Rethinking Education: Chapter 3

     It was interesting to read about the technology enthusiast's point of view last week and see how it compares with the technology skeptics point of view this week. In the reading, I found this quote to be interesting, "The school system relies on common and well-tested technologies. The basic material tools for schooling are paper, pens, pencils, and chalk...Blackboards and overhead projectors provide cheap ways to support teacher explanations and sharing work"(p. 33). This statement is very interesting. At some point the schools must have integrated overhead projectors (at some point in time they did not exist). If schools could integrate the use of pens and overhead projectors, how come they cannot now integrate newer, better, more efficient technologies? Perhaps it is the cost, but I think that schools should analyze the overall year-to-year benefits that will come with the integration of newer technologies. I do not think that all schools and all teachers should be forced to integrate new technologies into their classrooms, but I do believe that teachers should be educated on what new technologies are available; Teachers should then decide whether or not these newer technologies will be beneficial to their student's growth and learning.
     I understand that technology, such as computers, can be expensive, but I really do believe that the benefits that come along with technology (especially in a technology world) far outweigh the initial cost. I think that the ideal situation would be if every student had a laptop that they could use in their classes, which would eliminate a cluttered room and a lack of computers for all students. Since most schools do not provide computers to their students, I think that the next best thing would be to give the students plenty of time to finish their work; If you have your students make a blog, you could give them a week to get the assigned writing done, so that all students would have an equal opportunity of getting to a computer and completing the assignment.
     I found some of the arguments against technology integration to be quite trivial. To say that computer usage in a classroom would be too noisy, I think, is quite absurd; There is plenty of noise in a general education classroom already, without computers. I think that the noise that comes with computer usage is beneficial noise, because it is the noise of students learning. Another argument that the skeptics have is that computers decrease student's scores for writing with pen and paper; I think that this statement is probably true, but by saying this the skeptics are not really proving that computers are horrible pieces of technology. I think that computers allow students to process their thoughts more quickly, even if their ability to write quickly and efficiently on paper is diminished. I think that in a world where professional writing is done with computers, students should be encouraged to write with a computer, rather than a pencil and paper. 
     I agree with the skeptic's argument that computers should not replace teachers, since teachers are unique and provide their students with many things that technology cannot; Rather than technology replacing teachers, I think that technology/computers should be used to help teachers give more effective lessons. As a teacher, I hope to encourage my students to use technology. I will try to integrate technology use into my classroom by giving my students ample time to complete their assignments that require the use of technology.

Day 4-Exit Slip

     In class today, the first group led their Rethinking Education discussion for chapter two. I really liked how the group used quotes to highlight the chapter; The use of quotes also let us reflect on the chapter, without actually reteaching the chapter.The group had a really good website for everyone to look at, it was www.brainpop.com. I think that if your school would pay for the membership, this website would be really cool to use with your teaching. I thought that the debrief of the discussion was a really effective way to help all of us become better teachers. I liked the idea of using a positive column and a delta column (change). I think that instead of listing things that people do wrong, listing things that people can change and do better in the future is more constructive. I also thought that the website SMART Exchange was a really cool resource to keep in my delicious account for when I am teaching. I really liked the section that lets you look at lessons that incorporate the Wisconsin standards, called standards-correlated lessons. I hope to get a chance sometime this weekend to really look at this website in greater depth. Something that really got me thinking today, was something that Dr. Boyer mentioned; He said that education is the only field in which we still consider whether or not we should be using technology. I think that this is really interesting. I think that we need to encourage the use of technology in the field of education, so that our teaching methods will be more beneficial for our students' learning.

Rethinking Education: Chapter 2

     One of the main ideas that I took from this chapter, was that schooling should be relevant and should prepare students for the future. I think that technology should definitely be integrated into schooling, but I think that even with technology integration there must be a limit. I do not believe that students should simply be playing video games, (or other interactive gaming technologies) that simulate certain real life situations, throughout the school day. I think that technologies should be integrated but they should not be the only way or method that students are learning from. I think that teachers are vital to a sound education, and I think that some formal methods of teaching are instrumental in preparing students for the future. We must find the middle ground, where technology and formal education can come together to best benefit the students.

     It is interesting to read in this chapter that a learner wants to be in control of what he/she is learning. I never really stopped to think about this before, but this statement is really true. Do you want to learn something that you have no interest in and know that you will never ever use later in life? No! You want to have control of what you learn; You want to learn things that interest you. Nowadays, people can use the internet to learn "just-in-time." If somebody needs to know how to cook lobster or do almost anything, they can look it up online (there is no need to take a class); People can not only look almost anything up online, but they can look things up online when it is relevant to them, when they really need to use the information. Technology also allows people to have things customized to fit their interests and wants.

     One thing that I will take from this chapter and implement in my classroom, is the need for students to reflect. Reflection is so important in school and in life. When we reflect on our progress and our work, we gain perspective on how we are doing and what we need to change. I think that technology really does allow students to reflect more, and I hope to encourage my students to use technology to help them reflect on their learning, their thinking, and their progress. Depending upon which grade I end up teaching, I would like to have the students make their own blog site where they will be able to write out their reflections, similar to what we are doing for this class.

Day 3-Exit Slip

     Today we discussed some tips and tricks to giving a good presentation. When I give presentations, I usually have a hard time slowing myself down and giving my students enough wait time; In the future, I hope to increase my wait time in the classroom and while giving presentations. It is also very important to talk professionally while giving presentations; There is nothing more distracting than a presenter constantly saying like, uh, and uhm.

     In class we also went through a Rethinking Education discussion. I really enjoyed the "get off the fence protocol." This discussion activity really encouraged participation and helped facilitate discussion by grouping similar thinking students together to discuss why they agree/disagree/have no opinion with the topic, "Technology makes life more difficult for teachers." This topic really got me thinking. I at first disagreed with this statement, but as I was listening to some of the other arguments, I began to float between no opinion and disagree.

     Some things that we did near the end of lab today included discussing how to evaluate websites and how to use the SMARTboard. I thought that the triangulation idea was a really strong point to take from today's class. It is really important that we stress to our students the need to have multiple sources when researching a topic and the need to cross check data. It is also important that we use triangulation in our own research (we need to do what we ask of our students).

Evaluating Websites for Credibility

     When we ask our students to research something online, we must prepare them with the how-to's of evaluating whether or not a website is credible. I would explain to my students that when they come to a webpage and they find a lot of really good information, they need to look for the five W's before believing everything on the site. Students need to look who wrote and designed the website; Was the creator of the site someone who might actually know what they are talking about? The students then need to look what the purpose of the site is and whether the information differs at another website (obviously your students should be using more than one website for a research assignment). Next, the students should consider where the information is coming from and whether other links or materials are cited on the site. Then students should look at when the site was created and last updated; Is the information still relevant? Lastly, the students need to consider why they feel that the website is credible and believable. After taking into account the five W's, students may still end up using websites that are not credible because it can sometimes be that hard to tell credibility; The important thing is that we caution ourselves against false truths and do our best to find credible sources online. I would also encourage students to make a simple judgement call on a website based on grammar. If the website has grammatical errors in every sentence, clearly it may not be the best source for quality information.
    
     It was rather interesting to look at these four clearly unreliable websites that are currently online. I found the "All About Explorers" website to be quite amusing. It was interesting to find out that the site was put together by teachers who wanted to demonstrate to students that just because a website looks nice and has a lot of information, doesn't mean that the information is accurate. On first coming to these four webpages, it was hard to immediately determine credibility, however, after clicking through a few parts of the site, you come to see that the information is not quite what you were looking for. Thus it is always a good idea to analyze the website you are using information from and make sure that it truly is reliable and credible.

Rethinking Education: Preface and Chapter 1

     It is hard for me to think of a time when I did not use the computer, internet, or television; These technologies have always been in my life (at least as far back as I can remember). I grew up with the internet, the same as children now are growing up with iPods, blogs, wikis and other newer technologies. It is so interesting to think of how far we have come just in the last 10 years. I really wonder what the future will be like with even more advances and improvements in technology.

     I feel that it is important that the educational system changes with the times. We cannot expect the students of 2010 to learn in the same way as students of 1970. We must adapt our teaching styles, so that our students are truly benefiting from the educational system. Adapting our teaching styles in 2010 means that we need to connect our lessons with the technology of the day. The hard part in adapting the schooling to fit today's youth is that technology can cost money, and money does not grow on trees. If the money issue can be avoided, perhaps through a donation or a grant, the childrens opportunities for learning are endless. The way I look at it is, if schooling is not helping students to learn and be prepared for the real world, what good is it really? Don't get me wrong, I feel that education is very important, but we need to make sure that our students ARE learning. Just as the job descriptions have changed over the past few years, so must education change so that there are workers capable of handling a job in the future (especially for jobs that have not even been created yet). We need to be properly preparing students for today, not for 1970.

     As a teacher, I hope to stay up-to-date on technology. I hope to use technology in my classroom to help facilitate my lessons and help foster learning. I think that technology is here, and it will continue to be here in the future. If we want our students to be excited about learning, we must make learning exciting by connecting it with their lives. The way that we connect with today's youth is through the use of technology.

Frontline Video Reaction

     The Frontline video was very informative and interesting. The video showed me just how much of a role technology, especially the internet, is playing in the lives of young people. Most young people surround themselves (for many hours) with technology; They see technology as an outlet where they can be themselves. With so many students using the internet and other forms of technology in their daily lives, why not use technology to educate students and help them learn? The internet and other technologies are not going away, they are not a fad, so we must try to adjust our lives and our teaching styles to incorporate technology. I think that technology can be a blessing to the educational world, if used to help foster knowledge and understanding. It is important that we as future teachers try to use technology to gain the students' attention and help them get excited about learning. We should not and cannot expect students to want to sit through 7-8 hours of schooling each day without any use of technology. I think that when technology is brought into the classroom you will gain students attention and peak their interest. (Along with integrating technology into the classroom, it is always a good idea for teachers to explain how to use the internet and technology properly and safely.)

     I think that in certain areas the internet can be a blessing and in certain areas it can be a bit of a curse. I found it to be really disturbing to see that kids are searching the internet and forming weblogs about how to stay anorexic or how to kill themselves. I think that the internet, in some respects, allows children to feel even more indestructible than they do in "real" life. Online, students can cyber-bully and gossip about one another without the same fears as they would have offline. It is scary to think that some of my own students may be crying out for help, and I would never even know it (and for the most part neither would their parents). I do not know if there is really any way to help a child who does not let you in, but I would try to stay in touch with my students and make them feel comfortable to talk to me if they ever have any problems. Although technology (especially the internet) is not perfect, I feel that the good that can come from technology far outweighs the bad.

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts: Chapters 1-3

     After reading these chapters, I see more clearly how technology can be beneficial in the classroom; Technology can get kids interested, involved, and invested in their education. I think that when students are encouraged to voice their opinions and use technology for learning, they will be excited and eager to do so. I used to think that I would be a more traditional teacher, who would use the typical/traditional classroom technology; however, I am coming to see more and more the vast benefits of using newer technologies, like Weblogs. I think that a class blog and individual student blogs are great tools to introduce into a classroom setting; Weblogs can be used to do so much, like posting homework assignments or reflections. I feel that Weblogs are a perfect way to get all students participating. I think that some students will feel more comfortable to analyze and react to what they are reading and doing in class, on a Weblog, than they would in a classroom, in front of the other students. I also think that Weblogs can be very helpful in keeping parents involved in their child's education. Even if you only use a Weblog to keep classroom rules, assignments, handouts, and calendars, you are opening the lines of communication with the parents and helping to create a better learning environment.

     As was discussed in the reading, I think that it is a good idea to introduce your students to blogging slowly. Obviously before you begin using blogs in your classroom, you need to make sure that the students and parents are comfortable with the idea. You should also make sure that you have parent permission. Once you have permission, it is important that you do not overwhelm or intimidate the students. You should explain exactly what is expected of your students and show them examples of what a blog is. Once the students feel comfortable with the idea of a blog, they will be ready and willing to try it out (this is where the road to discoveries and learning is opened up). 

     As a future teacher, I hope to set up a classroom blog, where I will post assignments, due dates, calendars, handouts, etc... Depending on what grade level I am teaching, I also hope to have the students make their own blog for reflections and/or assignments.

Day 2-Exit Slip

     In class today I learned all about social bookmarking. I never heard of social bookmarking before this class, but it sounds like a really interesting concept. I really enjoyed learning about delicious.com, especially since this summer my home computer crashed and I lost all of my favorites. I think that this is a great website, because it allows me to keep track of lots of websites that I come across, and it allows me to keep track of hundreds of websites for future reference. I used to only save really really important websites to my favorites, because I didn't want to clutter the menu up too much, but now I can save as much as I want without having to worry about clutter. I also think that it is really cool that we can see other people's delicious bookmarks. I think that it will be easier to find websites that are relevant to my interests and educational endeavors. My delicious account will definitely help me in the future.

Reaction to the Digital Autobiography

Here is the link to My Digital Autobiography.


My Digital Autobiography Reaction

     I spent about five hours creating my digital autobiography through Vuvox. It took me a little while to pick out which pictures to use and to plan my layout. It also took me some time to figure out how to use some of the tools available in Vuvox and how to cut-out my pictures. Once I got the hang of using Vuvox, I found that it was actually really fun creating a digital autobiography.

     I can see numerous values in completing this course task. This task taught me about technology and encouraged me to think creatively. I think that one of the best ways to learn about technology is to dive right in and try new applications. I never heard of Vuvox before this assignment, but because of this assignment I feel much more confident in trying out other new technologies. I also learned a lot by creating my digital autobiography and I had a lot of fun doing it.

     I hope to use something like my digital autobiography in my own classroom some day. I think that digital autobiographies, like the one I created through Vuvox, are great ways to introduce yourself to your class at the start of the year. Vuvox could also be used throughout the year for various projects you may want your students to do. (I think that students would get really excited if given the opportunity to create a project or their own digital autobiography using technology like Vuvox.)

Day 1-Technology

1. Technology means an item or thing that can aid mankind in many areas of life, including learning. To me, technology means an object that can help get my objectives across in a classroom.

2. Technology integration means increasing student awareness to the many benefits and uses of technology to better their lives. Technology integration in the classroom looks like the use of technology to assist in a lesson and the use of technology by students.