For this final blog post, we read chapter 12. I was reading this chapter, a few things stuck out to me.
The first thing was one on one laptop computing. This are something that I hope more and more schools start to integrate. Unfortunately, While I think most schools do have the want to convert their schools to one on one laptop computing schools, no one has the funds for this. My mother, who is an art teacher for Eastside Elementary School in Clewiston, Florida, wants to get a grant to fund a set of maybe 25-30 labtops on a cart, so that all of the enrichment teachers (Art, Music, P.E., and Library/Media Center) can use them in their classrooms. Which is a bit difficult and tedious. So some schools just stick with one or a few computer labs instead of a laptop for each student.
Speaking of grants, this was also a section in our book. As I have just said, it's tedious and difficult to write and obtain a grant. Both of my parents are teachers and have written numerous grants in order to get things for their classrooms. My mother has gotten supplies like canvas', clay, paint, and other art supplies. My father has received a grant that gave him money to take his students on a field trip. Even though they agree that it's hard work to write a grant that you may or may not get, it's very much worth it. The possibility of getting a grant and using it to teach your students in a unique way out weighs not even trying to get one, and having nothing to teach with.
I have talked about me coming up in a BYOD school and this chapter talks about schools like this. I have had issues with kids asking me if they could charge their phones. So I constantly had phones plugged into a wall. Phones went missing, one day there was a fight out on the plaza and an iPod Touch got smashed, the parents of the kid who smashed it had to buy a new one for the other kid, Once I got my middle school kids in line and some one had a school owned nook (the book club had bought about 40 Nooks (probably with a grant) and rented them out to all of the club members). While in line, one of the girl's head phone came out of the headphone jack and the music started playing out loud. I am not sure what the name of the song was, but the chorus had the same word repeated a few times, which was "Ass." I had to take the nook back to the teacher that headed up the book club and tell him what was on school property. There are many problems in this program, however, none of the problems I have mentioned are new problems that schools are facing. Cursing, fighting, interruptions in teaching and learning, these are all things that teachers have dealt with since the beginning of time. In fact, students bringing their own devices helps students to use their own technology while doing school work. Which teaches students that there are more things to do on their phones and tablets than just Candy Crush. My father is now a high school teacher at Clewiston High School in Clewiston, Fl. His students just ended a big project that they could use their phones for. He had a CSI murder senario and his students had to take pictures of a crime scene set up by him. I got to sit in on his class and watch the students excitedly try to figure out "Who killed Mr. Harn?" It was amazing, I had never been this excited in science ever. But it was technology rich and the students had a blast while learning something.
I have had a great time in this class. When I was in middle school and high school, my parents were going to college. While I was in high school they both decided to be teachers. They started to take New Technologies for Education. I asked them what to expect in the class. Keep in mind that they took this class in 2004. They told me Microsoft Office. That was it. Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel. That was it. My point with this story is I can't imagine me going in as a teacher and not using technology. I use technology everyday. And so do most of the people in my generation. However, I am very grateful for this class. I know people in the other class that this school offers that are bored in their class. This class has had so many projects and learning possibilities for me, even though I am pretty tech savvy, I believe I can be more efficient in technology now that I have taken this class.
Resorces:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Digital Badge #K
For Digital Badge #K we read chapter 6. The three things that I want to discuss is WebQuests, Virtual Field trips, and Virtual Schools.
I chose to write about webquests because we just had a major project on webquest. I thought I had a great understanding of webquest and was really excited about making mine. I realized that I was off a bit on the purpose of a webquest. I probably should have read the text book before I made one. Anyway, I see that the true purpose of a webquest is really awesome for students. I think that the webquest makes for an amazing activity in of itself and would be great to incorporate in lesson plans.
Virtual field trips are also an amazing activity to incorporate into lesson plans. I got to observe a class this semester that had two different virtual field trips to Italy and Russia via Google Maps. The students asked questions about the cars in Italy and the buildings in Russia. It was a great way for the kids to learn about different cultures in a more interactive way. Other websites let you have virtual tours of museums and art gallery. These are great ideas and a great way to use technology in class.
The last thing I would like to talk about is virtual schools. When I was in 2nd grade, my mom and Aunt had decided that they wanted to home school us and my two cousins. My two cousins went the whole year in home school but my mom (after about 3 months) put us in public school. Fast forward 20 years and my husband and I have discussed the kind of schools that we want our (future) kids to go to. We are both Christians and neither one of us want our kids to go to a Christian school. My mother-in-law would kill us if we sent them to a charter school. Home school isn't an option. So it looks like we will be sending our non existent children to public school. I have often thought about virtual school and I have had three (different from before) cousins who go to virtual school. I am not opposed to virtual school. In fact, I know that students can and have succeeded beyond their expectations (one of my cousin's actually skipped a grade). But one of the reasons why we don't want our kids to go to a Christian school, and is the same reason for virtual school, is that we believe that the better school socially is a public school. And there are pros virtual school. Some of the pros would be that they work at their own pace as well as their being a larger selection of subjects to chose from. These are reasons enough for me to consider it in the future. However, there are some other reasons to not consider it either.
In conclusion, Webquest and Virtual field trips are something that I may use a lot in my teaching. I and my class can benefit very well from them. And virtual schools may be an amazing venture for your and your children, but approach the idea with caution.
References: Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
I chose to write about webquests because we just had a major project on webquest. I thought I had a great understanding of webquest and was really excited about making mine. I realized that I was off a bit on the purpose of a webquest. I probably should have read the text book before I made one. Anyway, I see that the true purpose of a webquest is really awesome for students. I think that the webquest makes for an amazing activity in of itself and would be great to incorporate in lesson plans.
Virtual field trips are also an amazing activity to incorporate into lesson plans. I got to observe a class this semester that had two different virtual field trips to Italy and Russia via Google Maps. The students asked questions about the cars in Italy and the buildings in Russia. It was a great way for the kids to learn about different cultures in a more interactive way. Other websites let you have virtual tours of museums and art gallery. These are great ideas and a great way to use technology in class.
The last thing I would like to talk about is virtual schools. When I was in 2nd grade, my mom and Aunt had decided that they wanted to home school us and my two cousins. My two cousins went the whole year in home school but my mom (after about 3 months) put us in public school. Fast forward 20 years and my husband and I have discussed the kind of schools that we want our (future) kids to go to. We are both Christians and neither one of us want our kids to go to a Christian school. My mother-in-law would kill us if we sent them to a charter school. Home school isn't an option. So it looks like we will be sending our non existent children to public school. I have often thought about virtual school and I have had three (different from before) cousins who go to virtual school. I am not opposed to virtual school. In fact, I know that students can and have succeeded beyond their expectations (one of my cousin's actually skipped a grade). But one of the reasons why we don't want our kids to go to a Christian school, and is the same reason for virtual school, is that we believe that the better school socially is a public school. And there are pros virtual school. Some of the pros would be that they work at their own pace as well as their being a larger selection of subjects to chose from. These are reasons enough for me to consider it in the future. However, there are some other reasons to not consider it either.
In conclusion, Webquest and Virtual field trips are something that I may use a lot in my teaching. I and my class can benefit very well from them. And virtual schools may be an amazing venture for your and your children, but approach the idea with caution.
References: Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Digital Badge #J
In this blog I will discuss a few things from chapter 11. The things that I found most interesting in this chapter was digital portfolios for teachers, digital portfolios for students, and online preassesment surveys.
In a world where digital is all over the place it's a smart idea to keep a digital portfolio handy for any job. I went to a trade school where I learned to be a multimedia designer. One of the projects that I had to do was to make a digital portfolio. I had my actual one that showed print, but the digital portfolio showed my print, web and video making skills. This was a must in order to be hired as anything multimedia related. As a child of two teachers, I have witnessed my parents getting together portfolios so that they could show the principals what they could offer, especially my mother who is an art teacher. Teachers can benefit from having a digital portfolio, or an eportfolio, because it shows principals (or who ever hires you in that district) that you are not only creative but also adaptive of technology.
Digital portfolios for students are also a great way of keeping students in check with themselves. I cannot remember if I talked about this in this class or in my other education class I am taking this semester, but while I was teaching in the after school program at the school I worked at, I had students keep a online data notebook. This way, when the students had student-led conferences, they could show their parents and teachers their progress. It displayed their ambitions for their school year, there own personal mission statement, the progress of their grades, behavior, and goals during the year, and it gave them a chance to create it in the way that they chose. These were really great because the students who did well were excited about keeping up with their grades as did the students who were improving. It gave the students a goal to shoot from. While what we did was just a portion of a digital portfolio, it's a great idea for students to document what they do so that they can move forward in their progress.
The last thing I want to discuss is Online preassesment surveys. In the three years of tutoring and summer camp that I have done, pre and post surveys were mandatory. I personally didn't like doing them and tried to make them as easy as I could. I believed that I could teach students and that they could learn because what I was teaching was relatively interesting. I taught technology, photography, film, and photoshop. Everything they would have to learn (i.e, how to operate a camera, different acting jobs, and how to use basic tools in photoshop) would be done everyday, and that it was ridiculous to give a pen and paper to a middle school student and tell them to guess the best that they could during the summer or after they got back from a big test. As a future teacher I see a difference in having it in the classroom where as having it in extracurricular activities is just awful. If it had been online, I think my students wouldn't have minded very much but having being sat down and given a pencil the first time they saw me I think made them a little uneasy.
In conclusion, I am looking forward to sitting up a digital portfolio, I think digital portfolios are great for students and keeping up with their progress, and I think online surveys are much better than hand written surveys because they allow the students to have a change of pace.
Reference:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
In a world where digital is all over the place it's a smart idea to keep a digital portfolio handy for any job. I went to a trade school where I learned to be a multimedia designer. One of the projects that I had to do was to make a digital portfolio. I had my actual one that showed print, but the digital portfolio showed my print, web and video making skills. This was a must in order to be hired as anything multimedia related. As a child of two teachers, I have witnessed my parents getting together portfolios so that they could show the principals what they could offer, especially my mother who is an art teacher. Teachers can benefit from having a digital portfolio, or an eportfolio, because it shows principals (or who ever hires you in that district) that you are not only creative but also adaptive of technology.
Digital portfolios for students are also a great way of keeping students in check with themselves. I cannot remember if I talked about this in this class or in my other education class I am taking this semester, but while I was teaching in the after school program at the school I worked at, I had students keep a online data notebook. This way, when the students had student-led conferences, they could show their parents and teachers their progress. It displayed their ambitions for their school year, there own personal mission statement, the progress of their grades, behavior, and goals during the year, and it gave them a chance to create it in the way that they chose. These were really great because the students who did well were excited about keeping up with their grades as did the students who were improving. It gave the students a goal to shoot from. While what we did was just a portion of a digital portfolio, it's a great idea for students to document what they do so that they can move forward in their progress.
The last thing I want to discuss is Online preassesment surveys. In the three years of tutoring and summer camp that I have done, pre and post surveys were mandatory. I personally didn't like doing them and tried to make them as easy as I could. I believed that I could teach students and that they could learn because what I was teaching was relatively interesting. I taught technology, photography, film, and photoshop. Everything they would have to learn (i.e, how to operate a camera, different acting jobs, and how to use basic tools in photoshop) would be done everyday, and that it was ridiculous to give a pen and paper to a middle school student and tell them to guess the best that they could during the summer or after they got back from a big test. As a future teacher I see a difference in having it in the classroom where as having it in extracurricular activities is just awful. If it had been online, I think my students wouldn't have minded very much but having being sat down and given a pencil the first time they saw me I think made them a little uneasy.
In conclusion, I am looking forward to sitting up a digital portfolio, I think digital portfolios are great for students and keeping up with their progress, and I think online surveys are much better than hand written surveys because they allow the students to have a change of pace.
Reference:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
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