There are always mixed feelings for me as a educator when a class comes to an end. I am of course relieved to have a break in the stress of balancing work, home, and class. However, the teacher in me is sad to know the class is coming to an end because it has been such a great way to learn about new technologies and see how other teachers are using them in such creative ways.
The biggest thing that I have learned through this class is that I don't have to compromise instructional strategies like scaffolding when using technology in the classroom. The STAIR project helped me to learn through experience that I can slow things down for students who need key concepts explained in smaller, more manageable chunks. I also liked how I could use a program I already knew how to use (PowerPoint) in a brand new way. I can also create STAIRs to teach my students when I can not be directly with them.
I really enjoyed learning about the web-based technologies. I am very frustrated however that so much of those great technologies are blocked in my classroom. While cleaning out my email inbox this week, I realized that I personally was the one who requested for Weebly to be blocked in the fall of 2008. We had a student creating a website that included gang related pictures and pictures of her using drugs during class. Not knowing much about the site, I requested for it to be blocked. I now regret that move and wish that I had found another solution to the issue at hand. It also helps me think about how some of these great technologies can be used inappropriately if we do not monitor our students closely. I am glad to say that I know I have the Vision program in the computer lab that allows me to monitor and control my students computers, as well as do demonstrations on their monitors. Not only can I argue that Weebly can be unblocked because I have been given the tools to help monitor my students, I now have the means to demonstrate to my students how to use the technology I am learning about through these great MSU classes.
Through this class (CEP811) I truly have achieved some of my personal goals of creating both a webpage and a webquest. These were goals I had for myself long before I had considered the Educational Technology Program. I guess I just needed a push, guidance, and some requirements to help me achieve those goals. I am grateful for that. My new goals, as a result of this class, is to continue to develop my own computer based instructional resources. I would like to create more webquests to use in the future. I would also like to continue creating STAIRs. Knowing how long I spent on them for this class, I know I will have to set aside time to work on those two things. I guess that's why we get summers off. (I say that sarcastically, of course!)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Online Experience
After reading the Michigan Merit Curriculum Online Experience Guidelines, I think that it is very interesting to see our state requiring online education. I also thought it was interesting to see so many Web 2.0 technologies qualify as online experience towards graduation. Maybe this means more and more schools will be able to receive updated technology so that students can meet those requirements.
I currently "teach" 3 sections of online classes using a program called Compass Learning. I put teach in parentheses there because during those class periods I hardly get to teach at all. Students come in, put on a set of headphones, and watch a tutorial/video that already has teachers delivering the instruction. Most days, the only teaching I get to do is when I help students with difficult assignments. When my building first began the online classes, I was idealistic, believing I would teach one general, broad lesson that would compliment the tutorials. But since I have as many as 5 different courses going on in one class period, I found that became simply impossible. Now I have begun creating new assignments to accompany the online tutorials. Whenever possible, I have tried to incorporate Web 2.0 technology into those assignments, though I am finding that difficult as many of them are blocked in my computer lab.
If I were able to incorporate more technology into the classes, I would like to incorporate a learning management system into the online classes. I began to experiment with Blackboard as part of my CEP810 class, but I have found that learning the system is difficult and time consuming. I have heard great things about Moodle, but it is blocked in my computer lab. I really feel that being able to create assignments and have discussion forums would add the interaction that is currently lacking in the Compass Learning program. Right now students have limited interaction with me and limited interaction with each other. Adding a course management system or perhaps using blogs would help students feel more connected.
Finally, I have learned the hard way that some technologies should be avoided with my Alternative Ed students. For example, I introduced my students to skrbl as a way to brainstorm and collaborate for a creative writing assignment. I turned my back to help a struggling student and someone had drawn an inappropriate picture on the whiteboard. I was not at my computer to see which student had done it, so I had no way to punish those responsible. Of course, we then had a discussion about appropriate use of technology at school, but I am still wary of using the site again.
I currently "teach" 3 sections of online classes using a program called Compass Learning. I put teach in parentheses there because during those class periods I hardly get to teach at all. Students come in, put on a set of headphones, and watch a tutorial/video that already has teachers delivering the instruction. Most days, the only teaching I get to do is when I help students with difficult assignments. When my building first began the online classes, I was idealistic, believing I would teach one general, broad lesson that would compliment the tutorials. But since I have as many as 5 different courses going on in one class period, I found that became simply impossible. Now I have begun creating new assignments to accompany the online tutorials. Whenever possible, I have tried to incorporate Web 2.0 technology into those assignments, though I am finding that difficult as many of them are blocked in my computer lab.
If I were able to incorporate more technology into the classes, I would like to incorporate a learning management system into the online classes. I began to experiment with Blackboard as part of my CEP810 class, but I have found that learning the system is difficult and time consuming. I have heard great things about Moodle, but it is blocked in my computer lab. I really feel that being able to create assignments and have discussion forums would add the interaction that is currently lacking in the Compass Learning program. Right now students have limited interaction with me and limited interaction with each other. Adding a course management system or perhaps using blogs would help students feel more connected.
Finally, I have learned the hard way that some technologies should be avoided with my Alternative Ed students. For example, I introduced my students to skrbl as a way to brainstorm and collaborate for a creative writing assignment. I turned my back to help a struggling student and someone had drawn an inappropriate picture on the whiteboard. I was not at my computer to see which student had done it, so I had no way to punish those responsible. Of course, we then had a discussion about appropriate use of technology at school, but I am still wary of using the site again.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Google Picasa
I have been experimenting with Google Picasa this morning. It is a free program that Google offers as a way to edit, compile, and share photos. I easily downloaded the program onto my computer and I was eager to try it out. At first I found the program frustrating because I went in with guns blazing, not noticing that "deleting" a picture or folder from Picasa was actually sending the pictures and folders to my recycling bin. I quickly noticed the problem and realized I wanted to choose to "Remove" the files from Picasa instead.
As you can see above, I used the program to create a collage of pictures from a recent field trip. The program is simple to use and I think it could be very useful in an educational setting. Students can easily share a photo and add it to a blog. It could be a fabulous tool to use in a creative writing class to spark imagination. The applications of this program seem bountiful and I would recommend teaching colleagues to think about using in their classes.
To use this software, students would have to have a background in uploading digital photos. Though the program makes it simple, students would definitely need to have experience with uploading and/or importing photos from a camera, SD card, etc. Picasa makes it easy to share pictures and creations. You can easily email photos or automatically upload a photo to www.blogger.com. Pictures can also be exported or sent to be printed. You even have the option to buy prints. I thought that was awesome.
Students can easily collaborate using this program. Students can easily edit photos and share them in the multiple ways. Students would need very little explanation on how to edit and how to share the photos. The only thing students would need is a place to share or email to. For example, I might ask students to create a blog first and allow other students to follow, comment on, and have access to the blogs. Otherwise emails could be exchanged. And of course, a Google account could also be easily used. The possibilities are endless and I would highly recommend it.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Blogs and Instructional Strategies
Blogs can be great tools that teachers can use to help engage students in the material. I think that blogs would work best in subjects and units that require or could require a great deal of reflection. For example, I feel that using a blog in an English class would feel very natural. Students could be asked to reflect on a piece of writing or an idea. Blogs could also be very useful when we use instructional strategies that put students more in charge of their own learning. For example, in cooperative learning activities, blogs could be used to express the progress of group work and debate the issues among group members. Similarly, in a inquiry/constructivist approach students could use blogs to document their findings as they work through a problem.
On the other hand, blogs might be more difficult to use in direct instruction or recall activities. As mentioned before, blogs would be very difficult to use for learning multiplication tables. Sure, students could post a blog entry with responses to recall questions. But the feeling of the blog would be lost. How could someone following the blog comment on a post that reads something like “10 x 2 =20; 10 x 3 = 30”? Blogs in a sense require reflection and something for a follower to comment on and add to. This is not to say that you could never use a blog in a math class. For example, one way to use a blog in a math class would be to have students describe how they solved a difficult equation step by step. Other users could then comment on the way the learner tackled the problem or perhaps, if necessary, point out flaws or mistakes.
I really like the idea of using a blog in my social studies classes. I love to have students write about a historical event from the perspective of someone living during that time. For example, one year, I had students write diary entries and letters from the aspect of a slave on the run, from the aspect of the fugitive slave catcher, and finally, from the aspect of the slave owner. It was not my way to justify slavery, but to have students begin to understand how/why slavery was able to continue for as long as it had in the South. I think posting these kind of assignments could be excellent material for a blog. It would be engaging students in the history material, yet asking them to reflect on it in a way that will help deepen their understanding of the ear, time period, or events.
On the other hand, blogs might be more difficult to use in direct instruction or recall activities. As mentioned before, blogs would be very difficult to use for learning multiplication tables. Sure, students could post a blog entry with responses to recall questions. But the feeling of the blog would be lost. How could someone following the blog comment on a post that reads something like “10 x 2 =20; 10 x 3 = 30”? Blogs in a sense require reflection and something for a follower to comment on and add to. This is not to say that you could never use a blog in a math class. For example, one way to use a blog in a math class would be to have students describe how they solved a difficult equation step by step. Other users could then comment on the way the learner tackled the problem or perhaps, if necessary, point out flaws or mistakes.
I really like the idea of using a blog in my social studies classes. I love to have students write about a historical event from the perspective of someone living during that time. For example, one year, I had students write diary entries and letters from the aspect of a slave on the run, from the aspect of the fugitive slave catcher, and finally, from the aspect of the slave owner. It was not my way to justify slavery, but to have students begin to understand how/why slavery was able to continue for as long as it had in the South. I think posting these kind of assignments could be excellent material for a blog. It would be engaging students in the history material, yet asking them to reflect on it in a way that will help deepen their understanding of the ear, time period, or events.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Wikis!
I have done a lot of experimenting with Wikis today. On www.wikipedia.org, I tried to look up the article on my school. My school did not already have its own article. Before creating one, I first did some editing to the article on my school district in which I added a few facts about my building. I also broke up the current article into two smaller articles to help with readability. I then created a short article on my school, Pearson Education Center. I did not make my article very long, as I would like to see if anyone adds anything to the article. I think it would be interesting to see if anyone does, since my building is often the forgotten step-child of the district. Above you will see screen shots of these.
Finally, after editing on Wikipedia, I created my own wiki on wikispaces.com. The address is http://msmacswiki.wikispaces.com/. I have set it up to keep track of Web 2.0 resources and add to them. I also included two pages for my U.S. History class. One page simply lists websites that will be useful to my students. The second page is one I titled “History Is” in which I am going to ask my students to come up with their own explanations of what they think history is. I plan to use this as brainstorming for an essay I will ask them to write later this year. I look forward to seeing how creative my students can be.
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