on the main page of the portfolio. Any teacher could happen by this portfolio and immediately take and use one, or even all, of these lesson plans.
Also, a link to email Susan Silverman is clearly posted on the main page of the portfolio to contact her and discuss the plans she has posted.
Bad example: http://durak.org/kathy/portfolio/index.html
In looking through this portfolio, I found nothing of any real substance, save for this woman’s resume. No where was there any material that might be of use or interest to anyone and what was posted was done so in a very informal way.
Additionally, the resume hadn’t been updated since the mid-1990s.
This portfolio contains complete lesson plans that Susan Silverman taught to her second-grade classes. Each lesson plan has a title that clearly denotes what the plan is about and they are all listed and linked on the main page of the portfolio. Any teacher could happen by this portfolio and immediately take and use one, or even all, of these lesson plans.
Also, a link to email Susan Silverman is clearly posted on the main page of the portfolio to contact her and discuss the plans she has posted.
Bad example: http://durak.org/kathy/portfolio/index.html
In looking through this portfolio, I found nothing of any real substance, save for this woman’s resume. No where was there any material that might be of use or interest to anyone and what was posted was done so in a very informal way.
Additionally, the resume hadn’t been updated since the mid-1990s.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Smartboard Lesson
I’ve found interactive whiteboards to be an extremely useful tool in the classroom setting, however I feel that their importance should be limited to that of one of the myriad tools available to a teacher. Having taught a lesson using an interactive whiteboard, I can say that it is equally as advantageous as it is disadvantageous. I say that because an interactive whiteboard has the potential to be distracting to a teacher, which can be detrimental in terms of classroom management.
However, I would like to have one in a classroom because of the advantages, such as the ability to easily show video to an entire class; the ability to use color, graphics, and sound in a lesson all from one piece of equipment; the various games that can be employed; etc.
But, while this can be a boon, it must never be forgotten that the single most important tool in teaching a classroom of students is the teacher. An interactive whiteboard can help engage students, however it cannot do all of the work. It can be nothing more than supplemental to the teacher.
While it is best for a teacher to make use of all the tools available to teach students, it can be detrimental to the educational process for a teacher to rely too heavily on one tool alone to get the job done.
However, I would like to have one in a classroom because of the advantages, such as the ability to easily show video to an entire class; the ability to use color, graphics, and sound in a lesson all from one piece of equipment; the various games that can be employed; etc.
But, while this can be a boon, it must never be forgotten that the single most important tool in teaching a classroom of students is the teacher. An interactive whiteboard can help engage students, however it cannot do all of the work. It can be nothing more than supplemental to the teacher.
While it is best for a teacher to make use of all the tools available to teach students, it can be detrimental to the educational process for a teacher to rely too heavily on one tool alone to get the job done.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Video Project
I thoroughly enjoyed every step of the video making process. This project touched on two of the most engaging elements of my personality, collaboration and creativity. The project mimicked one of the best experiences of my life, which was making an album with five other musicians in a professional-level studio.
I found that Mandy, Joe and I worked well with one another; bouncing various ideas off of each other at every step of the process and choosing the one that best suited our needs. We also exhibited, on several occasions, an ability to adapt quickly and modify our original plan to suit new situations.
I would say that we genuinely had a lot of fun working on this project over the entire course of the process. Because of the high level of fun we had as a group, this did not seem like work that we had to complete. Rather than a project, this felt like an activity.
Also, because we were able to choose our topic, we felt as though we had ownership over our work. I can say that I now feel that the results of this project are an accomplishment for myself and something of which I can be proud.
Ultimately, I feel as though I’ve not only learned a skill that I can apply professionally, but one that I can also apply personally as well. I plan to take on several video projects in the next few months not only for myself, but also for my band all the while honing my professional skills.
I feel that the question of whether video has a place in the classroom is rather moot since video has been proven to have educational value over the past several decades. The real question should be what is the value of video in the classroom produced by the teacher and/or the students?
As a tool for teaching students, teachers have a world of possibilities available to them thanks to video. Things that a teacher cannot do in real life standing in front of a class can be done in a video, thus possibly conveying a difficult concept in a new and more understandable way.
For students, a video project can be an extremely engaging way, much as it was for me, to provide them with ownership over a project and the make use of the Web 2.0, possibly. Students can create a video to accompany certain projects and then those videos can be shown to the class. The teacher could even adjust the class to be like an actual movie premier.
I think video could be applied for any language arts lesson in which students are all taking part in the same reading. Various scenes could be acted out to aid in student comprehension of the text, which would then be reinforced by subsequent screenings of the video. The most obvious challenge to such a project would be access to the necessary equipment to produce such a video. Second to this would be the students’ background knowledge of how to operate such equipment. This project could quickly turn into a project on creating a video and lose sight of the original essential question.
I found that Mandy, Joe and I worked well with one another; bouncing various ideas off of each other at every step of the process and choosing the one that best suited our needs. We also exhibited, on several occasions, an ability to adapt quickly and modify our original plan to suit new situations.
I would say that we genuinely had a lot of fun working on this project over the entire course of the process. Because of the high level of fun we had as a group, this did not seem like work that we had to complete. Rather than a project, this felt like an activity.
Also, because we were able to choose our topic, we felt as though we had ownership over our work. I can say that I now feel that the results of this project are an accomplishment for myself and something of which I can be proud.
Ultimately, I feel as though I’ve not only learned a skill that I can apply professionally, but one that I can also apply personally as well. I plan to take on several video projects in the next few months not only for myself, but also for my band all the while honing my professional skills.
I feel that the question of whether video has a place in the classroom is rather moot since video has been proven to have educational value over the past several decades. The real question should be what is the value of video in the classroom produced by the teacher and/or the students?
As a tool for teaching students, teachers have a world of possibilities available to them thanks to video. Things that a teacher cannot do in real life standing in front of a class can be done in a video, thus possibly conveying a difficult concept in a new and more understandable way.
For students, a video project can be an extremely engaging way, much as it was for me, to provide them with ownership over a project and the make use of the Web 2.0, possibly. Students can create a video to accompany certain projects and then those videos can be shown to the class. The teacher could even adjust the class to be like an actual movie premier.
I think video could be applied for any language arts lesson in which students are all taking part in the same reading. Various scenes could be acted out to aid in student comprehension of the text, which would then be reinforced by subsequent screenings of the video. The most obvious challenge to such a project would be access to the necessary equipment to produce such a video. Second to this would be the students’ background knowledge of how to operate such equipment. This project could quickly turn into a project on creating a video and lose sight of the original essential question.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Week 6
In learning how copyright applies to the classroom environment, I was surprised to learn that copyright applies to the classroom environment. Prior to this lesson, my, obviously inaccurate, understand of the situation was that educational purposes were exempted from copyright issues. However, while I was wrong to assume this, I was also correct in some applications. There is leniency in copyright in the educational setting, such as the amount of the material used, the frequency with which it is used and how it ties into the curriculum.
Despite the ever-present danger of copyright infringement, I’ve found that many schools and teachers are completely unaware of the issue. Fortunately, the demands of the modern educational system, coupled with a general lack of technological savvy amongst teachers, keeps many educators from making mistakes. This lack of misstep seems less tied an understanding of copyright and more to an inability to make use of things that might invite infringement.
However, the same cannot be said of the public at large. American society does not seem focused on concept of intellectual property. Ideas, thoughts, concepts and art all seem to exist within a cloud of public domain. The best example would be music. Rather than being seen as a commodity produced by oftentimes several people who would not survive without financial remuneration, songs, by virtue of the mp3, are often seen as apples hanging from a tree of public domain; ripe for the taking. That they exist for people to propagate through folksy means without commerical concern.
I absolutely feel that it is the job of teachers to educate their students about copyright since it is a teacher’s responsibility to foste responsible citizens. In a classroom environment, I would treat copyright in much the same way that I would classroom management. At the beginning of the school year, the groundwork would be laid through informing the students as to what copyright is and how it will affect their classwork. Then, throughout the year copyright issues would be applied to students’ work in order to get them thinking about it on a day-to-day basis. It must be an omnipresent aspect of their ongoing education. The NETS-S standards that would apply here include all under 5. Digital Citizenship, including “a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology; b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity; c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning; and d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.”
With regard to Chapter 7 in Educause, I would say that the survey results were in line with what I would have expected. Communication, such as email, instant messaging and cell phones; gaming; social networking and downloading are things that have appeal outside of the classroom environment. As such, I would expect them to be the biggest uses among younger students. However, once students move further and further through their educational experience, it only makes sense that they would become more familiar with other applications. Additionally, it’s my informal experience that technology still has a long way to go in the educational setting. Because of this, I’m not surprised that some students make use of technology more than others.
If I had been a party to writing this survey, I would like to explore how students brought the use of technology to bear on their education of their own volition, without regard to whether technology had been integrated into their classrooms. What is their sense of innovation in how technology can help them achieve their own success?
Despite the ever-present danger of copyright infringement, I’ve found that many schools and teachers are completely unaware of the issue. Fortunately, the demands of the modern educational system, coupled with a general lack of technological savvy amongst teachers, keeps many educators from making mistakes. This lack of misstep seems less tied an understanding of copyright and more to an inability to make use of things that might invite infringement.
However, the same cannot be said of the public at large. American society does not seem focused on concept of intellectual property. Ideas, thoughts, concepts and art all seem to exist within a cloud of public domain. The best example would be music. Rather than being seen as a commodity produced by oftentimes several people who would not survive without financial remuneration, songs, by virtue of the mp3, are often seen as apples hanging from a tree of public domain; ripe for the taking. That they exist for people to propagate through folksy means without commerical concern.
I absolutely feel that it is the job of teachers to educate their students about copyright since it is a teacher’s responsibility to foste responsible citizens. In a classroom environment, I would treat copyright in much the same way that I would classroom management. At the beginning of the school year, the groundwork would be laid through informing the students as to what copyright is and how it will affect their classwork. Then, throughout the year copyright issues would be applied to students’ work in order to get them thinking about it on a day-to-day basis. It must be an omnipresent aspect of their ongoing education. The NETS-S standards that would apply here include all under 5. Digital Citizenship, including “a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology; b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity; c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning; and d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.”
With regard to Chapter 7 in Educause, I would say that the survey results were in line with what I would have expected. Communication, such as email, instant messaging and cell phones; gaming; social networking and downloading are things that have appeal outside of the classroom environment. As such, I would expect them to be the biggest uses among younger students. However, once students move further and further through their educational experience, it only makes sense that they would become more familiar with other applications. Additionally, it’s my informal experience that technology still has a long way to go in the educational setting. Because of this, I’m not surprised that some students make use of technology more than others.
If I had been a party to writing this survey, I would like to explore how students brought the use of technology to bear on their education of their own volition, without regard to whether technology had been integrated into their classrooms. What is their sense of innovation in how technology can help them achieve their own success?
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