Learning Educational Technologies

I watched the Frontline documentary entitled “Growing Up Online” and thought that it was very interesting. The children in the video, I felt, represented a whole generation of digital natives. The lives of children now are very different from when I was their age, and that wasn’t a very long time ago (Yet…). Their world is filled with MySpace and/or Facebook, blogs, YouTube, and Google. That is how their information is received and processed. One teacher in the video says that teachers have to be more like entertainers now to keep the children interested. I don’t so much agree with this. I feel like teachers must be able to keep up with the new trends, and stay on the same level as the students. Of course, they will always be able to do something more than what I may be able to do, but as long as I can get to know what they are doing most of the time, than I know I will be able to successfully integrate technology into my teaching.

What really scared be about the video was the boy who was being bullied online. I can’t even imagine how many children are being ridiculed now, even when they are not in school. I have run into a few bullies in my day, but I always knew that I just had to get through the day, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about them until I got to school again the next day. These children now don’t have the luxury of running away it seems. With cell phones being commonly held by younger children now, and the world of instant messaging and profiles, children are always immersed in their peer groups, or older ones. Children today don’t seem to function as well when they are not connected to people on the Internet, so the bullying is hard to get control of. I know when I was younger, I probably had 2 or 3 different screen names. My mom only knew of 1. She just assumed that when I was on instant messengers, that I was using that name.

As teachers, we need to learn to be aware of the new technologies that are becoming available to our students, and realize that there are some dangers. Children are not always going to come forward about what they are seeing online, or what new trend has popped up. I feel that it is the responsibility of adults to not criticize what our children are doing, but being aware and understanding of it.

During Spring 2007, I was enrolled in a Social, Cultural, and Philosophical Foundations of Education class at Thomas Nelson Community College. In the class, I had the opportunity to be a part of a program with ODU. The counterpart class at the University invited my class to team up with them to write the second edition of a version of a Foundations textbook that would be created on Wikibooks. Wikibooks is basically a source of textbooks of all different subjects, and it is free for people to use and view.

For the project, everyone wrote about a topic of their choice that would be contained in a Foundations text book. For instance, I chose the subject of Current Issues in School Reform.  There were many topics in which more than one person may have been writing an article, seeing as there were 250 contributions. We were to write up detailed and researched articles about our topic. We all formatted and posted the topic into our specific chapter in the book that corresponded with our topic. We then went into everyone’s article that was posted, and voted on which the best articles were. Those that had the most votes for a topic were published in the online book. My article, as well as 3 articles from my classmates, were chosen to be in the book.

This was a great experience for me to have. It was different from just writing a paper and it only being read by my teacher and, perhaps, a classmate or two. Now, I have a published work on the internet that all people could view, even potential employers.

This would even be a great way for students to research a topic and be able to share it with everyone. Even if it would not be posted online, and just created for classroom use, I think it would be a great way to incorporate technology in education.

If you want to read my article, please go to:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Social_and_Cultural_Foundations_of_American_Education/Second_Edition/20.1.26_Wildcard

I read the article entitled “Turning the Tables: Students Teach Teachers” (http://www.edutopia.org/genyes) on the Edutopia website. This article is about a program developed by Dennis Harper to help digitally native or efficient students with teachers and student teachers.  The group of students has been named “Generation www.Y”.  The students work with their paired teacher and help them use different technologies, how to use them in the classroom, and even help them create lessons based around technology.

I thought this article was very interesting. The program is not just about the students helping the teachers understand technology. It is about the students actually have a hand in planning certain engaging lessons and how teachers can follow in their footsteps.  They are truly teaching the teachers in depth concepts and are figuring out how to do what the teacher does with certain technologies before they present the material. This is very inspiring that students, fourth through twelveth grade have taken the initiative to help with this cause.

http://www.mcs.k12.nc.us/wq/labarre/weather/index.htm 

This webquest is an introductory unit to weather, and is aligned with SOL 2.6. The students have a “research sheet” that they fill out as they go along through the tasks. The students work with a partner and do many different tasks, including watching a BrainPop weather video, learning about precipitation, observing and graphing the weather where they live, making a thunderstorm and lightning, and writing a weather poem.

I really like this webquest for a few different reasons. It completely covers the SOL at hand, but gives the student the upper-hand in learning the information and getting interested into it. It also brings graphing and organizing information into the element of science, which is very important. Also, the students are immersed into the learning of weather and are able to interact with it through this activity.

In order to implement it, I would have to, first, be sure that all of the links work. When I went through to check this time, the one teaching about precipitation was not working. I would just have to replace the link with another equally representative site. The quest asks for the students to take a quiz on precipitation through the site, so I would try to find a site that has a quiz as awell, or just make a quiz myself. There would be some time needed for the quest because of the task that requires the student to observe the weather and make a graph (10 days). The best part is that it wouldn’t take alot of class time, just alot of student dedication to  get it finished. I would have to be sure to make sure the students are staying on task and be sure that they are making the observations needed and everyday.

There were a couple websites that I had in mind to evaluate, but one has more information, while the other is great for looking for other websites (www.cyberbee.com). Edutopia.org is a great website! The information provided is very up-to-date and credible. The site is directed toward anyone interested in education. It contains videos, podcasts, article archives from the Edutopia magazine, and many more interactive aspects. The appearance of the site is very professional and current. There is mulitmedia included throughout, with the videos and even a scrolling banner on the homepage. The layout is very easy to navigate. There is a wide range of information on the site, and it is easy to find what topic you are looking for. The site is easily accessible and there is no need for login or any money (unless you want to subscribe to the magazine). Overall, the site is amazing. I have included it on  my del.icio.us site if you would like to browse through it.

I also found a webquest that I thought was pretty neat. The quest can be found at http://www.dedham.k12.ma.us/webquest/summer2002/lp/plantswebquest.htm.  Plants are the topic of the quest, and the students are challenged to help aliens grow plants on their planet by writing a journal and answering specific questions. They also create their own garden. I thought this  was a great webquest, and the way that Ms. Peachwall presents the information on the site is great. It is very organized and easy to follow. Everything needed for an effective webquest is presented, including a grading rubric. The site is also very appealing, and not very overwhelming. It is directed toward 4th or 5th graders, and the reading level is appropriate for these grades. Unfortunately, one site that the kids were to use has moved, but has an easy to follow link; one site doesn’t work at all; and another site has a wrong link, but can be navigated to find the correct information. I like the idea and the approach, however, so if I were to use this for my students, I would fix the links, and see if there are any other resources that could be used.

This was a very interesting blog site. The title “Top of the Fold” is the title of the Grandview Elementary School newspaper. In the website for the paper, there is links to podcasts from many classes as well as videos from classrooms. There are also pictures of what some students have done. On first glance, the website looks very interesting and in depth in all of the classes and their activities.

I delved into a few of the videos and podcasts that were available. I went to the bottom of the page first, and found a podcast by a young girl named Lauren about Rosa Parks. Her narrative was accompanied by the text that could be followed. It was nice to hear what she had to say about Rosa Parks and how interested she seemed in the historical figure.

I also enjoyed listening to what students knew about whales, and what they learned. There weren’t the same classes for before and after, but what each student had to say was very insightful. It shows that students have preconceptions in their minds about many things, even whales.

Lastly, I watched the a video about making snowflakes. It was an instructional video about how to make a very intricate paper snowflake. Something like this could be used for home activities, which is pretty fun.

Overall, I loved the idea of this site and the contributions. I love how the students were able to participate in creating the media. It seems that students would like to hear what they have learned, and be able to share it with everyone. What students learn in school can now be translated onto a website that can be viewed by millions. It is an extremely collabrative way of learning and teaching. Teachers are now able to see how other teacher do certain things, and how to apply them in the classroom, without going to a conference or observing a classroom… they can simply log on!

Hello all!

I started my computer knowledge by playing Oregon Trail in school. I remember loving the game, and found it amazing that I could pick up at the same place I stopped, even if we turned off the computer. During this same year, I had my first typing class, and began typing up assignments that teacher’s wanted us to work on. At this point, the teachers weren’t using alot of technology in school, but it was beginning to be prevalent.

In 5th grade, my family finally got a new computer and it connected to the Internet! This was in 1997. It was very intriguing. I remember spending hours on the computer, setting up email accounts, and seeing what all I could search for, and what would pop up. In school, we started to learn about HTML design and advanced typing. It was at this time that I remember teachers using more of technology in school assignments and instruction. In high school, I used my first graphing calculator and thought it was ingenious. In college, I have been introduced to the Smart Board, which I loved learning on. This technology of course changed how teachers presented information. What started as transparencies moved to powerpoint presentations presented on screens via a projector and now we have Smart Boards. Throughout my schooling, I have seen all of these approaches and the advancement of technology.

At this point, I believe I have a pretty good handle on technology. I’m not a nerd about it though – there are times when I have NO idea as to what has happened, but for the most part, I can figure things out. I like learning about new types of technology that are coming out and using them.