Apart from simply learning how to implement technology in the classroom, this class has taught me how to implement technology period. Nearly every web application we discussed was new to me and I also discovered many that would have made my life much easier earlier in my time as a student. Now, not only can I incorporate technology in my future classroom, but I can incorporate it in my life in ways I never would have imagined possible. Taking advantage of the amazing tools given to us by web applications alone will truly help push the evolution of humanity to the next level. It is quickly becoming clear that the evolution of the internet and global communication knows no boundaries and will soon be a large part of everyone’s lives whether they embrace it or not.
I would have to say I wasn’t a fan of the twitter aspect, although I can see its obvious educational benefits. I just didn’t feel the need to post things I thought were interesting since we already had the delicious account to do basically the same thing. I do see the benefit in following other teachers who actively post educational material to their twitter, but it would be rare to find material that synced up with exactly what you were teaching, unless you followed hundreds of teachers which would be a little time consuming (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Personal Strategy for Bridging the Digital Divide
For the same reasons that a classroom used to be incomplete without books, a classroom today is incomplete without technology. It is absolutely vital that students have digital access in the classroom because with the shear amount of subject area content, as well as the various other social purposes of the classroom education, digital access is an invaluable tool that goes to great lengths to provide modern students with a modern education to survive in the modern world. If a school does not provide the level of technology I would like in the classroom, but does provide some technology, I could work with what I had and try to make the best of it, hopefully only until the school revitalized its accommodations. I would consider at least one computer with an internet connection and an overhead to be my bare minimum of acceptable technology in the classroom. If the school could at least offer this, I could assign more of the technological learning to be done in a computer lab or as homework. If the school did not have a computer lab or most students did not have technology at home, then I could organize trips to the local library which is sure to have at least some level of technology. Of course, such trips would be arduous to plan and carry out several times over a school year, so the option is not ideal. Other strategies to secure technology at the school would be to petition the district or even above. Writing letters to congressmen, educational institutions, or charity organizations could all help provide the school with donated technology. Seeking out government aid programs could also help, if the school was in a low income neighborhood or had some other reason for qualification. Getting the parents involved could also be helpful. Parents could donate money themselves or raise money or awareness through campaigning around the community. The students could even help raise the money themselves through a variety of events such as selling tickets to a fair, talent show, or some other school event, as well as selling goods through a bake sale or garage sale.
Rosy Aguila realized the value of the internet in education in 1994 and has been working to link teachers and schools to each other since that time through Todos en la Red, a national network of schools, created by Aguila and several other teachers. She is also president of the nonprofit organization that runs the network. http://www.edutopia.org/rosy-aguila
Kim Cofino lays out several ways teachers can use limited technology in their classroom in the most efficient ways and with impressive results. She is an advocate of networking with classrooms all around the world to connect students and teachers to each other. http://mscofino.edublogs.org/
David Warlick explains how if the school could merely provide Wi-Fi access, parents would purchase personal devices for students to access the web such as iPod touches or net books. http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/
Wesely Fryer has an interesting blog discussing how libraries are going to take a more relaxed view toward internet censorship, which would allow students access to a wider range of features, such as twitter and facebook. http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/11/11/digital-citizenship-in-libraries-constructively-leveraging-the-power-of-the-social-web/
Tim Wilson blogs about a self-paced set of tutorials to help teachers get familiar with web 2.0 tools. Sometimes, getting other teachers or administrators on your side is the best way to improve the digital access at your school. http://technosavvy.org/2008/05/12/learning-on-a-stick-minnesota-style/
Rosy Aguila realized the value of the internet in education in 1994 and has been working to link teachers and schools to each other since that time through Todos en la Red, a national network of schools, created by Aguila and several other teachers. She is also president of the nonprofit organization that runs the network. http://www.edutopia.org/rosy-aguila
Kim Cofino lays out several ways teachers can use limited technology in their classroom in the most efficient ways and with impressive results. She is an advocate of networking with classrooms all around the world to connect students and teachers to each other. http://mscofino.edublogs.org/
David Warlick explains how if the school could merely provide Wi-Fi access, parents would purchase personal devices for students to access the web such as iPod touches or net books. http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/
Wesely Fryer has an interesting blog discussing how libraries are going to take a more relaxed view toward internet censorship, which would allow students access to a wider range of features, such as twitter and facebook. http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/11/11/digital-citizenship-in-libraries-constructively-leveraging-the-power-of-the-social-web/
Tim Wilson blogs about a self-paced set of tutorials to help teachers get familiar with web 2.0 tools. Sometimes, getting other teachers or administrators on your side is the best way to improve the digital access at your school. http://technosavvy.org/2008/05/12/learning-on-a-stick-minnesota-style/
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The teacher leader
Being a teacher leader to me generally means being like a super-teacher. Teacher leaders are the teachers at a particular school that work actively with clubs, sports teams, PTA, and a number of other things. Teacher leaders devote large amounts of their personal time to the school and the profession in general. Teacher leaders attend conferences whenever possible and share that information with any teacher that can benefit from it. The two resources I found were Hal Portner’s article, Are you an Informal Teacher Leader (http://teachers.net/gazette/OCT08/portner/) and an interview with Dr. Betsy Rogers, 2003 Teacher of the Year (http://www.teacherscount.org/topic/topic-rogers.shtml). Portner’s article focuses on the concept of the informal teacher leader, which is essentially a teacher leader that is not an administrator. He emphasizes that teacher leaders are those who stay in the classroom and project their leadership role from there. Dr. Betsy Rogers explains her view of the teacher leader as a teacher who strives to make an impact, not only on his or her school, but on the community as well. These sources make it clear that a teacher leader is involved in after school activities and facilitates school improvement in any way possible. In my career as a teacher I do intend to attend conferences and continuing education programs, partially so I don’t lose the edge that coming from an accredited program has provided me with, and also because it is one of the best ways to make sure you are always providing students with the best possible education.
Do you think being a teacher leader is something we should strive to be in our first years as teachers or should we start out as teacher followers for the first few years?
Do you think being a teacher leader is something we should strive to be in our first years as teachers or should we start out as teacher followers for the first few years?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The networked student
The human network is essentially a term that describes the social connections humans make with each other, using a variety of mediums. With the advent of more powerful technologies, the human network becomes more intricate and tightly woven, providing the opportunity for more connections with more people than ever before. The networked student is a student who is taking advantage of the human network, especially through technology, to improve the quality of his or her learning experience. The networked student has a variety of contacts, beyond the teacher, classmates, and textbooks. The networked student utilizes RSS feeds, synchronous communication, and practices sound information management practices. Digital literacy is vital to the networked student because digital technology is the medium through which he or she operates, necessitating a grasp on how to use the advanced tools provided by digital technology and also knowing how distinguish threats and poor information throughout the medium. The role of the teacher evolves in networked learning to a facilitator of the students needs, as opposed to a facilitator or raw information. The teacher helps the student build digital literacy by guiding them through poor information and giving them the tools to succeed in the digital realm. The model of instruction is basically a constructivist approach to teaching, which seems to be the newest school of thought in the education community. It truly seems like the best way for learning to take place, however I wish there were more actual studies to prove that the method is ideal. Provided I was working at a school where this method was viable (i.e. available technology and willing administration) I could absolutely see myself in the role, as it alleviates some of the burden of being a teacher, which is already one of the most stressful jobs to have.
The networked learning blog I found is written by a member of the Department of Information Studies in the UK and contains several posts related to her work with networked and inquiry based learning (http://cilass.group.shef.ac.uk/?cat=4). Several posts include comments about technologies in the classroom such as Second Life. This blog hasn’t been posted to recently but she does have a second blog that is linked to this one.
My question to anyone reading this is do you think this method is worth fighting for if you don’t initially have access to the technology at your school and the administration is unwilling to venture out into foreign territory?
The networked learning blog I found is written by a member of the Department of Information Studies in the UK and contains several posts related to her work with networked and inquiry based learning (http://cilass.group.shef.ac.uk/?cat=4). Several posts include comments about technologies in the classroom such as Second Life. This blog hasn’t been posted to recently but she does have a second blog that is linked to this one.
My question to anyone reading this is do you think this method is worth fighting for if you don’t initially have access to the technology at your school and the administration is unwilling to venture out into foreign territory?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
class notes on service learning projects
Class Notes 10/22/09:
Service Learning Ideas
Voting rights: key people in women’s rights, supreme court decisions, and create a lesson to put on a website functioning as a virtual museum which will then be used to teach younger students about the subject
Oral History: Americans in nursing homes are interviewed and recorded to make a digital storytelling presentation to tell stories of daily life from 75 years ago and upload onto YouTube
Voter Registration: observe trends and asking opinions…create resources to motivate voters or inform voters of important issues…also you can preregister 16 yr olds so they can vote in the next election…try to secure television time to inform the community, also use community centers or other public places to motivate voters
Human Trafficking: discussion of amendments relating to slavery…bring the issue into modern times because this still happens…students get in groups and look at how our govt. deals with the issue and then compile the information and engage in a letter campaign to congress
Military letter writing: students create a wiki where they write blogs to members of the military and they will then write back…this is designed to make the soldiers feel in touch
Honoring veterans: pick a vet and do 30 min interview…before the interview they would do research on the war the vet was in…during the interview they would record 2 important minutes to post as a podcast and blog with each other about the different vets
War on Drugs: investigate all aspects of the drug war and create a wiki as well as writing a congressperson about a drug problem they wish
Support a Soldier: garner support from the community to support troops and maintain a website to collect donations, write to soldiers, and post videos to the troops
Operation Christmas Child: learn about a variety of cultures and gain a personal understanding of helping less fortunates…they will volunteer at local shelters and put together Christmas packages…they will blog about what they learn and teach each other…then create a podcast, etc, about what they gained and how it could be different
Using internet for elderly: psychology based unit…students will go to elderly homes and interview them, then they will train them how to use email and other internet forms of communication…then they will reassess the elderly at the end, then they will write a paper explaining how elderly can benefit form tech and use inquiry map
Increasing cultural awareness: learn about immigration, poll the school to find out about different heritages, then research the countries most represented by the school, then create a wiki representing each nation and then display the info at a fair
Habitat for humanity: students pair up with Habitat to determine costs involved in building and financing houses and then research cost effective ways to maintain the operation…they place the reports on wikis and make biographies about families who’ve received homes and post them to blogs or wikis…then they learn why homelessness occurs
Oral history connecting past to present: students will write about things that are important to their lives, then go interview elderly about things they thought were important to their lives when they were young…then they make videos about their lives and host a party for elderly to view the videos
Helping the community: students must go out into the community and find a need to help them with…then they will go to politicians to get info as to what they are doing to solve the problem, then they will post what politicians say on a wiki, in an attempt to keep them honest
Visiting nursing homes: students will write about their lives and visit nursing homes to interview elderly about their lives and compare the experiences
Students and the environment: students will visit local parks to discover how the environment is being polluted…students will clean up the parks and learn about the environment and how to impact it…then they will write about their experiences to try and get others involved
Election research: students will research various aspects of elections, such as stats and the role of govt. in peoples lives…visit retirement home and ask about how they voted in past elections…record the interviews and create oral history project and write thank you letters to elderly
Increase voter turnout: learn about absence of youth vote, generate survey to investigate youth vote, create posters or other forms of media to take action to inspire young people to vote
Voting and Campaigning: create a campaign to raise awareness of the need for youths to vote and create google motion chart to diagram stats and blog to raise awareness
Individual student rights: students learn about civic rights and teach others about them…students select a topic pertaining to individual rights, research it, and put it in a class wiki…then they organize a fair for students and community members to explain their topic
Land of Rising Sun: at-risk students find pen pals in Japan to help them expand their cultural views…they can compare the information they are being taught (ie WWII)…use a website to communicate through or wiki to expose biases in their education
Muslim-American Awareness: Research news articles on how Muslims were presented in the American media…read “Ask me no Questions” trade book…students would create questionnaire and interview people on what the Patriot Act contains and impacts and what their opinions are towards Muslims…also spread awareness on immigration…students create wikis about the act and what people think vs. what it actually is
Your community through the ages: students pick a person or landmark that represents the Cold War and do research on that time period to learn specifics about the era. Students will interview people who lived during the event and bring the information together on a class wiki…students can write articles to be published by the newspaper to get the community involved in history
Haitian history and geography: network with a school in Haiti to blog and discuss issues relating to how they pay for and get to school…public class website compiling what students learned about the differences between the two schools…the information will then be presented to the school and community to get others involved
Service Learning Ideas
Voting rights: key people in women’s rights, supreme court decisions, and create a lesson to put on a website functioning as a virtual museum which will then be used to teach younger students about the subject
Oral History: Americans in nursing homes are interviewed and recorded to make a digital storytelling presentation to tell stories of daily life from 75 years ago and upload onto YouTube
Voter Registration: observe trends and asking opinions…create resources to motivate voters or inform voters of important issues…also you can preregister 16 yr olds so they can vote in the next election…try to secure television time to inform the community, also use community centers or other public places to motivate voters
Human Trafficking: discussion of amendments relating to slavery…bring the issue into modern times because this still happens…students get in groups and look at how our govt. deals with the issue and then compile the information and engage in a letter campaign to congress
Military letter writing: students create a wiki where they write blogs to members of the military and they will then write back…this is designed to make the soldiers feel in touch
Honoring veterans: pick a vet and do 30 min interview…before the interview they would do research on the war the vet was in…during the interview they would record 2 important minutes to post as a podcast and blog with each other about the different vets
War on Drugs: investigate all aspects of the drug war and create a wiki as well as writing a congressperson about a drug problem they wish
Support a Soldier: garner support from the community to support troops and maintain a website to collect donations, write to soldiers, and post videos to the troops
Operation Christmas Child: learn about a variety of cultures and gain a personal understanding of helping less fortunates…they will volunteer at local shelters and put together Christmas packages…they will blog about what they learn and teach each other…then create a podcast, etc, about what they gained and how it could be different
Using internet for elderly: psychology based unit…students will go to elderly homes and interview them, then they will train them how to use email and other internet forms of communication…then they will reassess the elderly at the end, then they will write a paper explaining how elderly can benefit form tech and use inquiry map
Increasing cultural awareness: learn about immigration, poll the school to find out about different heritages, then research the countries most represented by the school, then create a wiki representing each nation and then display the info at a fair
Habitat for humanity: students pair up with Habitat to determine costs involved in building and financing houses and then research cost effective ways to maintain the operation…they place the reports on wikis and make biographies about families who’ve received homes and post them to blogs or wikis…then they learn why homelessness occurs
Oral history connecting past to present: students will write about things that are important to their lives, then go interview elderly about things they thought were important to their lives when they were young…then they make videos about their lives and host a party for elderly to view the videos
Helping the community: students must go out into the community and find a need to help them with…then they will go to politicians to get info as to what they are doing to solve the problem, then they will post what politicians say on a wiki, in an attempt to keep them honest
Visiting nursing homes: students will write about their lives and visit nursing homes to interview elderly about their lives and compare the experiences
Students and the environment: students will visit local parks to discover how the environment is being polluted…students will clean up the parks and learn about the environment and how to impact it…then they will write about their experiences to try and get others involved
Election research: students will research various aspects of elections, such as stats and the role of govt. in peoples lives…visit retirement home and ask about how they voted in past elections…record the interviews and create oral history project and write thank you letters to elderly
Increase voter turnout: learn about absence of youth vote, generate survey to investigate youth vote, create posters or other forms of media to take action to inspire young people to vote
Voting and Campaigning: create a campaign to raise awareness of the need for youths to vote and create google motion chart to diagram stats and blog to raise awareness
Individual student rights: students learn about civic rights and teach others about them…students select a topic pertaining to individual rights, research it, and put it in a class wiki…then they organize a fair for students and community members to explain their topic
Land of Rising Sun: at-risk students find pen pals in Japan to help them expand their cultural views…they can compare the information they are being taught (ie WWII)…use a website to communicate through or wiki to expose biases in their education
Muslim-American Awareness: Research news articles on how Muslims were presented in the American media…read “Ask me no Questions” trade book…students would create questionnaire and interview people on what the Patriot Act contains and impacts and what their opinions are towards Muslims…also spread awareness on immigration…students create wikis about the act and what people think vs. what it actually is
Your community through the ages: students pick a person or landmark that represents the Cold War and do research on that time period to learn specifics about the era. Students will interview people who lived during the event and bring the information together on a class wiki…students can write articles to be published by the newspaper to get the community involved in history
Haitian history and geography: network with a school in Haiti to blog and discuss issues relating to how they pay for and get to school…public class website compiling what students learned about the differences between the two schools…the information will then be presented to the school and community to get others involved
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Service Learning Project
Service Learning Project
“Making an Impact on your Population”
Area of service: Civic Responsibility
Grades 6-8
Subject Area: Civics/Government
SS.7.C.2.3: Experience the responsibilities of citizens at the local, state, or federal levels.
SS.7.C.2.13: Examine multiple perspectives on public and current issues.
SS.7.C.2.14: Conduct a service project to further the public good.
NETS addressed:
1.
Creativity and Innovation
2.
Communication and Collaboration
3.
Research and Information Fluency
4.
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5.
Digital Citizenship
6.
Technology Operations and Concepts
Unit Description:
This service unit is designed to show students how they can impact their government and society in ways other than electing officials. The unit will begin with a short lesson on how individuals in our government can spark legislation by writing to congressmen, creating a petition, or rallying others to your cause by instigating awareness. Students will then individually brainstorm for ideas on what issues they would like to resolve or contribute to in society. These will be student generated topics, but students can use news feeds, such as Google News to find out more about issues of national concern. Possible topics include Abortion, Gay Marriage, Marijuana Laws, Euthanasia, or the war in Iraq. Once students pick a topic, they may decide to work in groups with students who pick similar topics. Students will then engage in research to learn more about their chosen topic in order to strengthen their arguments and make sure they thoroughly understand the issue. Then students will create a podcast, or video presentation that presents the issue as a public service announcement, meant to inform and persuade the general public that their chosen issue is the most important and that their stance on the issue is the correct one. Students will also be asked to create wiki’s for each individual topic, which will serve as a platform to engage other citizens who wish to contribute to their cause. As part of the wiki, students will start a petition to be signed by anyone who is interested in joining their cause. As a final part of the project, each individual student will be asked to draft a letter to any congressperson or political figure they wish, advocating for their stance on their particular issue. The wiki page, PSA, and letter must contain evidence that explains the particular issue and why the student has chosen to take a particular stance. This project will raise awareness of current controversial issues, as well as the ways in which students can impact how those issues are played out in our society.
Technologies:
· Students will use news feeds such as Google News to help pick a topic and understand the controversy surrounding it.
· Students will use search engines such as Google, Ask.com, or Bing to search for evidence and current debate surrounding their chose issue. Cites such as Wikipedia, blogs, and special interest groups websites will also be beneficial to contributing to student background knowledge, however students must exercise caution and be wary of bias.
· Wiki creation cites such as Wikispaces will be used to create and host the class wikis.
· Programs such as GarageBand and a microphone can be used to create podcasts, which can be uploaded on the wiki relating to the subject.
· A video camera and any number of media editing programs, such as MovieMaker can be used to create the video PSA, which will then be posted to the appropriate wiki.
· Students can also use social networking tools, such as facebook, myspace, or twitter to alert people about their petition and ask them to join their cause.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed based on the level of understanding of their particular issue and their presentation of their stance on the issue. Students must demonstrate a thorough understanding of all sides of their issue through their wiki, PSA, and letter. Students will also be evaluated on how well they present their argument and how well they encourage outside involvement. Students will also be asked to write a one-paragraph response to the following questions: Have you corrected any previous misconceptions about your topic that you previously held? How do you think your involvement in these issues has impacted society and do you think you have made a difference? What is something you could do to take this project one step further? These questions will serve to evaluate not only the students, but also the project, in order to make revisions for future classes.
“Making an Impact on your Population”
Area of service: Civic Responsibility
Grades 6-8
Subject Area: Civics/Government
SS.7.C.2.3: Experience the responsibilities of citizens at the local, state, or federal levels.
SS.7.C.2.13: Examine multiple perspectives on public and current issues.
SS.7.C.2.14: Conduct a service project to further the public good.
NETS addressed:
1.
Creativity and Innovation
2.
Communication and Collaboration
3.
Research and Information Fluency
4.
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5.
Digital Citizenship
6.
Technology Operations and Concepts
Unit Description:
This service unit is designed to show students how they can impact their government and society in ways other than electing officials. The unit will begin with a short lesson on how individuals in our government can spark legislation by writing to congressmen, creating a petition, or rallying others to your cause by instigating awareness. Students will then individually brainstorm for ideas on what issues they would like to resolve or contribute to in society. These will be student generated topics, but students can use news feeds, such as Google News to find out more about issues of national concern. Possible topics include Abortion, Gay Marriage, Marijuana Laws, Euthanasia, or the war in Iraq. Once students pick a topic, they may decide to work in groups with students who pick similar topics. Students will then engage in research to learn more about their chosen topic in order to strengthen their arguments and make sure they thoroughly understand the issue. Then students will create a podcast, or video presentation that presents the issue as a public service announcement, meant to inform and persuade the general public that their chosen issue is the most important and that their stance on the issue is the correct one. Students will also be asked to create wiki’s for each individual topic, which will serve as a platform to engage other citizens who wish to contribute to their cause. As part of the wiki, students will start a petition to be signed by anyone who is interested in joining their cause. As a final part of the project, each individual student will be asked to draft a letter to any congressperson or political figure they wish, advocating for their stance on their particular issue. The wiki page, PSA, and letter must contain evidence that explains the particular issue and why the student has chosen to take a particular stance. This project will raise awareness of current controversial issues, as well as the ways in which students can impact how those issues are played out in our society.
Technologies:
· Students will use news feeds such as Google News to help pick a topic and understand the controversy surrounding it.
· Students will use search engines such as Google, Ask.com, or Bing to search for evidence and current debate surrounding their chose issue. Cites such as Wikipedia, blogs, and special interest groups websites will also be beneficial to contributing to student background knowledge, however students must exercise caution and be wary of bias.
· Wiki creation cites such as Wikispaces will be used to create and host the class wikis.
· Programs such as GarageBand and a microphone can be used to create podcasts, which can be uploaded on the wiki relating to the subject.
· A video camera and any number of media editing programs, such as MovieMaker can be used to create the video PSA, which will then be posted to the appropriate wiki.
· Students can also use social networking tools, such as facebook, myspace, or twitter to alert people about their petition and ask them to join their cause.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed based on the level of understanding of their particular issue and their presentation of their stance on the issue. Students must demonstrate a thorough understanding of all sides of their issue through their wiki, PSA, and letter. Students will also be evaluated on how well they present their argument and how well they encourage outside involvement. Students will also be asked to write a one-paragraph response to the following questions: Have you corrected any previous misconceptions about your topic that you previously held? How do you think your involvement in these issues has impacted society and do you think you have made a difference? What is something you could do to take this project one step further? These questions will serve to evaluate not only the students, but also the project, in order to make revisions for future classes.
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