Reflective Blog - Week 8

Reflective Blog – Week 8

I have really enjoyed this whole class.  It is hard to say what the biggest impact was for me.  I think it is probably the podcast because I could not get down that you could only use one picture and talk while the people reviewing could only see the one screen.  I will now change because I am very curious to figure out what else is out there that I will be able to use in a classroom or in everyday life.  I really enjoyed the Wiki that I created because it allows for recipes that I use all the time.  I can keep them in one spot online and can de-clutter my cabinet of recipe books.  I think while I am in school again.  I should learn about as much technology as I possibly can so that when a student talks about something electronic I can relate to what they are saying and can communicate better with them.  

Some “Aha” moments was again, the podcast and wiki projects.  I was pretty familiar with the bookmark site, blog, and web site projects but the podcast and wiki projects were pretty hard for me to grasp.  Now that I have grasped the main concepts to them I think they are now one of my favorite technologies.

I liked the blog site because it allowed us to look at our thoughts and others thoughts on their sites.  I will probably continue to use the blog to keep up with my goals.  With it is in writing, I should not venture from my final goals and I will continue to stay up with them.  The more you see them the better they stay in your mind.

Blog Reflection # 7

Blog Reflection #7 – iGoogle –do you?

This week has opened my eyes on how cool technology can be.  I wanted to teach the value of numbers.  I wanted to learn as much as possible and just spend time learning it so that if I received a question, I would know how to answer it.  The podcast was fairly easy since we just did this last week.  I wanted to give the personal touch to a lesson online, so I did the podcast.  Children today seem to relate to television and/or games so I thought the podcast would give it some updated way to think about numbers.  They probably didn’t even know they were learning anything. 

I also created a web site to hold it all together.  I went to weebly and created this site.  I added my lesson plan, chalkboard questions, and objectives, in class procedures, online procedures, assessment, and vocabulary words.  I thought that this all would be helpful information for the student to access while learning.  I wanted to also add a game dealing with numbers but ran out of time. 

After watching the videos, my mind is still the same.  I can still see how we have to learn as much as possible about technology so that we can educate in the current times.  We, as teachers, must keep learning if we want to encourage the students to want to learn.  The more excited we are about learning all the new gadgets and products out there, the more the students will be motived to learn too.  Technology is the new way of getting things done; now we have to adjust to it.

Blog Reflection #6

Blog Reflection #6 – Can you hear me now?

This week has shed some light on how much I don’t know about technology.  I want to know it all and just need to spend more time learning it.  The podcast seemed so easy and cool when I read and watched all the podcast.  I watched a couple of ones on the class wiki and got some ideas then went to do it.  It wasn’t that easy for me.  However I do see the need for the podcast in the classroom and/or life.  The podcast gives the personal touch to a lesson or idea.  Children today are all in television and/or games.  The podcast is like a television show so it is like learning and watching a movie at the same time.  They probably don’t even know they are learning anything.  It also has the idea that the person speaking is with you, making it more personal.

I started using Snagit but couldn’t figure it out.  I then went to Jing because I saw that several people on the Wiki were using Jing.  I still had a hard time figuring out Jing too.  I like Jing now though because it moves directly to Screencast.  I also had a problem with putting the pages together with my voice to make the actual podcast.  It was difficult but I will keep working with it after this class and hopefully I can get it down well enough to use in class when I start teaching.  I grew up in a poor family and have made so much out of what I have with hard work.  Technology has so much to learn but I know I can get it.  I know if I get my mind to something I want.  It happens.  I really want to learn all that I can about education and educational technology and be a great and up-to-date teacher.

Blog Reflection #5

Blog Reflection # 5

I was amazed with the mapping information activity.  I am still messing around with checking information.  The online searching process is or can be very involved.  In the past we would just look at the source for verification that the information was probably correct.  Now at least we have steps to help us find more reliable information.  It takes more to make sure your data is accurate.  I felt like before now, I was doing a pretty good job at finding accurate information.  However, with this week’s lesson, I don’t really know if my past findings were from reputable sources.  I used to just look into Google for any research.  I hope my past research papers were loaded with correct data.  From now on, I will use the November Learning site to look up data to see if the site is reputable and correct.  I will also be looking for who published it, the purpose for it, and the extensions to see where it is from.

It is really important that we start learning as much as possible about looking for valuable and meaningful sites.  We really need to teach this to the students because there is so much information on the web and students need to know how and which sites to choose for reliable data.  We can tell them how to do it but they really need the hands on experience on how to find good data. 

I think this week we have accomplished working and becoming familiar with research tools.  We have also seen some sources on where to store these sites, like in social bookmarking.  I thought the Delicious bookkeeping site was a nice way to keep up with reliable web sites.  It allows sharing of data from other students or teachers with the same interest.  However it was kind of hard to get around in.  I never could figure out how to add LEW_ETEC to my network.  I finally just gave up and added it to this blog reflection.  I think this bookmarking concept is great because once you find a good reputable site, then you can save it in your account under a stack or just as a link.  You can add tags to help pull your sites easily.  This will be very useful when I am teaching.  This sort of account can be used by class to see how valuable there sites are and make sure they are checking them.  It also can help link sites together in stacks and you can follow others with similar interest.

http://delicious.com/tammycooper20

Blog Reflection #4

Blog Reflection #4 –Assessment

This week has been very busy.  However I have received the concept of slowing down and focus on what needs to happen.  I have seen how learning and change can do so much.  I read the article, Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning”.  This article was about the two learning assessments in learning. 

I mostly relate to the Assessment for Learning (AFL) because I want to be involved, monitor, and clarify the learning process to others.  I want help students decide where they are in their learning, where’s next and how to get there in the best way.  I don’t want to be a teacher that sets in front of the classroom and just talks.  I want to be an involved teacher that comes to class with enthusiasm and ready for learning. 

I think the portfolio assessment assignment has an enormous amount of knowledge to offer.  While I am a student, I will use the portfolio for developing my writing, communication and technology literacy skills.  This can be used for my classes.  After school, I can update and use as a professional or career portfolio to help with my job hunting.  I will be able to post my resume, letter of recommendations, a list of references, teaching philosophy statement, evidence of teaching, and artifacts that demonstrate my student teacher’s capabilities.

I think the creation and development of my portfolio will be a great.  I will be able to get interaction with other students and employers.  I also will be able to assess my work from anywhere; work, home, or weekend outings.  The more I learn about the portfolio, the more I see in the potential for learning and assessing.  I guess I will never quit trying to learn so the possibilities can be endless.

I think this week on assessment has opened my eyes.  I realized several potentials for learning.  I know that I do not want to use the assessment of learning.  I want to be a good teacher and want to be involved with the students.  I want to make learning fun and make them eager to learn more.  I do however realize that to be the teacher I want to be, comes a good deal of work.

Reflective Blog #3 - Wiki Week

Reflective Blog # 3 – Wiki Week

This week opened my eyes to so much technology.  I created a wiki for recipes.  My thought was to have recipes added, comments on the recipes and any other ideas for recipes.  I thought this would make it easy for the working individuals, while going to school.  We all want our family to get the nutrients from a good meal but don’t always have the time to cook a good meal.  I started by just getting recipes that I use quite often and adding them as a word document to the pages.  I also added links with some good recipes on too.

There are several advantages to wikis but the main ones that I see were as follows:  easy to use and learn, people from anywhere can edit the wiki, and it keeps track of all the changes made and it says it’s easy to change back.  The disadvantages that I see were that it requires internet connection and not everyone has access to the internet yet.  Now since anyone can edit it then it could be vandalized or become disorganized with too many editors.  However, the Digital natives in our earlier article would really like the wiki because it is or can be fast paced and it makes group projects easier and more accessible.  The Digital natives have a hypertext mind and leap around.  The wiki could and would allow for this, while still teaching them.

In exploring the eLearning Tools Wiki, I discovered that this technology world is not as hard as it looks.  I will probably be eating my words on that sentence before the end of this semester but the blogs and wikis are pretty simple to prepare.  I would be interested in exploring YouTube videos.  YouTube is part of this web 2.0 technology adventure and I think that it would be interesting to learn how to upload and share on YouTube.

Reflective Blog -Week 2

The two organizations that aligned with my values and educational technology philosophy were National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (http://www.nctm.org/resources/high.aspx) and the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC) (http://www.servicelearning.org/).  I choose the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics because the website has a variety of information.  It has a link for Tools & Technology and it gives ideas on how to bring technology in the classrooms.  One example was game-like activities, like “Math Bee”.  It also has a link for High School Students, this focuses on activities for grades 8 to 14 math to better understand & links for practice research.  It also has teaching tips, which was very interesting to me since I need all the input I can get.  The website also has a family recourse link that can help student and their families to figure out problems and homework.  There was not a definition for Educational Technology that I could find on this website, however I did see some good ideas on how to use technology to educate students with the essentials for learning math. The Mission Statement is as follows, “The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a public voice of mathematics education, supporting teachers to ensure equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students through vision, leadership, professional development, and research” ,http://www.nctm.org/about/content.aspx?id=172.  The purpose of the organization is to improve mathematic instructions to PreK-12^th Grade, to educate teachers and give them the resources to engage in activities that are essential for math teachers to work.  Which is better stated in the vision statement, ““The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a global leader and authority in mathematics education, ensuring that all students have access to the highest quality mathematics teaching and learning. We envision a world where everyone is enthused about mathematics, sees the value and beauty of mathematics, and is empowered by the opportunities mathematics affords.” http://www.nctm.org/about/content.aspx?id=172.   The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC) was the other organization that I choose.  Their mission statement is as follows, “The L’Anse Creuse Community Service-Learning Advisory Council is a non-profit organization formed to provide guidance and direction to the programs which offer opportunities for students to participate in organized service-learning experiences.” http://servicelearning.org/filemanager/download/Sample_Forms/lanse_creuse_advisory_council.pdf.  This organization supports people in education, community-based organizations, tribal programs, and others supporting education in service-learning.  NSLC has a website, email discussion lists, library collections, and staff.  The purpose of this organization is to provide problem solving, explore additional funding options (like fundraisers, Lions Clubs, etc.), expand publicity, and to assure grant goals are being met.

Educational Technology is the studies, practices, and theories of using technology, like software, hardware, and applications to enhance the education process.  It is when educational research is altered to the science of learning by creating and using different technical procedures.  This definition of Educational Technology aligns with my philosophy in that I want to attract the children’s attention and the technology is one of the ways to grab it.  I just need to learn more about bringing the education part in with the technology, what will work and what has not been successful.  All of this is fairly new to me and I am learning so much about what all is out there for support, with technology and education.