Elementary School & Technology
The link above will take you to my digital portfolio. Essentially, it is a website which showcases all of the projects that we've worked on in MD 400: Educational Technology as a Graduate Course. The common theme throughout the site is how easy and fun technology can be integrated into the classroom. Each project goes beyond a typical Smart Board, Powerpoint, and YouTube scenario and got me a bit out of my comfort zone as far as technology goes. As each project was hard to connect into a classroom setting at first, I was quickly proven wrong. Each project was fairly easy to create and can be used across many subjects from K-12. I am interested in the future to see how I can integrate these new projects and tidbits into my own classroom...
Enjoy.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Computer Delusion(al)?
The Computer Delusion by Todd Oppenheimer
This article talks about the country's push towards spending millions on integrating more computers and technology into the classroom while cutting programs such as music, art and phys. ed. It frames the argument that schools are not keeping up with the times and that although we are spending lots of hard earned tax dollars on these technological programs and high powered "machines", we are not seeing many results. To quote, "In the classroom, however, teachers never really embraced the new tools, and no significant academic improvement occurred." Precisely. We keep cutting human jobs and replacing them with all this fabulous technology thinking we are cutting costs and delivering the same, quality product. Wrong.
While we are integrating more and more technology into the classroom, (let's be honest here, technology is very present in all of our lives and it would be foolish to deprive our children from using and learning through technology because they are probably more fluent growing up with it than we are), we need to remember that a teacher's job can never be replaced by a machine. Nor can a teacher ever replace a machine's added support to the classroom. It is the happy medium between the two that we will find the most effective and most efficient learning process. In the next few years there will be more of a push to integrate this technology, but with any large investment people are going to want to rest assure that their money is being put into good use and thus see a return on their investment. Teachers: we need to embrace this technology. Though it will never replace a good book, technology: is what the children these days fluently speak. Not to mention as adults we reference and use technology to support our daily lives and we need to encourage the students to reference and use the technology not as a toy, but as a scaffolding to build upon an education..
This article talks about the country's push towards spending millions on integrating more computers and technology into the classroom while cutting programs such as music, art and phys. ed. It frames the argument that schools are not keeping up with the times and that although we are spending lots of hard earned tax dollars on these technological programs and high powered "machines", we are not seeing many results. To quote, "In the classroom, however, teachers never really embraced the new tools, and no significant academic improvement occurred." Precisely. We keep cutting human jobs and replacing them with all this fabulous technology thinking we are cutting costs and delivering the same, quality product. Wrong.
While we are integrating more and more technology into the classroom, (let's be honest here, technology is very present in all of our lives and it would be foolish to deprive our children from using and learning through technology because they are probably more fluent growing up with it than we are), we need to remember that a teacher's job can never be replaced by a machine. Nor can a teacher ever replace a machine's added support to the classroom. It is the happy medium between the two that we will find the most effective and most efficient learning process. In the next few years there will be more of a push to integrate this technology, but with any large investment people are going to want to rest assure that their money is being put into good use and thus see a return on their investment. Teachers: we need to embrace this technology. Though it will never replace a good book, technology: is what the children these days fluently speak. Not to mention as adults we reference and use technology to support our daily lives and we need to encourage the students to reference and use the technology not as a toy, but as a scaffolding to build upon an education..
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
...Reminiscing & Reflecting
Originally I found this course extremely frustrating. As a non-tech-savvy teacher I was hesitant to incorporate the projects learned in this course to lessons in the classrooms. Midway through the course my attitude changed drastically. As I have seen the Smart Board technology incorporated into the classroom beginning in Kindergarten all the way into high school courses I have seen how interactive technology can be. As well as, how interested, intrigued and excited the students are to actually interact with the technology. That was the main reason my attitude towards incorporating technology into the classroom - student interest.
Podcasts have been particularly useful in creating. In Kindergarten and 1st grade, listening to stories are popular and an efficient way to learning letters, letter sounds, and recognizing text. Many classrooms still use book on tape and the tape players are Ancient. A perfect example is when a teacher wants to edit a book and leave parts out. For instance, learning about holidays around the world - leaving religious views surrounding these holidays are critical in a public school system. Creating a podcast allows you to record a text and purposely leave out specific parts that you do not want to children to hear.
This course has also opened my eyes to many different teacher resources which I will use in my classroom such as BrainPop, Wordle, and other teacher blogs. Just an awareness of these resources that we are exposed to in the course has been extremely helpful.
Podcasts have been particularly useful in creating. In Kindergarten and 1st grade, listening to stories are popular and an efficient way to learning letters, letter sounds, and recognizing text. Many classrooms still use book on tape and the tape players are Ancient. A perfect example is when a teacher wants to edit a book and leave parts out. For instance, learning about holidays around the world - leaving religious views surrounding these holidays are critical in a public school system. Creating a podcast allows you to record a text and purposely leave out specific parts that you do not want to children to hear.
This course has also opened my eyes to many different teacher resources which I will use in my classroom such as BrainPop, Wordle, and other teacher blogs. Just an awareness of these resources that we are exposed to in the course has been extremely helpful.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Digital Divide?
The original article about the Digital Divide is located at: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-divide-technology-internet-access-mary-beth-hertz
After reading the articles for class, there is clearly a digital divide. It is interesting to look at technology from this light. There is clearly a digital divide throughout society today because there are people without internet and perhaps without a computer in 2011. We cannot simply assume that everyone has access to these types of technologies. As educators integrating technology into the classroom is a fabulous transition into the technology millennium we are in. However, we need to be cautious when asking parents to use this technology at home for instance when assigning homework. When asking students to use technology when in the classroom and possibly for homework, we need to build that possible time into our lessons where students have access to technology during school hours in case of a scenario where a student does not have access to technology outside of school. Some solutions to this divide, as used in the Colorado article, are allowing students to use cell phones in school because the data shows that those without internet access at home typically have access to internet via their cell phones. While I agree that this school is integrating technology to relate to the "real world" where cell phones are a valid tool to access internet, I do not agree with usage in school especially at the high school level. How can you control the access of internet sites and text message that may also be used during this time? I think it is more of a distraction than supportive in the classroom. While I agree with the Waldof schools using more hands-on approach and not using technology when it comes to learning, I do feel that there needs to be a balance between technology and hands-on learning. Essentially, students need both to learn. In the real world you are using both techniques in order to learn - hands-on and technology, so why not create a balance in the classroom to teach these real-world connections to students?
After reading the articles for class, there is clearly a digital divide. It is interesting to look at technology from this light. There is clearly a digital divide throughout society today because there are people without internet and perhaps without a computer in 2011. We cannot simply assume that everyone has access to these types of technologies. As educators integrating technology into the classroom is a fabulous transition into the technology millennium we are in. However, we need to be cautious when asking parents to use this technology at home for instance when assigning homework. When asking students to use technology when in the classroom and possibly for homework, we need to build that possible time into our lessons where students have access to technology during school hours in case of a scenario where a student does not have access to technology outside of school. Some solutions to this divide, as used in the Colorado article, are allowing students to use cell phones in school because the data shows that those without internet access at home typically have access to internet via their cell phones. While I agree that this school is integrating technology to relate to the "real world" where cell phones are a valid tool to access internet, I do not agree with usage in school especially at the high school level. How can you control the access of internet sites and text message that may also be used during this time? I think it is more of a distraction than supportive in the classroom. While I agree with the Waldof schools using more hands-on approach and not using technology when it comes to learning, I do feel that there needs to be a balance between technology and hands-on learning. Essentially, students need both to learn. In the real world you are using both techniques in order to learn - hands-on and technology, so why not create a balance in the classroom to teach these real-world connections to students?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Inquiry-Based Learning is the Learning of the Future..
What place would inquiry-based learning and/or historical thinking have in your classroom?
Inquiry based learning in a short definition is the information gathering using our senses - smell, taste, touch, feel, sight and hearing. It is the hands-on approach to learning about the world. In comparison to a traditional, "old school" style classroom - there are no spelling tests or memorization of facts and simply regurgitating them back to your teacher. In an inquiry-based classroom, the teacher is simply a facilitator in the learning process, guiding students to use the information out to and organize it into something that will change their thinking about this topic from "unknown" to "known".
I have used inquiry-based learning as a student in college. During my later years in college, professors used computer-based simulations often to teach us the necessary skills needed in problem solving that we would actually use in a real-world setting. The professor in this setting were more of a facilitator, whom guided us through the process of information gathering about the business-world (my major in college). I think this type of learning is highly-effective. It allows for a hands-on approach and allows the learner (or student) to take in information in a way that is most effective for them. This learning method also, in my humble opinion, made the learning experience much more enjoyable because it allowed the topic studied to be specifically tailored to my interests and personal experiences. With that said, I feel I took more away from the courses I used the inquiry-based learning method within, much more so than simply listening to a teacher lecture and taking a test based on reading and powerpoint definitions.
In my future classroom inquiry-based learning would be used virtually in every lesson I could fit it into. For example, giving a social studies lesson, I would give students an opportunity to study different events or countries under a particular time period or region of the world. Instead of assigning tasks or specifics, I would let the students pick something of interest to them and give them the opportunity to experience it hands-on by creating an interactive research project that would enable them to get into the culture and perhaps actually go visit (i.e, a museum, restaurant, etc. etc.) depending on the project.
In my classroom historical thinking is essential. As an organized learner myself, I need concrete events to be presented in a very logical and chronological way. Thus, I always enjoyed history because of the progression it was presented to me as, as well as the cause and effect way of thinking. In my classroom, I would use this thinking in order to present most lessons - from the very beginning and show progression to the students so they can develop that improving and progressive way of thinking.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Copyright & Education
What are the implications of copyright issues for educators?
Copyright within the education realm weighs heavily on teachers. It is essential for teachers, or any educators for that matter, to understand the copyright laws before using other people's work and copying it to hand out to a class. Sounds easy, right? Wrong.
The copyright laws in this country are very broad, making them hard to define in a concrete way. Most work which is copyrighted is allowed to be used for educational purposes if it meets one of the four criteria for fair use. These four things are taken into considered when weighing whether or not a piece of work qualifies for fair use of the copyrighted piece: 1. purpose of use, 2. nature of work, 3. amount used, 4. effect on the market.
I was surprised to learn that a work's effect on the market does not necessarily mean reproducing something and selling it for profit. This can simply mean copying a piece of copyrighted work and handing it out so it becomes public. Another question that came up during our class discussion was the meaning of the "public domain". This is that a copyrighted piece is available for public use after the life of the author plus seventy years. A great example of this are Emily Dickinson's poems to be copied and given out during an English lesson in school. This, of course, would not be considered a violation to copyright laws because Emily Dickinson has not been around since the late 1800's.
The implications of these broad and vague "fair use" copyright laws in education create a blurry reality of what teachers can use copyrighted material for in their classrooms. The implications of these copyright laws should open the eyes of educators everywhere to ensure they are following the laws correctly, and when in doubt either look them up, or don't use it! After all, it is someone else's work and we wouldn't want to be posed as a thief....
Monday, October 3, 2011
Playing with Photoshop
Here is the original photo I have used for Picnik, which I now used in Photoshop. I have transferred clip art of butterflies and altered their size to add them into this photo of a hill on the Amalfi coast in Italy. This program looks easy, but it is actually very complex. In Photoshop you can accomplish just about everything and more that you can imagine doing to a digital photograph. When I was using Photoshop (which was the first time I've ever encountered the program), I almost felt that there were too many options. You can alter every megapixel in the photo...well almost.
This program can be very useful in the classroom for teachers. I would not use this program with my students, however, since my students' ages range from five to ten, I think Photoshop is a bit too much for them to use at this point in their young lives. For teachers, however, I feel that this is a wonderful way to be able to merge scenes throughout history, comparing the modern world with a historical scene for virtually every event in history which is perfect for a social studies lesson. Another example is if you are printing a poem, quote or song, adding an digital photo to the text helps students to visually see the text that is written, and it is also a way to make the learning fun for students by adding a bit of a whimsical touch to the lesson.
Photoshop teaches the skills to both teachers and students that learning, assignments and lessons in school can all be fun. It is a great way to expand thinking beyond the realm of simple lessons into helping students make connections between all disciplines learned in school. It also provides an opportunity for students to use their imagination, which they cannot use much as they progress through school.
All in all Photoshop is an excellent too if you ever have the opportunity as an educator to check it out. Do not be afraid. I repeat do not be afraid. All you need is an hour to figure out all the small bells and whistles, and after all: practice makes perfect.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Going on a Picnik - but bring your camera...
Exploring Picnik - a fabulous user-friendly photo editing website. For a computer-challenged person, such as myself, Picnik made editing photos fun because of its ease and appeal to people who may find editing photos a chore, or a waste of time. You can edit any photo for free, and make traditional or auto changes, or go as far as removing blemishes and even adding makeup or touch ups to the faces in the photo! Or you can add fun stickers or phrases to the photos to spice them up...
Check out my photo from Positano, Italy. I tweaked it only slightly by first cropping it and then changing the colors to bring out the vibrance of the blues and greens. I also enhanced to photo to darken and lighten the most important aspects featured.
As a teaching tool this can be fun to take photos of students interacting within the classroom, working on projects or taking photos of final projects. Compiling a photo album of student photos can be a great way to create a "classroom yearbook", a nice piece of memorabilia for the students - you can enhance or create silly, fun additions to the photos using Picnik. You can also use this sight in conjunction with your students, actually having them edit photos and integrating it into the topic you are working on for example if you are taking photos of completed science projects- have students edit photos as a fun way to end the lesson and then print them and hang them up in the classroom or hallway on a bulletin board to share the fun with other schoolmates!
Enjoy...
Check out my photo from Positano, Italy. I tweaked it only slightly by first cropping it and then changing the colors to bring out the vibrance of the blues and greens. I also enhanced to photo to darken and lighten the most important aspects featured.
As a teaching tool this can be fun to take photos of students interacting within the classroom, working on projects or taking photos of final projects. Compiling a photo album of student photos can be a great way to create a "classroom yearbook", a nice piece of memorabilia for the students - you can enhance or create silly, fun additions to the photos using Picnik. You can also use this sight in conjunction with your students, actually having them edit photos and integrating it into the topic you are working on for example if you are taking photos of completed science projects- have students edit photos as a fun way to end the lesson and then print them and hang them up in the classroom or hallway on a bulletin board to share the fun with other schoolmates!
Enjoy...
A Little Tableau Vivant Action...
Ahh, Tableau vivant. Here is a photo after a class session about digital photography, particularly Tableau vivant. Can you guess what scene this photo is depicting from a classic American story most of us would have 'read' in elementary school?! .....you guessed right, Lord of the Flies! This scene illustrates after Piggy is killed by Ralph, the island gets chaotic. Highlighting in particular the drama and how a governed society can fall apart when too many strong personalities compete for a leading position, or a 'chief'.
This activity was of particular interest to me because of the fun way that teachers can integrate technology into the classroom. I am a firm believer of incorporating drama and theatre into the classroom. I believe it is necessary to take a piece of text or reading and truly 'act it out' as if you are living it. This can work really well for social studies/history, reading, writing or poetry lesson. Also a great way to get kids out of their seats and to use those creative noggins!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Social Studies K-4
http://www.ctcurriculum.org/list_standards.asp?taskid=&dis=SS&grade=4&disname=Social+Studies&gradename=Grades+K-4
The standard I am considering using for the course of this class and possibly for a final project is: the Historical Thinking approach
Linking different activities to different types of learning styles can link by using technologies such as YouTube videos, educational websites such as Brain Pop, etc., acting out different historical scenes and initiating dramatic role-play as well as fostering discussion to how the students feel the history may have happened based on their prior knowledge from educational activities. These theater-type activities will help visual learners as well.
The standard I am considering using for the course of this class and possibly for a final project is: the Historical Thinking approach
Linking different activities to different types of learning styles can link by using technologies such as YouTube videos, educational websites such as Brain Pop, etc., acting out different historical scenes and initiating dramatic role-play as well as fostering discussion to how the students feel the history may have happened based on their prior knowledge from educational activities. These theater-type activities will help visual learners as well.
Teddy Bears Go Blogging...
What a fabulous article! As a young kindergarten student, I participated in the teddy bear exchange similar to the one discussed in the article. Integrating blogging in this activity is a wonderful way to get students connected into the technology world, by using the same "old-fashioned" activities that were used to initiate communication between students, especially while they are taking the teddy bear over weekends, vacations and holiday breaks from school. This keeps kids in touch with one another and engaged in classroom communication and activities while not actually in the classroom. It also helps to ensure the kids participation and thinking about classroom activities and learning when they are not in school for a typical school day.
Reading Digital Goonies
I enjoyed reading Digital Goonies blog. As a first time blogger, and totally new to the scene, it was a fascinating first blog for me to read. I found I have a lot to learn. This new technology world is very much an online diary.
Digital Goonies blog was an array of photos which relate to a posting about a program the author has been a part of which illustrated the text written above it very nicely. The next few postings were things the blogger wanted to share with followers and other lists and ideas.
Great first blog to read, sets me up with some great new ideas.
Digital Goonies blog was an array of photos which relate to a posting about a program the author has been a part of which illustrated the text written above it very nicely. The next few postings were things the blogger wanted to share with followers and other lists and ideas.
Great first blog to read, sets me up with some great new ideas.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)