Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Week 6
Generation IM
It was helpful to have the tips of integrating the technology into the classroom. The article addressed "A Universe of Potential" which describes the virtual world as a rich learning environment that isn't as high stakes as real world school. (Sheehy) I had never thought of the virtual world as an environment. With this thought, it only means an ability to create opportunities of growth only limited by imagination. Can we truly put children on a level playing field equal to their peers? We have been talking so much about socio-economics and the effect it has on educational growth. Does technology transcend the trouble of socio-economic problems and break the inequality of privileges?
______
Applying some of the tips that were given in leading classrooms with specific activities, students can produce a lab on another level. With a general theme, students can collaborate online or create their own experiment. Then having students share their findings in a blog, within a forum or social network, podcasts, update wikis, etc., they would be able to match their data or analyze information from other experiments quickly and efficiently. Students could also post graphs and charts so other students can track their progress. Perhaps students can even add another factor by having a poll that would affect the choices made in the experiment.
It was helpful to have the tips of integrating the technology into the classroom. The article addressed "A Universe of Potential" which describes the virtual world as a rich learning environment that isn't as high stakes as real world school. (Sheehy) I had never thought of the virtual world as an environment. With this thought, it only means an ability to create opportunities of growth only limited by imagination. Can we truly put children on a level playing field equal to their peers? We have been talking so much about socio-economics and the effect it has on educational growth. Does technology transcend the trouble of socio-economic problems and break the inequality of privileges?
______
Applying some of the tips that were given in leading classrooms with specific activities, students can produce a lab on another level. With a general theme, students can collaborate online or create their own experiment. Then having students share their findings in a blog, within a forum or social network, podcasts, update wikis, etc., they would be able to match their data or analyze information from other experiments quickly and efficiently. Students could also post graphs and charts so other students can track their progress. Perhaps students can even add another factor by having a poll that would affect the choices made in the experiment.
Reflection #4
I had been seeing the growing amount of cases of toddlers interacting with technology. It seems that parents are allowing their children access to their phones for games or movies especially during long car rides. When I babysat, I had left my phone on the counter and a 4 year old was asking whether or not it was an iphone.
Children + Magazines
It is a bit sad that there were some children poking and prodding at magazines as if they were ipads. I wonder if there will be new books based off of parenting with technology. It seems that with our world going in this direction, our whole society will have to have a new list of rules and social etiquette that will dictate how much is too much technology, how to behave with all these new technologies, etc.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Reflection #3
Khan Academy
Salman Khan speaks of how he uses youtube videos to teach his cousins (and others now).
Education is accessible for anyone who has access to a computer. Khan mentioned that teachers are able to use his lecture videos at home for homework, then doing the actual homework in class. This he brings up as a way to humanize the classroom. This would only work of course if the students are invested in their own education, for parents to be invested, and if they have access to a computer for these lectures. In a way, it might be beneficial so that teachers would not spend as much time lecturing, but at the same time, teachers are not only lecturing in the class. Students may not learn through the video at all and the pace of the classroom would be different as it takes their commitment. I'm a bit skeptical about this experience but think it has potential to be helpful. Why not build centers so that underprivileged children can access these lectures?
Khan goes deeper to show the data that is gathered from the student. It allows teacher to see when a student has paused a video, how long they spent on a concept, etc. It seems that either way, it produces more for teachers to evaluate so that they can better plan the classroom activities. This will also bring up the amount of time teachers have to interact with children in the day.
Salman Khan speaks of how he uses youtube videos to teach his cousins (and others now).
Education is accessible for anyone who has access to a computer. Khan mentioned that teachers are able to use his lecture videos at home for homework, then doing the actual homework in class. This he brings up as a way to humanize the classroom. This would only work of course if the students are invested in their own education, for parents to be invested, and if they have access to a computer for these lectures. In a way, it might be beneficial so that teachers would not spend as much time lecturing, but at the same time, teachers are not only lecturing in the class. Students may not learn through the video at all and the pace of the classroom would be different as it takes their commitment. I'm a bit skeptical about this experience but think it has potential to be helpful. Why not build centers so that underprivileged children can access these lectures?
Khan goes deeper to show the data that is gathered from the student. It allows teacher to see when a student has paused a video, how long they spent on a concept, etc. It seems that either way, it produces more for teachers to evaluate so that they can better plan the classroom activities. This will also bring up the amount of time teachers have to interact with children in the day.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Week 5
Source
Promethean has teamed up to even address Common Core [learning] Standards for the board. Only having the experience of SmartBoard, I thought that only lessons were uploaded from other teachers and meant to use only as a guideline. Having the ability to use lessons that are built around a Common Core Standard, it means that teachers will spend less time needing to build up a full lesson from scratch. It would allow teachers a reliable source while building from a foundation of learning versus from finding potentially poor sources (as on the SmartBoard with spelling errors).
youtube source
Multi-touch: Students can actually interact at the same time on the board. With the SmartBoard, when someone touches another point on the board while one point is already accessed, a long line is drawn between the two. It seems that the Promethean also allows students to write upon pictures and items, while the SmartBoard seems to only allow writing on another layer over something is shown on the main screen. This means that when you interact with the board, the text does not translate back to the original item, but rather it stays on screen while rotating/sliding the original text. Promethean somehow also ignores unintentional touches and other functions that would work well with a classroom. So far, it seems that this has a greater ability in the classroom because of its consideration for the user.
My question is around the idea that with technology, it grows very quickly and already we are a bit outdated with the SmartBoard's functions. How can we know what programs or technology to use, when it seems that with limited resources, we might be potentially spending our budget on something that could be obsolete in even less than a year.
Promethean has teamed up to even address Common Core [learning] Standards for the board. Only having the experience of SmartBoard, I thought that only lessons were uploaded from other teachers and meant to use only as a guideline. Having the ability to use lessons that are built around a Common Core Standard, it means that teachers will spend less time needing to build up a full lesson from scratch. It would allow teachers a reliable source while building from a foundation of learning versus from finding potentially poor sources (as on the SmartBoard with spelling errors).
youtube source
Multi-touch: Students can actually interact at the same time on the board. With the SmartBoard, when someone touches another point on the board while one point is already accessed, a long line is drawn between the two. It seems that the Promethean also allows students to write upon pictures and items, while the SmartBoard seems to only allow writing on another layer over something is shown on the main screen. This means that when you interact with the board, the text does not translate back to the original item, but rather it stays on screen while rotating/sliding the original text. Promethean somehow also ignores unintentional touches and other functions that would work well with a classroom. So far, it seems that this has a greater ability in the classroom because of its consideration for the user.
My question is around the idea that with technology, it grows very quickly and already we are a bit outdated with the SmartBoard's functions. How can we know what programs or technology to use, when it seems that with limited resources, we might be potentially spending our budget on something that could be obsolete in even less than a year.
Reflection #2
I just realized how much of an issue it is that the older generation have an even harder time with technology than we do. When my family members ask about technology, since I'm the most "techie" person, I'm the one who they turn to in order to email, figure out online billing, etc. I just realized that in my church (Seattle Chinese Alliance Church), we are gravitating to this larger production style of service. I have decided to pursue an endeavor to bring the older generation to a newer ability to grasp knowledge. Technology in a classroom is not only about the teacher trying to be updated to work toward the newer generation, but it is also bridging the gap for those in the past. I sent out an email to some friends in the tech field to see if they would lead small live sessions or maybe even videos of how to's. This way, our parents, grandparents, etc. can learn technology in a friendly way. We'll see how it goes!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Assignment 1: Interactive White Board Lesson
Create a post called “Assignment 2” before the class presentation and include the following: (25 pts)
| |
Link to the activity that you will use in your presentations.
| |
List of SMART Board features you will use during your presentation.
| |
List the specific NETS standards for Students & Teachers this activity covers (at least one for each) and discuss how this activity meets the standards.
| |
Discuss how an interactive white board could improve student learning in your future classroom.
| |
Original Activity: Fact or Opinion (Originally created by Elizabeth Oliver)
Features Used:
- Pen/Smart Ink
- Eraser
- Embedded Link/Outsourced to music video
- Interactive Game/Multiple Choice Test
- Teacher Focus:
- 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning: Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes and creativity.
- 3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning: Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
- Rationale: The presentation includes different ways of demonstrating the information about facts and opinions in order to better help students understand the concept of each. Students will have an opportunity to share their thoughts with a classmate.
- Student Focus:
- 2. Communication and Collaboration: Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
- 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
- Rationale: Students will learn of the difference between fact and opinion. They will be able to define these two concepts and apply it to a few methods of assessment. Students will approach the board to share with their classmates their thoughts.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Week 4
The SMART Board is not just a presentation tool but can be integrated into the classroom for students to even use for the benefit of their learning. Students, if taught correctly, can appropriately interact with the board even outside of classroom lectures. When I first knew of the SMART Board, I thought it would only be more beneficial to students from middle school to high school. I still am having struggles with differentiating between the lessons taught on the SMART Board and activities/games that utilize the SMART Board. I do not believe I see much of a distinction because of my mindset of technology. I wish we also had the small tablets (just the writing feature/image capture aspect) where those could be integrated with the SMART Board alongside "clickers." As a side note, I appreciated that Professor Adair recommended having also a concrete activity for the other students at the desks. Our goal as educators are to help engage all students and not just the one. There are just so many levels of this, I fear I may drop the ball at some point. This is the aspect of multitasking that educators must face.
Week 3
Marc Prensky's article
Prensky's article does a wonderful job in challenging and defining the way technology interacts with our current population. Looking at it from the perspective of citizenship versus a generational gap, changes the view that it is not simply a misunderstanding of times; rather, technology is a completely different culture and land that shapes our biological makeup. I can only think of countless stories where I heard the outdated line of "Those teenage punks!" or "Those young hoodlums!" and have applied that thought to a generational gap. This goes beyond that however. This new definition of technological citizenship allows us to see our place in technological world. Not leaving the people behind, but adapting it so that they can also function in an increasingly digitally advanced world. This article does discuss the need for educators to adapt new techniques for the digitally native, but also gives a place for those who are immigrants. It goes beyond taste and preferences. It is a different world.
Prensky's article does a wonderful job in challenging and defining the way technology interacts with our current population. Looking at it from the perspective of citizenship versus a generational gap, changes the view that it is not simply a misunderstanding of times; rather, technology is a completely different culture and land that shapes our biological makeup. I can only think of countless stories where I heard the outdated line of "Those teenage punks!" or "Those young hoodlums!" and have applied that thought to a generational gap. This goes beyond that however. This new definition of technological citizenship allows us to see our place in technological world. Not leaving the people behind, but adapting it so that they can also function in an increasingly digitally advanced world. This article does discuss the need for educators to adapt new techniques for the digitally native, but also gives a place for those who are immigrants. It goes beyond taste and preferences. It is a different world.
Reflection #1
I really appreciate the schedule that I have for this semester. Not only am I taking a course on Technology in Education, but I am also enrolled in Foundations in Multicultural Education. Having both of these courses at the same moment challenges the notion some may have, that technology is not cultural. This is not the case.
After having attended a few classes of both, I realize how deeply cultural technology has become. This brings a challenge of "How do I fit into this?" I am a product of growing up without many of the technologies that are now available. I did not even have a cell phone until I graduated from high school (a tiny flip phone mind you) but did have a game boy, super nintendo, tamagochi, only one computer that was available in our living room with dial-up, and in middle school-a teacher who would physically slap a printer for not printing on those sheets that were connected on a roll. I am an inbetweener. My cultural identity in technology is exactly the point of transition between those who do not understand for what subject lines in an email are used, to those who have to swipe their fingers across every surface, in the thought that everything is touch screen.
I appreciate the challenge of knowing where my identity lies, but fear that I will be lost among those who cannot adapt to the change. I value those concrete skills of handwriting, creating music from something other than a soundboard or computer, and reading hard copies of books. It is not unwillingness but trying to also prevent our future from not understanding how these things factor into their ability to use a computer. I think my greatest fear is that the future generation will use things with technology but not know how to even create something without that aid.
After having attended a few classes of both, I realize how deeply cultural technology has become. This brings a challenge of "How do I fit into this?" I am a product of growing up without many of the technologies that are now available. I did not even have a cell phone until I graduated from high school (a tiny flip phone mind you) but did have a game boy, super nintendo, tamagochi, only one computer that was available in our living room with dial-up, and in middle school-a teacher who would physically slap a printer for not printing on those sheets that were connected on a roll. I am an inbetweener. My cultural identity in technology is exactly the point of transition between those who do not understand for what subject lines in an email are used, to those who have to swipe their fingers across every surface, in the thought that everything is touch screen.
I appreciate the challenge of knowing where my identity lies, but fear that I will be lost among those who cannot adapt to the change. I value those concrete skills of handwriting, creating music from something other than a soundboard or computer, and reading hard copies of books. It is not unwillingness but trying to also prevent our future from not understanding how these things factor into their ability to use a computer. I think my greatest fear is that the future generation will use things with technology but not know how to even create something without that aid.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)