Day 13-Exit Slip

     Today in class we looked at technology integration. We watched a video and took notes on how a teacher integrated technology into her classroom. The following are my notes:

• smartboard
• online collaboration-world wide...tools: wikis, twitter, skype, to get started look online (such as epals)
• cooperative learning
• teacher daily blog..assignments (open classroom)
• student computers and laptops (mobile lab)
• student blogs w/current events and classroom activities...more motivated to write and become active members of society
• No photocopies...online text/electronic text

     We then looked into what of these things the teacher could do before, couldn't do before, or could do before but better now. We should use technology when it allows us to do something that we couldn't do before or we could do before but better with technology.
    
     We then split up the class to read and reflect upon some brilliant and stupid things that teachers can do with technology. My expertise was in number 5-negative and number 5-positive discussed admitting your ignorance and allowing students to teach us when they know more. We used a jigsaw method of grouping and regrouping to become more knowledgeable about a variety of topics in a short amount of time.

Day 12-Exit Slip

     Today we discussed chapter 10 (the last chapter) in Rethinking Education. We discussed what the future might look like if technology is not included in the learning environment. Will schools survive? Will students continue to be motivated to learn? Will they go elsewhere for their education? Dr. Boyer brought up the point that even in kindergarten, children can use technology. If we aren't using technology in the classroom, are we meeting our student's needs to the greatest extent possible and available? During discussion debrief, we also discussed the difference between teaching students breadth vs. depth.

     We then engaged in a media search task. We found artifacts (online video, podcast, SMART Notebook lesson, Scratch project, and online game) for a grade level/content area and posted them to our delicious accounts. This was actually a fun task to do. We were able to search for things that are interesting and pertain to a topic/grade that we are planning on using in the future. This was actually very helpful. I found quite a few interesting mathematics websites, videos, lessons, and games.
    
    

PSA Reflection

Digital Storytelling PSA

Our royalty free music was provided by incompetech.com.


     At the start of the semester, when I heard that we would need to make a video PSA, I was very apprehensive. Now that it is all said and done, I really don't think that it was all that bad. It was actually quite fun and cool to use Movie Maker and to record our PSA. My partner, Casey, and I spent a fair amount of time completing this task. We met a couple of times to brainstorm ideas, come up with a plan, and then execute our plan. We decided that we would make a PSA on identity theft. Our goal was to design a PSA that would be geared towards elementary school children (around 5th grade). We showed our audience that people can get kidnapped online, just like they can get kidnapped on the street. In our PSA, there was a girl named Anne Brown, whose identity was stolen online. Thankfully, we were able to find a handful of our peers who were willing to volunteer as actors and actresses in our PSA; our actors and actresses each said the line, "I am Anne Brown." This was supposed to clue the audience in that Anne Brown's identity was stolen, because all of these people could not be Anne Brown. We then told our audience to never give our personal information online, such as your full name, telephone number, address, credit card numbers, or passwords. Overall, I think that our PSA turned out really nice. I hope that it gets the message we were trying to say across.

     As a future teacher, there are many ways that I can include video/PSA in my class. I could have my students make a video re-enactment of a historical event. My students could act out a book or play. I could also have my students make a short video about online safety, such as this PSA. I think that having students make a video of what they are learning about is a great way to reinforce information in a creative and unique way. I also think that group work is a great thing to encourage in school, so having students work in small groups to make a video would also be good at having students practice collaboration and team work. As a teacher, I think that I will include at least one project where my students will make a video of some sort to demonstrate their understanding of an event or idea.

Interactive Whiteboard Lesson Reflection

     This A contract task of designing an interactive whiteboard lesson was actually a lot of fun to do. I enjoyed creating a lesson that I very well might use in the future. This task was not too complicated and it allowed me to be creative. I spent about 7 hours designing my lesson. The hardest part of this whole task was deciding on a topic and deciding how I would go about instructing this topic. Once I decided on a topic, ideas quickly started to flow. I decided I would make a lesson on money. I wanted to focus on younger elementary students, first or second grade, so I knew that I would need to design a lesson that introduced the topic of money slowly. I decided that I would start off by having some slides that examined the different coins and their monetary value. I then decided to have the students examine what the coins looked like, front and back. Lastly, I decided to have the students practice adding coins together. Before my peers reviewed my lesson, I had made my problems a little too complicated for first or second graders, but after my peers gave me some helpful tips, I revised my lesson so that it was more age appropriate. I did not have a lot of trouble in SMART Notebook, everything was pretty easy to use and explore. I found an infinite cloner tool that was extremely helpful, especially with a lesson on money. Overall, I am very happy with my interactive whiteboard lesson. I think that it uses a lot of really cool interactive tools, and I think that it effectively introduces the students to monetary value. I had a lot of fun creating this interactive lesson and I am now a lot more comfortable with designing lessons for use on the SMARTboard. One thing that I really liked about creating this interactive lesson was that I was able to include things that I could not have incorporated into a lesson as easily or effectively without the use of technology. I was able to hide objects until I wanted them to be shown; I was able to move words around, circle objects, and reveal solutions to problems when I wanted them revealed (by using the tab feature). All of which would have been extremely difficult to do in a traditional classroom without the use of technology.

     As a future teacher, this task was extremely beneficial. I was able to practice making a standards-based lesson for potential students, something I will definitely need to do in the future. I was also able to practice making learning interactive and fun. I was able to see how I can use interactive tools to create a more student-centered, interactive learning environment. This task also allowed me to practice using and getting to know the SMARTboard. Although I may or may not have a SMARTboard in the school I teach at, I am now prepared to use the SMART technologies to improve my instruction and engage my students in interactive technology for learning.

Rethinking Education: Chapter 10

     I thought that this chapter really summed up the lifelong-learning concept. I agree with the book that people should continue to learn throughout their lives, but I don't know if I entirely agree that the schooling system should be changed as dramatically as the authors suggest. I think that we need to rethink education and learning, but I think that a schooling system should still be set in place. I think that elementary schools teach essential skills that all people need, regardless of what occupation they choose to go into. I think that all people need to learn these basic skills that are taught in elementary schools, in order to go on to more independent lifelong-learning options of schooling. I think that in the middle or high school, students should begin to have more say in their education and learn things that stress their goals and interests. At the same time, I think that students should only have a partial say in what they are taking for their schooling. I do not think that students should be allowed to only take courses that will help them become a veterinarian, because as the book stated, "Most Americans in the next 20 years will likely have a succession of careers"(pg. 136). If people generally switch careers throughout their lifetime, would having a student focus on learning to become one thing really benefit them if they end up changing their career later on? I think that students should get to choose content that interests them, but I think that there must be guidelines and that these students must also take other classes that make them a more well rounded individual.

     I really like what this chapter stressed about teaching students how to learn and how to find reliable resources. I think that schools should be preparing students to become real-life problem solvers. I really liked the idea of having a career counselor or apprenticeship program in high school. I think that students should test the waters a little before they settle on a career. Students should have some idea of what they are getting into before they design their education around a particular career in high school (with the new model of education that meets the learner's interests). Along with having career counselors, I think that integrating the use of computers in schools is also a good idea. I really liked this statement, "Such individualized learning [through the use of computers] would remove the stigma of looking bad when you don't understand something that others grasp"(pg. 132). I think that computers could help reduce the embarrassment that some students face when they do not understand something in class and are then called upon. 

     As a future educator, I do not know what the educational system will look like 10 years from now. I do not know how society, technology, and schooling will change. What I do know is that I want to help students learn, regardless of how or in what setting I must help them in. I want to help my students succeed in life. I want to motivate my students and meet my student's needs. I want to help my students achieve their full potentials. In order to do all of these things, I must be willing to try new things. I must be a lifelong-learner.  

Day 11-Exit Slip

     Today in class the chapter 9 discussion group led discussion. We discussed how we would use technology to meet the standards for our specialty. The discussion group used Slide Rocket to make their presentation (new cool tool). Once again the topic of saying, "I need someone to ..." came up. This is a good way to get responses because nobody really wants to respond but if you need them to they will. The topic of grading came up during debrief, and I would have to say that I agree that a 90, 80, 70 grading scale encourages students to not take risks. I think that the way that this class is graded, through expectations met or expectations not met, is a great way to grade things. I think that this encourages students to do their best, while taking risks, because they do not have to worry so much about losing points; the student either met expectations or did not. We then went over the homework expectations for the week.

Discussion Activity for Ch. 9

     I would include in-class computer time so that my students would have time to use the technology and finish their assignments during school hours. I would also offer time before and after school for students to come and use the technologies that are necessary for the assignment. I think that one technology I would be using in the upper elementary grades would be Geometer's Sketchpad. I realize that my students would not have access to this software on their home computers, so I would need to make sure that I offer ample time to use the software during school hours.

Contemporary Issues Podcast

• My podcast can be heard at:             http://www.archive.org/details/Ed.331ContemporaryIssuesPodcast

• I found my article at: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3751073 .

• I used Kevin MacLeod's http://www.incompetech.com/ for my royalty-free music and sound effects.

     I spent a couple hours finding an article, reading the article, and writing my script. It only took me four tries to get my podcast recorded. I then imported my music clips and inserted them in where I wanted them to go. All of the steps up to this point were rather simple to do, but the next step of exporting my project was very difficult. I had downloaded the LAME encoder file but it would not let me locate the lame_enc.dll. When I tried to export my file it wouldn't let me, it said something about not having administrative approval. I spent about an hour and a half re-downloading the LAME file and trying to figure out how to export it as an mp3, but I just could not figure it out. I then downloaded the older version of audacity (I had been using Audacity 1.3 Beta) and was able to get the encoder to work on the older version. I then quickly re-recorded my podcast on the older version and added my music/sound effects. I was a little confused at what the sound effects were supposed to be (I used incompetech.com for my music, but I could not find any sound effects like clapping, so I just used short sound clips for my sound effects).
  
    The article I used was rather interesting and discussed the use of cell phones in school to assist in learning. Although I had a very difficult time exporting my project, I think that making podcasts can be something that I incorporate into my teaching. I think that recording my lessons and posting them on our classroom blog would be a great way to keep parents informed of what is going on in the classroom and to help students who may have been absent to catch up on what happened in class. I think that podcasts would also be good for my students to create. I think that students would have fun researching a topic and recording their information in a podcast. I know that I had fun (except for the exporting part). I also think that it is good for me to share a podcast with my peers, because it helps me to practice using a tool that I could definitely see myself using later in my career. I think that it is important to practice using tools now, outside of the classroom, so that when you do use these same tools in the classroom, you will know how they work. I also think that making this podcast prepares me for professionally discussing current issues with my peers. I was able to find an article that was current and interesting; I was also able to share this article with my peers through some simple technology. In the future, I very well might be making a podcast to share interesting contemporary issues with my colleagues.

Rethinking Education: Chapter 9

     It is easy to see how technology has progressed and become more influential to society over the years. It is also easy to see the technology gap widening as the years and technology progress. "For the first time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable, and literate than their parents about an innovation central to society" (p. 122). I think that this quote is really something to consider; children may be more capable in a future society than adults, if adults refuse to learn new technologies. I think that it is important for adults to try to be life-long learners, who are willing to learn new technologies. I think that technology is a really powerful and fun way for students and adults to learn to problem solve and virtually communicate. I think that although students are spending more and more time on the computer, and less time getting physical exercise, computers can be used to benefit students. I also think that with more and more video gaming systems, such as Nintendo Wii, that encourage students to actively participate in the game, children will actually be able to be physically active while playing fun video games. People also worry that video games and computer time hinder a child's ability to communicate with others and learn valuable social skills, but I think that technology actually provides a means for people to speak their minds more and communicate more. I think that blogs and online social networking sites allow students to connect with friends and family and share ideas and comments with one another. I also know that video games and virtual environments are very effective tools to help children who have autism learn social skills; although perhaps video games and virtual worlds will never be a large part of the classroom curriculum, I think that they are powerful assets that should be used in the home to help students learn new things and skills. As far as parents go, I think that parents should try to connect with their children by playing video games with their children and using instant messengers/facebook to communicate with their children in a way that their children enjoy. I think that as the years progress, technology too will progress; it is up to us to stay connected to the current technologies, so that we do not end up getting left behind (we also need to make sure that we as educators do not end up putting our students behind by not giving them enough time to use and learn about technology).

     As a future educator, I hope to encourage my students to learn how to problem solve, especially through the use of technology. I think that problem solving is integral to all subject matter and especially to real life situations. I hope to integrate technologies into my classroom, to promote students to use technology to help them to learn.

Day 10-Exit Slip

     In class today the chapter 8 discussion group presented. They discussed the new curriculums and changes that may be implemented in the future. Dr. Boyer brought up folk pedagogy (how we were taught influences our biases of how others should be taught), and how this can hinder our ability to look at new and different changes in education. Do we jump to criticize to quickly without even analyzing the pros and cons of a curriculum or other changes? We then discussed some Scratch tips and tricks. We must make sure that our Scratch project is reusable. This is something I will need to tweek with my own Scratch...I don't know how, but I will have to figure it out. I need to make sure that when the student is done using the Scratch project, they can redo it without having to reset all the sprites and costumes. I also need to make my numbers reusable. I now think that I have a lot of work ahead of me to fix all of these problems. We then need to evaluate our technology inquiry wiki page and how well our page meets the "yes test." I need to get rid of "retrieved from" from my formal sources. Lastly we went over homework expectations for the week.

Chapter 10 Discussion Reflective Activity

     If these curriculum changes were to take effect, I would feel very nervous for my students. I think that these curriculum changes could benefit students who do have an idea of what they want to do in the future, but I think that it could put undecided students at an academic disadvantage. I would have to say that I currently would oppose the curriculum changes, simply because I worry about the basic skills and over-encompassing knowledge that the students may be losing. I think that students need time to explore their interests, so perhaps implementing the curriculum in the middle school years would be more appropriate, because in middle school (rather than elementary school) you are more realistically thinking about the future. I also oppose these curriculum changes, because I wonder how the arts would be incorporated or neglected.

Cool Tools Screencast Reflection

My Cool Tool Screencast:      http://bit.ly/aJyQyo


     This was quite a difficult task for me. I spent several hours getting to know my site and preparing my script, and I spent at least 2 hours trying to get my screencast recorded halfways decent. During the screencast I found myself verging away from the script that I had prepared, which then got me a little lost. I found myself pausing the screencast multiple times and even starting the whole screencast over at least ten times; perhaps it is just the perfectionist in me, but I found this assignment to be extremely hard to get to be the way that I wanted it to be. I ended up posting a screencast that I was not completely happy with, because I just couldn't seem to fit everything in that I wanted to say. I even ended up not having time to say any of my threats. One threat that I did not get to list was the possibility that schools may have banned the website unknowingly, becasue it at first glance almost seems like a game website (however when you actually explore the activities you see the educational value in them). Another threat I listed was that if you had your whole classroom in a computer lab doing an activity on Kerpoof.com, you might run into some students doing their own thing; as a teacher, you would need to monitor your students during the activity to keep them on task. I also did not know how to go about editing my screencast, to get rid of a dreaded um, that I said! I found that the five minutes really went by fast ... too fast! I felt a bit rushed during the "make a drawing" demonstration, I looked up and saw about 30 seconds left, so I quickly tried to say something about the activity, but ended up getting a little flustered and I did not even say anything that I had planned on saying. I had meant to discuss the gradient option of the coloring pen and the educational value of the activity, but I ran out of time. I also meant to detail more clearly the educational value of each of the activities, but I ran out of time and only slightly skimmed the educational value. As you can probably tell in the screencast, I actually ran out of time and was cut off mid-word of saying technology; time was definitely my enemy in this assignment. I was not sure how to go about editing my screencast, but if I had known how to edit it, I think that I could have had a more polished finished project. I tried to save one screencast and ended up losing it entirely, so I had to start over and I decided I wouldn't try to edit the screencast. I would have to say that my written script was much better than my actual screencast; the written script had all of my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats listed out very clearly and in an orderly fashion, but in my screencast, things did not come out so smoothly. Although I had quite a few difficulties in getting this assignment to be half-ways decent, I had fun trying out new tools and examining a really cool and free website, Kerpoof.com!

     This assignment allowed me to see that imperfection is okay. Making a screencast also enabled me to try out new things and to explore a really cool educational site. I really like the idea of using a screencasting tool inside or outside of the classroom. I think that screencasts can be very good tools to use in a classroom, to explain how to use new technology or how to do an assignment (especially if a student was missing that day). I can definitely see myself using screencasts in the future, either by making them myself or by viewing others screencasts. Being able to post my screencast and to view my peer's screencasts allowed me to quickly analyze a wide range of very cool tools. The screencasts quickly showed me how 20-some sites can be effectively or ineffectively used in a classroom, which is very helpful and time-saving for me. As a teacher, I will need to collaborate with other teachers and share my ideas; I feel that screencasts are similar to collaborating with others. Through a screencast, you could share your thoughts about a particular website and then your peers or fellow teachers could quickly grasp your ideas and evaluate the site as well. A screencast could allow peers and colleagues to efficiently share their ideas with one another and walk one another through the important points of a site. I feel that screencasts are able to be used as another essential form of collaboration in the educational workplace.

Rethinking Eduation: Chapter 8

     This chapter was very interesting; I felt like I was taking a journey into the future. It is hard to imagine a time when schooling as we know it will be completely different, but in reality, this is probably not that far off. I think that moving away from standardized tests and towards a credential/performance based "test" is a great idea; it was hard to imagine, but I thought that it was interesting and a really cool idea. I think that students would be able to perform better and earn higher "grades" on credential or performance tests, and these tests would better represent the student's actual knowledge and comprehension of the material. I also think that credential/performance based certifications would allow for students to master material that is of interest to them and that is at their own pace of learning. I have always thought that standardized tests seemed to be flawed in their design, because they are administered all at once, on a specific day that the school has planned; the standardized tests of all the students are then compared and the student is deemed as competent or incompetent of the material, based on one test. I think that all students have potential, but when pressured with answering one test, students can underperform. I think that certifications allow for flexibility and are much more student-oriented.

     I am not sure if I entirely agree with or understand what this chapter was talking about regarding picking out a particular curriculum and then sticking with it for many years. The chapter discussed that every child, with the help of their parents, would pick out a curriculum that interests them, such as families, ecology, sports, or dinosaurs. The students would then stick with this curriculum and develop deep understandings regarding the topic, while traditional academic skills (reading, writing, mathematics...) are interwoven within the curriculum. I guess I do not fully understand how this concept would work; wouldn't this type of program promote parental interests for their child, rather than the interests of the child (if the child's interests differ from that of the parents)? Ideally this could be very effective method of designing a curriculum, but how can a child know what they want to become; don't children usually change their minds about what they want to become? If a child has been in a curriculum designed to help them become a doctor and then the child at age 16 decides they are going to become an ecologist, what happens? Will the child have to start over with different curriculums?

     I think that this chapter had some very good ideas, but I am not entirely sure if these ideas will ever fully come into fruition. One thing that I completely agree with was the following, "We do not need to start a new education system from scratch. Designing a better education system means understanding where the existing pieces can best be reshaped, brought together, or played down"(pg. 113). We do not need to completely get rid of the current education system to meet the changing demands of society and technology, rather we must add new things and adjust other things to make a better overall educational system.

     As a future educator, I hope to help my students reach for the stars. I want to encourage my students to find out what they are interested in and what they want to do when they grow up. I will try to help my students become adults who will make a difference in the world, and I will try to encourage my students to use technology to assist them in their futures. I do not know what the future holds, but I will adapt as a teacher so that my instructional strategies truly help to better my student's futures.

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts: Chapter 10 & Epilogue

     I think that a major theme of chapter 10 was that there are many shifts that must occur and are occurring in both society and technology. To better reach our students we must be willing to adapt, modify, and change the way that we go about instructing; we must teach for the youth of today, not the youth of our past. The biggest point that stuck out to me while reading this chapter, was the idea of educators taking on more of a coaching role. As I have been learning in my mathematics education classes, teachers must step back and turn their classrooms into student-centered environments rather than teacher-centered environments. Teachers cannot simply show and tell everything in the classroom, rather teachers must help students become independent thinkers, learners, and do-ers. Students typically remember information better when they have made their own connections and have come to understand the topics on their own (with, of course, teacher facilitation). It is sometimes hard to think about the role of a teacher as being a coach, because growing up, that was not the case; what it really must come down to though is that education must meet the needs of its current students. What worked in the past is not what will work in the future, in terms of education. Teachers must help students become functional, outside of the classroom, in the real-world. With so much information available for our students on the web, teachers must instruct students on proper digital citizenship. Students are going to be using technology, the question remains whether they will use it appropriately or not; it is up to educators and parents to teach children how to get the most out of the web, while avoiding inappropriate use. Teachers must also encourage students to be readers, writers, and reviewers of information of the web; teachers can do this by making assignments (in the upper grades) that require posting their answers (which may be words, pictures, movies, etc...) to the blog or web.

     Change can be scary, but things get better with time!

     As a future educator, I want to encourage my students to be independent learners (not learners who do not communicate, but learners who do not rely heavily on the teacher). I want my students to be prepared for the real-world, and I want my students to be successful. To help my students be successful, I must be willing to utilize the current technology to foster thinking and growth in learning. One thing that worries me, is how I will incorporate the read/write web into a first or second grade classroom; I think that it would be difficult to do all that much with first/second graders, but I think that I could have a blog where I post some of their assignments and crafts so that the parents could be more intouch with what is happening in the classroom. I do not know how much a first grader could be expected to do on the web, but I think that education in the upper elementary and middle school could definitely benefit from the use of the read/write web in the classroom.

Day 9-Exit Slip

     Today we discussed chapter 7 of Rethinking Education. During the chapter discussion, we were allowed to examine a particular gain/loss situation and we were able to decide whether the gain outweighs the loss or whether the loss outweighs the gain. Sometimes it is difficult to pick which one outweighs the other, because sometimes they almost seem equal. I thought that the group did a very nice job of using the SMARTboard and encouraging a lot of class participation. One thing that Dr. Boyer brought up during the debrief, was the importance of locking objects to allow to move so that you avoid objects from going straight to edit-mode, when you want to simply move the object. After the chapter discussion, we examined how to use elluminate. Elluminate can be used for web conferencing, webinars, and virtual office hours. It looked like a very cool tool to use, but when I tried to access it, there was an error message and it would not allow me in. We then discussed the podcast assignment. It is important that we identify a contemporary issue, related to technology, that focuses on PK-12 learners. (Contemporary issues are issues that were in the news within the last year.) For this podcast, I will need a 90-minute script, with lead-in music and lead-out music.