Incorporating Technology in the Classroom

How important is it to incorporate technology in the classroom?  I would not have been able to answer this question a few weeks ago - prior to Ed Tech course.  I have gained so much knowledge, and excitement about using technology in the classroom and having students use technology.  I can now not imagine setting up a classroom without the use of technology.  It seems like a failing prospect to run a classroom without utilizing the advanced forms of communication that students will be used to - they would quickly become bored and lose interest if technology was not included.

The benefits would be an elevated level of excitement for both the teacher and student.  This diverse approach to providing lessons also will cater to the diverse needs of the students - visual, auditory, etc.  The challenges would be funding that would support the technology goals or needs and a lack of knowledge on the part of teachers in how to use technology and to bring it across to students while in class.

The important lessons I have learned from this class are to never quit looking for an innovative way to bring an idea across to an audience.  I feel it would be a great disservice to college students to keep this course until the end of the college career, because it has provided me with a level of excitement for technology that I did not have a couple months ago.  I have shown and spoken to so many people (most are not even in the education field) about technology and tools that we have used while in class.  Most people I spoke to had not heard of the tools I referenced, but the found them to be very interesting and our conversation seemed to spark a little bit of excitement.

My goal as a teacher would be to spark excitement in the students I would teach and I'm not sure if that would be possible without using technology.

Online Portfolios

A link for an example of both good and bad reasons for compiling an e-portfolio is:

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.felix.albright.edu/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/search_history/mywweb.jhtml.12

This example was a good example because the students in the article found that this was a successful project because it empowered them to try new technology (transformational learning) that they had not used before and it was a very useful tool in compiling information/documentation that could be used to make assessments.
This is also a bad example of an electronic portfolio because the project did not have a conclusive outcome that indicated a permanent change in behavior would occur for those that were involved in using e-portfolios.  Lack of time was a very big issue and continued lack of understanding/knowledge of how to most effectively use the technology necessary for a portfolio project.

I would venture a guess that there will be pros and cons to all electronic portfolio projects.

Online Presentations

I enjoyed looking at everyone's Online Presentations - they were educational but still fun to review.  I think kids would love putting digital posters together, and filming themselves would probably be an exciting change to the day-to-day grind of classroom assignments.

Melissa's poster about Speak Up made reference through text and video clips to the fact that students were surveyed in regards to their school's level of competence in providing technology to the students they serve.  Unfortunately, not many schools would receive high scores for their efforts.  Also, Mr. Obama, I hope you are listening to the suggestions from the students - they are the future of our nation!

Katie's video spoke about using Assistive Technology to work with students with disabilities.  I have had the opportunity to work with some of these systems (communication boards) and they help to keep students in line with their peers and provide a level of success for children that would not be able to be accomplished without technology. 

While reading Lisa's glog I learned that China has a strong long distance learning program that serves college students and also millions of farmers.  This is not information that I would have ever discovered on my own, and who would have ever guessed that this combination of groups would be using technology in China - college students and farmers??!

Glog poster - Frustrating process/Cool results

So I had to redo my project because I didn't post something online.  I chose to put a poster together.  It took me awhile to figure out how to put it all together, but once I got past my frustrations I really liked the end result.

I also think this would be a very creative way for students to get their ideas into a cool and updated format.  It was definitely more fun to put this poster together than to write a summary of the article I read.  The poster is more likely to be viewed/read by other students than a boring article summary.

I am not currently working in classrooms, but I work with staff who work with students ages toddler through age 12.  I believe this tool would be extremely useful when working on professional development plans with our staff.  This would be a much more updated format to the types of trainings we have held in the past!

http://blatty.glogster.com/computersandyoungchildren

Interactive Whiteboards

I was very hesitant about interactive whiteboards when we started our Smartboard Lesson project.  It seemed like it was going to be too difficult to figure out, too many things to remember.  After putting the majority of a project together for 2.5 hours last week and then throwing that idea out and working on a new project I have learned a lot about the system and I really enjoy it.   In 15 minutes I put together a Smartboard presentation to accompany my Technology Notebook report!  I never would have guessed I could put something so cool together so quickly.

My biggest concern is still the actual "performance" of the project.  Without having a personal interactive whiteboard to practice on at home I am nervous about how well all my plans will work out during the lesson.  I have practiced many times with the Smart technology frames that I put together, but the true test will be tomorrow night during class.

Would I like to have one of the interactive boards in a classroom?  Yes, I would.  I think it would be a huge advantage for a classroom to have this technology.  Many of the articles I read for my Technology Notebook project reference the benefits that are found in a classroom that takes advantage of the uses of technology that will spark interest in the students.  Students, from preschoolers to college-age, are used to interacting with technology on a regular basis so it is only natural that utilizing technology in classrooms would keep their attention.

Video in the Classroom

Video in the classroom is an excellent idea.  It would meet the learning needs of all students - those that learn best by visual and auditory input and those that learn by doing.   Video requires the writing and sketching of the Storyboard planning, the auditory input of the narration/music and the freedom to move during the taping and cropping of video clips.

This process teaches the students how to organize their ideas using a graphic organizer (Storyboard), how to put their thoughts into words and pictures, take an idea and produce a visual/auditory picture of what they were imagining.  It shows students how to bring their ideas to life.

I could envision this video project being used during a lesson on geneology and family history.  Students could tape family members talking about particular topics or family stories.  Pictures of family artifacts or special items could be imported to be used in the video.  The really cool part of this project would be that family members from other parts of the world could tape their clips and send them to the family member doing the project - taping would not only need to be done by the student involved in the project.  The cropping could occur once all the clips are imported from their various saved sources.

The intended outcome would be for the student to learn all the technology outcomes - becoming familiar with the video equipment, acquiring a level of respect for technology, demonstrate creative thinking, use digital media to communicate and work collaboratively - including at a distance, apply digital tools to gather/evaluate/and use information.

This video project would potentially be as fully encompassing a digital piece as would be possible for a classroom project.  It would be a very good idea to include video in the classroom.

Group Video Project

I have never been good at taking video, I don't like to star in video and I cannot stand to hear my voice on recordings - this was bound to be a very interesting project.

I was partnered with Kevin Ezzel and thankfully he had an idea in mind for a topic.  I had considered a topic the entire week prior to the start of this project and I was still at a loss for an idea.  Any ideas I came up with seemed inconsequential or too difficult to get video tape in the Albright college area.

The idea Kevin had was to film video on "Applying to College".  I liked the project idea because it was going to potentially be a useful tool for You Tube viewers who may be considering the process they need to follow when considering going back to college.

The statistic that Kevin had available outlined the fact that a college degree will increase a person's odds of achieving a higher rate of pay and decrease their chances of being unemployed.  I felt that this statistic was very interesting and should be a great motivator for anyone considering going back to college.

We outlined our ideas on the storyboard that was provided to us.  There were 7 scenes that we planned: Panning a view of Selwyn Hall, a set of steps on the front of the Albright property, black screen with various college logos, parking space sign for "Future Albright students", person sitting at desk playing the role of an Advisor, screen with FAFSA website, shot of 13th St sign.

The next step in the project was to video tape the scenes we planned.  In a 30 minute span of time we taped 6 minutes worth of video that we needed to crop and add narration and illustrations to.  Taping was challenging due to user error - finding that the camera was moving while shooting a scene using the tripod, capturing passersby in the video clips, and unknowingly leaving the camera on while transporting equipment back into the bldg and then again while we were in the bldg.  Cropping the video was not too difficult due to having the scenes scripted on our Storyboard. 

Adding narration proved to be time-consuming.  Matching appropriate timing to the video clips took a great deal of time. In addition to simply working out the timing, there was also equipment challenges in getting the narration added.  We found that equipment was not functioning properly, and alternative types of equipment (headphones and microphone) needed to be plugged in and unplugged in order to use the other piece of equipment.  Once we got the equipment figured out it was just a matter of recording and inserting the narration in the appropriate sections of video.

I believe that what worked well was my partnership with Kevin.  He had great ideas and was very helpful in working through all the new concepts and challenges that we were faced with this project.  The one thing I would have liked to do differently would be to tape at an earlier time in order to have more processing time - however, neither of our schedules allowed for the earlier taping to occur.  Although many of the tasks were challenging, I was surprised at overall how easy it was to put a video together.

This is definitely a process that I would be willing to take part in again - but I still prefer to not star in the video - I like to be behind the camera, not in front of it.

Educause - Chapter 8

This chapter seemed to focus on the idea that all forms of "old teaching strategies" do not need to be discontinued, but newer tools need to be added in order to keep the attention and pace of Net Geners.

I really liked and agree with the comment made by a faculty member, "Technology is a giant mirror reflecting back to you your own deepest issues. It challenges you to clarify what you value, to rediscover why you went into teaching in the first place, and to be honest about whether your original hopes have been realized. It also sheds light on how we interact with our students and how they respond to our courses, and [it] forces us to think about the real meaning of community and what it is that a group of people assembled in a single physical space experience and how that compares to what a group of people in cyberspace might experience."

Since the beginning of this class I have been analyzing and re-analyzing my ideas, fears and biases about using technology in the classroom.  I feel that teachers that are unwilling to do this are committing a critical error in judgment that may potentially stunt the intellectual growth of the students in their classrooms.

This class was given to me as one of the 1st 2 classes that I was enrolled in for my graduate work.  I was told that this is typically one of the last courses assigned to Education students, and I am so thankful to have had this course so early in my coursework.  Without this course, and my introduction into so many new technology tools and systems I believe I would have fallen into a routine of running a classroom the way the teachers I had in school ran their rooms.  There was no technology to be found in the classrooms I attended.

I would definitely survey students to find out what types of technology they use on a regular basis so I would know if there was a mode of communication that could be easily utilized throughout our course.  I would also want to know what types of technology they had become familiar with through other classes they attended - I would want to know what type of pace I should expect to keep with a group of students.

 The most important thing for a teacher to know is that one course is not going to get them up to date with technology, and keep them there.  This will need to be an on-going process of learning new sources of technology in order to keep up with the pace and interest level of students in the classroom.

Copyright for Teachers

The most surprising thing to me about copyright laws is that these laws are broken so often by totally unsuspecting, well-meaning people.  Trying to save a buck here or provide materials for all kids in a classroom with a smaller than small budget can get teachers into a lot of trouble.

The difficulty I have with trying to understand the laws about copyrighting is that the determinations made in court cases regarding copyright issues seem to vary to such a degree that it is difficult to see where the true lines are drawn in the law.  The biggest example we were given of this was in copyright laws that pertain to music.  One group was allowed to keep music that clearly sounded like the original piece of music and was easily identifiable as a copy of the original, while another musician was fined for taking 4 notes from an original song.  Those 4 notes were not obvious in the 2nd version, and the 2 songs did not sound alike.   Then it was ruled that "Saturday Night Live" could take an actual tune and just change the words of the song. 

I'm glad I don't work in the entertainment industry, I'm not sure I would know what to do to keep myself out of legal trouble.

I have seen many copyright laws violated - copying parts of books, videos being shown that had audio clips added, videos shown to groups of children without copyright fees being paid.  It would be my guess (without verifying with the "guilty" parties) that in all of these situations the individuals did not know they were violating any copyright laws.  I don't believe there is enough copyright education available to those of us who are using these materials on a regular basis.

Do I think it is my job to teach copyright respect to my students?  It depends on the age group I am teaching.  I don't know that I would drill this home, but I would certainly make reference to these issues whenever we are interacting with technology tools that have copyright laws assigned to them.  I would not want these students to become the "unsuspecting, well-meaning" individuals who find themselves in a legal bind at some point in the future.

google docs vs. Microsoft Word and Excel

Hypothetically my school is going to switch to google docs for word processing and spreadsheet needs.  How do I feel about that?

I've had only one experience with google docs, and I didn't enjoy it.  Everything was going along fine and then data I was extracting from another source was pasted onto the page and I couldn't do anything on the google doc.  The entire page froze.  I couldn't continue with my project, I couldn't get out of the page, and I didn't want to lose all my information.

I found out in class that I was attempting to copy and past from another source and that sometimes google docs will not allow the amount of data or types of data that are being copied. 

If I had to choose between google docs and Microsoft Word/Excel I would choose Microsoft.  I have more experience with Microsoft and I have never run into the freezing problem like I did with google docs.  I really like the applications that I have with Excel, and I believe there are so many ways that students would be able to easily document and track grades, projects, experiments, mathematical equations, almost anything they could think of.

My answer, as I'm finding is typical with me, comes down to my comfort level.  I am comfortable with Microsoft Word and Excel.  If I was forced to switch to google docs I would need to take time to learn the system so that it could become as effective a tool for me as Microsoft is, but I really prefer to not have to take that time.

Define Social Bookmarking

From the discussions we have had and the articles I've read social bookmarking is a great way to keep valuable sites that I would find organized.   Since I'm not typically an organized person, this could be a really good tool for me to use.

As a student, in preparation for the Technology Article Notebook Project it will be important for me to get organized and stay organized.  As I visit worthwhile sites I will need to conserve time and be able to quickly get back to useful information to extract additional information.  The unorganized electronic world I currently live in would find me searching for these sites continuously or having hundreds of sites handwritten in my notebook.

As a student and a teacher, another benefit of social bookmarking is the "social" part that allows others to view and take advantage of the time others have taken to research material.  I expect that I will need to be critical in my decision-making of who I will look at to view bookmarks, but this could potentially save me a huge amount of time if I build a strong base of friends and colleagues who have bookmarks that I can trust.

This type of system in technology leads me to the big "ah-ha" moments of figuring out how other people can accomplish so much work in so little time.  They are working smarter, not harder!

Post 2 - Class #2 - T. Blatt EDU 610 2/13/11

After reading the article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Mark Prensky I took the following notes:
I'm definitely a Digital Immigrant (seemingly from a very, very far away country!!)

I can absolutely see the value of setting up teaching tools that cater to the Digital Natives.  To not set up teaching tools that cater to them puts them in a position of not being able to do their best work and to not completely learn what it is that I would be attempting to teach them.

How should I assess the status of all my students/staff - whether or not they are Digital Natives or Digital Immigrants?   I would need to know this to be able to work best with the group in my class/work setting.    I am expecting I would need to have a discussion about what both terms mean and then poll the group on their comfort level with technology, and also poll the types of technology they are familiar with.

How will I effectively work with a mixed group of Natives and Immigrants??

How many students over the years have not learned to their fullest capacity because the teachers taught with one focus and didn't differentiate to cater to their style of learning?   How different would my capacity to learn have been if teachers would have made games out of the learning concepts needed?
          
If I don't change my thinking about the effective use of technology, how many students/staff would be able to reflect later in life that I stunted their capacity to learn due to my close-mindedness?

Post 1 Digital Natives/Net Gen - T. Blatt EDU 610

Sunday, February 13, 2011, 11:45 AM

This concept was so enlightening to me.  I am not a Net Gener, and technology is something I have tolerated rather than embraced.  The idea that people can prefer and even flourish with so much technology happening around them at the same time is mind-boggling to me. After reading the first 2 chapters of Educating the Net Generation I had an "ah-ha" moment that the way I think and learn is not the way that Digital Natives and Net Geners learn, and I will be doing a great disservice to students/staff that I work with if I don't begin to embrace the technology that is available to us. I grew up with teachers that had little or no technology available to use, and that is what I am used to or comfortable with.  In Chapter 2 under the heading of "Interaction" there are two sentences that state: "Students do best when they actively construct their own knowledge.  In addition, there is a positive correlation between interaction and student retention."   I quickly realized from this reading that teachers are doing a great disservice to their students when they try to have their brains functioning at the much slower process of lecture/no technology than if they would have them actively engaged to the fullest capacity possible with the technology they do have available. I have also had to question my thoughts about technology in reference to how I am currently parenting my 9 and 12 year olds.  As I have said, I am not comfortable with technology and I could tell you all the pitfalls of technology that you should be worried about - online predators, legal issues that could occur due to inappropriate posts, family members becoming distant from each other due to reverting to electronic interactions rather than personal communication - and I have made decisions about the amount of technology that my children can have based on those fears.   What I am realizing now is I am potentially handicapping my children because the world of technology is moving quickly around them and I am refusing to allow them to participate in most of those avenues.   My children are part of the Net Generation, but I am stunting their knowledge and growth with technology because of my fears for their safety. This first week's readings were so enlightening to me!  I have a lot of work to do in order to get on board with embracing technology - but I am so excited about it.