Final Blog- Class Reflection

I found most assignments and technology that was introduced in this class valuable for use in my future teaching career. I have saved my notes and articles in my "teaching folder" because I know I will need refreshers on some of the assignments we completed in the future. Specifically I will use the database for collecting my students information and actually making use of the data collected, as well as the excel spreadsheet features for creating creative and attractive grading sheets. In regards to my students, I plan on experimenting with the filamentality on days when substitutes are present as well as the wiki spaces for group projects in the higher levels. Finally, to make the writing process more interesting and engaging I plan on using inspiration to brainstorm and video to communicate student thoughts and work without the typical paper and pencil route. In regards to what I did not find of value, I cannot think of anything. Even the basic skills such as creating a newsletter that we did at the beginning of the semester was useful to me for communicating with parents and guardians. The class sometimes seemed as though it could almost be an online class. I know that sounds crazy to teach a tech class online, but I felt I picked up the ideas and concepts of the tasks using technology quickly through the instructors detailed powerpoints and instructions posted in the learning modules. I think that just comes down to different learning styles and speeds of picking up skills related to technology. Loved the class overall and the ideas I was able to add to my "bag of goodies!"

Are we really done? Where did the semester go?! Best of luck to everyone in their future teaching careers! :-)

Video Filming

The filming process and editing was surprisingly simple. At first I was concerned about the complexity of the editing, but see that a brief lesson on movie making can turn any student into a successful movie producer! I definitely foresee myself encouraging and using video making in my future classroom. A few uses that come to mind is for individual projects and group presentations.
For individual projects I would encourage students to present and create a video to share their work and ideas with others. For group presentations I believe everyone in a group has different strengths to offer the group so assigning different jobs makes everyone a successful team player. Also, if mistakes are made, they can be edited out to create a perfect presentation that students can be proud of. Finally, by capturing student work on film a final video can be made to create class memories or reflection videos.

"Splitting Video into the Writing Process" was an article full of ideas and suggestions for teachers use. The importance of group work was apparent in the article and ideas being discussed, which is key in our society today. As a prospective teacher, seeing how video use in the classroom covers many skills including content standards, writing skills, and technology, it motivates me to use it in the future.
Prior to reading this article I never thought of video making touching on communication skills at numerous levels. Students communicate in groups, verbally, non-verbally, in pictures, audio, and text.
Reading that digital video can enrich almost any content area also sounds promising as a future teacher. I like the ideas of filming a mock interview or news report, which are great skills for the real world. Finally, making students become engaged and enjoy learning makes learning meaningful and long lasting for students. I definitely plan on returning to this article when lesson planning to use videos in my future classroom.

Reflections on other classmates' video to be added later when I can view them all... Stay tuned:-)

Database

The first article, “The World Wide Web,” seemed extremely technical at first like it was going to go over my head. Once I got past the beginning paragraph though I found a lot of useful information. I never knew web-based databases even existed, never mind have three parts. I have entered information on web pages and searched web pages but never thought how it would be organized and so easily accessible behind the scenes. I can see myself using a database for assignment submissions, I have used this for courses and think it is a perfect way to track and submit work. Also, completing online evaluations allow students more time to put thought into these evaluations and also allow anonymity, which is huge when you are looking for honest feedback. Finally, I plan to take part in research in the future so I will most definitely use a database for research. Having the information entered by participants into the computer takes away my least favorite and most tedious part of research and gathering results, entering the data into a database to analyze the information. I never knew there were so many uses for what I thought to be a “simple” database!
The second article, “The Database American Presidents,” had some great idea in it. I thought the six “C‘s” presented were interesting and very relevant in today’s world where technology is becoming a way of life for many. Allowing students access to these simple databases and letting them organize their information allows for visualization of their organizational processes. I like that the article recognized that when teachers have ideas on what exactly to do with technology they use it, because sometimes when a new tool is given to us and we are unsure of what to do with it, it goes to waste. I foresee myself using a project much like the president one in my classroom one day. I also like the idea of promoting responsibility of the student’s work by combining all information into a database together. I definitely agree with the article when it stated that a database is a flexible tool with unlimited potential!
The third article, “Bells and Whistles,” will be useful to refer to when teaching about databases. It was short and to the point with the descriptions of various aspects of the database features. First of all, I like how the article mentioned databases are ideal for one computer classrooms. Many activities involving computers are ideal for computer labs, but this one will be useful since the reality of our classrooms is that we will only have a computer or two if we are lucky! I also enjoyed taking note of the various skills the database use touched on (higher order thinking skills, critical thinking, new ways of seeing information), this will make applying content standards to activities with databases easier.
Using the Inspiration Database was extremely easy. Also, since we had to download the free trial in class to use it I know now I can download the trial again for a month long project my first year teaching if I do not have the funds to purchase a program. Thinking of a record as an index card and the fields as the information on the card opened my mind to the possible uses of a database within education. I often have teachers who have collected data on index cards at the beginning of the school year and I always wonder if they ever use or look at the cards. Having students get exposure to technology by entering the data in the database the first week of school is a learning experience in itself. Then having the data in the computer and easily accessible will allow for use, easy access, and searching of the student’s information is needed. In the higher grades I think using databases for research is a valuable tool and takes away from some of the time consuming jobs related to data collection and entering. If students set up a survey in a database for participants to fill out it allows for anonymity and easy data collection. When classmates have time they can jump on the computer and fill out the survey. Also, personally I would be more interested in filling out a computer based survey because it is something new and different than traditional paper and pencil surveys. Databases are something I never was familiar with but now I feel very comfortable and have a little “bag” of ideas as to how to effectively use the technology.

Bridging the Digital Divide: A Building Block for Teachers

Bridging the Digital Divide: A Building Block for Teachers was a great article that actually touched on the topic of lack of technology in many student’s lives. I hear a lot that these students do not have access to the technology and computers but we as educators should stress the importance and support technology in the classroom. It was very confusing how this goal could be accomplished with the reality of our school budgets, yet after reading this article I feel somewhat more clear.

Viewing technology as an extra is the first idea that really stuck with me. This is so true of our society, but it should no longer be viewed this way. Like the article states it should be viewed as an essential part of the learning and teaching processes. I also liked some of the suggestions on how to set up computers in the classroom. It is small tips such as ensuring the computer is central and accessible to all are little things that go a long way. Also, the teacher using technology for instruction rather than personal and “teacher things” only is a great idea. Finally, being able to be well rounded and educated as a teacher on technology is like being a role model. Although trainings may be expensive or difficult to attend, one or two technology trains can help your school and students go a long way. I foresee myself using some of the resources presented in this article. I have a good beginning stack of references and resources from our article readings alone!

I wish I knew about Wikis before the end of my degree. So many times I have worked on group papers back and forth over email and like Professor McCulloch said, you cannot ever keep track of the versions and updated drafts. I never knew sites existed that multiple people could access and edit them without access passwords. I foresee myself using Wikis in my classroom to assist me in tracking my students group work contribution because I was always the student doing most of my groups work and wish my teachers had tracked our participation using Wikis!

Filamentality

Here is my filamentality site. Enjoy!

http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listdogspa.html

Midterm

I believe that I did pretty well on the midterm. I felt somewhat confused as to what all to study and focus my studying on, but overall I am pretty confident in my work. I did not have one specific section that was more difficult for me. I did take a few minutes to get back into "mac" mode for me again but overall I was able to complete the questions with a little time and patients. I did struggle for a minute to remember from the first week how we did a print screen on the mac but I figured it out relatively quickly. I knew it was some combination of keys! I hope everyone else felt confident and that we all do well on our midterm! Enjoy spring break!

Filamentality/ WebQuest

I think in the link to the first article, “Educational World,” put the usefulness of WebQuest perfectly. “I find it the perfect model for teachers searching for ways to incorporate the Internet into the classroom on both a short-term and long-term basis.” I have found a few ways to use technology to increase students learning by adding to teaching or short term technology related assignments. The idea of WebQuest is the first technology I am aware of that can actually allow students to take the lead in their learning allowing teachers to become facilitators as Professor McCulloch stated.

On the Discovery School page I clicked on a couple of the examples from the exemplary WebQuests including some that had moving graphics. Like Professor McCulloch said these pages can be somewhat “dry” since we were not taught how to insert graphics. I think since the instruction page is a very basic layout choosing interactive and interesting sites is very important to keep the student’s attention.

When reading the “FOCUS” article I began to reflect upon past lessons about technology we have learned. Not only do we find websites that are attention getters and interesting but we must keep in mind what we read about and how to assess a website last week to find our great sites. Also, like stated in the article I think that bookmarks are a good way to keep track of relevant links so that when creating a new page you can browse previously found sites to cut down on searching time. When speaking of how to orchestrate your learners and resources I really like the idea of using class time to go over what to do in the lab if this setting is the only option for computer access. Too many times I have wasted precious time in a computer lab listening to a teacher explain what could have been done in the classroom previously. I also can see myself using the idea of printing web pages and placing them around the room for students to use and find. This way students still search for the information but it does not rely on a working computer and internet access. A good back up plan incase the internet at the school is down the day you planned a lesson. I like the idea of when using groups allow students to look at different pages or even the same page using a different perspective. WebQuest really seems to take the dullness of memorized standard information and allows students to apply and think deeper, like Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is important when much of our curriculum is now content driven.

The article The Student WebQuest opened my eyes to the various uses and topics that have been and can be used for WebQuests. Since the internet has so much available the sky really is not even the limit for creative and dedicated teachers. Like the article concluded with, I believe a final reflection will bring analysis and critical thinking to a deeper level in discussion and allow the teacher, who may be more uninvolved directly in such an assignment, to gather feedback to adapt or enhance the lesson, page or assignment.

Finally, what I learned this week. Wow I feel that this week was a very useful tool with the filamentality. Not only have I discovered new ways to enhance and deepen students’ thought and learning but a new way to “plan” or “run” a lesson. Taking a step back as a teacher may be hard for some at first, but putting learning into the hands of the students can create such a meaningful learning experience for both students and teachers.

Excel and Teaching Students to Use the Internet as a Research Tool

I have always been relatively comfortable with excel but never truly applied its usefulness to the classroom. I have thought about creating rosters or grading sheets but never knew I could make them so “pretty” or thought of allowing students to use excel to record their data for experiments. Also seeing that I can compare and turn grades into percentages and averaging assignments will assist me in modifying my teaching and assigned activities. Overall, I see myself using excel for a few different uses in my classroom.

I liked the Teaching Students to Use the Internet as a Research Tool article. Not only will this come in handy when assessing the validity of sites for my research as a student, but also as a teacher presenting or quoting sites, as well as teaching students to look at websites with a more critical eye. Some of the ideas I had not thought of included if a site is a pay site is will usually be worth something, I usually think of pay sites as either really good or spam. Seeing the various databases out there available in specific curriculum areas made me aware that I can and should be using more subject specific search engines. Some sites listed that sounded of interest to me in the future included: ed.net briefs, teachers.net, and U.S. Department of Education. I never knew much about directories, but feel that I learned a little more about them in this article. I did not know they were usually not made without much human intervention. Finally, it is important to look at the author or lack of author. I have always wondered why some sites do not produce or site the author and the article puts it best. If this work is good and reliable why would you not want to take credit for it!?

Evaluation Website

I will definitely use this website in my future teaching career. I often hesitate on using information I find from various sources, such as the internet because I worry about the value and accuracy of the information. Having a website that walks you through the steps of evaluating various teaching tools will assist me in feeling more confident in my technology choices. If I feel that I have found a high quality program, going through the evaluation checks will assist me in determining if the program will enrich the learning environment and enhance my teaching. The top links for the various criteria will be useful in a quick overview and evaluation of various tools in the classroom, but some of the links down below will be even more useful if I have the time to go in-depth into examining these tools further. Specifically I see myself using the Children’s Software Evaluation Instrument. Although I do not plan to teach young students, I need to keep in mind teaching high school special education students, many of their processing levels and mental abilities are that of younger children. The Children’s Software Evaluation Instrument has a clear layout of guidelines on a form to assess thoroughly tools and their value to the students. If all teachers used these evaluations on their tools they present to their classes, I believe that we would have higher standards of teaching. Many times I believe teachers use certain tools to fill the time or make the lesson easier for them to teach. After a review of the tools they plan to use with one of the criteria outlined on the site the teacher could reflect and reassess the need and actual value of the tools used and chosen. On a deeper level, I thought that the Questions to Ask About Your Technology Investment would be useful when I begin teaching to become a more reflective teacher. This evaluation method presents questions to determine the value of various tools but does not just force the teacher to classify and breeze through a list of criteria options. Having a tool that asks open ended questions leading to an evaluation of tools allows teachers to keep their current group of students’ learning styles and needs in mind while specifically addressing the value and evaluating the technology tools chosen.

Multi-Media, PowerPoint, and Bloom's Taxonomy

I think that multi-media and PowerPoint is the most visible technology used in the classroom today. As a student I see PowerPoints in college almost daily from lectures online to tools for guiding in-class discussions. From a teacher’s perspective a PowerPoint is similar to an oversized cheat sheet in my eyes. Having a presentation on a computer that can be projected onto a screen not only gives the presenter a quick and easy outline but also an easy way to create printed hand outs for the students as well. Also, having a visual outline, such as PowerPoint, helps students to stay focused on the topics being discussed. Multi-media and PowerPoint can be used to improve teaching by having a set outline and direction or purpose to the presentation, while assisting students in seeing the main ideas, take notes, and benefits visual learners. In a typical college course that relies heavily on PowerPoint lecture, all types of learning styles are being met. First of all, visual learners see the presentation, auditory learners hear the presentation and kinesthetic learners can take notes and write down the presentation outline. In general, I foresee myself using multi-media and PowerPoint in my classroom as a teaching tool and for student projects and presentations.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is an interesting approach to me. I like the idea of categorizing with different levels, this makes learning and expectations easier to measure and understand. As a student the Learning Skills Program article showed me some insight into how to foresee what kinds of questions a professor may ask. As a teacher the taxonomy can assist in accomplishing true learning goals. If the goal of learning is just basic recall and regurgitation of information I would guide students towards knowledge only. If I want a students to learn the basic content of what is read or presented I would test on a comprehension cognitive level. On a deeper level, if students are to take they learning and relate it to a real world situation then application would be stressed. To take application further, I would expect on an analysis cognitive level to use personal experience to apply and understand knowledge. Synthesis of the information would be useful when students need to organize their learning or ideas. Finally, evaluation is the highest level consisting of judging and reflecting the information learned or read. These levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy are all very different and very important. Since learning goals vary a great deal depending on the subject and ideas being taught this lays out the various levels of understanding to be expect and applied to student’s learning.

Mapping Student Minds

Once again the articles we are assigned really help in opening my eyes to the possible technology and tools we can use in our classrooms. I was never aware that a program such as Casual Mapper exists. This program seems like a great tool for the hands on learners in the classroom, like me. The first thing that struck me upon reading this article was the fact that usually technology is thought to replace teaching or allow teachers to be "lazy." In the article the teacher even mentioned that it made her have to go back and rethink her skills of learning something new, as well as struggle to not lead students to answers to really allow the students to find their errors and self correct or explain their reasoning. Allowing students to learn from their mistakes and self correct is hard to do, sitting back and watching children make errors, but a valuable and good learning experiance for the student. I really like the concept of using a program to connect the field trip information and data into cause and effect relationships. These are great cognitive skills for students to develop at young ages. Also, the students having to go back and revise their work and reevaluate are great skills in all aspects of life, the ability to rethink and adapt to changes needing to be made can be a hard task for many adults even! The final step in the project, presenting the material to City Council, is a great way to instill a sense of responsibility in students. Not only will students feel responsible for correctly gathering and analyzing their data, but also as members of their community trying to make a difference and make changes. Great article!

Week 3- Oh, The Changes We've Seen

Overall I was impressed with what the article had to say. The Programmers section was not as interesting and useful in my eyes, but the Collaborators section was! In this section the idea of students learning together and from each other was stressed. I have always been a supporter of inclusion of special needs studnents because I believe these two populations, mainstream and special education, can learn from one another equally. On page 9 of the article it goes into the benefits of collaboration. First of all, the idea of peer editing increasing student's motivation is extremely true. I know as a student in younger grades if I knew the teacher would read it I would do my best, but if I knew my peers would read it I would try even more. This idea of the effects of peers is along the same lines of the articles idea of writing to an audiance. If you know your peers will be reading your work it not only increases motivation, but it also increases student's interest in their work. Finally, the idea of connecting with other students and professionals in the "real-world" is great for students to further their understanding and learn about specific topics of interest. Overall, I think technology makes communication and learning between individuals more meaningful and easier to access.
As I began tackling the newsletter assignment I had no idea where to start. I began reviewing all the samples and the guidelines. Now that I have actually started creating my own newsletter I realized once I got started it is an easy, surprisingly, and quick way to get information out to parents. I also learned a few little tricks in Word, such as how to wrap around text. I have inserted graphics into text before but never knew that you could or how to wrap the text around so it does not stick out like a sore thumb! I hope to continue to learn and discover new skills and tricks with technology for my future and current goals!

Week Two Reflection

This weeks tools discussed in class seem useful for my future career. The tool I plan to use first and most is the yahoo groups. Being connected to an interest group where we can share ideas and lesson ideas will only make our teachers, especially myself as a new teacher, stronger. I also plan to look into the yahoo briefcase for picture posting more. It would be a neat idea to post student pictures of their work, activities, trips, and presentations for themselves and their parents to enjoy and reflect upon.
In regards to the reading, it really began to open my eyes to the technology available out there right now. I kept thinking to myself, I know there is a lot of technology out there but how can I use it to better my teacher and my students' learning or understanding. The Teaching for Understanding article really showed how technology allows students to assess themselevs and explore what they know, do not know, and what they thought they knew. Technology also allows students to think differently and in a wider persepctive. I like the idea that understanding was really emphasized not just memorizing because understanding will carry with our students throughout their life, memorizing only stays in their short term memory. Finally, not only can technology assist students, it also aides teachers in accurate assessment of students understanding.

Week One Post

Hello all my new classmates!
I am excited to overcome my technology challenges throughout this semester. I have really started to notice that classrooms do use technology a lot. I guess until the first day of the class, like many students, I just took it for granted and did not realize the importance of technology in learning. I have learned a lot about my general computer skills through the EdTech assessment that I completed. I have become competent at working with Microsoft Word because of my classes but never really have had a use for spreadsheets and such things, which will be useful information for when I beginning teaching. In this growing age of technology keeping up to date with technological advances is important for myself as an individual and also because I do not want my students to not have access to the best education they can have or know more about computers than me!
There are two main ways I have really noticed a difference in a students life and learning through technology as it related to my field of interest. I want to teach special education so how technology can help some individuals overcome their challenges is amazing to me. The first example I can think of is when visually impaired students use what is called a CCTV. This allows students to place their books and work under a machine that then enlarges the print instantly, which is then displayed on a screen in front of them. This allows for visually impaired students to feel more independent and as though they are functioning on the same level as their peers. Another program I have seen is a program called Write Out Loud. This allows students to type who are either visually impaired or lower in their writing abilities to type and make sense. After the student types a word the program reads it back to them and then once they are done typing the entire sentence is read aloud. Visually impaired students can catch errors in their typing by hearing the words out loud. It also allows students who lack spelling or grammar abilities to hear the words they type to verify the word they wrote is what they meant and to hear their work aloud to try and edit their own work if something does not sound right. Finally, in the classroom I assist in currently we use a program called Reading Naturally. Reading Naturally is a computer based reading program. Not only are students able to move and read at their own pace, the computer actually tracks and records the students speed of reading and comprehension for the teacher.