Week 12 Blog

Welcome to Our Virtual Worlds, by Gee Welcome to Our Virtual Worlds, by Gee item options This article is relative to integrating technology in the classroom because learning styles have changed and so should teaching styles. As teachers we are to be dedicated in making the classroom a learning environment. We have to be open to the idea of using technology to our advantage. As noted in the article, games can be designed to be as complicated as problem solving in a game. In my student teaching placement I was observing a 6th grade ESL (English as a Second Language) class and the students were using apps on an iPad to learn cite words in English. Another example is that I worked with a 4th grade class on introducing wikispaces and creating a virtual museum walk. I taught the teacher first until she got to a certain comfort level and then went on to teaching the students. So it’s like the article mentions, it’s not really necessary that the teacher is completely indulged in technology, but enough knowledge of it. Good Video Games and Good Learning, by Gee Good Video Games and Good Learning, by Gee item options I enjoyed the example this article gave to compare biology and video games. In many ways, school is a game, not a place where you learn all the facts and regurgitate them back on a test. What we should want to tap into is intellectual learning. As in education, video gaming has the potential to create certain characteristics needed to establish a love of learning. The students should identify themselves in their learning why should a student care about ‘virtual museum walk’ and not a ‘regular’ museum walk. Another thing is that students can interact with a video game; there is not a ‘doubt question’ in video gaming, you lose and try again. I think the biggest thing is that learning will mostly likely happened outside the classroom. Students can personalize themselves, have lower consequences in failing to do something right, and achieve higher level thinking by plating. As teachers, we have to be open to those ideas, we have to be welcoming. I like to think of it this way we are not reinventing the wheel we are making the wheel turn faster.

SMART Exchange lesson

My unit will be on learning about how music has shaped the American culture over time. Therefore the first search I did was to see if there were any existing files. This is what I found: http://exchange.smarttech.com/search.html?sort=Best+match&type=All+Types&q=music+changes+the+world&subject=All+subjects&grade=All+grades The lesson is "Music changes the World" I think this is a great starting point for me. I want to create a lesson explaining the effect music has on culture, trends, ideas of the audience, etc. This lesson has pull out tabs and this idea would work for me when trying to get students to focus on certain points at certain times. The notebook file also has people from the Beatles to Motown. I liked how the file also has the reflection of how music gets inspired. This shows that not does music influence the world, but the world also influences the music that can serve as a method of freedom of speech.

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.

Outside edublog

http://edtechlady.blogspot.com/2011/02/integrating-technology-in-elementary.html

In this blog the 3rd grade teacher has setup learning stations in the classroom while integrating technology. There were four stations and two had technology. One station was using the computers in the room to hand and had a drop box to put assignments in. I think this is very handy because as a teacher you can monitor the work students are completeing during their time on the computer. The other station was enhanced with the use of a SmartBoard. The students were playing Jeopardy with review questions. The student that would finish with the most money would get a reward. I am assuming it was something that was predetermined. My question for Ed Tech Lady would be during the Jeopardy is there somebody there to watch them play fairly, like a TA? Maybe this could be answered/or solved by making sure that the groups are assigned that way you don't get the super quiet child with the child that will take everything over. I think the stations that the teacher put in the classroom are good community builders.

iLife

I hope everybody enjoyed their Valentine’s day. Today I was in training for iLife and how to use it in the classroom. I think this is a great tool and now am totally convinced that my next purchase has to be Mac. I can’t wait to use this in the classroom and teach teachers how creating can be part of summarizing and demonstrating what students have learned in the classroom. There are so many ways that it can be used in the classroom. For example, teachers can use this for a science experiment. During the spring when classes learning about metamorphosis with caterpillars. The students can build their lab report on a podcast. They could use a Flip camera and make a film using iMovie. There are endless possible to give students the opportunity to show what they are capable of. I think what I liked the most is that there will be times when students will be able to do more tricks than we, the teachers, can do. Last week, I was working on creating an iMovie through PhotoBooth with third graders. I was looking under the “Effects” option, but couldn’t figure out how to go back to the ‘Normal’ screen and one of the students that came to me showed me. I was impressed; these kids know and need the opportunity to make that connection between the cool technology device and what they have learned in the classroom. The kids were making films about static electricity and I would ask questions about the project their group made and other groups. Majority of the students could answer me correctly. Even if it wasn’t their project, they knew enough to demonstrate learning.
So ok, there are these cool devices to be used, but the teachers don’t want to use it. The main reasons I get is “Oh, I don’t know how to use that” or “There isn’t time for that.” I guess my greatest challenge now is how can I teach the teachers without being the one that comes into the classroom in order for the technology to be used.