11th Blog – Lessons from Class

It is important to incorporate technology into the classroom.  Technology is a part of everyday life, and students are very comfortable using technology.  Even young students can work on math lessons using an Excel spreadsheet.  Technology allows students to explore the world on the Internet.  Technology also allows the students to express themselves by creating videos and glogs as part of projects.  It allows the students to experience and engage instead of just listening to a lecture. 

The students benefit because technology reaches all learning styles.  Students become active participants in learning.  If a student has difficulty expressing his thoughts and understanding in writing, the student could videotape himself explaining a topic.  With technology, teachers take on the role of advisor and share the learning process with the students. 

Teachers must keep up with technology in order to incorporate it into their classrooms.  The teachers must make sure they know and understand the technology before asking the students to work on projects and lessons using the technology. 

I was amazed when collecting the artifacts for my digital portfolio by how many different projects and different forms of technology we have used and learned during this class.  We did everything from the spreadsheet labs for young children to creating our own YouTube videos.  These projects were fun and challenging.  Perhaps that is the most important reason to incorporate technology into the classroom – to make learning fun and challenging to the students.  The Smartboard lesson truly challenged me and took me beyond my comfort zone.  I enjoyed reflecting each week on our assignments in our blog.  The glogster was fun; I didn’t know that existed.  I liked doing the video and want to try to create one using my two cats as the stars.  The digital portfolio was the first time I ever created a Web site.  That is something I would like to continue to explore. 

Thank you to our instructor and my fellow classmates for an enjoyable class! 

10th Blog – New Concepts from Presentations

1. Lisa’s video on Video Modeling.  Lisa’s video was extremely well done and informative.  I never thought of doing a video presentation of a research paper, but it is an excellent, creative alternative to writing a paper.  Video monitoring was new to me.  I agreed with her assessment that one student for a study was not broad enough; however, having students watch videos of desired behaviors in the classroom seems like a good idea.  Using an iPod Touch is a great device for students to watch the videos in the classroom without disruption to the class. 

2. Gina’s Glogster poster on Preschooler Technology.  This Glogster presentation visually demonstrated how much preschoolers are exposed to technology today from Nintendo, Leap Frog, Sesame Street, and Sprout.  I had no idea that Sesame Street had a Web site with videos and interactive games for children.  They didn’t have that when I was growing up.  Today’s preschoolers are definitely digital natives.  Another example of why it is important to incorporate technology into the classroom.

3. Matt’s iPhone video Web-based Labs.  Matt’s presentation using the iPhone to capture his video presentation and then sending it directly to YouTube was great. By using his iPhone, it really showcased how students can use technology for learning.  He talked about how 75% of the elementary students in the study preferred using a web-based lab for science.  Matt discussed that the Web-based labs helped students with different learning styles understand the teaching assignment, and the students showed improvement over the course of their lesson.

Portfolio Worksheet - Good Example/Bad Example

Good Example:

http://jahnnahall.com/index.html

The above link is a digital resume and portfolio.  I liked the portfolio because I thought it was pleasing to the eye.  The individual introduced herself via a video and gave links to her work on blogs and press releases to name a few.  The portfolio also listed relevant classes she took in the field of public relations and her social media skills.  She hopes to find work in public relations.  The portfolio seemed very thorough and nicely done.

Bad Example:

http://www.kreativekorp.com/personal/portfolio/?page=about

The above link is a digital portfolio for someone who is a computer programmer.  The reason I picked this link as a bad example is because I did not like the ‘Tell Me About Yourself’ page, which was the first page of the digital portfolio.  This page did have links where the person does showcase her coding projects; however, the page was crowded with words and did nothing to draw the viewer into the site.  It was basically just lots of text.

9th Blog – Copyright

Last week’s copyright Jeopardy really demonstrated how confusing and complicated copyright law can be.  It is often easy to forget that materials are copyrighted and that there are laws to protect distribution of protected items.  With the Internet, copying only takes a few clicks of the mouse.  It is often difficult to determine what would be considered fair use.  Something I never thought about was showing a movie in school.  I had no idea that schools had to obtain a license in order to show a movie.  I have been in a class where photocopies of material from a book were distributed to students.  Outside of schools, copyright seems to be violated all the time.  CDs and DVDs are being illegally copied and sold.  It is certainly the job of the teacher to teach copyright respect.  The classroom is probably the only place where copyright law is ever really mentioned and addressed.  It is good to discuss copyright laws with students at an early age, explain what it is and give examples of what is fair use and what is not.  Copyright law is something everyone needs to be aware of.

8b Blog – Video in the Classroom

Video in the classroom definitely has value.  It is an effective teaching tool because it is so engaging for students raised in the digital video age.  It can provide a positive experience for students and foster creativity.  It appeals to different learning styles.  Filmmaking teaches students to analyze information, decide how to illustrate that information, and then decide how to present it.  It helps students understand what goes into making a video by doing it themselves.

Students could be asked to read a short story or poem and then illustrate its meaning in a video they create themselves.  They would have to analyze the reading and then figure out how to illustrate their interpretation of the meaning of the story or poem.  The students would then use a video camera to capture the images followed by using a computer to produce the video.  The students could then watch the other videos created by other students in the class.  This would teach the students how to work in groups to complete a project.

The video cameras would need to be available for the students to use and the software for editing and creating the videos would need to be installed on computers.  The instructor would need to be familiar with creating and editing video to be able to teach it to the class.  What we found in creating our videos is that each group needed assistance from our instructor. 

8a Blog – Reflect on Group Video Project

The group video project was something that I had been looking forward to doing.  I was excited about the prospect of learning how to edit video and add sound to a movie that I created.  When the video project was explained, it then seemed like a lot of work.  The most daunting task was identifying the story we wanted to capture on film.  Creating the storyboard helped with mapping the movie and the shots needed to tell the story.  Once that had been decided, the filming of the movie went rather well. 

MovieMaker was a simple application to learn.  It was very easy to edit the video and put the pieces of the movie together.  The most difficult part we found was adding the audio to the movie.  We struggled a bit with using Audacity.  The next time I create a movie I would spend some time learning how to use Audacity to better incorporate music into the video. 

In retrospect, the video project was not too difficult to accomplish.  As with anything, I am sure that my filming abilities would improve the more I filmed and used the software to edit.  It was amazing how long 30-90 seconds could actually be when trying to fill the time with a story captured on film. 

7th Blog – Smartboard Lessons

A Smartboard is basically a large touch screen that allows interaction with a computer video output.  The screen is large so the whole class can see it and interact with the computer directly on the large screen.  A Smartboard lesson can be extremely interactive with the students touching the board to move objects on the screen and writing their answers directly on the screen.  The instructor using the Smartboard can quickly jump from the Smartboard lesson to the Internet to show a video or display a map while using the Smartboard and then go back to their lesson.  The Smartboard is definitely an incredible tool to use to enhance teaching and learning. 

The technology to use the Smartboard was extremely easy to use.  The hardest part for me was to develop the lesson.  Once the lesson was developed, it was simple to incorporate the lesson into the Smartboard software. 

There are some pros and cons to installing the Smartboard in a classroom.  One pro for the Smartboard is that it allows the instructor and the students to interact with a computer in front of the whole class instead of behind a computer.  Another great feature of the Smartboard is that it allows one to write on the board and then convert the handwriting into text and save it to the file.  One con to the Smartboard would be the price of installing this application in all classrooms. 

I have not written lesson plans in the past; however, it appears that many lesson plans could incorporate the Smartboard into the teaching.  Many examples of Smartboard lessons were given on the Internet.  They were quite interactive and appeared to boost the learning experience.  

6th Blog – Educause Reading – Technology Survey

Week 6

The findings stated in this week’s Educause reading were not that surprising to me.  One study found that most schools (99%) and a vast majority of classrooms (87%) have Internet access yet these resources are rarely used effectively.  There is a lot of great technology available for education with a great deal of it being free, but the challenge comes in using the technology effectively in the classroom. 

One study found that only 38% of college students used the Internet for work in classes.  The college students are using the Internet mostly to communicate instead of using it for classroom work.  To me, this finding is in line with my thinking of Net Geners.  They are comfortable using the Internet to communicate with others and to quickly lookup information.  It still takes the instructor to find ways to incorporate technology into the classroom so that it adds value to the course.

Some questions I would incorporate into a survey of students regarding technology are:

How would you incorporate technology in a class and what kind of technology would you use?

What kind of technology used in a class did you find most helpful and effective to learning?

What kind of technology used in a class was least effective to learning?

There was one statement in the reading I found most interesting.  “The real impact of new technologies only becomes manifest when the ‘machine as a separate box needing elaborate maintenance and full attention’ fades into the background”.  This is so true for all technology – in the classroom, work place, and home.  Technology needs to be easy and simple to use or else it will just get pushed aside.

5th Blog – Graphic Organizers

Week 5

A graphic organizer is a way to communicate using visual symbols to express ideas and concepts and to convey meaning.  It depicts relationships between facts and allows for brainstorming.  It can help students and teachers visually see their ideas.  This is great tool for a visual learner. 

Students should be writing paragraphs and papers; using a graphic organizer can be a tremendous help for the students in writing those papers.  Students using a graphic organizer can brainstorm for an essay before actually writing the essay.  This will allow them to organize their thoughts in a logical manner before they begin the writing.  They will see their paper visually before actually beginning to write.  This allows for an easier writing process and less frustration on the students’ part.  Graphic organizers make the writing task less daunting.  I find it beneficial in writing my own papers.

Graphic organizers can be used to teach and understand a variety of different subjects.  They can be used to explain the relationships between different characters in a story, a way to display key issues of a war, and to understand the different sections of an orchestra and the different instruments in each section, such as the one we did in class.  It appears that the possibilities are endless for using graphic organizers.  

4th Blog – Social Bookmarking

Week 4

Social bookmarking is great!  Social bookmarking allows users to save Web sites as bookmarks on the Internet.  No longer will these bookmarks only reside on one computer.  The user is able to access their bookmarks on any computing device, such as their home computer, their work computer, an iPad, or a smartphone.  These bookmarks can be tagged with keywords in order to manage and search.  The bookmarks saved on a social bookmarking site can then be shared with other users.

Social bookmarking is a great tool for both students and teachers to organize their online Web information.  I quickly added the different education Web sites that we have been reviewing in class into my Diigo account.  Now I don’t have to worry about forgetting about these Web sites, and I will be able to access them anywhere.  I also installed the Diigo app on my iPad.  As I go on with the different education classes, Diigo will be an excellent tool to use to organize any Web sites for future reference.  I even added some sites on SQL, which is the programming language I use at work.  It will also be helpful to search other users’ Diigo sites for information and ideas on different topics for both work and school.

This week’s readings on graphic organizers were rather interesting.  I look forward to discussing it in class.  They are a graphical representation of information and problems.  These graphic organizers would be so helpful to a student who is a visual learner or a student with learning disabilities to be able to gain a clearer understanding of the material.  I remember using venn diagrams to start writing my essays for a class assignment.  It was very helpful in getting the paper started.

3b Blog – Microsoft Word/Excel vs Google Docs

Week 3

Google Docs is not as robust as Microsoft Office, but Google Docs does offer some advantages in a classroom setting that would make it my choice for a school district.  It is a free application that does not require licensing.  This offers a tremendous savings especially in this day of tight school budgets.  Students can use Google Docs at home on the Internet without having to buy their own version of Office.  With Google Docs, there are no compatibility issues with different versions such as one finds with Office 2003 and Office 2007. 

The real advantage to using Google Docs comes with cloud computing.  The students save their documents on the Internet.  They don’t have to worry about where they saved their documents.  They don’t have to worry about losing their documents if their hard drive crashes.  Their documents will always be available when they login to Google Docs.  Google Docs allows for collaboration.  Students can easily email their documents to others to work on projects together even if they are not in the same room.

It appears that cloud computing is the future of technology.  Collaboration and sharing are key elements of this future.  This can be seen with Google Docs and this week’s readings involving social bookmarking.  No longer are a person’s bookmarks stored on a computer only to be seen and used by that one person.  With social bookmarking, they are on the Web for others to see and use creating a virtual community of individuals with similar interests.   

3a Blog – Reflect on Excel

Excel is an excellent tool to help students collect and analyze data and to assist teachers with their lessons.  Here are five Excel activities that could be used in the classroom.

1. Excel can be used to track savings and expenses.  Students can be given an imaginary allowance with expenses.  It can be used to track their spending throughout a period of time to see if they are within budget.
2. Teachers could use Excel to create vocabulary words.  Enter the vocabulary words in one column and their definition in the other column.  Sort the vocabulary words column only to jumble the definitions.  Use it to test matching vocabulary words to their definitions.
3. Both teachers and students can use Excel to track grades.  The teacher could use Excel to track the grades of each of the students and then determine their final grade.  Students can use Excel to track their individual grades throughout the year.
4. Teachers can list the location of a cell, ask the students to find it, and then fill the cell with a certain color.  The cells are listed at random until a certain letter is created on the spreadsheet from the colored cells.
5. Students can be assigned to do research on different American presidents including their state and political party.  Students can compile a spreadsheet with each president listed and include their state and political party.  Analysis of the data using charts can then be made.
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2nd Blog – Language of Today’s Students

Week 2

Well, it turns out that I am a part of Generation X, born very early within the date range.  Most of what was written in the articles for this week’s readings is something that I can relate to.  However, since I am not a teacher working with the Net Generation I cannot comment on whether or not all that was written is totally accurate about the Net Generation and their education.  Therefore, the following is a brief contrast between the generalizations made of the Net Generation and me personally as part of Generation X.

1. The Net Generation has used the Web since the age of 11 or younger.  I did not surf the Web until around the age of 33.  That is a 22 year gap that is missing in my education.  Wow!  No wonder the Internet comes easier for them.
2. For the Net Generation, the Internet is a vehicle for interaction – a way to communicate with friends, participate in chat room discussions, and stream video along with a myriad of other activities.  This is what they want in a classroom setting as well.  My classroom setting consisted of lectures given by the teachers and the most interactive “technical” activity was having a student write on a chalkboard.  A huge difference in the educational experience.
3. When the Net Generation wants information, they expect it immediately and seek it themselves by using such things as WeatherBug for the day’s weather prediction instead of watching the local TV news and waiting for the weather to go on, getting their driving directions from MapQuest or a GPS instead of a paper road map, and sending messages to their friends immediately using their smart phone to text instead of calling them on their landline phone.  Even though I did not grow up with these Internet/technology tools, I have found that I totally want and rely on instant information.  When the electricity goes out because of a hurricane for example, the only thing I really missed and wanted back immediately was the Internet.

It is certainly clear that the Internet has permeated almost every facet of life today.  Since the Net Generation has grown up with computers, the Internet, and all sorts of convenient and instant forms of technology, they most certainly expect and demand these forms of technology in their classroom education.  Since most instructors have not grown up with this technology, it can be hard for them to incorporate it into their teaching.  Teachers need to be aware of the ways their students learn and interact.  Learning never ends, even for teachers.  Teachers have a lot of catching up to do.

1st Blog - Google Docs

Week 1

Tell me your thoughts on using Google docs for your lesson plan project – very pleasantly surprised.  I have to admit that I was skeptical about using Google docs for this project.  What was the big deal?  I knew Google docs was a free application to create documents such as Word and Excel on the Internet.  It is a way to create these documents without buying Microsoft Office.  In a classroom setting, a free application is great for students who cannot afford to purchase the software. 

It was easy for me to use Google docs for this project.  It was very similar to creating a Word document.  I noticed that the document I created in class on Wednesday night regarding the last movie I watched was available when I logged in.  Cloud computing at its best – very helpful for students.  The thing that I found really wonderful was how easy it was to share my technology lesson plans project with the instructor.  Just one click of the button, enter her email address, and hit send.  I did not have to open my email application and then attach the document to an email message.  So fast.  In our reading, Learning Amonst the Riches:  Students in the Cloud, it states, “The cloud is where new learning conversations and related innovations are happening.”  Perhaps this is why we were asked to use Google docs.

The other part of our homework I found interesting was the vocabulary worksheet.  I started my degree in Information Technology in 1998 and had to memorize many technology vocabulary worksheets.  Some of the words on the current worksheet were the same as the worksheets in 1998, but there were many new words on the list, such as blog, smartphone, and social bookmarking.  In our reading Connectivism:  A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, it states that “Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago.”  This really came home for me when examining my career, my knowledge of IT, and working on the vocabulary list.  It is just amazing how quickly things change.