My EDM Blog Assignments are Now Complete!

Yippy! Farewell until next semester. I am sure I will bump into most of you guys in the classroom.

Week 16 What I have learned

I have definitely learned that I did not know as much as I thought I did! I would have to say I learned quite a bit more about Google and that it is not just another search engine. The trifold and website I feel will probably be the most useful in the classroom. I have to say that I really benefited from the instructional videos for the spreadsheets and payout table. Overall this class was at times frustrating but I have found that classes that are frustrating are the one s you get the most out of for your time and money.

Week 14 - Can you trust Wikipedia?

As I read through the Wired News and NPR blogs on the hows, when, and "now we know who," is editing Wikipedia for their own gains; it has become more evident to me that Wikipedia's public information parallels in scope to our modern news media...where we are given the "so called news"; but is the information you receive biased information? I cannot help but think of the mythological Trojan Horse of acnient Greek mythology when I read what is supposed to be collaborative effort by knowledgeable people to post an online encyclopadia of information free to the mases, can be edited by anyone, especially by those who are the subject matter of the information. They (being any corporation, federal agency, or other special interest group) simply and easily have their people edit and ultimately skew the information to their advantage. In the case of Diebold, they simply deleted information that drew attention to the weknesses of their systems. It simply reminds me of how we recieve news today..which in my opinion...is opinion and not news. The same goes for Wikipedia, I can read information on a subject that I know little about, and immediately establish a cognitive mental picture of the subject while taking the very real chance that the information I just read was a lie.

I'm not sure how or when I could ever completely trust the information on Wikipedia. I do have hope in the "Wikiscanner" utility developed by the Cal-Tech student. I like knowing that the individual or organization who edits an entry in Wikipedia can now be traced in some way. But there is a flaw in this tool that cannot be be resolved; the flaw being that your IP address can be spoofed by crafty individuals who know how to hide on the internet (by using Proxie Servers). So until there is a more robust way to truly protect the integrity of the information on Wikipedia, I will be very hard pressed to trust it.

Week 13

iTunes University (Stanford University - Improving K-12 Education)

There is great concern today in the public education system with students under performing in comparison with students from other industrialized nations. With this in mind, Dr Carol Dweck of Standford University is studying new psychological concepts in learning in K - 12. Here studies have shown that under the typical mindset of a student, they believe that they are destined to be under a certain skill set and that it will remain that way until they finish school. She believes this is not so and has a concept called "Growth Mindset" that attempts to break down mental barriers that hold students back by utilizing many different learning methods that include group discussions and motivation. What of we taught students the Growth Mindset using 8 sessions.

Study - Growth Mindset / Group A: Study Skills & Growth Mind Set / Group B: Study Skills only. Study Skills Only did not do well (because no motivation and grades declined). The Growth Mindset were utilizing skills that treated their minds like muscles where much discussion and reading. Every time they learned something new, their mind would grow like a muscles by establishing new neural connections. As an example, she discussed how race car drivers applied Growth Mind Set to improve their professional driving skills. Studies showed that drivers who applied Growth Mindset to learn from their mistakes were superior drivers. They can stay in a "zone" even after they make a mistake. They became great drivers by being able to make mistakes and overcome them with out any mental breakdown or mental blocks to stunt educational growth.

One way I would be able to utilize Growth Mindset in my class room environment by allowing my students to have access to the many online resources such as iTunes U. I would have them view certian educational videos and then have open discussion forums in class to open new pathways in their minds by listening to other point of views and gaining ideas they wouldn't have thought about by being in a closed system of self study and lecture. They would essentially create more neural pathways in their mind for specific study.

Week 12 - Earth & Space Science (WGBH)

The Teachers domain adds many what I would call "Discovery/History Channel" type learning programs. I watched some of the Earth & Space Science informational videos on the formation of the Earth and the unique abundance of life on her, as found nowhere else in the solar system.

I remember being in school and watching these types of films on real top real projectors and I do remember them being hard to come by for teachers, and they were always a welcome treat for us, or at least, something different from the regular doldrums of sitting in class all day.

I would take great advantage of this in giving my students something new and exciting to look forward to every week, or even, many times a week. The more a student experiences audio and visual learning to aid the class lecture and general reading of texts, I believe the better the learning experince for that student.

Week 9

iTunes University



iTunes University is a collaboration between many of the major Universities and Apple computer to provide digitally recorded audio/video to be recorded and shared between students, professors, alumni, or anyone with the desire to learn across the world. It is online content from all the major universities that is downloadible to any Mac or PC that has Apple iTunes installed.

As a Teacher, this is just another great online resource for me to expand my teaching to my students by extending the learning environment beyond the classroom and into time frames to my students who wish to venture off and learn more on the subject matter I bring to class and beyond.

Students who are slower at learning certian subject matter can greatly benifit by a resource like this by exposing different angles to subject matter that could possibly be a light bulb moment opening a different door to what was blocking them from learning in the first place.

iPods, iTunes, and other portible devices will be a great companion to my students as they are able to take way from the classroom material that is not restricted to text books that are sometimes not very motivating to read through.

iPod's for Instruction? I like the idea!

Week 8


The Principal's Partnership A Program of Union Pacific Foundation has found that since the inception of the Apple iPod in 2001, it has become far more then just a portable MP3 player. It is tearing down the boundaries between entertainment and education. There was a group of universities in 2005 such as: Brown, Stanford,the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Missouri School of Journalism, which recently participated in a pilot program with Apple called iTunes U. Professors and students had discovered the power in using these devices in their ability to record lectures, field assignments, as well as download documentation and other digital media to enhance the experience of teaching and learning. They had also discovered that K-12 schools were using them in their learning environments especially in foreign language and music departments. There were also reports of students with ADD and ADHD using iPods in their lectures to help them filter out distractions and assist them in their concentration. There were also many other great uses out of the iPod for students and teachers who traveled frequently that did not want to be burdened with the bulk and weight of a laptop or tablet PC. They could simply listen to recorded lectures or any other learning material.

I am seriously considering the purchase of an iPod! There are so many instances where I wished I could play back a portion of a lecture and compare what was said against my notes and the texts to help nail down the concepts for me. I could play lectures that covered very difficult material over and over again. My husband said that people in the the Information Technology field have been doing this type of learning with the usage of many forms of media such as training DVD's, Online training seminars, etc. An iPod would be icing on the cake, because you can transfer most of that to an iPod.


Duke Sees Growth in Classroom iPod Use

This study was very similar in nature as the previous study I listed above....sigh...I will read this as well, but it looks like re-hashed information.

Return to the “Best (?) of the Fischbowl 2007

Week 7 - Customer Service from the Fischbowl

Last week, I talked about the article from the Fishbowl blog on why there is little to no excuse as to why a teacher should be what is considered "Computer Illiterate" in 2008. I read through several of the Fischbowl articles looking for a "good one" for me to blog about for this assignment. Well, most of the articles were a little to technically oriented for me (but were right up the alley for my husband who is an IT Manager). There was one article I could relate to, the May 16, 2007 blog on Customer Service. After watching the YouTube video on HP's customer service (or lack of), I was reminded of the same level of customer service I received from a "technician" when my AT&T DSL at home went down and my husband was too busy at work to help me. I was treated far worse then the poor HP customer on the video. My husband has had similar experiences with higher level technical support (especially the "outsourced to a foreign country kind"). The level o f phone support these days is just horrible.

The Fischbowl blog touched on two levels of understanding for me; his view of "customer service" and how my future profession directly relates to being a "customer service rep" to my students. On one level, there is a problem with many people today not being versed in computer operation on basic levels, as touched on by last weeks blog. I know that I must have a firm grasp on computer technology at a good enough level not only help myself become a better teacher, and therefor better service my students using all the modern tools, but to become what my husband calls a "Power User;" someone who can help themselves most of the time with computer operations and only call on support for the really big problems. The better I understand computers, the better support I can be to my students. On the other level, I must be able to better serve my students no matter how busy I might be during the week. The better prepared I am by being more "computer literate" (or a Power User), the better I can help students solve problems by not just solving a problem for them, but showing them how I got to the solution and therefore giving them a deeper understanding of the problem. "Give a man a fish; you feed him for a day...teach that man how to fish; you feed him for a lifetime"

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Is it OK for a Teacher to be Technologically Illiterate Today?

Week 6

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-it-okay-to-be-technologically.html

I personally believe that your analogy of “If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write,” would have been more true of an analogy, if the subject would have been a teacher not knowing Mathematics 30 years ago rather than to read and write. There is a TV commercial I see a lot concerning the subject of computer literacy (or a simple solution to computer illiteracy). It is a “Video Professor” commercial advertising a fast and easy way to learn Microsoft Office for those who are “computer illiterate”. In the commercial, there is a woman who states, “My three year old can work a computer better than me,” and ceremoniously laughs it off as if she is part of the majority. I thought to myself how sad this is of someone who is not much older than 30, and still has no idea how to operate a computer in any way, especially if a three year old knows how to operate a computer (and that is probably only how to turn it on and off).

Technology is becoming more and more integrated into everyday life, not just the office or the classroom. Computers have become smaller and cheaper and are now being integrated into hand held devices such integrated cell phones (PDA’s), home security systems, fast cash bank terminals, and a whole lot more. Simply put, computers are everywhere and it is just as strange for a very young person to not be familiar with a computer is it would be for me to not be familiar with an airplane. Schools are requiring more and more computerized testing and learning; banks are moving more and more transactions to online services, as well as many other areas of education and commerce are requiring some sort of computer literacy just to operate your accounts by having to know how to operate a web browser, send an email, open and read an attachment with the proper applications and so on. As our class blogged about the ALEX and ACCESS sites and their usefulness to students, educators, and administrators; it is evident that now, more then three or four years ago, that computer illiteracy in today’s educators has no place, especially when it only takes a few weeks to a few months to learn how to operate a computer sufficiently enough to use it as a tool to enhance your teaching and administration. There are a great many basic computer education classes offered either in Adult Life Long Learning programs at Universities nation wide or at private institutions that offer computer training for beginners for the office environment. While the teacher can get away with teaching without computer literacy and therefore potentially propagating this down to her students, it is kind of like teaching the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but, never going beyond into the advanced mathematics such as algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. You will have students who learn basic commerce , but you will not produce any engineers.

WEEK 5

Blog 1 - British School of Amsterdam

The main page for the middle school is laid out as a daily information and announcement log much like the previous weeks blogs in the USA. The navigation buttons are nicely laid out to the right hand side of the page in a column which will navigate you to the individual curriculum pages. There is also links to other schools and links to pod cats as well.

Blog 2 - Nelson Central School, Nelson, New Zealand 2006

This is a blog from a from a New Zealand elementary school compound (I would say campus, but it is more like a compound of small villas designated as classrooms). The main link to the school site has a "blogs" link that takes you to the blog listings of the 19 individual classroom blogs.

To get to the blog listings of each class, click here

Here is a slide show if Renwick 3's Slide show:

Blog 1 - http://lewiselementary.org/ from the Meriwether Elementary School, Portland, Oregon

I personally find this blog one of the best educator blogs I have seen yet. This is a very intuitive blog used by the entire school. This blog has eleven main sections easily navigated by a tool bar across the top of the page just under the main banner. You can navigate to: About; Calendar; Principal; Notes; Curriculum; Class Notes; Lunch; Music; Partners; PPS; PTA; and Staff. Each link directs you to a blog page that is full of the latest news and information on each subject. To make each page even more useful to teachers, students, administrators, and parents alike, are addition useful links for more information outside the school.

Blog 2 - http://marykreul.teacherhosting.com/blog/ from Richards Elementary School, Whitefish Bay, WI

This is another very well laid out blog that has good “eye-appeal” much like the one I described above. The navigation is different with only four main categories: Recent Posts, Links, Categories, and Archives. The main page is more or less, a ‘current events’ (or a traditional “most recent posts” blog page). The current events, announcements, schedules, and other school related activities are all on the main page. There is a readily available search tool above the categories section, so it is very easy to navigate this page and find what you are looking for quickly.

ACCESS

The ACCESS program can be accessed through the ALEX portal we looked over in our Week 2 assignment. As we discovered last week on the ALEX site, the section on Long Distance Learning is a means for schools that do not have access to advanced placement (AP) programs locally, to implement advanced study programs in the areas of, for example, Physics, Calculus, and Trigonometry by means of Internet technology. The state of Alabama is dedicated to level the playing field for those rural schools that do not have access to the Advanced Placement courses. This is a great leap for Alabama, because, the state is currently in the lower rankings nationwide for access to these kinds of advanced placement classes.

The State of Alabama is dedicated to giving all students equal access to not only advanced placement courses, but also courses to other types of courses otherwise not available, as well as additional development material. These lists of available ACCESS Objectives are listed below:

• Provide access to advanced diploma courses

• Provide access to additional course offerings

• Provide access to advanced placement or dual enrollment courses

• Provide access to remediation and supplemental resources

• Leverage existing resources and distance learning offerings

• Provide teachers with additional multimedia and technology tools to enhance instruction

The Strategies involved in creating this system will require a serious overhaul of the network between the schools (State Network) to allow faster downloads of course material; more bandwidth for streaming courses in real time; create more storage space online for a larger variety of down loadable material; develop courses that are a combination of real-time video conferencing with down loadable material for a blended approach; and a structured web portal for the coordination between the schools and online courses. The benefits of down loadable material allow:

1. Teachers and students to refer back to the downloaded material (online manuals/books and instructor lead video) as a study reference library.
2. Students can learn at their own pace if certain material is difficult to comprehend at first, additional material can be downloaded to augment their studies to get them up to speed.
3. E-Teachers (Certified Teachers who teach online) have the advantages of :
1. Hold a discussion forum on a topic
2. Hold a review session in real time chat
3. Hold a review session using a real time whiteboard
4. Hold a review session to be accessed any time any place
4. The down loadable resources on this site give class room teachers enormous amounts of additional resources at their fingertips to aid their instruction.

The ACCESS website is an exciting program that gives equal access to advanced placement education (AP College Standards) for all schools that are part of the Alabama Network. This program levels the playing field between rural schools and medium to large city schools which will give more children the opportunity to get an education that will earn their way into the colleges of their choice.

The white rabbit "Ba"

"Back down to size Alice makes her way out of the house to find a small crowd of assorted animals, who in turn make a rush toward Alice when they see her. Quickly retreating into the nearby thick wood she finds herself confronted by an enormous puppy (note that Alice is merely a few inches tall at this time) and plays fetch with the puppy, tiring him into sleep. She rests for a moment herself, looking around and spotting a mushroom growing near her, she examines all angles of the mushroom and decides to have a peek at what might be on top of it. As she stands tiptoe and looks, her eyes meet with the ones of a blue Caterpillar, who is sitting arms folded quietly smoking a hookah"

......Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)

Using "ALEX" as a Tool For My Class Room

I would start off using the ALEX portal as a major resource gathering tool to see the methods of putting together lessons not for just one day, but for weeks at a time to give me a basic outline and time frame to follow to gage my progress as I teach. Spending time going through the Web Links and visit each site to gather as much information as possible and to possible learn from the mistakes made in the past so I do not repeat them.

I could also implement this ALEX site in the classroom environment to allow my students access to the valuable information provided under the student titles. We would have the ability to spend time in the Student Web Links section going over certain principles discussed in our main lessons to augment what was being taught that day or week. This would be a valuable tool for students to reference not only in class, but at home also to help them with problem areas in their studies to keep them up to speed and also to keep their confidence level up. The Distance learning modules is a fantastic tool that will allow me to plan times to have multimedia lessons from instructors from across the country and possibly all the way around the world. This is an amazing tool that I would love to have had when I was in school.

ALEX Description

The ALEX web site is a resource site designed as a very useful resource for teachers, administrators, and students. Essentially, this site is a gateway of consolidated information that is easily accessed by users from a single web portal. A great benefit for all users of this site is the ability to gain access to a broad source of information from a single web portal saving hours of research time using many individual sources of information. I find this site incredibly useful for having such a vast amount of resources accessible from a single gateway. To gather all of this information on your own would take a vast amount of time to consolidate into a list of good sites such as in your Internet Explorer Favorites or Firefox Bookmarks. Even if you were to build a large list of favorites/bookmarks for yourself, there is no real way of knowing how legit some of your sites will be. The ALEX development team went through great lengths to build this site with the endorsement of the Alabama Department of Education.

The ALEX main page is a gateway to eight separate pathways to information specific to what you are searching for such as: Courses of Study – Portal to all of the major subjects of education; Personal Workspace – Is a personalized workspace to allow you to upload lesson plans and anything relevant to building your lesson. You will need to create your own user login account with a secure password to access this information. Registration is FREE; Professional Learning – Stay on top of your own training as a teaching professional with valuable resources to furthering your own education; Web Links – Essential web links divided up into Teacher, Student, and Administrator relevant website links; Lesson Plans – A portal tool to allow you to search a lesson plan via Author, Title, School, Subject, and Grade Level; Distance Learning – Web based learning that allows access to education over the internet utilizing multimedia video tools; Search – A built in search engine that allows you to enter a term(s) to be searched through out the ALEX database; Help – A Frequently Asked Questions page to answer to most common issues on the ALEX site.

Did you know?

That film should be a wake up call for America. We have become so comfortable in our own world that we have neglected to keep up with the rest of the world. China and India are producing 3 times more English speaking college graduates than the United States. We could soon find ourselves outsourcing all of our technology to foreign countries. What is it going to take for Americans to demand a change in our education system to build a greater foundation of technological education to not only catch up with the world but to once again be the leader.

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