this is it! (blogpost 12)

Here we are, at the end of a month-long road, armed with all sorts of technological tools to guide us in the classroom.

In the beginning of this class, we were asked to reflect on our use of technology in and out of the workplace. I talked a lot about my use of technology at home and my comfort levels. I feel the same in comfort level - I still am fiercely attached to my computer, but now there is a little more I feel more eager to do with that computer.

I have subscribed to a lot of great RSS feeds on education and technology that will help keep me in the loop. I have learned a ton of new techniques on ways to integrate technology in the English classroom, and why it's so important.

This class has helped me define my future goals as and educator and a leader. I want to make sure my future students are able to use technology to their full advantage, in a way that will stretch their minds and understanding.

I would say the biggest challenge I faced in this class was something I hated ever since I was little. I hate hearing my own voice played back - you would never find me eager to record the message on our answering machine back home - but I was forced to do that THREE TIMES in this class - once for the digital story, once for our podcast, and again for our educational technology philosophy. Just doing it and getting over that bizarre phobia was a challenge - and it reminds me of the way a student might feel when we ask them to do something equally uncomfortable for them.

Overall, I enjoyed this class. I would even dare call it fun. Thanks to Jenn, our instructor, and to Fairfield for supplying us with the computers, programs and web host.

the comp delusion? (blogpost 11)

We read The Computer Delusion for class, and I must say, I don't think it's all that relevant anymore. It is definitely an interesting piece of text to read if you're thinking about the use of computers in classrooms in 1997, but not 2010, over a decade later.

For instance, Oppenheimer mentioned that art and music programs were cut from schools to fund computer purchases, even though research has shown that art and music are both extremely beneficial to the development of brain function. I do agree with him that such programs and teachers are very valuable and should only be cut in extreme circumstances. However, now you can use computers to create and manipulate art and music in amazing ways. It has become a way to enhance art and music classes, not cut them. So much has changed since this article has written...

He also argues that most programs are too complicated and only appropriate for older students. I think a lot of programs have been adapted for younger students to use, and that his argument doesn't stand anymore.

Oppenhiemer seems to have one hell of a bone to pick with former President Clinton's decision to get more computers in the classrooms, but I think it shows tremendous foresight. Look at my class right now! We're all glued to our computers learning the millions of ways in which technology can be used in the classroom - any classroom.

After reading the entire article, I felt a real sense of paranoia and contempt radiating from the author. I agree in some ways that computers are not the end all and be all of our existence, but they are a necessary tool, and we should treat them as such. Students should use computers to enhance their learning and become as comfortable as possible with them before they go on to college and then into their working lives. No, not all of them will need how to manipulate software or build a computer, but I would wager that a large majority will come into contact with a computer on a daily basis in whatever job they perform. We cannot ignore that fact and leave computers out of the equation of education. Nowadays, they're as essential as the skill of holding a pen or pencil.

(blogposts 9 & 10)

You may (or you may not) be wondering why it has been quite some time since I've done my homework. Well, lately we have been asked to post comments on our class blog rather than on our own. If you would like to keep up on the going-ons of class, please visit

http://fairfieldmd400.blogspot.com/


for the latest and greatest comments on technology in the classroom.

the hardest button to button, ah oh!

Hello! If you'd like, you can completely ignore this post. I am only trying to get a blog button to work for me:)

the halfway point (blogpost 8)

I can't believe the class is half over. I feel as though it just began. I am grateful that this course has introduced me to a few new technological experiences, like created my own website. Without this course, I probably would not have tried to make my own website. I haven't blogged since 2005, so it's good to get back in the swing of things. I love the idea of a class blog for my future English students, and I hope to create one in the future.

In a lot of ways, Ed Tech is all about demystifying technology and revealing its practicality. I appreciate the way in which our instructor introduces us to many different ways to do the same thing, even if we only do it one way in class. She has provided so many valuable links and resources, and has encouraged us to catalog the resources we have found on our own. I am very grateful for that, because once this course is gone, I can still revisit the website I created and have that valuable list of resources at my fingertips.

I don't know if I would call this class challenging. I think there is a very wide variety of technological comfort in the students in our class, and I don't always feel that I can sprint ahead when I want to. I do wish there were some way to accommodate those students who want to move at a faster pace and learn a little more. That would be my biggest suggestion for our instructor. But don't get me wrong, I've learned a lot. I just want to test things out while I learn, and at times I find that very difficult to do because of our pace.

My favorite assignment so far has been the copyright assignment. I am so thankful that we have been introduced to these critical laws.

Copyright (blogpost 7)

After doing the readings for tomorrow, I feel like a lot of educators are either ignorant of copyright laws or care to ignore them. I, personally, was ignorant. I'm very glad that we took a brief detour into the world of copyrighting, so I can feel as though I'm making good decisions about "fair use" and the use of copyrighted material.


All of these copyright laws make me rather nervous. It makes me want to create everything I need and not rely on copyrighted material, which, of course, is insane. The implication this has for me as an educator is that I need to become familiar with the copyright laws and legislation so I can feel comfortable and secure when using copyrighted material in the classroom. I should not have to want to rely on my own creations (photography, for example) and take advantages of all of the resources that are out there. There are tons of websites that collect different kinds of things that can be used free and clear, like


magnatune
or creative commons


These sorts of sites should give the educator piece of mind when it comes to using resources that won't cause a stir.

udl and the power of digital media (blogpost 5b)

In our readings for this weekend, we read a chapter from an online textbook called Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age. In our two assigned chapters 3 & 4, the power of digital media was broken down into its advantages, and its implications for teachers in the classroom along with a detailed definition of UDL and how to implement it.

This reading made the advantages of digital media very clear in chapter three, even if those advantages were rather obvious at times. I found the implications for educators to be somewhat vague, and it left me wanting more. I did appreciate its attempt to encourage educators to use digital media to assist the learning of every student. The text made the reader aware of changing culture, the move away from a text driven society to a more multimedia environment, and encouraged educators to follow that change and adapt the classroom to make it a more multimedia learning environment. However, it does make me wonder if something might be lost if we more away from text and into multimedia. What does it mean to abandon text? I don't know.

I found our second reading, Why Won't More Teachers Set up a UDL Classroom, to give a good definition of UDL, and to give more concrete examples of what it means to create a UDL classroom. Her blog made it clear that educators have the responsibility to adapt their teaching and their classrooms to the individual needs of every student. To link this to the first reading, that adaptation could, and should, include the use of digital media.

I've created concept maps for the first reading, shown below.

Chapter 3 concept map




Chapter 4 concept map

stand up for standards (blogpost 6)

My content area is English, grades 9-12. The standard I choose to use this month is the following:

Producing Texts
Content Standard 2: Students will produce written, oral and visual texts to express, develop and substantiate ideas and experiences.
	a. select from the complete variety of text structures (essay, short story, poetry, academic essay, report, research paper, response to literature, documentary, etc.) the appropriate organizational pattern for addressing audience, purpose and point of view
	b. identify and use effectively the salient features of all appropriate oral, visual and written discourse
	c. determine which primary and secondary sources are appropriate to the task (research paper, fiction, school newspaper, video) and integrate and elaborate upon information effectively in the final product
	d. identify and use the most effective process for them to create and present a written, oral or visual piece
	e. maintain a multimedia portfolio which, along with providing a means for collecting their work, provides opportunities for student reflection and teacher/student dialogue regarding the students’ creative processes

This standard links to visual media with b. d. and e.. Students can use both digital manipulation and inspiration to help them (b.) identify and use visual discourse effectively, (d.) create and present a visual piece or project, and (e.) help them maintain a multimedia portfolio to allow for reflection and dialogue.

digital manipulation (blogpost 4)

Yesterday in class, we worked with photoshop, fotoflexer, or gimp, to alter photos we took of key scenes in different texts.

The scene to the left is supposed to be from Lord of the Flies, at the point where Piggy dies and Ralph is speared and runs away. I added weapons, water and a pig's head to make it a little more interesting.

How could photo manipulation enhance students' learning in the classroom? They could alter pictures to better represent their thoughts more accurately. Creating images represented in texts would help them practice visualizing techniques and give them a chance to be creative as well as analytical. It would also be a good introduction to programs that are not as easy to familiarize yourself with as Facebook or Word.

eTips concept map via Inspiration (blogpost 5a)

In class today we created concept maps with the program, inspiration. I love the idea of being able to create a normal outline, and have a program transform it into a map like the one to the left.

I can see the value in this program for students trying to plan out a paper, think through a project, or map out different elements of a story. I would love to use this particular program in mapping out one of Shakespeare's plays by breaking it down by act, scene, characters, etc.

teddy bears and the net (blogpost 3b)

The Teddy Bears Go Blogging article is a great example of integrating technology into the classroom in a real, meaningful way that enhances learning as well as understanding of technology. Blogging gave the elementary students the opportunity to communicate and learn from peers across the globe. The teacher in this story admitted that the blog format became just as easy to use as email, allowed for comment moderation, and made sharing photos simple.

I have heard that some schools do not allow teachers to use public blogs in schools because of difficulty in moderating comments and content. I wonder how wide spread this restriction is, and how educators could create a similar communicative experience from which they can learn.

Conversely, I have heard of high school teachers creating a class blog and requiring students to post a certain number of times. I wonder if 'forcing' students to participate in that way is an effective way to engage them with technology. Does it just become another mindless task? The second graders in the article seemed to love their blogs, but I wonder how much of that kind of passion/interest can be generated on the high school level. They're already so fluent in this sort of technological medium - would they be bored by it? Would it enhance their understanding of technology or of the content being taught in class? Perhaps if done right, but what is 'right'?

reflecting on the old and on the new (blogpost 2)

Technology has been a part of my life for quite a while. My family bought their first computer when I was 11 years old, and I have been on computers ever since. I become fiercely attached to my computers of the moment, until they die and are replaced.

I'd say I'm rather comfortable with technology, and I'm not scared of trying out new stuff. I use my computer for storing music and photos, personal writing projects, gaming, reading the news, working on school work, and much more. I started exploring forums when I was probably in 8^th grade, and was only really active on one forum that belonged to a band I liked. Nowadays, I’m active on facebook, and have used Flikr, Blogger, Skype, etc. to keep in touch with different people in different ways. When it comes to other technology, I am very fond of my first gaming console, an Atari, which I still have and can use if I can find an old enough T.V.

Professionally, I don’t interface with technology a ton at the moment. As an intern I do a lot of substitute teaching, so my interfacing with technology in the classroom is very limited. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with technology in my future classroom. Good thing I’m in an ed tech class to help me figure that out!

In my past jobs, I’ve had to use technology quite a bit. At a car rental company where I was for almost 2 years (kill me now, I hated it so much) they had a lot of different programs that one would have to adapt to rather quickly in order to survive. Also, at my first job right out of high school, I worked in a poster store with a boss who was (and still is) a professional photographer. He introduced me to a lot of information of digital photography, how to store it, how to manipulate it, etc. That was a pretty wonderful experience.

I'm excited for this course. I'm always eager to learn new ways to interact with technology on a personal and professional basis. I feel that this class will help enhance and elaborate my goals as a future educator.

eTips (blogpost 1)

"teachers must also consider the cognitive demands [technology] places on the user. Does it require them to recall facts, ... to provide content information and represent their understanding, ... Or does it require the user to represent their knowledge in a symbolic form?" (Dexter, p. 58)

This quote struck me as very important. Educators must constantly think about what they are asking their students to do, how it makes the students think, what kind of learning style they are using, and what kind of habits we are reinforcing. When we introduce technology into the classroom, it is important that we have a specific reason to use it, and we are aware of what kind of thinking the students will be using. If we are using technology as busy work, or just another skill and drill technique, are we really using technology to its fullest extent? No. We must find ways to introduce technology into the learning environment that will enhance a student's ability to express meaning and think critically.

"Using educational technology in a classroom to add value to teaching and learning, by adding, extending, or changing what teachers or students do, inherently increases the effectiveness of technology," (Dexter, p. 60).

If we begin to introduce more technology and a variety of technologies in assignments, class activities, projects, etc., we will give more meaning to the piece of technology we are using. For instance, if we ask the students to use wordle to create a poem about their identity and personality, we are changing and extending a typical writing assignment. In essence, not only did we make the assignment a little more interesting, but we just gave the students a new way to use the internet and produce text.

"A collaborative professional community would serve as the vehicle for school-wide knowledge processing about technology integration and implementation, increasing the likelihood of reflective dialogue, sharing of instructional practices, and generally increasing collaboration on new practices," (Dexter, p. 65).

I work in a high school as an intern in the English Department, and I see very disparate uses of technology in the various English classrooms. Some teachers allow students to email homework, others forbid it. Some teachers are in the computer lab all of the time, others never. Some teachers introduce interesting and thought provoking assignments that would require technology, like creating a fake facebook page for a character in a novel that excite the students immensely, while other teachers assign the same, "answer these 10 questions at the end of each chapter" worksheets that bore the students to death. I think creating an open, collaborative community would help everyone in this situation. Students would be able to move from class to class with realistic expectations about the use of technology in the school. Also, teachers would be able to enable each other to push their own comfort levels and create new, fresh lessons and assignments that would make the department jive in a way it never has before.

wasps get a drink (blogpost 3a-2)

Even evil wasps are trying to cool down in this crazy hot weather. I caught a few of them hanging out by this leaky hose in the middle of the day. Poor wasps. You gotta look close to see them.

wilting (blogpost 3a-1)

flowers trying to survive the heat

my first post-eroli

Hallo. I wish I were in a winter wonderland, like the pic here of a tiny dorf in Deutschland. Doesn't it look refreshing? I'm surprised how warm it is in this room. You'd think they'd have stronger air conditioning for a room full of computers. Oh well. It's better than being outside in this sweltering HEAT WAVE. I've decided to build a walk-in cooler in my house. Once I have my own house, that is. I'm making it just to sit in.