Monday, July 25, 2011
Journal 4 - One Size Never Fits All
NETS-T (2)
Differentiation is the word in the educational community. "One Size Never Fits All", an article written by Jennifer Courduff, specifically addresses how to differentiate the use of technology to adapt to the needs of students, especially in special education. She first suggests that teachers "learn to match specific curricular tasks with technology resources that engage students, increase understanding, and enhance learning (Courduff, 2011). To integrate technology into the classroom, teachers participated in a program divided into 3 Tiers. In Tier 1, teachers attended hands-on workshops to learn how to use various technology tools. Tier 2 participated in a hybrid course utilizing face-to-face and online environments that focused on training teachers to develop e-portfolios. The final tier, Tier 3, refined teachers' skills in technology tools while emphasizing online collaboration through social networking, texting, etc. One of the tools being integrated in the classroom now is speech-to-text programs. This allows students to embrace the magic of story writing without being hampered by the technical skills of writing.
Why is it important to train teachers to use technology resources, especially in special education?
As classes become more integrated and inclusive, it is necessary that teachers develop the skills that can address the wide range of learners in the classroom. If teachers are not properly trained to integrate technology into their lessons, it no longer becomes a useful tool. Courduff promotes a process called Tiers not Years to mark the progress of learning instead of a static time frame to give teachers enough time to fully integrate their new skills.
What kind of technology resources can teachers use now?
One of the examples in this article describes speech-to-text programs, but there are also programs that do the reverse. For students who have difficulties with vision, text-to-speech programs allow students to hear words rather than read them.
Courduff, J. (2011). One size never fits all. Learning & Leading with Technology, 38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx
Differentiation is the word in the educational community. "One Size Never Fits All", an article written by Jennifer Courduff, specifically addresses how to differentiate the use of technology to adapt to the needs of students, especially in special education. She first suggests that teachers "learn to match specific curricular tasks with technology resources that engage students, increase understanding, and enhance learning (Courduff, 2011). To integrate technology into the classroom, teachers participated in a program divided into 3 Tiers. In Tier 1, teachers attended hands-on workshops to learn how to use various technology tools. Tier 2 participated in a hybrid course utilizing face-to-face and online environments that focused on training teachers to develop e-portfolios. The final tier, Tier 3, refined teachers' skills in technology tools while emphasizing online collaboration through social networking, texting, etc. One of the tools being integrated in the classroom now is speech-to-text programs. This allows students to embrace the magic of story writing without being hampered by the technical skills of writing.
Why is it important to train teachers to use technology resources, especially in special education?
As classes become more integrated and inclusive, it is necessary that teachers develop the skills that can address the wide range of learners in the classroom. If teachers are not properly trained to integrate technology into their lessons, it no longer becomes a useful tool. Courduff promotes a process called Tiers not Years to mark the progress of learning instead of a static time frame to give teachers enough time to fully integrate their new skills.
What kind of technology resources can teachers use now?
One of the examples in this article describes speech-to-text programs, but there are also programs that do the reverse. For students who have difficulties with vision, text-to-speech programs allow students to hear words rather than read them.
Courduff, J. (2011). One size never fits all. Learning & Leading with Technology, 38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx
Friday, July 22, 2011
Journal 3 - Abracadabra
"Abracadabra - It's Augmented Reality", by Raphael Raphael, highlights the new ways technology is becoming integrated in the classroom. Augmented Reality, or AR, "[adds] layers of information on the real world, usually in real time". With the advancement of technology, especially "with the rise of touch and gestural interfaces", educators are exploring ways to capture the magic of these tools to enhance learning for students. The Getty, for example, combines a real life picture, the internet and a webcam to create an interactive model of a 17th Century Cabinet of Curiosities. Augmented Reality tools, such as Zooburst, also promote creativity for students as they create their own interactive versions of, what used to be, static stories. With the growth of mobile applications, AR can drastically affect the way we interact with our world.
Why is it important to introduce AR into the classroom?
The classroom provides an experience that prepares students for understanding the world. As the world constantly evolves, especially with the growth of technology, teachers need evolve as well. The methods of learning have changed drastically from simple print media. Information is no longer static. Augmented Reality offers students a new way to access information and enriches the depth of learning.
What are some of the challenges and obstacles for AR integration?
Augmented Reality is obviously technology heavy. Therefore, schools may not have the funding to integrate the right tools to utilize AR. Teachers would also need proper training in order to effectively introduce AR to their students, who are sometimes even more familiar with technology tools than their teachers. Part of teaching through AR would involve a whole new style of learning, focusing on how to navigate through applications and the internet to prevent students from being bombarded with the massive wave of information available. However, these obstacles have always been present with any type of evolution in technology. It is what makes it so fascinating and so magical.
Raphael, R. (2011). Abracadabra - it's augmented reality!. Learning & Leading with Technology, 38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx
Paton, David (Composer). (1974). Magic [Recorded by Pilot]. [Medium of recording: Record]
Why is it important to introduce AR into the classroom?
The classroom provides an experience that prepares students for understanding the world. As the world constantly evolves, especially with the growth of technology, teachers need evolve as well. The methods of learning have changed drastically from simple print media. Information is no longer static. Augmented Reality offers students a new way to access information and enriches the depth of learning.
What are some of the challenges and obstacles for AR integration?
Augmented Reality is obviously technology heavy. Therefore, schools may not have the funding to integrate the right tools to utilize AR. Teachers would also need proper training in order to effectively introduce AR to their students, who are sometimes even more familiar with technology tools than their teachers. Part of teaching through AR would involve a whole new style of learning, focusing on how to navigate through applications and the internet to prevent students from being bombarded with the massive wave of information available. However, these obstacles have always been present with any type of evolution in technology. It is what makes it so fascinating and so magical.
Raphael, R. (2011). Abracadabra - it's augmented reality!. Learning & Leading with Technology, 38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2011.aspx
Paton, David (Composer). (1974). Magic [Recorded by Pilot]. [Medium of recording: Record]
Journal 2 - Join the Flock
How does the old saying go? A Tweet in the hand is worth two in the stream? I recently read the article "Join the Flock" by Hadley Ferguson where she discusses the immense value of establishing a PLN, or Personal Learning Network. Twitter, a social network and microblog, contains endless streams of information posted by people worldwide. But how do we become integrated into this community and streamline this continuous flow of information? Ferguson offers simple steps to gradually become one of the "Tweeple" that share ideas, links and knowledge. After creating a Twitter account, find people or groups to follow and start listening. Feel free to follow links and read articles, but the goal is to begin sharing this knowledge with others by Retweeting and tagging posts with Hashtags (#). Gradually, you will develop a voice in the community by adding comments, sharing your own research and contributing to this stream of learning.
How will Twitter and a PLN help me develop skills as a teacher?
Teaching is just a type of collaboration. Teachers research and devise methods to share the information they learn with others. As teachers, however, we must constantly seek out and learn methods to improve our skills. Twitter allows us to collaborate with others almost like the world's largest Think tank. No longer are we subjected to hours of researching and navigating information from scratch. The Twitter community gives us instant access to relevant information, which comes to us rather than seeking it on our own. Less time is spent fishing for ideas, while more time can be spent integrating ideas and methods into our classroom.
Why Twitter?
Twitter is unique in that it limits the writer to 140 characters. This makes tweets, or posts, extremely efficient. Links, questions, comments, etc. get directly to the point. Having this limitation allows quick searches and easy navigating.
Ferguson, H. (2011, June/July). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607?pg=14&pm=2&fs=1#pg14
How will Twitter and a PLN help me develop skills as a teacher?
Teaching is just a type of collaboration. Teachers research and devise methods to share the information they learn with others. As teachers, however, we must constantly seek out and learn methods to improve our skills. Twitter allows us to collaborate with others almost like the world's largest Think tank. No longer are we subjected to hours of researching and navigating information from scratch. The Twitter community gives us instant access to relevant information, which comes to us rather than seeking it on our own. Less time is spent fishing for ideas, while more time can be spent integrating ideas and methods into our classroom.
Why Twitter?
Twitter is unique in that it limits the writer to 140 characters. This makes tweets, or posts, extremely efficient. Links, questions, comments, etc. get directly to the point. Having this limitation allows quick searches and easy navigating.
Ferguson, H. (2011, June/July). Join the flock. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100607?pg=14&pm=2&fs=1#pg14
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Technology Self-Assessment: School 2.0 (NETS-T 1)
NETS-T (1, 2, 5)
Using the Reflection Tool on the School 2.0 website, I took a questionnaire based on the NETS-T modules regarding my success of implementing technology into my classroom. For activities that I did not indicate as successful, the results offered various resources to help improve those categories.
What's so wrong with being wrong? Students are constantly assessed by any number of tests starting from the moment they step into the classroom. Right answers get rewards. Wrong answers get reprimanded. So where do students find the desire to think otherwise? School, at some points, became very stale to me. Everything had to be submitted in a particular format, or with a particular look. Even if a project was "left free to the imagination", there was still a quiet pressure to conform to previous models. As I grew older, and eventually returned to the classroom as a substitute teacher, I began to notice that the system never changed. Creativity was still sterilized. From that point, I vowed to bring creativity back to the classroom. Students get enough rights and wrongs already; I don't need to add to that.
I was curious to see how I could develop my own understanding of Creativity, and the need of it in the classroom, so I explored the NETS-T Module: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Ken Robinson gives an engaging lecture on how "Schools kill creativity". He proposes the idea that schools are still caught in an old system based around emulating the work world. Education has implemented a heirarchy of subjects: Mathematics and sciences sit at the top while the arts sink to the bottom. Why is that? Despite our understanding of the learner (that intelligence is diverse, dynamic and distinct), there is still a resounding message that the arts have little value in the world of academia. Change, however, begins with questions. It begins with admitting that something is wrong because, "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original" - Ken Robinson.
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