Reflection on Instructional Technologies for Teaching and Learning

Wow! Here I am 15 weeks later and I survived! At the beginning of the semester I was a bit overwhelmed with all the new technology that was being introduced each week. To begin with setting up this blog was a challenge. I had no clue why blogging would be of any importance to this course. I was so wrong. It actually was refreshing to blog at the end of each week. It was a nice way to round out what I had learned. I can say that now, 15 weeks later I am much more confident about tackling technology. A few assignments during these 15 weeks really had me baffled, but I found with a little patience and an open mind I was able to figure out each task. A special "Thank You!" to Lisa for her encouragement and assistance during those weeks I was really stuck. I have enjoyed interacting with my fellow classmates and was always amazed at their creativity for lesson plans. I am most impressed with Larry's technological savvy and experience in using technology in his own classroom. It's always nice to take a class with experienced educators. Their knowledge is such a huge help.

I learned about blogging! I started my own blog, which I still cannot believe I'm doing. I created a WebQuest on explorers to the "New World." I learned how to "tweet" on Twitter, and read about and watched "vlogs. There is so much more like the powerpoint, databases, surveys, comics, and the movie! Each of these technologies are fantastic educational tools that I will find ways in using them in my own classroom. I have even started a file for links I stumbled across during this semester of other lesson plan ideas that incorporate technology as part of the lesson plan.

Also through this course, I finally created my e-portfolio "live" on the web. I am pleased with how polished and professional it looks now, compared to the beginning of the semester! I think it contains some great information and I know that as I continue on with my own education it will continue to change and grow. Just like me! Twenty years ago when I graduated high school, there was only 6 computers in the high school I attended, and I never got the opportunity to actually use one of them. Today computers and technology in general are used in schools beginning in Kindergarten. As a future educator, I feel this is one of the most important classes I have taken thus far. I really needed to have a better understanding of technology and how to use it in a classroom setting.

Google Earth

http://www.google.com/educators/geo.html


Google Earth! I was somewhat familiar with this website. My daughter uses Google Sketchup often as well. So to be honest I thought it would be about mapping and geography at best. I took my time and looked around. One of the first things I did was locate the Crown Point Bridge from my area. I looked at the images that were attached to it and then started to follow the road to my house. I was disappointed my house was a white blur. That being said, all in all I was really amazed by the wealth of information that could be used by educators. This is truly a huge resource for the classroom. I went into "classroom ideas" and found Google your "Ancestor's Journey" was one of the first activities that caught my eye. I was able to locate this going through Google Lit Trips. I checked out a section about an Alaskan Field trip for over a half hour. I was impressed with all the images and information that went along with it. I then visited "earthquakes" and learned that yesterday there was an earthquake near Altamont, New York with a magnitude of 2.6. The topics are endless and I spent several hours, over several days looking through this site. It's addicting to say the least.
I can see Google Earth being used my classroom. Since my first love is history. I think I would like to use Google Earth to locate historical sites of interest during a lesson plan. For instance the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It would be great to locate the path they took and explore sites mentioned in their journals. I also noticed a "classroom idea" on exploration that included early explorers to the New World. I think the possibilities are endless.
One aspect of Google Earth that is a little scary is being able to locate people by their addresses. I don't think this is a particular good feature for this site. There are too many child predators on line that as educators and parents we need to remind our children and students about internet safety and do not give out any personal information such as your address. As I can see it is way to easy to find out where people live by a few strokes of the keyboard.

Educational Philosophies

This week I am to do some research into the different educational pedagogies and "makeover" my own philosophy of education. Truth be known it really needs to be updated. It's been quite some time and I have learned so much since then. There a few educational pedagogies that seem to fit with how I learn. This would be "Learning Styles" and Howard Gardner's "Multiple Intelligence Theory". My current philosophy of education is based on "Progressivism." I did some research here http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html .
Progressivism Theory is based on "education that should focus on the whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher" and "Effective teachers provide experiences so that students can learn by doing" (Cohen). At the moment I still love this idea, but I also recognize that not all students are going to learn the same way.

I looked around at some educational blogs that were linked to http://thereflectiveteacher.wordpress.com/2006/06/07/statement-of-educational-philosophy/
Most of the blogs were frustrated educators trying to find a way to connect to their students. To tell the truth...it really bummed me out. Then I found a blog called "History is Elementary." Mainly because I LOVE history! This teacher loved history as well and not just the big events in history. She enjoyed learning and teaching the small stuff too! Here is a link to her blog;
http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com
One thing that stood out to me while browsing through her blog was how she was trying to find a way to motivate her students. "Every human has different needs at different times that govern motivation. It is up to us as the educators to discover each student’s needs at the right time and at the right place so that we all can be successful. Research tells us that students can be goverened by approximately seven different needs that we can meet once we tap into them. It’s the tap dance that we have to do that causes the difficulty. Sometimes we are a little rusty with the steps" (Historyiselementary.com).
So its time for me to get motivated and update my own "Philosophy of Education" : )

Thankful for Technology

"Think about the gratitude your feeling, not just the frustrations"

This is a much easier topic to tackle this week! I have learned so much about technology and the different ways to incorporate it into a classroom. Where do I even begin?
How about the beginning... I did not attend high school during a time where computers were part of an everyday classroom. I can't believe how far technology has come in the 20 years since I graduated high school. Fast forward to the present time, and practically everything I've learned over the last 11 or so weeks have been all new to me. I am first of all thankful I took Micro App 1 last spring. It was a huge help. I don't even know if I would have been able to do this class without it. That being said my biggest challenge has been the Web Quest, and yet it was also the most creative and fun thing I've done during this class. I think with some more practice, this will be one of the best lesson plans for my students. It's web based and interactive and there is so much you can do with it. The database lesson plan is an interesting idea. I still need to figure out how to make this "live" but the lesson plan itself is again web based. The PowerPoint presentation was a blast. This was right up my alley with being creative and combining my love of history and nature at its best. I was so frustrated trying to figure out how to upload it into "slide rocket" but I kept at it and was able to figure it out on my own. I was thrilled that I did it!
So how has technology enriched my life so far... well I will start with emails. This has helped me be able to stay in touch with my family and friends who are scattered across the United States. I have been able to take online classes. I am very thankful for that, otherwise it would have been impossible for me to pursue my degree and be a stay at home mom. Time wise site classes would have been too hard for me. The Internet itself contains so much information and is very easy to access. With some careful research I am able to find almost anything I'm searching for. I think technology for me as a teacher will only enhance the learning experience for my students. As I mentioned above the lesson plans; Web Quest, Database, PPP that we have done thus far will engage students in learning. I know my own children were very interested in these lesson plans. I loved it when I heard from them "cool mom" or "that's really good." Whether you agree or disagree with it, technology is here to stay and as an educator its a valuable tool to learn.

Vlogs

Vlogs are like a blog, but they are done in video format. One blog site I follow on a regular basis is Tammy's Recipes. The host, Tammy has in the past done some interesting vlogs on cooking and canning. They are I believe very helpful for people who are unfamiliar with certain cooking techniques and definitely help with canning and freezing. Here is one vlog Tammy has done on how to can tomatoes using a kettle/water bath. http://www.tammysrecipes.com/files/video/openkettlecanning_tomatos.wmv
I continued my search on vlogs and I could not believe how many there were to see! Some were interesting and some were just plain bad taste. I decided to "google" vlog and Vermont to see what I could come up with. I found Stuck In Vermont; http://www.youtube.com/user/StuckinVermont#p/u/0/VsxWXULL8Rk

I watched 4 of the vlogs that were posted by a woman named Eva Sollberger. What I watched I thought they would be very useful for students to learn what goes on in Vermont. Sollberger had vlogs on the Horror Fest in Burlington, Green Mountain Hounds in Charlotte, and MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) in Williston.
If you look hard enough you will be able to find some high quality informational vlogs that could be used in a classroom setting. But the key really is you must do some research.

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Do schools kill creatvity? I have a little bit of mixed feelings on this. I was one of those figity children that Ken Robinson discusses in the video. My experience throughout elementary and high school that I attended was focused on learning. I could say with confidence these schools lacked creativity. We had no art or music program available during elementary school. We concentrated on reading, writing, and math. Even in science as students we listened to the teacher. We never participated in anything hands on. Thank goodness for recess or it would have been unbearable for me. I need to move around, I need to sometimes just listen to music or draw. As a student now I will often just get up from my studies and walk out the door to go for a walk. Just to clear my mind. Today, I see my own children going through the school system now and I have to say I am a bit envious. I want to go back. They have art available for every grade. They paint, draw, sketch, and design. Music is offered to all students as well. They sing and are introduced to different instruments. Every student is given the opportunity to play an instrument in the 4th grade. For P.E. classes they often have dance class, gymnastics, games, rollerblading, and swimming. It continues in the high school as well. For students there are several different education opportunities for them that will meet their needs. One statement that really struck me that Ken Robinson said was "if your not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." I think that is a really powerful statement and it is one that I do see in my children as they have gotten older. My twin sons are in 5th grade now, and when they are doing homework they often second guess themselves when they are answering questions. They come to me for reassurance. Why? Because they are afraid of being wrong. I don't think that is what learning should be about. This video really had me thinking about how I as a teacher can bring creativity into my lessons. This class as well has really gotten my creative juices flowing again and can't wait to use what I've learned in my own classroom.

Bad PPP experience...

As a student I have only created one PPP for a class on Child Development. My first time out of the gate was a success and scored high marks from my professor! Bonus!
I have as a student sat through many very boring PPP. One in particular I remember on the Holocaust. The background image was bright pink in color and the text varied between blue and black. There was very little images to go along with the text. It was set up to compare and contrast World War II. Basically it was horrible. I thought the colors were inappropriate for the topic.
Another PPP I recall was when I was at a conference that I attended on agriculture. It was very informational. The speaker had music going along with the PPP, which wasn't distracting at all, but made it more enjoyable. There were many images on the PPP that were on the history of farming beginning in the early 1900's to the present. The speaker did a great job in keeping the information interesting and the dialogue was short. The PPP was about an hour in length. He paused often to ask question and to answer questions from the audience. Its probably the best PPP I have ever seen. One question I have is how long should a good PPP be? Another question I have is what makes a good topic choice?