Week 8 - My Aha's/Reflection

It is hard to believe that ETEC 524 has passed so fast. I can honestly say that I had many “Aha” moments throughout the semester. One of my standout Aha moments was the fact that podcast are very easy to make and their benefits in the classroom are endless. I will continue to think on ways that I can implement podcast in the classroom and ways that my students can create and use podcast in their learning. I knew there were many free technology resources that can be implemented in the classroom but I am amazed at the number of resources I had not heard of or tried before taking this class. I will implement all the technologies I have learned into my lesson plans. I now believe more than before that educational technology should be used as much as possible because the students were born into a world full of technology and when they are in the classroom it shouldn’t be any different. Students should not feel they are stepping back into the stone ages when they enter the classroom and not utilizing technology is teaching students in the past, not the present or the future.

I will continue using my blog. I can always go back and reflect on what I have learned and how much I have grown. My blog is a great place to keep my reflections of educational technologies that I am learning and researching. By continuing to use and update my blog could also help other teachers who are looking into technologies to use in their classroom, so it could help others. This class has been a great learning experience for me that have given me the tools and skills to help my classroom be exciting and relevant to students in the world they live in. I am very excited and looking forward to using technology in my classroom. 

Week 7 - iGoogle - do you?

Lesson Plan Incorporating Technology

I chose to create a lesson plan using YouTube and creating a Podcast. I wanted to have the students create something that would be meaningful. I will start off the lesson by reading aloud Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington by Frances E. Ruffin. After reading and discussing with the class the impact the March on Washington had for today’s society the students will watch Martin Luther King Jr's speech "I Have a Dream" on TeacherTube. I will inform the students that they are going to get a chance to write and record an “I Have a Dream” speech about dreams they have for changes that could impact the future. The students will write their speeches by using the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, proofreading and editing). Once the editing has been done and reviewed the students will work in pairs and rehearse their speech with their partner. When the students feel comfortable reciting their speech, they will be creating a podcast using a microphone and recording software such as Jing and Screencast. When the student is finished, I will playback the recording for the student to hear. I will give the student a mini conference if needed about what the student can do to improve their speaking voice. The student will practice and then record a second time. When all the podcast are created I will upload the speeches on the class blog to share with each student’s family. I enjoyed thinking about ways to incorporate technology to make the learning fun and more meaningful for the students.

Both of the videos I watched are very powerful. Students of all ages are being taught by textbook and whiteboards/chalkboards. Students have technology in their lives daily whether it be a cell phone, iPod, iPad, laptop, or any other technology we use on a daily basis. In one of the videos the student stated that they bought an expensive textbook and don’t even open it. I have bought textbooks for over $100 and the instructor only had us read one or two chapters. I personally get more out of a class that does not use textbooks because they are so boring at times I have trouble staying awake. Webquest, and podcast given by the instructor are engaging and I enjoy the journey of being held accountable for my learning. Students need to be engaged by using the technology they use in life. Teachers should be engaging students by using technology but that is not happing like it should be. There are many third graders that have more technology skills than many teachers. Students are crying out to be engaged and being digital learners, educational technology is the answer to their cry, we need to hear them and respond.

Blog Reflection #6 - Podcast: Can you hear me now?

After reading articles and creating my podcast I do believe that online learning does take away the face-to-face interaction that a lot of people need. Some people enjoy online learning, I am among the people who do. When taking an online class and actually hearing my instructor’s voice I do feel more connected. I think using podcast can help create a piece of the connection that is missing with online classes. I am a visual and auditory learner and watching the podcast from my instructor of what is expected each weeks greatly helps me to understand and process what I need to do.

The purpose of my podcast was to share how easy it is to make a picture book or any type of book online to share with students. I read the book and explained how the creation of such books can be used in the classroom. The website I used to create the book is http://www.bookemon.com/. I feel there are many ways using podcast can enhance learning in life and in the classroom. Podcast can also be created and used to help a struggling student to have a better understanding. Once the podcasts are made they can be used over again for years to come, or until other technologies take its place.

The technologies I used to create my podcast were Jing to capture the video/audio because ti was very easy to use and it didn’t take but just a few minutes to explore and know how to use the software. I signed up for Screencast to store and share my podcast. I used Microsoft LifeChat-LX-3000 to record the audio. I could not use the microphone on my laptop because it picked up the noise from my laptop fan. I was not difficult to create a podcast, but mentally it was overwhelming at first because I knew that my voice would be on the internet. It took a quite a few sessions to get the podcast right but in the end I was happy with it. I do plan to use podcast in the future. I feel there are many ways it can be used in the classroom and in life. I am looking forward to coming up with fun and creative podcast for my classroom.


My Podcast: http://www.screencast.com/t/aNN9xxkptg

Blog Reflection #5- MAPping Information and Delicious

The MAPping activity I completed was eye opening. I have always used caution when looking up information on the internet but apparently I was not cautious enough. The November Learning site has great references that I will be using from now on. In the future while searching the internet I will be looking into who is publishing the information and the purpose. I will also pay close attention to the extension to see what type of web address the site is. In the past I have been guilty of using Google and choosing one of the first few choices instead of looking deeper into the sites available. In the past I have used mostly peer reviewed journal articles, but any other information I have used I don’t feel confident in at all.

  It is my responsibility to teach my students how to find reliable sources and not believe everything they read off of a website. If we fail to teach them these skills they might believe that everything they read on the internet is the truth which could lead to very negative consequences. There are many hate sites on the internet and students must know how harmful these sites are. If we don’t teach them who will?

Delicious

I see many advantages in using Delicious. I bought my laptop for school about three years ago and I always bookmark any site that I feel will be useful for my education and also for my students education. When I imported my bookmarks I had over 400 bookmarks. Now I understand why it took me so long to find something, and I also discovered very useful sites I had forgotten about. With Delicious I can tag all of the sites I need and I will be able to pull them up by subject instead of searching through all of them.  For my classroom I can tag all the math sites, reading, social studies, etc and when I need them I can go directly to those sites. I can also network Delicious with other teachers and we can share useful sites with one another.
While exploring other bookmarking sites I felt that Blinklist was very similar to Delicious. I will stay with Delicious since I am already working on getting my bookmarks organized. . If I were looking for bookmarking for entertainment purposes such as YouTube I would use Toobla, I do like how it captures screen shots of the lined pages. Diigo seemed to be a little more advance bookmarking site and I want something that is simple to use for now, but I am exploring it further as I have more time because I think it has wonderful possibilities. There seems to be bookmarking sites for any type of user.

https://del.icio.us/fairetopia

Blog Reflection #4 - Assessment

Electronic Portfolios

After reading the article "Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning" written by Helen C. Burrett, I realized that I related most with the principle that states, Assessment for learning should recognize the full range of achievements of all learners. Since there are different learning styles I don't feel that every student should be assessed the same way. With the increase of standardized testing which does not take different learning styles into account, there are students who are at a disadvantage before even starting the test. To use myself as an example, I have to deal with my test anxieties while taking tests. No matter how much of the information I know when I have a test in front of me I just can't seem to find the answers because my brain wants to shut down to the knowledge,my heart beats faster, and I have to take deep breaths to try to calm myself. If I am given different ways other than test taking to show my knowledge I normally excel in the assessment. Every student should have the same opportunity to shine in their assessments and not cater to one or two learning styles.

In my opinion there are advantages to using portfolios for assessment. In using portfolios for assessment, students will have ownership over the work they have created and they will have the ability to use their specific learning styles to create them. If students have a choice in showing the knowledge they have obtained other than just testing it will help them have the ability to express in their specific style.

Creating and managing my own electronic portfolio will help me personally and professionally. For my personal use it will help me to stay organized by keeping what I have learned in one place. It will also help to show my growth as I continue on with my education. Professionally my portfolio will be available for administrators to have quick and easy access for viewing my thoughts, beliefs and work I have done in the past. As a teacher, managing my portfolio will help me to develop the skills needed to successfully use portfolios with my students as they develop their own portfolios.

Reflection blog #3 - Wiki Week

Reflection Blog #3 - Wiki Week

The purpose for creating my wiki is so the football parents of our local school district can organize who will be bringing food and supplies for the summer 2-a-day practices and providing food dishes for the athletes dinner on game day. Last year it was chaotic because it was done by trying to contact everyone by notes sent home with the boys (which sometimes did not make it to the parents) and during the games which didn't work out very well. I have started creating the wiki and will add more information about the football schedule as it becomes available.

I see many advantages to using wikis. It is a place where all participants can get together to share ideas and organize. For some Digital Immigrants who do not understand different typed of technology, a disadvanted might be that the wiki could be a bit overwhelming at first but they see how easy it is to add information I don't feel like it will be an issue. A simple guide with steps could be sent to them so they would have the tools needed to see the navigate easily through the wiki.

There are so many web 2.0 technologies I would like to explore further, but the one that stands out the most to me at this point is digital storytelling. I feel that digital storytelling can be used is so many ways in the classroom. Not only can the teacher create digital stories but it would be a great projects for the students as a class project.

Educational Technology Organizations - Reflective Blog Posting #2

Educational Technology Organizations

In my search for educational technology organizations that align with my vision and educational technology philosophy I found The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Founded in 1979 ISTE is a source for professional development, knowledge generation, advocacy, and leadership innovation.

The definition of educational technology ISTE views is that technology used in education enables students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information and express ideas in compelling ways that will prepare them for the demands of the 21st century.

The purpose of ISTE is dedicated to bringing the voice of educators to policy makers regarding educational technology. Their mission is to improve education through technology which I feel is very important for the digital world that we live.

http://www.iste.org/

The George Lucas Education Foundation (GLEF) known as Edutopia views educational technology as education using technology to challenge and engages students using interactive technologies. I really like this foundation because I can sign up for free and have access to many tools and publications to help make use of technology in my classroom.

The mission of The George Lucas Educational Foundation is improving the K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives. (Source: http://www.edutopia.org/mission-vision)

The purpose of GLEF is to help change education into a place where students, teachers, administrators, and policy makers and the people they serve are empowered to change education to the 21^st century of project-based learning where innovation is the rule, not the exception.

I will be accessing their website to stay up to date on information about educational technologies.  The resources are broken down by grade level and provide ways to interact with other instructors.

http://www.edutopia.org/

My definition of educational technology is the use of technology whether it is a computer, cell phone,iPad, blog, wiki, or any other type of technology that will help students create, and to use higher level thinking skills to solve problems. Educational technology can be used to enrich the curriculum to make it engaging and enjoyable for the students. I felt both the ISTE and GLEF organizations supported my definition and philosophy of educational technology. I would feel confident to use their resources to help my classroom, and students performance by creating, using, and managing technology enriched resources. 

Digital Concept Map

My Thoughts on Educational Technology