Reflective Blog # 6 Podcasting and Social Interaction

I never really understood what podcasting was until this week. I didnt realize it was something as simple as having your voice on the web. This is something that I will be using in my classroom in the near future. I have listed my videos below in case anyone wanted to take a look. The videos are for my students using Microsoft Office Publisher. Some of my students were having trouble with keeping up with the rest of the class when I am teaching new concepts. I think these videos will be beneficial to those students. I was also tired of other students just being lazy and just wanting to ask me how to do something instead of figuring out. This way they have to search for the answer themselves.



If we are to change the education system when it comes to technology, school districts will have to provide mandatory training. I think in order for educators to be more accepting of this training, in think that training times and dates need to be somewhat convenient for teachers. Teachers also need to be given a deadline and consequences of not meeting that deadline. I know that there cannot be training for every single new technology, but teachers can be trained on the most useful ones. Also on some training, the department heads can be trained, and then they would train others within the department.

Teachers also have to be willing to think outside of the box. Learners are changing but teachers are stuck in their old ways that just aren’t working for our digital natives. Teachers need to let go of some of the control that they are so accustomed to in the classroom, and give some of it to technology and the students. Students need to have more accountability when it comes to their own learning.

If I could wave a magic wand the first thing I would change are attitudes. This is what is holding back this needed change. People are set in their ways and don’t want to try anything new, even if it is what is best for students. Also people seem to think that school districts need tons of money for this change, but that is not true. There are countless free Web 2.0 tools that can be used in the classroom. The next thing I would do is have at least 3 computer labs in every school. Scheduling time in a computer is one reason teachers are deterred from using technology in the classroom. I know it can be stressful and aggravating not to be able schedule a computer lab for a class.

Overall we all must work together for this change to be successful. School boards, principals, counselors, teachers, parents, and communities must be willing to put for the effort and time for this much needed change for our future and our students future.

Reflective Blog # 5 MAPping Information and Social Bookmarking

Mapping Information

I will admit that this assignment has been the most challenging for me so far. 

I chose to use the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus   http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

Solely based on the url, I could not decide if it was a personal website or not.  It did not contain tilde or %, and it is a .net which means it is a network.  

When I checked the external links, I found several sites that suggested that this site was incredible.  The main one that stuck out for me was http://www.philb.com/fakesites.htm.  My site was listed on this website as being a fake website.  Then I started to realize that this website was also a personal webpage. So I decided to see what external links were connected to this page.  After careful consideration, and examining multiple sites, I decided that the site that stated my first site was incredible was correct. 

I used Google, Infoseek, and Yahoo for my search. I typed in Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus in each search engine.  Zapatopi was listed in the top three search results on each site, which is scary considering I believe it is not a credible site. I also noticed that most of these search engines are powered my Yahoo.

My research shows that Kevin Fraites is the owner of the site. He does not have any affiliations with any schools or organizations. This continues to lead me to believe that this site is incredible.  

The only reason I can find that for this site being created was for entertainment purposes only.  Looks like this person wanted to see how many people they could convince the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus was real.

This assignment made me realize how important it is to have the skills to research websites in order to determine if they are credible or not. I was shocked that such an unreliable source would show up first in search results.  This is a skill that I need to practice daily in order to teach my students this skill.  Most students will choose the first search result because they think it’s the true and the most relevant because it was displayed first.  They need to know that Google results are based on how many hits a site receives.  The need to know which search engines to choose to get the results they need.  

I am not too sure about the information that I have used throughout my college career.  I would like to say that all of it was true, relevant, and accurate but honestly I do not know.  One thing is for sure, I will be confident about the information in the future, because researching websites is my number one priority now when deciding which websites to use.

Delicious

Do you see any advantages for organizing your information via Delicious? What else did you find when exploring the other bookmarking applications? What are some ways you think you could use tools like these in the future?

Delicious is a user friendly bookmarking tool. Having all my bookmarks in one central location that is accessible wherever there is an internet connections, has helped me stay organized.  The toolbar that is installed is highly useful.  The feature I found most beneficial was the recently bookmarked.  In case I was wondering what the last thing I bookmarked was, it shows automatically.  I also found that Delicious was the easiest to use to network with other users.

I was not really interested in Blinklist.  It was not very user friendly. I found it hard to install the Blink button.  Blink does not have toolbar like the other sites, which seems to be an inconvenience.  I also did not see a place to add tags.  I feel if I used this bookmarking tool that I would not be able to stay organized. 

I didn’t really care for Stumble Upon.  There was not a place to create tags.  My websites would be jumbled up, making it hard to stay organized.  I did however like that the favorites were categorized.  

Diigo is the social bookmarking tool that I use daily.  I prefer this one over all the others.  The best feature is the collaboration tool.  I can create groups for my students to have class discussions, or to post a reading assignment.  The feature I find myself using regularly is the Read Later and Unread button.  Sometimes I forget which sites I have actually read, and which ones I only bookmarked. 

Reflective Blog #4 E-Portfolios and Assessment

This a tough decision to choose just one of the AFL tenants.  After careful consideration, I chose learner motivation.  Motivation is the foundation for all other tenants.  We are educating Digital Natives whether we like it or not.   We must adapt our teaching styles to the needs of the learners.  This means thinking outside the box.  Incorporating relative technology into our lessons is important.  I teach a computer class, so I have an advantage when it comes to technology.  I already have the means; I just have to find a way to use it constructively.  Just because you use a piece of equipment, doesn’t mean you are using technology in a beneficial way.  Students need to see the real world connection to the lesson in order for them to find it motivating and relevant to them.

I see student achievement increasing with portfolio assessment.  Students will take more pride in something when they are the ones doing the creating.  The challenge is training teachers.  There must be professional development provided and required in order for all teachers and students to benefit.

While I have been creating my portfolio, I have seen creating lesson in a whole new light.  It showed me how important reflection is in the lesson planning process.  Students must be taught how to reflect on the assignments they complete.  Keeping a portfolio teaches them how to self-reflect and to look for ways to better themselves in the future.   

Reflective Blog # 3 Wikis

My first purpose was to use my Wiki to communicate with parents and students.  I was going to use it as a place to post assignments and due dates.  This way parents are able to see what students need to make up once they return to school, and likewise with students.  I did not do this one because of the weather.  Most of my lessons and my calendar are on my school computer.  So I came up with an equally useful idea.  The BIM teachers in my district have had a challenging time with the new curriculum.  We did not have an outlet to share our ideas with each other.  I think that this is a great opportunity for us to start collaborating more.  I am going to talk with my department head about my wiki page.  

When it comes to group work, I think that the natives would be more inclined to participate.  They do not have to meet face to face.  As long as the students can access the internet, they can meet digitally.  They can conference call with their cell phones and work on the project in real time from anywhere.   Since wikis can be protected, even though everyone will be to view it, only the group members and teachers would be able to edit it.  When the projects are finished, then groups can open it up for classmates to comment.   

Also I believe this could be the new way to have class discussions.  Instead of students raising hands to contribute, they are able to express themselves using the wiki, and classmates can comment in real time.  The teacher could have different discussions going on in the same classroom all at the same time.  I think that teachers should at least try a wiki in their classroom at least one time.  In order to make this a reality, districts should have a PD class explaining wikis and how they can benefit students.