EDUC 7108 Final Project

emerging and future technologies

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Module 5: Addressing the Digital Divide

When I first began teaching I taught and psychoed center for the severly emotionally disturbed children. The building we taught in had absetos and mold, it was an old school. The technology consisted of one teacher laptop and two to three older desktops that the students could work on. Oh we also had access to an overhead projector one or two for 12 teachers or you could order one. I remember using power point presentation to do games that I would hook my laptop up to the television to show. When I actually moved to a school in the county (the county only furnished the psychoed school but didn't pay us), I was amazed to see computer labs, SMART Boards, CPS systems at the teachers disposal and depending on what you teach you might have it in your classroom. I was so amazed and so sad to see that disparity between the school I just left and the new school I was working with had.

I'm a special education teacher so I'm used to making accomodations for students. I would use this skill to help integrate appropriate technology to other cultures. I would also try to educate others on what technology is availbe to them no matter what the socioecnomic status is. One of the things that I would try to work on is having laptops available to check out to students to take home. Both the student and the parents would have to sign a waiver saying that they would only use the laptop for school purposes as well as they would be responsible for any damages incurred.

Internet: A Vehicle
for Change in the Arab WorldBy: DR. SHAHID JAMAL

http://www.radianceweekly.com/216/5879/HINDUTVA-IMPRINT-IN-SAMJHAUTA-EXPRESS-BLASTS/2010-08-08/The-Internet/Story-Detail/internet-a-vehicle-for-change-in-the-arab-world.html

STEM Diversity Without Borders
http://diverseeducation.com/blogpost/291/stem-diversity-without-borders.html

Module 4 Red Queens and Increasing Returns

I chose to view Total Recall because this used to be my favorite movie when I was a child. I viewed it using my Netflix rental. At the beginning of the summer Netflix sent me a DVD that could be used on my WII to be able to watch video on demand. I really liked this added feature. I chose Netflix because I have a hard time turning things back in on time and late fees always killed me. So I liked the idea of still being able to watch movies at home even when I have DVDs out.

I think the popularity of video on demand comes from people wanting instant gratification. All you have to do is order a movie from Netflix or your cable company and you can instantly watch a movie. No more driving to the movie store and hoping the video is there and worrying about when you have to return it.

I have also seen an increase on movie kiosk at stores where you can get a $1 a day movie. Movie rental stores fees have gone up and places like Netflix and $1 a day rentals are becoming more popular.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/TV_theater/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=214600327
http://www.moviematics.com/2010/08/12/options-to-consider-on-the-subject-of-renting-movies-together-with-redbox/3392/

Second Life as a Disruptive Technology

How many people wish that they had a better job, a better home or even better looks? Second Life gives people a forum to fulfill their fantasies in a safe environment. People are interested in fantasy look at all the science fiction movies about the future and what may or may not be possible.

I believe that Second Life gives people an outlet to do something that they would never do in real life or are scared to try. In education we tell our students that they can be anything they want to be when they grow up if they work hard. In a virtual reality world they can experience it in a safe environment. For example my friends’ 10 year old daughter joined a virtual reality site and is building a house with characters. At first I thought this was kind of strange then I thought about it, when I was her age I had a dollhouse with dolls and cars, her virtual reality world is an upgrade. She can pick what her dolls look like, change their looks as well as make them speak.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651500,00.html

Rhymes of History

The cellular phone has been around since the 60s and 70s. When they first came out only business people, military, and those with money were able to afford to have one. I remember as a kid growing up in the 80s watching tv shows and the characters would have car phones. Cell phones became more mainstream as well as smaller in the late 90s it wasn't unsual to go to the mall and see people with a cell phone. Now a days you can't hardly pass someone on the street without them using a cell phone. The price and services provided has come down and now everyone can afford to have one.

The cell phone brings back the sense of staying connected. For decades people have kept in touch with each other using letters and phones. With mainstreaming of cell phones and web enabled phones this has become easier to do.

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa070899.htm

Module 2

The camera has been around for thousands of years from the pinhole camera to the digital camera. With the invention of the digital camera and adding features such as uploading, cropping, backgrounds, and even recording there’s nothing you cannot do with it. The digital camera enhances our day to day living by capturing moments that you don’t want to forget or want to share with others, being by pictures or video. You can also use these pictures to tell stories or history like the hieroglyphics in pyramids. We can already see the future of the camera; almost every cell phone has a camera. The newer the cell phone the better the camera. In the future I foresee, companies making an all in one camera and cell phone as well as a camera that you don’t hold but can take pictures by just looking at it.

http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01824/

Module 1 Walden 7108

Apple has come out with a bigger version of the Ipod called the Ipad this year, it has generated a lot of buzz on we are going to use computers in the future. The Ipad is a handheld device with full computing power and a touchscreen. I think in years to come this new technology will greatly impact k-12. This is a device that can be used by students as well as teachers, designers are making apps to link the Ipad, for example at a recent convention designer found a way to put 9 Ipads together to make a workable slot machine.
The challenges that I forsee is cost. As with any new technology when it first comes out the product is expensive and school districts may not want to invest in a product that is that new. I also see that since this product is one piece how are school districts going to handle replacing the unit if its broken. By being up on current technology the school system helps educate students for the future. If you don’t integrate technology in the classroom your doing your students a great disservice to them by not providing them the education that will help them in future endeavors.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Module 1 Blog 7108

Apple has come out with a bigger version of the Ipod called the Ipad this year, it has generated a lot of buzz on we are going to use computers in the future. The Ipad is a handheld device with full computing power and a touchscreen. I think in years to come this new technology will greatly impact k-12. This is a device that can be used by students as well as teachers, designers are making apps to link the Ipad, for example at a recent convention designer found a way to put 9 Ipads together to make a workable slot machine.

The challenges that I forsee is cost. As with any new technology when it first comes out the product is expensive and school districts may not want to invest in a product that is that new. I also see that since this product is one piece how are school districts going to handle replacing the unit if its broken. By being up on current technology the school system helps educate students for the future. If you don’t integrate technology in the classroom your doing your students a great disservice to them by not providing them the education that will help them in future endeavors.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Module 5: Technologies

As an educator I believe that you have to stay on top of what’s new. We are preparing our students to be leaders and we have to teach them the skills so that they can be better prepared. Technology is changing every day and we have to stay on top of it. I have noticed that most of the veteran teachers at my school are so used to teaching a certain way that the technology that my school does has is going to waste.
My school received a math grant that included mounting projectors, air writers for the SMART Board, and math cps units. The math coach said that even though the classrooms had SMART Boards for years that some of the teachers were still using overhead projector to teach their math lessons. The coach said that she paid extra attention to these teachers and made sure that she showed them how to use the SMART Board and CPS unit. The math coach stated that by the end of the year that the teachers had improved on using the technology and that she started dropping in two to three times a week to once a week (which she was doing with the other teachers). I think that Keller’s ARCS model of motivation worked with these teachers. The coach gave them the added attention they needed, showed the relevance of using the technology in the class to help with student understanding. Confidence was showed when the teachers were effectively using the technology without assistance.

Module 4

Social networks have gotten me in touch with people I haven't seen or heard from in years. A lot of my family members are on Facebook and when my grandparents were sick, it was a good way to keep them updated on how things went with surgeries and how they were doing. Using Facebook helped me avoid long drawn out conversations that I didn't feel like making at the end of the day. It also connected me to some family members I never really spoken to before. E-mailing has helped me keep in touch with co-workers as well as the board when I had a quesstion about pay, sick leave or PLU's. Basically these connections help make my life easier to get into connect with others.

I learn by reading, since getting into this program I've learned about blogs. I like learning about what others think and their views on topics that I've never heard of before. I also like to use google. When I'm not sure about something I google it. Even just watching tv if I hear something interesting I take out the blackberry and google the information.

Module 3 Collaboration

I do agree with Rheingold, I don’t think we were meant to be alone or to work alone. The first day of school the students are looking for acceptance from someone so that they could be friends. School aged children especially elementary and middle school students completely break down when they’re friends betray them. So I think it’s natural that people want to work collaboratively. Not only does working as a group takes some of the pressure off the individual you have someone that can help you out with ideas, help come up with solutions and also have your back when you need it.

Technology helps facilitate collaboration because it becomes easier to work as a group. Everybody doesn’t have to be in the same place and gather at the same time to get a project done. Through e-mail, Skype, and Google documents and other sources of media it helps getting things done a lot easier and faster.

http://docs.google.com/?pli=1#all
www.skype.com

Module 2 Cognitivism as a Learning Theory

As educators we have to take what we know about learning theories to help us apply it to teaching our students. Our students all learn differently one student may be a verbal learner another more hands on, we can't put them all in one category. The same with learning theories, I don't believe one learning theory is better than the other, when you combine the theories you can see how learning really works. Most people learn from using what they learned in the past and applying it to new knowledge. Knowing how our students learn will help us diversfy our lessons. We have to step out of our comfort zone and teach differently. I am more of a verbal learner, I like to listen to the teacher talk about the subject. I've learned as a special ed teacher that a lot of my students are more hands-on, so I had to learn to make sure that I put a lot of experiments or projects into my lesson plans for my students to fully understand the concepts that I'm trying to teach. Motivation also plays a major role in education, some students are motivated to make good grades because of the awards and praise they recieve. Others are curious and want to as much knowledge as they can obtain. But what about the students who do not do well in the classroom what motivates them? It's our duty as educators to find that motivation to help that student succeed in school.

http://lumpe.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/emerging-technologies-for-learning/

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/01/crash_course_in.html

EDUC 7105 Module 1 "Metaphors of Educators"

I believe that at one point in any given day an educator would fall into one of the categories, depending on the class or student. I personally like the "Educator ad Concierge". "The concierge serves to provide a form of "soff guidance"- at times incorporating traditionl lectures and, in other instances, permitting lerners to explore on their own (Siemens, 2008). As an educator you have to know when to teach your students and when you should let them explore new ideas on their own. Personally, this is a hard one for me, I sometimes want to give the students the answer instead of guiding them with a question, though I'm working on it. I also like the idea of students learning from each other as well as the educator. Students sometimes learn more from or listen to each other more than an adult, since they're using language that they easily understand.

Reference:

Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf

Revised Video Presentation

I made a view revisions to my original video like adding music (which I finally figured out how to do) and adding more clips of my students playing games in class.

Video Presentation: Games in Education

Classmates mindmaps that I liked

I liked Sarah's mindmap on the static end of her technologies she used the overhead projector (something that I think I used a few times until I got my laptop and started using the Smart Board) and letters. On the dynamic side she used the example of PDA for content. These are things that I didn't even think to put on my mind map.

http://roadierider54.wikispaces.com/file/view/MindmapCrawfordS.doc

I also liked LaVerne's mind map, for static technologies she had lectures and online class notes.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvzguffBOQ05ARRYWLOr8ZnN_IlxiKh0ODrDiB-ewt47IVBn0Ode-bh64PHu_gao7Tb8a5p3a2iQQ4zZGnMdeGXHqsGcDD5PFCsuQM7gZYyC9JZu5V3ukuHcXTfjusFFpmluz0OGIh2U/s1600-h/MindMap,_MartinL.png

Module 5

I have to admit that I'm very much stuck in teaching in static technology. I love technology and I use the available technology in the classroom ie. smartboard, cps, online games, but that's where the technology ends. I never thought to use blogging in my class, especially when I taught English. I think this would've been a great way to let students express their thoughts or maybe even a wiki space. Since taking this class I have begun to think of new ways to incorporate technology into my class other than online math games. I'm teaching a scripted remedial math program to our special ed students and it really doesn't offer any leeway to teaching the class. I have done some video, where the students teach the lessons, but I think that's still static technology. I have shared some ideas to my neighboring co-worker who teaches technology. She already uses wikis to share her lessons to her students but I showed her the wiki I have for my other class where we post our assignments and she liked it and is going to try a similar thing for her classes.

I am open to any suggestions on how to use dynamic technologies in my class.


Link to my mind map


http://scromwell.pbworks.com/Mind-Map#view=page

Module 4

The instructor sets the stage for engaging learners. Engaging learners online is very important, “learning frequently takes place between pairs or among groups of individuals” (Shea, Li, Swan & Pickett, 2005)). Communications between students and instructors keeps the online students actively engaged and have a sense of community. The instructor should be a role model for what he expect from his students, timely communication, moderator of discussions, and helping students transition from face to face instruction to the online environment.

There are several ways that instructors can actively engage students. Teacher led discussions, where the teacher selects the topic and the students respond on the topic and to each other, sharing insight and suggestions. The instructor can help discussions along by asking questions or commenting (this is also helpful for students to see what kind questions they should be asking each other. There are also student led discussion, where the student picks the topic, and makes the rubric and their fellow classmates have to respond to that topic. I like the idea of student led discussions; it makes the students feel more apart of the class. With class sizes my suggestion would be to break the class into groups and everybody in that group leads a discussion, so that everybody has a chance to decide the topic. Instructors can also group students to do problem based learning. Where the group is given a problem and the students as a group have to come up with a solution.

As an instructor you have to know when your help is needed and when to step back and let the students figure it out on their own. To do this the instructor has to get to know their students, maybe give an assignment to see how much students know about online environments. Depending on the students experience would depend on how much help the instructor may give, especially on the technical aspect of taking an online course. Having students working in groups, I would think that the instructor would sit back and let the group try to work out any problems that may come up and only intervene when the group asks for help or if he feels that the group is on the wrong path.

References:

Shea, P., Li, C. S., Swan, K., & Pickett, A. (2005, December). Developing Learning Community In Online Asynchronous College Courses: The Role Of Teaching Presence. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9(4).




This is the link to my graphic organizer.

http://scromwell.pbworks.com/Principles-of-Distance-Learning

Video Presentation Redo

Segment 1

-The impact of games on education

Segment 2

-Motivation

-what motivates students to play games

-what motivates teachers to use games in class

Segment 3

-How do games improve students skills and knowledge

Segment 4

-What types of games are out there for certain subjects

Segment 5

-How do you find the right game for your class and lessons

Assessing Collaborative Efforts Module 3

Collaboration in a learning community should be assessed by both the teacher and the students, especially in small groups. When working in a group it’s easy to turn in a great finished project but everybody didn’t participate, by both the students and teacher assessing the projects, you would see more of a fair grade. The level of skill and knowledge that students bring to any class varies, it’s harder for a teacher to know this with an online course. Having a pre-assessment to see where each students stand would be a good way to get a feel of the class. It also gives teachers an insight on what to expect from the student and where you want the student to be by the end of the class.

Some students rather work alone, they feel that they won’t shine if their in a group setting. “Do not assume that students will jump at the opportunity to collaborate” (Palloff and Pratt, 2005). By making collaboration a requirement, makes these students have to participate. Giving students’ work that would be graded individually helps them feel comfortable. Most of the students who prefer to work alone have a lot to offer to a group so as an instructor you want them to be able to voice their opinions. As a group member you have to realize that everybody does not want to work in a group and let your group member be in on all assignments and allow them to choose what role they would like to play.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.