Last chapter! This chapter addresses the fact that more and more content is appearing online. I once had a friend say to me, "I don't even know why I bother going to class anymore when my professor even says that everything he teaches and more can be found online." Although slightly disturbing to the educator, the truth of the matter is that while there may be more content readily available on the read/write web, it's not going to replace direct instruction, entirely. However, we as teachers might need to adjust to this content shift. My sister is most likely getting a Kindle for her graduation present this year and is already curious to see if she'll be able to get any of her text books from online, rather than having to purchase the actual books. While I find this disheartening, as I practically have my own library, kids these days are practically minimalists when it comes to technology. They want everything in the palm of their hand at the touch of button, and that's exactly what they're getting.
The second observation of trends addressed was that web content has become a collaboration. I still have trouble grasping this concept, but it's truly awesome in the literal sense of the word. Trends like these do and will have tremendous impacts on our lives and the way we teach our students. We owe it to them to stay relevant and keep up with times, and integrate upcoming and new technology as much as possible, and when funds don't allow it, we have to reach out for them and at the bare minimum teach the concepts of the advancing technology.
As a future educator, I will be a keen observer of the trends and latest technology. I will integrate technology and teach my kids about the trends when time and place are appropriate and allowed.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Ch. 9 of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts
Social networking sites
Absolutely brilliant and completely not at the same time. Social networking sites used in the classroom seems to be a fantastic idea, that is until you get to the part where you're not allowed to use it due to administrative policies. The theory is great. Students can interact with each other in a familiar environment and comment on threads, links, photos, comments, posts, notes, blogs, etc. However, the reality of it is just not very plausible when you have school districts such as the entire state of Texas that simply will not allow you to integrate certain technologies into the classroom, such as social networking sites.
I don't really see the necessity of using a social networking site in the classroom. Students are very familiar with these types of sites, and I think it's best to draw a line between our professional and academic life, and our personal life. When you start mixing the two, bad things happen. A. You start hating your personal life enjoyments because they become forced on you and B. Your personal life can get you into trouble in your academic and professional life. With blogs and wikis available, I believe students will get plenty of interaction on the web through those mediums.
As a future teacher, I will encourage my students to keep their personal life private. I will most definitely encourage interaction as it's a key in learning language and communication, but I don't think I'll do through facebook, myspace, ore any other social networking site.
Absolutely brilliant and completely not at the same time. Social networking sites used in the classroom seems to be a fantastic idea, that is until you get to the part where you're not allowed to use it due to administrative policies. The theory is great. Students can interact with each other in a familiar environment and comment on threads, links, photos, comments, posts, notes, blogs, etc. However, the reality of it is just not very plausible when you have school districts such as the entire state of Texas that simply will not allow you to integrate certain technologies into the classroom, such as social networking sites.
I don't really see the necessity of using a social networking site in the classroom. Students are very familiar with these types of sites, and I think it's best to draw a line between our professional and academic life, and our personal life. When you start mixing the two, bad things happen. A. You start hating your personal life enjoyments because they become forced on you and B. Your personal life can get you into trouble in your academic and professional life. With blogs and wikis available, I believe students will get plenty of interaction on the web through those mediums.
As a future teacher, I will encourage my students to keep their personal life private. I will most definitely encourage interaction as it's a key in learning language and communication, but I don't think I'll do through facebook, myspace, ore any other social networking site.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Technology Inquiry Wiki
Creating a technology inquiry wiki was a valuable assignment. I can see a great use for a wiki in the classroom and it was good to familiarize myself with the creation of one. It was very easy to create and update. The best part is that to get it out there, all I had to do was make sure it was a public wiki and then pass along the link.
I spent a lot of time working on my wiki. I think the hardest part was the annoted bibliography, but as always a vital part of any research. I really enjoyed spending time surfing the web looking for innovative ways to use technology to benefit my ESL students in particular. I gleaned a lot of good information and concepts to use when technology is in short supply. But most importantly, I'm learning how to incorporate an integral part of my students lives into their education to make it more valuable for them.
I spent a lot of time working on my wiki. I think the hardest part was the annoted bibliography, but as always a vital part of any research. I really enjoyed spending time surfing the web looking for innovative ways to use technology to benefit my ESL students in particular. I gleaned a lot of good information and concepts to use when technology is in short supply. But most importantly, I'm learning how to incorporate an integral part of my students lives into their education to make it more valuable for them.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Exit Slip 12.9.10
Ella's 10th grade Spanish class relies heavily on technology integration in the classroom to promote comfort with various types of language portrayed through the web, media, and technological world.
Here are 3 different ways that I will integrate technology in Ella's (Dr. Boyer's daughter) Spanish class:
1. Media usage- Movies, video clips, songs, podcasts for various language activities.
2. Computer and web- Research for papers and presentations. Blogs for writing practice. Presentation programs like prezi, animoto, vuvox, etc. Wikis for classroom management. Screencasting websites for research projects. Jog the web.
3. Language programs- Assist in language learning, further outside instruction.
*Good idea* (Language classes) Beginning of year, middle of the year, end of the year. Readings, audio recordings to document progress & improvements. As a language teacher, I think this is a great idea! I plan to use this for both my Spanish and ESL classes so that I have documentation of their progress as well as so they can see their progress and examine areas that they need work on.
My thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning hasn't really changed that much over the semester. I have always thought technology to be a integral part of life and society and it just makes sense to bring it's efficiencies and learning opportunities into the classroom. I have however, learned a lot more ways to incorporate technology, and how to use it in different ways to reach various audiences.
Here are 3 different ways that I will integrate technology in Ella's (Dr. Boyer's daughter) Spanish class:
1. Media usage- Movies, video clips, songs, podcasts for various language activities.
2. Computer and web- Research for papers and presentations. Blogs for writing practice. Presentation programs like prezi, animoto, vuvox, etc. Wikis for classroom management. Screencasting websites for research projects. Jog the web.
3. Language programs- Assist in language learning, further outside instruction.
*Good idea* (Language classes) Beginning of year, middle of the year, end of the year. Readings, audio recordings to document progress & improvements. As a language teacher, I think this is a great idea! I plan to use this for both my Spanish and ESL classes so that I have documentation of their progress as well as so they can see their progress and examine areas that they need work on.
My thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning hasn't really changed that much over the semester. I have always thought technology to be a integral part of life and society and it just makes sense to bring it's efficiencies and learning opportunities into the classroom. I have however, learned a lot more ways to incorporate technology, and how to use it in different ways to reach various audiences.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Exit Slip 12.2.10
Today we watched a video about a teacher that integrated technology into her classroom. We then dissected our list into two categories: things we could do before technology advances, and things we couldn't do before technology advances. Most things you could do before, however we identified that it's easier sometimes with technology integration and also better, although sometimes it is actually more difficult. There were some benefits of technology integration that you obviously couldn't do without technology, such as world-wide peer interaction, blogging, and computer usage.
The obvious response is to integrate technology into the classroom. So, as a future teacher, I will constantly be reviewing and evaluating my technological use in the classroom in order to provide my students with a superior education.
The obvious response is to integrate technology into the classroom. So, as a future teacher, I will constantly be reviewing and evaluating my technological use in the classroom in order to provide my students with a superior education.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
11.18.10 Exit Slip
Today during discussion of the final chapter of Rethinking Education (yes!) We "jigsawed". This term, although supposedly previously mentioned by Dr. Boyer, was new to me. In case you're not aware, to jigsaw is to place classmates into a group for discussion with the intent to regroup the students for further discussion with said experts. I really liked it because it forced every group member to be responsible for knowing the subject of their small group discussion and to combine the ideas and apply it. Dr. Boyer pointed out that when you do something such as a "jigsaw" you should title it and refer to it's title when you plan on using it so that you don't have to explain your intentions every time, it will become a familiar practice amongst your students. At first I didn't see the need to entitle the act, but after he explained, I agree that it's a great idea to explain the concepts and motives of their actions so they know why it's a good activity and also so you don't have to waste your time and breath always re-explaining. This I will do in my classroom.
Here's some new thinking for you...
The new 3 R's:
relevance
rigor
relationships
Here's some new thinking for you...
The new 3 R's:
relevance
rigor
relationships
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Ch.10--Rethinking Ed.
Rethinking Education in a Technological World
And exhale. Basically Chapter 10 of Collins and Halverson’s Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology sums up the entirety of the book. “We argue for a new vision of education” (p. 128). Finally, we see proof that this supposedly unbiased book was the whole time in fact biased; I’m not surprised, as I’ve been pointing out all along, but to see them admit it was a shocker! Anyways, the book breaks down the rethinking of education into learning, motivation, what is important to learn, careers, the transitions between learning and work, educational leadership, and the role of government in education. So we have a lot of rethinking to do.
Rethinking Learning
This was a topic throughout the previous chapters about the Knowledge Revolution and the learning for life concept. We learned about the prevalence of just-in-time learning as opposed to the just-in-case learning and how our educational needs are being met in other ways than the traditional classroom.
Rethinking Motivation
Apparently current schools do a laissez-faire job at motivating students. “…50% of high school students are bored every day in their classes. This section revisits the idea of handing over educational responsibilities to the students and fostering learning in areas of interest that pertain to them. I didn’t like that they suggested more computer-based learning than personal instruction form a teacher. They said that teachers could assist when students needed additional help that the computer couldn’t provide, and that individualized learning would help to get rid of the bad image you obtain when you don’t understand something that other students get. I think this is ridiculous because they’re trying to eliminate reality, and the reality of it is that you can’t get rid of stigmatizations just like that, and even if you eliminate in one setting, the real world is always there to slap you. And although technology can be a motivational factor in some ways, it also can be a hindrance.
Rethinking what is Important to Learn
I found it interesting that our current curriculum is based on medieval trivium, “which consisted of logic, grammar, and rhetoric, and quadrivium, which was made up of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy” (p. 133). But my favorite part of this section was when they said, “Therefore, students’ time might be better spent in learning how to use mathematical tools to solve real-world problems, rather than learning how to mimic computer algorithms” (p. 134). This is dumb, not everyone can afford a computer, but everyone can learn math equations. Not everyone can comport a computer everywhere, but you can your memory. What happens when the tool breaks down? I see importance in both learning how to use the tools and how to mimic them.
Rethinking Careers
This section focuses on the fact that careers aren’t lifelong, like they once were. Now we have to reinvent ourselves as the times and trends of life change. This emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning and the new trend of working for a while, and then going back to school, and then back to the workforce. Hated the fact that they published we will probably end up working into our 70s and 80s.
Rethinking the Transitions between Learning and Work
This section suggests counseling offices that offer job match up services and networking opportunities. The funny thing is that we actually have these. They’re called temporary job services and whatever that job service they offer at the DMV here is called. While it’s a good idea, why can’t people be responsible for their own networking and job transitions; sure it’s difficult, but that’s what sorts out the determined and the undetermined.
Rethinking Educational Leadership
Collins and Halverson discuss that leadership in education needs to go beyond reform and basically needs to do take a stand and incorporate all of their previously mentioned ideas.
Rethinking the Role of Government in Education
Government has always been a big factor in the educational department. So, Collins and Halverson suggest that government also consider everything they’ve had to say.
The book ends by appealing to technology leaders that might be reading the book to take a stand and accept the challenges that await them in the world of education reform and equity. May the force be with them as “according to a recent survey from the Education Trust, America is the only industrialized country in which today’s young people are less likely than their parents to earn a high school diploma” (p.145).
This book has inspired me to light a fire (and burn it). Just kidding, at least it got me thinking on various levels (of ridiculousness and practicality). I’m glad it’s over and the new thinking I have gained is that it’s good to read many views, including books and articles that upset you so that you have a plethora of opinions and ideas that you can use to sculpt your own views. As a teacher, I will share such resources with my students so that they too can learn the importance of seeing through different lights and angles.
And exhale. Basically Chapter 10 of Collins and Halverson’s Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology sums up the entirety of the book. “We argue for a new vision of education” (p. 128). Finally, we see proof that this supposedly unbiased book was the whole time in fact biased; I’m not surprised, as I’ve been pointing out all along, but to see them admit it was a shocker! Anyways, the book breaks down the rethinking of education into learning, motivation, what is important to learn, careers, the transitions between learning and work, educational leadership, and the role of government in education. So we have a lot of rethinking to do.
Rethinking Learning
This was a topic throughout the previous chapters about the Knowledge Revolution and the learning for life concept. We learned about the prevalence of just-in-time learning as opposed to the just-in-case learning and how our educational needs are being met in other ways than the traditional classroom.
Rethinking Motivation
Apparently current schools do a laissez-faire job at motivating students. “…50% of high school students are bored every day in their classes. This section revisits the idea of handing over educational responsibilities to the students and fostering learning in areas of interest that pertain to them. I didn’t like that they suggested more computer-based learning than personal instruction form a teacher. They said that teachers could assist when students needed additional help that the computer couldn’t provide, and that individualized learning would help to get rid of the bad image you obtain when you don’t understand something that other students get. I think this is ridiculous because they’re trying to eliminate reality, and the reality of it is that you can’t get rid of stigmatizations just like that, and even if you eliminate in one setting, the real world is always there to slap you. And although technology can be a motivational factor in some ways, it also can be a hindrance.
Rethinking what is Important to Learn
I found it interesting that our current curriculum is based on medieval trivium, “which consisted of logic, grammar, and rhetoric, and quadrivium, which was made up of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy” (p. 133). But my favorite part of this section was when they said, “Therefore, students’ time might be better spent in learning how to use mathematical tools to solve real-world problems, rather than learning how to mimic computer algorithms” (p. 134). This is dumb, not everyone can afford a computer, but everyone can learn math equations. Not everyone can comport a computer everywhere, but you can your memory. What happens when the tool breaks down? I see importance in both learning how to use the tools and how to mimic them.
Rethinking Careers
This section focuses on the fact that careers aren’t lifelong, like they once were. Now we have to reinvent ourselves as the times and trends of life change. This emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning and the new trend of working for a while, and then going back to school, and then back to the workforce. Hated the fact that they published we will probably end up working into our 70s and 80s.
Rethinking the Transitions between Learning and Work
This section suggests counseling offices that offer job match up services and networking opportunities. The funny thing is that we actually have these. They’re called temporary job services and whatever that job service they offer at the DMV here is called. While it’s a good idea, why can’t people be responsible for their own networking and job transitions; sure it’s difficult, but that’s what sorts out the determined and the undetermined.
Rethinking Educational Leadership
Collins and Halverson discuss that leadership in education needs to go beyond reform and basically needs to do take a stand and incorporate all of their previously mentioned ideas.
Rethinking the Role of Government in Education
Government has always been a big factor in the educational department. So, Collins and Halverson suggest that government also consider everything they’ve had to say.
The book ends by appealing to technology leaders that might be reading the book to take a stand and accept the challenges that await them in the world of education reform and equity. May the force be with them as “according to a recent survey from the Education Trust, America is the only industrialized country in which today’s young people are less likely than their parents to earn a high school diploma” (p.145).
This book has inspired me to light a fire (and burn it). Just kidding, at least it got me thinking on various levels (of ridiculousness and practicality). I’m glad it’s over and the new thinking I have gained is that it’s good to read many views, including books and articles that upset you so that you have a plethora of opinions and ideas that you can use to sculpt your own views. As a teacher, I will share such resources with my students so that they too can learn the importance of seeing through different lights and angles.
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