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