Please see our class blackboard discussion board to read comments on using MovieMaker for a project with a middle school student I tutor. Here is my description of the project:
I decided that the steep learning curve I was experiencing while doing my digital imagery project with Movie Maker, would be a perfect starting point for implementing a plan that utilized Movie Maker for an instructional purpose with a 6th grade student I tutor. This particular student has organizational and executive decision-making strengths, with fine motor coordination and social-emotional concerns. His need for learning accommodations for schoolwork contributes to his social discomfort with peers, and appears to be negatively impacting his self-image, which results in low self-esteem. His parents have asked that I help him to handle his situation as healthfully as possible.Much of what I do with him revolves around highlighting his strengths. We discuss the pros and cons of his learning accommodations, and try to substitute his awkwardness about his coordination with confidence in what he CAN do (such as making informed choices). Augmenting his knowledge of how to use technology to express his ideas has been very successful in the past. In this case, I decided that my goals to help him develop a healthier self-image and higher self-esteem could be integrated most authentically by working with him on producing a MovieMaker video. I could think of no better way to actively involve him in this project, than to have him comment and make constructive suggestions to my movie making project!!It was a lot of fun to design this series of lessons. I was trying to pique his interest in movie making while helping him to identify factors that would contribute to his lifelong health (and happiness). As I had already determined that he is a strong visual learner, I believed that this particular medium would be intrinsically stimulating and engaging for him. I had learned the basic mechanics of the Movie Maker application, and was ready to interactively explore it with input from a younger mind! We started by viewing public domain photos, discussing the specifics of creative commons shared rights and exploring the various rights expressed in flickr.com. I purchased a $25 camera cell phone for his use. I was ready to move forward and engage!For age appropriate guidance, I turned to the "Media Smart Youth: Eat, Think and Be Active!" program (www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/pdf/msy_intro_overview.pdf). It is a health promotion program, designed for young people 11-13, "to teach them about the complex media world around them, and how it can affect theirhealth, especially in the areas of nutrition and physical activity".The program is also designed to help teens become critical, creative thinkers by helping them make smart and positive choices about nutrition and physical activity every day.
Learning objectives:
1. Student will be able to identify the broad indicators of healthful living (eat, drink and sleep well; engage in physical activity daily; feel good about self by doing your best; identify meaningful choices; learn about being a critical consumer)
2. Student will be able to state his personal view of "healthful living". (through discussion and brainstorming)
3. Student will make a visual presentation with MovieMaker that shows young children involved in healthful activities (and pretty obviously feeling good!)for a “healthful living” discussion with 8 year olds.
As I have worked with this young man for a few years now, I am quite familiar with his creative mind and confident in his ability to analyze, evaluate and create new thoughts. For the purposes of this implementation, I touched upon the nutrition and physical activity sections of this program through open topical discussions that contributed to the images of healthy young children that were used in the final product. As a springboard into the Movie Maker work, I used the 6 Media Questions handouts from Media Smart Youth www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/pdf/MSY_Poster.pdf with the following questions: Who is the author or sponsor? Who is the audience? What is the purpose? What is the message? What information is missing? What techniques are used to attract your attention? These questions helped our discussions by giving a framework to explain how to recognize the ways that media try to get the audience's attention and to have the student analyze media messages and evaluate them for accuracy and for consistency with his ideas of what it means to be healthy. It gave us time to discuss the many aspects of healthfulness that may not have been mentioned in relation to nutrition and physical activity, including the importance of healthy family interactions, decision making and self image. To create additional interest in making the MovieMaker video, I presented the video I was working on so that he would offer comments and see that his opinions mattered to me. Adding that dimension definitely improved our level of discussion, and encouraged him to solve some technical problems along the way, while stimulating his critical thinking at every turn regarding the photo selection process! To apply all of that to a hands-on project really made sense to my student. It helped him feel confident in being able to photographically depict what he determined to be qualities of healthful living for younger children. He seemed to be very interested in also helping younger children understand all that goes into living more healthfully. This is an adaptation of the Media Smart Youth program media project goal which is "to motivate other young people to take action for better nutrition or increased physical activity" and definitely relates to work I am currently doing with other families. I was extremely impressed by his level of engagement and the depth of his interest in video production. I believe that this will spark additional use of Movie Maker for both of us. In this process, we both learned new skills of production, teamwork and creativity.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Digital Imagery Project
I hope that most of you have seen the MovieMaker project I presented in class, because I will not be able to post it online at this time. Additional information on the planning process can be seen on our wiki communication at http://techacrosscurriculum.wikispaces.com/
The video is a brief introduction to Early Intervention in North Carolina for parents, family members, professionals and all interested residents of our state. The current version is in English only, but I hope to make a Spanish equivalent and post both versions online in the near future. As an overview of early intervention for children who have visible or invisible special needs, the video briefly describes the 2 parts of the Early Intervention system: The Infant Toddler Program and The Preschool Program. It explains how both are mandated by The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). I made every attempt to represent cultural backgrounds of families in our state and to represent caring and concern for ALL families. It also provides contact information to learn more about accessing North Carolina's early intervention system and any other NC program or service for children with special needs and their families.
The video is a brief introduction to Early Intervention in North Carolina for parents, family members, professionals and all interested residents of our state. The current version is in English only, but I hope to make a Spanish equivalent and post both versions online in the near future. As an overview of early intervention for children who have visible or invisible special needs, the video briefly describes the 2 parts of the Early Intervention system: The Infant Toddler Program and The Preschool Program. It explains how both are mandated by The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). I made every attempt to represent cultural backgrounds of families in our state and to represent caring and concern for ALL families. It also provides contact information to learn more about accessing North Carolina's early intervention system and any other NC program or service for children with special needs and their families.
Book Review
Classroom Blogging by David Warlock (2005) is just what the “technology doctor ordered for this educator! It is chock full of useful “handbook” type information for any educator interested in how the interactive global discussion (blogosphere) fits into the learning/teaching process. David Warlick provides extensive how-to details to enter the conversation with blogs, wikis and podcasts. The book initiates and promotes further discussion of his broader vision of a new society of “citizen journalists” who observe, reflect and report on current issues through meaningful interaction among respected individuals. The book is all about what and how we teach our students.
Many parts of this book were totally new to me this year. It clarified RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and how it essentially allows each person to “train” the internet to search and deliver what he/she wants each day. It explained that podcasts are audio blogs developed by Apple through a “clever usage of RSS syndication”, but that they do NOT require a Mac or iPod. It provided specific instructions for making and using blogs, wikis and podcasts for classroom and personal use. It offered specific examples across multiple disciplines. It detailed programs such as Garageband and Audacity to record, mix and produce audio tracks. It presented Content Management Systems, information on Seedwiki, CheeseWiki, bloglines, blogger.com, listservs and message boards. Furl, flickr, archive.org were introduced, with educators’ blogs ( David’s 2 Cents Worth, Weblogg-ed, One-Trick Cyberpony, shifted Librarian, Teach42) and Technorati to search blogs.
For me, the most meaningful and insightful conversations in the book were on net publishing for educators being “our best opportunity to reassert ourselves as the experts on education and …taking leadership in retooling classrooms for the 21st century teaching and learning” (p 98); on uncovering the truth through conversation (p 110); on how to “include in our instruction the ethics of how we access, use, and communicate information”(p 167); and how “we should no longer assume the authority of the information we encounter, but, instead, prove the authority.” (p 11). I greatly appreciate the practical inclusion of his Blog Contract and information on creative commons licenses that allow individuals to publish materials as long as the creator is given credit (http://creativecommons.org )
I am certainly excited that David Warlick is here in Raleigh and wonder why, prior to this class, I had not chanced upon any information about him. In this course, I was introduced to BlogMeister, but I did not know anything about his Landmark Project and the many applications he offers freely to teachers. I now know considerably more about David. On http://davidwarlick.com/wordpress/?page_id=2 he states “my web site, Landmarks for Schools (http://landmark-project.com/ ), is a labor of love for teachers offering links to hundreds of Web sites”. His blog for teachers has been mentioned, but he also created Rubric Builder, Citation Machine, PiNet Library, The Education Podcast Network and placed his workshop handouts online. It is obvious that David Warlick’s 25 years as a classroom teacher and technology director, contributed to his attention to teachers’ specific needs for using technology and to matters such as student privacy and protection. The book and applications he has created will help teachers successfully and creatively manage students’ access to truthful information and global conversation, while keeping track of the progress of each student’s learning. I have so much more to learn on this, but at least I have begun the process! I thank the author for this incredibly rich, detailed, truthful and comprehensive overview of the technological tools to achieve instructional objectives and promote authentic learning.
Many parts of this book were totally new to me this year. It clarified RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and how it essentially allows each person to “train” the internet to search and deliver what he/she wants each day. It explained that podcasts are audio blogs developed by Apple through a “clever usage of RSS syndication”, but that they do NOT require a Mac or iPod. It provided specific instructions for making and using blogs, wikis and podcasts for classroom and personal use. It offered specific examples across multiple disciplines. It detailed programs such as Garageband and Audacity to record, mix and produce audio tracks. It presented Content Management Systems, information on Seedwiki, CheeseWiki, bloglines, blogger.com, listservs and message boards. Furl, flickr, archive.org were introduced, with educators’ blogs ( David’s 2 Cents Worth, Weblogg-ed, One-Trick Cyberpony, shifted Librarian, Teach42) and Technorati to search blogs.
For me, the most meaningful and insightful conversations in the book were on net publishing for educators being “our best opportunity to reassert ourselves as the experts on education and …taking leadership in retooling classrooms for the 21st century teaching and learning” (p 98); on uncovering the truth through conversation (p 110); on how to “include in our instruction the ethics of how we access, use, and communicate information”(p 167); and how “we should no longer assume the authority of the information we encounter, but, instead, prove the authority.” (p 11). I greatly appreciate the practical inclusion of his Blog Contract and information on creative commons licenses that allow individuals to publish materials as long as the creator is given credit (http://creativecommons.org )
I am certainly excited that David Warlick is here in Raleigh and wonder why, prior to this class, I had not chanced upon any information about him. In this course, I was introduced to BlogMeister, but I did not know anything about his Landmark Project and the many applications he offers freely to teachers. I now know considerably more about David. On http://davidwarlick.com/wordpress/?page_id=2 he states “my web site, Landmarks for Schools (http://landmark-project.com/ ), is a labor of love for teachers offering links to hundreds of Web sites”. His blog for teachers has been mentioned, but he also created Rubric Builder, Citation Machine, PiNet Library, The Education Podcast Network and placed his workshop handouts online. It is obvious that David Warlick’s 25 years as a classroom teacher and technology director, contributed to his attention to teachers’ specific needs for using technology and to matters such as student privacy and protection. The book and applications he has created will help teachers successfully and creatively manage students’ access to truthful information and global conversation, while keeping track of the progress of each student’s learning. I have so much more to learn on this, but at least I have begun the process! I thank the author for this incredibly rich, detailed, truthful and comprehensive overview of the technological tools to achieve instructional objectives and promote authentic learning.
Technology Autobiography Revisited Dec 2007
Here I am at the final week of Technology across the Curriculum, EDUC 602, and in looking back over the short span of this course, I am extremely pleased to say that I have had my technological horizon broadened immensely and have been able to incorporate various technologies into my work with students and teachers. I have gained enormously from the professionally expanding experience of interacting with other teachers and professionals involved in educational technology, and I know I will learn so much more as I review my classmates’ portfolios in the next few weeks. Their insights and feedback have helped me become significantly more relaxed with technology itself and with using it for teaching and learning. I am still overwhelmed by the many technological options to improve educational excursions, but I now know I will become comfortable with them.
It is invigorating to know that in this relatively short span of time, I have not only acquired innumerable technological skills, but have had my appetite whetted for so much more. I have learned to "blog" and know when and why to use one with students and I have actually created one that is an extremely useful tool for me. I also created a movie for families and professionals to more easily understand Early Intervention in North Carolina and an online bookmark page that has been used in various classrooms. I can create and add to "wikis". I understand and use RSS feeds. I have taught digital imagery technology to specific students, including the use of emailing photos from a cell phone. I have used online videos and web publishing with students, with confidence, as I can now address reliability of information with them, and instruct them on internet safety and copyright protections. I have learned more about web hosting, webquests, YouTube, TeacherTube, and more, to broaden our online and actual social network. I have initiated and executed a webconference, and continue to improve my agency’s web presence with the possibility of moderating a discussion board or hosting a webcast.
David Warlick’s book, Classroom Blogging, provided details that have enabled me to embrace the concept of being a “citizen journalist” in the global conversation. He and his Landmark Project have provided incredibly concrete information on reasserting myself as an expert on education and clarified the need to take leadership in improving schools for all learners. I expect to use his book and website often. His teacher tools, such as Rubric Builder, and his handouts on Ethics and Teaching in a New Information Landscape have already been quite helpful to me. I have found many other thought provoking materials on http://www.citejournal.org/ Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, and ideas about worldwide student exchanges via think.com, epals.com, and Global Nomads (to name a few). I continue to explore ideas for collaboration in schools using Google Docs and spreadsheets . I regularly check for important educational tips on edutopia.org, iste.org, ESchoolNews and their new Spanish eScuela Americana. EduWikis http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/ offers useful articles and resources, such as a list of existing educational wikis, and a place to post and discuss ideas. All in all, using technology just doesn’t seem as hard for me to do as it did before!
The concept of teachers having personal responsibility for creating change has become much more real and do-able for me. For many years, I have applied Dewey’s principles of student-centered learning and constructivist principles of hands-on learning, but I now see more clearly how I can incorporate Freire’s important aspect of social activism. For me it includes promoting, justifying and enhancing the use of technology in all aspects of education. There are many issues of equity and the digital divide, and more study of http://www.digitaldivide.net/ is constantly required to remain current on resources on this subject. It is not a matter of giving out more computers, it is a matter of developing the VISION for their effective use that is SO important. With a cohesive curriculum that is fully infused with technology, I believe we will see technology help level the playing field for students with disabilities, improve differentiated instruction for all students, and meet the needs of culturally diverse populations.
Although qualitative research on technology in education is being questioned by those who want quantitative results, I believe that I, and other educators like me, can play a part in designing and implementing quantitative research that substantiates the important place that technology holds in improving educational outcomes. I plan to further explore the evaluation results of North Carolina IMPACT model schools, examining their data on how technology positively impacted student math and reading achievement and teacher retention, and how it impacted teachers’ leadership perceptions. I hope to help prove that schools using technology can be more successful in student learning, more connected to their communities, and serve a strong leadership role for advancing technology and enhancing the satisfaction and retention rates of teachers.
I know that this is just the start of a long process, set off in a wonderful forward gear heading me toward continual learning and growth by actually being capable of implementing technological applications with students, as well as helping teachers, principals and parents become more comfortable with the technological tools in their midst. Aside from becoming significantly more adept at using technology, I have broadened my understanding regarding some of the implications technology may have for meeting future teacher and educational leadership training needs. As an innovator interested in promoting the use of technology in schools, I have the background to construct meaningful programs to train teachers and other school professionals in utilizing technological tools for educational purposes. I believe that technology can improve the educational outcomes of schools in North Carolina, while helping to improve teacher accountability and satisfaction. Although various educators have indicated that applying technology in the classroom places additional strain on an already overworked group, I believe it is possible to document that there are multiple long term benefits to schools and students that far outweigh the difficulties of the initial work required to become familiar with using technology in the classroom. I believe that technology has the potential to make the whole learning/teaching experience more exciting and engaging, and in the long run will help individual teachers and school systems alleviate many of the disruptive, and time-consuming distractions that take place in today’s schools due to boredom, lack of creativity and lack of authentic learning opportunities.
I am extremely grateful for having pushed myself to stretch and meet the rigors of this program and know that the information and skills I have acquired will improve all of my educational endeavors. I believe that I am off to an excellent start in my personal quest to become computer literate. I now know that I will become proficient in using technology for whatever aspect of the teaching/learning spectrum I chose. What I have learned in this course will be beneficial to myself and others, in this country or anywhere in the world, whether I continue tutoring, become an educational researcher, an administrator, a technology facilitator, or apply my knowledge to professional development. I have certainly become a far stronger believer that technology will improve learning and positively impact the field of education.
It is invigorating to know that in this relatively short span of time, I have not only acquired innumerable technological skills, but have had my appetite whetted for so much more. I have learned to "blog" and know when and why to use one with students and I have actually created one that is an extremely useful tool for me. I also created a movie for families and professionals to more easily understand Early Intervention in North Carolina and an online bookmark page that has been used in various classrooms. I can create and add to "wikis". I understand and use RSS feeds. I have taught digital imagery technology to specific students, including the use of emailing photos from a cell phone. I have used online videos and web publishing with students, with confidence, as I can now address reliability of information with them, and instruct them on internet safety and copyright protections. I have learned more about web hosting, webquests, YouTube, TeacherTube, and more, to broaden our online and actual social network. I have initiated and executed a webconference, and continue to improve my agency’s web presence with the possibility of moderating a discussion board or hosting a webcast.
David Warlick’s book, Classroom Blogging, provided details that have enabled me to embrace the concept of being a “citizen journalist” in the global conversation. He and his Landmark Project have provided incredibly concrete information on reasserting myself as an expert on education and clarified the need to take leadership in improving schools for all learners. I expect to use his book and website often. His teacher tools, such as Rubric Builder, and his handouts on Ethics and Teaching in a New Information Landscape have already been quite helpful to me. I have found many other thought provoking materials on http://www.citejournal.org/ Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, and ideas about worldwide student exchanges via think.com, epals.com, and Global Nomads (to name a few). I continue to explore ideas for collaboration in schools using Google Docs and spreadsheets . I regularly check for important educational tips on edutopia.org, iste.org, ESchoolNews and their new Spanish eScuela Americana. EduWikis http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/ offers useful articles and resources, such as a list of existing educational wikis, and a place to post and discuss ideas. All in all, using technology just doesn’t seem as hard for me to do as it did before!
The concept of teachers having personal responsibility for creating change has become much more real and do-able for me. For many years, I have applied Dewey’s principles of student-centered learning and constructivist principles of hands-on learning, but I now see more clearly how I can incorporate Freire’s important aspect of social activism. For me it includes promoting, justifying and enhancing the use of technology in all aspects of education. There are many issues of equity and the digital divide, and more study of http://www.digitaldivide.net/ is constantly required to remain current on resources on this subject. It is not a matter of giving out more computers, it is a matter of developing the VISION for their effective use that is SO important. With a cohesive curriculum that is fully infused with technology, I believe we will see technology help level the playing field for students with disabilities, improve differentiated instruction for all students, and meet the needs of culturally diverse populations.
Although qualitative research on technology in education is being questioned by those who want quantitative results, I believe that I, and other educators like me, can play a part in designing and implementing quantitative research that substantiates the important place that technology holds in improving educational outcomes. I plan to further explore the evaluation results of North Carolina IMPACT model schools, examining their data on how technology positively impacted student math and reading achievement and teacher retention, and how it impacted teachers’ leadership perceptions. I hope to help prove that schools using technology can be more successful in student learning, more connected to their communities, and serve a strong leadership role for advancing technology and enhancing the satisfaction and retention rates of teachers.
I know that this is just the start of a long process, set off in a wonderful forward gear heading me toward continual learning and growth by actually being capable of implementing technological applications with students, as well as helping teachers, principals and parents become more comfortable with the technological tools in their midst. Aside from becoming significantly more adept at using technology, I have broadened my understanding regarding some of the implications technology may have for meeting future teacher and educational leadership training needs. As an innovator interested in promoting the use of technology in schools, I have the background to construct meaningful programs to train teachers and other school professionals in utilizing technological tools for educational purposes. I believe that technology can improve the educational outcomes of schools in North Carolina, while helping to improve teacher accountability and satisfaction. Although various educators have indicated that applying technology in the classroom places additional strain on an already overworked group, I believe it is possible to document that there are multiple long term benefits to schools and students that far outweigh the difficulties of the initial work required to become familiar with using technology in the classroom. I believe that technology has the potential to make the whole learning/teaching experience more exciting and engaging, and in the long run will help individual teachers and school systems alleviate many of the disruptive, and time-consuming distractions that take place in today’s schools due to boredom, lack of creativity and lack of authentic learning opportunities.
I am extremely grateful for having pushed myself to stretch and meet the rigors of this program and know that the information and skills I have acquired will improve all of my educational endeavors. I believe that I am off to an excellent start in my personal quest to become computer literate. I now know that I will become proficient in using technology for whatever aspect of the teaching/learning spectrum I chose. What I have learned in this course will be beneficial to myself and others, in this country or anywhere in the world, whether I continue tutoring, become an educational researcher, an administrator, a technology facilitator, or apply my knowledge to professional development. I have certainly become a far stronger believer that technology will improve learning and positively impact the field of education.
September's Technology Autobiography
In the Fall of 2007, as a student in the Master’s program in Educational Technology at the University of North Carolina, I am asked to both discover and declare findings of entering the autobiographical process of increasing self-awareness through examining my teaching and learning related interaction with technology. This process is an attempt to better understand my current situation of being somewhat overwhelmed and mesmerized with the possibilities that technology presents for all aspects of education. I am experiencing a form of “information overload”. Technology overwhelms me by offering such a wide gamut of opportunity and making it difficult for me to focus on a particular area of impact. I hope to improve myself as student, as a teacher, as a mentor, as a teacher of teachers and as a politically active adult who wants to improve education in all aspects. It is my belief that technology can significantly improve learning and that belief parallels my overall belief that learning is a personal and constructive lifetime endeavor that positively impacts each person’s ability to savor life to the fullest. I am unsure of the direction technology will take me, but I am totally “sold” on bringing technology to learning. With that in mind, I present various aspects of my personal history that relate to my desire to become fluent in a broad spectrum of technological advances.
There is no doubt that it was extremely important that before leaving my 14 year tranquil sojourn in the land of Mayan culture and archaeology, I had a strong image of becoming computer literate. That image has held true for the past 12 years and was most important in my decision to seek a Masters in Educational Technology. In Yucatan Mexico, my family and neighbors lived without computer connection. Our main source of news was the Diario Yucatan, whose staff published translations of all UPI and API feeds every day for all countries of the world. I often commented on how incredible it was to have the benefit of such a globally aware newspaper to examine daily in this provincial, calm zone of the world (that was also labeled “third world”). In the United States, I remembered having had little daily news of most of the world ( ie: African, Asian, or Latin American nations), nor even weekly news of our neighbors in Mexico or Canada. This is significant for me daily, as I am aware of how drastically deficient my local NC papers are, and of how important internet access to newspapers around the world is for me to maintain my global current event focus.
My educational background lies strongly in the field of special education, and I believe that is why I find myself tending toward wanting to know more about applying technology to improving the lives of students with disabilities. As I am totally invested in full community and educational inclusion of people with disabilities, I begin to realize that actually means moving myself more toward utilizing technology to improve the education of ALL students (with attention to mixed abilities, the influence of location, socio-economic situation, health, age, interests and more). It means including the education of teachers, other professionals and administrators. I have taken on the huge endeavor of trying to become “comfortable enough” to adapt to the most current technology quickly and openly, and able to ascertain the implications of new technology on classroom instruction, professional development and administrative excellence.
That said, I will now return to recording personal accounts of technology in my life. I believe it was my father’s reel-to-reel motion picture projector that really got me excited about focusing on using audio-visual equipment during my student teaching days. I also remember that I implemented various stations in my first classroom that had students pushing buttons on tape recorders to get their individual lessons, using record players, and tachometers with little slides flashing words or pictures in sequence, much like the View-Alls used with round disks of small film sections of Niagra Falls or The Grand Canyon or self-made sequential stick figures in motion, etc. I also remember making and using “pin-hole cameras” with my students, and making many models of the earth in the solar system, complete with gears for rotations and lighting. Another “tickling memory” is of those electrically charged panels I used to make that let the students choose the answer to a question by touching a wire next to the answer of their choice and if it was correct a light flashed! What a simple pleasure. Self-paced learning at its simplest level. Agreed, that was BASIC technology, but, it all helped to produce quite a lively, engaged group of learners, excited anew each day, and I continue to strive to facilitate the same.
I currently help students, other teachers, parents and service providers attain the proficiency they seek with specific skills. I try to promote the use of technology in classrooms by example, and have had good response with communication boards, text to speech and speech recognition software, word processing, spell-checking programs, Powerpoint, and SlideShow. (I would like to be able to set them up on a computer even when there is a snag in the installing process). My students and I often research online (not only “googling”). We have found many interesting articles, many answers to specific questions, beautiful works of art, conjugations of irregular verbs, and ways to travel to without ever leaving Orange County! We have also successfully used the internet to set up accommodations for foreign travel, using critiques and comments of strangers to help make our choices. I have woven the internet into my tutoring and community work.
I come to realize that over the past 12 years, I have become quite comfortable with most computer technologies in classroom. When I was a classroom teacher, I learned how to set up old PCs, do some DOS programming to start basic programs, and learned to operate in a Mac environment also. My students and I use Microsoft Office programs. We make photo galleries, and play DVDs and CDs. I find many uses for technology in the constructivist student-centered activities I contract with my students. In 2001, I quickly adapted to Blackboard use for University classwork, including discussion boards and chats. I rely on online libraries and electronic journals, and don’t know how I ever did literature reviews without them. I learned a lot about technology in the classroom from ESchoolNews, my instructors, and other teachers in my classes. I am dependent on, and intrigued by, technology as a teaching-learning tool.
I participate in various professional listservs and access various bulletin boards. I use technology for communication, finding great pleasure in “IMing”, complete with icons and audibles, and marvel at how incredibly wonderful it is to so easily touch in with the person watching my home in Yucatan. I remember how ridiculously unreliable mail was between the Yucatan and the US just a dozen years ago. It took at least 10 days, if it arrived at all. Mexican phones were said to “drive grown men to tears”. Today, my friends in Mexico have computers, as do my friends in other parts of the world. Emails are an every day event. I “Skype” my friends also, but, I must admit, that without the video components set up to see each other, I do feel weird talking to my computer screen! The ease of connecting with people all over the world is a joy that technology brings.
I believe that we have to be careful about technology’s potential to isolate individuals and possibly eliminate or drastically reduce “real life” social interaction. I have disturbing thoughts about people who get fixated on specific subjects or perversities, and recognize that there are other aspects of technological advancement that can become distorted and dangerous. (The Space Odyssey’s computer Hal comes to mind). I also have concerns about privacy and trust. When on Myspace or YouTube, I often find myself thinking about people lying or misrepresenting themselves, and innocent folks being “taken in” by imposters and thieves. I have a lot to learn about online security.
I don’t use all programs or hardware that I would like to use, I don’t use MP3s, I don’t download much music, or many videos, though I do download many graphics. I don’t use whiteboards, I don’t use videoconferencing smoothly, I don’t blog, and I don’t use chatrooms often. I don’t know how to use Ipods, Podcasts, or send emails from my cellphone. I don’t know how to set up a website. I don’t know how to set up or moderate a discussion board or chat room or host a webcast or webconference. I would like to learn about all available technology for all computer environments, including networking, and how to incorporate technology to assist in accomplishing everyday tasks more efficiently, and utilize technology to improve emotional and physical health and well-being.
As a student of technology, I am trying to “stretch” myself technologically and assist others in doing the same. I would like to establish a web presence that allows students to improve their writing, reading and learning skills interactively and happily. Teaching with technology does seem to “level the playing field”, encourage active student engagement and provide motivation by being able to incorporate such a wide range of interests. As an educator, I believe that the rewards of technology can be advantageous for all aspects of learning and teaching, and hope to advance the use of technology on all levels of public and private education.
There is no doubt that it was extremely important that before leaving my 14 year tranquil sojourn in the land of Mayan culture and archaeology, I had a strong image of becoming computer literate. That image has held true for the past 12 years and was most important in my decision to seek a Masters in Educational Technology. In Yucatan Mexico, my family and neighbors lived without computer connection. Our main source of news was the Diario Yucatan, whose staff published translations of all UPI and API feeds every day for all countries of the world. I often commented on how incredible it was to have the benefit of such a globally aware newspaper to examine daily in this provincial, calm zone of the world (that was also labeled “third world”). In the United States, I remembered having had little daily news of most of the world ( ie: African, Asian, or Latin American nations), nor even weekly news of our neighbors in Mexico or Canada. This is significant for me daily, as I am aware of how drastically deficient my local NC papers are, and of how important internet access to newspapers around the world is for me to maintain my global current event focus.
My educational background lies strongly in the field of special education, and I believe that is why I find myself tending toward wanting to know more about applying technology to improving the lives of students with disabilities. As I am totally invested in full community and educational inclusion of people with disabilities, I begin to realize that actually means moving myself more toward utilizing technology to improve the education of ALL students (with attention to mixed abilities, the influence of location, socio-economic situation, health, age, interests and more). It means including the education of teachers, other professionals and administrators. I have taken on the huge endeavor of trying to become “comfortable enough” to adapt to the most current technology quickly and openly, and able to ascertain the implications of new technology on classroom instruction, professional development and administrative excellence.
That said, I will now return to recording personal accounts of technology in my life. I believe it was my father’s reel-to-reel motion picture projector that really got me excited about focusing on using audio-visual equipment during my student teaching days. I also remember that I implemented various stations in my first classroom that had students pushing buttons on tape recorders to get their individual lessons, using record players, and tachometers with little slides flashing words or pictures in sequence, much like the View-Alls used with round disks of small film sections of Niagra Falls or The Grand Canyon or self-made sequential stick figures in motion, etc. I also remember making and using “pin-hole cameras” with my students, and making many models of the earth in the solar system, complete with gears for rotations and lighting. Another “tickling memory” is of those electrically charged panels I used to make that let the students choose the answer to a question by touching a wire next to the answer of their choice and if it was correct a light flashed! What a simple pleasure. Self-paced learning at its simplest level. Agreed, that was BASIC technology, but, it all helped to produce quite a lively, engaged group of learners, excited anew each day, and I continue to strive to facilitate the same.
I currently help students, other teachers, parents and service providers attain the proficiency they seek with specific skills. I try to promote the use of technology in classrooms by example, and have had good response with communication boards, text to speech and speech recognition software, word processing, spell-checking programs, Powerpoint, and SlideShow. (I would like to be able to set them up on a computer even when there is a snag in the installing process). My students and I often research online (not only “googling”). We have found many interesting articles, many answers to specific questions, beautiful works of art, conjugations of irregular verbs, and ways to travel to without ever leaving Orange County! We have also successfully used the internet to set up accommodations for foreign travel, using critiques and comments of strangers to help make our choices. I have woven the internet into my tutoring and community work.
I come to realize that over the past 12 years, I have become quite comfortable with most computer technologies in classroom. When I was a classroom teacher, I learned how to set up old PCs, do some DOS programming to start basic programs, and learned to operate in a Mac environment also. My students and I use Microsoft Office programs. We make photo galleries, and play DVDs and CDs. I find many uses for technology in the constructivist student-centered activities I contract with my students. In 2001, I quickly adapted to Blackboard use for University classwork, including discussion boards and chats. I rely on online libraries and electronic journals, and don’t know how I ever did literature reviews without them. I learned a lot about technology in the classroom from ESchoolNews, my instructors, and other teachers in my classes. I am dependent on, and intrigued by, technology as a teaching-learning tool.
I participate in various professional listservs and access various bulletin boards. I use technology for communication, finding great pleasure in “IMing”, complete with icons and audibles, and marvel at how incredibly wonderful it is to so easily touch in with the person watching my home in Yucatan. I remember how ridiculously unreliable mail was between the Yucatan and the US just a dozen years ago. It took at least 10 days, if it arrived at all. Mexican phones were said to “drive grown men to tears”. Today, my friends in Mexico have computers, as do my friends in other parts of the world. Emails are an every day event. I “Skype” my friends also, but, I must admit, that without the video components set up to see each other, I do feel weird talking to my computer screen! The ease of connecting with people all over the world is a joy that technology brings.
I believe that we have to be careful about technology’s potential to isolate individuals and possibly eliminate or drastically reduce “real life” social interaction. I have disturbing thoughts about people who get fixated on specific subjects or perversities, and recognize that there are other aspects of technological advancement that can become distorted and dangerous. (The Space Odyssey’s computer Hal comes to mind). I also have concerns about privacy and trust. When on Myspace or YouTube, I often find myself thinking about people lying or misrepresenting themselves, and innocent folks being “taken in” by imposters and thieves. I have a lot to learn about online security.
I don’t use all programs or hardware that I would like to use, I don’t use MP3s, I don’t download much music, or many videos, though I do download many graphics. I don’t use whiteboards, I don’t use videoconferencing smoothly, I don’t blog, and I don’t use chatrooms often. I don’t know how to use Ipods, Podcasts, or send emails from my cellphone. I don’t know how to set up a website. I don’t know how to set up or moderate a discussion board or chat room or host a webcast or webconference. I would like to learn about all available technology for all computer environments, including networking, and how to incorporate technology to assist in accomplishing everyday tasks more efficiently, and utilize technology to improve emotional and physical health and well-being.
As a student of technology, I am trying to “stretch” myself technologically and assist others in doing the same. I would like to establish a web presence that allows students to improve their writing, reading and learning skills interactively and happily. Teaching with technology does seem to “level the playing field”, encourage active student engagement and provide motivation by being able to incorporate such a wide range of interests. As an educator, I believe that the rewards of technology can be advantageous for all aspects of learning and teaching, and hope to advance the use of technology on all levels of public and private education.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Exemplars
Bouncing around cyberspace for daze now (LOL) Chose to highlight a program that is currently free and connects community with schools through student-adult penpals, made by www.epals.com who also offer free email and blog options for school and home.
http://www.in2books.com/downloads/Reading_Teacher_article.pdf
I would also like to remind people of the excellent resources available through www.exemplars.org and suggest looking at the information on their collaborators as well at http://www.exemplars.org/about/collaborators.html
And, for those of you interested in health and well-being: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/healthfulliving/resources/
Media Smart Youth combines nutrition and physical activity education with media literacy and production http://www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/program_materials.htm
Monday, September 17, 2007
Student Interview snipets
The details of my interviews reveal more than I've captured here, but this gives a good overview of what they revealed about technology in their schools and their learning.
The students I interviewed are all new middle schoolers in 6th grade.
Boy in Chatham Co Schools. mixed White-Latino
(born in Chatham Co)
Major interest: robotics, Science
Challenge: Writing, physical coordination, uses AlphaSmart, has note taker.
Boy in Stokes Co Schools. White
(born in Forsyth county)
Major interest: Music
Challenge: Composition, expressive language, organization
Female. Orange Co Schools. Latina
(born in Oaxaca)
Major interest: Family, friends, fiestas
Challenge: English, self-image, Mental health and well-being
Without a doubt the general definition of technology was related to computer and access.
The first boy, who has trouble writing, envisioned ways for technology to help him with the mechanics of writing. He says “When I get my own computer, I’m gonna learn how to build a robotic hand to write for me!” He also gets lots of pleasure out of using SIM software making robots to help with basic tasks, (like taking out the garbage!)
The second boy said technology is “the internet, a computer, wi-fi, cellphones, games and all those songs my dad downloaded, and talking to anyone from anywhere we want with our cellphone, (well almost, cause lots of times we’re out of range)”. He'd love a "music synthesizer and studio with wireless laptop to do everything everywhere"
The female student says it’s “technical stuff, computers, internet." She doesn't have access from home and doesn't currently use technology very much, except for her cell phone. She'd like to have a computer at home and be able to email her friends. A very interesting comment she made was that when her "sister was sick in California, the school gave her a cell phone to call in and talk to her class, and she could see them doing their experiment and hear her teacher". This led me to purchasing a camera phone from Tracfone for her, and we have been using it to send pictures to her friends and family in Mexico, and more!
It was very strange for me to hear that these three students said that the most educational time they get on the computer is when they are with me at the library! Now, I have to believe they said this because they knew I was doing these interviews for a technology class! But, their discussions about technology in the 3 counties were quite similar....technology class was a special class, where they learned to make spreadsheets, listen to music and play games that had little to do with learning new skills. In regular classrooms, access to computers was pretty much limited to compositions using Word and some skill building "dumb" games. The boy in Chatham County schools mentioned using a science program to record experiments. The other 2 said they only had a few computers that were hardly used unless you had finished classwork.
I was truly skeptical at the lack of technology integration in core subjects. I have been able to help one of the teachers use already published Webquests http://webquest.org/index.php so that students can continue their learning even if they've finished the in-class assignments!
The three explained that they thought technology was made to help learning for all people, but, it was not making school more interesting. The 2 boys both mentioned that they'd like to be able to research and get online at school without someone watching over them every minute. The other thing that the girl said that was interesting, was that, although she basically had little interest in technology, she would like it much more if teachers would help her make movies for her friends in Mexico to see! So, I have been helping her with this...and yes, indeed, she is much more interested in technology now and so is her family!
I've also successfully involved another student in making a photo essay on healthful living that provided excellent opportunities for authentic learning for both of us and the basis for meaningful communication on sensitive self-esteem and self-image student concerns.
Using technology has indeed provided increased student interest in learning and self-expression and a marked increase in student and tutor satisfaction!
The students I interviewed are all new middle schoolers in 6th grade.
Boy in Chatham Co Schools. mixed White-Latino
(born in Chatham Co)
Major interest: robotics, Science
Challenge: Writing, physical coordination, uses AlphaSmart, has note taker.
Boy in Stokes Co Schools. White
(born in Forsyth county)
Major interest: Music
Challenge: Composition, expressive language, organization
Female. Orange Co Schools. Latina
(born in Oaxaca)
Major interest: Family, friends, fiestas
Challenge: English, self-image, Mental health and well-being
Without a doubt the general definition of technology was related to computer and access.
The first boy, who has trouble writing, envisioned ways for technology to help him with the mechanics of writing. He says “When I get my own computer, I’m gonna learn how to build a robotic hand to write for me!” He also gets lots of pleasure out of using SIM software making robots to help with basic tasks, (like taking out the garbage!)
The second boy said technology is “the internet, a computer, wi-fi, cellphones, games and all those songs my dad downloaded, and talking to anyone from anywhere we want with our cellphone, (well almost, cause lots of times we’re out of range)”. He'd love a "music synthesizer and studio with wireless laptop to do everything everywhere"
The female student says it’s “technical stuff, computers, internet." She doesn't have access from home and doesn't currently use technology very much, except for her cell phone. She'd like to have a computer at home and be able to email her friends. A very interesting comment she made was that when her "sister was sick in California, the school gave her a cell phone to call in and talk to her class, and she could see them doing their experiment and hear her teacher". This led me to purchasing a camera phone from Tracfone for her, and we have been using it to send pictures to her friends and family in Mexico, and more!
It was very strange for me to hear that these three students said that the most educational time they get on the computer is when they are with me at the library! Now, I have to believe they said this because they knew I was doing these interviews for a technology class! But, their discussions about technology in the 3 counties were quite similar....technology class was a special class, where they learned to make spreadsheets, listen to music and play games that had little to do with learning new skills. In regular classrooms, access to computers was pretty much limited to compositions using Word and some skill building "dumb" games. The boy in Chatham County schools mentioned using a science program to record experiments. The other 2 said they only had a few computers that were hardly used unless you had finished classwork.
I was truly skeptical at the lack of technology integration in core subjects. I have been able to help one of the teachers use already published Webquests http://webquest.org/index.php so that students can continue their learning even if they've finished the in-class assignments!
The three explained that they thought technology was made to help learning for all people, but, it was not making school more interesting. The 2 boys both mentioned that they'd like to be able to research and get online at school without someone watching over them every minute. The other thing that the girl said that was interesting, was that, although she basically had little interest in technology, she would like it much more if teachers would help her make movies for her friends in Mexico to see! So, I have been helping her with this...and yes, indeed, she is much more interested in technology now and so is her family!
I've also successfully involved another student in making a photo essay on healthful living that provided excellent opportunities for authentic learning for both of us and the basis for meaningful communication on sensitive self-esteem and self-image student concerns.
Using technology has indeed provided increased student interest in learning and self-expression and a marked increase in student and tutor satisfaction!
A note on Blogs
I've decided that this is a reasonable place to enter my Blog reflection, that I posted earlier today on www.bloglines.com/blog/FernandaG with a reference to this blog.
I am SO glad that I have become comfortable, though not completely proficient, with the mechanics of using blogs. The learning curve has been steep, but the climb is well worth it!! The concept of presenting personal commentary or opinions online was not a comfortable situation for me when I began my Educational Technology program. But, I now understand the benefits of posting such commentary, of taking part in the global conversation, and look forward to continuing to grow more comfortable with communicating online. I feel confident that using blogs clearly indicates that the posts are my personal reflections, and that they are in no way meant to represent TRUTH or FACT. Each blogger has the right to express his or her own thoughts, it is for the reader to determine whether to incorporate, react or reject the ideas that are presented. Blogs have become an avenue of expression that I will incorporate with students I tutor, as well as their families. They offer an element of global communication that I had not understood prior to personally entering the conversation! Viva hands-on learning!
From September's first posting
Here's hoping this goes more smoothly than the last attempt.
I am SO glad that I have become comfortable, though not completely proficient, with the mechanics of using blogs. The learning curve has been steep, but the climb is well worth it!! The concept of presenting personal commentary or opinions online was not a comfortable situation for me when I began my Educational Technology program. But, I now understand the benefits of posting such commentary, of taking part in the global conversation, and look forward to continuing to grow more comfortable with communicating online. I feel confident that using blogs clearly indicates that the posts are my personal reflections, and that they are in no way meant to represent TRUTH or FACT. Each blogger has the right to express his or her own thoughts, it is for the reader to determine whether to incorporate, react or reject the ideas that are presented. Blogs have become an avenue of expression that I will incorporate with students I tutor, as well as their families. They offer an element of global communication that I had not understood prior to personally entering the conversation! Viva hands-on learning!
From September's first posting
Here's hoping this goes more smoothly than the last attempt.
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