Online Learning Experience

I listened to H. Songhai and his discussion, "What Did You Do in School, Yesterday, Today, and Three Years Ago?"


This short talk was quite fascinating. H. Songhai took a short trip overseas and used various methods of technology to document his trip. Upon returning to the States, he led a small group of high school students on a sightseeing trip. He was shocked and saddened to see that the kids walked around all day texting friends and listening to their iPods, but not using any of these tools to document what they were seeing and experiencing. So, one morning he shared with the students how he used his phone and iPod to document his trip. It seemed to surprise the students that they could use their gadgets for learning. This sparked H. Songhai's thinking.


As the new school year started, H. Songhai began teaching his students how to incorporate technology into their learning. He ditched paper in his classes, and hasn't fused a single piece for the last three years. All students keep up a blog to record their learning and post assignments. He calls these learning tools, "Personal Learning Networks" and has students use sites like iGoogle, Google Reader, Skype, twitter, Project Gutenberg, and Google Notebook. He is of the belief that sites like this help a student learn and grow. If a student starts a blog upon entering ninth grade, by graduation, the students will have a blog that forever documents their growth, teacher's involvement in the learning, and what exactly the student learned. He compared this to his own high school and college learning experiences. Besides his diplomas, what proof is there that he learned anything?


H. Songhai has given all his students complete freedom to take pictures, get online, download material using whatever device they have, etc during class. Each of these show the students the possibilities they have in learning. His hope is that they can take this information and apply it to their everyday lives, that they wouldn't spend all their time texting and listening to music when they can be using these same tools to expand their minds and grow.



It's just absolutely incredible to think of teaching for 3 years without using a single piece of paper! It makes so much sense though; if you think about the amount of paper you find of the floor or in the garbage, you might as well just use the Internet. I think it's very cool to hear that about a teacher showing students how to incorporate technology and learning into their everyday life. I had never thought of using screen capturing tools to archive information or use on blogs, mashups, slideshows, and class projects.

SMARTBoard

After Tuesday's class, I've come to appreciate the SMARTBoard even more. I thought I had discovered a lot of cool features, but seeing everyone else's presentations made me realize how much more I can learn. It also made me realize how much more I need to keep track of. For instance, on the last slide of my presentation, I was looking at the board wondering why there was a big magnifying glass at the bottom...the class had to remind me to use to the glass in order to illuminate the answers!

It's little glitches like that which make technology in a classroom a gamble, however, it also makes learning so much fun and that much more memorable. I think a SMARTBoard is an excellent way to get kids involved in the learning and eager to participate in classroom learning.

Reflection #5

After discussing my greatest challenge with technology and education, I've started to think about mistakes I will make as a teacher. What will I do when I have a whole lesson using some form of technology, and it doesn't work? Or the computer is down, etc? How will I handle it? How long should a teacher spend trying to teach something before finally improvising or moving on to the next lesson?

I know that as a teacher, there will be many many times things do not go according to plan, or how I wish they could have gone. However, the important thing is that the kids still learn. So, when these things happen, I think it could be helpful to think of way to turn the mistake into a teachable lesson for the kids. For example, let's say I have a power point on zoo creatures and it isn't working when I need it. I try for a few minutes to fix the unknown problem, but it just isn't coming together. I could turn it into a teachable moment and talk about how sometimes technology just doesn't work, or the importance of having multiple copies of a document, or thinking ahead and creating a plan B. These are a few ideas.

Overall, I want to be a teacher that expects the best, but prepares for turning the worst into the best :-)

Challenges With Technology

I think my greatest challenge regarding technology and teaching is integrating. It's easy to learn how to use technological tools, and it's fun to teach, but to learn to combine the two in effective ways that promote greater learning and understanding, I think is my greatest challenge. I think I tend to look at things as a checklist, so I know I have to teach math, for example, and I know I have to teach technology, so it's easy for me to teach one and then the other, but I find it very difficult to think of creative ways to combine the two.

I think the only way I'm going to overcome this is through time and practice. In the beginning I think it will take a lot of careful time and planning to come up with things, but after awhile I hope I will have trained my brain to think outside the box :-) I don't think there is going to be any magic class that I can take that will suddenly make me effective at integration, I think it's going to take lots of time and practice and learning through my mistakes.

Assignment #3

The SMARTBoard activity I chose is a super fun Christmas Language Arts lesson. It can be found here

This lesson meets the NETS standards for students by:

-applying existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes

-understand and use technology systems

-select and use applications effectively and productively

-transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

The lesson meets these student standards because the parts of speech, spelling, etc that are shown is all based on prior knowledge. In a 4th grade classroom, the Language Arts covered in the lesson would all be review, however, by putting the information into a SMARTBoard lesson, it's presenting old information in a new way. Students would be required to transfer current knowledge and apply it in a different setting. Students, in order to participate, would also have to become familiar with the use of a SMARTBoard and apply their LA knowledge accordingly.

This lesson meets the NETS standards for teachers by:

-promoting, supporting, and modeling creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

-promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

-model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

-demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

This lesson meets these teacher standards because the teacher is integrating learning material with technology to promote student learning. The teacher is asking the students to apply current knowledge in a new and creative way. The teacher is also modeling an effective use of technology in a classroom and demonstrating technological fluency.

Reflection #4

After using Animoto, I am so excited with the possibilities on how movies can be used in a classroom. Now, using Animoto specifically might not hold as many options because it's mainly music videos/slide show style stuff, but it got my mind going...

I remembered when we looked at various teacher sites and one of them posted videos of lessons for children who missed school for whatever reason. I think that is an excellent idea! I also thought that for an upper level class, it would be cool for students to create their own videos. For example, a group of students could create a video outlining the steps, procedures, and outcomes of a science experiment. They could share their hypothesis, etc, then film themselves conducting the experiment. Then they could use a program like Animoto to compile the clips which they could then share with the class. Presto! Not only has a group of students learned something through the science experiment, become familiar with a technological tool, but also taught the class a science lesson! That is just one idea I've come up with, but I'm sure there are hundreds more ways an online video editing program could be used in a classroom.

Reflection #3

Last night I was talking with my parents, and somehow we got on the subject of learning. We got talking about differences in a class in terms of where children are at and how to teach to a room of 25 students who are all on completely different levels. Is it possible to challenge each and every student?

My Mom talked about her 4th grade teacher who had the class split into three groups. They were obviously divided by skill level: an upper group, an average group, and a below group. The teacher had different lesson plans for each subject for each and every group. Now, when I think about that, my first thought is, oh man; we could never get away with that now! My second thought is, wow, that would be a ton of work and planning! Yet, through this, my Mom still remembers this teacher and considers her to be the best teacher she ever had because every single student was challenged. They never got bored, and they were always learning.

That is the kind of teacher I desire to be. I want each of my students to feel challenged, but capable. However, I know that I could never divide a classroom like my Mom's teacher did. So, I'm left with wondering what kinds of things I could do in a classroom today that could accomplish the same thing?

I really believe in group work, but the temptation with groups is to clump according to ability. I would love to have a chance to experiment with a class and different ways of grouping. It would be interesting to see how a group composed of all skill levels was able to work together.

Assignment #2

The topic areas I chose to bundle are:
-Classroom Management
-Differentiation
-SMARTBoard Activities
-Technology in the Classroom

First, I thought classroom management would be a good bundle because it's something that I will need help with throughout my career. I thought it would be nice to have a few resources at my fingertips before I even start. To look at the sites I found which could be useful for gaining information on classroom management, follow this link :

http://delicious.com/neanaroo_hehe/bundle:Classroom%20Management

Differentiation seems to be a new buzz word that I'm hearing frequently in my Ed. classes. I'm just starting to become familiar with its meaning and how it will affect me and such, so I thought it would be helpful to find some websites that helped me learn more.

http://delicious.com/neanaroo_hehe/bundle:Differentiation

Although I haven't had much of an opportunity to use a SMARTBoard, my mind is blown away by all the possibilities I've discovered. Knowing that I could have one in my class someday makes me super excited and so I love looking for lessons that can be taught using a SMARTBoard. I was able to find quite a few sites, but because I don't have the SMART program on my computer, I couldn't really play with them, so I don't know how good the lessons are.

http://delicious.com/neanaroo_hehe/bundle:SMARTBoard%20Activities

Last, I thought it was befitting to have a Technology in the Classroom bundle for my Technology in Education blog. The sites I found all give either ways technology can be used, why it's important to incorporate technology in a classroom, or useful gadgets.

http://delicious.com/neanaroo_hehe/bundle:Technology%20in%20the%20Classroom

A few of my favorite sites I discovered are fairly general teaching sites. They cover a wide variety of topics and seem relevant. One site that I sent to the class del.icio.us account is an absolute incredible looking teaching program called K to the 8th Power. It incorporates state performance expectations in various subjects with learning new technology. I would encourage everyone to watch the demo; it highlights all the features for the both students and teachers. http://www.kto8.com/se/?gclid=CMOLl-S8p5YCFQM-gwodmx94zA Another good site I found which is fairly general and encompasses a lot of teaching tools is http://www.4teachers.org/ I liked this site because it's one stop shopping for a teacher! On this site you can kind lesson plans, hints for classroom management, technology tools, teaching strategies, tutorials, assessment, etc. A third site I really liked was http://www.suite101.com/educationandcareer/ This is actually a magazine that covers a variety of topics, but I liked it because it is a magazine, it's all new information. The site is continually being updated with relevant information. So, for example, right now I can learn more about homeschooling and behavior modification, but in the next issue, I could gain some information regarding school lunches or computers. Finally, http://www.teachersfirst.com/index.cfm is an incredibly helpful site. I think this one is especially nice because it was created and is maintained by teachers, thus, how much more relevant could you get? My favorite part is the features sites area. The featured sites are links that the TeachersFirst people think would be helpful. The featured sites are updated weekly. There is also a forum that teachers can join to share thoughts and ideas and respond to a posted weekly question.

I think a del.icio.us account can be useful for teachers because it's an easy way to share helpful ideas. I think it would be really nice in a large public school setting where you have several teachers for one grade. It would be an easy way to share lesson ideas so everyone could be on the same page. In a classroom, I could see a del.icio.us account being a fun way of incorporating technology into a group research project. Students could be doing independent research, but still keeping tabs on what the other kids in the group are discovering.

Reflection #2

Right now I'm enrolled in Dr. Kress's Special Needs class. This class has been very thought provoking, and the material is something I think about often. One of the more poignant thoughts has been the attention he drew to the fact that people with special needs are not involved in church. I had never really noticed this, but once he said it, it was like, oh my goodness; that's so true! Ever since that moment, I've been trying to come up with reasons why. Is it because they are incapable of being involved? Certainly, that might be the case for a few, but I think the majority would be capable of being involved. Is it because there aren't very many people with special needs who are Christians? If that's the case, why aren't they being reached?

This last weekend, I was able to go home and attend my home church on Sunday. I was shocked when the Pastor asked the ushers to come forward to take the offering and I saw Daniel walk forward. I remember when Daniel's mom found out she was pregnant with him. She was over 40, so the Dr.'s ran more tests than usual. Before giving birth, she found out Daniel would be born with Down's. As a toddler, it was discovered that Daniel was also autistic. However, I watched as he stood in front of the church, now 15 years old, grinning from ear to ear, taking the offering. It really touched me. It made me so happy to see him involved.

So, now I want to know why there isn't more involvement by people with special needs. They are capable, they are willing, so it must be that "abled people" don't let them. If this it true, it's a crying shame.

Reflection #1

While browsing through articles and webpages, I came across this website that could potentially be very helpful during the first year or two of teaching.

http://teachertipstraining.suite101.com/articles.cfm

This site holds a host of practical tips and answers to FAQ's new teachers may have. For example, one of the newest article gives some practical advice on how to prepare for parent teacher conferences, what the parents expect and things like that. I think it's an excellent tool because it gives you and idea of what to expect and prepare for. The site also has articles giving classroom management and discipline ideas, curriculum help, and classroom activity ideas, which as a first year teacher can be intimidating. In my mind, this is a great resource because it's created by teachers for teachers; who would know better the kinds of things teachers should know and need help with?

This is a site that I would definitely bookmark and save for future reference. Of course, you never really know what you need until you need it, but it seems like this site holds potential, and it appears to be updated frequently and by credible sources.

O, The Possibilites

After spending way too much time on Mr. Tepley's website, I am just bubbling with all the things a teacher can do with various web tools. I had no idea there were so many online applications for things so simple as grading, keeping track of assignments, typing practice, etc! After looking at his page, I'm kind of wondering why kids even need to go to school; they can just do everything online!

There were so many cool things on his site, but one of my favorites was his link to http://www.yappydog.com/

This site is absolutely incredible! I went through almost every one of it's various applications, and they are all SOOOOO cool. With this one site alone, you can create spelling word searches, practice math facts (and as a teacher be able to look at your students' participation and improvement), and keep track of assignments. With using an online application like this, it creates so many more options in terms of keeping everyone involved and "in the know". I would think it would be so much easier to keep the students, parents, and teacher all on the same page in terms of knowing what's going on and where the student is at.

This one is kind of a silly personal thing, but I also had a lot of fun with what he chooses to use as his typing program, Dance Mat Typing http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ It was so much fun and pretty cute, but above all, I just loved that it wasn't Mavis Beacon! It seems like everyone uses Mavis and it gets to be so dry and boring, so I had a lot of fun playing with the British rock dog :-)