What would you do differently if you could do it all over again? Are these changes based on feedback that you may have received from friends, peers, family members, etc?
What is your reaction to the video recording/editing process? Please discuss any positive and negative reactions.
Do you think it would be possible to have students in your current/future classroom create a movie? Do you (will you) have the resources, time, and skills necessary to include such a project in your classroom? Please explain.
Did you learn anything new from the video editing/recording process? Please explain.
I think if I could do it all over again, I would definitely NOT stress about this project! I was so worried about not being able to do anything with IMovie because I am typically not good at things like this. However, once I began it was pretty much smooth sailing minus a few seconds of frustration here and there. Overall, I had a lot of fun filming this project and editing it! I can honestly say that I cannot wait to use this in my classroom and just being able to use it for fun and possibly future gifts. I haven't shown this video to anyone yet so I'll have to wait and see how others like it! I think the most tedious part of this whole process was just stopping constantly to try to edit it all out. I couldn't find the exact spot that I wanted and it would take a few million tries until I got it. However, once it all came together it was great! The only negative aspect was the voice over. I liked the idea of it but I couldn't really find a space to put it in because I didn't want to ruin other aspects. I did end up finding somewhere but I could have done without it on this particular video. I definitely think it would be possible to have my students create a movie. I could certainly see my students creating commercials or small skits while learning about television programming and other aspects of languages. I just think right now while we are dealing with such difficult economic times it might not be possible for schools to actually have the technology to complete a task like so. I would like to think that I could be teaching in a school with this type of technology a year from now but by the looks of the economy and lay offs it might be hard. If my school does have this I will certainly make time to include a project like this. Students would most certainly benefit from something along these lines rather than just learning from a book! I think this project truly opened my eyes to the endless opportunities to incorporate technology and fun and exciting ways for students to learn!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
My Wiki Reflection
Do you plan on using your classroom blog/wiki in your future classroom? If so, what types of modifications do you envision? Please explain.
Do you plan on having your students create their own blogs/wikis in your future classroom? If so, please explain.
Discussion of how your view of instructional technology has or has not changed over the semester
Discuss the quality and appropriateness of what you have learned and created this semester.
Evaluation of your comfort moving forward with technology
Yes, I actually do plan on your my classroom wiki in my future classroom. I would definitely have to update my information and change a few things around here and there however; I believe that a lot of what I put on my wiki can be useful in the future. I included a ton of links and pages that I could actually see being wonderful resources for students and parents. I can definitely see having my students create their own blogs. I think it would be an excellent tool for them to be able to practice their written language skills and it would be a fun and exciting tool for them to personalize. I do not see myself having my students create their own wiki. I think that if I were to use a wiki in the classroom it would be more of a class wiki for me to control. I would like the students to post work and be able to refer to it out of school. I like the idea of having the class wiki for the teacher to post information and to have the students post their projects. I think that it is a great tool to stay in touch with parents also. I think before this course, I was much more timid when it came to incorporating technology into the classroom. I always had envisions of creating e-mail exchanges with other students and classes in other countries but that was about the extent of it. Now I know so much more and there are so many more possibilities to explore. I actually can see myself creating the ideas and setting up new forms of technology for my students. Whereas before this class, I think that the only way I could have approached anything technology related would be through another more skilled teacher. I feel much more confident and aware now! This semester i have learned so many diverse tools for using technology. I think one of the most important was learning how to teach students to be cautious of what they read and see on the internet. As an educator, I think that is the first thing that I will address while approaching the use of technology with my students. I definitely feel comfortable moving forward with my uses of technology. I feel like I have the ability to be comfortable while using it and I feel like I have acquired an abundance of knowledge that I can share with my students. I just think it might take a little while for me to become comfortable with teaching and using the technology. I know I will have to work hard at getting used to both but I am very excited to do so!
Do you plan on having your students create their own blogs/wikis in your future classroom? If so, please explain.
Discussion of how your view of instructional technology has or has not changed over the semester
Discuss the quality and appropriateness of what you have learned and created this semester.
Evaluation of your comfort moving forward with technology
Yes, I actually do plan on your my classroom wiki in my future classroom. I would definitely have to update my information and change a few things around here and there however; I believe that a lot of what I put on my wiki can be useful in the future. I included a ton of links and pages that I could actually see being wonderful resources for students and parents. I can definitely see having my students create their own blogs. I think it would be an excellent tool for them to be able to practice their written language skills and it would be a fun and exciting tool for them to personalize. I do not see myself having my students create their own wiki. I think that if I were to use a wiki in the classroom it would be more of a class wiki for me to control. I would like the students to post work and be able to refer to it out of school. I like the idea of having the class wiki for the teacher to post information and to have the students post their projects. I think that it is a great tool to stay in touch with parents also. I think before this course, I was much more timid when it came to incorporating technology into the classroom. I always had envisions of creating e-mail exchanges with other students and classes in other countries but that was about the extent of it. Now I know so much more and there are so many more possibilities to explore. I actually can see myself creating the ideas and setting up new forms of technology for my students. Whereas before this class, I think that the only way I could have approached anything technology related would be through another more skilled teacher. I feel much more confident and aware now! This semester i have learned so many diverse tools for using technology. I think one of the most important was learning how to teach students to be cautious of what they read and see on the internet. As an educator, I think that is the first thing that I will address while approaching the use of technology with my students. I definitely feel comfortable moving forward with my uses of technology. I feel like I have the ability to be comfortable while using it and I feel like I have acquired an abundance of knowledge that I can share with my students. I just think it might take a little while for me to become comfortable with teaching and using the technology. I know I will have to work hard at getting used to both but I am very excited to do so!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Week 6 Reflection EDCI 5825
What is your reaction to the 10 Big Shifts in Education? Which shift(s) will be easier and harder for your to integrate in your future teaching/classroom? Please explain.
I have to admit that this chapter was rather inspiring. In my opinion, the author did a wonderful job of tying all the previous information into an excellent final chapter. The ten big shifts were: open content, many many teachers and learning 24/7, the social, collaborative construction of meaningful knowledge, teaching is conversation, not lecture, know "where" learning," readers are no longer just readers, the web as notebook, writing is no longer limited to text, mastery is the product not the test, and contribution, not completion, as the ultimate goal. I believe that the easiest shift to integrate in my future classroom would be number two. It is essential to connect to other teachers whether that be educators or experts. I can certainly see myself learning from others who are willing to share their ideas and experiences. In turn, I can see myself as a person that is willing to share and inform others of new ideas. I also believe that number four would also be easy to implement. I think that it is important for students to develop a sense of self-empowerment and self-fullfillment. In order to do so, I would love to allow my students to post blogs and projects on websites for others to view and respond to. Richardson mentions, "On their own, our students are learning that their voices matter, that people are listening and responding, and that their ideas count" (Richardson, 2010, pp. 151). In language learning classrooms, it is vital for educators to provide students with resources where they can share their knowledge and learn through the revisions and ideas of others. I hope to be able to set up some sort of collaborative exchange whether it be by allowing students in other country to view our class wiki and projects that were posted or setting them up with some sort of e-mail exchange. Both situations will allow students to post ideas and materials and allow others to expand upon those ideas and help them learn through the knowledge the other acquires. This will truly show students that their work is meaningful and will not just be throw away. It will be used to enhance other's knowledge and they will actually see the results and ideas flourishing right in front of their eyes.Using the web as a portfolio (number 7) is also essential in language learning classrooms. That way teachers can share their students work with various different audiences and students themselves can track their progress over the year. This is yet another way to go green and save paper!
I believe that all ten shifts can be easily integrated in my future classroom so it is hard to say which would be most difficult. I would have to say that if I had to choose one then I would pick number six. I believe that it is important for readers to be critical of the information that they are consuming. However, much of the reading that takes place in a language classroom is done in the student's second language which they have not quite mastered completely. I think that it is important to instill the idea of critically analyzing others writing and not believing everything you see on the web. However; these students are going to be reading in a different language and just processing the language itself may be one of the hardest tasks for them.
I have to admit that this chapter was rather inspiring. In my opinion, the author did a wonderful job of tying all the previous information into an excellent final chapter. The ten big shifts were: open content, many many teachers and learning 24/7, the social, collaborative construction of meaningful knowledge, teaching is conversation, not lecture, know "where" learning," readers are no longer just readers, the web as notebook, writing is no longer limited to text, mastery is the product not the test, and contribution, not completion, as the ultimate goal. I believe that the easiest shift to integrate in my future classroom would be number two. It is essential to connect to other teachers whether that be educators or experts. I can certainly see myself learning from others who are willing to share their ideas and experiences. In turn, I can see myself as a person that is willing to share and inform others of new ideas. I also believe that number four would also be easy to implement. I think that it is important for students to develop a sense of self-empowerment and self-fullfillment. In order to do so, I would love to allow my students to post blogs and projects on websites for others to view and respond to. Richardson mentions, "On their own, our students are learning that their voices matter, that people are listening and responding, and that their ideas count" (Richardson, 2010, pp. 151). In language learning classrooms, it is vital for educators to provide students with resources where they can share their knowledge and learn through the revisions and ideas of others. I hope to be able to set up some sort of collaborative exchange whether it be by allowing students in other country to view our class wiki and projects that were posted or setting them up with some sort of e-mail exchange. Both situations will allow students to post ideas and materials and allow others to expand upon those ideas and help them learn through the knowledge the other acquires. This will truly show students that their work is meaningful and will not just be throw away. It will be used to enhance other's knowledge and they will actually see the results and ideas flourishing right in front of their eyes.Using the web as a portfolio (number 7) is also essential in language learning classrooms. That way teachers can share their students work with various different audiences and students themselves can track their progress over the year. This is yet another way to go green and save paper!
I believe that all ten shifts can be easily integrated in my future classroom so it is hard to say which would be most difficult. I would have to say that if I had to choose one then I would pick number six. I believe that it is important for readers to be critical of the information that they are consuming. However, much of the reading that takes place in a language classroom is done in the student's second language which they have not quite mastered completely. I think that it is important to instill the idea of critically analyzing others writing and not believing everything you see on the web. However; these students are going to be reading in a different language and just processing the language itself may be one of the hardest tasks for them.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
PPT EDCI5825
Brief description of the lesson/topic presented on the PowerPoint
Brief description of the features used in your PowerPoint. Did you use any "challenge" features? Why/Why not.
Did you learn anything new in the process?
How can a lesson be enhanced with Presentation Software (e.g. PowerPoint, Google Docs Presentation software, etc.)
The topic presented throughout this PowerPoint presentation is Que hora es (what time is it)? I would use this as a background visual while presenting the material for the visual learners within my classroom. I also have an interactive portion in which the students will few a few clocks and try to figure out what time it is using the spanish language then they will hear a recording of my voice to display the correct answer. Students have already seen the material so this is somewhat of a review/practice session.
I enjoyed using transition and affect animations. It was neat to be able to allow one portion of the slide to come in before the rest. I thought it was essential to allow the students to view the clock first and then have the answer transition in next. This allows the students to view the clock, analysis it, formulate an answer and then double check to see if they got it right when the answer pops up. I also found it interesting that I was able to incorporate the narrative "challenge" feature. I had never used this aspect of PowerPoint before and at first I was a bit weary of it. I think with more practice I will be able to use it in many different manners. It is extremely helpful for auditory learners to hear the expression of time after seeing it written out!
The thing that was new to me was using the narration aspect. I had never even seen anyone use it before therefore, I had no idea that that tool existed. I can definitely see myself incorporating this into my future PowerPoint Presentations because it is an essential tool for language learners. Hearing the language over and over again will only enhance the learning process!
A lesson can be enhanced with a PowerPoint because it allows the visual learners to key in on their learning style. While using the narration tool, auditory learners are being provided with more of the Spanish language. Certain slides from the PowerPoints can also be used as a reference point for the students throughout the lesson. If the students were working on something new, I could leave up a slide that would help them and they could constantly refer back to it when they needed. It is also nice to include because it can be changed or added to in an instance. If students have come up with a question or a new idea, it can be added in a flash and they can even do it themselves. It also is a way to go green. There is absolutely no need for wasting paper! I must say that I am a big fan of saving paper! :)
Brief description of the features used in your PowerPoint. Did you use any "challenge" features? Why/Why not.
Did you learn anything new in the process?
How can a lesson be enhanced with Presentation Software (e.g. PowerPoint, Google Docs Presentation software, etc.)
The topic presented throughout this PowerPoint presentation is Que hora es (what time is it)? I would use this as a background visual while presenting the material for the visual learners within my classroom. I also have an interactive portion in which the students will few a few clocks and try to figure out what time it is using the spanish language then they will hear a recording of my voice to display the correct answer. Students have already seen the material so this is somewhat of a review/practice session.
I enjoyed using transition and affect animations. It was neat to be able to allow one portion of the slide to come in before the rest. I thought it was essential to allow the students to view the clock first and then have the answer transition in next. This allows the students to view the clock, analysis it, formulate an answer and then double check to see if they got it right when the answer pops up. I also found it interesting that I was able to incorporate the narrative "challenge" feature. I had never used this aspect of PowerPoint before and at first I was a bit weary of it. I think with more practice I will be able to use it in many different manners. It is extremely helpful for auditory learners to hear the expression of time after seeing it written out!
The thing that was new to me was using the narration aspect. I had never even seen anyone use it before therefore, I had no idea that that tool existed. I can definitely see myself incorporating this into my future PowerPoint Presentations because it is an essential tool for language learners. Hearing the language over and over again will only enhance the learning process!
A lesson can be enhanced with a PowerPoint because it allows the visual learners to key in on their learning style. While using the narration tool, auditory learners are being provided with more of the Spanish language. Certain slides from the PowerPoints can also be used as a reference point for the students throughout the lesson. If the students were working on something new, I could leave up a slide that would help them and they could constantly refer back to it when they needed. It is also nice to include because it can be changed or added to in an instance. If students have come up with a question or a new idea, it can be added in a flash and they can even do it themselves. It also is a way to go green. There is absolutely no need for wasting paper! I must say that I am a big fan of saving paper! :)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
T2pP week five
If a teacher the teacher is unaware of the many teaching theories and pedagogical approaches within in the educational system then when the students are presenting behavioral problems and lack of enthusiasm the teacher will not know how to fix the problems in order to enhance the learning process for all students involved. Teachers must constantly be re-evaluating and re-visiting their approaches in order to create an enriching learning environment for all involved.
I think the most notable thing that I took away from today's class was the idea of scaffolding. When I was first placed in a small group situation with amanda and provided with a task to complete, it was rather confusing. We worked together to try to come up with ideas and solutions however, we were not sure as to where we were heading. Once we came together as a class, I was able to see the layout of the ideas and thought processes. I think it was essential that the information was placed in the front of the room in order for all students to refer back to. I also really benefited from the large group discussions. It was beneficial for me to have each person have a role because they each took it seriously and we remained on task. I think overall, this was one of the best classes because I could actually see the learning process unfolding right in front of my own eyes.
I can definitely see myself using large groups in my future classroom. I will definitely "steal" your idea of assigning tasks to everyone because overall I feel like most people want to be included and show what they can contribute to the classroom. I don't think anyone really wants to let their teammates down. I also will use the idea of scaffolding within my future classes. I think it is extremely important to scaffold within the language learning environment. Giving something to my students that they are unaware of and that is difficult would only scare them away. I want to make sure that I teach them accordingly and help them learn certain materials that leads up to an end piece. Overall, I really enjoyed this clas!
I think the most notable thing that I took away from today's class was the idea of scaffolding. When I was first placed in a small group situation with amanda and provided with a task to complete, it was rather confusing. We worked together to try to come up with ideas and solutions however, we were not sure as to where we were heading. Once we came together as a class, I was able to see the layout of the ideas and thought processes. I think it was essential that the information was placed in the front of the room in order for all students to refer back to. I also really benefited from the large group discussions. It was beneficial for me to have each person have a role because they each took it seriously and we remained on task. I think overall, this was one of the best classes because I could actually see the learning process unfolding right in front of my own eyes.
I can definitely see myself using large groups in my future classroom. I will definitely "steal" your idea of assigning tasks to everyone because overall I feel like most people want to be included and show what they can contribute to the classroom. I don't think anyone really wants to let their teammates down. I also will use the idea of scaffolding within my future classes. I think it is extremely important to scaffold within the language learning environment. Giving something to my students that they are unaware of and that is difficult would only scare them away. I want to make sure that I teach them accordingly and help them learn certain materials that leads up to an end piece. Overall, I really enjoyed this clas!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Week 5 Reflection EDCI 5825
Should all teachers be encouraged to create online activities for students within traditional classrooms? Please explain.
Yes, I do believe that all teachers should be encouraged to create online activities for students within traditional classrooms. Technology plays a vital role in this generations lives and it is a tool that is constantly changing and evolving. Although, it is essential to have in class experiences, it is also important to incorporate a more hands on learning tool that many young people of today are accustom to. "The debate is no longer about if we will have online learning; it is too late to stop it because there is a massive movement by universities and colleges to build entire degrees online" (November, 2010, p.84). Online activities have become a reality and it is the duty of the educators to keep up to date with the evolving educational process. Online learning is an essential part of the 21st century learning environment.
Providing online activities for students has many various benefits and only enhances the learning process. Some students actually feel much more comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions online. "Students have the time to respond, so they can be more thoughtful in their answers, and they cannot see other students rolling their eyes or laughing at something they said. (November, 2010, p. 88)" This enables students to reach their fullest potential without the fear of others opinions. Online activities also improve student-teacher relationships. "Many students reported that they received more feedback from their online teachers. (November, 2010, p. 89)" Also, students develop a stronger sense of community while working online. It is safe to say that students are not provided with the opportunity to develop cliques or groups within the online atmosphere. Students are continually sharing ideas and are aware of the thoughts and opinions of others.
Student responsibility also becomes a large part of the online learning process. The students are given the responsibility of taking their education into their own hands and in turn it empowers them to reach their highest learning potential. "With online learning, students can do their work when they are bes prepared mentally and physically do to it, whether that is 9 a.m., 8 p.m., or 2 a.m. Furthermore, if they need more time to do a particular task, they can take as much time as they need" (November, 2010, p. 91). This can be a saving grace for many students. Some students do not learn well in the morning because they are still sleepy therefore, online learning would allow them to complete the assignment at a later time if necessary and they would be able to perform to the best of their ability.
Lastly, online activities improve the teacher's ability. Many teachers have reported that after completing online activities, they realized that their students have much more to offer then they might have seen in the regular classroom setting. Therefore, I believe that online activities provide an abundance of learning opportunities for ALL involved in the learning process.
Envision the role of social networking in 21st century learning environments. Write a brief description of this vision.
Social networking has been continually growing throughout the past few years and I only see it expanding over the years to come. Social networking allows for students to take on the responsibility of their own work and also to allow those interacting with it such as readers or critics to take part in sharing responsibility for that work. "Learning is a continuous conversation among many participants" (Richardson, 2010, p.86). By allowing social networking to grow, learning will be in the hands of many different people and allow for multiple ideas and opinions to be shared across various different areas.
The social networking tool, Twitter, can be useful throughout education. "Following other educators on Twitter creates a network at my fingertips phenomenon where people ask questions and get answers, link to great blog posts or resources, or share ideas for projects as they go through the day" (Richardson, 2010, p. 86). I was actually lucky enough to experience the power of Twitter through my Educational Psych class with GNA. She happens to follow many other educators through Twitter and they are constantly sharing ideas and philosophies. We were instructed to watch a video that was created by a fellow Twitter educator and then respond to questions on our blog. This woman then was given each of our blogs and commented on our ideas and questions. It was an amazing connection!
Another form of social networking is social bookmarking services. The two most important sites that I have read about were delicious and diigo. These are two bookmarking services which allow the educator to organize the information for others to view and use freely. "The idea that we can now use social networks to tap into the work of others to support our own learning is an important concept to understand" (Richardson, 2010, p. 99).
Most people these days have tapped into Facebook in order to keep close ties with friends both near and far. Children these days are now using social network, such as Facebook, in order to explore interests that may not necessarily have the opportunity to encounter in a school environment or within the community. Within this stie, they are connecting with people they may not know but who may share similar interests. "They become at once teachers and learner in these spaces, and, in the process, they learn about the things that school can't or won't teach them" (Richardson, 2010, p.132). Throughout these interactions, students are engaging in responsible self intended and collaborative learning. Networked learning presses the idea of cooperation, interaction and social relations and communication.
Yes, I do believe that all teachers should be encouraged to create online activities for students within traditional classrooms. Technology plays a vital role in this generations lives and it is a tool that is constantly changing and evolving. Although, it is essential to have in class experiences, it is also important to incorporate a more hands on learning tool that many young people of today are accustom to. "The debate is no longer about if we will have online learning; it is too late to stop it because there is a massive movement by universities and colleges to build entire degrees online" (November, 2010, p.84). Online activities have become a reality and it is the duty of the educators to keep up to date with the evolving educational process. Online learning is an essential part of the 21st century learning environment.
Providing online activities for students has many various benefits and only enhances the learning process. Some students actually feel much more comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions online. "Students have the time to respond, so they can be more thoughtful in their answers, and they cannot see other students rolling their eyes or laughing at something they said. (November, 2010, p. 88)" This enables students to reach their fullest potential without the fear of others opinions. Online activities also improve student-teacher relationships. "Many students reported that they received more feedback from their online teachers. (November, 2010, p. 89)" Also, students develop a stronger sense of community while working online. It is safe to say that students are not provided with the opportunity to develop cliques or groups within the online atmosphere. Students are continually sharing ideas and are aware of the thoughts and opinions of others.
Student responsibility also becomes a large part of the online learning process. The students are given the responsibility of taking their education into their own hands and in turn it empowers them to reach their highest learning potential. "With online learning, students can do their work when they are bes prepared mentally and physically do to it, whether that is 9 a.m., 8 p.m., or 2 a.m. Furthermore, if they need more time to do a particular task, they can take as much time as they need" (November, 2010, p. 91). This can be a saving grace for many students. Some students do not learn well in the morning because they are still sleepy therefore, online learning would allow them to complete the assignment at a later time if necessary and they would be able to perform to the best of their ability.
Lastly, online activities improve the teacher's ability. Many teachers have reported that after completing online activities, they realized that their students have much more to offer then they might have seen in the regular classroom setting. Therefore, I believe that online activities provide an abundance of learning opportunities for ALL involved in the learning process.
Envision the role of social networking in 21st century learning environments. Write a brief description of this vision.
Social networking has been continually growing throughout the past few years and I only see it expanding over the years to come. Social networking allows for students to take on the responsibility of their own work and also to allow those interacting with it such as readers or critics to take part in sharing responsibility for that work. "Learning is a continuous conversation among many participants" (Richardson, 2010, p.86). By allowing social networking to grow, learning will be in the hands of many different people and allow for multiple ideas and opinions to be shared across various different areas.
The social networking tool, Twitter, can be useful throughout education. "Following other educators on Twitter creates a network at my fingertips phenomenon where people ask questions and get answers, link to great blog posts or resources, or share ideas for projects as they go through the day" (Richardson, 2010, p. 86). I was actually lucky enough to experience the power of Twitter through my Educational Psych class with GNA. She happens to follow many other educators through Twitter and they are constantly sharing ideas and philosophies. We were instructed to watch a video that was created by a fellow Twitter educator and then respond to questions on our blog. This woman then was given each of our blogs and commented on our ideas and questions. It was an amazing connection!
Another form of social networking is social bookmarking services. The two most important sites that I have read about were delicious and diigo. These are two bookmarking services which allow the educator to organize the information for others to view and use freely. "The idea that we can now use social networks to tap into the work of others to support our own learning is an important concept to understand" (Richardson, 2010, p. 99).
Most people these days have tapped into Facebook in order to keep close ties with friends both near and far. Children these days are now using social network, such as Facebook, in order to explore interests that may not necessarily have the opportunity to encounter in a school environment or within the community. Within this stie, they are connecting with people they may not know but who may share similar interests. "They become at once teachers and learner in these spaces, and, in the process, they learn about the things that school can't or won't teach them" (Richardson, 2010, p.132). Throughout these interactions, students are engaging in responsible self intended and collaborative learning. Networked learning presses the idea of cooperation, interaction and social relations and communication.
Voices of Youth Today
Technology, and Learning: Opportunities for Educators and Future Employers
If educators demonstrate excitement in including technology into the classroom then students will develop an interest in the learning process and become willing to connect the classroom materials in many relevant ways. While using technology, students will become empowered and have the opportunity to become autonomous, competent, and related. For example, in the video "Technology, and Learning: Opportunities for Educators and Future Employers" High School freshmen speak out about how technology is a main aspect of their life and how they view learning in the formal school setting. One student stated, "You're texting, you're listening to music, you're watching tv, you're listening to background noise. If they are lecturing a lot it kinda really sucks because your used to doing ten things at once. Everything is in slow motion. The day could be so much quicker if we emailed the information or texted it." These students are providing educators with the insight as to how this generation of students learn. This generation of students can be referred to as Generation Net or Generation X. These students do not know a life without technology and multi-tasking is vital part of their lives. Due to their dependence on technology, these students mentioned that lecturing is boring and slow. They also discussed the importance of having visual and live examples that provide meaning and relevance. One girl even said that "You memorize things a lot easier when you have a happy memory behind it." "Students are more likely to pay attention, to learn, and to remember events, images, and readings that provoke a strong emotional response such as excitement, sadness, or anger (Alexander & Murphy, 1998; Cowley & Underwood, 1998). As these students are provided with the technology that they are used to and relevant materials, they will be able to reach the "big three" described by Deci and Ryan. Students will be provided with the opportunity to become autonomous by opening an environment of choices, they will be able to become competent by enabling them with the skills to access the knowledge and they will be able to relate by connecting with others either in the classroom setting or through using technology. As an educator, I believe it is extremely important to become aware of each generations interests and talents because they are constantly changing. Educators must not be afraid to relate with the young people within their classrooms and they must be able to incorporate their interests into the learning process. Educators must also key into student's learning styles and provide some meaning behind the material. It is essential to allow the students to relate and make meaning out of the content which in turn will create emotions and hopefully enhance the learning process.
Is Anybody Listening? A testament by Village Academy High School students on the economic crisis
If educators provide an outlet for students students who are being affected by the economic crisis then the students will be able to come together as a community and work in a group environment towards solving the problems that exist and to build a better world as a whole. For instance, throughout the video "Is Anybody Listening" students at Village Academy High School are sharing their own personal stories and discussing the difficulties that they have to face day in and day out. Educator, Michael Steinman, has provided these students who are facing terrible struggles to speak from their hearts and let their thoughts and emotions come out truthfully and freely. One student, Martissa, said "I see my mom struggling, and I can't do anything about it. I want to help her but she just wants me to focus on school. I can't focus on school when I know that she is struggling. It's just really hard." Steinman stresses the importance of allowing these students to come together in order to work collectively in order to defeat these problems and build for a brighter future. In reference to these students, Maslow would recognize that their basic needs of safety, security, and belonging are not being met. Therefore, they are not able to reach the needs higher in the Hierarchy of Needs. Outside of the classroom environment these students are continually struggling and their basic needs are not being met at all. Therefore, they are unable to achieve a high rate of success within the classroom. As an educator, I believe that it is essential to become aware of your students life outside of school. Students are not always facing a picture perfect reality and it is our duty to recognize the struggles they face are real. I also believe that is is important to provide students with an outlet. Students need to come together and realize that they are not in it alone. Often times, it is comforting to come to the realization that you are not the only one facing a set of high obstacles. It is vital for educators to provide some sort of support group for students to work together and try to find a solution for these tough times.
Gay Camp: Helping Youth Feel Safe and Supported
If educators provide students with caring and safe relationship and learning environment then students will have the opportunity to build confidence and feel good about themselves and realize that they can be who they are. The video "Gay Camp: Helping Youth Feel Safe and Supported" describes the Camp Fryerfly for Gay Youth. This camp is located in Canada and allows gay youth to build esteem, confidence and network throughout their summer stay there. The founder, Kris Wells, mentions that the youth is provided with the tools to "make their own inner light shine bright in dark times." The youth are able to share their common experiences that they have encountered while growing up. The camp brings in prominent community leaders to share their own experiences and become a role models for these youngsters. Carl Swanson, a camper, said, "It's incredible to see these people in person and realize that they have become successful and used their sexual identity to do some good with it." Noddings would recognize that this camp is providing relational and idealized caring. The camp is providing an essential framework for learning and in the end the community leaders and camp leaders are increasing their own competency. As an educator, I must always remember to develop a caring relationship with my students. It is important for me to realize that I cannot just say that I am going to do so but I also must express my concern and desire to understand my students. It is essential that my students respond in to my actions in some sort of observable manner in order for me to realize that it is indeed a true caring relationship.
If educators demonstrate excitement in including technology into the classroom then students will develop an interest in the learning process and become willing to connect the classroom materials in many relevant ways. While using technology, students will become empowered and have the opportunity to become autonomous, competent, and related. For example, in the video "Technology, and Learning: Opportunities for Educators and Future Employers" High School freshmen speak out about how technology is a main aspect of their life and how they view learning in the formal school setting. One student stated, "You're texting, you're listening to music, you're watching tv, you're listening to background noise. If they are lecturing a lot it kinda really sucks because your used to doing ten things at once. Everything is in slow motion. The day could be so much quicker if we emailed the information or texted it." These students are providing educators with the insight as to how this generation of students learn. This generation of students can be referred to as Generation Net or Generation X. These students do not know a life without technology and multi-tasking is vital part of their lives. Due to their dependence on technology, these students mentioned that lecturing is boring and slow. They also discussed the importance of having visual and live examples that provide meaning and relevance. One girl even said that "You memorize things a lot easier when you have a happy memory behind it." "Students are more likely to pay attention, to learn, and to remember events, images, and readings that provoke a strong emotional response such as excitement, sadness, or anger (Alexander & Murphy, 1998; Cowley & Underwood, 1998). As these students are provided with the technology that they are used to and relevant materials, they will be able to reach the "big three" described by Deci and Ryan. Students will be provided with the opportunity to become autonomous by opening an environment of choices, they will be able to become competent by enabling them with the skills to access the knowledge and they will be able to relate by connecting with others either in the classroom setting or through using technology. As an educator, I believe it is extremely important to become aware of each generations interests and talents because they are constantly changing. Educators must not be afraid to relate with the young people within their classrooms and they must be able to incorporate their interests into the learning process. Educators must also key into student's learning styles and provide some meaning behind the material. It is essential to allow the students to relate and make meaning out of the content which in turn will create emotions and hopefully enhance the learning process.
Is Anybody Listening? A testament by Village Academy High School students on the economic crisis
If educators provide an outlet for students students who are being affected by the economic crisis then the students will be able to come together as a community and work in a group environment towards solving the problems that exist and to build a better world as a whole. For instance, throughout the video "Is Anybody Listening" students at Village Academy High School are sharing their own personal stories and discussing the difficulties that they have to face day in and day out. Educator, Michael Steinman, has provided these students who are facing terrible struggles to speak from their hearts and let their thoughts and emotions come out truthfully and freely. One student, Martissa, said "I see my mom struggling, and I can't do anything about it. I want to help her but she just wants me to focus on school. I can't focus on school when I know that she is struggling. It's just really hard." Steinman stresses the importance of allowing these students to come together in order to work collectively in order to defeat these problems and build for a brighter future. In reference to these students, Maslow would recognize that their basic needs of safety, security, and belonging are not being met. Therefore, they are not able to reach the needs higher in the Hierarchy of Needs. Outside of the classroom environment these students are continually struggling and their basic needs are not being met at all. Therefore, they are unable to achieve a high rate of success within the classroom. As an educator, I believe that it is essential to become aware of your students life outside of school. Students are not always facing a picture perfect reality and it is our duty to recognize the struggles they face are real. I also believe that is is important to provide students with an outlet. Students need to come together and realize that they are not in it alone. Often times, it is comforting to come to the realization that you are not the only one facing a set of high obstacles. It is vital for educators to provide some sort of support group for students to work together and try to find a solution for these tough times.
Gay Camp: Helping Youth Feel Safe and Supported
If educators provide students with caring and safe relationship and learning environment then students will have the opportunity to build confidence and feel good about themselves and realize that they can be who they are. The video "Gay Camp: Helping Youth Feel Safe and Supported" describes the Camp Fryerfly for Gay Youth. This camp is located in Canada and allows gay youth to build esteem, confidence and network throughout their summer stay there. The founder, Kris Wells, mentions that the youth is provided with the tools to "make their own inner light shine bright in dark times." The youth are able to share their common experiences that they have encountered while growing up. The camp brings in prominent community leaders to share their own experiences and become a role models for these youngsters. Carl Swanson, a camper, said, "It's incredible to see these people in person and realize that they have become successful and used their sexual identity to do some good with it." Noddings would recognize that this camp is providing relational and idealized caring. The camp is providing an essential framework for learning and in the end the community leaders and camp leaders are increasing their own competency. As an educator, I must always remember to develop a caring relationship with my students. It is important for me to realize that I cannot just say that I am going to do so but I also must express my concern and desire to understand my students. It is essential that my students respond in to my actions in some sort of observable manner in order for me to realize that it is indeed a true caring relationship.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
508 Compliance Reflection
What is your reaction to the entire web development process? Please describe any positive and negative reactions.
What was involved in the process of developing your site? What obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome those obstacles? What successes did you encounter?
Will you continue to build on/update this site after this course ends? Why/Why not? Please explain.
What errors/issues did you find when you tested your web site for 508 compliance? Based on those errors/issues, what changes would you make to your site?
My Website
To be honest, I really enjoyed the process of creating a website. I can definitely see myself creating a one for my future classroom and referring to it on a regular basis. I believe that use of technology can only help students and parents achieve excellence. In my opinion, all aspects of the website creation were positive. It was so thrilling to be able to post a youtube video of the city I lived in a few years ago in order to share it with my "students." It is also vital for parents to be able to contact the teacher in a quick and easy manner. I believe that the contact portion of my website will create and maintain a corporative relationship between both the parent and the teacher. The only thing that I could think of being negative is the fact that I may forgot to add labels of my pictures for those students who cannot see the pictures on their home computers. However, this will become something that will be engrained in my mind over time.
In creating this website, I had to think about what I could provide for my students in order to enhance their educational process within the classroom and outside of the classroom. I had to pick and choose what aspects were important to me. I thought about how important having a homework page is. Students are constantly saying I forgot my homework assignment book at school so I couldn't remember what the assignment was. If I were to provide a homework page, then students would have something to refer to at home. This is also a way of going green! If all teachers had something like this, then there would not be a need for paper agenda books! I honestly think my biggest obstacle was remembering my password in order to edit my website. I think that the weebly site has provided a friendly and creative atmosphere for all users. For being a first time user, I think the information was accessible and easy to understand. I just had some issues with moving my sub tabs or subtitles into the order that I wanted them. In order to overcome his obstacle, I just had to play around with it myself before getting a hang of it. It was nice to have other people completing the same task so that I could refer to them. My greatest success was putting the youtube video onto my page. I usually have trouble with incorporating links and hyperlinks however, this was a quick and smooth process!
I would most certainly continue to build onto this website after the program. I think my answers to the questions above really show how much I value this resource and how much it can help every single person in the learning process! I would even encourage other teachers within the building to try out this system and see how it works with their students. I think that it would be great to have all the teachers websites linked the to school website.
[508 (C)] [WCAG 2.1 (1)] The use of color must not be a single method for indicating important information on a web page. This was one of the errors that stuck out to me when I tested my site for 508 compliance. I'm not sure what exactly this means but if I could take a stab at it, I would have to guess that it is telling me that my colors may not be visible to all people accessing my site. When I think about this, I think about those people who are colorblind. I chose to use a light brown color and when I think about it my stepfather is color blind and when he made a replica birdhouse of our tan house, it came out a different color. I would have to say that I would definitely need to look more into colors that can be seen by everyone and use more of them. I would also have to check to see what color fonts I could use with certain backgrounds. Background colors can have a use affect on the font color and what a person could see.
What was involved in the process of developing your site? What obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome those obstacles? What successes did you encounter?
Will you continue to build on/update this site after this course ends? Why/Why not? Please explain.
What errors/issues did you find when you tested your web site for 508 compliance? Based on those errors/issues, what changes would you make to your site?
My Website
To be honest, I really enjoyed the process of creating a website. I can definitely see myself creating a one for my future classroom and referring to it on a regular basis. I believe that use of technology can only help students and parents achieve excellence. In my opinion, all aspects of the website creation were positive. It was so thrilling to be able to post a youtube video of the city I lived in a few years ago in order to share it with my "students." It is also vital for parents to be able to contact the teacher in a quick and easy manner. I believe that the contact portion of my website will create and maintain a corporative relationship between both the parent and the teacher. The only thing that I could think of being negative is the fact that I may forgot to add labels of my pictures for those students who cannot see the pictures on their home computers. However, this will become something that will be engrained in my mind over time.
In creating this website, I had to think about what I could provide for my students in order to enhance their educational process within the classroom and outside of the classroom. I had to pick and choose what aspects were important to me. I thought about how important having a homework page is. Students are constantly saying I forgot my homework assignment book at school so I couldn't remember what the assignment was. If I were to provide a homework page, then students would have something to refer to at home. This is also a way of going green! If all teachers had something like this, then there would not be a need for paper agenda books! I honestly think my biggest obstacle was remembering my password in order to edit my website. I think that the weebly site has provided a friendly and creative atmosphere for all users. For being a first time user, I think the information was accessible and easy to understand. I just had some issues with moving my sub tabs or subtitles into the order that I wanted them. In order to overcome his obstacle, I just had to play around with it myself before getting a hang of it. It was nice to have other people completing the same task so that I could refer to them. My greatest success was putting the youtube video onto my page. I usually have trouble with incorporating links and hyperlinks however, this was a quick and smooth process!
I would most certainly continue to build onto this website after the program. I think my answers to the questions above really show how much I value this resource and how much it can help every single person in the learning process! I would even encourage other teachers within the building to try out this system and see how it works with their students. I think that it would be great to have all the teachers websites linked the to school website.
[508 (C)] [WCAG 2.1 (1)] The use of color must not be a single method for indicating important information on a web page. This was one of the errors that stuck out to me when I tested my site for 508 compliance. I'm not sure what exactly this means but if I could take a stab at it, I would have to guess that it is telling me that my colors may not be visible to all people accessing my site. When I think about this, I think about those people who are colorblind. I chose to use a light brown color and when I think about it my stepfather is color blind and when he made a replica birdhouse of our tan house, it came out a different color. I would have to say that I would definitely need to look more into colors that can be seen by everyone and use more of them. I would also have to check to see what color fonts I could use with certain backgrounds. Background colors can have a use affect on the font color and what a person could see.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
IChat Reflection
What feedback on your Internet Workshop did you receive from your two group members online?
Will you use the Internet Workshop, or use a revised version of the Internet Workshop in your future classroom? Please explain.
Briefly summarize your group's discussion of the statement, "Students will become victims of the expansive dark side of the Internet unless we teach the critical thinking necessary to make meaning out of the overwhelming and potentially manipulative amount of information that is now available and growing every day" (November, 2010, p.27).
My group members thought that my objectives were well planned out and concise however, they informed me that one or two may possibly be a learning goal rather than an objective. They noted that they really enjoyed my teacher beliefs and that it could possibly be a rough draft or beginning to my philosophy of education on technology. When it came to my handout, they mentioned that it was helpful that I asked the students to circle either yes or no and then go on and critically analyze the question. I just didn't leave it at a yes or no answer, they had to evaluate and explain. One thing that I had pointed out after seeing Megan's rubric was that mine was a bit too detailed. I think they both agreed with me on this point. We decided that it can be intimidating for young students to see all that writing. I believe that a shorter more precise rubric would work better.
I would most certainly use my internet workshop in my future classroom. Up until I entered this class, I had no idea how to decipher whether or not a website was valid. I had always been taught that if it says edu at the end that usually means it is credible. I think it is important for young people to become information literate in order to be able to analyze and evaluate the information that is being provided for them. Young people are already very impressionable and the world wide web can be a market place for people to take advantage of that innocence. I think that enabling our students with the skills to critically evaluate a website at an earlier age will only help them in the long run. I myself am still very weary of websites, I plan on continuing my practices of analyzing the web. Also, this workshop provides the students with the ability to work hands on and use an actual website to complete the task. I believe that having a more student center active role in the classroom makes the material for meaningful and therefore they will remember the concepts being presented.
We discussed the fact that we need to arm students with the skills to critically evaluate websites due to the fact that there are so many hoax websites out there. There are also a ton of corporate websites that try to appear as a resource but in reality they are just trying to sell products to impressionable people. In order to survive, you need to realize and recognize the underlining purpose of the website. One important fact for people to remember is that just because it is written does not mean it is necessarily true. Website creators do a marvelous job of making the information appear to look scholarly. There are so many different tricks that students need to be aware of because the internet is such a large part of our lives. Students need to know how to approach it because it is constantly growing and becoming more important each and every single day. We connected this idea to the connectivism theory that we read about in GNA's class. George Siemen discuses that information is everywhere and constantly changing so people are continually learning and changing because of that. She gave us an example of cognitive off loading which include a cell phone. We rely heavily on our cell phones and typically if we were to lose it we would not know any of the numbers expect a few select ones. We constantly have tools and devices in our environment to off load learning. Due to that, we don't have to be vessels to be filled with information. The internet is how people are going to be learning for many many years. Therefore, helping them to become criticial helps protect them in the long run. They are just not off loading the information. If we teach them the neccessary skills to evaluate they will then only be able to protect themselves.
Will you use the Internet Workshop, or use a revised version of the Internet Workshop in your future classroom? Please explain.
Briefly summarize your group's discussion of the statement, "Students will become victims of the expansive dark side of the Internet unless we teach the critical thinking necessary to make meaning out of the overwhelming and potentially manipulative amount of information that is now available and growing every day" (November, 2010, p.27).
My group members thought that my objectives were well planned out and concise however, they informed me that one or two may possibly be a learning goal rather than an objective. They noted that they really enjoyed my teacher beliefs and that it could possibly be a rough draft or beginning to my philosophy of education on technology. When it came to my handout, they mentioned that it was helpful that I asked the students to circle either yes or no and then go on and critically analyze the question. I just didn't leave it at a yes or no answer, they had to evaluate and explain. One thing that I had pointed out after seeing Megan's rubric was that mine was a bit too detailed. I think they both agreed with me on this point. We decided that it can be intimidating for young students to see all that writing. I believe that a shorter more precise rubric would work better.
I would most certainly use my internet workshop in my future classroom. Up until I entered this class, I had no idea how to decipher whether or not a website was valid. I had always been taught that if it says edu at the end that usually means it is credible. I think it is important for young people to become information literate in order to be able to analyze and evaluate the information that is being provided for them. Young people are already very impressionable and the world wide web can be a market place for people to take advantage of that innocence. I think that enabling our students with the skills to critically evaluate a website at an earlier age will only help them in the long run. I myself am still very weary of websites, I plan on continuing my practices of analyzing the web. Also, this workshop provides the students with the ability to work hands on and use an actual website to complete the task. I believe that having a more student center active role in the classroom makes the material for meaningful and therefore they will remember the concepts being presented.
We discussed the fact that we need to arm students with the skills to critically evaluate websites due to the fact that there are so many hoax websites out there. There are also a ton of corporate websites that try to appear as a resource but in reality they are just trying to sell products to impressionable people. In order to survive, you need to realize and recognize the underlining purpose of the website. One important fact for people to remember is that just because it is written does not mean it is necessarily true. Website creators do a marvelous job of making the information appear to look scholarly. There are so many different tricks that students need to be aware of because the internet is such a large part of our lives. Students need to know how to approach it because it is constantly growing and becoming more important each and every single day. We connected this idea to the connectivism theory that we read about in GNA's class. George Siemen discuses that information is everywhere and constantly changing so people are continually learning and changing because of that. She gave us an example of cognitive off loading which include a cell phone. We rely heavily on our cell phones and typically if we were to lose it we would not know any of the numbers expect a few select ones. We constantly have tools and devices in our environment to off load learning. Due to that, we don't have to be vessels to be filled with information. The internet is how people are going to be learning for many many years. Therefore, helping them to become criticial helps protect them in the long run. They are just not off loading the information. If we teach them the neccessary skills to evaluate they will then only be able to protect themselves.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
week 4 Reflection EDCI5825
What is the right balance between giving students freedom to explore the Web for research and providing them with structure and guidance?
One of the best balances between giving students the freedom to explore the Web for research and to provide them with structure and guidance is by allowing them to use primary source material and authentic learning experiences. One extremely helpful primary source that was mentioned throughout the text was the NARA which is also referred to as the National Archives and Records Administration and is located in Washington, DC. This is an federal agency that contains and manages all useful and important federal records and continues to develop a website to provide the public with quick and easy electronic access to the documents.
Once the material is all set, it is placed with the Digital Classroom of the National Archives. "One of the most useful teaching resources on the Internet, the Digital Classroom opens worlds beyond the traditional textbook" (Novembe, 2010, p. 67). This allows the students to access the primary source material and provides them with the skills in order to use these sources in the learning environment.
Another useful tool is the Archival Research Catalog which is an online catalog that contains information and electronic copies of various different primary source documents. "While traditional curriculum often provides students with exactly the "right" amount of information offered in the "right" order to take the next test, primary source material provides a colorful mosaic with many of the tiles missing or broken" (November, 2010, p. 68). The fun and the adventure of learning are in the hunt. (November 2010). As students research through primary sources the role of the teacher becomes much more crucial. Often times, teachers revoke the idea that answers are move important than the questions and the manner in which you retrieve the answers.
What is the role of the teacher in helping students to make meaning of primary source material?
The mere fact of teaching the students to center their carefully critic and center their questions and communications can be the most difficult of tasks. The teacher's role is to provide the students with the support needed in order to direct the student's towards evaluating the meaning of the primary source material. "One of the most important skills that students should learn is to understand the language and perspective of the organization or the people who have provided the primary source material" (November, 2010, p. 73). Within the reading, there is a excellent example of this. Students were conducting resource using primary source material about the march of the Cherokee from their homes in North Carolina and Oklahoma. Students began their research using the phrase "Trail of Tears" and were stuck at a stand still without much information to work with. The teacher had to guide the students by proposing the question, "Would the federal government have called the removal of the Cherokee "Trails of Tears?" (November, 2010, p. 73) In this case, students were not keying into the perspective of the federal government. It is also vital for teachers to "teach students to think about bias and subtleties" (November, 2010, p. 73). It is important to provide students with guidelines and organization but on the other hand it can be useful to allow students feel frustration and confusion so that when they do reach a level of achievement they can feel the supreme satisfaction.
How can teachers use Podcasting and/or multimedia tools to promote collaborative learning?
Teacher can use Podcasts, video publishing and live streaming in order to promote collaborative in the learning environment. Formulating a Podcast is easy, fun, and exciting. The best part of creating a Podcast is the mere fact that you do not need a lot of computer expertise to develop a successful Podcast. In order to make one you just need a few things. These include a digital audio recorder that can create an MP3 file, some space on a server to host the file, a blog, and something to say (Richardson, 2010). Podcasts are a way to enable many different audience members to view the creation at the same time. The piece of technology used to do so is referred to as RSS, this allows people to subscribe to your podcast at anytime and once you are connected new Podcasts appear on your MP3 player whenever they are developed. "Podcasting is yet another way for them to be creating and contributing ideas to a larger conversation, and it's a way of archiving that contribution for future audiences to use" (Richardson, 2010, p. 115). This multimedia tools allows more many different audiences to contribute to the learning process and enables anyone to learn from others Podcasts.
Video publishing is something that is a bit more intense than Podcasting however, anyone can still create wonderful movies on a very small budget. Before filming, students must students must plan their frames by using a storyboard. They must also become familiar with using the video camera. Once the video is recorded, students are able to develop their actual video by editing by using tools such as IMovie. If youtube is not a viable source of displaying your student's work there is a website called TeacherTube which enables you to share in a more private and secure manner. "Whatever you and your students create can be shared widely" (Richardson, 2010, p. 123).
Lastly, live streaming provides teachers and students with the opportunity to promote collaborative learning. This is relatively easy to access and quick. All you need is a internet connection, a computer with a microphone and a Webcam, a free account on an online video streaming site, and a creative thought. Students can work together to form interviews, skits, performances or school plays and once they have completed them they can sign up on a video streaming site such as Ustream.tv. This website offers a chat room for viewers to interact while watching, archives your shows for later viewing, and, among other feature appealing to educators, allows you to password protect your show so that only those who you share the login with can view the live stream (Richardson, 2010). This will allow students to share their masterpieces with parents, grandparents and other relatives at home. Also, they will have the opportunity to connect with others all around the world and learn from others live steaming videos! What a wonderful interactive way to learn!
One of the best balances between giving students the freedom to explore the Web for research and to provide them with structure and guidance is by allowing them to use primary source material and authentic learning experiences. One extremely helpful primary source that was mentioned throughout the text was the NARA which is also referred to as the National Archives and Records Administration and is located in Washington, DC. This is an federal agency that contains and manages all useful and important federal records and continues to develop a website to provide the public with quick and easy electronic access to the documents.
Once the material is all set, it is placed with the Digital Classroom of the National Archives. "One of the most useful teaching resources on the Internet, the Digital Classroom opens worlds beyond the traditional textbook" (Novembe, 2010, p. 67). This allows the students to access the primary source material and provides them with the skills in order to use these sources in the learning environment.
Another useful tool is the Archival Research Catalog which is an online catalog that contains information and electronic copies of various different primary source documents. "While traditional curriculum often provides students with exactly the "right" amount of information offered in the "right" order to take the next test, primary source material provides a colorful mosaic with many of the tiles missing or broken" (November, 2010, p. 68). The fun and the adventure of learning are in the hunt. (November 2010). As students research through primary sources the role of the teacher becomes much more crucial. Often times, teachers revoke the idea that answers are move important than the questions and the manner in which you retrieve the answers.
What is the role of the teacher in helping students to make meaning of primary source material?
The mere fact of teaching the students to center their carefully critic and center their questions and communications can be the most difficult of tasks. The teacher's role is to provide the students with the support needed in order to direct the student's towards evaluating the meaning of the primary source material. "One of the most important skills that students should learn is to understand the language and perspective of the organization or the people who have provided the primary source material" (November, 2010, p. 73). Within the reading, there is a excellent example of this. Students were conducting resource using primary source material about the march of the Cherokee from their homes in North Carolina and Oklahoma. Students began their research using the phrase "Trail of Tears" and were stuck at a stand still without much information to work with. The teacher had to guide the students by proposing the question, "Would the federal government have called the removal of the Cherokee "Trails of Tears?" (November, 2010, p. 73) In this case, students were not keying into the perspective of the federal government. It is also vital for teachers to "teach students to think about bias and subtleties" (November, 2010, p. 73). It is important to provide students with guidelines and organization but on the other hand it can be useful to allow students feel frustration and confusion so that when they do reach a level of achievement they can feel the supreme satisfaction.
How can teachers use Podcasting and/or multimedia tools to promote collaborative learning?
Teacher can use Podcasts, video publishing and live streaming in order to promote collaborative in the learning environment. Formulating a Podcast is easy, fun, and exciting. The best part of creating a Podcast is the mere fact that you do not need a lot of computer expertise to develop a successful Podcast. In order to make one you just need a few things. These include a digital audio recorder that can create an MP3 file, some space on a server to host the file, a blog, and something to say (Richardson, 2010). Podcasts are a way to enable many different audience members to view the creation at the same time. The piece of technology used to do so is referred to as RSS, this allows people to subscribe to your podcast at anytime and once you are connected new Podcasts appear on your MP3 player whenever they are developed. "Podcasting is yet another way for them to be creating and contributing ideas to a larger conversation, and it's a way of archiving that contribution for future audiences to use" (Richardson, 2010, p. 115). This multimedia tools allows more many different audiences to contribute to the learning process and enables anyone to learn from others Podcasts.
Video publishing is something that is a bit more intense than Podcasting however, anyone can still create wonderful movies on a very small budget. Before filming, students must students must plan their frames by using a storyboard. They must also become familiar with using the video camera. Once the video is recorded, students are able to develop their actual video by editing by using tools such as IMovie. If youtube is not a viable source of displaying your student's work there is a website called TeacherTube which enables you to share in a more private and secure manner. "Whatever you and your students create can be shared widely" (Richardson, 2010, p. 123).
Lastly, live streaming provides teachers and students with the opportunity to promote collaborative learning. This is relatively easy to access and quick. All you need is a internet connection, a computer with a microphone and a Webcam, a free account on an online video streaming site, and a creative thought. Students can work together to form interviews, skits, performances or school plays and once they have completed them they can sign up on a video streaming site such as Ustream.tv. This website offers a chat room for viewers to interact while watching, archives your shows for later viewing, and, among other feature appealing to educators, allows you to password protect your show so that only those who you share the login with can view the live stream (Richardson, 2010). This will allow students to share their masterpieces with parents, grandparents and other relatives at home. Also, they will have the opportunity to connect with others all around the world and learn from others live steaming videos! What a wonderful interactive way to learn!
T2P Week Four
How do the Big 3 (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) fit into your vision of using clear guidelines and frameworks to guide your students learning?
By providing clear guidelines and frameworks to guide my students learning I will provide my students with a sense of autonomy. This will allow my students to work on their self-direction. By viewing the rubrics, the students will have the choice of whether or not they want to exceed the expectations and how they will be able to do so. On the other hand, they will have the choice to doing the minimum amount of work. This will allow my students to work on their own abilities and focus on their self-drive and to realize the potential that they want to reach and how to go about it. Rubrics and guidelines will allow the student to take the knowledge and understand what is expected. The student will be able to access their previous knowledge and show the educator that they are competent in the subject matter by structuring assignment according to the rubric. Lastly, students will sense a feeling of relatedness. They will be able to discuss the task at hand with their classmates and develop thoughts and ideas on how to go about completing the assignment before starting it. Students will also realize that they are all doing this together and are all relatively in the same situation and are all being held to the same expectations.
The most exhilarating aspect of today's class session was the discussion that took place on Nodding's pedagogy. Noddings believes that a trusting and care student to teacher relationship is key for learning to take place within the classroom. There are two types of caring that Noddings discusses which are, relational and idealized caring. Relational caring mainly applies to the whole person whereas idealized caring refers to a belief of some sort but with a lack of back up. In order to deciper whether or not a teacher is truly developing a caring relationship the teacher needs an observable outcome provided by the student. Teachers must take the time to be able to develop a deeper relationship with his or her students. While doing so, teachers must be able to recognize the student's interests and talents and then try to include those aspects into the learning environment. Once the teacher and student have developed a caring and nuturing relationship, the teacher also benefits from this process and in turn increases his or her own competency.
In order to create such relationships in my future classroom, it believe that it will be important for me to become knowledgeable about youth popular culture. Duncan Andrade stresses the importance of teachers who are educating students through youth culture. Duncan is has similar views as Noddings. He also believes that you must learn about your students on a personal level and get to know some of their interests. However, Duncan goes about this in a somewhat different manner. He makes a point to focus on the youth culture that is constantly changing. It is noted that he is not afraid to spend a lot of time with his students and continues to be active in the young community. It is vital to remember that teachers must be knowledgeable with this culture and the changes that are continually occurring but it is also crucial to be extremely important to be competent in your subject area. In my future classroom, I plan on using both Noddings and Duncan's pedagogy's. I believe it is crucial for educators to develop an understanding of their students and to show them that they do care. While permanent subbing, I always made a point to content with my students in the beginning of each class. For example, on Monday's I would generate classroom discussion about what they did over the weekend, using the target language. On Fridays, I would initiate discussion about weekend plans. Throughout the week, I would make a point to ask students about their baseball game or perhaps what they were going to do after school. I believe that this is huge aspect of learning and it is important to try to touch base with each and every student.
I also plan on using Duncan's pedagogy. I believe that youth culture has a tremendous amount of influence over students and I feel that because it is constantly changing it is hard to keep up. Within my class discussions, if I was unfamiliar with a new trend I would ask them to expand on it and inform me about it. I also would incorporate films and television shows that were popular with the students while introducing new material such as television programs and movies. I would allow them to discuss some of their favorites and some of their least favorites and why they categorized them as so. I hope that throughout my teaching endeavors that I will be able to stay up to date with the latest youth popular culture and find many new and exciting ways to allow my students to use their critical analysis skills with their interests while still in the classroom setting.
By providing clear guidelines and frameworks to guide my students learning I will provide my students with a sense of autonomy. This will allow my students to work on their self-direction. By viewing the rubrics, the students will have the choice of whether or not they want to exceed the expectations and how they will be able to do so. On the other hand, they will have the choice to doing the minimum amount of work. This will allow my students to work on their own abilities and focus on their self-drive and to realize the potential that they want to reach and how to go about it. Rubrics and guidelines will allow the student to take the knowledge and understand what is expected. The student will be able to access their previous knowledge and show the educator that they are competent in the subject matter by structuring assignment according to the rubric. Lastly, students will sense a feeling of relatedness. They will be able to discuss the task at hand with their classmates and develop thoughts and ideas on how to go about completing the assignment before starting it. Students will also realize that they are all doing this together and are all relatively in the same situation and are all being held to the same expectations.
The most exhilarating aspect of today's class session was the discussion that took place on Nodding's pedagogy. Noddings believes that a trusting and care student to teacher relationship is key for learning to take place within the classroom. There are two types of caring that Noddings discusses which are, relational and idealized caring. Relational caring mainly applies to the whole person whereas idealized caring refers to a belief of some sort but with a lack of back up. In order to deciper whether or not a teacher is truly developing a caring relationship the teacher needs an observable outcome provided by the student. Teachers must take the time to be able to develop a deeper relationship with his or her students. While doing so, teachers must be able to recognize the student's interests and talents and then try to include those aspects into the learning environment. Once the teacher and student have developed a caring and nuturing relationship, the teacher also benefits from this process and in turn increases his or her own competency.
In order to create such relationships in my future classroom, it believe that it will be important for me to become knowledgeable about youth popular culture. Duncan Andrade stresses the importance of teachers who are educating students through youth culture. Duncan is has similar views as Noddings. He also believes that you must learn about your students on a personal level and get to know some of their interests. However, Duncan goes about this in a somewhat different manner. He makes a point to focus on the youth culture that is constantly changing. It is noted that he is not afraid to spend a lot of time with his students and continues to be active in the young community. It is vital to remember that teachers must be knowledgeable with this culture and the changes that are continually occurring but it is also crucial to be extremely important to be competent in your subject area. In my future classroom, I plan on using both Noddings and Duncan's pedagogy's. I believe it is crucial for educators to develop an understanding of their students and to show them that they do care. While permanent subbing, I always made a point to content with my students in the beginning of each class. For example, on Monday's I would generate classroom discussion about what they did over the weekend, using the target language. On Fridays, I would initiate discussion about weekend plans. Throughout the week, I would make a point to ask students about their baseball game or perhaps what they were going to do after school. I believe that this is huge aspect of learning and it is important to try to touch base with each and every student.
I also plan on using Duncan's pedagogy. I believe that youth culture has a tremendous amount of influence over students and I feel that because it is constantly changing it is hard to keep up. Within my class discussions, if I was unfamiliar with a new trend I would ask them to expand on it and inform me about it. I also would incorporate films and television shows that were popular with the students while introducing new material such as television programs and movies. I would allow them to discuss some of their favorites and some of their least favorites and why they categorized them as so. I hope that throughout my teaching endeavors that I will be able to stay up to date with the latest youth popular culture and find many new and exciting ways to allow my students to use their critical analysis skills with their interests while still in the classroom setting.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Screencast Reflection
I believe that as a group my classmates and I worked very well together. I think were able to quickly able to agree on some basic and advanced skills to use throughout the presentation. One thing that we had trouble with was deciding who would talk into the microphone. I think that was pretty much the biggest negative aspect of the whole creative process.
Throughout our scale based questions most of our critics chose a 4 or 5. I believe that was very helpful for us to be able to evaluate where we stood. I was also pleased with the written responses that were presented by my classmates. I think they provided my group and I with some valuable insight to our screencast. This allowed me to see that some people thought that we covered everything and they went a bit further to let us know that we could have used the toolbar and instead of highlighting each time we could have left it and shown the changes all at once. These tips were small but very useful. One negative aspect, was that we should have shown how to insert a footnote from the beginning process. A lot of people had mentioned this idea and I think the reason that we didn't do this was due to the time constraint.
I believe that the other screencasts provided by my classmates were very helpful for my teaching and learning. I had no idea how to use Microsoft Excel and now I have some basic understanding of it. I also tend to have trouble with the new Powerpoint and now I understand and small points that usually take me the longest. I would most certainly use these in my future classroom. I would love to be able to show my students how to make a fun and creative PowerPoint about the Spanish culture or something along those lines! I believe that the visual learners would definitely benefit from the screencasts. This way the instead of just hearing how to do something they would see it right in front of them. It would also be useful for tactile learners to complete one in order to demonstrate something. Auditory learners would also benefit due to the fact that they are hearing the information. I believe all types of learners will have a great learning experience while using screencasts.
I would most certainly consider using screencasts in my future classroom due to the fact that it is a new and exciting technology. It is also a great opportunity to enhance their learning process. I believe that all students will benefit from something like this so, why wouldn't I use it? I think it is also a very exciting tool for students to show others something that they are familiar with. It is an opportunity for all to succeed within the classroom environment.
Throughout our scale based questions most of our critics chose a 4 or 5. I believe that was very helpful for us to be able to evaluate where we stood. I was also pleased with the written responses that were presented by my classmates. I think they provided my group and I with some valuable insight to our screencast. This allowed me to see that some people thought that we covered everything and they went a bit further to let us know that we could have used the toolbar and instead of highlighting each time we could have left it and shown the changes all at once. These tips were small but very useful. One negative aspect, was that we should have shown how to insert a footnote from the beginning process. A lot of people had mentioned this idea and I think the reason that we didn't do this was due to the time constraint.
I believe that the other screencasts provided by my classmates were very helpful for my teaching and learning. I had no idea how to use Microsoft Excel and now I have some basic understanding of it. I also tend to have trouble with the new Powerpoint and now I understand and small points that usually take me the longest. I would most certainly use these in my future classroom. I would love to be able to show my students how to make a fun and creative PowerPoint about the Spanish culture or something along those lines! I believe that the visual learners would definitely benefit from the screencasts. This way the instead of just hearing how to do something they would see it right in front of them. It would also be useful for tactile learners to complete one in order to demonstrate something. Auditory learners would also benefit due to the fact that they are hearing the information. I believe all types of learners will have a great learning experience while using screencasts.
I would most certainly consider using screencasts in my future classroom due to the fact that it is a new and exciting technology. It is also a great opportunity to enhance their learning process. I believe that all students will benefit from something like this so, why wouldn't I use it? I think it is also a very exciting tool for students to show others something that they are familiar with. It is an opportunity for all to succeed within the classroom environment.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
EDCI5825 WEEK 3 Blog
#1 Technology is always expanding and growing. With this constant growth, it is vital to remember that there are many new and exciting ways for students to share their work with the community around them and with communities far away. Students have the opportunity to share their work by using fax machines, Skype, wiki's and blogs. By using technology we are enabling learners to connect to relevant situations and use their knowledge in a meaningful way. In my opinion, using Skype is the best way to manage this opportunity. Skype allows learners to connect with family members during the school day. November believes, "In the long run, partnering with the home may be one of the most powerful uses of the Internet, especially in traditionally underserved communities"(November, 2010, p. 36). A parent that is able take part in videoconferencing with their child throughout the school day will have the opportunity to become more involved in their learning process. That parent will also have the chance to stress the significance of learning to their child. Skype also provides learners with the opportunity to work together collaboratively with other students in different areas of the world. This is especially meaningful to me because as a future world language teacher I will be looking for ways to create authentic materials for my students. By using Skype, students will be able to make cultural connections with native Spanish speakers. November stated, "This is one of the advantages of real time videoconferencing. Teachers can create more authentic applications of practicing a skill, such as communicating in a second language, and create opportunities for students to make more mistakes and to learn and remember" (November, 2010, p. 40).
#2 Once again, Skype can provide students will a deeper meaning in relation to complex issues such as globalization and cultural sensitivity. November explained a situation in which high school students learning spanish from Illinois and students learning english from Puerto Rico were given the opportunity to video conference. Once the video conference had began the young boy was astonished and was suddenly fumbling over his own words even though he had no problems with his language skills. This was solely an example of his cultural unawareness. The young boy had apparently formulated an image in his mind of what Puerto Rican people should look like and blonde hair and blue eyes did not fit in. November stated, "The student did not have to review the video to know that he breached the etiquette of cultural sensitivity" (November, 2010, p.40). This was a very unique learning experience for such a young person and allowed him to realize that he should not make judgements about what physical characteristics people from other countries should possess. Not only was it a learning experience for this young boy but in the end the class also benefited from his lack of cultural awareness. After this experience, everyone had the opportunity to take away something new.
#3 As I discussed in questions number one, a way for emerging new collaborative relationships is using Skype to connect with students around the globe. November mentioned that "Teaching is a solitary job" (November, 2010, p50). I believe this to be true in many ways. It is fair to say that a teacher in mainly in their own classroom all day long using their own ideas and lessons. I am a firm believer that teachers can benefit by sharing ideas and lessons with other teachers. Throughout my own experiences, I learned the most from "stealing" small ideas from different teachers throughout the building and adding them on to my own. November stated, "Collaboration and sharing knowledge are the highly prized skills. This expectation of collaboration will eventually reach the teaching profession. Teachers will be valued for their ability to share their knowledge and solve problems about teaching and learning that an individual teacher could not solve alone" (November, 2010, p 50). There are many websites out there that enable teachers to share ideas and thoughts. Some school systems are also handing out personal laptops which allow teachers to collaborate both at school and at home. Lastly, many teachers are trying to build the bridge between home and school. Educators are working hard at forming relationships with parents and guardians through video. This way teachers can share and admire the student's work.
#2 Once again, Skype can provide students will a deeper meaning in relation to complex issues such as globalization and cultural sensitivity. November explained a situation in which high school students learning spanish from Illinois and students learning english from Puerto Rico were given the opportunity to video conference. Once the video conference had began the young boy was astonished and was suddenly fumbling over his own words even though he had no problems with his language skills. This was solely an example of his cultural unawareness. The young boy had apparently formulated an image in his mind of what Puerto Rican people should look like and blonde hair and blue eyes did not fit in. November stated, "The student did not have to review the video to know that he breached the etiquette of cultural sensitivity" (November, 2010, p.40). This was a very unique learning experience for such a young person and allowed him to realize that he should not make judgements about what physical characteristics people from other countries should possess. Not only was it a learning experience for this young boy but in the end the class also benefited from his lack of cultural awareness. After this experience, everyone had the opportunity to take away something new.
#3 As I discussed in questions number one, a way for emerging new collaborative relationships is using Skype to connect with students around the globe. November mentioned that "Teaching is a solitary job" (November, 2010, p50). I believe this to be true in many ways. It is fair to say that a teacher in mainly in their own classroom all day long using their own ideas and lessons. I am a firm believer that teachers can benefit by sharing ideas and lessons with other teachers. Throughout my own experiences, I learned the most from "stealing" small ideas from different teachers throughout the building and adding them on to my own. November stated, "Collaboration and sharing knowledge are the highly prized skills. This expectation of collaboration will eventually reach the teaching profession. Teachers will be valued for their ability to share their knowledge and solve problems about teaching and learning that an individual teacher could not solve alone" (November, 2010, p 50). There are many websites out there that enable teachers to share ideas and thoughts. Some school systems are also handing out personal laptops which allow teachers to collaborate both at school and at home. Lastly, many teachers are trying to build the bridge between home and school. Educators are working hard at forming relationships with parents and guardians through video. This way teachers can share and admire the student's work.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Week 3 Reflection.
If a teachers' beliefs, behaviors, vision and disposition are all on the same page and working together then learners will be able to reach their fullest potential because the teacher is the leader and is portraying the essential values.
If the material being presented to the learn provokes a strong negative emotional tie to the learner then it is likely that the learner will not become motivated to learn the information at hand because one key emotional and motivational factor referred to as learned helplessness will stand in the way of the learner. Learned helplessness is a condition that affects motivation over time. It is based on experience in which the students feels he or she has no control and is doomed to failure due to the negative feedback that they have faced the in past.
Emotions and motivation can go hand in hand. If the material provokes a strong positive sense of emotion within the learner then the learner's motivation to learn will increase. Two key emotional and motivational factors are learned helplessness and anxiety. Learned helplessness is a condition that affects motivation over a period of time. It is mainly based on an experience where the student feels that he or she does not have any power and is only facing failure for the future. Learned helplessness can be formed due to the learners childhood experience or even from the use of rewards and punishment within the formal learning process. Anxiety usually has to do with the intense fear of failing. While experiencing this fear, learners end up lacking in self-esteem and pride. Anxiety generally becomes a main focus when the learner focuses on what others think about them.
I believe that throughout my future teaching endeavors, I will most likely come into contact with children who have formulated a sense of learned helplessness or anxiety. In my opinion, it is my duty to create a comfortable learning environment for all. In order to accomplish this goal, I will have to provide my students with immediate and positive feedback. I will continually provide my students with clear and concise rubrics that allow them to visibly recognize the expectations for the material at hand. I believe that allowing the students to understand and comprehend the task and the expectations before beginning the learning process will eliminate a large amount of anxiety for the learners.
Another important aspect of learning is the self-determination theory. This is a theory of human motivation that focuses on personality. It can be broken down into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation can be referred to as the innate drive to learn. It can be seen as the learning for love of learning. However, extrinsic motivation refers to as an outside force such as rewards or punishments. Deci and Ryan explain that there are three needs that require satisfaction which include autonomy, competence and relatedness. When these three are all intact then the person will encounter wellness.
If the material being presented to the learn provokes a strong negative emotional tie to the learner then it is likely that the learner will not become motivated to learn the information at hand because one key emotional and motivational factor referred to as learned helplessness will stand in the way of the learner. Learned helplessness is a condition that affects motivation over time. It is based on experience in which the students feels he or she has no control and is doomed to failure due to the negative feedback that they have faced the in past.
Emotions and motivation can go hand in hand. If the material provokes a strong positive sense of emotion within the learner then the learner's motivation to learn will increase. Two key emotional and motivational factors are learned helplessness and anxiety. Learned helplessness is a condition that affects motivation over a period of time. It is mainly based on an experience where the student feels that he or she does not have any power and is only facing failure for the future. Learned helplessness can be formed due to the learners childhood experience or even from the use of rewards and punishment within the formal learning process. Anxiety usually has to do with the intense fear of failing. While experiencing this fear, learners end up lacking in self-esteem and pride. Anxiety generally becomes a main focus when the learner focuses on what others think about them.
I believe that throughout my future teaching endeavors, I will most likely come into contact with children who have formulated a sense of learned helplessness or anxiety. In my opinion, it is my duty to create a comfortable learning environment for all. In order to accomplish this goal, I will have to provide my students with immediate and positive feedback. I will continually provide my students with clear and concise rubrics that allow them to visibly recognize the expectations for the material at hand. I believe that allowing the students to understand and comprehend the task and the expectations before beginning the learning process will eliminate a large amount of anxiety for the learners.
Another important aspect of learning is the self-determination theory. This is a theory of human motivation that focuses on personality. It can be broken down into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation can be referred to as the innate drive to learn. It can be seen as the learning for love of learning. However, extrinsic motivation refers to as an outside force such as rewards or punishments. Deci and Ryan explain that there are three needs that require satisfaction which include autonomy, competence and relatedness. When these three are all intact then the person will encounter wellness.
Self Determination
Within Vicki's classroom she advocates that the use of technology will transform students' lives. She is a strong believer that every student has the ability to to learn and incorporates technology to enhance the learning process. Vicki also believes that students can face obstacles when they are presented with solely pencils and paper, they need to have access to many different sources of learning. Throughout her teachings, she makes a point to focus on the students strengths and interests. In her classroom, she believes that it is vital for students to be thinkers and take their education into their own hands. Vicki allows her students to develop a sense of autonomy by presenting them with the opportunity to google terms that they don't understand and by becoming almost a teacher to her. She stated that she should not have to be standing in front of the classroom at all times defining words for them. They must go out of their way to find the definitions for themselves. She portrays the idea that students should be teaching her and that it is okay for educators to not know everything all the time. It gives the student a great deal of empowerment when they find out answer and teach themselves. She makes a point to allow the students to research and present projects to the class and act as educators. This allows the students to have the choice and autonomy needed in order to succeed. With that, she is enabling them to research the content area on their own in order to become competent with the knowledge. Vicki also has created a piece of technology which is referred to as Digiteen. While using this piece of technology, the students are able to collaborate ideas together and form reports and videos with other students within the class and in various places around the world. Students are provided with endless opportunities to connect with people throughout the United States and around the entire world. Vicki enhances thee feelings of relatedness by allowing these youngsters to create relationships with people from all over and work together to form new ideas with them.. By doing so, she is opening up new perspectives to a whole set of new possibilities. Also, they have gone to great lengths to connect with others by traveling to the Middle East in order to attend a conference. Throughout her teachings, Vicki is enabling students to develop their own sense of autonomy, develop competency and a sense of relatedness by using many various techniques.
My question for Vicki.
Do you ever worry that sometimes the students will fall into the wrong areas of the world wide web? In one of my other classes, we have been reading about becoming information literate and teaching students how to navigate through and evaluate websites. The reading brought up some controversy about blocking websites. What are you feels on the matter? Should there be blockage or should there not be?
My question for Vicki.
Do you ever worry that sometimes the students will fall into the wrong areas of the world wide web? In one of my other classes, we have been reading about becoming information literate and teaching students how to navigate through and evaluate websites. The reading brought up some controversy about blocking websites. What are you feels on the matter? Should there be blockage or should there not be?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
EDCI 5825. Blog 1
1. In my opinion, being information literate is a way of approaching the information on the Internet in a careful and wise manner. In order to be completely information literate you must be able to evaluate the intentions and purpose of the information on the Internet. It means to be able to have the capability to access the information in a pre cautious manner. One must always question the motive of the creator of the site and be knowledgeable enough to recognize that not all information provided on the internet is necessarily true. November (2010) states, "If you do not know the rules, it is impossible to win the game"(p 12). I believe this to be true. In order to succeed in this highly technological world of ours one must always approach the material at hand with a small amount of skepticism.
2. Teachers and students are able to carefully evaluate information resources by using a system which is referred to as MAPping. This enables the students or teachers to "map" the information they access on the Internet by examining meta-web information, authors, and purpose. Meta-Web Information refers to the structure of information on the Internet which includes URLs, links, and search engines. In order to further evaluate the URLs, teachers and students must be able to read the meaning of the web address or URL. Every single Wed address or URL contains a home directory that includes the domain name of the organization. This allows the reader to recognize whether or not the page is an official document or a personal posting. Teachers and students also have the ability to further evaluate the web address by examining the linked sites. "One of the strengths (some would say weaknesses) of the Internet is that anyone has the ability to add a link from his or her Website to another" (November, 2010, p.19). By examining the links, one would be able to gain insight as to who is linked to the site and how they used the information as a reference on their own site. This may not conclude as to whether or not the information is true or false however, it will allow for some deeper analysis. The students and teachers will also be able to explore the validation of the site's author. The reader will be able to examine the author's credentials and see how he or she is viewed by others. Lastly, the reader will have the ability to evaluate the site's purpose. Students and teachers must be have the insight to ask what the site is trying to do and for what purpose it was created. Teachers and students must always remember that the Internet is extremely powerful however, it can also be very controversial and manipulative. One would be able to apply all this knowledge to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Wikipedia's domain would show that it is a public server and therefore it is a collection of personal files and ideas. Also, Wikipedia does not have one set author which implies that anyone can go onto the Website and upload their own thoughts and opinions on the subject matter. Lastly, the site's purpose is to provide the public with knowledge about a variety of different topics. After applying the knowledge at hand, one would recognize that Wikipedia is not a suitable resource.
3. After viewing the video and reading up on the material, I realized that there are many similarities and differences between the four instructional models of Internet use (Internet Workshop, Internet Project, Webquest and Internet inquiry). A few of the similarities are that they seem to all be very student-centered, the students are able to develop important content information, and they are all ways of gathering information by using the Internet. On the other hand, there are a few differences between the four. For example, Internet Project would be considered to be a more collaborative activity and would be considered to be a bit more challenging. Webquest seems to be directed more towards the educators because it is an instructional model to create curriculum.
2. Teachers and students are able to carefully evaluate information resources by using a system which is referred to as MAPping. This enables the students or teachers to "map" the information they access on the Internet by examining meta-web information, authors, and purpose. Meta-Web Information refers to the structure of information on the Internet which includes URLs, links, and search engines. In order to further evaluate the URLs, teachers and students must be able to read the meaning of the web address or URL. Every single Wed address or URL contains a home directory that includes the domain name of the organization. This allows the reader to recognize whether or not the page is an official document or a personal posting. Teachers and students also have the ability to further evaluate the web address by examining the linked sites. "One of the strengths (some would say weaknesses) of the Internet is that anyone has the ability to add a link from his or her Website to another" (November, 2010, p.19). By examining the links, one would be able to gain insight as to who is linked to the site and how they used the information as a reference on their own site. This may not conclude as to whether or not the information is true or false however, it will allow for some deeper analysis. The students and teachers will also be able to explore the validation of the site's author. The reader will be able to examine the author's credentials and see how he or she is viewed by others. Lastly, the reader will have the ability to evaluate the site's purpose. Students and teachers must be have the insight to ask what the site is trying to do and for what purpose it was created. Teachers and students must always remember that the Internet is extremely powerful however, it can also be very controversial and manipulative. One would be able to apply all this knowledge to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Wikipedia's domain would show that it is a public server and therefore it is a collection of personal files and ideas. Also, Wikipedia does not have one set author which implies that anyone can go onto the Website and upload their own thoughts and opinions on the subject matter. Lastly, the site's purpose is to provide the public with knowledge about a variety of different topics. After applying the knowledge at hand, one would recognize that Wikipedia is not a suitable resource.
3. After viewing the video and reading up on the material, I realized that there are many similarities and differences between the four instructional models of Internet use (Internet Workshop, Internet Project, Webquest and Internet inquiry). A few of the similarities are that they seem to all be very student-centered, the students are able to develop important content information, and they are all ways of gathering information by using the Internet. On the other hand, there are a few differences between the four. For example, Internet Project would be considered to be a more collaborative activity and would be considered to be a bit more challenging. Webquest seems to be directed more towards the educators because it is an instructional model to create curriculum.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Week 2. Reflection
If the educator assigns materials prior to the class session that are relevant to the student in some way shape or form then those materials previously presented will enable to the student to key into the main concepts of the lesson because it was meaningful to them.
Today in class, we touched upon a variety of different subjects. I was provided with the opportunity to review the similarities and differences between Vygotsky and Piaget's stages of cognitive development. After class discussion and chatting with my colleagues, I realized that Piaget has four stages of cognitive development which occur in a systematic, observable order throughout the child's lifetime. Whereas Vygotsky believed that children's growth occurred within a space he called the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Basically, ZPD is the distance between what a child can do with assistance and what the child can do without assistance. Vygotsky believed that children's development was developed much like building blocks by adding on to what they know which can also be summed up as scaffolding. Vygotsky was also a strong believer that the child's community, culture and family placed an enormous part in their cognitive development. I also have to agree with Vygotsky here and say that those aspects have a large affect on children's development.
As a class, this topic has surfaced many times within the past week. I believe that community/environment, culture and family do play an important role in a child's development and I plan on bringing my views on this into the classroom with me. It is extremely important for educators to realize that the environment that learners are raised in strongly influences how they learn and the amount success they will achieve. I vow to stay true to my roots as the years pass and always be sure to look at my student's experiences and lives outside of the classroom before jumping to any conclusions.
This brings me to another important part of today's discussion. Today we also discussed how the educators beliefs, discipline and visions are the most important variables in the learning environment. Here we were given the opportunity to examine the case about Erik. I found this to be tremendously interesting because Erik had such wonderful ideas and beliefs however, he seemed unable to transport them into the classroom setting. As a group we discussed the segregation that was occurring in Erik's classroom and formed ideas as to why it was happening. It was interesting for me to hear one of my fellow classmates state that the girl may have been being ignored by the Spanish group due to the fact that a boy may have had a crush on her. I also was intrigued when another classmate mentioned that the Spanish group could be only speaking in Spanish due to the fact that they do not feel comfortable with their English language skills. My group and I had decided that Erik seemed to have a misalignment of his beliefs and actions and we worked together to try to find a solution for Erik's "problema." This activity most certainly stuck out in my mind because I find that when I read about actual classroom conflicts or situations it becomes much more relevant to me. I am able to actually see how the lessons we are learning in the classroom may or may not transfer into our future classrooms.
Today in class, we touched upon a variety of different subjects. I was provided with the opportunity to review the similarities and differences between Vygotsky and Piaget's stages of cognitive development. After class discussion and chatting with my colleagues, I realized that Piaget has four stages of cognitive development which occur in a systematic, observable order throughout the child's lifetime. Whereas Vygotsky believed that children's growth occurred within a space he called the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Basically, ZPD is the distance between what a child can do with assistance and what the child can do without assistance. Vygotsky believed that children's development was developed much like building blocks by adding on to what they know which can also be summed up as scaffolding. Vygotsky was also a strong believer that the child's community, culture and family placed an enormous part in their cognitive development. I also have to agree with Vygotsky here and say that those aspects have a large affect on children's development.
As a class, this topic has surfaced many times within the past week. I believe that community/environment, culture and family do play an important role in a child's development and I plan on bringing my views on this into the classroom with me. It is extremely important for educators to realize that the environment that learners are raised in strongly influences how they learn and the amount success they will achieve. I vow to stay true to my roots as the years pass and always be sure to look at my student's experiences and lives outside of the classroom before jumping to any conclusions.
This brings me to another important part of today's discussion. Today we also discussed how the educators beliefs, discipline and visions are the most important variables in the learning environment. Here we were given the opportunity to examine the case about Erik. I found this to be tremendously interesting because Erik had such wonderful ideas and beliefs however, he seemed unable to transport them into the classroom setting. As a group we discussed the segregation that was occurring in Erik's classroom and formed ideas as to why it was happening. It was interesting for me to hear one of my fellow classmates state that the girl may have been being ignored by the Spanish group due to the fact that a boy may have had a crush on her. I also was intrigued when another classmate mentioned that the Spanish group could be only speaking in Spanish due to the fact that they do not feel comfortable with their English language skills. My group and I had decided that Erik seemed to have a misalignment of his beliefs and actions and we worked together to try to find a solution for Erik's "problema." This activity most certainly stuck out in my mind because I find that when I read about actual classroom conflicts or situations it becomes much more relevant to me. I am able to actually see how the lessons we are learning in the classroom may or may not transfer into our future classrooms.
Monday, June 7, 2010
EDCI 5065-Hyperlink
digital storytelling
This is a website which provides examples of various digital stories created by numerous participants. The thing I enjoy most about this site is that it enables the students to navigate through and view many diverse topics and stories. If I were to use this in my future classroom, I would first introduce digital storytelling to my students and then allow them to explore through this website in order to view examples of other people’s work before they begin the process of creating their own digital story in Spanish.
In my opinion, each student learns differently. In a large classroom setting, a teacher may have many a variety of learners for example visual, auditory or tactile learners. As educators it is our duty to touch upon each aspect of learning while presenting new material. Engaging students in the learning process is a huge part of educating. I believe that students need to be provided with endless opportunities to express themselves in a unique manner. To be a good teacher, one must try to relate to the age group and learning level and try to connect with them in way that is fun and engaging. This day in age, technology is a large part of young peoples lives. They are constantly using computers, ipods and cell phones. In order to be a good teacher, one must be keep up with the times and be able to make new educational materials relevant to the learners. By creating a digital story, students are able to use the technology that they are very use to and comfortable with in a new way. The teacher is also providing the students with the many different aspects of learning. Digital storytelling is a way to boost the learning environment for all students.
Jing
This is a website that I was just recently introduced to here at TCPCG in my course titled “Enhancing Classroom Curriculum with Computers.” Jing is a way for anyone whether it is an educator, a presenter or a student to have the opportunity to teach others how to complete certain skills using technology.
As I stated before, young people these days have been raised using various types of technology and are typically comfortable using it. However, as educators it is important to remember that not all students will be confident in using all technology. It is important to be aware that not all students have the exposure to computers and advanced technology at home. Educators must acknowledge that they cannot present something like this and expect their students to instantly comprehend the task at hand. While using Jing, the teacher will be able to go through the steps towards making a digital story. This will allow the students follow along and practice using the software before having to apply it to the knowledge they have learned in the classroom. It is important for educators to remember that the student may have mastered the content in the classroom but if they have not been introduced to the technological aspect of the assignment they might not be able to perform that the level they are capable of.
elcorteingles
This is an actual website for a large department store that is comparable to Macy’s in Spain. Perhaps I would use this in my future classroom while introducing clothing, colors, numbers and prices.
I think that websites like these are crucial for learners because they are able to search through the website on their own and experience the culture through a new and exciting way. While using this website, students will be able to experience the culture in a very hands on way. In order to by a good world language teacher, one must be able to introduce the students to the true Spanish culture and ways of life. Often times, this is a very difficult task due to the fact that teachers and students spend the majority of their time in a small classroom surrounded by four walls. I believe that in order to learn, many students need to see how they will use the material at hand in a real life situation. By using this website, students will be able to act like a Spanish consumer. The students will also have the opportunity to compare and contrast the stores here in America and the stores they have viewed via Internet in Spain. They will also be able to examine the variety in prices and as another aspect of this lesson we could explore the Euro. I believe that this is an extremely relevant way of learning for youngsters because they will be able to relate many aspects of their lives to the Spain way of life.
This is a website which provides examples of various digital stories created by numerous participants. The thing I enjoy most about this site is that it enables the students to navigate through and view many diverse topics and stories. If I were to use this in my future classroom, I would first introduce digital storytelling to my students and then allow them to explore through this website in order to view examples of other people’s work before they begin the process of creating their own digital story in Spanish.
In my opinion, each student learns differently. In a large classroom setting, a teacher may have many a variety of learners for example visual, auditory or tactile learners. As educators it is our duty to touch upon each aspect of learning while presenting new material. Engaging students in the learning process is a huge part of educating. I believe that students need to be provided with endless opportunities to express themselves in a unique manner. To be a good teacher, one must try to relate to the age group and learning level and try to connect with them in way that is fun and engaging. This day in age, technology is a large part of young peoples lives. They are constantly using computers, ipods and cell phones. In order to be a good teacher, one must be keep up with the times and be able to make new educational materials relevant to the learners. By creating a digital story, students are able to use the technology that they are very use to and comfortable with in a new way. The teacher is also providing the students with the many different aspects of learning. Digital storytelling is a way to boost the learning environment for all students.
Jing
This is a website that I was just recently introduced to here at TCPCG in my course titled “Enhancing Classroom Curriculum with Computers.” Jing is a way for anyone whether it is an educator, a presenter or a student to have the opportunity to teach others how to complete certain skills using technology.
As I stated before, young people these days have been raised using various types of technology and are typically comfortable using it. However, as educators it is important to remember that not all students will be confident in using all technology. It is important to be aware that not all students have the exposure to computers and advanced technology at home. Educators must acknowledge that they cannot present something like this and expect their students to instantly comprehend the task at hand. While using Jing, the teacher will be able to go through the steps towards making a digital story. This will allow the students follow along and practice using the software before having to apply it to the knowledge they have learned in the classroom. It is important for educators to remember that the student may have mastered the content in the classroom but if they have not been introduced to the technological aspect of the assignment they might not be able to perform that the level they are capable of.
elcorteingles
This is an actual website for a large department store that is comparable to Macy’s in Spain. Perhaps I would use this in my future classroom while introducing clothing, colors, numbers and prices.
I think that websites like these are crucial for learners because they are able to search through the website on their own and experience the culture through a new and exciting way. While using this website, students will be able to experience the culture in a very hands on way. In order to by a good world language teacher, one must be able to introduce the students to the true Spanish culture and ways of life. Often times, this is a very difficult task due to the fact that teachers and students spend the majority of their time in a small classroom surrounded by four walls. I believe that in order to learn, many students need to see how they will use the material at hand in a real life situation. By using this website, students will be able to act like a Spanish consumer. The students will also have the opportunity to compare and contrast the stores here in America and the stores they have viewed via Internet in Spain. They will also be able to examine the variety in prices and as another aspect of this lesson we could explore the Euro. I believe that this is an extremely relevant way of learning for youngsters because they will be able to relate many aspects of their lives to the Spain way of life.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
My First Day
Welcome to my blog!
My name is Maureen but if you prefer you can refer to me as Mo. I am an aspiring teacher and look forward to someday teaching at a middle school here in CT. Today is my first day EDCI 5825 and my first time ever writing a blog! Throughout this course, I hope to be able to learn many new tools and skills that will only enhance my technological knowledge. I also hope to be able to take all the information I learn here and use it in my future classroom. Outside of the classroom, I enjoy being extremely active. I enjoy organized sports such as soccer, basketball, football and baseball. However; I also enjoy to push myself to the limit by hiking, kayaking and skydiving. Not only do I enjoy being outside and soaking up the sun but I also love to curl up and read a good book from time to time. I am currently reading "Eat Pray Love" and hope to see the movie once I finish the book!
-Maureen
My name is Maureen but if you prefer you can refer to me as Mo. I am an aspiring teacher and look forward to someday teaching at a middle school here in CT. Today is my first day EDCI 5825 and my first time ever writing a blog! Throughout this course, I hope to be able to learn many new tools and skills that will only enhance my technological knowledge. I also hope to be able to take all the information I learn here and use it in my future classroom. Outside of the classroom, I enjoy being extremely active. I enjoy organized sports such as soccer, basketball, football and baseball. However; I also enjoy to push myself to the limit by hiking, kayaking and skydiving. Not only do I enjoy being outside and soaking up the sun but I also love to curl up and read a good book from time to time. I am currently reading "Eat Pray Love" and hope to see the movie once I finish the book!
-Maureen
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