I believe that it is extremely unfortunate if teachers don't try to incorporate as much technology in their classroom as possible. If the tools are there, why not take advantage of them? Like one of the videos said: "Shift Happens!" and teachers need to be flexible and open-minded enough to shift right along with advancing technology. Technology can assist teachers in providing diverse learning opportunities for all of the different multiple intelligences, it can give students more active learning activities, students can experience more real-world learning experiences, and they can use the kinds of technology that they enjoy using in their life outside of school and academics.
Technology is how the world runs now, so not only can students benefit from having multiple ways to learn and access information in the classroom, but they can be prepared for real world situations that they will need to be technologically knowledgeable for. We are not only preparing them to pass the unit test, but to succeed in life in general. Technology is crucial for this goal. We should give our students every possible tool and resource we can to help them toward success and their goals in life. If we can do our best to incorporate diverse and real technology into their education, they will more likely see the relevance in what they are learning and doing. Being knowledgeable in the kinds of questions and topics that were mentioned in the UNI survey and NET standards will help us greatly in this pursuit.
Friday, October 30, 2009
PDP: Lessons Learned
My thoughts, concerns, and what I learned from the readings, videos, and web sites:
Technology is such a major part of our students' lives, and we can use that to our benefit in the classroom. Teens can often feel like there is a disconnect between their academic experience and their social/real-world experience. One example in this is in writing; they don't consider blogging, texting, emailing, etc as real writing. If we can incorporate these "outside school" activities into our classrooms (using technology, of course), students may be able to more easily identify the similarities between what they learn in school and how it is applicable to their lives. Social networking can increase their technology skills, creativity, generate different perspectives, and improve communication skills. Rather than have to try to compete with this outside technology that can lead to distractions, why not use it to encourage active engagement, group work and collaboration, interaction and feedback, and communication with real-world experts.
Media mobility creates so many opportunities for learning, networking, efficiency, and convenience. In one clip, a students defined media mobility as "accessible anywhere at anytime with no limitations." This means that high-tech learning can occur anywhere, anytime, if we make the effort to help our students utilize that. Not only should we provide the resources, but also facilitate the learning process. Technology has helped education through online and distance learning, virtual labs, e-books, and more. Technology has grown so much- it's exciting to predict what further technology advancement will take place and help the education process even more. It truly can help us become life-long learners.
Technology is such a major part of our students' lives, and we can use that to our benefit in the classroom. Teens can often feel like there is a disconnect between their academic experience and their social/real-world experience. One example in this is in writing; they don't consider blogging, texting, emailing, etc as real writing. If we can incorporate these "outside school" activities into our classrooms (using technology, of course), students may be able to more easily identify the similarities between what they learn in school and how it is applicable to their lives. Social networking can increase their technology skills, creativity, generate different perspectives, and improve communication skills. Rather than have to try to compete with this outside technology that can lead to distractions, why not use it to encourage active engagement, group work and collaboration, interaction and feedback, and communication with real-world experts.
Media mobility creates so many opportunities for learning, networking, efficiency, and convenience. In one clip, a students defined media mobility as "accessible anywhere at anytime with no limitations." This means that high-tech learning can occur anywhere, anytime, if we make the effort to help our students utilize that. Not only should we provide the resources, but also facilitate the learning process. Technology has helped education through online and distance learning, virtual labs, e-books, and more. Technology has grown so much- it's exciting to predict what further technology advancement will take place and help the education process even more. It truly can help us become life-long learners.
PDP: Strengths and Weaknesses
Some of the strengths I have according to the UNI survey and NET standards are using technology to address content standards and enhance learning in my ASL classroom, reflecting on the effectiveness of specific technology in certain lesson plans and topics, and being efficient in using technology to communicate and stay organized. Some of the things I need to work on are knowing more about software applications (beyond just the simple basics), feeling more knowledgeable in technical and computer terminology, gaining more confidence and knowledge in using technology to address student differences in learning, and working on more ideas of how to apply technology to develop higher order thinking skills (not just "find information about this topic.") In order to improve upon these things, my goals are to try my best to stay abreast of the latest developments in technology and how I can use them in teaching, and to attend technology workshops, along with learning from very technology-savvy people (like my husband).
One workshop that I would like to attend is the TTIX (Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange) at UVU on June 9-11, 2010. This is a free workshop for educators (and others in the field of technology). I think I would really benefit from hearing different ideas from other educators and people involved in technology because I don't feel like I know enough about technology to be extremely creative with using it. I am good at using it in specific ways that I have been taught, but I struggle with feeling creative and coming up with my own ideas. Hopefully the more ideas I can get from different perspectives and types of people, the more "free" I will feel in incorporating technology in my teaching.
"Teaching With Technology Podcast" (found at http://powertolearn.typepad.com/teaching_with_technology/teacher_tools/) has a lot of articles that I am interested in learning from, including Video Cameras, Creating Video Clips, Troubleshooting Tech 101, and Building a Podcast with Keynote. This is another thing that would really help me in my technology goals. Learning more about recording and editing (specifically visual, not audio- though both would be great) would be very applicable to my ASL content and my goal to use technology the most effectively in my classroom. I'd love my students to have a lot of opportunities to record themselves and others signing, and I would feel much more confident in the kind of assignments I gave using that technology if my students didn't have to teach me what to do! Learning how to better troubleshoot would help me in feeling comfortable in how things work, terminology, and being independent in working with technology. Learning about podcasts would help me in my goal to stay on top of the latest technology out there (I honestly don't know much about podcasting yet. I still need to explore that.)
One workshop that I would like to attend is the TTIX (Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange) at UVU on June 9-11, 2010. This is a free workshop for educators (and others in the field of technology). I think I would really benefit from hearing different ideas from other educators and people involved in technology because I don't feel like I know enough about technology to be extremely creative with using it. I am good at using it in specific ways that I have been taught, but I struggle with feeling creative and coming up with my own ideas. Hopefully the more ideas I can get from different perspectives and types of people, the more "free" I will feel in incorporating technology in my teaching.
"Teaching With Technology Podcast" (found at http://powertolearn.typepad.com/teaching_with_technology/teacher_tools/) has a lot of articles that I am interested in learning from, including Video Cameras, Creating Video Clips, Troubleshooting Tech 101, and Building a Podcast with Keynote. This is another thing that would really help me in my technology goals. Learning more about recording and editing (specifically visual, not audio- though both would be great) would be very applicable to my ASL content and my goal to use technology the most effectively in my classroom. I'd love my students to have a lot of opportunities to record themselves and others signing, and I would feel much more confident in the kind of assignments I gave using that technology if my students didn't have to teach me what to do! Learning how to better troubleshoot would help me in feeling comfortable in how things work, terminology, and being independent in working with technology. Learning about podcasts would help me in my goal to stay on top of the latest technology out there (I honestly don't know much about podcasting yet. I still need to explore that.)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Week 9: Power Point 2
What?
Last week, my group finished the Paper Chain project. The topic we chose to do it on was Mitosis. This week, my group did our second Power Point project, which was Who Am I? We gave six clues, and uncovered a picture of the mystery person one square at a time. In the end, it turned out to be Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. These are only two ideas of fifty that teachers can use to mix up their presentations and lessons for students.
So What?
It is useful for teachers and future teachers to play with these different projects like we did in class for this assignment. By exploring with these different activities, we can feel more comfortable with technology, become more creative in ways to present information, and have a larger pool of resources. Why not take advantage of every learning experience possible in order to make teaching easier and more fun for you, as well as more enjoyable and beneficial for your students?
Now What?
I've enjoyed doing these Power Point projects because they are extremely easy and quick ways of mixing up lessons. I was surprised at how simple the activities were. This is encouraging to me because I feel like I can actually set aside enough time to learn and play with more fun Power Point activities. It's not too overwhelming or time consuming, and it's easy enough that I can figure them out myself without getting really frustrated. So I plan on playing around with some more activities to use in my future classroom! It's been enjoyable for me and I know it will enhance my lessons, teaching, and appreciation for using technology.
This was a great comedy clip about how PowerPoint can often be distracting, overwhelming, difficult, or less effective. He gave funny examples of ineffective things such as putting every word that you plan to say on the slide, not using spell check, excessive bullet points (thus not pointing out anything specific because it's ALL pointed out), bad color schemes, number of slides, amount of data on a slide, and distracting animations. He proved that even if the technology is good, it can still cause the opposite results of your goal if you don't know how to use it the most effectively. It can do more harm than good, be a distraction, or simply be a waste of time, so it's important to learn helpful strategies to maximize the benefits of PowerPoint. I thought the clip was funny and very entertaining.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Week 8: Power Point
What?
This week we are using our book, 50 Quick & Easy PowerPoint Activities (2nd ed), to learn about different ways to use PowerPoint in our classrooms. This booklet gives cool PowerPoint tips, Publishing ideas, and Slide Show ideas. The two activities my group chose to do are "Paper Chain of Events" for Biology (mitosis) and "Who Am I?" for American Sign Language (history).
So What?
It is very beneficial for teachers to be able to know the numerous ways that PowerPoint can be used in their lessons and assignments. It can add diversity in instruction and homework, which can help catch and hold students' interest. They will be more likely to be excited and involved when they are not bored of the same kind of work and instruction. In addition to keeping things interesting, having a variety of PowerPoint ideas and activities can help teachers pinpoint the best instructional methods and activities for the specific content being taught. Some activities would be very helpful for some certain topics, while other activities would be perfect for others. It can really help teachers specialize with and emphasize the information they need the students to learn and understand.
Now What?
Now my group will be diving into learning specifically about "Paper Chain of Events" and "Who Am I?" activities! I'm excited to experiment with how I can use these activities in my classroom. Up to this point, I have only had experience with using PowerPoint for basic slide shows, so I look forward to learning how to better utilize the program and take advantage of everything that it has to offer. I'm already looking forward to using the "Who Am I" activity for when I teach about famous/influential people in Deaf history. History was never very interesting for me when I was in High School, so I'd like to find as many different fun ideas to teach this content as I can. This activity is definitely a winner because it uses technology to mix things up, and it also engages students by trying to solve a mystery.
No video this week :)
This week we are using our book, 50 Quick & Easy PowerPoint Activities (2nd ed), to learn about different ways to use PowerPoint in our classrooms. This booklet gives cool PowerPoint tips, Publishing ideas, and Slide Show ideas. The two activities my group chose to do are "Paper Chain of Events" for Biology (mitosis) and "Who Am I?" for American Sign Language (history).
So What?
It is very beneficial for teachers to be able to know the numerous ways that PowerPoint can be used in their lessons and assignments. It can add diversity in instruction and homework, which can help catch and hold students' interest. They will be more likely to be excited and involved when they are not bored of the same kind of work and instruction. In addition to keeping things interesting, having a variety of PowerPoint ideas and activities can help teachers pinpoint the best instructional methods and activities for the specific content being taught. Some activities would be very helpful for some certain topics, while other activities would be perfect for others. It can really help teachers specialize with and emphasize the information they need the students to learn and understand.
Now What?
Now my group will be diving into learning specifically about "Paper Chain of Events" and "Who Am I?" activities! I'm excited to experiment with how I can use these activities in my classroom. Up to this point, I have only had experience with using PowerPoint for basic slide shows, so I look forward to learning how to better utilize the program and take advantage of everything that it has to offer. I'm already looking forward to using the "Who Am I" activity for when I teach about famous/influential people in Deaf history. History was never very interesting for me when I was in High School, so I'd like to find as many different fun ideas to teach this content as I can. This activity is definitely a winner because it uses technology to mix things up, and it also engages students by trying to solve a mystery.
No video this week :)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Week 7: Webquest Final
What?
This week, we finished learning about how to create webquests. We had the basic lesson plan and design done, so focused on appropriately putting the webquest into Power Point, creating a Filing Cabinet on our UEN site, and putting a link to our webquest there. With all the finishing touches and links in place, this webquest should be a great opportunity for students to research interesting topics, answer questions, and have a fun assignment that utilizes technology more than most other assignments they are given.
So What?
With the webquest's simple and organized steps and instructions, pictures that enhance understanding, interesting video clips, and links to helpful websites, students can have the scaffolding they need as well as their independence in learning. In my Pod, we attempted to make our webquest diverse enough to fit many different learning styles. There are times for individual research, fact finding, group collaboration, creativity, and performing. Webquests are such a great way to incorporate many styles of learning for our students!
Now What?
With being able to take an extra week on learning about webquests, I feel even more comfortable with how to organize them and make them work. I've never considered myself incredibly technology savvy, but with each new project we do in class, I find that I can learn, they are incredibly useful in the classroom, and that it is worth the time. I know that with more practice and exposure to these things such as webquests, the easier they will get for me, the quicker I will be able to prepare them, and the more I can offer to my students. I am excited to incorporate webquests into my lessons. I think my students will benefit greatly from them, and can have a good time in the process. As a teacher, I want to stay in the technology-loop so that my students can learn with the latest and greatest methods. Attending special technology workshops, working with other knowledgeable teachers, and consistently having the "spirit of discovery" will help me in this goal.
Video: Do You Believe in Me?
I thought this was a neat clip to watch. That boy's confidence, courage, and presence were very impressive. He spoke about believing in our students, as well as in our colleagues and in ourselves. One thing he said that stuck out to me about believing in our students was, "You believe in me. And that rubs off on me." If students can see that we recognize greatness and potential in them, they can start to explore that and believe it too. He also said, "You better not give up on us. Because in some cases, you're all we got." Our students come from such diverse backgrounds and situations, some of them being very difficult. We need to be a positive influence and support for them.
We can also believe in our colleagues and "lean on them when times get rough." We should all be in this together. Lastly, he said that we need to believe in ourselves. We need to believe that we can make a difference in the lives of our students. With this mind set, I believe we are more likely to listen to them, understand them, give them the support and encouragement they need, and give them the tools that will help them be successful in every aspect of their lives.
This week, we finished learning about how to create webquests. We had the basic lesson plan and design done, so focused on appropriately putting the webquest into Power Point, creating a Filing Cabinet on our UEN site, and putting a link to our webquest there. With all the finishing touches and links in place, this webquest should be a great opportunity for students to research interesting topics, answer questions, and have a fun assignment that utilizes technology more than most other assignments they are given.
So What?
With the webquest's simple and organized steps and instructions, pictures that enhance understanding, interesting video clips, and links to helpful websites, students can have the scaffolding they need as well as their independence in learning. In my Pod, we attempted to make our webquest diverse enough to fit many different learning styles. There are times for individual research, fact finding, group collaboration, creativity, and performing. Webquests are such a great way to incorporate many styles of learning for our students!
Now What?
With being able to take an extra week on learning about webquests, I feel even more comfortable with how to organize them and make them work. I've never considered myself incredibly technology savvy, but with each new project we do in class, I find that I can learn, they are incredibly useful in the classroom, and that it is worth the time. I know that with more practice and exposure to these things such as webquests, the easier they will get for me, the quicker I will be able to prepare them, and the more I can offer to my students. I am excited to incorporate webquests into my lessons. I think my students will benefit greatly from them, and can have a good time in the process. As a teacher, I want to stay in the technology-loop so that my students can learn with the latest and greatest methods. Attending special technology workshops, working with other knowledgeable teachers, and consistently having the "spirit of discovery" will help me in this goal.
Video: Do You Believe in Me?
I thought this was a neat clip to watch. That boy's confidence, courage, and presence were very impressive. He spoke about believing in our students, as well as in our colleagues and in ourselves. One thing he said that stuck out to me about believing in our students was, "You believe in me. And that rubs off on me." If students can see that we recognize greatness and potential in them, they can start to explore that and believe it too. He also said, "You better not give up on us. Because in some cases, you're all we got." Our students come from such diverse backgrounds and situations, some of them being very difficult. We need to be a positive influence and support for them.
We can also believe in our colleagues and "lean on them when times get rough." We should all be in this together. Lastly, he said that we need to believe in ourselves. We need to believe that we can make a difference in the lives of our students. With this mind set, I believe we are more likely to listen to them, understand them, give them the support and encouragement they need, and give them the tools that will help them be successful in every aspect of their lives.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Week 6: Webquest 1
What?
This week, we started learning about how to create a webquest. These are a way of giving students a kind of assignment that lets them explore through technology and a wide range of resources. We are currently focusing on the design of the lesson, including aspects such as introduction, tasks, processes, resources, and conclusions, then will continue next week to incorporate additional features, including PowerPoint. Webquests are a fun and organized way to provide your students with a lot of useful information and incorporate technology to engage students more.
So What?
When students are given learning activities such as webquests, it adds a different level to their learning. They can effectively be used in any content area and helps to mix up the every day, same kind of assignments that many students so easily get bored with. Webquests can easily incorporate all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and include so many different projects and activities. As students are given these kind of assignments that are challenging, yet supply such helpful resources and organized steps, they will learn and remember more, be more engaged, and be able to use both lower and higher order thinking skills. Technology is wonderful to use for these purposes.
Now What?
I like the idea of using webquests in my classroom. I look forward to finding some good resources and websites on Deaf culture, and let my students more thoroughly explore a culture that is different from their own. Teaching Deaf history would be much more fun with this kind of technology use. Webquests would work in my classroom not only for culture and history, but for receptive and comprehensive ASL skills as well. I can give students links to different signers, so that they can be exposed to a richer variety of signing styles. They would even be able to see different signs, or slang, used in different states that are not seen here in Utah. I am excited to be able to use webquests to add variety, fun, and more technology use in my classroom.
Video: 3 Steps
Competition, Cooperation, and Collaboration are three things our students need to learn and succeed in the 21st century. We should do our best to teach them these three principles. One thing teachers can do is make the classroom a creative place. We can also introduce them to their "global peers" and let them collaborate. There are so many great networking tools to help us do this. If we can make things individual and personal to students, they can then have effective collaboration and learning. I think these "3 C's" fit together so nicely. If they can compete with themselves, it will give them the motivation it takes to successfully compete with others in the work force later in live. Without good cooperation and collaboration skills, they will lack what it takes to work and interact with others. These are crucial skills to have in order to succeed in school, work, and life. Loved the video!
This week, we started learning about how to create a webquest. These are a way of giving students a kind of assignment that lets them explore through technology and a wide range of resources. We are currently focusing on the design of the lesson, including aspects such as introduction, tasks, processes, resources, and conclusions, then will continue next week to incorporate additional features, including PowerPoint. Webquests are a fun and organized way to provide your students with a lot of useful information and incorporate technology to engage students more.
So What?
When students are given learning activities such as webquests, it adds a different level to their learning. They can effectively be used in any content area and helps to mix up the every day, same kind of assignments that many students so easily get bored with. Webquests can easily incorporate all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and include so many different projects and activities. As students are given these kind of assignments that are challenging, yet supply such helpful resources and organized steps, they will learn and remember more, be more engaged, and be able to use both lower and higher order thinking skills. Technology is wonderful to use for these purposes.
Now What?
I like the idea of using webquests in my classroom. I look forward to finding some good resources and websites on Deaf culture, and let my students more thoroughly explore a culture that is different from their own. Teaching Deaf history would be much more fun with this kind of technology use. Webquests would work in my classroom not only for culture and history, but for receptive and comprehensive ASL skills as well. I can give students links to different signers, so that they can be exposed to a richer variety of signing styles. They would even be able to see different signs, or slang, used in different states that are not seen here in Utah. I am excited to be able to use webquests to add variety, fun, and more technology use in my classroom.
Video: 3 Steps
Competition, Cooperation, and Collaboration are three things our students need to learn and succeed in the 21st century. We should do our best to teach them these three principles. One thing teachers can do is make the classroom a creative place. We can also introduce them to their "global peers" and let them collaborate. There are so many great networking tools to help us do this. If we can make things individual and personal to students, they can then have effective collaboration and learning. I think these "3 C's" fit together so nicely. If they can compete with themselves, it will give them the motivation it takes to successfully compete with others in the work force later in live. Without good cooperation and collaboration skills, they will lack what it takes to work and interact with others. These are crucial skills to have in order to succeed in school, work, and life. Loved the video!
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