Blog reflection #7

This educational technology class began by asking us to write down our Educational Philosophy.  By having this written, and now being able to reflect on it, I can already see changes that I have been introduced to over this short seven weeks.  I am excited to get into a class room, and be able to use all of the technology tools that are now available to us as educators.  I was fortunate enough in school to experience two types of teachers, those who were just there to get their paycheck, and those who were passionate about their jobs.  Being in a class where all the teacher wanted was to be your friend was great at the time (I mean what high school kid wouldn’t mind a teacher that didn’t assign homework or class projects), but once I got to college I realized that having this type of teacher was not so cool anymore!  Having to struggle to catch up with my peers was difficult, and made me realize that I was blessed to have many teachers that were passionate about their careers.  My fourth grade teacher, who later became my high school counselor, had a major impact on my decision to teach.  Show taught me that you can be more than just a teacher that you can care on a higher level.  From this, I know realize that I want my future students to be passionate, and eager to learn, and not to be afraid to express their ideas and opinions.

After taking ETEC 524, I would still classify myself as an idealist and pragmatist.  I want our younger generations to realize that their ideas are important, and that through these ideas, great things can be possible.  Education is an important tool to have.  In my opinion, people who have an education, not necessarily a 4 year college degree, are happier with their life.  I feel that a higher education can change lives, and open doors that might not have been possible otherwise.  We shouldn’t be afraid to blog, or produce a podcast from our ideas, but we should take them and run with them.  From this class, I have learned that technology is a powerful avenue that we as educators should joyfully travel down. 

I am becoming a teacher because I am a firm believer that everyone, no matter what background you come from, deserves the best education that’s out there.  I want kids to learn and grasp concepts and ideas rather than just have material shoved in their brain because of some standardized test at the end of the year.  By having the ability to incorporate technology into the classroom, whether it is a computer, a smart phone, etc. it will open more avenues for educators.  The advancement in technology will allow students to be able to participate in some “hands on” activities, which is what I plan to do once I get in the classroom.  I want to give kids that option, and privilege to be able to use all the resources available to them because technology is just continuing to make great strides, and will allow for magnificent opportunities in the future.  

From personal experiences, as well as my desire to help kids better themselves, I want to learn and be able to adapt to all advances that I know are coming.  This technology class has opened my eyes to many new possible ways to incorporate technology into my classroom, and it has also provided me with ideas to keep students attention by using technology.  I believe that introducing new activities to them, that they may not have been able to do in previous years using technology, will make them that much more eager to learn.  Technology and curriculum have both made major strides since I have been out of school (which is only six years), so I do understand that I will have to stay open minded as an educator.  By staying open minded, it will allow me to communicate and teach kids in the best ability that I can.  I also realize that being the cool teacher, or the favorite, is not the most important thing.  The most important thing is to make sure that each student gets the education that they deserve.

By having my philosophy written, I am able to continually look back on it, and adapt as I need.  I am open to change, and realize that as advances are made in all aspects, changes may need to take place.   I will always have this statement to look back on if I ever start to loss the passion that I have right now for teaching and I believe that that passion is important to maintain or even grow.  I hope that I can use this class to help me better understand ways that I can incorporate technology in the classroom, and gain more understanding of technology for my everyday life. After completing this educational technology class, I feel that I am better prepared to introduce, and incorporate technology into my classroom.  We as educators do not need to be scared of technology, but rather open our minds to all the possibilities that it will bring us in our class room.

Blog Reflection #6

  This week, I created my very first podcast.  While it was only a short podcast, I can see this being a very vital tool in the future of education.  After I read the article, and did some thinking, I believe that we as educators need to familiarize ourselves with podcasting.  I like that the article discussed the positive and negative sides of podcasts that invole lectures for reviews.  I personally can see both sides of this issue.  I have had professors that blow through material so fast that it is hard to take notes, and keep up with what they are discussing.  Being able to have a podcast of the lecture to review while studying for tests was very helpful in that situation.  I can however, see how this type of podcast could get abused as well, especially at the college level.  Students know that the lecture is available via podcast, so they may decide to just skip the actual face-to-face lecture, causing them to miss key information that may not be mentioned or brought up by peers in the pre-recorded lecture.
  My favorite idea for podcasting that was mentioned in this article was introducing supplement course material through podcasts.  I found this to be very interesting because I can remember in junior high and high school trying to work through math problems, and thinking "man I wish I could see some more problems worked out."  By creating a podcast that works through some sample homework problems, I think we can help our students.  They can access the podcast while at home working on their homework if they are stuck, or if they just need the visual aide there to help refresh their mind. I was not so sure about having students create their own podcasts, but I could see it being a good tool for things such as book reports, or even science projects.
  I think that podcasting is going to be very helpful for education in the future.  There are so many possibilities to use podcasts in positive ways to help students.  It is just another tool to give students so that they may reference course material, lectures, or even here their peers if they need help with an assignment.  I believe that their are endless possibilities for podcasting in education.  I would like to think that one day I will be able to create podcasts to help my students.  I want to teach math or science, and I can think of numerous ways to use podcasts in my classroom.  For instance, if I taught math, I could create a class web page that students could access.  I could then create podcasts that showed me working through more sample problems so that students could access this at home.  This would just be another way for them to see more problems being worked out, and hearing explanations for the steps to the problems at home instead of trying to remember what I said during first period on Monday morning.  If I taught science, I think that I would try to have to students create their own podcasts for science projects.  It would be a way to not only teach students about science, but also let them use their creativity while learning. I want to find ways to incorporate technology into my classroom, and I think that podcasting is a good source of technology to start with!

Technology Project/Reflection Week 5!

  I chose to look at the website www.dhmo.org. I determined that this website is an organization, but this did not tell me if it was reliable because a .org domain can be purchased by anyone.  Since anyone has the ability to purchase a domain such as this, I found that more information would be needed to determine if this is a reliable website.  I was able to tell that it was not a personal page, but still needed to verify some other information before any decisions were made.  I began to look at websites that were linked to dhmo.org, there were several government websites that were linked to this page.  This site was created to make people aware about dihydrogen monoxide, the dangers of it, what it is, facts about it, and it also posts alerts/advisories pertaining to dihydrogen monoxide.  I looked at several top search engines, and when searching dihydrogen monoxide, this website was the first one listed on all of the search engines.  Some of the search engines such as Yahoo! and Go.com listed it as a recommended site as well as a safe search protected site.  There were a few advertisements on this website, but I feel like those advertisements are there maybe as some type of sponsorship.  I was able to find the creator of the site, as well as look at some of the ways the site has changed over the years.  The layout changed some, and information was updated as new findings were available.  From all of this "digging" I feel that this website is proven to be a reliable website.  I also did this same type of digging on another favorite website, "facebook."  From the domain, you know that facebook is a company.  I also know that facebook cannot be very reliable because it is just a bunch of people posting their thoughts and opinions about certain topics, and I would not recommended anyone using that information as creditable information.  I feel that facebook is a way to stay in contact with people you may not see every day instead of a creditable source.
  This class has opened my eyes to so many things.  I will be honest, when I read the syllabus I thought I was in over my head.  Then when we started the week one assignments I was not very optimistic.  I did not want to have any part of blogging, or discovering the uses of technology.  After completing numerous assignments, and indulging in technology, I have found that there was so much about technology that I did not know, and that I would enjoy.  I can say that I am absolutely enjoying blogging, and I am thinking about starting my own blog once this class is over.  I also did not know that there were so many ways to check the credibility of a website until this week.  Wow! I am amazed at what my eyes have been opened to through this class.  One thing that I will take from this class, is that there are so many ways we can incorporate technology into our lives.  Technology is just growing, and through this class, I was able to see the different ways that I can stay up to date with technological times.  I am very serious about continuing to blog, and I also want to make sure that I am very avid in incorporating technology into my classroom when that time comes.  Thank you for opening my eyes up to so many things that I was unaware of with technology, and making me a blogging BELIEVER!

Reflection 4!

After reviewing the questions that were presented this week, I was surprised at some of my answers.  I know that I am more comfortable composing documents online.  I do not mind writing, but you are able to get things completed in a more timely manner when using the web, in my opinion.  My iphone is my memory now.  I do not remember anyone's phone number anymore because I do not have to.  It is so convenient to type the number, birthdate, or memo into my phone or iPad, and not have to worry about remembering the number.  Using technology as a "memory" is more organized in my opinion to because I do not have to worry about keeping up with numerous slips of paper containing important information.  I could not relate to the question about meetings, because at my current job, I do not have to attend any meetings.  I think that I would probably take my iPad with me to meetings though because it is just easier for me to use.  Unfortanely, I am one of those people that always has their cell phone with them.  It doesn't matter what I am doing, whether I am out running, or doing laundry, I always have my phone with me or nearby.  Our internet is always on whether we are home or at work.  We are turning into a technology generation.  I am not really sure how many activities I can engage in at once, however I do believe I am a multitasker.  I do not play video games, but I do play games on my iPad or iPhone, so I guess those could be considered computer games.  I think that I would be in the technology generation.  I rely on my phone, or iPad for everything.  If I didn't have internet access, I think I would go crazy.  I don't know what we did before texting, and all the technology was available! 
I think that we do need to make sure that even if our education system did go completely online, that we still have some sort of interaction with our students, especially K12 students.  I feel that they need that face to face interaction.  The interaction is important because it is going to help them in the real world.  They need to be able to interact with other people, rather than just typing or using the web for their assignments.  We need to make sure that the younger generation is not just sitting behind a computer, or some sort of device all day.  They need the interaction, and physical activity that the classroom provides as well.

Reflection week 3!

   After reviewing the article and the ten principles of AFL, I was interested and relate to the idea that AFL should be sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an emotional impact. I am a very sensitive person, so I understand that assessments can make an impact emotionally.  I know that if my work was criticized in a negative way, I got down on myself, and my level of effort was depleted because I felt like I couldn't do it. I also remember getting praises, or even criticism in a way that did not sound negative (constructive criticism if you will) and it made me want to continue working and pushing myself to do better. Kids should be told and reminded that their work is good, but could use some improvements, instead of hearing harsh words like "horrible," "ugly," or even "bad." As a future educator, I hope that I can critique my students work (I would love to introduce portfolios into my classroom) in a way that is still sensitive, and does not break their self esteem.  I think that all of the principles are very to the point and true. I think that portfolio assessment can be a very positive tool to have.
   Creating portfolios will allow all students to track their progress, and perform a self-assessment of their own work. I like the idea of creating my own portfolio because it will give me an avenue to track my work. It will allow me to see my progress in my career from the time I'm starting out as a new teacher, to looking back on it years later after I retire. Being able to see all the things I've grown in and accomplished will be a great tool to access.  Not having to rely solely on my memory, but actually having a portfolio that I can refer back to is going to be wonderful.

Reflection # 2

After looking at many definitions, and getting a better idea about educational technology I came up with my own definition. 
Educational technology:  using the tools and devices we have to incorporate a level of technology based curriculum to engage students.

After completing this assignment, I would like to say that I was surprised at some of my findings, but sadly in all reality, I am not surprised.  There are so many things available, whether true or untrue, on the Internet, and at our fingertips that it is unbelievable.  I think that we as educators need to teach students things to look for when gathering information from the Internet to verify the facts, before choosing to believe them.  I now realize, that there was probably some information that I found from sites online when in college that were probably not very creditable.  Kids need to understand that just because it is on the Internet, it does not mean it is true.  They need to look other places, and verify that they are using a credible site before believing everything 100%.  I think we need to show them to have a level of skepticism when gathering information from the web, because while it is fast and convenient, it is not always true.  I did see some advantages to social bookmarking tools.  Having this type of tool available allows you to express ideas and show your creativity while doing so.  I chose to use wordle.net because I liked the simpleness of creating my ideas in a fun creative way.  I think social bookmarking tools could be interesting to use in classrooms to get students to express their ideas about things as simple as using it as a way to introduce themselves at the beginning of the year, to using it on projects throughout the year.  I would like to use the digital mapping concept in my own classroom one day, as I found it to be a fun and creative way to express my idea about educational technology.

Reflection

After reading both pieces, I agree with what Mr. November is saying. Technology is a great thing, but kids need to have some limits or understanding before they just jump in. While reading, the commercial that is now showing on television came to mind. The one about the girl who is telling a neighbor all these things, and when asked where she heard them, she simply replies the Internet. She then goes on to say that everything on the Internet is true. Our kids need to realize that just because they found information online doesn't mean it is the correct information. They need to continue researching, and find more evidence to support what they have found.
Blogging is a great tool that we have available to use.  I believe that as individuals we have come a long way since the first blog.  Blogging is new to me, and so far I am enjoying it.  I do agree that blogging is like a person's online journal.  I also think that we will never met the blogging potential that Downe's metions because technology is just going to continue to grow allowing us to do more things.

I also realize that as teachers, we are going to have to be willing to accept and adapt to changes. Technology is now, and it is just continuing to grow. Kids are learning to use technology (and starting to understand the uses) at an earlier age. My two year old niece knows how to use my smart phone better than I do (yes I realize that might be sad to admit), but it is the truth. In the teaching environment we need to realize that with each school year, technology is only going to advance. I think that Mr. November's suggestion about teaching the students the uses of technology rather than the teachers is an interesting one. He makes a very good point, kids pick up on things, and then just build from that. I think that technology is going to introduce us to an exciting world, and we need to learn to become automators instead of informators.