Reflection #2

• What attitudes, skills, and concepts have you gained from participating in the course so far? 
•  I feel like I am constantly learning about different technologies that I can use in my classroom.  I have also learned to use teacher blogs as a resource.  Because of the different technologies we used in this class, I have learned to just dive in and not be afraid of learning about something I've never heard of before.
• What have you learned in the course that you will not forget tomorrow? 
•  I have learned that there are teacher blogs out on the web that can be extremely helpful!  I will share this with my co-workers as they are also trying to learn about different ways to incorporate technology into their classroom.  I will remember how to use Voicethread as well.  I was nervous about using this at first but after learning how to use the program found that it was fairly easy.  I wish my computer's all had working sound and the students had head sets that way they could use Voicethread instead of PowerPoint in my class.
• How will you apply what you have learned to your teaching and future learning? 
•  I will use what I've learned from teacher's blogs to continue to use different technologies in my classroom.  Because I have access to computers on a daily basis, I am always looking for new and exciting things to bring in and share with my students.

Blog #3

Tech Alternatives for the One Computer Classroom

By: Mr. Byrne

This blog caught my interest because I am always looking for new activities to use in my classroom.  I also have co-workers that come to me and ask about how they can use computers in their classroom.

The part of the post that interested me was the title.  I was excited to see that there were 10 different activities posted!  I was also interested in the following ideas posted:

1. Game Show Host- There are a ton of interactive games, note taking techniques, and simulation activities on the internet. Allow one student to direct activities projected on the screen or fill in a graphic organizer on the dry erase board and another student to make the movements on the computer. Students can be grouped to increase competition.  
• Example- Go to http://www.schooltimegames.com/ and search for games based a lesson you will be teaching.  Divide students into groups of 3-4 and allow them to compete against each other in a game. One student will operate the computer and be the score keeper.
2. Competition Tool- Play the games or competition listed above (in #2). However, make it a competition between classes to get the whole class involved. The results can be calculated on the board or tracked using an excel spreadsheet with a bar graph.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/07/tech-alternatives-for-one-computer.html#disqus_thread

My Response:

I enjoyed reading this post.  I think all of these are great idea for a teacher with one computer in their classroom.  I also like how it posts websites for teachers to use!  That is my biggest complaint when reading blogs is that I would like to see examples  or websites that would help teachers create or work on the ideas posted in the blog.  I am a computer teacher that has access to a lab on a daily basis and I can see myself using several of these idea this year.

Blog #2

Making the Implicit Explicit by:  Marcomagrini and Ben Oh

 The part of this blog that peaked my interest was the following: 

One of the issues that comes up again and again in our CoETaIL program is the “essential technology skills” that all of our students (and teachers) need to know. Now, I have to admit, I usually have a hard time with this idea, because it often comes with a list of skills like: bullets in Word, formulas in Excel or animations in PowerPoint. Basically all the things I’ve been trying to de-emphasize in favor of bigger, more wider-reaching concepts like collaboration across distances, communicating ideas to multiple audiences, or creating something new using technology tools.


Sure, you need to know how to add bullets – but you should learn how when you’re writing a list (“just in time“), not for the sake of knowing “just in case” you might need it. So, it was very interesting to me when our conversation in our last course took a turn to something I can really relate to – rather than the list of standard MS Office “skills” that were all the rage in the 1990s (with the previous edition of the NET*S), but those almost unidentifiable skills that frequent computer users just seem to take for granted.

http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2009/12/10/making-the-implicit-explicit/comment-page-1/#comment-4029 

Response:

I enjoyed reading this blog.  I am a Computer Skills teacher and I understand the frustration you explain in this post.  I feel like I am constantly teaching my students tasks that they should already know how to complete.  I have students that do not know how to create a folder in their Documents or H:Drive.  I also have students that don’t know how to change the font style in Word, Publisher, PowerPoint or Excel.  I feel like I have to reteach the simple things about using a computer.  I think that if technology or computer savvy teachers shared the above posted bulleted list of standard skills with other teachers maybe that would eliminate the need to teach all of these skills. But then there are some students that come into my class and are already aware of these skills and are more proficient than their fellow classmates.  I agree that once students and teachers know how to complete these tasks, they will be able to remember how to do them with other programs. 

Reflection #1

What attitudes, skills, and concepts have you gained from participating in the course so far? 

•  I like the idea of having students on a wiki and allowing them to edit their page based on different assignment.  This would be a good idea for them to share what website they used for a given assignment and it would also allow them to use a different type of technology.  
• I also like the idea of discussing using the wiki.  The only problem I can see is that I would have to constantly monitor their posts to ensure that they are appropriate.  My students would be able to talk with one another without actually having to talk across the classroom.

What have you learned in the course that you will not forget tomorrow?

•  I have learned to that educational blogs can be extremely helpful and can provide teachers with different resources and ideas.  I found Diigo to be more helpful than I had imagined.  I wasn't sure what it would be able to provide me in this course.  I think it would be a great way for teachers in a district and teachers in other districts to collaborate with one another.  They would be able to send teachers to a blog that they used in their classroom and could even leave a sticky note to direct them in what they would to be helpful or what they changed.

 How will you apply what you have learned to your teaching and future learning? 

•  I plan on looking into creating a wiki for my class.  I currently use Edmodo as a classroom management software but it doesn't allow much for collaboration between students.  I think the wiki would allow them to respond to one another without having to write it on paper and handing it to their classmate.  
• I will also use some of the resources I found while completing the webliography in my classroom.  There were a lot of good ideas that I can incorporate into my computer skills curriculum.

Blog #1

New Pedagogies For the Digital Age by:  Terry Heick

The part of the article that peaked by interest was the slide show presentation located at the bottom of the article.  The author used more of an non-traditional article format to share his information with the reader.

http://edudemic.com/2012/05/new-pedagogies-for-the-digital-age/

Response:
I enjoyed how this article was different than a typical article about education. The slides were helpful to understand the different parts of the article as opposed to a traditional article. Another point that I felt was interesting was the slide “Years to reach an audience of 50 Million”. I realize that Facebook and the Apple iPod were recently added but I never realized that it only took 2 and 3 years respectfully for them to reach an audience of 50 million. I agree that communication, reflection, collaboration, community, creative tools, and amplification are all a part of essential learning components. I feel students should feel comfortable using the previous components in order to learn. Students could also use wikis or blogs to post their reflections and to collaborate with their fellow students and teachers. Students can also use education social media sites such as Edmodo as a way to collaborate with their fellow students and teachers.

This is my first blog on my new site!  Today is officially the first day of summer!!!!!  (Remember, I overuse exclamation points).  Lindsey and I are working at Panera yet again for our summer grad class.  I am so glad to have a friend like her and that she's stuck with me as we have worked towards our grad program!!  Anyway, I am looking forward to a relaxing summer and hopefully traveling to see friends and family.