It's the FINAL TAKEAWAY

This class was essentially my comfort food of the first semester of my education career.
what do i mean by that?

My other two classes were definitely COMPLETELY uncharted territory for me.  they were about teaching strategies in the Science Classroom, and about Educational research, where my background was in Scientific Research all the way from High School.  This class was the one that I had some background in (in using Technology of ANY form), so even that was not much.

I walked into this class thinking that my grasp of technology was mediocre at best, and was SUPER excited about how I could learn about new technology that I'd be able to use in my teaching.

I was NOT disappointed.

It was the first time that I have actually done anything creative with real products from my process.  This was SUPER exciting to create tangible THINGS.

Very glad I took this early on in my educational career, so I could apply this to my future classes and future lessons, as this is a definite PRACTICAL aspect to it.

Thanks for making this class everyone!  It really was a group effort!

Assistive Technology post

I'm really glad that we were able to talk about assistive technology because I really dont have to much of a background on it.  I mean I guess a lot of what I may not have considered assistive technology was actually just that, but I was glad we were able to talk about it in terms of implementing them in your classroom, especially for students with disabilities. 

I am really glad we were shown those websites, and I am sure that I will be able to use those resources in the future.

Chapter 7.

I really liked what Seymour Papert said about, "Will the child program the computer or will the computer program the child."  It almost feels like it would be the maxim of those who wrote the android operating system, and it's ability to be flexible.  It definitely is the way that a lot of my engineering friends think in terms of approaching any situation, where they will write a program to solve a difficult program, as compared to tackling the problem manually.  I guess it is kind of like learning to drive, you control the car, not the other way around.

Also, I could not help but laugh on the little blurb on open source software, because my friends who advocate the use of open source software are the guys that are completely gung ho about it, and thus, the image of some guy feeling super satisfied about writing that section into a textbook as a personal victory popped into my head.  on that topic, I will say this, that while the open source alternatives of the programs are cheaper and more available, I've found that the commercial products more often than not have a bigger financial backing and thus might be a little bit more refined and the production value will be obvious.  I'm curious to know if any body has had experience with using open source software, and if after they've used that, preferred it over the commercial counterpart, and why?

then the chapter went on to talk about video games.  I was surprised to see Civilization 3 on the list of video games, as that was a game I was completely obsessed with.  As a matter of fact, I picked up the latest version of the game (Civ 5) when it came out, and I will give it a run once in a while.  It actually is a pretty complex strategy game.  I thought it was interesting because one game of Civ lasts hours, and I wondered how that would actually translate to a classroom setting.  On that note: I actually just bought SimCity 2 weeks ago as that just came out.  While I havent been able to give that any real play time (with its disaster of a launch not allowing players to play until a week after release due to always online DRM, and maintaining the semi semblance of a life with the time not focused on school and work), the game actually taught a lot in terms of problem solving, and organizational skills.  Once again, playing the game takes a LOT of time, so effective use of time seems like it would be an issue, as we're already short on time with our lessons, so I hesitate even mentioning it in a class setting, but if given infinite time, I dont see why not.

With the complexity of what is taught at the high school level, I think it would be difficult to incorporate a video game into the classroom setting.  My main concern would be time.  Where something with a "sliding scale" like http://freerice.com (where you build your vocabulary AND every correct answer donates 10 grains of rice) could work, I struggle to find something that would be relevant in a Biology classroom, and if I did find something, I'd most definitely try to incorporate it.

While the book does talk about video games, I wonder if we could use this to engage kids by going the opposite way.  The text mentions ways that kids can learn different things from video games, but would there be real merit it approaching it as you can apply what you're learning in class to be a better gamer?  For one, I could see it being a way to reach out to kids who may not have been engaged with the content materials?

Also, how is playing a video game different than playing a game or board game in the class room?  Is there something that video games do better than their analog counterpart?  The only real thing I can think of is simulation, allowing for the addition of the visual component.

EDIT:  apparently free rice has changed since I've last been there.  Now there are different categories, including chemistry, anatomy, math, etc.  fun!

03/14/13

Still not sold on Webquests.  But that appears that will be my demon to face.

I thought that the web 2.0 conversation was especially interesting.  the rubric definitely does provide a nice building block for future use.  It was curious to see the different perspectives on what every body looked for when analyzing the different.

Also, the way that the class started, and talking about the impending demise of the google reader was surprisingly opportune for this class.  The thought that we must analyze what is good about it, and looking for a replacement was easily looked over, but quite important. 

I still think that I might carry a naive perspective about the real teaching world.  Perhaps a bit romantic in the notion of knowing what will and will not be available.  As we move on in the class and the text seems to be taking more of a technical aspect of the subject rather than the philosophical, I feel like this is why I am here in school, to learn the tools to become a teacher.  This is super exciting and I really think that I'm already a bit more prepared for teaching than I before!

Ch. 4 and 6

Chapter 4 got me really excited about looking forward to my entire teaching career.

I feel that this chapter really provides a framework that educators can use to re-evaluate their curriculum annually, or even constantly.  One of the great things about technology advancing, is that it will provide new ways to attempt new things.  By keeping your head on a swivel at all times, you can really take advantage of the fact that there are new things that a creative educator can attempt year in and year out!

I particularly thought that Table 4.1 will be useful in the future.  This table can really help define the way that class time could be utilized, especially for something like in-class research time.  

Also, figure 4.1 (Key features of a technology- integrated classroom p. 91) is something  think I'll be holding onto for future reference as well.  

If anything this chapter really reminded me that educators really have our work cut out for us, and that technology is very much like Lego's:  New sets constantly come out, and once you're familiar with the new pieces, the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it (creatively).  

Having said all that, chapter 4 also has a bit of a reality check in that it reminds us that we can only use what we have.  But, if we know that the common practice out side of the school setting that we are in uses a specific tech- based component, how much time should we put into discussing that with our students?

Chapter 6 was quite interesting to me as well, as I know for me personally, the way that I organize information (in my head, as well as on pen and paper) has changed since I have become familiar with computers.

I think the importance of information management is greater than ever because of the breadth and depth of information that is available in our day and age.  We must teach students to develop a way to navigate it, whether it is like Theseus and Ariadne's use of a ball of string to navigate the labyrinth of Crete, or Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs.
having said that though, how can we teach students about that without deviating from the content that we have to get through?

Having read what the textbook has on webquests, I still am not quite sure if I am sold on the idea of it.  I still dont see how this is a different task than one that students would normally do when given a worksheet.  Personally, I think that if the students were asked to perform the tasks given on any of the webquests we saw in class and werent given a parameter, the students would have been able to get the information on their own any ways, and while doing so, might even learn a thing or two about a few things we've gone over in class ourselves (analyzing the validity of a website, and even inquiry based learning by learning to follow the thread of information).  Am I the only one who doesnt quite see the benefits of webquests beyond the restriction of the area that is considered "in-bounds?"

You! The 21st Century Rock Star

So this video went viral a few days ago, but hopefully it doesnt fizzle out like the Harlem Shake did/ will.

I've mentioned in several posts (if not, then certainly in comments) that the world students will be graduating into is drastically different from even the one we found when we got out of high school.  The amount and speed of information being processed are both being increased exponentially, so how can we expect it not to be different?  But certainly, seeing as technology is also creating new job opportunities that werent present before, there's no reason to not embrace it while we can.  Not only new jobs, but it really is time to wake up and smell the coffee, as ALL careers are changing due to advancements in technology... and to be frank, isnt that why we're ALL in this class?

Also, of no real consequence: Near the end of the video some of the tech rock stars started talking about wizardry and magic, and reminded me of one of Arthur C. Clarke's laws:  Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.  That coupled with the intro to the video where the interviewees are all saying that coding/ tech might seem intimidating at first, but it really isn't, makes all of this dizzying tech seem more approachable. 

I havent personally checked out code.org yet, but I've had some fun playing around with codeacademy.com.

I mean if we can start programming some of our own materials and implementing it in our classroom in a way that complements the content and engages the class, there's no point in waiting any longer to try and learn it... especially if its available to us for free, right? 

Wikipedia?

I appreciate where we ended up in class.  A part of me was asking why we were talking about this because I always felt that this was never a novel issue, but one that I had learned to traverse in middle school while doing research.

Also, the way to evaluate website authenticity with who, what, when, where, and why seems to reinforce my thoughts mentioned before about this issue not being a novel one.  This seems to be an example where old principles hold up even with the introduction of new technology!

Plus, am I the only one who is always never satisfied with what is found in Wikipedia?  Once I find any sort of interesting bit, I want to know more about it.  Thus, it allows for the development of inquisitive-ness.... maybe.  But, it certainly did for me.