Reflections - Week 8

There were many "Aha" moments. Mostly they were "Aha, that is what a wiki is." or "Aha, so creating that podcast that I have been thinking about is really not all that difficult." You are correct, I just need to jump in and explore. There are so many things that I want to try in my classroom, (now I just need for the state to have the budget that allows me to teach next year!) The technologies that we have used this semester were all new to me and I am thankful that I have gotten the opportunity to see them in action. I think I have a much better understanding of how to incorporate technology. I recently overheard two middle school teachers saying that their district had asked them to come up with 6 technology lessons per 6-weeks for the next year. First, they could not see the point and second, they were overwhelmed by the task. I think the district needs to work on their technology professional development before they start making these requests, because it was quite obvious from their responses that they were thinking only of research papers and power point presentation type projects. We have to stop thinking of technology as something that we annex to our current curriculum. I can honestly say at this point that I am excited about using technology in the class room and excited to get the opportunity to get stated.

I have enjoyed the lessons and the gentle push to dive right in.

Reflections - Week 7

I created a lesson plan that I might employ to teach my students how to use the wiki that I started. I have tied to make my assignments valuable outside of this class as well as inside. Because I have 6th graders, I could not use tools that were too involved. I like the sketch up tool that Google has and think it would be appropriate for 7th and 8th graders, but maybe not the right tool for our purposes with the 6th graders. I wish I had known about this tool last spring when I was tutoring my sons basketball team on a project involving volume and surface area, etc., for an oil company.

I find myself looking for ways to utilize technology in a meaningful way as I think about a new lesson, now. How can I make this easier, more interesting, and more engaging.

Reflection - Week 6

I was taught with textbooks and lectures and lots of homework, but I do not think this is the way that today's students should be taught. As I worked through these lessons, I found myself looking for a video that showed me how to do something, instead of downloading a pdf or instructions. I am a visual learner and I like to see what I click and what things will look like when I do. I think the greatest hurdle in changing the way we teach and interact is my generations attitude of " that is not the way we have always done things."

Time are changing. Our kids are digital natives. They have been immersed in technology their entire lives. They do not see things the way we do, they do not think the way we do. This technology and its affects on their lives have made them different. We have to accept that fact and accept that they are the future. The change has to be in the way we approach teaching and not how they approach learning.

Reflections - Week 5

Oh my, I thought I knew how to evaluate a site, but I have learned some valuable lessons today. I have always understood that students needed to be taught to check out the validity of the information on a site, but I see this in an entirely different light now. This is a must have skill for our students. I think it is as important as reading, writing, and math. Our students get less and less information from books and more and more from websites. They are going to have to learn to evaluate the sites that they research. I think that we must begin to teach students information literacy skills as soon as we teach them to use the internet for research. Too many students believe everything they find on a website.

I feel certain I have been guilty of using bad sites in my research. I will start using these evaluation tools for my work in the future.

I see a benefit to social bookmarking. I felt that Delicious and Diigo were the best sites for my purposes. I think that I would like to share bookmarks with people that I know and trust or at least have something in common with. I especially like the highlighting and extra features on Diigo. There are times when I go to a bookmarked site and can't remember why I am there, or the site has changed and I can't find the information that I am looking for.

Reflection - Week 4

I agreed with all ten research-based principles of Assessment for Learning (AFL), but I guess this one speaks to me the most:

AFL should recognize the full range of achievements of all learners

I think our current method of testing has critical flaws. I see bright students solving the problems presented in our math lessons, yet they do not do well on the tests. I am not sure if they don't memorize facts well, or if they have trouble deciphering the word problems, or if they just have some sort of testing anxiety, but for some reason they aren't able to showcase their understanding on regular tests. I think if we could give these same students a simulated environment and gave them real life problems to solve, they would excel. On the other hand, I see students that will ace a test, but can't problem, solve their way out of a paper sack. Too, I think formative assessments could get increasing more difficult, so that all students could find some success in their abilities. This type of assessment would allow a teacher to grade on a students improvement, and not by another students achievements or abilities.

I think the portfolio will give us the opportunity to showcase our understanding and abilities much better than a multiple choice final exam would.

Reflections - Week 3

I designed a wiki for my 6th grade math students. I am only student teaching, so I am not sure if I will get to have the students work on the wiki this year, but I think it is an idea that I would like to explore when I have a class of my own. The idea is that they 1) make a glossary of math terms that they can own - meaning the definitions have to be in their own words, and 2) take a TAKS Math Chart and create mini lessons to "teach" the concepts and formulas listed - once again, these have to be their words and their explanations.

I think completing this wiki would help my students to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts and terms, while creating a study guide that they can use. It would also help me to assess their understanding.

I have two boys that strongly dislike reading. As a result their vocabularies are suffering. I think they would enjoy working on class blogs and wikis and I think this would benefit their reading, writing, and vocabulary. I think this would help all readers, but I am using my sons as examples. I plan to implement class blogs and wikis when I get a class of my own.

Reflective Blog #1

Educational Technology Philosophy (rough draft)

The goal of education is to enrich the lives of learners while producing independent thinkers, lifelong learners, and responsible, productive members of society.  This goal is achieved by teaching students, not subjects, and in looking at the child’s abilities as a whole, not just their grades.   Education requires engaging students in their own learning, providing them with opportunities to be challenged and succeed, as well as a safe environment to fail and the encouragement to recover.  Education is a lifelong journey.

As a math teacher I find the need to have students follow a carefully planned path. Mathematics requires a solid foundation with one concept building upon another.  A solid foundation leads to a strong understanding, while a weak foundation leads to poor understanding of future concepts.  I believe that there is a place for rote memorization in the study of mathematics as long as there is an understanding that accompanies the memorization; however, I believe that mathematics goes way beyond memorizing facts and rules.  A good math teacher can break a concept down into manageable parts and then reconstruct step-by-step.  Math lessons must be relevant to the student’s lives and students must be engaged in the learning process.  Students that are taught to balance a checkbook, figure their team’s stats, purchase materials and build a dog house, and find the best deals on a shopping spree are more likely to apply these newly learned concepts to other situations than one who simply solved problems from a textbook.


Educators need to be passionate about the subjects that they teach, striving to ignite that passion in their students.  Students who are passionate about a subject will desire to learn more, push harder, and reach higher.  An educator’s expectations should always keep a student reaching a little higher.  There is always more to learn … or discover.  Educators should create a safe environment for students to make mistakes.  Mistakes should be acknowledged and shared, not hidden.  Students must be encouraged to learn and grow from their mistakes and then push through to success. 

Educators face a new dilemma in the 21^st century.  Technology is no longer a computer sitting in a corner of the classroom used for emails and storing grades.  Technology needs to be embraced and utilized instead of prohibited and feared. The internet places the world at the student’s fingertips.  We no longer have to use pencil drawn diagrams to show how a machine works when a quick search of the internet will likely provide a step by step video of the actual process.  Teachers can provide class notes and video demonstrations of work missed or misunderstood to students through a class blog.  Research is a keystroke away at all times.  Virtual field trips can be taken without ever leaving a classroom.  Students can communicate and collaborate on a project with other students in other states or countries.  Literacy now includes computer literacy and communication includes power point presentations, videos, blogs and emails. Research involves a wealth of information, but the trick is to discern the accurate from the false.


Technology has changed the face of business.  In order to prepare our students for the 21^st century workforce, educators must allow technology to change the face of education as well. 


Reflections:  


1)  My journey as a classroom teacher began three weeks ago.  I already see a transformation of thoughts.  Ideas that I once questioned now hold meaning.  Concepts that I once simply accepted are now being proven.  Ideals that I held high might just go by the wayside.  I suppose it is the perfect opportunity to put my educational philosophy in writing.  There is little doubt that it will change over time, so this exercise allows me to document the beginning and follow the transformation.  Putting thoughts on paper somehow gives them voice and authority.  I can refer to them as I make decisions about teaching.  They will help me to stay focused and true to my goals.  I will also have to answer to them as my views change.  I will be able to compare my new ideas and philosophies with my old ones and decide where the changes are coming from and if they are positive changes. 
Putting my educational philosophy into words will also act as my guide through this class.  I have the opportunity to start my teaching career as an informator of technology instead of an automater of technology.  Hopefully, as I reflect upon the rough draft of my educational technology philosophy statement, I will see ways to improve my use of technology in the classroom.


2)  As a Math teacher I can see great benefit to a class blog.  I would use it to briefly list a description of the class and any assignments made.  I would then hope to provide links that explain the concepts studied that day. ( I might find a site or two that discussed the concept in detail, or in a way other than how I explained it in class, or possibly a video that shows how to solve a problem using the concept, or a site providing extra practice in using the concept).  This information could help a student that missed class, did not quite grasp the concept in class, or a parent that needed a quick refresher course in order to help their child with homework.  I could also post links to sites that were applying the concepts that we were learning.   These are just a few of the ways that I could see using a class blog.

3)  I do not think that we have reached our potential with educational blogs.  I think this might be because too many educators are afraid of technology, do not give it the respect that it deserves (view blogging only as online gossip columns), or do not see its importance in the futures of our students.  Too, I think privacy issues, safety issues, security issues and the need for constant screening might be seen as threats that are not worth the effort.

4)  The point in Alan November’s article, Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning that I find the most important is the need to teach students to separate the accurate from the inaccurate information on the internet.  I think most students are taught that certain sites can’t be trusted when using the internet for research, but I do not think that we teach them how to discern the truth if they are not referencing those few noted sites.  I agree with the author that we should not teach our students to use the internet for research if we are not going to teach them to think about the information they are obtaining and be discriminating about its “truth”.

5)  This is my first educational technology class, so I am not sure what to expect.  I hope to learn effective ways to utilize technology in the classroom.  Too, I hope to learn things as well as, if not better than, my students.  I realize this might be a daunting task!  And lastly, I hope to have a blog that looks more inviting that what I have produced thus far.