The Technology Teacher

Heather's Presentation

2009-04-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

Facts about digital storytelling
1. It is a combination of words, pictures and music.
2. Can be used to tell a personal or academic story.
3. A good alternative to traditional reports or stories.

I used my media literacy skills for my digital story in that I learned how to combine all words, pictures, and music in order to convey and idea.

Engrade Snapshots

2009-04-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here are my Engrade snapshots. Please proceed to the previous blog to read my critique and reflection.

The Grade Book: Moving Beyond Pen & Paper

2009-04-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

For the grading software assignment, I used Engrade.com. I thought the software was extremely easy to use. The features which I liked were:

Assignment averages
Citizenship section
Ability to manually assign grades
Different grading options
Easily import to Excel

I thought the software is somewhat limiting in terms of being able to elaborate on each particular grade and why the student received the grade. I would like to be able to create a hyperlink attachment to each number grade which would allow access to an evaluation report or rubric which explains the grade or analyzes the grade.

I think this software would be very helpful for classroom teachers in that it is efficient and clearly organized. It certainly simplifies the process of grading when compared to paper and pen methods. I like that it creates class averages for assignment grades. I suspect this type of software is in its infancy. I would like to see options to create graphs of class and student achievement in order to provide the teacher with a snapshot of student and class progress.

The option to allow student and parent access to their grades is very concerning to me. Assessment and evaluation is a complicated process and can be confusing for a non-professional to understand. The thought of having a parent track their student's daily grades is, quite honestly, frightening to me. I compare it to a patient having access to their laboratory results. The patient has no training in interpreting such results, which is why patients must receive the results from their doctors who can explain those results to them. I feel the same measures are necessary for parents and students. I would prefer to speak with the parent if they want to know how their student is doing so that I may explain my concerns and explain the grades, rather than having them jump to conclusions and have unnecessary concerns or unreasonable optimism.

Digital Storytelling

2009-04-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

The digital storytelling project was so much fun! It really allowed me to use my love of telling stories and my creativity. I have used Windows Movie Maker in the past in order to create slideshows for personal use and I was surprised at how easy it was to add narration.

This is an assignment I would certainly give to my students in my future practice. Instead of simply writing a story on paper, they can also express their stories through speaking and enhance their stories through the creative use of images. This will be a very appealing assignment to digital natives.

To view my digital autobiography, please click below.

Social Interactive Model in Lit & Tech

2009-03-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

The topic of today's online class was "Cooperative Learning vs. Collaborative Learning." As we were exploring the differences between these two social interactive models of instruction, a thought occurred to me: I only need to look as far as the design of this course to find concrete examples of these different methods of instruction and learning.

For example, the entire course is based on the Social Interactive Model. That is, we work with others in order to learn about literacy and technology. Then, there are different types of social interactive technologies within the course. So, when we meet with the whole class and Dr. Smirnova asks us to answer questions for the class or assigns our group a task to complete, we are engaging in cooperative learning. Dr. Smirnova is acting as the facilitator and mediator. It is a teacher-centered activity. When we meet in smaller groups in order to complete an assigned task, we are engaging in collaborative learning. The activities are student-centered. The group is the director of the group's actions.

So, the next time I need to give an example in this course, I will be sure to look to the design of the course itself before going to outside sources.

Creating Assignments with Multiple Educational Goal

2009-03-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest about my reaction when I read the crossword assignment on Moodle: I groaned with dread. All I could think about was all the school work I had to do and now I had waste my time in order to create a silly crossword puzzle?!

But, as I created the puzzle, I realized this was another of Dr. Smirnova's sneaky assignments. What seems like a simple task is actually a well-planned activity which creates the conditions for the student to learn something new. This assignment accomplished much more than simply creating a crossword puzzle. It accomplished the following educational goals:
1. By creating the crossword puzzle on Excel, I was forced to explore Excel and learn to use it in a new application.
2. By using the vocabulary from my assigned TDC chapter, I was forced to review the vocabulary words and their meanings.
3. The entire activity induced a reflective process in which I realized the educational value of this type of assignment.

Can I use create my own multi-purpose assignments in my future classroom? Of course. For example, instead of giving a direct instruction lesson on how to use Excel, I could use the same crossword assignment for my students using vocabulary words from a content area such as math or science. With today's demanding standards, this is an ideal and efficient way to develop computer skills while reinforcing content area knowledge.

If I were to do an assignment like this again, I would not approach it with dread. I would approach it with an open mind so that I may fully partake in the educational opportunity the assignment offers.

Collaborative Collapse

2009-03-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

Working in a group is challenging for most people. However, I think it is particularly challenging for teachers. Why is this? Well, one of the appealing aspects of teaching for many is the aspect of being in "command and control" of the classroom. However, the days of being able to enter a classroom, close the door, and operate a classroom the way one sees fit, are over. Therefore, teachers must learn to collaborate.

Education takes many of it's cues from the business world. A quick Google search about business and collaboration indicates a dramatic shift in recent years from "command and control" style management policies to a more collaborative method of management. Why is this? Research shows that collaborative efforts yield a better product in a shorter amount of time. This has several implications for education. First, we are educating the workforce of tomorrow. They must know how to collaborate in order to be productive members of the workforce. Yet, how can we, as educators, teach them to collaborate if we ourselves cannot collaborate?

My collaborative experience for this course has been met with several issues which have presented a challenge to the efficacy and efficiency of the group. I began to reflect on the dynamics of the group in order to see if I could affect any positive changes. The first issue I have noted is a distinct "Me" mentality among members of the group (myself included). Just setting up a meeting time has been a challenge because, "I have to do this" and "I am taking this class and this class and this class" and "I can't believe these people think I can meet anytime they want." It would be far more productive to simply present a list of available openings. Most people are very busy and it's not a contest for who is the busiest. Complaining is a counterproductive waste of time.

Furthermore, expectation levels among the group are wide-ranging. Not everyone in a group is going to be a high-achiever. Just because one person strives for that A, doesn't mean that all members of the group are going to. Berating that lower-achiever or re-doing their work is detrimental to the group as a whole. A better way to manage that person may be to determine what their strengths are and to assign them that portion of the project. For example, if one person is a dynamic public-speaker, perhaps they should present a project. If one person is a good researcher, perhaps they should do the research. If another is creative, they should add the art work and creative effects to the project. As teachers, we understand that are students are going to have different learning styles. It's interesting that we do not apply this same philosophy to our colleagues. In education we refer to High-Achievers and Average Students. The business world refers to A-Players and B-Players. The following site provides great tips for managing both types of workers: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/hr/performance_management/b-players.htm.

Another issue in the group is an inability to delegate a job and trust the person to do the job. There is no point in delegating a job and then just doing it anyway because the delegatee did not do the job in the manner the delegator wanted it done. A better collaborative style would be to offer constructive feedback and encouragement in order to improve the overall work product.

Finally, a collaborative group needs a strong, consistent and present leader who can create a cohesive work environment.

Some thoughts on Mind Mapping

2009-03-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

I tend to be a "linear thinker." As such, graphic organizers tend to be frustrating for me. It's a system of organization that isn't aligned with my thought process.

However, creating a mind map was a different experience than creating a graphic organizer. As my topic, I chose to explore my journey to becoming a teacher. If I had started to write this autobiographical essay without some prior organization, the essay would be in danger of becoming a rambling dissertation with no flow or direction. By creating a mind map, I was able to pinpoint the major themes of the topic and focus on the details of these themes. The mind map is a wonderful tool for condensing and organizing information so that it can be manipulated into another product, such as an essay, story, or letter.

I will be certain to use the mind map in my future classroom as a tool to help my students organize their thoughts prior to creating a written product.

What Will Be Our Digital Legacy?

2009-02-26T12:35:00.000-08:00

When I was twelve years old, I wrote a note to a friend during math class. The subject of the note was how much I disliked my math teacher and the numerous reasons why. Certainly, I had no intention for anyone other than my friend to read the note. I cannot describe to you my horror and shame when the teacher whom I was criticizing not only took the note, but read it. I apologized profusely after class and she forgave me and it was never discussed again. Not with anyone. This mean act which showed a supreme lack of judgment on my part remained between this teacher and me (she ended up being one of my favorite teachers of all time). I learned a painful lesson: "If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't put it in writing."

I was reminded of this long-forgotten incident during the discussion of Digital Citizenship during this week's class. I wondered: what if I were a twelve-year-old of today and chose to write such a thing on the Internet? The horrible words which I wrote would be linked to my character on the Internet. Forever.

My students will not have the luxury of learning a lesson and simply moving on. Everything they create on the Internet will be forever tied to their name and character. As such, teachers have the responsibility to remind their young students that every time they enter the digital world, they are leaving a print: a digital print. This is a difficult task to accomplish with young minds. Part of growing up is making mistakes and learning from them. Yet, we must teach our students to ask, "Do I want this picture of me to represent me forever?" "Do I want these words I write to represent me forever?"

These digital children will one day be our teachers, doctors, judges and politicians. No doubt, in the very near future, people seeing public positions will be embarrassed, if not scandalized, by youthful lapses of judgement which became part of the permanent digital record and were sleuthfully discovered by someone seeking to destroy their character. As an educator of Generation Net, I have a duty to caution my students to be cognizant of the permanent mark they leave on the Internet.

How will sites such as del.icio.us and Diigo help my teaching career?

2009-02-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Sites such as Delicious and Diigo "shrink" the size of the internet and help the user to organize their information. Through social bookmarking, I will be a part of a larger community of teachers. By expanding my colleague base to include professionals in the digital world, I can utilize their ideas and method in my own classroom. Sites such as these allow me to see what professionals outside of my immediate physical environments are doing in their classroom. Furthermore, a site such as Diigo can help me to organize my internet resources so that they are easily accessible. By adding highlights and sticky notes, I can save the time of re-reading the bookmarked pages. In short, Delicious and Diigo will help me to integrate the information on the web into my classroom.

Technology Standards in Today's Classroom

2009-02-15T12:25:00.000-08:00

In reviewing the National Educational Technology Standards for Students, it is apparent that most of these standards are not being addressed in the classroom. Students utilize computers to access information and create products, but they are not receiving a broad education in technology. The two standards which are most thoroughly addressed in today's classroom are:
3. Reasearch and Information Fluency and
5. Technology Operations and Concepts.
However, teachers need to incorporate the remaining standards into their lessons. For example, students need to understand that they are digital citizens just as they are citizens of their physical community. Just as being a citizen of their neighborhood requires certain rules and standards of etiquette, so does being a digital citizen.
In my future practice as a teacher, it will be important that I fulfill my duty to my students to help them become fully-functioning members of the digital community by incorporating all of the ISTE Standards into my curriculum.

1.0 vs. 2.0 Bookmarking

2009-02-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

Web 1.0 bookmarking consisted of creating a list on your computer of your favorite sites. If you liked a site and planned on visiting it in the future, you bookmarked it. If you wanted to visit that site later, you went to your list and clicked on the desired site. A simple and useful organizational system.

With the development of Web 2.0 and it's collaborative nature came Web 2.0 bookmarking, or social bookmarking. With Web 2.0 bookmarking, you post your bookmarks on the internet. They are not stored on your computer. This system has several advantages. First, you do not need your own computer to view your bookmarks. If you are using a different computer, you can still retrieve your bookmarks. When bookmarks are shared on the internet on sites such as Delicious, a common bookmark database is created. So, the site keeps track of all the bookmarks that are being created by people. Why is this a good thing? Because if a large quantity of people bookmark a particular site, it has a greater chance of being a useful site. Social bookmarking helps target good sites. In effect, by being a member of a social bookmarking site, members are creating their own search engine. Instead of going to Google and plugging in a search term such as "Web 2.0 Bookmarking" and sorting through the hundreds of sites that come up in order to find a useful site, the searcher can plug in the search term and pull up the bookmarks of others who have searched the same term and found a site useful enough to bookmark. Thus, social bookmarking is a collaborative effort to help save time by creating a database of good sites.

What Digital Means to Me

2009-02-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

During last week's online class, Dr. Smirnova asked the class what "digital" means. There were many different answers, none of which were necessarily incorrect. The diversity of answers suggests that "digital" holds different meanings for different people.

This led me to thinking about what digital means to me. When I hear the word "digital," I think, "information." Digital is a means of storing and transporting information.

What about "Digital Literacy?" What does this mean? Digital literacy refers to the ability to locate, access, and utilize this digital information. Why is this important? Why do we want our students to be digitally literate?

I envision a future world where all information is stored in the digital form. In fact, this transformation is occurring right this moment. How many of us have visited a library in the past year? How many of us have written a letter by hand in the last year? How many of us no longer receive a newspaper? How many times a day to we seek out digital information?

So, in order to participate in this digital world, our students need to be fully functioning members of this world. In short, they must be digitally literate. Why is this important?

The foundations of our country are built upon the concept of free exchange of information. The ability to produce, distribute, exchange and access information is not to be controlled by the government. Why is this such a vital right in our American society?

BECAUSE INFORMATION = FREEDOM

So, in order to remain free, our students must be able to access the information on the internet. This principal is so well-understood that there is an initiative to provide the children of developing nations with laptops. If these children are ever to escape the poverty into which they are born, they must have access to education and information. For more information, see:

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

In previous generations, the library was the most accessible source of free information. As such, students were taught the organizational system of the library (i.e. the Dewey Decimal System), so that they could access and utilize the information. Today, the most accessible source of free information is the internet. Teachers must teach their students how to access, utilize, and exchange the information on the internet. To be able to do so is to be digitally literate.

Some thoughts on Web 2.0

2009-02-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Prior to the start of the Literacy and Technology class, I had never heard the term "Web 2.0," but I had been using it to some degree. Recently, I created a Facebook page and have since become an addict. I was resistant to joining Facebook because I really didn't understand the purpose of it. Now that I have the page, I'm amazed at the way it connects me to my friends, family, and acquaintances. For example, today, I viewed the YouTube Clip on the course website, "Shift Happens." I thought many of the people I know would find it interesting. Prior to my Facebook page, I would have composed a new e-mail and attached the link. Then I would have sent it to the people who I thought would find the clip interesting. The would have had to open the e-mail and click on the link, which would then take them to YouTube. That is the Web 1.0 way of communicating. With Facebook, I simply posted the clip on my page and people can choose to view it right on the page. If they like the clip, they can post it on their site for others to view. This new way of information sharing is Web 2.0. It allows for a method of sharing and organizing the information on the web in a type of collaborative community.

How will Web 2.0 affect the world of education? The possible applications are endless. In my future classroom, I see Web 2.0 being used to link the teacher, parent, student, and administrators in a network of communication. In the past, when the classroom door closed, communication only existed between the students and the teacher. If the parent wanted to know what was going on in the class or how their student was doing, they would have to place a telephone call to the teacher. Who would have to call the parent back. The same scenario exists with the principal or other colleagues who collaborate with the teacher. With Web 2.0, the teacher can create a site which, in effect, allows the door to the classroom to remain open at all times. The parents can monitor what their children are learning about. Classroom happenings can be posted on the site. The teacher can list all assignments and all materials and references needed to do those assignments. In addition, the teacher can list all grades so that the parents can monitor their child's academic progress. In turn, the teacher can use the site to communicate concerns about their child and ask the teacher questions. Web 2.0 will empower all those involved in the education of a child by linking them together through easily accessible information while providing a framework for group communication and feedback.

Two Weeks of Literacy & Technology!

2009-02-08T19:54:00.001-08:00

As the third week of Literacy and Technology begins, I find myself reflecting on what I have learned thus far. First, I watched the "Death by Power Point" video and found it to be very informative. Essentially, I've been creating awful Power Points throughout my graduate school career! All incoming MSMC students should be required to watch that video. My next Power Point will be used as a support for my presentation, not as a crutch.

Next, my group engaged in our first online meeting. The meeting was plagued with technical difficulties, which is to be expected. Despite our frustration with the new medium, we all remained calm and patient while we explored the workings of WizIQ. I have a feeling that our next meeting will proceed more smoothly and will result in a productive discussion of the course topics.

Finally, I tend to think of myself as a fairly knowledgeable person when it comes to technology. However, the course has introduced me to several new web applications: the wiki and the podcast. I am looking forward to learning how to utilize these technologies to their full capacity within my classroom. Which leads me to the question: How do I incorporate technology into my classroom? Well, the LoTi PowerPoint lays out a plan for the educational use of technology. As with all curricular planning, the standards must serve as the guide for lessons and the use of technology should assist the students in reaching the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.