Reflective Blog #8

To wrap up my ETEC blog I would have to say that my "aha" moments would have to be every week.  I have never in my life learned about so many technology resources in such a short period of time.  My biggest "aha" was that there were so many resources available to me.  I also realized what I could have been doing this whole time in my classroom versus what I actually have been doing.  Thinking back to lessons that I have done with my students and ways that I could have improved them not only for my students but for myself as well.  Thinking back to my philosophy that I created at the beginning of the semester it has guided the development of my projects by making sure that I have been a reflective teacher and also a student.  In many of the projects that I have created I have been able to go back and think about what I have done, why I have done it and what I could do to make it better.  This blog for example has been a great way for me to look at the projects that I have developed and really think about them and has let me learn and grow from what I have done in this class.  My philosophy has changed as a teacher overall simply because I never realized how important technology really was.  I have been told many times use this resource, or this resource is so great you should try it, but I never really thought it would make a difference.  After using just a small amount of the tools that I have learned about in my class I have seen what a difference it can make.  It makes it more interesting to teach, and to learn.  My students are collaborating more, they are more engaged in their learning and are showing true ownership of their knowledge just as I hope they would.  Overall I would say this has been a great learning experience for me and I am very interested in continuing my development in the field of technology.

Week 7 Reflection

I created a lesson that involved having the students use Google Earth, a concept map and the class blog.  The objective was to have students compare the schools and surroundings of two different areas(in different countries).  I originally thought of this because before I started teaching I had a chance to visit New Zealand and student teach there.  I was amazed at some of the different activities they did, different procedures, and even the difference in environment.  I have had this same discussion with my current students about the differences between people, cultures, environments and so forth.  So in already have some of the discussions I felt this would be a great way for them to experience these differences without being having to pay an arm and a leg to do it.  The reason I picked doing a concept map was because I am always trying to find new ways for students to "show work".  We are always working on compare and contrasting and I felt that a concept map would be a great way to easily list similarities and differences of things that they have identified.  My expectations for the learning outcome is that the students will be able to experience new settings that they have never seen and probably won't.  I work in a very low income school where students are not able to go see the ocean, or mountains and definitely not go to a different country.  This is a way for them to experience all of those great things, even if it is just in pictures.  Maybe their imagination will take them there, at least that is my hope.  I am viewing my instruction a little different in the respect that I now understand that technology can provide you with many more opportunities, like google earth and sketch.  Also these technological resources that I have learned about have given me a way to have my students produce great work, without always having to use pencil and paper.  There are so many tools like concept maps, blog, google sketch, and podcasts that will let children create works of art.  I am truly excited and can't wait to complete my lesson.

Week 6 Reflection

After creating my podcast, reading articles, and reviewing all of the different technologies that I have recently begun to use I thought about the question what are the implications for changing the way we work, teach and learn?  The only thing that I really could come up with was that it takes away from the face-to-face interaction that some people crave and need.  I know this is probably one of the most difficult things for me, and I noticed that some others feel the same way after reading their article reviews.  Many of the digital natives don't really seem to mind the absence of face-to-face, but it does seem to affect some others.  Other than this one concern of mine, I don't really seem to see any other real difficulties or problems.  Many of these new technologies I really enjoy learning about and sharing them with new people.  I get so excited when I have finished the project and feel a sense of pride that I have accomplished another challenge and have a another resource in my "toolbox" of ideas/resources.  Now with that said, some of the people that I have shared these new ideas/technologies with don't always seem to share the same excitement as I do.  They seem to employ the idea of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it".  Many people might feel like these different ways of communication, teaching, learning,etc. are more they than can handle.  I can understand this first reaction, because it is the same one I had.  I didn't think I would be able to learn them, use them or even teach them.  I have now found that the more you work/play with these technology ideas the better you get, but as I said, not everyone shares my same enthusiasm.  This to me would be a main factor for why things won't change or better yet, why people won't change.  Finally, if I could wave a magic wand and change something it would probably be the skepticism that people hold when it comes to new ideas, resources, technologies, etc.  I am most definitely included in this group of people.  If I could let go of the "I won't understand it, my way is just as good, it's just too hard", type of thinking then I think the possibilities are endless.

Week 5 Reflection

To start off, I have to say the MAPping activity was a very eye opening experience.  After searching the specific websites provided, I was surprised to find out that they were probably as not as reliable as I would have originally thought they were.  After looking out the different criteria that I "should" be looking at and the criteria that I have usually referred to in the past, I realize now I have been researching things all wrong.  I now know that I will be using the references provided by the November learning site.  I will now be looking at who is publishing the information and what their purpose is for providing such information.  Before today I did what most people probably do, I picked a resource that looked credible, but probably was not.  One thing I know that will be easy for me to do is to look at the extension to see what type of web address it is.  I have done this occasionally in the past, but not as often as I probably should have.  I am actually a little disappointed in myself for using many of the resources before in my professional career, and being so trust worthy about the information that is out there.  I didn't realize that there were so many sites that would rather give opinions or one sided pieces of information than actually providing facts.  I think that if this type of information is not conveyed to our students and children for that matter they will be as ignorant as I have been in believing everything that they read.  They will end up trusting an opinion instead of facts, and in the end they will be projecting someone else's opinions and thoughts instead of coming up with their own thoughts, ideas, beliefs and opinions. 

Now on with my thoughts about Delicious.  I don't really know what to think about this.  At first I was not completely on board with the idea, as I am usually not with any "new to me" technology idea.  As I am explaining the activity and the project to my husband he made me stop and think about the pros to it, not just the cons, as I am such a pessimist sometimes.  I do see that this could be very beneficial in my career.  I could share and find ideas by networking with other people on this site.  I would be able to find resources that I might not have been able to find on my own that could help me in career.  I do see that this could help both personally and professionally.  In looking at the other sites I felt as if Blinklist was the exact same as Delicious so I really saw no difference in using one site over the other.  Diigo seemed to be a little more advanced than delicious, probably appealing to the more technology savvy person, who wants to use many different types of applications.  Toobla seemed to be more for the person that is going to use the site for more entertainment type purposes.  If I wanted to share music, videos, pictures, etc. this would more likely be the site I would use.  Finally, there is Stumble Upon.  After briefly looking at this site and what it was about, as I did not initially want to sign up for anymore sites, worried that I would not remember what they were all for, I thought that it looked rather interesting.  It seemed that this one would be good for someone like me who is always trying to find new teaching resources.  So if I went on and bookmarked my sites that I often use, teacher resources for example, it would then come back and provide me with more sites of teacher resources because that is one of my main interest.  I found this idea to be very useful, so I think I will sign up for yet another site...we'll see how it goes!

Reflective Blog #4

After reading the article I realized that I related most with the principle that states, "AFL develops learners' capacity for self-assessment so they can become reflective and self managing.  In the article that I found I felt that rubrics definitely fit in with this principal.  I feel so strongly about this because this is how I try to set up things in my classroom.  I can't say that it always works, but I do use rubrics as often as I can so that students are more in charge of their learning.  This promotes "self managing" skills that every student needs.  If I am having them do an assignment they need to know ahead of time what the goals are, the expectations, why they are completing the assignment and so forth.  This generally promotes a higher level of motivation when they know what is expected of them and they are controlling their assignment and grade for that matter.
The potential that I see for portfolio assessment is a lot like what I have described in my classroom.  This type of assessment gives the student the opportunity to take control of their learning.  It allows them to look at what they have done, choose their best work, learn how they can improve their work, and provides a type of motivation that can not be fostered by other types of assessment.
As far as my portfolio is concerned I would definitely say it is a work in progress.  Just as I described above I am hoping it will let me take a look at my different assignments and grow from them as a student and teacher.  I hope it is there to show a progression of learning that I have achieved throughout the semester.  I can tell you so far, I have learned quite a bit in the ways of technology and the different resources that are available to me.  Not all of them are easy to use, but just like anything else it will take a lot of practice and that I think will show through in my portfolio. I hope.
 

Reflective Blog #3

So I just created my wiki http://roadrunnerteamwork.wetpaint.com/.  At first, I would have to say that I was skeptical about creating one, just for the fact that I didn't really understand its purpose.  After I got into it and did a little research and read more about what they are and how to use them I became really excited.  As a matter of fact, I have already emailed my team members about my wiki and I plan to discuss it with them further at our next meeting.  My wiki is set up for the staff, teachers and administration at my school.  My purpose is to have everyone that is a part of the school feel as if they have a voice.  I want everyone to share ideas, thoughts, lessons that might help us as teachers which will in turn help our students.  I am also hopping this will be a way for teachers to address concerns, questions and problems for administration.  So many times I have heard teachers complaining of a problem that usually deals with the entire school, not just that one individual.  Well if that one teacher can go on and voice that concern, then maybe others will do the same and then someone (administration) can step in and hopefully come up with a solution along with the teachers.  As I said, this is my hope for what this wiki can become.  I am very excited about it and I can't wait to let others know about this great resource that we can use!


As far as advantages and disadvantages, I would have to say an advantage is obviously team collaboration.  Every place that I have taught has had a problem with this, whether it is with other staff, teachers, or administration.  This is a great tool to use to develop and further ideas that so many of us have but never really tell anyone else about.  A disadvantage that I can possibly see is that some people are not going to "understand" what to do, before they have even tried it.  Some of the people that consider themselves technology illiterate will probably not attempt to use, which is a shame.  I hope this won't become much of an issue, because I do think that this is a great way to engage everyone, even if you are one of those people who feel "I don't understand it or I can't do it, otherwise known as a "digital immigrant".

Reflective Blog #2

Educational technology is using many different technological resources to promote and enhance learning.  When thinking about educational technology I thought of many positive things that can describe it.  I believe that there are many tools out there that I ,as a teacher, can use to enhance the learning of my students.  As I read through the two articles I realized, I am not using all of the resources provided to me to enhance the learning of my students.  I did not learn the way the "digital natives"  are learning today.  I tend to make many excuses about why they can't learn, but really I have realized that I am part of the problem not the solution.  I have to find new ways to reach my students and to teach them the concepts they need.  In my philosophy I stated that I am always looking for new resources and ways I can help my students, well I haven't been looking hard enough.  Through my research, just for this assignment, I have found many ideas, resources, and theories that can help me and my students enhance our learning.