http://www.GlitterMaker.com/ - Glitter Graphics

About Me

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I have been married 6 years in June to Jason whom I met in college while going to Tarleton. We are pregnant with our first child which is due in November. We have 2 dogs: Maggie and Chloe who are both totally spoiled rotten.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Week 4 Posting 5

When I decided to go back to school last spring I found that I was very limited in the schools in my area that offered the degree I was interested in. I was a little nervous when I thought about online classes. I have always used computers and technology so I was not afraid of that aspect but just having a class given in a different format than I had ever even experienced before. I love online courses now and the freedom that they allow me to have. I can get up and get right to work on the computer instead of having to get ready and drive to where the class meets. I am able to squeeze my lessons in between other parts of my life, and as a result am able to spend much more time concentrating on my lessons.

In online classes the students must socialize differently than in traditional classrooms. They must rely on digital resources to interact with each other and with the professor. At first I was afraid that when I had questions that I would have trouble getting the answers. This has not been the case at all. In some of my past classes I got answers by email or online chats and others I just called and talked with the professor on the phone. I feel that with online classes I have actually had more personal contact with my professors than I usually did with my traditional undergraduate classes. At times I think that face to face contact would be beneficial but during the school year this is just not an option for me. I have gotten so used to an online setting that this summer I am taking a face to face class and am a little nervous about it. I think that I am more successful with online classes because I tend to go the extra mile when I see what others have turned in, it gets my competitive nature going.

I think that the potential for distance education is almost limitless. Teachers and students at the school and university level can all benefit from it. For one of the first times students who go to a small rural school have the ability to receive the same level of education and types of classes offered as those in large urban cities. This type of education has the ability to educate people without regard to location, disability, or any other factor that inhibited some from being able to receive instruction before. This is inline with my definition of what effective integration of technology is. This type of change to the “classroom” is a major one, but one that needs to be made. Little change has been made to the typical classroom in the past years and the integration of technology to enrich the lessons and help students learn in new and exciting ways should not be looked upon as threatening or scary, but instead, as a new and exciting time that will help teachers ensure the success of their students.

Week 4 Posting 4

There are many benefits and downfalls related to the teaching and learning process of effective integration of technology. Technology should never be used just to be used. It should always add relevance and fit in with the curriculum. Technology should allow students to take ideas and plans a step further and make learning more enriching. Technology should not be used as a filler of time and resources. It should not be a babysitter to entertain students while teachers have time to grade papers. If used correctly technology should be used in order to prepare students for the fast paced technology infused daily life they will be expected to lead outside of school and prepare them for their futures.

Depending on what the teacher’s objectives for the lesson are, the types and levels of technology to be implemented will vary. For some lessons the computer could serve as teacher, assistant, learner or a combination of the three. By allowing the students to use websites such as NARA’s Digital Classroom, they are able to see history come alive. They are able to see and not just read about monumental moments in history. Teachers must of course teach their students about how to discriminate the information that they find online. They need to know that just because someone has typed something and posted it online does not mean that it is from a reliable source. Once this task is done then the students will be able to move on to learning how to conduct a search. This can be frustrating to many, but once it is learned it is invaluable.

Effective integration of technology is when the use of technology in a lesson enhances the learning experience and creates motivation in the students. It is not just something added to a lesson to fill the technology requirement on the evaluation form in PDAS. Technology and the resources it can provide should become so ingrained into the classroom that it is not thought of as something added or special but as a normal routine.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Week # 3 Blog

Technology can be perceived as intimidating and cause people to turn away for fear of failure. In order to be successful with implementing technology, the user must continually use it and continue to adapt when this happens the person must work twice as hard to get back on track. That said, it can be done and when it is correctly utilized the person will be able to utilize their time much more efficiently and have more time for other areas of their life.
My own worst fears of technology implantation and integration would be looking like I do not know what I am doing. The students look to me, as a teacher, to know what to do in every situation. If for some reason the technology that I am trying to use fails or is unresponsive, this could cause the students to lose faith in my abilities. There is also the fear of what it would take to replace any broken features or components caused by myself or my students. One way I am going to overcome these fears is to realize that when the students see that I am human and make mistakes too, that they will then become more at ease around me and know that it is ok for them to make some mistakes along the way as well. In Chapter three of our textbook is states that reverse mentoring can be an effective tool to use with the students. They love the thought of being able to teach the teacher. In the past I have used this strategy when having the students tell me about a book that they have read and I have not. They become very excited about this and are able to learn quite a bit and remember facts that they might not have otherwise.

My best hopes for technology integration are numerous. One of the highest hopes I have would be to reach a student that I had been unable to reach before. To make an impact on a student’s life is something most teachers strive for and technology can enable us to include more students in our lessons. I would also love to see the day that technology utilization is the norm for all teachers. When cell phones first became widely used I hardly ever turned mine on due to the cost and other technology issues. Today, however, I use my cell phone much more than I ever use my landline and most of my friends do not even have land lines anymore. Hopefully, technology integration will also progress in such a manner. Communication with parents is always an area where most teachers need to do better. Through the use of technology there are many more ways to communicate with the parents other than on the telephone. In Chapter Three it even states that the teacher could communicate via the video camera and VCR. I agree with this that it would be very useful to show them some activities we are doing in class but on the other hand some households may not have a VCR anymore since most of the population have converted to DVD. I have found that email is an extremely valuable resource for a teacher. I have automatic documentation of the times I was in contact with the parents and can easily print them out if needed.

I have learned many things in this class. One of them is that I am not alone in feeling the occasional fear at learning a new skill or subject. This is apparently normal and by learning this it makes me feel much more at ease and willing to move forward. This class has also made me focus on what I want to implement in my class and given me the skills to use a wider variety of tools to make it happen. Being able to bounce ideas around with others that are going through similar types of experiences really helps me to get more knowledge and, as they say, knowledge is power.

In the coming year I intend to allow my students to teach me the knowledge that they know and in some areas take charge of the learning. When are doing research for papers they can not only peer tutor but reverse tutor me in the software applications that they are familiar with. Through this process I am hoping to create an atmosphere where the learning is more enriched but also where they feel confident and know that each of them possess certain skills that they can use to help others. I also want to include more technology into my everyday lessons and not be constrained due to lack of computers in the classroom. There are many small ways that I can use other technology to enhance my lessons.

I have learned many new and exciting things in this class. I know that I will need to go back through my notes and review everything because I am sure to forget some of it. I also know that to be the best teacher that I am able to be I need to continually seek out information about technology and what is offered to help my students be able to learn in the way that best suits them. After all if I do not continue to learn and expand my knowledge how can I expect my students to?

Friday, June 15, 2007

Week # 2 Blog

In the past two weeks I have learned many new and exciting technology skills. Some of what I have learned has been an extension of the information which I was already aware of, and some of it was all new material which I had never encountered before. By creating this blog space I used both kinds of information. I have had a blog in the past and other similar creations but I had never used it in the classroom setting. We were introduced to several different websites to enhance our blogs. I already had accounts with both the photobucket and slide websites which we used to upload pictures and graphics. One aspect of blogging that I had never used before was Bloglines and RSS feeds. This is an amazing tool which allows the user to get the new information that has been added since they last visited a site. I have found that by using this I have already saved so much time looking for new information.
We also created an interactive Power Point slideshow. I had done this in the past for a class that I was taking but it was nice to refresh my memory and extend my knowledge. Once I had the basic knowledge down then I felt free to enhance and use new features that I had not used before. We also began looking at E-Portfolios and their potential usefulness in the academic world. I took many art classes throughout school and always enjoyed putting my portfolio in order and choosing the pieces I felt showed off my specific abilities the best and am excited to see that this type of tool is being developed for education. I see student’s work every day that shows how far they have come and how proud they are when they turn in something that they have put a lot of hard work into. This really is a wonderful way to get a true grasp as to the student’s abilities.
There have been so many times that I wanted to go to a specific website and retrieve information but I could not remember the address. Those days are thankfully over thanks to the del.i.cous website. This handy time saver allows you to access your favorites list on any computer no matter where you are. What a wonderful idea! Why didn’t I think of that? Once you find a reliable website you never want to lose track of it. There are so many unreliable sites out there that I am always very cautious with the information I see on new websites. We learned out to break the code of the web address which was very informative and eye opening. I am guilty of Googling something and clicking on the first link and accepting the information found there as fact. I not only am going to break myself of this habit but also educate my students on the topic and show them what I have learned.
Chapter Two in our textbook discusses new ways to incorporate technology into the classrooms. I had never thought to include the fax machine on my list of technology tools. The book stated that it was often overlooked and it was right. Parents would love to receive faxes from their children showing them what they have learned that day. It could be a very valuable tool to help keep the door of communication open between home and the school. Teacher websites were also discussed and I have found that these are wonderful ways to interact with not only the parents but the students. Our websites at my school are linked with the school website and our lesson plans are connected as well. The parents can view the school calendar and see all of the extracurricular activities that are taking place but also see when homework will be assigned. I am also able to link any activity pages or other documents on the calendar/lesson plans as well. It is a very powerful tool. We also used videoconferencing this past year. My fifth grade class participated in an activity called “Read Across the Planet.” We were partnered up with a fifth grade class from Arizona and the students taught a lesson to each other about their state using children’s books. Our high school also used the virtual classroom. The Anatomy class viewed a live autopsy. Wow! The book also mentioned some interesting points about the e-portfolios. The idea behind them is amazing but there is still much work to do to get them to a point where using them is standard protocol.
The activities that we have done so far have made me branch out and try new things. At times we all get stuck in a rut and need a gentle push, or at times a shove, to get out of it. I now know of some new ways to facilitate communication with my student’s parents and many different websites to help me multitask and use my time more wisely. I know that there are many more lessons to be learned from technology and all that it has to offer and I will be a willing student when it comes to learning about it. I plan to teach my students about many of the things I have discussed in this blog, including verifying information and showing them some trusted sites so that they can bookmark them in del.i.cous for use at a later time. I also really want to take some steps to begin using an e-portfolio in my classes. I think that the students will enjoy doing it and take much more pride in their work while using this concept.
Technology is an ever-changing subject that is constantly expanding. I intend to use the skills I have learned so far to help me integrate more technology into my lessons. The more information I know and the more I use technology, the more comfortable I will be to use it in lessons. Technology should take the lesson to a new level of awareness and should not direct the lesson. If there is one lesson I take away from this class it is that technology should not drive the lesson it should upgrade it.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Week #1 Blog

In my opinion a person who is information literate is one who pushes themselves to continue the learning process. They have a need for knowledge and they seek it out instead of expecting the knowledge to find its way to them. Information has never been as easy to access and locate as it is today. That is not to say that the information is correct. People of all ages who are looking for various types of information should be aware of what they find and use from the internet. At times we can be fooled into a false sense of security with the internet. What we must always remember is that anyone is able to publish anything they want to on the internet. There is no screening process or editor there to review the work and decide on whether it should be published or not. I could publish a story on how to stay thin eating pizza and ice cream but that would not make it true, as much as we all wish that it could be. We must become web site investigators and evaluate the information and judge for ourselves the worth of it on a case by case basis. The information located in the address of the website is a good place to start our investigation. By dissecting it we are able to see if it is a personal web site, one produced for profit, or one that is from a credible source. We should then move on to the information contained on the site. What links are given and do they work? All of these things are components we can use to judge the reliability of the site. We should be as picky with the information we choose to believe from the internet as we are the foods we eat or the shows we watch on TV. We should not just pick whatever is available and easy because we should value ourselves enough to expect the very best for ourselves and the information we choose to educate ourselves with.

As adults we can preach the wonders of many things but until the students see us practicing what we preach they will not put much value into it. The old saying “Do as I say, not as I do” is just not acceptable with this topic. We must make ourselves get into the habit of making the conscious effort to find reliable sources online and not just click on and print the first one that happens to be listed.

I think that the first step in this process is educating ourselves on how to determine a website’s worth. In our lessons this first week we were able to begin leaning how to become website investigators. I think that this process is one that is ever changing and we must continue to learn and keep up to date on all the new ways of finding worthwhile information from sites that are trustworthy. I will be the first to admit to not always taking the necessary time to do this. While I have been developing my technology philosophy I have become more aware of the issue though, and believe that this will make me more conscientious about the subject.

Just Me