Wiki

This assignment definitely required a lot of time and energy... Although I only have myself to blame for not spacing it out more :). When talking with some of my peers, we thought maybe this should have been a requirement for the A contract, but the more I thought about it, I realized it was great that it was part of the C contract. Not as many people would have attempted the A contract had this been apart of it because it does seem like a very daunting task at first. I'm really glad in the end for having done this assignment because it showed me a lot of information I might not have otherwise found. I discovered a lot of different resources that will be beneficial to me when I'm a teacher and its great that I took the time to find it sooner rather than later.

Exit Slip #13

Desired Classroom Activity...
If teaching a sixth grade classroom, I would incorporate technology in a variety of ways. First, of course, I would have a HUGE interactive whiteboard (hopefully they'll be making big ones by the time I start teaching, and they also wouldn't be affected if more than one person was working on the whiteboard). This would be used for daily learning. All of my students would have their own personal laptop on which all of their classwork, interests and projects would be on. They would be theirs for the entire school year. By doing this I'm not only preparing my students for the modes of technology they will be working with in the real world, but also have everyone on the same playing field regarding their learning. And finally, I would have a class wiki in which to keep all students informed, as well as their parents. This way, parents are able to see exactly what is taking place every day in their child's life and see how they are doing in school. Parents will then be able to review this information and then find the different ways to contact me should they have any questions or concerns.

Class Ideas...
IWB
Video Streaming
Blogging
Scratch-making games
Epals-collaborative learning
Simulations/virtual labs
Online whiteboarding
Course Website/portal
Podcasting
1:1 Initiative
Wiki
Screencasting
Delicious-social bookmarking

We discussed Dr. Boyer's teaching philosophy (constructivism). After hearing it, it makes so much sense to me on why his teaching methods are as effective as they are. We won't learn anything if we aren't given the chance to DO IT. 

Changes in my Thinking...
My entire perception on how technology can be used as changed. I thought incorporating technology into the classroom meant using a computer. Shocking I know. This class has taught me so much. I really couldn't believe it was possible for me to be able to do all of the assignment (A contract). I'm actually really proud of myself and all I accomplished. It showed me how beneficial technology in the classroom can really be.

PSA Reflection

This assignment was really fun! I worked with a great group so it made the whole process of creating our PSA very enjoyable. It did require us to all exert a great amount of energy into this project. We first had to decide what we wanted to do and how to make up an effective PSA. We needed to look up statistics and related information. We then had to think about what we wanted our core message to be, and how it would flow through the announcement. Filming required all of us knowing what to say and how to say it. Editing was a group effort because none of us have really worked with Live Movie Maker before so it was quite an experience. Overall, I really liked doing this assignment, even if it's daunting at first. :)

Exit Slip #12

Notes from Video
Technology has revolutionized how teaching takes place. Moved away from books and handouts and instead had the students use computers (laptops) in place of these. Use blogs in order to keep both students and parents informed on what's taking place in class. Has an interactive white board within the class for more hands on learning. Helps students practice life long learning. Participate in online collaborative projects to work and connect with other students from around the world.

...

Took awhile to debrief about what we learned from the video. We discussed what we could do before, what we couldn't, and what we could do better as a result of using this technology within our own classrooms. We then did a jigsaw activity with the class about 7 brilliant and 7 stupid things teachers do with technology. It was nice doing it this way because we were able to learn about each of the different topics with only being responsible to first know about only one thing.

Exit Slip #11

We had the final group facilitate our discussion today. They used the jigsaw method of discussion which was really interesting and beneficial to see in action. We then did our standard debriefing about the group. This book really made me realize how our current education system needs some changing in order to better prepare our future students for the world that awaits them. With the ever increasing use of technology, schools are still slow to change their attitudes towards its use in the classroom. We then did a media search for the rest of the class period. It was a great activity since it showed how quickly we can actually find resources to add to our delicious accounts.

Rethink: Chapter 10

This chapter was great because it looked at all the main areas that we have to be considerate of when "rethinking" education in a technology world; how to learn, how to motivate, what's important to learn, career choices, the transitions between learning and work, educational leadership, and the government's role in education. The authors' also included their own vision for the future, what they hoped their book would inspire. I'm not going to lie, reading this last chapter intimidated me a lot because of the thought of all these changes that could be taking place in the next 10 or so years (who knows when, really). But it got me to thinking, as scared of all these changes as I am, it's what our future students need. Not even as teachers, but as members of our society, what we're doing now isn't meant for us, it's meant for the next generation. This chapter has really taught me that I need to not be as concerned as to what I'm comfortable with but to do what's best for the future generation.

I think it's a good time for me to be going through college right now; current teachers might struggle with this transition, thinking that if something's not broken, why fix it? But the truth is, something is broken. It broke my heart to know that only 14% of students with a C average will graduate from college. We know that nowadays, you pretty much need a college education to make real money; we need to help our students to get there. But they need to help themselves as well. I believe that students with a C average are more than capable of achieving good grades, but what we are teaching isn't applicable to them. We need to let them be in control of their learning, but with us there to offer them support and guidance when need be. They can't do everything on their own yet, that's why they are still in school. But we need to have more faith in them then we generally do. We need let them make some decisions for themselves. I think we'd find ourselves quite surprised that they can be greater then we give them credit for.

Exit Slip #10

We took care of some housekeeping briefly and then listened to the group facilitate our discussion on Rethinking: Chapter 9. They did a good job. They tried to incorporate Scrib-link into our discussion, but unfortunately it wasn't loading. So they quickly had us get into the groups we were supposed to orignially discuss our question with. We then discussed about our homework that's due for next week. We then had the rest of the class to either work here or leave.