Reflection 3

Wow! First off let me start by saying that this course has been an eye opener for me. As I stated before technology and I don't always mix. Over the last several months I have learned to become comfortable with technology. I used to think that my ignorance only effected me but as I viewed the pod casts and videos I realized that I could be exposing my student's to so much more. Currently, I push into the 8:1:1 classrooms for group. Throughout this experience I've recognized that I am a visual learner and that I teach group the same way. What is helpful for me isn't necessarily what's best for others. I always thought I was modifying the curriculum but I really was only making it fit my learning style.
A lot of the students I work with are not exposed to different cultures. As a class we could explore how others live. I really believe that my students would benefit from educational you tube videos talking about different social skills. I also like the idea of teaching them how to use social book marking because they would be able to access the tagged sites from any computer. How cool would it be to have the class blogging instead of writing in their memory journals. This way they could also be working on their keyboarding skills. We know that that is now considered a life skill.
I try to teach my students phone manners, table manners, listening skills and communication skills, feelings, self-advocacy and general life skills. Now I need to add the skills of using technology properly and as a way to enhance their lives.

School 2.0

Cool! I really embraced the concept of School 2.0. As a district, I think we are starting to move towards more technology based communication. It seems that more and more of our conversations are happening via e-mail. That does not mean that we still don't send home information the old fashion way, on paper. But when we e-mail a question we can get a response fairly quickly. If I going to be out of the office my students like to receive an e-mail letting them know this ahead of time. I've also noticed that over the last several years we have been trying to keep as much information on the computer as possible. Evaluations are completed on the computer and sent electronically. We are looking into the idea of putting the school news letter on the website. This way only people who were interested in it could view it. This would save tons of paper because some people just throw it away anyways.
Teachers are beginning to develop their own classroom websites. On these websites they can post homework, classroom news and upcoming events. In school 2.0 I liked the fact that parents were able to download assignments and keep track of what their child needs to be doing. I also like the idea of students being able to comment on a topic on a teachers blog. This would really help the student who doesn't feel comfortable sharing in a large class.
I also liked the idea of having the whole community involved with learning. If the community was aware of a specific need they might be able to arrange to make that happen. Somebody always knows somebody who can do what we need. I liked the idea of having a virtual classroom. Just think of all the possibilities.
I am concerned however that not all teachers would embrace the concept of School 2.0. Not everyone is technology based. Therefore I'm not sure that districts would have enough resources to fully train and mandate teachers to incorporate technology into the curriculum. Right now I think that we are getting better and better with exploring opportunities for learning. But we still have a long way to go.

My thoughts on Dr. Zhao

I found Dr. Zhao's pod cast very enlightening. I tend to be one of those individuals who has not embraced technology as quickly as others. As I listened to Dr. Zhao I began to understand that we as educators have not done a great job of keeping up with the times. It is true that we have computers in the school and the students are learning technology ( power points) but I feel that is where it stops. We are stuck in the era where grades are so important but only if they are achieved by using traditional tools. We never take into account the students who could express themselves through other mediums. Dr. Zhao is accurate in stating that "we live in a digital world". Most of our students already know how to use technology. Why do we continue to send the message that school is where we sit still, listen and obey our teachers and memorise facts? Let's face it, what the State believes is important for our students to know and understand isn't always used when they get out into the "real world". In all my years as a Social Worker I have not once used tangent, sine and co-sine. To be honest with you, I don't even remember what they meant, only that it was important when I was a junior in high School.
I really like the idea of adding gaming theory to the curriculum. Students of today our exposed to video games. We already know that gaming calls for increased cognitive demands as well as increased social demands. Developing quick games is a great way to keep students engaged in the learning process. We should expose them to other cultures through live chats, you tube, my space and e-mail. We all want what's best for our students....stop teaching them like it the 1900's. Welcome to 2008!

Collaborative project

LAL (look at Linda) I laughed hysterically during Kevin Honeycutt's presentation. I am the individual he was talking about. I try to avoid technology as much as possible. I'm the parent who thinks that video games rot your brain. As I was listening to Kevin talk about how kids brains are being trained to make 110 decisions a minute I have to wonder if I have done my child a disservice by not exposing her to video games. Is she going to be able to compete in the "real world" if she doesn't think as quickly as everyone else.? A concept I will have to investigate further.
During the pod cast I thought back on how education was delivered when I was in school. Every thing was done with paper, pencil or when I was in college, a type writer. Well I was still resisting technology at that point. How different things are now!
As a social worker I was thinking about how I could collaborate with my peers in different districts, states or countries. I am always look for new ways my students can experience basic skills. Currently, we are working on manners. How great it would be for my students to be exposed to how different cultures do things. It is not ok to burp at the dinner table in the US but in other countries that is a sign of gratitude. We could watch educational you tube videos on manners. My students could design a website, post blogs and even bookmark sites that deal with manners. Students in other locations can comment on the what we feel are appropriate manners. This way my students just don't hear it from me, they are experiencing it from others. Remember what Kevin said about the more connections you make the more learning that happens.
In my case, using these mediums would help the students with their self-esteem because they would actually be teaching me.

Reflection 2

First off let me start by saying that I have simply amazed myself with all the technology I can now do. Of all the skills I have learned I am most excited about using social book marking. I am constantly trying to find different websites that have new and innovative cheerleading stunts and moves. If I find a great site and put it my favorites I can only access that from the original computer that I used (because I can never remember how I got there to begin with). With social book marking I am able to access that information from any computer. My cheerleaders know every great site to visit and now they can use social book marking so that I can have easy access to them also. Since they already know how to do all of these cool things! Since I tend to be very visual I could put a picture of the stunt I want to do on del.icio.us and they can all see it before practice. Just think of all the time I will save by not having to explain it.

Wikis

I have just been educated in the way of the Wiki. As I stated before I am probably the most technology challenged individual that you will ever meet. With that being said I found the concept of the Wiki very interesting. I liked the idea that you could collaborate with others and that the Wiki is considered a "work in progress". It is read, added too and edited by everyone. I liked the idea of constantly being able to add information to the site. As a non teacher the first idea I had was how great the Wiki would be for a Social Studies class. You could develop different study guides and a wiki about the Presidents. You could put all the relevant facts together and organize them in such a way that it would be user friendly. As new facts emerge about the Presidents, or embarrassments, you could add that new information to the Wiki. The list would be constantly evolving as new Presidents were elected. This is better then the Almanac! It can be edited and used more frequently than 1 time a year.
I also like the idea of using the Wiki for your class syllabus. I think it is important for parents to understand why and when different concepts are being taught. If a project is being done to re-enforce the concept I think it would be beneficial to hear parents feed back on if they felt that was a good learning tool or not.
Wow technology!

Compare and Contrast

I think that there are many innovative ways to explore information. We all learn differently, some of us are auditory, visual or even kinesthetic (hands on). Therefore it makes sense that we would all choose different mediums of learning. I felt that the "next vista for learning" was a great educational tool. The content was well filtered and organised in a way that even I could navigate through it. The "teacher tube" also had great educational elements. This resource was a little more confusing but still beneficial. I thought that "you tube" and "clip blast" were a waste of time in regards to using them as an official educational tool. There was no filtering system so anything that was placed on that site was there for everyone to view, the right, the wrong and the blocked!
As a non teacher I felt like these sites would be an awesome addition to the classroom. What a better way to explore different countries and cultures through real life stories and movies vs the good old fashion text book.

Blogging...is it useful?

I am new to blogging and for that matter, if I'm honest, I'm technology challenged. Keeping that in mind, I have come to the conclusion that blogging is a useful tool. I like the fact that you can post statements about a topic and actually get comments from others on how they feel about the subject. I also like the idea that people around the world can read and respond to my blog. If you think about it, that's pretty cool. Since I don't have a classroom I plan on using a blog with my cheerleading team. I am always coming up with ideas in the middle of the night and if I put them on the blog the girls could respond to them through out the day before practice begins. I'm sure that will push them over the edge because they already think I am obsessed with cheerleading!

Cheerleading is a Sport

There are many people in the world who feel that Cheerleading is not a sport. Over the course of the next several weeks I will demonstrate to you that Cheerleading is indeed a sport and a physical one at that.