Week 8-My Ahas!

I have had several Aha! moments this semester. One was to really grasp the idea of just using technology for the sake of saying that you are using technology. I am not sure if I every really thought about it before. This occured to me when I was research articles and reading through discussions on the reluctance of teachers to use technology. In some cases the resistance my come from past experiences with technology and to what extent they were asked to use it. The workshop approach just simnply not enough. Teachers want hands-on, pracitcal experiences. They want to talk to other teachers in simiilar situations (teaching an overflowing classroom of students, extra duties, etc) and see how the technology is working out for them. Is it REALLY making their lives easier or are they using technology for the sake of saying they are using the technology? If it has positively contributed to their lives that will allow other educators to have a different perspective from the beginning.

Just because my experience with technology has been, for the most part, positive, I cannot assume that it will be the same for everyone else. I need to stop saying "this is SO easy" or "you're going to love this" when discussing the use of technology. I have found that others are much more willing to ask for help if I take a different approach. Letting them know that it works for me and maybe it can do the same for them takes the pressure of failure out of the picture.

I enjoyed the class and the opportunity to not only look at available technologies, but also to reflect on current practices and chances to improve upon what is already being used.

Educational Technology Concept Map

Week 7 Reflections

I really like the reminder about teaching and learning (and demonstrating to mom how to send an email is DEFINITELY teaching!) in areas other than K-12. I am guilty of getting wrapped up and focusing on teaching inthe classroom. This week I decided to focus on a team that I will be putting together this summer to develop a much needed and anticipated teacher education manual for our department. While every team member has SO much to contribute to the manual, organizing, analyzing, and presenting the material is another story. From what I understand there have been efforts in the past, but it has been too much of an overwhelming task to take on in addition to all the other required duties. By using Skype, even those off campus will be able to participate in the meetings. I have used Google and its various applications for several years and can't believe how under-utilized it is. By developing one document for use by the team, it may eliminate confusion due to numerous emails and attachments floating around. I am hoping that by using some of the FREE available technologies we can accompish this task and keep everyone satisfied that their input is valued and considered.

Week 6 Reflections

I cannot imagine teaching my online courses without some sort of communication tools. I know many professors that only ise the discussion forums for communication and it is not as effecitve in collaboration as some of the tools that we have used in this class. Students want additional means of communicating with their classmates and the professor. It is not enough to throw a topic out on a discussion forums to 20-30 students and expect them to provide meaningful exchanges between one another.

There is so much reluctance and resistance to change in higher education. We cannot use the excuse that it costs too much because some of the best tools to enhance communication or very reasonable or free. There are no excuses. If I had a magic wand I would ensure that every person teaching an online course had to be a student in both a really well constructed online course and a really poorly designed course.

Texting in Class

I subscribe to the Chronicle of Higher Education's Wired Campus and received this in my Inbox yesterday. I only teach one undergrad class and I get SO irritated at the students texting in class. Any suggestions?

Guilt Is Not Enough to Stop Students From Texting in Class

Week 5 Reflections

The MAPping activity was very useful. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that the website “Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus” was not a real website. I used the website activity with my children as well and my oldest was baffled that there would be something “fake” on the Internet. The links within the document led to either the document itself or Wikipedia. When using other search engines such as Google.com, Altavitsa.com, and Yahoo.com, the search yielded about the same results. The website listed “Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus” first and then some sites referencing it as a spoof. My son pointed out that it was listed first on all the searches so it must be real. It wasn’t until we read down the list that he realized the additional information regarding the site. I went to www.easywhois.com to do a search on the website but nothing came up. I did another search for another website and it worked fine so maybe it was the particular site. The website was created in 1998 and had numerous page revisions until 2009. It was originally created for entertainment but later became used for educational purposes, as noted in Dr. November’s article.

The implications were evident when I talked to my children about this. We have good filters on our home computer and I have not been overly concerned about them accessing inappropriate material. It was a great opportunity to share with them the importance of being an informed consumer of information. Lessons such as these should be conducted in the classrooms to teach children this at any early age.

I have been interested in setting up an account in Delicious for a while. It was a good opportunity for me to consolidate and organize some folders on my desktop and many links within my favorites. I especially like the fact that I can network and learn of other informative sites that could be useful. Bookmarking applications could be a useful tool for my students to gather useful websites, share them, and set up networks with other users.

Week 4 Reflections

Ironically, this week I received a review copy of a new textbook titled "Instruction for Learning." Normally this book would have found its place among the other textbooks that will not be used because it is not related to my discipline. I took some time to review the contents of the book because of its relevance to the current week in class. It is full of information related to the 10 research based principles and I will be sharing with my colleagues for possible implementation in their courses.

The tenet is which I most readily relate would be the one on motivation. I think this is because of my fields of special education and classroom management. I have witnessed the most disengaged, poor performing students become interested in learning once they became motivated. This may be through the use of technology, or simply finding what interests them and applying it to the learning environment. I think teachers underestimate the power of motivation.

I am actually in the process of implementing some sort of eportfolio system both for the teacher education program candidates and my educational diagnostician graduate students. It is a daunting task and I am just waiting on the right people to help get this from a theory to practice! Under the right circumstances and guidance I believe that an eportfolio system is imperative to students graduating and entering the workforce.

Week 3 Reflections

The idea of using a wiki to train cooperating teachers and university supervisors for student teachers came to me this week. We currently have a training module for them to complete but it has become pretty cumbersome. I would like a centralized location to store documents for easy retrieval and document dates of access by users. This course has provided me with the opportunity to explore the usefulness of a wiki for this purpose. I will slowly continue to add documents to the wiki and grant access to others to contribute and edit as well.

Overall, the advantages of wikis are numerous. I have used them several times during my doctoral coursework when completing group assignments. It provides an organized space for all members to contribute to without having to worry about a ton of emails going back and forth. The one disadvantage I can think of is the reliability of information contained within a wiki. The information is only as reliable as the person inputting the information.

I will be brainstorming for ideas on uses for wikis in my classes. The are fill of Digital Natives and while some of them are unfamiliar with wikis, I bet most of them will embrace the technology, especially if provided support and encouragement. My graduate students, while more reluctant could benefit from the use of a wiki during their internships. They are placed in many different locations in Texas and need a spot to collaborate and share ideas.

Week 2 Reflections

This week has helped open my eyes to the extents in which technology plays a part in my daily life. In one month I have lost my pictures on my iPhone, my laptop battery burned up, I got the "blue screen of death" on my office computer, and my classroom computer connected to the Smartboard decided it liked to stay frozen on the desktop screen for the rest of its days. I have cursed technology and questioned my dependence on it. Everything I do electronically from paying bills, to checking my children's grades, to teaching my classes is dependent on technology. It is an overwhelming thought but at the same time, I can't imagine being without it. I am fortunate enough to be vaguely familiar with life before smart phones and Internet but for the most part, all my adult life I have enjoyed the benefits of technology. I believe the video made reference to BG (before google). This is so true because of my reliance on google for so many things...DAILY! Educational technology is something that I want to know more, more, more about so that hopefully I can pass this along to my teacher education students. I truly believe that this is the missing link in providing our K-12 students with the instruction that they so desire!

Technology Concept Map

SpicyNodes: Sample nodemap

Click on the link above to view my digital concept map. Once the window opens, click on each box to view more relationships between concepts.

Start-rite shoes: How to measure children's feet using Click'n'Fit

This is an excellent example of the uses of technology infiltrating areas I would have never thought! If you ever have had to measure squirmy little feet in a chaotic shoe store, you may find this interesting.

Week 1 Reflections

I definitely see the uses for blogging. A blog has been used for classes that I teach and while students are apprehensive at first, by the end of the course they are appreciative of the new information. The Downes’ article mentions that there is a thought that blogging is “a set of personal comments and observations.” I agree that it is that but it is also so much more. The great thing about the use of blogs is that they are anything you want them to be. Users can range from beginners to experts and subject matter can be anything from educational in nature to medical blogs and information about raising children. I do not think we have even come close to meeting the potentials of blog use in education. In the future the full capabilities of this powerful tool may be realized but it will not be until those reluctant educators who refuse to learn how to integrate them into education will retire.
The area that struck me the most in Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning was number 6-Collegiality is What’s Needed. The information about staff development is spot on. It is important to NOT train teachers to use technology without the kids! I have seen this very thing backfire and the new teachers do not appreciate being “half trained” in the use of proper application of technology in the classroom. They are being done a great disservice. This was a real good article that highlighted some real issue regarding technology and education.
My expectations are to learn as much as I can about educational technology and how to apply it. I always enjoy a fresh perspective on some of the technologies that I am incorporating in my classes. I have already enjoyed reading the two articles and reading through everyone’s blogs.

My Philosophy on Education

My philosophy of education has been ever-evolving. It changes as I grow both personally and professional, acquiring new experience that influence my way of approaching issues in education and teaching. I most closely associate with Constructivism. I think my search for a teacher that does not “spoon feed” me information and helps me find what I need through how I learn best ha classified me as a Constructivist. This awareness, in turn, has affected the teacher that I have become. Real life learning applications are emphasized in my classes and developing skills that are relevant and useable are important. I encourage collaboration among classmates and facilitate class discussions that bring about awareness and better understanding of the subject matter. Rather than being known as a teacher, I would like to serve the roles as facilitator, supporter, motivator, guide, instructor, mentor, and advisor

My educational career has consisted of many good teachers. I know that I am fortunate. The best teachers are those that let me arrive at the answer to my questions using the best way I learn, either through visual or kinesthetic methods. They offered me support when I got frustrated and provided encouragement and motivation when they saw that I needed it most. They also provided a “tough love” attitude when I needed it as well.

The worst teacher that I ever had was not clear in her delivery of instructions. I had this teacher when I was pursuing one of my degrees in higher education and she almost made it so that I didn’t want to continue. I could see how others would not want to take her class. I have to know what the teacher expects from me before I start to tackle the information. If guidelines and expectations are not clearly communicated and feedback is not provided, I have a very difficult time on the class
As much as the good teachers had a great impact on my teaching, I have to say that the bad teacher had more of an impact. She taught me what I didn’t want to do with my classes and the type of teacher that I didn’t want to be. I have gone to great lengths to provide support for beginning teachers, make expectations clear, and provide useful feedback to guide the student.

I was motivated to work in a teacher preparation program because I felt I had some insight into the struggles that most teachers face in the field. I was always the teacher that people came to that needed advice and training. There is an increasing need to be aware of current trends in technology in order to deliver instruction to students that will be going out to the field and having classrooms of their own. The way that I approach introducing new information is based on success from previous experiences, especially in teaching. Family, environmental, and societal influences have all provided me with the direction in which I work and study.

A great teacher is one who shows a genuine interest in his/her field of study. This teacher is not necessarily someone who is the best or brightest, or the one with the most publications or presentations, but a person that really connects and understands students. Experience with both good and bad teachers has formed my definition of a great teacher. I want learners to be able to go away with some real, practical, useful knowledge. This is the type of information that is remembered for longer than the rote memorization of dates and other irrelevant information.
I choose the methods because I teach teachers based upon what they need to know and how they want this information presented. This is based on feedback from the students. If they indicate they want more case studies and collaboration, that is the direction the class takes and assignments are chosen carefully and are relevant and important to specific concepts related to the course.
Technology is incorporated into every class meeting that I hold. Many students join the class from hundreds of miles away and depend on distance education equipment to participate. I am an Informator of technology because of the relationships that are formed as a result of the distance education provided. These are relationships that would never occur if the students were not brought together by technology. By not only using the distance education equipment but also tying it into a plan for use in existing online learning, the shift from automating to informating becomes more realistic.