Fun With Flickr / Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, and Live Streaming_Saulo

Response to Chapter 7&8…

Have you ever been happy but anxious, excited by frustrated? I have. I have recently experienced these mixed feelings as I read this book written by Will Richardson. I have to say one more time that I agree that the title really captures the content of the book (…powerful tools for classrooms), at least it does in my personal point of view. It is very amazing to see how technology is overtaking all areas of our lives at the same time it is becoming more accessible every day. I know all I have to do is to invest time and be willing to know more about how technology can be used, especially in the classroom. For example, I never thought of using Flickr as an educational tool. I really never saw the potential to use it in the classroom. However, Richardson explores the “ability to capture daily events or highlights and easily share those with students, parents, community, and colleagues”, and the “ability to start online discussions about the images you post by adding comments under any particular photo”. All I have to find out is how that technology could be used in my class.

Podcasting and video and screencasting are also two new things for me. I have heard about them, I have used them, too. However, I had never done my own podcasting, or video and screencasting. The more I learn about these tools, the more I see the potential of using ALL of them in my classroom. I can see how the communication could be strengthened among teachers, students, and parents. I can see how it could facilitate my practice; for example I could use this tool to simply repeat instructions on a specific project, or explain complete concepts and examples as a way to reinforced what we saw in class. Nowadays, “…it has become much easier to create and consume multimedia as well as text and digital images”. Students are very interested in using technology and learning about it. Why should I wait or avoid using technology? The readings of this book have become a wake-up calling to step-up on my technological skills and use them for the benefit of my students.

Wikis, RSS, The social WEB_Saulo

Response to Chapter 4,5,6…Wikis, RSS, The social WEB

“…A wiki is a web site where anyone can edit anything anytime they want” (p.55) These were not exactly the words I heard but is the idea that was explained to me by a librarian as she stated that wikis were not a credible source to look for “real” information. That explanation stayed in my mind and impacted, I guess, the way I think about wikis. I have used wikis to read about a specific topic, but every time I did, I had to confirm that specific information somewhere else, a book or a web page; “knowing what sources to trust is becoming a much more labor-intensive exercise” (p. 59). This is a challenge I need to overcome as I grow in my professional journey. I would fool myself if I close my eyes to the several opportunities for teaching and learning that wikis offer to education settings. Language skills (over 200 languages), collaboration and negotiation skills, discussions, editorial controls, among other areas, are the powerful features we can incorporate in our practice as educators.

Richardson also talks about RSS, which is a completely new technological area for me. However, I could see the benefit of it right from the beginning of the chapter 5…”There are also a few tools aimed at helping you consume all that information in more efficient and relevant ways” (p. 71, emphasis is mine).  Efficient and relevant were the words that made me want to learn more about RSS. With a very busy schedule, surfing and clicking the web to find the information you need could be frustrating and time consuming. Richardson explains how RSS gives us the possible solutions through the use of feed collectors (aggregators). All you need to do is to find the feed you want to subscribe to and the content with be collected for you; “…in general, you know that everything in your aggregator is something you want to read because you subscribed to it” (p. 72). As a future educator, I need to make use of every resource available to make my practice easier, more productive, relevant, and interesting in order to benefit my students. Once again, I see the potential of RSS in the classrooms (especially developing reading skills), I just need to explore and use it.

Tech Review_SauloHJ

TECH REVIEW

http://www.delicious.com/stacks/view/TG1wsj

Learning and Leading with Technology (digital edition, November 2009)  

Author name(s) : Kelly Ahrens

Title of article: Build an assistive Technology Toolkit

Title of journal: Leading and Learning with Technology.

Date of publication: November 2011

Volume of the journal: 39

Issue number of the journal: 3

Article Page numbers: “pp. 22–24”

Assistive Technology (AT) is a group of customized tools aimed to meet the needs of different learning styles and physical challenges. The goal is to use these tools in the school, with the support of IT. The intended audience is teachers, administrators, and central office authorities. You can either use the options and tools built into your operating system or find some online. Some in your OS could be Magnification, On-screen keyboard, Narrator or Voice over, Speech recognition, Change text size, Personalization, Keyboard shortcuts, Sticky keys, Mouse keys, Filter keys, Visual and Sound notifications, and captions. Some online tools could be found in K12IMC.org.

“You can instill independence and confidence in students with special needs by finding free tools and working with you IT department…”.

“Once you find the tools you want to use –both free and paid- you need to know how to work with your school IT department to develop a systemwide AT program that successfully support students.”

TED-TALK: Technology

Ideas Worth Spreading  

George Dyson

The Birth of the Computer.

Feb. 2003 (Monterrey, CA)

http://www.ted.com/talks/george_dyson _at_the_birth_of_the_computer.html

The Birth of the Computer.

Dyson takes us back in time and gives us the historic facts of the birth of the computer. He goes back in 1945, with the atomic bomb. John von Neumann was the one thinking about and creating the first computer. After Neumann, some people got together and started working, designing, and implementing new ideas in order to have what we have now in regards to computers. Dyson does a very good job giving credit to the people involved in this process, for example he says that Leibniz was the first one talking about building such a machine, in 1679, arguing that arithmetic and logic are the same thing. The talk is directed to people interested in technology and the history behind it. He describes the importance of team work, perseverance, and the time factor in technology. He also mentions that technology was inevitable; if those people mentioned by him wouldn’t have done it, someone would’ve done it anyway, and this is seen with RCA, they decided not to go into computers. Nowadays, we enjoy and use the progress in technology done by many people. For people interested on technology history, this is an excellent talk. For others this is just information that is good to know; they prefer to enjoy the technology and the benefits of it.

“I am thinking about something much more important than bombs. I am thinking about computers.” John von Neumann.

“RCA, in probably one of the lousiest business decisions of all time, decided not to go into computers.”

Webinar:

eSchool News, Technology News for Today’s K-20 educator. 

Barbara Rudolph and Thomas Greaves: Powering the Digital Classroom: More Than Just Computers

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/ 02/15/powering-the-digital-classroom-more-than-just-computers/2/?

March 28, 2012       

Powering the Digital Classroom: More than just Computers

Greaves explains that DTP is not about eliminating something in education but using technology to do it. He also talks about RED (Revolutionizing Education; a study of 997 schools) and the main focus of if: Improving student achievement and Evaluating the financial impact of technology on budgets. He also explains the Key Implementation Factors and the main findings in this RED project. The summary of this project is that technology works best when properly implemented; and DTP capabilities are integral to proper implementation.

Barbara talks about her district and why they decided to adopt 1 to 1 DTP. They started this as a summer project. She mentions it has great benefits but also shares some of the things that did not work for them.      

“Technology is becoming more powerful, more reliable and more effective in education.”

Android Market   Android for Academics

www.androidforacademics.com

Gradebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7hGYi3KURg (demo)

Version 1.07

Requires 1.21 MB            This seems to be a very good app for managing student’s grades on our android device. It works with Google Docs spreadsheet. You have to create a Google Doc spreadsheet and then allow access from your device to import the file. You can change grades from your android and save the new information. You can also email students grades. The app has pin-numbered protection in case you lose your device.      

ISTE.ORG

ISTE Connects Blog        Teach Elementary Students How to Social Network

http://www.iste.org/connect/iste-

connects/blog-detail/11-12-22/Teach_Elementary_Students _How_to_Social_Network.aspx

December 22, 2011         This blog promotes the importance of teaching social networking in schools, in order to develop safe and healthy social skills. Some schools may not be interested in social networking, but the advantages are strong and under the right conditions it has a lot to offer to elementary schools. Some of the social skills that could be taught are: avoiding using inflammatory language, not sharing personal information with strangers, thinking before you react because everyone can see what you post, and picking your friends carefully.

“Most middle school and many elementary students are already networking online, so why not teach them how to do it right?”

“Schools that ban social networking are missing an excellent opportunity to teach safe and healthy social skills.”

Teaching Channel

Inspired Teachers, Inspiring classrooms  Teaching Channel

Videos produced by video production experts, education advisors, and the classroom teachers themselves.

www.teachingchannel.org

Teaching Channel launched publicly in June 2011.          This website is a great tool for future educators and new teachers to learn from and apply what other teachers in America are effectively using in their classrooms. Teaching Channel is a video showcase—on the Internet and TV—of inspiring and effective teaching practices in America's schools. Their mission is to revolutionize how teachers learn, connect, and inspire each other to improve the outcomes for all K-12 students across America. The selection of the videos could be made by subject, grades or topics. It is a great tool to learn new classroom techniques, activities, strategies, etc. that can facilitate the teaching and learning process. I reviewed some of the videos under the English Language Arts section and saw how some teachers build vocabulary in a very fun and active way that students are engaged and interested in learning and finishing their projects.     

Comment on Kohler and Mishra Article

It was almost 10 years ago when I started teaching in middle schools in Mexico. I had a hard time making my students engage on and learn what I was teaching. I decided to leave the textbook and use technology once a week. I had three options: A very old overhead projector, a computer lab with very out-dated computers and software, or the Smartboard. As I read the article, I was bringing all these memories back to mind. I loved using the computer and the Smartboard, I knew my students were excited to go to class when they knew we were going to use those two elements instead of the textbook and workbook. Honestly, I do not think of myself designing a lesson once week for making my students learn more or better. I was using the technology because it was more fun, the kids enjoyed it more, and because time flew when using it. It was something different for me and for my students.

Even though I was not able to deconstruct and analyze my practice back then, now I see some of the things that are mentioned in the article that are true in teaching, but that I was not able to take advantage of. When a teacher is able to use technology to solve or improve a challenging situation in his practice, a lot of good things could happen. The use of technology and the teaching design facilitate our practice, engage students in the content matter, and allow the learning process to take place in more meaningful ways. I also agree that the design and use of technology could help us have a more inclusive classroom environment. I believe that the model described in the article is a great tool to help us meet the needs of the different learning styles. Helping our kids learn should be one of the main goals as teachers. Learning about designing and learning about how our students learn could make a huge difference and impact on our students.

Looking for educational groups in the Internet

FaceBook
This page has many interesting links to websites and resources that could be helpful to different levels of education. My search started with phrases related to my current position and master program. I looked for groups related to the Migrant Education Program and groups for teachers or elementary grade levels. In my first experience on FaceBook looking for educational groups, I have to say I was not very successful. Many of the groups I searched for were not active or the content was not updated or simply not the best. However, I came across this group called Top Teachers Resources (http://www.facebook.com/topteacherresources).

This group reads “Top teacher/authors on Facebook sharing all their best resources, ideas, tips, tricks, and more!”  Even though I did not have the chance to explore all the different links, I found very good resources and links to different blogs and websites, however, some links were resources for free and some others for a low cost.

Classroom20.com

As I checked the website, I went to explore some of the different groups that are in there. Two of them caught my attention. The first one was about the use of cell phones in education. The second one was about downloading YouTube videos. These topics were presented as a Group Discussions. I liked the idea of posting a question and asking for an answer from the audience out there. The cool part is that the answers are related to education and by teachers or educators sharing their experiences and resources, not by “experts” trying to show off or sell something.

Action Research Screencast

Response to Koehler & Mishra Article

Response to Koehler & Mishra Article  

    This was a great article that really shows the need for “sustained inquiry and revision of ideas” in the field of teaching and more specifically dealing with technology.  Instead of just teaching the basics on how to use a certain technology, it makes sense to focus on a problem of practice and seek ways to use technology to solve the problem.  I like the reference to social constructivist theory in the reading and how Learning by Design is based on this.  It really tied us back to what we studied previously and it helped it to make more sense.  I think in this class here at Pacific we are indeed following this model and it will help us immensely as we transition to teachers in the coming years.  
    I think that a problem in the schools today that I have noticed is there is a huge gap between those teachers that use technology and those that don’t.  You can’t exactly force veteran teachers to change their whole way of teaching overnight but it would really help the students to be able to have some consistency between classes.  It would also help the collaboration between teachers that could benefit the students on many fronts.  I do think the “diversity of teaching styles” argument is somewhat valid but I think it wouldn’t hurt to have more teachers using technology in diverse ways.

Technology Project Update

    
    For my technology project I am going to create a Jeopardy game from JeopardyLabs.com using the Biology curriculum from my placement.  I would like to eventually create a game to use at the end of every unit of study for a fun way to prepare for the exam.  This could help a variety of learners to get a grasp on the big picture of each unit of study.  It could also help create a sense of camaraderie for students who aren’t involved in sports and are good at science. This fits well with the TPACK model due to the use of technology to enhance content knowledge. From a pedagogical standpoint, by knowing how students learn in different ways, this teaching approach will help to add to a more diverse learning environment that in conducive to a variety of learners. It could also be used as an assessment to judge how much the students know about the material.

Thoughts on Kohler and Mishra Article

            I found the approach in this article a very effective one.  Allowing teachers to learn how to use technology while solving real pedagogy issues or a problem of practice while using prior knowledge makes the process meaningful to learners.  I find that I am much more engaged in completing assignments when they are relevant and meaningful.  When reading the key problems about teaching design, I can definitely relate as the learner in feeling that the ideas at first come across as vague, ambiguous, and incomplete until the ideas are clarified through action.  I am happy to say that I feel supported in learning technology in this course and specifically how we have been allowed to extend our understanding to other courses in the program and build on it further. 

            I especially appreciated the sections on Learning about Design and Learning about Learning.  These sections put into perspective that design and learning are complex, yet rewarding.  I couldn’t help but think about how this design not only relates to technology but it serves as a great model for teaching in general.  In my ESOL endorsement classes there is great emphasis on teaching students new content by building on background knowledge, making learning meaningful, providing lots of support and hands on activities.   I couldn’t help but relate Learning by Design to best practice. 

Tech Project Update

For my Technology project I will be creating a classroom website designed for the purpose of communicating with parents and keeping them connected with their child’s education.  My goal is to infiltrate my findings in my AR study about the importance of building partnerships with parents and parent involvement.  Several sections of the website will be focused on my synthesis of my AR (this will account for the Pedagogy-my research and findings).  I will also be sharing student work through photos and postings through a blog (this will account for the content).  I will also include several aspects from what we have learned through our tech class to implement in my website, e.g. website, blog, imbedding slideshows and links, etc. (this will account for the technology).  I realize that my content won’t be as strong as if I were focusing on a subject; rather it will have a broad range of aspects to make a well-rounded website and act more as a resource and informational place for parents to come.