AHA Moments Blog #10

Introduction: I was very worried at the beginning of ETEC 524. I have felt for a long time that my technology skills are like Swiss cheese. I know a little bit of information about many different software programs but have many holes in my basic technology skills. I went from being very apprehensive about this class to feeling excited about attending the next class session. I think I had an AHA moment every time I came to a class session this semester.

Blogs and Wikis: (AHA moment) I had never heard of a blog before this class. I was so worried about doing this type of assignment because I did not know where to begin. However, I actually enjoyed doing the blog entries once I understood the significance of each assignment. Blogging has such potential as a teaching tool. It can be used for parent communication, student assignments, staying in touch with family and friends, and as a personal journal. I do not plan to continue the ETEC 524 blog unless I add to it from other graduate education experiences. I plan to create a family blog so I can stay in contact with relatives living in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. I had never heard of a Wiki before this class either. Although I have not worked with this concept as much as the blog, I have shared it with colleagues and will investigate more about using Wikis in teaching next year.

Power Points: (AHA moment) I have utilized Power Points for years. I had never made an interactive one before this class. This is a method that I will use in teaching my history classes. I plan to go back and revise many of my power points that I have made previously to enhance them and make them interactive.

Desktop Publishing: (AHA moment) I have used this program before and made brochures and newsletters with my students. I did not know it had so many other features. I loved making the business card and learning how to use the grouping feature.

Bloglines, Del.icio.us, and RSS Feeds: (AHA moment) This was a very exciting class session. I plan to organize all my bookmarks into Del.icio.us this summer. I have been so frustrated in the past trying to re-find great sites. I like the usefulness of RSS feeds and the bloglines also.

Threaded Discussions and Journal Articles: (AHA moment) Threaded Discussions including journal articles is a wonderful way to hear about new technology innovations and studies. I liked the discussions because I was able to learn about other people in our class. These discussions helped me realize that many people are experiencing the same frustrations in the educational world as I am especially with the lack of technology skills and equipment. Many times if the equipment is available, the training is not. The discussions also helped to lend support to others in the class and allowed me to even gain AHA moments from their expertise.

Google Pages and Portfolios: (AHA moment) This was another program I had never used before. This is a wonderful way to keep student work organized and portray a collection of projects. I plan to utilize this method with my Gifted and Talented students in the future.

Movie Maker and Photo Story 3: (Favorite AHA moment) I had so much fun working with movie maker and Photo Story 3. I had never created a movie with either of these programs before. The possibilities for utilizing these two programs are endless.

Philosophy: This class helped refine my educational philosophy and strengthen my high educational technology expectations for myself as I can aspire to provide my students with a higher order educational environment that promotes life long learning so they will not become lost in the world of one way thinking.

Summary: These are only a few of the examples of my AHA moments in ETEC 524. I learned something new every time I came to class or completed an assignment so it is hard to define which learning experience has had the biggest impact on me because all of these tools are very useful and many were totally new to me. I think for my personal life the biggest impact will be from using Movie Maker and Photo Story 3. Interactive Power Points and Blogs will have a tremendous impact for my professional life. A possible project next year with my History students will be for them to find a period in history and respond to an historical event in a similar fashion to what I did in ETEC 524 using a blog. I believe that my technology skills have a few less holes after taking this wonderful and exciting class.

Cartoon Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/cga/lowres/cgan486l.jpg

Picture Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Swiss_cheese_cubes.jpg

Primary Sources and NARA Blog # 9

Primary sources are materials from, or directly related to, the past. In History, primary sources are usually records, letters, or other documents created during the period that is being studied, such as legal notices, diaries, or first hand accounts. Primary sources; however, can include photographs, audio recordings, jewelry and other items. Finding primary sources can be exciting whether a student is searching electronically or actually examining the primary source.

The NARA website http://www.archives.gov/index.html is a valuable tool for finding primary source materials electronically. According to Dr. November’s book, this organization is an independent Federal agency that houses and manages all Federal records, and has developed a web site to provide public electronic access to thousands of documents. Some of the available links on this web site include military service records, World War II photos, genealogy databases, and historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. There are also links to the Federal Register, Presidential Libraries and Museums.

As a sixth grade Social Studies teacher, primary sources and the NARA website are exciting teaching tools. These teaching tools will help students to use their higher order thinking skill to critically analyze information. Using primary sources will help the students utilize research skills to learn more about their personal genealogy, their country, and the world. Primary sources can be used to teach main idea for Reading, writing exercises for grammar skills, statistics for math, and historical aspects for Social Studies. I will utilize primary sources and websites such as the NARA to provide my students with a higher order educational environment that promotes life long learning.

Picture Source: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/FIP/PR-00023-C~Lincoln-with-Text-of-Gettysburg-Address-Posters.jpg

Worst Fears and Best Hopes Blog # 8

Digital Natives

I was enlightened by several ideas as I read chapter three in Alan November’s book. I especially liked the idea of using an anonymous distant reviewer. This idea seemed to work well for the teacher from Britain when she collaborated with a teacher from Japan for insight about her student’s Haiku writing.

I have been striving to improve my technology skills so I will be able to meet the challenge of the “digital natives” that I teach. Chapter three made me realize that I have many challenges facing me because I am a true “digital immigrant” which causes me to have several fears.

Worst Fears

Shifting Control: I have always taught with a very structured classroom and maintained high expectations for my students. Shifting control to the students makes me afraid because many students may not stay motivated and expectations may be lowered.

Reverse Mentoring: Allowing students to take control and teach the “teacher” without the teacher losing credibility is very challenging.

Parent Collaboration: Many parents have the “what can I do?” attitude when a teacher discusses their child. Many parents also do not have technology access or knowledge which makes parent/teacher collaboration difficult.

Teacher Technology Skills: The lack of technology skills or technology knowledge of emerging technology can be very overwhelming.

Best Hopes

Shifting Control: I have begun to shift control with a small group of students in a gifted and talented class. These children are being allowed to have less structured lessons, encouraged to think critically, and allowed to design some of their own independent projects. My best hope is that this method will continue to encourage these students to take control of their future learning and set high expectations for their educational experiences.

Reverse Mentoring: Alan November had a wonderful example when he mentioned the reluctant student and how she had excelled with the handicapped project. Sometimes it is easy to be a reluctant learner even as a teacher. My best hope is that I will be able to learn from my students without feeling inadequate. Striving to be a lifelong learner will help with these feelings.

Parent Collaboration: Staying in touch with parents via e-mail or telephone calls will help. My best hope is that many parents will change their “what can I do?” attitude when they realize I only have their child’s best interest in mind. Hopefully this will help the students to take control of their own learning and achieve high expectation goals for themselves.

Teacher Technology Skills: Wishing you had the appropriate skills will not make them happen. A teacher has to initiate the educational learning for the skills to occur. My best hope is that I will be able to continually improve my skills whether it is from technology classes or utilizing reverse mentoring and learning from my students.

The skills I have learned from ETEC 524 are very valuable. I have always felt that my technology skills resembled a piece of Swiss cheese – full of holes. This class has helped close many of those holes with a solid filling of knowledge. These skills have lessened my fears for using technology for educational purposes. I hope and plan to use the technology skills I have learned from this class such as interactive Power Points, moviemaker, blogs, and wikis to enhance the learning of my current and future students in creative learning experiences.

I often strive to share my teaching expertise with my colleagues especially any seminar or workshop knowledge I may gain. I have been a mentor teacher of alternative certification interns for many years. As a good example of reverse mentoring, I probably learn more technology skills and new innovative learning activities from them than they learn from me in most cases.

I realize I have to do some “mental attitude” adjustments on myself in order to lay some of my technology fears to rest. I also need to use websites such as http://www.4teacher.com/ to enhance student learning. I will continue to use more critical thinking skills in my classrooms and encourage students to set high expectation goals for themselves. I will also attempt to use student reverse mentoring as empowerment over the wide gap between my “digital immigrant” skills and the “digital natives” in my classroom.

Digital Immigrant

Picture sources: http://cefnfforest.podomatic.com/2007-05-24T14_54_53-07_00.jpg

http://www.untangledlife.com/wibrary/wp-content/upload/nana%20technology_untangled%20life.jpg

Education Today and Tomorrow Blog 6 & 7

The video from Dr. Wickersham’s blog and chapter two of our textbook made me realize that I have a great deal of improving to do if I am going to reach the digital natives of today. I have always used a fax machine just to send information to another source so it never occurred to me to use the fax machine for communication or a teaching tool as discussed in Alan November’s book.

Distance education is allowing teachers and students to explore a new frontier. Video streaming, video-conferencing, and e-mails are a few of the forms I use for distance education. The advantages of these technologies include being able to enhance learning, give students a new perspective, experience a virtual field trip to places where they may never get to visit, and communicate with parents quickly. The disadvantages of distance education include the cost of video-conferencing and the fact that many parents may not have e-mail or access to computers or other technologies. Christy Turney told me about http://www.earthcam.com/. This is exciting to me. I found a world map which works well for my teaching assignment in sixth grade Social Studies. A person can click on a part of a world map, choose a country, and then focus on an area of the world and receive a “live” video. I am currently teaching about Australia. This website will allow me to take my students to Australia where they can view a live animal or some other aspect of Australian life. The fact that the feed is live may be a disadvantage because a teacher will not have control over what is viewed; therefore the site will have to be picked very carefully.

I have really enjoyed ETEC 524. I did not know how to blog, make a wiki, use moviemaker or Photo Story 3. I knew how to e-mail, use desktop publishing, and make Power Points - not interactive - so I really look forward to learning how which will allow me to make my teaching Power Points better.

I do have a disadvantage in my district. We only have one open lab and it has been closed to all non-TAKS teachers until TAKS is over because of Successmaker being used by the Reading and Math teachers. This is wonderful if it will make a difference in the success of children; however, it really makes it hard when a teacher wants to do a technology project with students and can not because the labs are not available. Since I also teach fifth and sixth grade gifted and talented students, I plan to have the students do a moviemaker project when the labs are available in May. I can only imagine how wonderful these will be since these students are truly digital natives.

In my vision of education I believe technology should be integrated in an educational setting that helps a student attain individual learning objectives and goals. I aspire to provide my students with a higher order educational environment that promotes life long learning so they will not become lost in the world of one way thinking.

Check out this video: Education Today and Tomorrow. I think it paints a great picture about why, as educators, we should be analyzing our teaching methods to meet the needs of student learning today and tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnh9q_cQcUE

Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/

Lights! Camera! Action! Blog 5

I still find it hard to believe how fast the last session of class went. I really enjoyed working with the desk top publishing. I had a fabulous time playing with the images and image editing. I had used this program numerous times previously for personal use and in class with my students. However, I did not realize all it has to offer for personal use and the possibilities for classroom use are endless.

I also left the last class totally excited with the urge to grab my digital camera and start snapping pictures. The movie maker session was wonderful. I really enjoyed taking my pictures and turning them into a movie. I think movie making may turn into a passion. I recently had my students do a research project on historical characters from Medieval History. Many of the students wore costumes as they presented their projects. I plan to take the pictures from this project and turn them into a movie for my student’s viewing pleasure.

Just as I began developing a passion for movie maker, I was introduced to Photo Story 3. I think a monster has been created and given a new way to “scrapbook”. My family and friends already tease me about all the pictures I take. Well, they haven’t seen anything yet because this is truly a user friendly program and I plan to make my digital camera smoke from all the use it will be getting. I think all these technology programs will work well in supporting my vision for integrating technology into the classroom in a fun and interesting way.

Oh, by the way, did I mention I am a grandmother? Well, if not, here is a sample of my new way to scrapbook or is it bragbook that I created with Photo Story 3. Enjoy!

Web 2.0 Blog 4

I have looked up the definition for Web 2.0 several times and still feel I only have a vague idea about what it is. I have to admit that I am a bit overwhelmed with all of this new technology information I am learning.

I left ETEC 524 last class with my head swimming. I felt like I had been technology saturated. Until this class I had not heard of Web 2.0, blogs, bloglines, wikis, RSS, or Del.icio.us. However, these concepts are so exciting. I have shared a few of these with some of my fellow teachers.Del.icio.us makes me want to head to the kitchen for a snack. Honestly, I love the idea of having access, in one location, to my favorite sites. I have saved several great sites to my home computer and school computer. It will be nice to have these sites in one location. Last year, I received a new classroom computer and almost lost all my saved favorites when the old computer was on its way out the door. Fortunately, I caught the technician and he retrieved them for me. Having my favorites on a Del.icio.us account will insure I do not have something like this happen again.

I can really understand the usefulness of blogs and the idea of a class wiki is exciting. I created my own wiki about a “Countries of the World” class research project. I currently e-mail parents weekly about upcoming class projects, tests, homework, and daily work. An educational wiki is a wonderful concept and will be more fun and useful way to share information with parents and students.

I am excited about all this new technology that I did not know existed. I think Web 2.0 technologies will and should impact education. I also know that a teacher needs to stay current with today’s technology. Unfortunately, I realize I am behind and must catch up if I want to accomplish the goal of becoming a “next generation” teacher.

Picture Source: http://glutenfreemommy.com/no-frills-chocolate-cake/

Wikis, Blogs, and Podcasts, Oh My! Blog 3

I can really identify with how Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz must have felt when it comes to all the new technology I am being exposed to recently. I often feel as if I have been swept away by a tornado and set down in the strange land of the World Wide Web.

I never thought about hidden reliability of information until I experienced the MAPit activity. I have often created a research project or computer activity and sent my students forth on a quest for knowledge from websites I thought were reliable. I did not know or give much thought to the idea that these websites may have hidden sponsors or source information that is not accurate or reliable for what subject matter is being portrayed.

Through the MAPit activity and the chapters I have read from Alan November's book, I have truly had my eyes opened. I plan to utilize the MAPit strategies I have learned when I do a search myself or create an activity or project involving technology for my students to complete. I believe this will keep me from being swept away into an unknown land where there are hidden secrets and inaccurate opinions that often contain unreliable information. I plan to share this information with my colleagues also. In the future, I will give more consideration to the URL, check http://www.altavista.com/ for URL history and links, and utilize these MAPit search strategies more carefully. By following these helpful guidelines, I believe I will create a much safer learning environment for my students, my colleagues and myself in the land of the World Wide Web.

Picture Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/dvd-reviews/the-wizard-of-oz-special-edition/2005/11/21/1132421578232.html

Educational Technology Organizations Blog 2

INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION


ITEA is the professional organization for technology, design, innovation, and engineering educators. http://www.iteaconnect.org/

Mission: ITEA's mission is to promote technological literacy for all by supporting the teaching of technology and promoting the professionalism of those engaged in this pursuit. ITEA strengthens the profession through leadership, professional development, membership services, publications, and classroom activities.

Purpose: ITEA's purpose is to help teachers through professional development and leadership with classroom activities that will promote learning.

Technology Education Definition: Technology education is problem-based learning utilizing science, math, and technology principles.

My choice: I chose ITEA because it has classroom proven tips, educational trends and issues, scholarly research, best practices, plus unlimited searches of their archives available online. ITEA provides lessons for teachers, and supports them as they strive to provide integrated learning for children.

Education Development Center, Inc.

EDC is a nonprofit organization with more than 325 projects in countries around the world. EDC is dedicated to promoting health, enhancing learning, and fostering a deeper understanding about the world. EDC is a pioneer in developing, evaluating, and implementing a wide-range of educational technology tools. http://main.edc.org/

Mission: EDC specializes in bringing diverse parties together—government agencies, business leaders and labor unions, community groups and schools, and non-governmental organizations—to develop innovative and academically challenging programs that prepare people of all ages, and from all levels of the workforce, for the employment challenges they face.

Purpose: EDC is a leader in bringing computer and information technology, and the skills to use them, to groups of people who have traditionally lacked access to technology.

Technology Education Definition: Learning begins with questions which can be answered with a variety of projects that support teachers and school administrators through professional development initiatives that promote effective use of technology in education.

My choice: EDC is an organization committed to bringing hands-on inquiry based learning to people of all ages and backgrounds. I chose this organization because of its focus on all people regardless of educational background and its collaborative efforts to bring many groups of people together to build a skill oriented world through technology education. EDC is a host for EWIT which I found to be a great educational technology source as well.

EDUCATORS’ WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

EWIT is a partner for Information Technology in Education and Training at EDC. EWIT (The Educators' Website for Information Technology) is a learning community of technical and academic educators and community-based business partnerships.This organization is made up of a team of professionals with extensive backgrounds and experience in the information technology industry working collaboratively with community organizations, K-12 public schools, higher education, and technical education.http://www2.edc.org/ewit/default.asp

Mission: EWIT is committed to working across traditional boundaries and to employing inclusive, equitable and collaborative principles of interaction and engagement.

Purpose: EWIT specializes in building capabilities in organizations and individuals seeking to develop/deepen information technology skills for living, learning, and working.

Technology Education Definition: Increase of the diversity of the Information Technology workforce, ensuring that all individuals have opportunities to learn about, train for and access Information Technology career opportunities in all industries.

My Choice: I chose this organization because of its focus, like its sponsor EDC, on all people regardless of educational background and its collaborative efforts to bring many groups of people together for available opportunities in career technology. There are opportunities listed to transform schools using technology, lists of success strategies, and suggested ways to strengthen information technology in schools.

The Blog!

Introduction: I accomplished a lifelong career goal twenty-one years ago when I entered the educational world with a brand new Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education specializing in English. I completed another educational career goal when I completed my Gifted and Talented Endorsement in 2001. I currently teach sixth grade Social Studies as well as fifth and sixth grade gifted and talented students. When I first began teaching, computers were not found in the classroom. Technology in a classroom consisted of a tape recorder, overhead projector and a 16mm projector that a teacher could check out and use when showing a film to students. Copies were made on memograph machines which resulted in teachers having purple hands at the end of the day from "running" off papers for classwork.

Purpose and Expectations: I am now striving to accomplish another educational career goal by completing a MLS degree from Texas A & M - Commerce. My purpose for taking ETEC 524,is because it is a a course requirement for the library degree I am seeking. I expect this class to help me reach my current career goal by enhancing my knowledge for utilizing available technology for improvement of my personal skills and for educational purposes. I look forward to learning more about blogs as well as desktop publishing, innteractive powerpoints, Wikis and podcasts.

Vision and Goals: I currently use powerpoints, virtual streaming, and video in my classroom for educational purposes. I want to learn how to do a webpage and possibly a WebQuest. I want to learn how to utilize other modern technology for use in my classroom to enhance student learning. As mentioned earlier, I have seen many changes in educational technology during my career. Unfortunately there is much available that I am unaware of so I look forward to learning new and innovative ways to utilize and enhance educational technology in my classroom and personal life. I hope that I will get more hooked on technology as I progress through ETEC 524 and not be as intimidated by it as I am at times. For example, I have a new cell phone. Needless to say some forms of technology can be a real challenge. Although I have a limited knowledge of technology, I am willing to help fellow students with powerpoints and publisher.

Educational Technology Definition: Educational Technology is defined as” the creative application of man, machines, and materials to solving instructional problems" (Schmidt and Rieck 2000, 6). In a nutshell, I have had a wonderful career as a classroom teacher and wish to expand that experience in the education world as a Media Specialist. I believe this class will help me improve my technology skills and enable me to reach my current and future goals as I continue to strive to be a great educator and some day a Media Specialist working in a technology centered library.


Educational Technology Philosophy: According to Wikipedia, Educational technology is an area of study and practice within the fields of psychology and/or education. I believe that children need to feel secure and safe to learn best. They should be treated as individuals with different learning styles that deserve a flexible educational environment. They should be guided by an educator utilizing many different methods of teaching and not made to fit into a specific learning mold. Children should be empowered with a great self-image and taught to think using the tools of learning through integrated subjects and integrated teaching methods.


Education Quote: "An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.” Anatole France