Open Source

http://www.bigbluebutton.org/ This open source allows for students, that are not physically in the classroom, to participate from where ever they are. It is like an enhanced Skype. The source has the capability of listening, to raise the hand for questions, desktop sharing, etc. I really like this source because it focuses on distant learning and the experience I had of distant learning when in high school. I had my daughter in senior year of high school and was on home for 8 weeks when Nube was born. To keep up with school, the district provided me with a tutor that would come once a week to my house and give me the work I missed in school. There were quite a few things wrong with this-but let's not get into that. The point is, I think I would have been better off had the Big Blue Button been available to me. I could have been part of my classes and participate without being physically there. As a student teacher I hear many reasons of an extended absence of a student and this could be a good option for families. If students are going to have extended absent periods than school districts could simply have a staff member set up this alternative for teachers and students.

Wk 6: Response to outside blog

http://shoemap.edublogs.org/

I read the "Return to Sender" blog and the article it referenced to. The reality is that technology is beginning to play a larger role in education and school districts have to be willing to take the risk of getting the technology to the school in the hands of teachers. However, I wanted to add on that by saying, if technology is added then the teachers need support to learn and integrate the tech into in the classroom. Therefore, before bringing in the latest gadget to the district, administrators must be sure that teachers are comfortable using the current gadget and is prepared to learn and integrate a new gadget. For example, the second generation of the iPad just came out, schools would need to make sure if the teachers in the district are comfortable using the first generation iPad. I have heard of many districts where the technology staff is being decreased, but the need of technology support is increasing. So, if the teachers want to integrate technology, but may need the support to become comfortable at using the device who is going to be there to help? How are our students suppose to excel in a digital environment when the teachers may not be properly prepared to integrate technology?

Week 7

http://mohamedaminechatti.blogspot.com/2007/01/towards-personal-learning-environment.html

What I really liked about this blog post was that it emphasizes that when a class is completing a PLE, that the student's individuality must show as well. As we build our projects we should think about how we would individualize for our students not only for their learning experience, but for them to learn to be better digital citizens in the future. As mentioned in this blog we must aim for the use of different media sources in order to optimize the accessibility of our students.