Exit Slip #8

We facilitated the discussion today for our class on Rethinking Chapter. We needed to watch our "uhms" and to make sure our directions were clear, but overall we did really well. I'm proud that we thought of a unique idea of how to have our peers communicate with one another. Because of the weird class layout, we weren't always able to see everybody very well but all in all I think we did a good job.

After debriefing, we looked at webinars. I've heard about them before but I never really knew how they worked. They actually seem like an incredibly useful tool. It's something that I think would make online classes much more enjoyable and interactive then they tend to be. We then discussed our podcasting assignment. We can look at articles for inspiration to discuss but they have to relate to students who are PK-12, not older. Dr. Boyer told us how beneficial it will be to use to have a script written up in order to do our podcasts (and screen casts) and to not just "wing it" when we do the recording. We then went over the homework for the next week. Some of the items aren't due for awhile but I think I'll try to get them done anyways. It's going to be a busy weekend. :)

Rethink: Chapter 7

I felt like this chapter was another chapter that was just tying everything together that we've been reading about. It really told you what can be lost and gained by the use of technology both within and out of the educational sphere. One of the points that struck a chord with me was that because of all this educational technology, there will be less competition with the schools. I just don't believe this to be true. There will always be something to divide people from one another. I'm not saying this is right or how it should be, just simply stating how things are. There will always be people who are more wealthy than others, who will always be able to afford the next, up and coming form of technology to assist their child to be the very best. Middle to lower class families can't always afford the newest of everything. But I feel that not having access to technology doesn't mean that you can't be as educated, if not more educated, than those who have all of these resources available at their fingertips.

As a future teacher, I'm well aware the impact and role technology plays in students lives... I'm living it right now. But I want to make sure that I do my very best to make sure all of my students learn to their fullest potential, with or without technology. This is not to say that I won't have my students do countless projects within my classroom that incorporate all the benefits of technology, but I don't think I'll be expecting my students to work outside of the school with these types of tools. My mom is a teacher back at home and she told me that a little less than half of the students are on the reduced/free lunch program. If parents aren't able to afford lunch for their children, I certainly won't expect them to afford owning a computer. I feel that as educators, we need to be increasingly aware of our surroundings, and that depending on where we work, incorporating technology can be an easy and common occurrence or something far and few. We need to recognize the confines we are working with and work within them. All students deserve a great education, regardless of what their parents can afford, and it's up to us to give it to them.

BWP: Chapter 8

Prior to this reading, I had heard of podcasts but I wasn't entirely sure how they worked or what their purpose was. This chapter helped me see the benefits of using this technology within the classroom. Especially for those with learning impairments or those who are more auditory learners, it would be a great tool to implement to accommodate these types of students. Screencasting is great because in an age where technology is playing an increasingly popular role within the schools, you are able to show students just what to do. I can see screencasting being used in such a way that allows my students to watch the screencast on a project and then come see me if they need any additional help. I feel that this also goes along the line of having the students take responsibility for their education; they are taught something and if they feel that they still don't understand, it is up to them to seek out the teacher's help. I feel that the teacher is still teaching, but instead of wasting time going over things that a screencast could cover, students are asking questions about things they genuinely don't understand. As far as live streaming goes, I can see how it can give students a very hands on learning experience. However, the teacher who filmed his class everyday... I don't think I would ever do something like that. I feel that too often both adults and children alike try to put on a show when they know someone could be closely watching them (for better or worse, I suppose) but all the same, I think it is something I would use as an educational tool, but not instill it in my classroom the way some other teachers have.

One of the core things I anticipate doing when I'm a future teacher as a result of this reading is pay attention to what my individual students need to better their learning. Some might need a podcast, while others won't care for it at all, and that's okay. Other students might really put forth their best work knowing it will be published (video casting) while others might want to watch something and then have the opportunity to actively engage in a discussion about the topic. I feel that to be the best teacher I can, I need to have each student try each of these options for a period of time and then allow them to pick what works best for them. They could switch it up every assignment or they might prefer to stick with one way of doing things; but the important thing is that it is a decision they made that they benefit the most from.

Exit Slip #7

Today in class we listened to a group facilitate a discussion about Rethinking Chapter 6. They did a really good job dividing up the class into discussion groups and by designating places throughout the room for us to go. They set a really high bar for the rest of the semester. I'm really excited to present next week. Dr. Boyer then went over different tips using the SMARTboard. It was a great help because there were quite a few things that I didn't know how to do. Even if it doesn't pertain to my specific IWB lesson, it's helpful to know how to do it in the future. I didn't know how to lock words so that they can still move yet not be edited. And I learned how to make clones of something that I want my students to drag across the SMARTboard. We learned to pay great attention to the coloring of our backgrounds and text. We also learned how we shouldn't include more than roughly 36 words per slide when creating presentations.

I think I might meet with Dr. Boyer to help me make some changes to my IWB. If not that, for sure with my Scratch lesson. Dr. Boyer discussed how he was on Skype and how we are able to reach him that way if office hours or email doesn't always work. Before we left today we did a mid-semester course evaluation.

iRLO Reflection

The iRLO assignment was challenging. It definitely wasn't something that you could just throw together. It took time to just explore and figure out how things get pieced together. I feel that people who didn't really experience that great of difficulty probably have a more computational mindset. I look at things and see them for what they are, not always how they function. This assignment was good because it caused me to think in a different way than I normally would've. After looking at some of the other assignments after I had posted mine, I felt like mine was maybe not as "cool" as everyone else's, but it still required effort from me in order to get it to work, which made me proud. I'm looking forward to seeing what critiques my peers give me in order to better my iRLO and perhaps get some more help.

Rethink: Chapter 6

This chapter really helped me understand the overall shift from where education started and to where it is now. The other chapters were building up to this and I felt like this chapter was just tying everything together and helped me understand everything prior to this a lot more. This reading has led me to believe that education isn't points on a line but rather a continuum, things are constantly evolving and changing. But sometimes this change is happening so slowly we don't ever realize it until way after the fact. The three phases that were highlighted in "Rethinking" took a long time to get to the way they were. As a future teacher I wonder what types of trials and tribulations lie ahead of me my first year teaching, my 5th year, my 25th... Will the greatest amount of good for the most amount of people keep changing? And if so, what will I do to stay caught up? What if this technological shift does have an ever increasing amount of students being home schooled or being involved in distance/online education? If we're individualizing instruction (which I have no arguments with) and allowing students to pick the topics that interest them or that will enhance their career choice, I feel like we're going back to the ways of apprenticeships in some sense.

From this reading, I feel that the best I can do is to keep an open mind to the world around me. Not every one thing is suited for every one person and this holds true in education. Not every student will learn best in a regular classroom set up with the general curriculum, while others can greatly excel at it. I feel also that too much individualization without precedent might allow students to "slack off" or only want to learn about subjects the they find interesting. I'm not saying you can't further your knowledge about a particular topic, but if I had my choice I wouldn't really have to deal with science unless it involved looking at animals. There are some things that we have an obligation to teach our students and I just hope that we don't completely veer away from that. 

BWP: Chapter 7

Once again, I learned about a new technology tool. When first learning about Flickr, I figured that it was just a website that one would upload photos to, edit them, and could share them with their family and friends. Clearly I was greatly mistaken. Flickr not only allows you to post pictures and videos but grants you access to view others photos as well as comment on them, use them with their permission, as well as find pictures that are related to yours. The possibilities are truly endless. The reading also gave a few examples of how one might go about incorporating Flickr into their classroom, which I found to be incredibly useful. This reading showed me that sometimes you need discover the true capabilities of a tool before totally overlooking it. If I would've gone off of my main assumption of what I thought Flickr was, I'd be missing out on a great enhancement to my future classroom. This reading also has started to make me think how much more pride students would have in their work if their audience expanded beyond the walls of our classroom. Having people from all around the world view, comment, and even use students' work is such a beneficial experience.

There are a few things I plan to do after reading this chapter. First and foremost is to totally understand whatever it is I'm looking at. As stated earlier, what I thought Flickr was happened to be far away from it's capabilities. In order to see what can best serve the classroom, you need to know what it is. That's what I plan to do with any tools I happen to use in my future classroom. I want to stress to my students that people from all around the world actually care and are interested in what's going on in our classroom. They care about the work that they are doing and might even have helpful comments to aid us in our learning adventure. By allowing students to post their work on the Internet using tools like Flickr, they are connecting with people who they otherwise might not have known existed. And all because of using a simple tool. Using this type of technology allows us to give our students a diversity that we probably wouldn't be able to offer inside the normal classroom setting.