This is it!

Well, this is my final blog and I just want to tell everyone how much I enjoyed blogging with you and sharing experiences. I learned a lot in this class and actually had fun doing most of it. It is amazing to me the technology we use on a daily basis and how much we take it for granted. There is so much out there available for educators to use. I really enjoyed many of your final projects and was impressed with your creativity. I wish all of you the best in your future endeavors and have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

Fun Technology

This was something sent to me and is an example of the fun things we can do with technology. I wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season and a much deserved break! My daughters Hannah and Amy and our dog Max join me in this "elf" dance. Merry Christmas!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1125377273

Virtual Classroom

The virtual classroom experience last Thursday evening was great. For those of you that do instant messaging, it will be a breeze for you. After participating I thought about what a wonderful tool it would be to use for a student who is out of school for an extended period of time - it has a whiteboard you can write on and provides opportunities to have conversations with the student. It could certainly be a benefit to the student in any number of situations.

Technology Creativity

I've been thinking a lot about the lack of opportunity for music and art in the classroom and how all this technology could provide answers for this problem. It will not be the solution that educators would like (funding for more art and music classes) but an opportunity to at least keep the creativity of the children alive and well. Allowing students to create powerpoints, podcasts, story boards, etc. we enpower the students to take control of their imagination and create "masterpieces" using musical pieces, photography, and other types of artwork. There are numerous ideas using hardware and software to incorporate more music and art into lesson plans for other areas of study. This at least gives the students exposure to some possibly new experiences.

Podcasting

Well, I got my microphone, created an account at OdeoStudio, plugged in the microphone and began recording audio clips. It has been really easy up to this point. Last night my daughter and I just played around recording clips and then clearing them. The big challenge will be actually creating the podcast from the audio clip and getting it posted and sent to our instructors. It has been a lot of fun, so far. I am looking forward to completing this project. I'm interested in knowing if anyone has had difficulties and what they have been. I have to admit that I'm kind of disappointed that our podcast has to be limited to such a short period of time because of the saving issue. Good luck everyone on the completion of your project!

Social Studies and Technology

After reading Chapter 12 I was a little discouraged about the lack of attention and funds for the area of Social Studies. Because of social studies not being included in statewide assessements and standardized testing it does not receive equal resources for materials, especially in the area of technology. This is another challenge for teachers in the upper levels with a Social Studies concentration. As an educator in this field, one will be called upon to be creative and prudent in their use of provided materials and possibly use of some of their own resources. Investigating the free technology available will be necessary as a Social Studies teacher to be able to incorporate new and creative ideas into their lesson plans. Another glaring example of the lack of funding for areas outside the realm of statewide assessments and the reduction in offerings would be the arts. As a parent today I am very concerned about the narrow focus our children are exposed to in the schools today - english, math, and writing. Please don't misunderstand me - these are all extremely important in a child's education and probably, for a certain period of time, were not focused on enough. In an age, though, where the potential of unlimited resources are available to bring such vast and diverse information to our children I feel some of the schools today are falling short because of the obsession with standardized testing and assessment.

Mainstreaming

I have some real mixed feelings about mainstreaming and inclusion. 18 years ago a very good friend of mine fought to have her son mainstreamed when he began school. I wasn't sure how I felt about it then and to tell you the truth I don't think I have any better grasp of the situation now. I know that several of you have had classroom experiences and would like to know how you feel. Part of me understands as a parent wanting their child to have the same experiences as a normal child with exposure to the same stimuli, but on the other hand, are they getting short changed on time with the teacher (even though they usually have an aid) and adaptive technology that has to be shared among numerous classrooms - if children with disabilities were all together would they not have more time to experience some of the technology developed specifically for them? Also, is it fair to advanced students to be restricted in their own educational growth because the teacher is required to attend to such a diverse group of students? I guess I feel there has got to be a better way to address the variety of students' needs without sacrificing one group or the other. I would like to hear any of your thoughts on this subject.

How students feel

My youngest daughter was looking through some old papers of hers the other morning and came across this short essay she wrote last year in sixth grade. I thought it was kind of interesting to read the perspective of a sixth grade student on the subject of technology. I scanned the essay thinking I could upload it to my blog but it evidently was not in the correct format so I am typing it here, exactly as she wrote it, for you to read.

HOAGLAND SHOULD GO HI-TECH

To make Hoagland better I think each student should get a laptop to do all of their work on. Then the teachers don't have to worry about losing the assignments. Plus the students might want to do their work. The teacher just gives the assignments and the students do it on the computer. If the students don't get done they take the laptop home. Then when they finish they e-mail it back. They can make up any e-mail address they want.

Now what if it's a work sheet? The teacher just scans it on their computer and e-mails it to each student.

The students would still use textbooks to do their assignments, it's just it wouldn't be on paper. Just think you wouldn't have to worry about sloppy handwriting.

So if everyone has a laptop everything would be easier. That's why I think everyone should have a laptop.

More Cool Technology

I had parent teacher conferences this evening at my youngest daughter's school - she is a 7th grader. Her English teacher was telling me about a software program he uses to help the students learn how to write good essays. I can't remember the name of it but he gives them a prompt one day so they can create an outline and figure out how they want to write it. The next day they go to the computer lab and type their essay on the computer using this software program. As they are typing it the program assists them in recognizing run-on sentences, fragments, incorrect verb tense, etc. When they have completed the essay the program even grades the essay. The teacher only uses this grading as a guideline and continues to grade it himself. This seems like a great tool to assist students in learning how to write effective, grammatically correct essays. Of course, again, there is the problem of limited availabilty.

When it doesn't work

So here I am again questioning our society relying so heavily on technology. I had a conversation with my brother over the weekend that got me thinking this way again. My brother writes for the Journal Gazette and was very frustrated that the paper had sent him to Chicago to cover the Cubs but because of the "new" printing press and all its wonderful technology, couldn't print his article because they had to move the deadline up so early. They are having so many problems, even though they had like two months of dry runs, that they can't even get all the news in because of the early deadlines to accommodate the difficulties they are having with the technology of the new press. So all this news that doesn't get printed is put on the web. It makes me think that it won't be long before there won't even be a printed paper. I have to wonder if it is a case like many of us have discussed about how great the new technology is but the importance of knowing how to use it before incorporating it into the classroom.

Hypermedia Technology

Reading Chapter 6 again brought to mind the risks involved with the increased use of the internet and all the information out there. And again, I'm not trying to be negative, just cautious. With all the hypermedia authoring tools it is becoming easier to create our own multimedia/hypermedia products. With this comes a responsiblity to adhere to copyright laws, avoid plagiarism, assure accuracy in information presented, and verification of internet links. I was curious as to the increase in plagiarism offenses since the internet became such an integral part of our educational experience so I asked some of the professors around here what they have seen over the last 10 years. Undeniably, there has been a significant increase in students plagiarizing - it is so easy to copy and paste and present it as one's own work. There is software available to check for plagiarism but it is rather expensive. Google is often used to check if work is plagiarized but is very time-consuming. Well, my lunch hour is over - time to go back to work.

Did You Know; Shift Happens - Globalization; Information Age

Some of you may have already seen this YouTube on technology advances in the world today but I found myself shaking my head as I watched it because of the amazing pace at which existing technology is changing and even becoming extinct. Here it is.

Computer Software

While reading chapter 3 I found myself thinking about alot of software that we have for our home computer and what was instructional and what type of instructional functions it served. I know that the Mavis Beacon Typing Skills software is clearly drill and practice and I think that Sims is probably a simulation type. But what about "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" Would that be considered problem solving? I can see tremendous benefits to all types if integrated into the correct lessons. One thing that I feel is extremely important is adequate and correct feedback when using tutorial software.

Light the Night Walk

I know, you are all poor college students but this Sunday evening is the annual "Light the Night" walk to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I have participated in this walk for the majority of the walks over the past 10 years. I'm blogging for donations. I will be walking with my daughter and the Starbucks team that was formed. If you would like more information on the walk and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society go to www.lls.org. Please bring any contributions to me in JPII 317 at the front desk by Friday afternoon. If you know my daughter you can give them to her as well. If I am not there feel free to leave it on my desk or with Trina Harkenrider in JPII 317A. Thank you so much for your generosity. O.K. now I probably should mention something about the course work we have been doing. I am glad that the first Learning Block project is complete. It was fun doing the YouTube video but preparing a lesson plan was pretty difficult. It is something that is totally foreign to me. Hopefully we will get feedback so that the next one might be a little easiery.

YouTube Video

How is everyone doing with their YouTube Video. I finished mine but it is in two segments. I have been using the remix option on YouTube to try and put the two together but am having difficulties. Bob is helping me get this accomplished, hopefully. There are some really neat options using the remix if some of you haven't looked at it. You can add borders and captions - some really neat things.

Good Morning America

I am home today from work to take care of some personal matters and was just watching Good Morning America. They had a entire segment on technology in the classroom and how it is very much widening the digital divide. With the smart boards being used there are hand held tools that allow the students to take quizzes and tests without paper and pencil and the teacher can track performance as they are doing the quiz or test. There are several schools that distribute laptops to every student with their textbooks downloaded onto them. But for the classrooms who are not given laptops, teachers must remember that, though they are high tech in the classroom and utilize alot of these tools, their students may very well go home to little or no technology, so they cannot rely on those means to communicate with the students away from class. In talking to the teachers and the students it was discussed how much more motivated and involved everyone is in the high tech classroom. They also talked about the many high tech tools being used in the schools outside of the classroom. In the lunchrooms, children do not need money anymore but their parents can put money into an account online for their lunches to be paid for out of. Sounds alot like our one card system. But it goes even farther than that in providing to the parents a list online of what types of food their child is purchasing and allows the parents to block certain foods so that their child can not buy them. 1500 schools in 13 states are using Dance, Dance Revolution as part of the physical education program. It made me wonder if any schools are using a Wii for some of the sports activities - bowling, tennis, or baseball for example. They also talked about the interactive robot being tested right now that can even sense the emotions of the child playing with it. These kind of advancements are still very mind boggling to me but I also know that I have become like everyone else in taking for granted the everyday technology in our lives.

Web page development

Web page development seems pretty complicated. It sounds like there is a lot software or programs available to help though. After the initial setup it would be a great tool to have in the classroom. I have Microsoft Frontpage available which I believe St. Francis uses for their webpage updating. In reading chapter 8 I did look up a couple really neat websites, teach-nology.com and Hotchalks on LessonPlansPage.com. Has some good suggestions on creating lesson plans and integrating technology into them.

Cellphone YouTube

I have a question that I am hoping someone can help me with. I followed the instructions on how to download a video from my cellphone to YouTube but I would like to be able to download to my computer so I can use Windows Movie Maker to edit and add things. Does anyone know how to do this? Thanks for any help you can offer. How is everyone doing with this YouTube project?

Technology advances

Well, it is my lunch hour so I am taking this opportunity to post another blog. When I think back to when I was first introduced to a computer and where we are today technologically, it is kind of scary how rapidly things advance. I never used to be a person who accepted change very well, but in today's world things are always changing, especially technology. I can remember when I worked at Tokheim Corporation doing the payroll manually. There were no barcoded IDs to track attendance, only the old punch time timecards that had to be figured with a calculator. I also remember typing on a typewriter bill of ladings for outgoing shipments. In the 14 years I spent working in the shipping department I did see the introduction and advancement of computer generated bill of ladings and UPS tracking on the internet. If we don't learn to adapt to the ever changing world of technology we will be left behind and in a short period of time we will be way behind. As educators (or parents) we have a responsiblity to our students to familiarize ourselves with the new technology that presents itself almost daily and develop ways to integrate it into our classrooms. Children today will need this technology to succeed in the world tomorrow.

Why an education major?

We've been asked to give a brief reflection on why we chose education. As stated in my introduction in class last week, I am not an education major but a liberal studies major. However, many years ago when I entered college out of high school, I was an elementary education major at IPFW. I completed 2 years and thought that I just couldn't wait any longer to marry my high school sweetheart! I took a full time job in manufacturing, married, and continued to work towards my degree part time. As time went on though, I felt that I had lost my enthusiasm for teaching and was also earning a very good living. I left school, continued to work, had a family, and life was good, for a while. Then life threw me some curve balls and everything changed. My first child died at the age of 5 years old from leukemia and my first daughter was born immediately after his death. My husband and I divorced within the year and I became a working single parent. I did eventually remarry and have another daughter but my job of 25 years came to an end when the company I worked for went bankrupt. I was faced with finding a new job without a bachelor's degree which is much more difficult today than many years ago. I began working here and decided to complete my degree in liberal studies with concentrations in social sciences and education since so many of my credits that transfered from IPFW were education classes. I am enjoying this new opportunity and look forward to learning new technology that I can hopefully use in assisting the faculty members that I work with in the School of Arts and Sciences and also my junior high age daughter.

Nervous

It was really nice to get an opportunity to meet everyone in the class last night. I know that I am really going to enjoy it but have to admit that I am rather nervous. I can remember when computers were not used in school or in the workplace but I have always felt that I have come a long way in learning and adapting to all the changes in technology. After last night, though, I'm afraid I don't know near as much as I should to continue to advance technologically but I am looking forward to the challenge and am excited about all the new technology I will experience.