The End

Well, the end of this class is here. I'm grateful. I do feel that I learned - but it was so much more on my own than I thought. This was my first online course and I'll be leery to do it again. At least I explored more of what is out there in the internet world regarding education. I hope to put some of these websites and applications into use this year in my classroom.

Digital Citizenship

I enjoyed listening to the podcast and first of all find it very interesting listening to two people interacting about the same thing even though they are physically so far away - another testament to what technology can do for our students as well as each other.
I really liked the aspect of your digital footprint. There has been so much talk lately about being "green" and finding out about our carbon footprint - that students and adults, for that matter, also need to pay attention to what other traces they are leaving. Teaching high school and talking about internet safety and responsibility is an ongoing process of teaching. Reminding them that job interviewers can look up your facebook or myspace accounts and see what you've posted and essentially done is so important. Also, it's not just what you put out there - but also it's what your "friends" post about you too. I think it makes them think about what's out there about them - tell them to google themselves - see what is already out there. It's so important at an early age that children be taught responsibility with the technology that they have access to. Hopefully parents and teachers can help hone these skills.
I also liked the discussion about what happens if a student gets caught abusing their laptop or internet sites. I particularly think that your statements about not taking away the tool - because it's essential to learning - but taking about certain sites - is important. Telling the student that you need to keep the laptop, but you no longer have all the perks that come with it is a good lesson. We do not have a one to one lap top program, but we do have our students and their parents sign an internet use and responsibility contract at the beginning of each school year - also important if there is abuse that we can go back and document this. In the end though, it comes from education and supervision of students with the technology.

Web 2.0

Define and explain Web 2.0 in your own words.

Web 2.0 is an amazing conglomeration of applications available for use among all that covers literally about anything you can imagine. It contains tags so that the apps are easily grouped together in case you are looking for something in particular. It is a great networking resource.

What are some ways and/or reasons to utilize web 2.0 tools in the classroom?

Just browsing the e-learning tag - there are apps that can teach you to type, help form a study group, translate a foreign language, and broadcast videos among many others. I can see a lot of these viable in the classroom setting. If students want to collaborate on a project - there is an app for that. Just thinking about the English classroom, there is even an app for finding and using quotations. The opportunities are endless. As for reasons to utilize it, it's easy to search on and the blurb about the app helps in identifying what exactly is its purpose.

Understanding Digital Children

Do you think schools today are different or the same as the schools you grew up in? Give several details.

Yes. I think schools are different today and I’m glad. We have to be the product of change – just as the world, society, news, the environment are constantly changing, so we must adapt classrooms to meet these changes. I think there are a lot more tools for teachers to use with teaching – whether they actually are used is another issue. Students have so much more access to information, than just relying on their teacher for it. In some ways, however, schools are the same – a place for learning. We still want students to read, write, and be able to do math (along with other core classes) – but we also want them to be thinkers capable of using technology tools for learning. We have to teach them to be critical of what’s “out there” and so they understand that everything posted on the web is not necessarily factual – look for authority, accuracy, and currency of web pages.

Do you believe your classroom has more visual learners than ever before? Share some strategies you use to reach the visual learner.

I would agree that students are leaning more towards the visual aspect of learning than the auditory. I think a combination of strategies is important though to reach all students in learning. Showing, as well as telling is important in lectures. In my classroom I use a lot of images, power point presentations, and websites to enhance lessons and lectures. When students can “see” Shakespeare’s birthplace - in a picture or website - for example, they may have a better understanding of his history. I also really like story-mapping or character webs in literature – these add visual components to an otherwise wordy set of notes.

Page 29 – What are your thoughts on ADHD, technology, schools, and children. Is there a connection?

A lot of times things seem to get “fixed” with medicine these days – and whether it’s actually needed is a complete other issue. I have heard the statement before that too many kids are diagnosed with ADHD or ADD – when in reality it may just be boredom with what they are doing. I think we as teachers must constantly strive for engagement with our students so that we are making the connections to learning that are so important.

Comment on this quote: “The world we have created is a product of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” Albert Einstein

I like this quote. It is true the our world does change with our thoughts and if we want to make the world better or change it, then we have to evolve in our way of thinking. This is a nice way to say think outside the box – or don’t get stuck in your same old teaching methods year after year.

You Tube Videos

Videos Each of the four "You Tube" videos takes a stance that our 21st century learners need to be taught with elements of technology - I agree completely that with our growing and changing learning community we need to be aware of what is out there for both our students and their teachers. Since technology is the wave of the future - we must continue to educate ourselves so that our classrooms can change to adopt new learning practices available with the technology. Some highlights that I really liked with regards to the videos - the impact of one thing creates lots of others, which is good for educators to really think about the things and problems of the future. How WILL we prepare our students to become literate for the changing world? Realization that literacy is not just about reading and books anymore, but has moved onto a broad spectrum that includes technology - cell phones, ipods, and computers - just to name a few. I thought the statistic in the 2nd video was startling about teachers not using the technology that is available. If we consider ourselves professionals, then we must behave as so - continuing education - changing with the times - and embracing workshops. Being adaptive - flexible - and willing to try new methods, ways of thinking, and interacting are all our responsibilities as educators of the future. On the last video, I really enjoy the sample assignment - I may even have to try that with my 9th grade English classroom and then open up for discussions on technology, communication, or how they can use their tools for education purposes.
Article - "Make Those You Tubes!"I chose this article mainly because I had just watched so many youtube videos. The article was important to me in the fact that we do block some applications, websites, and technological tools. My school does block youtube - I believe mostly because we fear our students will abuse it and not use it for educational purposes. That may stem from a lack of education to faculty and staff, as well as them not relaying the essence of purpose to students. The author comments that video is the new way of learning and that we should all be posting videos online on youtube or teacher tube - it is so easy to do and we would all become better learners if we were sharing the best stuff out there. I would like to embrace this idea too - but again it depends on the limits of technology and what we can do about youtube or something similar being available to our students. Questions for my administration: How can we better use technology for education? What can we do about unlocking websites? How do we teach our faculty to accept, learn, and then use this technology?