Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Reflection # 6
I think it is funny how we, sometimes, think things will never change. I think this mentality is changing due to the increasing amount of change in our society; however, I know for myself, sometimes I think everything will remain the same. The chalkboard. I suppose that back in the day no one ever thought that hardly any chalkboards would exist in future classrooms, but it is now reality. Same with overhead projectors, they are now becoming obsolete (if not already). It makes me think of certain things we have/use today that may disappear over time (TV, refrigerator, microwave, etc) and be replaced with different objects that are bigger and better. It's the same with fashion. When you put on an outfit, you don't think "Oh, this will be out of style in a few years". It is hard to imagine how fashion will change. We can see the changes retrospectively, but not before they happen; poodle skirts could not envision bell bottoms. I hope this makes sense. I feel as though I am rambling. Actually, I know I am. Sorry! : )
The Classroom in 5 Years
Times are changing. We are at a pivotal point in history. So much of our society will be different in the coming years. Certainly, technology will change. I believe that technology will become more accessible to the general public. Classrooms will have more and more technology in them. After being in a few different classrooms this semester, I can see how much classrooms have changed within the last 5-10 years. I know for certain, that they will continue to change in the next 5. Just how chalk boards are a thing of the past, overheads now are, and I think that white boards will become obsolete as well. Document cameras and interactive boards are up and coming. More and more schools have them in every classroom. Technology does make teaching easier, especially with this gerneration of students. However, there is a large margin for problems. How many times have you gone to use some technological device for a presentation or just or fun on your own and it won't work? It can be very frustrating. In the classroom, though, when you are using technology for a lesson and it won't work, you then have 20 some youngsters starring at you, attention span waining. Technology should be a first choice for teaching, but you should always have a technology-free back-up. I don't know if the role of teahers will change in the coming years. I hope a teacher's role always is to teach, encourage, inspire, and guide. How teachers do that may change, but their role should always remain the same.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Technology Project
For my technology project I chose to create a website. Prof. Sorenson had mentioned that students in the past found it frustrating to create a website for a class they did not have, but I found it extremely exciting! For one, you could do whatever you wanted to do. Secondly, your class could be studying anything. I found it exciting because I could imagine having my own class in the not so distant future. I am so looking forward to being a teacher - I can hardly wait!
My main piece of technology was, of course, the website. I used webs.com. It was somewhat difficult at first to get started, but I think it was simply because it was unfamiliar territory. Once I got going, though, I learned the ropes. For my two minor pieces of technology, I added a google map to my website and also a delicious account (Not to self: make sure to type in the 2nd i; 'delicious' spelled just 'ous' is, well, let's just say it is blocked on the Northwestu network). The wesite builder also offered a blog and calendar. You could also post pictures (I would use that to post pictures of the class and what we were doing, but I don't have any to use). You could also add widgets. I used this feature to add class polls (i.e. your favorite sport, food, color). My big acheivement of this project would be with my google map. I could not figure out how to get on my webpage. I knew it involved the html. I copied and pasted until I was blue in the face. I even asked Prof. Sorenson for help. We struggled with it for a while, but then we found this little button in the editing section 'html'. We did it! Of course the map was too small, but at least it was now on the webpage. Later that night I was playing around with it and discovered I could change the size of it in the html. So, I re-wrote part of the html (really, I just fiddled with the numbers until it was the right size) and made it the appropriate size.
One aspect of the project that I did find to be frustrating is having all these great ideas of what to do on my website but not knowing how to do them. I overcame some of that frustration, with the google map. One thing I would like to fix is the location of my class polls. I would like them to be all three next to each other in one row. It sounds simple, I know, but no matter what I tried, it wouldn't let me.
Ok, let me talk about the NET Standards.
Students: 2. Communication andCollaboration -> There is a blog page on my website. I did not develop it, but I would use it with my real class. This blog would allow students to interact with myself and other students. The google map on my page helps reiterate the global atmosphere in the class with helps students develop a cultural understanding and global awareness. I have not mentioned this yet, but on the calendar (I know you all read every word on my page :) )there is a Pen Pal Surprise. What that would be is the chance to talk with their penpals in Brazil. I have connections with several schools in Brazil and it is my hope that we would be able to do a pen pal thing during the year and then use Skype to chat with them "face to face". This, too, would again reinforce the global environment and create a cultural awareness with my studnets. 3. Digital Citizenship -> All the components of this standard apply. All of these are so important, no matter what age. Like I metioned before, about the delicious web address, it is so easy to make a mistake on the internet and go to a wrong page. It is important in this day and age to discuss safety precausions when using the internet.
Teachers: 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning and 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility -> it is so important for a teacher to model what is expected, appropriate, etc. By creating and maintaining a class website, you as the teacher are modeling digital-age work and learning as well as promoting/modeling digital citizenship.
This was such an enjoyable and beneficial project! Honestly, I do not know why more classes do not have class websites?! There are so incredibly useful for multiple reasons, but the main one is that it is a permanant line of communication between the classroom and the home. It is a great way to keep the parents constantly up to date on what's going on. I will definitely have a class website for my future class!
Enjoy my site!
http://missottsclass.webs.com
My main piece of technology was, of course, the website. I used webs.com. It was somewhat difficult at first to get started, but I think it was simply because it was unfamiliar territory. Once I got going, though, I learned the ropes. For my two minor pieces of technology, I added a google map to my website and also a delicious account (Not to self: make sure to type in the 2nd i; 'delicious' spelled just 'ous' is, well, let's just say it is blocked on the Northwestu network). The wesite builder also offered a blog and calendar. You could also post pictures (I would use that to post pictures of the class and what we were doing, but I don't have any to use). You could also add widgets. I used this feature to add class polls (i.e. your favorite sport, food, color). My big acheivement of this project would be with my google map. I could not figure out how to get on my webpage. I knew it involved the html. I copied and pasted until I was blue in the face. I even asked Prof. Sorenson for help. We struggled with it for a while, but then we found this little button in the editing section 'html'. We did it! Of course the map was too small, but at least it was now on the webpage. Later that night I was playing around with it and discovered I could change the size of it in the html. So, I re-wrote part of the html (really, I just fiddled with the numbers until it was the right size) and made it the appropriate size.
One aspect of the project that I did find to be frustrating is having all these great ideas of what to do on my website but not knowing how to do them. I overcame some of that frustration, with the google map. One thing I would like to fix is the location of my class polls. I would like them to be all three next to each other in one row. It sounds simple, I know, but no matter what I tried, it wouldn't let me.
Ok, let me talk about the NET Standards.
Students: 2. Communication andCollaboration -> There is a blog page on my website. I did not develop it, but I would use it with my real class. This blog would allow students to interact with myself and other students. The google map on my page helps reiterate the global atmosphere in the class with helps students develop a cultural understanding and global awareness. I have not mentioned this yet, but on the calendar (I know you all read every word on my page :) )there is a Pen Pal Surprise. What that would be is the chance to talk with their penpals in Brazil. I have connections with several schools in Brazil and it is my hope that we would be able to do a pen pal thing during the year and then use Skype to chat with them "face to face". This, too, would again reinforce the global environment and create a cultural awareness with my studnets. 3. Digital Citizenship -> All the components of this standard apply. All of these are so important, no matter what age. Like I metioned before, about the delicious web address, it is so easy to make a mistake on the internet and go to a wrong page. It is important in this day and age to discuss safety precausions when using the internet.
Teachers: 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning and 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility -> it is so important for a teacher to model what is expected, appropriate, etc. By creating and maintaining a class website, you as the teacher are modeling digital-age work and learning as well as promoting/modeling digital citizenship.
This was such an enjoyable and beneficial project! Honestly, I do not know why more classes do not have class websites?! There are so incredibly useful for multiple reasons, but the main one is that it is a permanant line of communication between the classroom and the home. It is a great way to keep the parents constantly up to date on what's going on. I will definitely have a class website for my future class!
Enjoy my site!
http://missottsclass.webs.com
Monday, April 13, 2009
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
I use Word almost every day for school assignments. I usually just type, change the font/size, spell check and cut/copy/paste. I don't think I ever use Excel. I actually can't remember the last time I used it (I know I have though). PowerPoint I use to make slide shows (usually with pictures from trips I have been on).
For Word, students could write a short something (story, letter, or paper). As for excel, that could be used to a science or math assignment involving graphing. PowerPoint could be used at the beginning of the year and have students create a slide show about themselves so that we could all get to know each other better.
For Word, students could write a short something (story, letter, or paper). As for excel, that could be used to a science or math assignment involving graphing. PowerPoint could be used at the beginning of the year and have students create a slide show about themselves so that we could all get to know each other better.
K12 Online Conference 2008
I listened to two different session: one about assessment and the other about global learning. Both were really interesting. It was hard, though, to focus for both because the speakers were speaking to a slide show; that is all I saw, a slide show as opposed to a person speaking (I guess that's the concept of an online conference).
The one about assessment was thought provoking. The speaker really took the concept of assessment to it's original purpose - having students prove what they know/have learned. He looked at all the different ways to do such. He went over the history of assessment. He states that he learned all he knows about assessment from Shakespeare (Midsummer's Night Dream, the Tempest, Othello, and as he put it, CSI: Denmark, a.k.a. Hamlet). His main point was that assessment must be purposeful and be effective. Assessment is a difficult task. There are so many different ways to assess and different students require different means of assessment. It is a grey area, but one that needs to be explored more.
The second session I looked at was about global learning. This one provided many suggestions and tips for implementing this style of learning in your own classroom. This one was much easier for me to pay attention to because it had much more engaging slides. Because of this class, I was familiar with many of the tools they mentioned for making your classroom globally connected. This session was a lot more inspiring, in my opinion. The assessment one was a lot of talk and ideas to get you thinking, but nothing that made you get excited or feel motivation to assess better. The global session made me see how easy and effective it is to make your classroom globally connected.
Asking Bigger Questions about Assessment: http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=301
Connecting Classrooms Across Continents: Planning and Implementing Globally Collaborative Projects: http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=335
The one about assessment was thought provoking. The speaker really took the concept of assessment to it's original purpose - having students prove what they know/have learned. He looked at all the different ways to do such. He went over the history of assessment. He states that he learned all he knows about assessment from Shakespeare (Midsummer's Night Dream, the Tempest, Othello, and as he put it, CSI: Denmark, a.k.a. Hamlet). His main point was that assessment must be purposeful and be effective. Assessment is a difficult task. There are so many different ways to assess and different students require different means of assessment. It is a grey area, but one that needs to be explored more.
The second session I looked at was about global learning. This one provided many suggestions and tips for implementing this style of learning in your own classroom. This one was much easier for me to pay attention to because it had much more engaging slides. Because of this class, I was familiar with many of the tools they mentioned for making your classroom globally connected. This session was a lot more inspiring, in my opinion. The assessment one was a lot of talk and ideas to get you thinking, but nothing that made you get excited or feel motivation to assess better. The global session made me see how easy and effective it is to make your classroom globally connected.
Asking Bigger Questions about Assessment: http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=301
Connecting Classrooms Across Continents: Planning and Implementing Globally Collaborative Projects: http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=335
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)