Video Madness

By far the most entertaining and fun project I have had all semester.  No offense to Mr. Portacio’s excel lesson, but this was a hell of a lot more fun.  Not only was the lead up the project fun, things like the story boarding and the costume design, but the actual filming was great.  Our group has had moments of disagreement, where we have not seen eye to eye, and it has felt like there is a little tension every once in a while, but this project really brought us all together.  We were all having such a good time with the acting, the filming, the ideas and the story all seemed to be flowing. 

For me personally, this project really let my creativity out.  It was the perfect outlet.  So often we as students are stuck doing the same drab and boring assignments.  This project didn’t even feel like schoolwork.  I know that if I were able to get completely amped on a project for school, my students would be as well.  This type of project can be used in so many ways in the classroom.  I love the idea of the small format or commercial format.  It allows for students to be succinct without boring the audience and themselves.  Having to get ones point across in a matter of minutes instead of hours (when writing a paper) or even with a longer video makes the students really analyze what is most important to the point of their video and what needs to be said most. 

This project gets a A+ in my book, even if I don’t.

Evaluate the Evaluation

So often today we are faced with new and “improved” technology.  It seems as though something new is placed before us on a daily basis.  What we choose to spend out money on or the schools money must be carefully evaluated and analyzed for it reliability, dependability, and functionality.  From audio/video mediums, new software programs, CD-ROMs, and the infinite number of websites that pop up each day, we as teachers need to know what makes something quality and what makes something a waste of time at best and money at worst. 

http://www.evalutech.sreb.org/criteria/index.asp gives us the tools necessary to do just that.  It is a break down and a rubric for what makes something quality.  This run down will allow anyone to look for certain highlights in which products should have.  There is just so much out there that this one stop shop will help anyone, no matter what his or her level of technological expertise, and allow for a simple analysis. 

One of the links titled, “Questions to ask about your technology investment,” is a list of things that we should be asking ourselves when buying new technology for our classrooms.  They are things that we do not always think about when entrenched in the moment of purchase.  As anyone that has ever bought anything knows that that moment can be highly impulsive.  But if we have a list that has been well thought out, and allows ourselves some time to think and be a bit more methodical about the decision without rushing into things, we may come away with a far better product and something that will benefit us that much more.

WIKI WIKI WIKI

Wikis, are they the greatest or worst information source ever conceived?  The jury is still out on that.  The can be a tremendous asset if utilized properly and maintained on a regular basis.  But the problem with them is that a lot of false information can also be uploaded.  My gut instinct towards wikis is that they are an undeniably valuable resource for quick information checks.  But when doing more in-depth analysis or research, it is ALWAYS necessary to cross check any and all information that one comes across via a wiki. 

In all honesty, the reading for this week seemed to be a bit obvious.  E all know that there is a technology gap between schools that have the resources and those that don’t.  Some of the fund raising suggestions were valid, and there is definitely a need for the teachers to be aggressive in and out side of the school administration.  Lacks of financial resources are something that every teacher will have to deal with throughout his or her career.  Unfortunately that is not something that will go away any time soon.  So therefore it is up to the teachers to find additional sources of monies or actual hardware.  Another valid piece of advice given in the article is to be self reflective upon when and how much technology is actually utilized within the classroom.  Technology should eventually be viewed in the same light as books or pencils.  This is how essential they are to modern culture. 

As far as copyright laws are concerned, it is just one more set of rules and regulations that will have to be paid close attention to.  I don’t think that it will affect me very much in the classroom.  But I do feel that I will need to separate my personal views from those that are the actual views.  I may disagree with some things that are law, but that is not for me to present to the class.  I am there to set a good example, the students can make up their own minds without my impute.

WeB QuEsT

I have never experience a web quest first hand that I can recall, so if I did do one, it must not have made much of an impact.  However, the term is familiar, and after reading and hearing about it this week, I am convinced that this strategy will be employed in my classroom.  It seems like the most obvious of assignments, something that is almost common sense.  Using the internet as a source for solving problems, answering questions, analyzing data, is something that everyone will eventually be used to doing (if they are not already).  To simply transfer this to the classroom is so logical.  But I do feel like there is a major difference between sending a student off on their own to simply “research” on the Internet, and helping guide them through a topic, which essentially is a web quest.

There are so many variables that can be employed and they enable teachers to touch on many levels of thinking (Bloom’s Taxonomy).  One of the things that I like most about these types of projects is that they are interactive and can easily become group projects.  I feel that so much of what is done in the work place is cooperation between employees, teaching students the importance of working with one and other on a consistent basis is a critical skill to learn when preparing them for the “real world.”  In addition these projects can take on a long or short-term time frame.  I really like the idea of an evolving web quest that takes place over the length of a semester.  It becomes much more complex and I think increases exponentially on the difficulty scale the deeper students get into a project like that.

The simplicity of the structure, which is, Introduction, Task, Process, Information sources, Evaluation, Conclusion, allows for such diversity and creativity when designing a good quest.  These exercises can turn into group presentations, individual presentations or even extended into a report or physical project.  Really the options are limitless.  As mentioned before, this tool will definitely be used in my classroom.

Sites, Sites and more Sites

There is no doubt that I will be using a website for my classroom.  Even if it is something that is really simple and to the point like the sites that we created this week using the Google sites tool.  Eventually I would like to make something a bit more complex, but nothing that will take an exorbitant amount of time to keep up to date.  That is one of the issues that I see happening when looking at other teacher’s sites.  They have way too much content, it must take a full time jobs just to keep the site up and running.  But besides the time that something like that takes, the aesthetic appeal of a page filled with clutter really diminishes the more that goes up.  People can easily get overwhelmed and frustrated with sites that are just a mess of information.  Things have to be easy to navigate and make some sort of logical sense. 

I would love to include things on my site like blogs, threads, vlogs, pod casts, file sharing and of course a calendar.  I think that websites are the best tool to communicate with parents.  It is so easily accessible and can give a real window into what is happening in a child’s classroom.

As up keep of the site can be an issue.  One idea that came to mind is to have the students help in those tasks.  They would not only learn the intricacies of website maintenance, but it would also help to reinforce the lessons and or assignments.

Write right

Here is the text above:Writing is one of the most important skills that we as educators can learn.   But not only is writing an important skill for teachers and students alike, but for anyone that wishes to be a successful communicator in life.  Being able to articulate ones idea and express a point of view in the written word is an absolute necessity for anyone that is looking to join the professional world.  As teachers we will look for the best way to communicate with our students on how to better improve their writing skills.  One of the best tools for this process is the Track Changes tool in Word.  It is something that I personally have already used in the professional world and can not only be useful to help improve writing but also useful to learn how to comment on others writing.  It is said that the best way to learn something is by teaching it.  And that is one characteristic of this program.

The article that we read this week for class titled “Electronic Editing” was an overview on how to best utilize this tool.  It discussed the different types of ways to utilize electronic communication as a means of receiving and dispersing assignments.  I feel like it is a more effective means of communication between the student and the teacher.  One problem that he points out is the ability to add very long comments, ones that would not be written into a paper by hand due to the constraints of space.  It also eliminates the problem of ineligible handwriting, something that I suffer from.  This is definitely something that I will use in my class.  I think it is a tool that needs to be utilized and can have great benefits on the students development of writing skills.

Teachers Sites

http://www.historyteacher.net/
http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=40878
http://www.hilton.k12.ny.us/info/highschool-websites.htm
http://schoolcenter.hilton.k12.ny.us/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=985

Here are a number of teacher’s sites that I found. There is a bit of variety between them all. One (the first) is a link to a history teachers site that is not only a supreme domain name but also full of content. Almost too much so. The page is so filled that I got lost very easily and did not know where to begin and where to end. This site must have taken a long time and a ton of work to not only set up but also to maintain. And from what I can tell a lot of that work seems to be going to waste. If I am getting lost on the page, and I am searching them for an assignment, I could only imagine what her students must feel when the go to this page. I think this is a good lesson on what not to do. In order to make a site effective, it needs to be clean, direct and easy to navigate.

The second site I was looking at is a blog. Not exactly a site, but more of a running commentary with some still very valuable information.

The third and fourth sites are both derived from the same school. And actually the third site is the schools site. The fourth is just one of the many that can be accessed through the school. I love this idea. All the class sites are very similar, and have a user friendly interface. I feel like all schools should maintain sites for each class. It is the most direct form of communication between the classroom and the home.

Excel in your classroom!

Fortunately or unfortunately for me, depending on how you look at it, I have spent a bit of time in the corporate world. And in this world, the software program Excel is as important as the air you breathe. So I have had a lot of exposure to this program and feel as though I am proficient in it. I am by no means an expert, but I can get by, and if I am not able to perform something, then I am usually pretty good at figuring it out with the ‘help’ tool. Much of what we talked about in class this week regarding Excel was review. But that’s not to say I didn’t get a lot out of it. This program is amazingly deep. There are so many options that are available that can be transferred to the classroom.

Regarding the classroom, I can guarantee that this program will play an important role in everything I do. From keeping track of attendance and grades to amassing large amounts of data for projects and quickly transferring it to an easily readable and presentable type of graph.

The article we read this week was trying to bang home the point that the internet can be a deep well of information if used properly, but it can also provide very misleading and even incorrect information if one is not very careful in doing a thorough check to see where it came from.

This isn’t just useful for students, but also teachers. It can make for a very embarrassing day if you were to provide incorrect info to your students and then got called out on it. So BEWARE!!

Blooms Taxonomy

I feel like so much knowledge taught today is just surface knowledge. Rinse and repeat, memorize and regurgitate. At least that is the way things were mostly taught when I was in high school. There were a few professors that would dig for deeper answers. They were usually the English teachers and sometimes the social science ones too. When I got to college I don’t think I was totally prepared for the different types of questions that were awaiting me.

I wish that someone had introduced me blooms taxonomy at some earlier stage. If I could have carried this type of thinking over from high school and been familiar with this type of pyramid content, and the key word cues that come with it.

We talked a bit about this in class and a classmate Sarah made a great point. She said that this kind of learning could take place at any level. It depends on the subject content versus the age group. The example was teaching colors, in regards to a rainbow. As long as the students can evaluate something and apply that information to a different set of circumstances, then a higher level of learning is taking place. This kind of teaching and learning can take place at any level.

Another great example that was talked about was using this information that is already clearly laid out in a grading rubric. Key words and concepts can be targeted allowing for different points for different levels of thinking. All in all this is a great tool to have access to.

The Power is in the Point

This week we learned and explored PowerPoint. And I have used the program before, but my experience is admittedly limited. I know what the program is capable of doing, and I know how complex and deep this tool can get, but I have never moved far beyond the basic functions. One of the main reasons for this is that every time I sit down and begin a new project with PP, I seem to get lost in the seemingly infinite number of options that are available. I usually turn what should be a two-hour project, into something that takes an entire day.

I already know that this tool is going to be one of my main tools in the classroom. Again, I must be honest, spelling has never been my best subject area, so this will allow me remove some of those kinds of senseless errors before they actually take place. I also love the fact that I will not have to reinvent the wheel every year. I will make changes to the presentations over the years, but the main content can stay the same. One of the great things about teaching the social sciences is that the content changes very slowly. But at the same time I do not want to become one of those teachers that gets stuck doing the same thing year after year.

I think from a teacher’s point of view and a students point of view, there is so much that can be done with this tool. It is something that can hopefully be filled with new media to keep the students interest.

MIND MAP

I love this tool. I haven't really thought about mind maps in a long time. I had a 10th grade English teacher that would have us do them for everything. I honestly wish that I had some of those maps today. Just to see where my thought process has come from and what has changed. The different tools that are available to us, in the form of mind maps are incredible, including “inspiration.”

These tools lay things out in such a logical and easy to follow method. The options that are available are so much more visually appealing than anything I ever put together on my piece of notebook paper in pencil. These maps can be so useful when tracking progress on long term projects, in not only the classroom, but also the workplace.

For the subjects that I plan to teach (history, government, economics), these can be used in so many different ways. I could show the relationship between the different branches of government. Use a timeline to show how historical events relate to one and other, and include web links to video and audio. And in terms of economics, it would be an easy way to show the cause and effect of different events within an economy.

The map that is shown here, is one that I received by chance today. I subscribe to a green building blog and this is one they were included in and I thought it was a great example of the use of mind maps.

The part of "Mapping Student Minds" by Ariel Owen that I enjoyed the most was the ability to analyze ones thought process. It is one thing to have students go home and map out a central idea and identify the casual and formal relationships between that idea and others. But it is a very different process to ask them to explain it and debate with one and other on what should be added or removed and the reasons why. This allows for a window into how the students are developing their ideas. It is such an important process that is so often overlooked or not easily accessible. This kind of debate is a win win situation for both students and teachers, as it allows the teachers to see which areas of development may need more attention.

The beauty of a program like this is that it allows for constant change. Students can let their imaginations and intellect run wild at first, bringing any and all possible scenarios and connections into the fray. Then with time and focus, students can clarify their thoughts, learning to remove needless or periphery ideas, and really concentrate on developing a strong argument with only the most important factors considered.

The project described in the article is wonderfully thought out and such a great hands on experience for the kids. It seems to be all encompassing, bringing together the scientific data, the field experience, the analyzation of information, and the argument to support their data. Things that I remember most from my time in school were not the facts and dates, but it was the experiences and alternative projects that I did in groups or outside of class. There is no doubt in my mind that a project like this is something these kids would remember for the rest of their lives.

Evolution of Technology in the Classroom

As I sit here and reflect on my experiences in K-12, college, and then in a professional working environment, I am reminded of the moments that stick out in my memory and how they helped prepare me as a working adult. Because of when I went to school and the development of technology during that period, I was not entirely ready for the different applications used in the professional world today. I had limited experience with Excel and knew enough of Word to get by, but it did not comer everything that would be required of me in that office environment. During the time when I was in school, new technology was introduced to us in an instructional type method as opposed to the mentor or guidance type of method.

On pages 16 and 17 of the article “Oh the Changes…” by Yoder, there is a discussion of using new technologies through an evolutionary type process or self taught method. I feel like it is important for teachers to realize that technology moves so quickly and there are so many different applications coming online on a daily basis, that we must adjust to these developments by allowing the students to teach and determine their course of action with guidance as opposed to some sort of authoritarian. I know that from my own personal experience, I respond and learn much better when I am given a direction to head in, and am left to my own devices on the best way to get there.

Students today are so much more comfortable with the basics of computers and technology, than the generation I grew up in. They use things like personal hand held devices that have some of the same computing powers as the computers that I grew up learning on. It is important to remember that a student’s superior knowledge in technology resources is not something to be intimidated by, but is a resource to be utilized.

Be Kind...Rewind...

Remember the Human:
Sooo, important. I don’t know if it is the anonymity and the lack of consequences (or perception of) that leads some people to write and post some of the things that they do. Without having to looks someone square in the eye, or be in a room filled with people, and say some of the things that we (and I’m using the royal ‘we’ here) write, people have become a lot more courageous. Or so it would seem. But the moment you get those very same people eye to eye or in front of that room, they will become very timid and hold their tongue. So we need to remember, unless we are willing to stand up in a room full of people to say something….don’t say it.

Make yourself look good online:
This is pretty much common sense. Use proper punctuation, spelling, grammar. Write complete sentences, unlike these. But when people are communicating with one and other with no prior knowledge of each other, and no physical contact, then all we have to determine if the information someone is providing is valid is the way in which things are written.

Be forgiving of others mistakes:
There is no need to tear someone down for minor mistakes they have made. Be kind. The golden rule does still apply. If you have issue with something a person has written, then make a clear, logical, well thought out argument. Be intelligent about it…and not just mean.

Learning to Learn

The reading this week was especially fitting for me. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the way in which I learn and store information. I have decided that some of the things that I do have not worked all that well in the past. Although there have been no major revelations as of yet, I can admit that I have started to do some things differently.

Throughout my bachelor’s program, I went to a school that was much larger and didn’t have the personal contact with the professors that CSUSM has. And even though there were sections, with smaller group sizes, I was still very resigned to being quite, keeping my head down, not asking a lot of questions, and studying on my own. In the four years that I have been out of that program, I learned that method of learning did not work very well for me. I do much better when I am engaging and engaged. Because of this, I have made it a point to be much more outgoing this time around.

So far so good, as I feel I am already getting much more out of my classes. This article talks a bit about learning strategies and using technology to help alter preexisting conceptions. And although I cannot directly use technology to be more outgoing, it has helped me in other ways. Mainly to do with organization skills. Learning how to learn is one of the most important skills a person can posses, and if technology can assist in that, then it is very important to use it regularly.

Search and ye shall find...

Internet search tools are some of the most important skills that I have learned. In order to efficiently search for certain subject areas, facts, tools, and just about anything else on the web, it is absolutely imperative to learn how to narrow down the options.

I have spent hours before looking up information, in the end to come away with nothing. It can be one of the most frustrating and time consuming exercises to search for information that you know is out there, but because you are not entering the key words properly, the info will not show up.

What we tend to forget is that the computer is not a human being. These machines are not the ones in control. We are. They do what we say, and when we say it. Maybe that is what is so frustrating. The fact that as humans we need to learn how to speak this new language that is so eerily similar to the language we speak to one an other, but has so many different meanings and can produce such varied results is why we want to throw these things out the second floor window of the library sometimes. Not that I advocate that, or have ever experienced that….I’m just saying.

It’s ironic that in order to utilize the tools that are available, one must search for those very same tools to become proficient. That’s why this class has become such a valuable resource, it is there for us, and all we have to do are the assignments.

A New Path

I learned some amazing things this week. I learned that I love being in an education environment. I love being back in school. Throughout much of my life, in high school and even into college, I did not like being in school and the education process at all. It never came easy to me, and to be honest, at that time I was not one for hard work. But being back in school, after being away from it for the last four and a half years, I have come to a greater realization.
In my time away from school I learned the value and satisfaction of hard work and the completion of a task. Be it saving enough money to pay for a 7 month trip to South America or taking part in a 5 hour, 32 mile, outrigger canoe paddle race from Catalina Island to Newport Beach.

Coming to the decision to pursue a career as an educator did not come easy. A great deal of thought and deliberation went into it. But being on the CSUSM campus all week, and partaking in my classes, I know now that I have made the right decision. I am excited to use the lessons I learned the first time around in college, and apply them to the way I will do things in this program. But I am most excited to using my life lessons to try and help shape students into hard working, well rounded, socially conscious, educated individuals. It is just the beginning of this journey, but I am excited to be on it.

Education Resources on the Web

Education and technology go hand in hand. One drives the other. In order to use technology most efficiently in a classroom setting, one must fully understand its capabilities. As technology changes so rapidly, it is up to the user to adapt and continuously learn new methods, functions and capacities. In order to do this we must rely on that very same technology to educate us. These programs and platforms include PC's, MAC's, Word, Excel, Multimedia presentations, and of course the Internet.


While looking over "Computer Technology in the Classroom 101" by Laura Turner, I dissected each of the above areas and the different resources that are out there on the web. First, I was curious about PowerPoint and Hyper studio. I have had limited experience with PowerPoint and had never heard of Hyper studio. What I found was an abundance of information and tutorials on how to go about using each of these tools. And not just how to use the tools in general, but also how to use them in a classroom setting for lesson plans.

I use both a MAC and PC. Most of my experience in a professional setting has been on a PC, but I have purchased a MAC and am finding there are a great many similarities, and a few differences. I am also finding that there is a litany of information out there for both platforms. From beginners guides on each, tutorials, and training for education purposes.

Finally, as society moves in the direction of computer based information and resources, I found it helpful to look at the different ways to not only join in this movement with my own web page, much like the one that you are reading now, but also how to better utilize this great tool and its seemingly infinite amount of information. It is necessary to learn effective ways to sort information. Otherwise a huge amount of time can be wasted.