11/11 Exit Slip

Today in class we discussed on Chapter 9 from our book.

It was great that they tried to use scribble-nuts for the discussion, but the site did not work on many of ours.
They worked great and instead of panicking, they had us work into groups and discuss.
we liked how the group made us explain our thoughts in five words or less, to be concise.

Yay its a workday!

So Much to do... So little time.

How Schools can Cope with the New Technology c.8

In chapter 8 of Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology it discussed many ways that schools can cope with new technology. Because of how much time students are spending on video games and watching T.V. , school activities need to be much more engaging. An interesting idea that they touched on is having narrow focused certifications that are general to all schooling and by completing them they would respect specific skills.  This would have all classes and schools maintain ‘certificates’ of specific studies, and receiving a credential would be similar to receiving a diploma, but in smaller steps.  This could benefit students because they would all have the same guidelines to follow and would have the same starting point and opportunities.  Although it does bring up many questions and makes me wonder how different this really is from the typical school system we need now, it sounds like the certificates are the same as grades and completions of classes. This is also a huge disadvantage to students who are unsure of what they want to do as they grow up.  The only difference in this case would be that students would determine when they feel prepared to take the course exam.

The book talked about a tool many universities use today, Desire2Learn, aka D2L for online access to discussion boards, collaborative project development spaces and online textbooks and readings. These tools similar to D2L give teachers the availability to use the discussion boards as well and help explore and engage in students work. Another benefit to these types of programs is in most cases it can give nearly immediate responses and the ability to work with classmates.

Go! Animate Screencast

To view my fantastic Go!Animate Screencast click this link below


http://www.screencast.com/users/ktesch782

I put a lot of time learning the Go!Animate program so I could make a successful screencast. Doing so I spent a lot time going over the many different features and making my own projects. I put in a lot of effort in order to summarize the complex Go!Animate program.

I was worried in the beginning about creating a screencast, and have to say the worst thing about it was to hear my own voice played back. Creating a screencast is very easy to do when you get the hang of it and I feel I will use this as often as I can in my future classrooms, because I feel it could be very beneficial to my students in understanding a program.

C. 8 Podcasting, video and screencasting and live streaming

From YouTube, to Podcasts to Google there are many great forms of media on the internet.  It is weird to remember back to the days where your internet connection was so loud when you logged on you needed ear plugs, and when it took hours to download your favorite song. Now nearly anything is able to download in seconds or stream right though your TV, like Netflix and blockbuster are doing now.

Podcasts are a fantastic invention, Many people who we normally wouldn’t hear from, have voices than can be heard by millions. This is such a fantastic way to implement in a classroom.  My favorite podcast is CNN’s AC360,because on an everyday basics I don’t have 2 hour time slot to watch my favorite newscasters news, so its great I can watch it on the go on my iPod for a mere 20 minutes, and watch it anywhere I please.

For schools to contain radio stations at school for students to listen to would cost hundreds of dollars,  but now because of Podcasts that is no longer an issue, students can form their own “talk radio” on a podcast it, upload it and hundreds of students can listen to it in minutes.

Podcasts would be an excellent tool to incorporate into a classroom, and liven up an activity, rather than have students write paper after paper or give a speech orally, students now can do an audio podcast. 

YouTube has created a huge phenomenon with video publishing.  Its mind boggling that over 20 hours of video are being loaded to YouTube every minute.  Although the content  may or may not be appropriate, the sharing of videos is a huge advantage to the education system, because more sources are available.

Screencasting has been a new term I learned recently, I always knew what it was but never the word for it.  It’s great to be able to watch a tutorial and see the step by step process.  Creating screencasts could be great in a classroom to be able to teach younger students the tools they are using.  Although I don’t know how many things you could really screencast and what elementary students could do with it, which means there may have to be more research done on this form of media.

Live Streaming is an absolute excellent idea for classrooms, because the possibilities, like most of these tools, are endless.  I feel that using this would be great for students who are home sick, and can watch at home.

Ch. 7 – What may be lost and what may be gained?

In this chapter, a lot is discussed about the effects of increasing technology in the realm of education.  By dividing these effects into two categories, what could be lost and what could be gained, the chapter discusses the positive and negative effects of technology.  To begin, it talks about some things that we may lose by focusing more on technology in the classroom.  I definitely feel that some of these things are an issue, such as dividing social groups and isolating the individual.  Within the students in the classroom, a division could take place between those who have access to computers and technology and those who may not have access to these things.  This may cause a separation between white and non-white or rich and poor, which in turn would cause conflict.  In order to avoid this, I feel it would be necessary to only use technology that I would be sure everyone would have access to and readily be able to use.  Also, I would avoid technologies such as private education systems or programs that must be purchased and I would only use technology that doesn’t force the students to contribute financially.  Another problem that arises from technology in the classroom is that it isolates individual students when forced to work on their own on a computer.  Traditional classroom procedure is a teacher talking to the students while having them be engaged and involved in the lesson.  With some of the new technology, it deviates from that tradition and moves towards a curriculum of individual projects, computer lessons, and communicating online.  Though this problem is of concern, I think it can be avoided by using group projects and other group assignments to engage students.

                Though there are many losses associated with the introduction of technology in the classroom, there are many things to be gained as well.  From the many programs we have discussed in class as well as read about, it is easy to see the variety of tools as teachers we have at our disposal. By using these multiple tools, education has the ability to become more engaging and customizable.  Many different technologies can be employed during a single lesson, and most of these that engage students can be modified to fit their skill and comfort levels.  Also, students who use new technology will feel more connected to the material when compared to traditional methods.  This is important because it will help improve retention and comprehension.  In all, technology I feel is more beneficial because the tools and the way they are used to customize lessons to fit the needs of situation that you are using them for.     

C.9 Social Network

Social Networking is getting more popular as we speak. Facebook, Facebook, and Facebook is all I hear about. I remember when I thought my mom was ridiculous because she wanted to create her own profile, but to my surprise she is more addicted than a regular high school student.
Not surprisingly Facebook is growing by 700,000 accounts per day, but the surprising part is that a huge chunk of them are 55 years old.  Now even my mom has her problems with the internet and she's years away from this age mark.
Personally, not being an extreme advocate of Facebook, as an elementary teacher I don't feel I would use it in my classroom although, I am still not fully decided on this issue.  There are some major benefits to utilizing these networks in your class but there are many cons that nearly outweigh the pros.  The main reason why I wouldn't use my own personal account for this reason is the question of where is my separation between my personal life and work life. Something that I would consider though is creating a "teacher" account, separate from my personal account to allow the students to contact me there. Creating a group on Facebook would also be a great use, to have the students post questions if needed and contact other classmates. This would open a lot of doors that I don't believe the school websites allow for.  Many students that are quiet in the classroom would be able to speak up and be heard.

10/28 Exit Slip

In class today it was interesting to hear that there is a lot of money out there to support educators for objects in their classroom, but only the teachers who take the incentive receive it.

It was amazing to hear Professor Boyer’s story of receiving a smart board because he asked for it.    

These stories bring up many ideas to help receive funding for schools. 

We have a lot of homework to do this coming week, and the homework load is only getting larger.