ICP Reflection

I am pleased to have completed the final project about Combining Technology with the 6 C's. I felt my presentation was well organized and had appropriate structure. I opened the presentation by tapping into the classes’ prior knowledge about motivation and built on that by trying to have the students identify the 6 C’s of motivation. I developed the project by identifying the 6 C’s and discussing how connecting content to technology could be a 7th C. The students had to use the information provided and provide examples of activities they do in the classroom that used at least one of the C’s. These activities promoted interaction and active participation. If there had been more sufficient time I would have broken the class into groups and had them complete the activity together, forcing more accountability then just a few students responding. I wrapped it up with any questions and comments. I stayed within the allotted time and tried to avoid “death by PowerPoint” as I used limited text on slides and incorporated sound and relevant images.

Bon au revoir

Goodbye to the class, but not to what we have learned. I appreciate having Monday evenings free now, but I take away a great deal of knowledge. I graduated from NYIT with a masters in Instructional Technology in May 2006 and took inservices to stay up to date with technology, so I always felt rather tech savvy. This class made me aware of how fast the digital world is changing and how many new tools are available that I did not know how to use and didn't know even existed. I was very overwhelmed in the beginning and gradually became more comfortable with Web 2.0 tools, a term I had never even heard of. I appreciate that technology has shifted to becoming more interactive and collaborative.

I was exposed to so many new applications: blogs, wikis, podcasts, gliffy, slideshare, slideboom, sliderocket, social networks, photo sharing, twitter, moodle, wizig, elluminate, etc. This is the first time I have ever had a blog and certainly never considered using blogging in my classroom. I like that blogging can enhance classroom collaboration and communication and give students more purpose to their writing as peers have the availability to read and comment on entries. I love being able to upload PPT presentations to the web using slideboom or slideshare to access them from any Internet source and to easily share with colleagues. I particularly liked creating the digital story and I see great value in having my students create one. I think Movie Make is a powerful tool that allows students to be creative and motivates them as they write about something relative to them and for a wider audience. It is also a practical and meaningful way to learn new technology. I apprectiate being updated and brought into the world of Web 2.0 and look forward to using many of the new tools with my students.

Facts about Digital Storytelling

Facts of Digital Storytelling

• Use of computer-based tools to tell stories
• Centered around one theme
  
• Enables students to be creative
• Improves technology skills

Cooperative and Collaborative Learning

I had always thought cooperative learning and collaborative learning were homophones, but have since learned that they are two dimensions of the same thing. They have these five similar elements and are beneficial to students because it:

• has children learn to work with all types of people
• exposes students to differences and similarities
• builds social skills such as listening skills and how to give and appropriately respond to constructive feedback
• has students actively involved in learning
• allows for more personal feedback since students have the opportunity to make more exchanges in a small group

These elements are valuable skills for students to obtain to meet success inside and outside of the classroom. The only drawbacks to collaborative and cooperative learning are student’s conflict can interfere with learning and in mixed ability groups stronger students are often left to teach weaker students, which can be burdensome. This can be a bit burdensome, but I also see teaching peers as valuable be because the best way to learn something is to be able to teach it.

I since learned that collaborative learning is more open ended and complex as students team to explore a question or create a meaningful project. As they work towards their goal there is an equal distribution of the work and everyone contributes so everyone grows and matures. The students particularly grow as they receive feedback from their peers. Cooperative learning is more structured and teacher driven as the students have specific roles and are individually accountable for their part of the task. Cooperative learning prepares students for collaboration as they learn how to complete a task and how to contribute to a group.

Grading made as easy as 1, 2, 3

There were several things I liked about Engrade.com. First, it is free, which allows all teachers to use it despite their district’s economic condition. The self explanatory tool is an easy and efficient way to manage grades, assignments and attendance. It only took me minutes to set up my class and it would save teachers time since they would not have to manually calculate student averages. I was pleased that I was able to quickly enter grades into the program by being able to use the up and down arrows to go between students opposed to reaching and clicking the mouse each time.

Another benefit is that it is an online program so teachers have the availability to enter grades from home or school. Also with this system parents and students can view grades and upcoming assignments online with individual access codes. This would enable them to monitor a student’s progress and be informed about upcoming assignment. A disadvantage to this is teachers have to stay on top of their grading and update the system assignments regularly, which could become burdensome. Also parents and students could not benefit from this tool if they did not have internet access readily available.

A drawback to this program is teachers have to manually input an identification number for each student and if you change a student's number after entering assignment scores, the student's grade will be reset and you will have to re-enter each score. Also it would be helpful if you could sort students by grade for a specific assignment and not just by overall average, ID number and name. This would enable feedback at a glance of how students performed on a specific skill and alert the teacher which students needed remediation.

I always wanted to be a film producer

Crossword puzzle fun

Plants Crossword Puzzle: Puzzlemaker

This project shows how teachers can incorporate the use of technology with curriculum. I think this project would help students to learn how to use Excel and reinforce content vocabulary in a unique way. I do think students could spend a great deal of time formatting and designing a puzzle on Excel, which takes away the focus of reviewing vocabulary, but it teaches them the software. It depends on a teachers focus. For a quick vocabulary review I think Puzzlemaker is more valuable because student's can easily make the crossword puzzle, but it does not allow for any creativity or learning a valuable software. Puzzlemaker was very quick and easy to use, but there were limitations to the crossword design because I am not a member and it was difficult to share. I would only suggest this application if you were solely printing out the crossword puzzle for a paper and pencil task. Excel can also be used to organize data, perform math formulas, create graphs and much more. One of my favorite activities I do with my students is have them record the number of different color M & Ms in a package and create a bar graph using Excel.

Podcast & videothread

Podcasts are valuable because you can subscribe to a podcast about almost anything and therefore do not have to worry about the schools' audio and video resources having the content you want. The audio or video files are easily delivered to your computer via the internet and are prerecorded so you can look at them at anytime. One problem is they can be done by anyone so the person and information may not all be fact.

Videothreads allow people to show images, documents, and video. A great feature of videothreads are people can leave comments on the images, documents and/or videos in a variety of formats including voice(with a microphone or phone), text, audio file, or video. I think students would appreciate feedback in a variety of forms and they also might be more insightful because they could express their feedback in a preferred medium. Also the doodling is a good aspect to add emphasis, but potentially students could abuse it and be inappropriate so it would have to be closely monitored.

Once upon a time stories came alive

Digital storytelling is a great multisensory activity that combines images, music and voice to stories. The author is forced to be quiet creative as they incorporate all these elements and give the characters and events depth and vivid color. This is a valuable experience for the author, but I think the reader does not use his/her imagination as much as reading text from a story to paint the picture of the characters and events. The drawback to digital storytelling is it is time consuming and there can be technology limitations such as a teacher's knowledge of the equipment and further technological difficulties such as enough space to save the digital stories. I do like that children can share their stories with the community and therefore give their writing more purpose. Also students can hear stories directly from people who have experienced events in history and can tell a more vivid emotional depiction.

Finding ways to teach the Net Generation

WebQuest, Web Bits, WIP = Web 2.0

These activities promote thinking and allow children to actively construct their own meaning. The value also is that students have the opportunity to become independent inquirers. In the traditional classroom students do not have as much of an opportunity to be thinkers because they are more passive. Certainly it would be valuable for me to incorporate WebQuests, Web Bits, and WIPs into the classroom. Since students are actively involved there attention span is probably longer and therefore have the opportunity to learn more.

Be an effective teacher: Incoproate all four models into your classroom

Types of technology that are relevant to each model:

Behavioral (BM): PowerPoint presentation

Information-Processing (IPM): WIP, WebQuest, Web Bits, Mind mapping: Inspiration software

Social-interactive (SIM): wiki, social networks, WebQuests (with group project)

Personal (PM): WebQuests, WIP, Web Bits

The Information-Processing/Inquiry and Social Interactive classroom is student centered. I think these models are not used as frequently as the Behavioral Model/Direct Instruction models because teachers are scared to give up control. Also we are most comfortable teaching the way we were taught and most of us were taught in a direct instruction model. In an indirect model teachers are not directing the classroom, which gives children more creative freedom, but it can be an uneasy feeling for teachers because their day is unpredictable.

Instructional Systems Design

I like that ISD is an orderly process for gathering and analyzing student's performance. This will give teachers a great deal of information regarding their students and then in turn enhance instruction because teachers can respond to specific needs. This systematic design will hopefully reduce gaps in students education and focus on the student's needs opposed to curriculum. Teachers can create resources to target the needs, then implement the instruction and evaluate the child. The instruction is then driven by the student's outcome and not textbooks. The development phase seems to be the most cumbersome.

Sharing Slideshows Easily

I like that there are several Web 2.0 tools to share slideshows easily. It is great to not have to use email attachments anymore to share slideshows or rely on that everyone has PowerPoint software because the slideshows can be viewed on internet browsers. You can also have access to the slideshows anywhere you can reach the internet. I particularly liked SlideRocket because it had a great deal of support and offered a collaborative function, but it costs money after the free trial. Unless I overlooked that function on the other tools, each of them seemed to just be means to share slideshows, find slideshows by interest, discuss slideshows, get feedback, and have access to them on the web.

More Mind Mapping

Here is a mind map from Gliffy. It was fun to try both Gliffy and Inspiration, each having specific strengths. Inspiration has a larger selection of symbols and icons and has a rapid fire button, but Gliffy is a collaborative tool and can easily be shared. You have to decide what your priorities are as to which application is better for you.

Mind Mapping

Using Inspiration is a great way to visually express your ideas and organize them. I like how the mind maps can come alive as you personalize them with graphics and color. I had not used Inspiration in about 5 years, so I had to shake out the cobwebs. Good thing there was a link to a video of how to use the software. Although I see the benefit of Inspiration, I can get frustrated with Inspiration. This is significantly when my type A personality comes out. It bothers me when the bubbles are different sizes, the links are crooked, or the lines are different lengths, etc. Therefore, I spend so much time formatting and not concentrating on the content. I like the rapid fire button so I can at least brainstorm all my ideas and then worry about formatting.

Don't Be Decieved

Kathy Schrock provided a great deal of information to think about. The internet is relied on so heavily for gathering information that it is important that people ensure they are collecting reliable information. Anyone can post misinformation on the web and it is important that when gathering information you are not misled or deceived. It was good to evaluate websites to know why they are helpful ones to use in the classroom. In the past I would select websites based primarily on aesthetics, navigation and reading level, not considering authorship, bias, citation, dates or any other criteria. In the future I will be selecting websites with a purpose.

Parents' Passion

Parents want the best for their children because they intensely love them. Therefore, parents have high expectations for teachers because they are entrusting teachers with their child's future. If a parent reacts inappropriately to a situation, I have to remember some of the cause of their reaction is the passion they have for their children. Even though the reaction maybe inappropriate it is rooted in love. Remembering this will help me be less defensive and judgmental if a situation was to arise with a parent.

Surfing the web

Students need to know the basics of how to use the internet, but more importantly they need to learn to evaluate websites. Kathy Schrock identifies five evaluation criteria, which are useful for students to know so they can assess the validity of a website. Students need to know not everything on the internet is true so they can use the evaluation criteria so they don't get the rug pulled over their eyes. In the past I judged websites based on if they had dead links as a quick rule of thumb, because most likely the content was outdated and therefore not the most reliable source.

Moving into the 21st century and relying on the internet for information sources has made it very easy to plagiarize. Students need to be taught what plagiarism is and how to site sources to limit the amount of plagiarism. Plagiarism is tempting because it is very easy to simply cut and paste. This is why it is important for students to know how to properly cite the materials they use.

I think it is unfortunate that some teachers shy away from using content and resources from the internet because of fear of plagiarism. I am happy that fair use exists to protect teachers from issues of copyright, when they use of content for educational purposes. There are so many worthwhile materials to supplement our curriculum that teachers should be able to use them without fear.

Teaching the Net Generation

What is the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 bookmarking?Briefly discuss the shift of paradigms -- from school/classroom 1.0 to school/classroom 2.0.

Web 2.0 focuses more on community and social interaction opposed to Web 1.0 dealt with an individual. Web 1.0 had an individual create a web site, primarily of words and users would read the information. Web 2.0 allows for multiple contributors who not only read content, but also write and share information in a variety of mediums. The 1.0 classroom involves lecture and students are more passive, using lower level thinking and the 2.0 classroom has children engaged, learning by doing, creating, thinking, analyzing, and evaluating.

Discuss the Net generation. Why are the digital students different from the previous generations of students? What are the implications for teachers?

The children of today are born into a digital world. They are accustomed to multi-tasking and using technology to create and communicate. They will most likely respond to teachers who incorporate technology into the classroom because they are accustomed and comfortable with this medium. The net generation spends a substantial amount of time with multimedia. Ultimately, we learn best when we are comfortable.

Information technology has students discovering, inquiring, searching, collecting, organizing, verifying, expressing, and reflecting. These are necessary skills for students to be successful in the world both in and out of the classroom. Also students are learning through being engaged and using higher order thinking skills as they construct new meaning, which is valuable. Teachers need to be able to assist students as they use technology to create and communicate and teachers need to create opportunities for students to be engaged and learn by doing. Teachers are educating students to perform many jobs that do not even exist yet.

What are the six 2007 National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) and which of the standards you think are well implemented? How do you feel about your readiness to meet those standards?

The six 2007 National Educational Technology Standards for Students

1. Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

2. Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

5. Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

The standards that are well implemented are research and information fluency and technology operations and concepts. The students use technology to gather information, but do not use critical thinking, problem solving or decision making skills with the information. I feel prepared to use technology and teach my students how to use technology themselves, but not prepared to foster higher level thinking experiences for my students. As teachers incorporate the NETS-S they must facilitate creative thought processes, which is different then teaching content.

Briefly share your experience with del.icio.us, diigo, slideshare, mind-mapping tools from the point of view of opening an account and using it in your teaching career.

This is when I feel out of touch and realize how fast technology changes. I created an account at del.icio.us, but I am still trying to figure the in and outs of the program. The idea of a social bookmarking site would help direct students to specific sites and save them time typing in URLs. Also if a teacher is on his/her home computer and finds a great site, he/she can bookmark the site on del.icio.us and access it easily at school.

Discuss the Internet Safety issues you learned from the posted resources and TDC chapters 7 & 8 content.

Children are frequently using the internet so they need to be educated and using it safely. Parents and teachers need to be involved in children’s online use. Parents need to set boundaries for their children such as the amount of time on the computer, appropriate sites and the location of the computer. Children need to be spoken to about internet safety and using privacy controls, uploading appropriate content, protecting their passwords and avoiding strangers. Finally, remind children that everything on the internet is not always the truth. They have to be taught how to verify information and identify unreliable sites.

WizIQ: Didn't feel like a wiz at times

This week I spent a great deal of time familiarizing myself with Moodle, wiziq, and using the DF. I also set up this blog, a wiki and a personal web page. I like how user friendly the tools are that I chose. There is step by step guidance to create each of these applications. There was a great deal of exploration going on. It was also helpful to reflect on my level of technology and even though I was confused a lot this week the survey helped reassure me I know something about using a computer and the Internet. I was pleased to learn how to turn a Word document into a PDF. This is a helpful skill to create professional looking documents and a reliable means to share important documents.

Our group met and struggled at first with wiziq, became frustrated, but then got the hang of it. It was exciting to all have microphones and webcams. It is amazing how technology brought us together in such a real way, despite all being in different towns. We learned the hard way that everyone can't have their mics on at the same time, because there is HORRIBLE feedback if some of us don't mute them. It was helpful to have classmates share the process of becoming familiar with the expectations of the class and having people to answer questions. We certainly found strength in numbers. If someone didn't understand something, someone else was there to guide them.

LoTi has good goals as it helps prepare for the 21st century, but certainly requires a shift in the operation of the current classroom. LoTi helps shift from how many current classrooms operate to creating student centered learning environments that promote higher level thinking skills. This is ultimately trying to make learning more meaningful. In order to prepare ourselves for this shift teachers have to be open to the idea of relinquishing control as they become more of a guide on the side.

Welcome

Here is my first entry to test this out.