The last few months in EDU7666 has certainly expanded my knowledge of technology, its use in the classroom and the cutting edge of online educational resources. Having come in with a decent comprehension of technology, I was surprised at how much more I had to learn throughout this class. In the end, I feel like my arsenal of technology-based resources has grown significantly and will add to my instruction for future groups of students.
I came in to this class using resources like power point, streaming video, computer images and podcasts. While effective, these are all somewhat limited in their interaction. Students watch, listen, reflect and write about what they see and hear.
After this class, I know the new direction I want to pursue. I would like to push the technology away from the front of the classroom and into the hands of each of my students. I would like to use more webquests. I'd like to open up the world of blogging, wikis and web-based curricula. Student podcasting would work excellently for an end of unit assessment and project. Students crave technology and I would like to provide them with every opportunity to learn through the medium they enjoy and want to interact with.
For me, this class has opened up the next levels of technology integration in the classroom. The research has proven its success. The projects we have completed prove how realistic it is. My experience has proven how excited the students are when new technology is present. I look forward to getting started.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Do you digg it?
Welcome to 2009, where socializing consists in large part over the internet through sites like myspace and facebook. Who would've thought you could become "best friends" with someone without ever meeting them in person? In recent years, technology has moved us from phone calls to email, from email to instant messaging and from cut-outs on the bedroom wall to designing our electronic myspace wall. Businesses around the world utilize virtual meetings to hear and see their peers and partners over continents and oceans. This technology has quickly moved into the home where video messaging makes text messaging seem limiting.
Social bookmarking is a new force pushing us further into the world of electronic communication, discussion and socializing. It is a method of marking, organizing, searching and storing websites for others to see and read. Del.icio.us started the craze, also known as tagging, in 2003. Dozens of other popular sites have since developed including digg, reddit, diigo and simpy. Need new furniture? Want to learn about the naming system for IKEA furniture? Head to one of these sites to investigate every article and viewpoint about how the names are developed and marketed.
Social bookmarking provides an incomparable forum for debate, information and the advertisement of viewpoints. Connections are being made around the world with little or no hesitation due to distance or cultural differences. In fact, when used correctly, social bookmarking gives us the opportunity to discuss and celebrate these differences more easily than ever before.
Social bookmarking is a new force pushing us further into the world of electronic communication, discussion and socializing. It is a method of marking, organizing, searching and storing websites for others to see and read. Del.icio.us started the craze, also known as tagging, in 2003. Dozens of other popular sites have since developed including digg, reddit, diigo and simpy. Need new furniture? Want to learn about the naming system for IKEA furniture? Head to one of these sites to investigate every article and viewpoint about how the names are developed and marketed.
Social bookmarking provides an incomparable forum for debate, information and the advertisement of viewpoints. Connections are being made around the world with little or no hesitation due to distance or cultural differences. In fact, when used correctly, social bookmarking gives us the opportunity to discuss and celebrate these differences more easily than ever before.
Smartboard on the way..
Being a technology and education course, I can think of no better topic to discuss this week than my soon-to-be arriving classroom smartboard. After quietly hinting to my Administration how much I would appreciate a smartboard, I got the news a few weeks ago that one had been ordered and would arrive in early May.
For my students, this means the early retirement of my LCD projector which has been a daily staple of math class throughout the year. I credit the projector with improving my instruction as well as my students' engagement. I have consistently used powerpoint presentations for lessons, photos and graphics for motivation and video for teaching aides. That said, the smartboard will offer an update in every sense and hopeful push my instruction to the next level of effectiveness.
In addition to improving the presentation of the resources I currently use, I look forward to the flexibility and multi-faceted effectiveness of a smartboard. For example, I plan to keep daily classwork scores on the board's screen so my students have the ability to understand how I am assessing them and if they need to improve their work.
I hope, although it remains to be seen, the students of KGIA will share in my enthusiasm for the multimedia math connections that can be utilized with a smartboard. I look forward to investigating new ways to use the technology to draw my students closer to the content. Most of all, I would like to use the next six weeks to master the operation and features of the board ahead of a full year of use in 2009-2010.
For my students, this means the early retirement of my LCD projector which has been a daily staple of math class throughout the year. I credit the projector with improving my instruction as well as my students' engagement. I have consistently used powerpoint presentations for lessons, photos and graphics for motivation and video for teaching aides. That said, the smartboard will offer an update in every sense and hopeful push my instruction to the next level of effectiveness.
In addition to improving the presentation of the resources I currently use, I look forward to the flexibility and multi-faceted effectiveness of a smartboard. For example, I plan to keep daily classwork scores on the board's screen so my students have the ability to understand how I am assessing them and if they need to improve their work.
I hope, although it remains to be seen, the students of KGIA will share in my enthusiasm for the multimedia math connections that can be utilized with a smartboard. I look forward to investigating new ways to use the technology to draw my students closer to the content. Most of all, I would like to use the next six weeks to master the operation and features of the board ahead of a full year of use in 2009-2010.
Bring in the noise: Multimedia options for website developers
Great websites require more than just typed information with thought and quality. Great website create an experience for the guest that is appealing visually through color, design, music or video, photos and images and other multimedia. Information is processed on a number of different medias and a great website will reflect that fact.
Images are the first important feature for webpages. This category covers anything from a photo to clipart. Great images can enhance the content of a website by providing the reader with a visual reference for what they are taking in. For instance, sports websites place pictures of the people, parks and teams they are covering. Readers can make a better connection when they are able to see jpegs or gifs of the article or site's subject matter.
Beyond images, a website may include a number of other types of multimedia types. Real player, windows media player and quicktime provide streaming video options. Audio can be added via mp3 or wav files. Document attachments can be made with most microsoft files or adobe pdf files.
Multimedia files are essential to creating a website that will attract a wide range of first time and return readers. They can create a fulfilling visit for guests and provide a more effective vehicle from which the website's mission may be successfully displayed.
Images are the first important feature for webpages. This category covers anything from a photo to clipart. Great images can enhance the content of a website by providing the reader with a visual reference for what they are taking in. For instance, sports websites place pictures of the people, parks and teams they are covering. Readers can make a better connection when they are able to see jpegs or gifs of the article or site's subject matter.
Beyond images, a website may include a number of other types of multimedia types. Real player, windows media player and quicktime provide streaming video options. Audio can be added via mp3 or wav files. Document attachments can be made with most microsoft files or adobe pdf files.
Multimedia files are essential to creating a website that will attract a wide range of first time and return readers. They can create a fulfilling visit for guests and provide a more effective vehicle from which the website's mission may be successfully displayed.
Hoping on the Wiki Wiki bus...
What are wikis? For a great video explanation via youtube, click here.
A wiki is a webpage that you or any one else with access can log on and contribute, edit or update information. On a busy wiki page, the content is continuously changing make it an environment where a community comes together to discuss and broadcast their views. Ward Cunningham, who created the first wiki software in 1995, named them after the quick wiki wiki shuttle buses at Honolulu Airport in Hawaii.
Wikis can be used to generate and organize online collaboration between students who are working on the same learning task, eliminating the need for face-to-face meetings. Students can change, edit, revise and correct their work at different times. Their prior work will always be saved and their new work timestamped and cited to a user name of their choice.
With wikis in use, a teacher can better assess an individual student's contribution to a group assignment. You are able to assess the finish product as a whole in conjunction with the amount of input each student made. This will help a teacher inform future instruction and plan intervention for those lacking understanding. Differentiation is made easy with wikis as it can be completed privately and without difficulty on the web. In addition, collaboration is encouraged between large and small learning communities in the classroom. Students will have pride in their work. presented on the web and as a collection of the ideas of the group.
Sure, you can google like a pro, but can you troubleshoot the blue screen of death?
Great, you've created a curriculum web for your classroom. Now what? Well, there are a number of factors that will determine the effectiveness of a curriculum web in the classroom. Sadly, some schools and classrooms will have a difficult time supporting a web-based lesson or curriculum at all. Let's explore some of the factors teachers face:
Does your classroom have the technology infrastructure to support a curriculum web? If your classroom does not have computers or access to a lab or computer cart, a curriculum web may be a lost cause. Many urban students lack productive computers at home and requiring library visits is a difficult hurdle. Moreover, the number of working laptops with the correct software must hit the threshold of how many groups or students you have. Use in shifts may be a tricky proposition.
Does the teacher have a knowledge of laptops that is deep enough to support mini-lessons, student questions and troubleshooting? Technology requires support and someone must be available to provide that supp
ort. Teachers lacking necessary knowledge put themselves in a very difficult place. Disaster may ensue. Most schools do not have the resources to have an on-call IT professional who is always available.
Do your students have the computer knowledge necessary to undertake a computer-based curriculum? If not, their teacher will need to provide extensive background and training for the students. Many school curricula do not have time put aside for these activities so difficult decisions will need to be made. Furthermore, student populations may be split in terms of computer experience requiring teachers to offer extensively differentiated lessons.
Does your classroom have the technology infrastructure to support a curriculum web? If your classroom does not have computers or access to a lab or computer cart, a curriculum web may be a lost cause. Many urban students lack productive computers at home and requiring library visits is a difficult hurdle. Moreover, the number of working laptops with the correct software must hit the threshold of how many groups or students you have. Use in shifts may be a tricky proposition.
Does the teacher have a knowledge of laptops that is deep enough to support mini-lessons, student questions and troubleshooting? Technology requires support and someone must be available to provide that supp
ort. Teachers lacking necessary knowledge put themselves in a very difficult place. Disaster may ensue. Most schools do not have the resources to have an on-call IT professional who is always available.Do your students have the computer knowledge necessary to undertake a computer-based curriculum? If not, their teacher will need to provide extensive background and training for the students. Many school curricula do not have time put aside for these activities so difficult decisions will need to be made. Furthermore, student populations may be split in terms of computer experience requiring teachers to offer extensively differentiated lessons.
"Live from New York, It's Mr. L's classroom!"
Podcasting is a media type that is not innovative due to its content but rather the way it is transported. Podcasting allows you to download audio or visual content via the internet to your computer or mobile device. It is commonly confused with streaming media where the file is brought to you live through the internet but has no permanent location on your computer. Podcasting can add to the classroom learning experience in two distinct ways, as explained below.
First, podcasting can be used to transmit an audio or visual presentation to your students. In my Current Events elective, the students often view Current Events podcasts created by CNN or other sources and later reflect on what they watched. Planet in Peril and CNN Student News have been particularly impactful for my students.
On the flip side, teachers may assign a project where groups in the class can create their own audio (or visual perhaps) podcast. This can be an effective assessment tool by which teachers can ascertain students' understanding of a topic. Asking students to explain a concept and give verbal examples represents a higher level of thought and provides the teacher with information about possible student misconceptions. As with many of the instances of technology we have discussed, a teacher may expect higher student engagement and excitement during this type of activity. Furthermore, students who in the past have withdrawn from some math activities may have increased excitement and/or confidence due to the "performance" aspect of the activity.
First, podcasting can be used to transmit an audio or visual presentation to your students. In my Current Events elective, the students often view Current Events podcasts created by CNN or other sources and later reflect on what they watched. Planet in Peril and CNN Student News have been particularly impactful for my students.
On the flip side, teachers may assign a project where groups in the class can create their own audio (or visual perhaps) podcast. This can be an effective assessment tool by which teachers can ascertain students' understanding of a topic. Asking students to explain a concept and give verbal examples represents a higher level of thought and provides the teacher with information about possible student misconceptions. As with many of the instances of technology we have discussed, a teacher may expect higher student engagement and excitement during this type of activity. Furthermore, students who in the past have withdrawn from some math activities may have increased excitement and/or confidence due to the "performance" aspect of the activity.
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