Blog Entry C

I can see blogs being very valuable in a classroom setting. As I stated in an earlier post, I plan on using blogs with my classes next semester. My idea is to use the blogs as a project journal for each group in my class. The students will be keeping up with their journals daily as part of the project grade. It will be my job as the teacher to facilitate and monitor the activity on each groups blog. Outside of the classroom the possibilities for blogs are also endless. Blogs can be used for journals, articles, reviews etc...

To integrate blogs effectively in the classroom, the teacher must monitor the blogs on a regular basis. The teacher must also set up appropriate permissions for their students. I can definitely see blogs being a big part of K-12 education in the next couple of years.

Blog Entry B

I like the fact that I can read all of the blogs I subscribe to on one page. It saves me the time of clicking from blog to blog. I also like the fact that users can embed pictures, videos and web links into their blogs. I also like the fact that each blog can be as simple or as complex as the user makes it. This blogging experience truly helped me better myself as an online learner. The blogs were another place to interact with my group members/ classmates besides the google docs which can seem pretty impersonal sometimes.

Blog Entry A

Throughout this blogging experience, I have learned that blogging can be an invaluable tool to use in the classroom. I have also learned that blogging is a great tool in a distance education setting. I was surprised at the ease of use of the blogs. It is a very easy concept to catch on to. Before this class, I just thought of blogs as online journals. Now I realize the potential that blogs have for use in the classroom. I plan on starting a blog for each of my classes next semester to use as project logs!

Blog Entry 11:PBL Reflection

The PBL project was very beneficial to me as an educator. This project was sort of a culminating activity of the class, we were able to pick which learned technology to base a lesson on. My groups PBL focus was using fantasy baseball to teach math in grades 3-12. My PBL example involved the filming and editing of the fantasy baseball draft. My video broadcast students would film and edit the fantasy draft for the Math 1 class that would be completing the fantasy baseball unit. I really enjoyed the idea of incorporating fantasy baseball into math, as proven by my team members, this idea can be used in almost any class or subject.

Blog Entry 10

The section that I found the most interesting was the section on optimizing technology. This section tells of a history teacher in Australia that was tired of “the role of confiscation” (pp. 119) when it came to students bringing in technology. He instead decided to integrate mp3 players into his classroom. “During the project, he checked in with students to make sure the technologies were not continuing to pose a distraction.” (pp. 119) The teacher was surprised to learn that students responded positively to the experience and thought they learned better this way.

I really enjoyed reading this section of our book. I like the idea of using technology that is usually frowned on by teachers and administrators as a teaching tool. The only problem I can see with this idea is that some students will always try to abuse the privilege of having the “banned” devices in school. Another problem is that all students don’t have access to mp3 players or mobile phones. I don’t think I will be trying this idea anytime soon but, it sounds like it was very successful in Australia.

Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing project-based learning. Washington, D.C.: International Society for Technology in Education

Blog Entry 9

The part of the reading that I found most interesting was Chapter 6. Chapter 6 discusses supporting student problem solving. We do lots of problem solving activities in my class so I found this chapter to be the most beneficial. I enjoyed reading about the potential benefits of PBL (Problem Based Learning). “With effective PBL, students can become more engaged in their learning and empowered to become more autonomous in classroom work. Students can gain a deeper understanding of concepts, acquire skills necessary in the real world, and transfer skills to become independent and self-directed learners and thinkers outside of school.” (pp. 161) The most important part of the above statement is “with effective PBL.” As an instructor of a project based class, I have learned that the success of most students in a particular project depends on my ability to facilitate learning in the group environment.

Egbert, Joy. (2009). Supporting learning with technology: Essentials of Classroom Practice. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
 

My DST Example

Blog 8

The project based learning initiative that I would like to implement in my classroom in the near future would be the use of blogs and wikis for group learning. Most of the classes I teach are project based classes so I think the blogs and wikis would help my class tremendously. My initial idea is to use the blogs or wikis for journals for each group in my class. Each group could keep a daily journal detailing how their project is coming along. Groups could also get input on the project from other classes blogs or wikis.

Digital Storyetelling Project Intro

My DST project is a "how-to" video that teaches students to create a stop motion video. A stop motion video is a series of pictures that are sped up to look like a video. When I teach my students about stop motion video I show them this video. Tony vs. Paul This video usually gets the students creative juices flowing, it also shows them the endless possibilities of stop motion videos. For this project the students will need a digital camera and access to a computer with MovieMaker installed. This video can be used in a digital photography, digital media, or video communications class.

Blog 7

I chose to share about the issue of “Emerging Digital Stories.” (p. 38) In this article, the author tells us about the future of Digital Storytelling (DST). According to Ohler, the future of DST is limitless. Ohler feels that DST has a lot more to offer than it’s currently being used for. This article gave me some great ideas about how to use DST in my class. The article has several DST examples that can be done with multiple grade levels. I also liked the idea of DST catching up with industry standard movies. The author states “Whatever tools the entertainment industry uses will show up in education at some point in some manner.” (p. 38)

Ohler, Jason (2008). Digital Storytelling in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Blog 6

The topic that I would most like to implement in my classroom would be that of “team planning.” This idea would help out my daily classroom activities tremendously. In most cases, I allow students to choose their own groups for classroom projects. Many times, students who are “friends” do not work well together. As the instructor I should try to pair students based on each student’s strengths and weaknesses.

I should also “assess not just their content (the group), but how they are working together.” (p. 80) Group chemistry can make or break a project. If the group members cannot get along and work together to achieve a common goal, the project will never be completed. We as teachers need to make sure that “no students have an excuse not to perform,” ( p. 81) when placed in a group. I will take the information learned from the text and apply it to my own classroom. I will definitely consider the information when forming groups for my classes next project.

Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing project-based learning. Washington,D.C.:International Society for Technology in Education.

My Comic Life

My comic life teaches the types of shots that are used in video production as well as digital photography. This is a project I plan on using with my own class. After I teach the types of shots, I will show the students my Comic Life example of the shots. I will then have each student create a comic life projet showing their understanding of the shots that have been taught. I thoroughly enjoyed this project, and I look forward to using Comic Life in my classroom.

Blog 5

The part of the reading that I found worth discussing was the section about computer labs. "A variety of effective alternative arrangements can make a lab setting a more flexible and useful space." (pp. 42) "These arrangements can all contribute to making the computer classroom a place where instructional goals can be met."(pp. 42) The arrangements that are being refereed to are hideaway desks or pods of 4 to 6 computers. My classroom is composed of these pods, and I agree with the author on the effectiveness of pods on student learning. Students work in groups a great deal in my class and the 4 sided pods which accommodate 8 students are ideal for group work. Each group has adequate space and are somewhat isolated from other groups.

Egbert, J. (2009). Supporting learning with technology: Essentials of classroom practice. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Comic Life Introduction

For my Comic Life project, I choose to cover video production vocabulary. The material can be used for grades 6-12. It was very important for me to pick a project and topic that applied to what I teach. My project gives examples of the types of camera shots (digital camera or video camera). The student will look at the example provided and, create their own Comic Life project with all of the required camera shots. I look forward to implementing this program and project into my own classroom.

Blog Entry 4

The project based learning activity proposal that I would choose to implement into my classroom would be the addition of a classroom blog. "One of the biggest potentials of Weblogs is the ability to create spaces where students can collaborate with others online."' (p. 24) The idea of collaborative learning has really caught on in most schools. The classroom blog would ensure that collaborative learning is taking place.

The idea of having students create an e-portfolio is also an idea that I would like to implement. The e-portfolio would be a collection of the students' best work from the current year. This e-portfolio could be attached to resume's or sent to colleges. I think this would a great way for a student to keep their memorable work from high school.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

My VoiceThread: 8 Parts of Speech

VoiceThread Intro

My VoiceThread project was geared towards an english class in an elementary school. The VoiceThread is also made with ESOL students as well as students with learning disabilities in mind. The purpose of the VoiceThread is to reinforce the 8 parts of speech. The students will hear the sentence being read, look at the picture, and record what part of speech applies to the particular question.

Blog 3: WolframAlpha: Computational Knowledge Engine

One of my students informed me of this site this morning. http://www.wolframalpha.com/ Wolfram-Alpha is a  knowledge based search engine that is capable of performing computations as well as comparisons. I can definitely see this site being helpful for math or history teachers. I have only used the site briefly but, the potential seems to be endless.

Blog Entry 2

In Zach Miner’s article Classroom Technology Integration, Zach focuses on how educators are expected to teach students how to “learn more complex and analytical skills in preparation for work and life in the 21st century global economy.” Miner thinks that we should develop students higher order thinking and performance skills. The major problem that is discussed in this article is the lack of effectiveness of professional development for teachers. Professional development opportunities are not “hands-on” enough for most teachers to learn the technology and be able to implement it into their classrooms effectively. Other teachers noted that there was tons of technology available, but little or no training available for that technology.

The major obstacles for properly integrating technology into classrooms according to this article are, scheduling, standards, funding, grants, the current economy, and attitude. The last part of the article turns into sort of an “infomercial” for the eMINTS program which stands for Enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies. The eMINTS program encourages teachers to use current technology such as blogs, wikis and podcasts to communicate with their students. The article concludes by posing the thought that “technology integration, in the end, is not really about technology but rather the life skills it instills in students and teachers.” I think that our focus as educators, should be keeping students interested in learning by using current/relevant technology in the classroom daily.

Miners, Zach (2009, April). Classroom Technology Integration, Retrieved August 20, 2009, from www.districtadministration.com

Blog Focus & Theme

This blog will focus on the current trends in instructional technology. This site is geared toward educators who are looking for new and different ways to integrate technology into their current curriculum. I hope that I can provide some insight to technical oriented and non-technical oriented educators through my writings and findings. Please check back often and let me know if their are any ways my blog can be improved.

My Working Definition: Technology Integration

Technology Integration is the process of introducing and implementing new and different technology into the classroom environment. Integrating technology into our classrooms will further prepare students for life after or outside of school. Technology integration will also promote critical thinking among students, as well as aid in developing problem solving skills. For technology integration to effectively work, the teacher must align the technology to current state and national standards. The teacher should make sure that higher level learning is taking place during the use of technology. The schools and school districts must ensure that teachers are properly trained on how to implement the new technology into their classroom.

Getting Started

Here's where my MEDT posts will be stored.