Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Week 4- Chapter 5
Chapter 5- Researching and Evaluating Internet Information
This chapter entails; finding appropriate, responsible, and ethical treatment of online information, and citing sources and materials when conducting research online.
The term "information literacy" was defined as a skill that children today need in order to recognize a need for information, and to have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use the needed information effectively. One of the PBS Frontline specials that we watched in Week 1 touched on this skill. A teacher who was teaching English explained how his students are inclined to read SparkNotes online instead of reading the books that he assigned. This would be a negative consequence of information literacy. The teacher was modern and adaptable because he created assignments, papers, and projects accordingly. In other words, he has accepted that students are going to look for the information on the book online, and he adjusted his assignments in a way that even when using shortcuts, students will learn the concepts of the book. In this respect students may be required to create something, using the lessons and knowledge that the book addressed.
With Technology...
21st Century Literacy- "To live and work successfully in the new century, students need the basic competencies of reading, writing, and computation, and an array of new technology-based literacies, including proficiency with technology tools, the ability to build relationships and solve problems collaboratively, the capacity to design and evaluate information from multiple sources, and the ability to handle information in ethical ways." -Ch5 textbook
I think students need to be taught the proper strategies to find information on the internet. They need to learn that Googling something will not necessarily bring about accurate results. It might be useful to learn the how's and where's of locating references, dates, and designers of websites. They need to learn that Wikipedia is not a recognizable source, and why it's important to cite sources from the internet. In a world where students can access information instantly, they need to learn discernment among information presented. If this is attained, assignments can change from providing proof of knowledge, to providing proof of knowledge in the scope of application.
Questions:
1. Is this need for information and 21st century literacy worked into curricula today?
2. Do you think that technology may evolve into an essential subject in schools eventually?
3. With issues of accessibility, is it more appropriate to only assign technology-based assignments during class time?
This chapter entails; finding appropriate, responsible, and ethical treatment of online information, and citing sources and materials when conducting research online.
The term "information literacy" was defined as a skill that children today need in order to recognize a need for information, and to have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use the needed information effectively. One of the PBS Frontline specials that we watched in Week 1 touched on this skill. A teacher who was teaching English explained how his students are inclined to read SparkNotes online instead of reading the books that he assigned. This would be a negative consequence of information literacy. The teacher was modern and adaptable because he created assignments, papers, and projects accordingly. In other words, he has accepted that students are going to look for the information on the book online, and he adjusted his assignments in a way that even when using shortcuts, students will learn the concepts of the book. In this respect students may be required to create something, using the lessons and knowledge that the book addressed.
With Technology...
21st Century Literacy- "To live and work successfully in the new century, students need the basic competencies of reading, writing, and computation, and an array of new technology-based literacies, including proficiency with technology tools, the ability to build relationships and solve problems collaboratively, the capacity to design and evaluate information from multiple sources, and the ability to handle information in ethical ways." -Ch5 textbook
I think students need to be taught the proper strategies to find information on the internet. They need to learn that Googling something will not necessarily bring about accurate results. It might be useful to learn the how's and where's of locating references, dates, and designers of websites. They need to learn that Wikipedia is not a recognizable source, and why it's important to cite sources from the internet. In a world where students can access information instantly, they need to learn discernment among information presented. If this is attained, assignments can change from providing proof of knowledge, to providing proof of knowledge in the scope of application.
Questions:
1. Is this need for information and 21st century literacy worked into curricula today?
2. Do you think that technology may evolve into an essential subject in schools eventually?
3. With issues of accessibility, is it more appropriate to only assign technology-based assignments during class time?
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Week 3
Chapter 3- Lesson Development w/ Technology
Lesson development is a process of creative design and informed decision making by teachers that entails what to teach, how to teach, and how to know what students have learned. Lesson development refers to activities that teachers do as they create, teach, and evaluate lessons with students. Teaching goals are the reasons why the lessons are being taught in the first place. Assessment of student learning should be an ongoing process. Student learning objectives are intended outcomes of instructional activities. In a UDL unit plan, essential questions enduring understandings are the concepts that teachers seek to teach. Performance assessments encompass products, publications, and presentations done by students that show what they know and what they can do with that information.
With technology...
Thinkfinity and PBS are online lesson development resources that allow teachers to view how other professionals have designed lesson plans for their students. Electronic grading software allows teachers to calculate and store multiple forms of student performance data. RubiStar and QuizStar help teachers create online rubrics and quizzes.
A few thoughts...
On the topic of technology, I have been learning SO many new programs this semester to help organize, develop, and assist my legwork in this field. I am required to do more work and submit more work electronically than ever before. All of my classes this semester are on Blackboard and in each one I need to demonstrate that I have done my readings through the use of blogs and posts on discussion boards (forums). For my research class I needed to take a course online and pass a series of quizzes to prove that I am well-versed on the ethical codes of research. I have watched videos online, downloaded a PDF program that highlights text, utilized electronic databases to locate peer-reviewed articles, and downloaded Zotero (a program which classifies, organizes, and stores research articles). In another class, I am doing group work online. There is a separate space on Blackboard that has my group listed, where we can all post on threads to communicate and submit work. I do not even know what my group partners look like. We are also expected to research common core standards for NYS online. In this course, I have already created my first blog, started an e-Portfolio and viewed videos. I'm really starting to grasp how important it is to be "in the loop" enough to be exposed to new programs, websites, and other technologies that will make our lives easier. I almost wonder if fighting it would leave me behind. If I don't learn the programs that make everyone else perform so much better and faster, won't I get left behind? The bottom line is that the teacher that gets the job is going to be the one that is IN THE LOOP.
Questions
1. Is it legal/ethical to use lesson plans that have been created someone else and posted online?
2. How can we use technology to make formative assessments?
3. How can teachers stay "in the loop" once they begin their careers? Are there websites that specifically contain new options for teachers to enhance their lesson planning?
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Week 2- Technology in the Classroom
Technology and Classroom Learning
The rise in technology has created a shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning. Student engagement is the mail focus of student-centered learning. Teaching and learning has undergone an enormous amount of change since the introduction of technology. The use of technology in teaching can provide students with visual learning, accessing and assessing information, active engagement and collaboration, and to obtain feedback from students. Technology can be used as a tool to gather formative assessments, as well. I found a list of beneficial effects of technology on students and in classrooms; there was a change in student-teacher roles, increased motivation and self-esteem, technical skills, accomplishment of more complex tasks, more collaboration with peers, increased use of outside resources, and improved design skills/ attention to audience. Some negative effects mentioned included cheating and plagiarization, decrease in critical thinking, decrease in analysis skills, decrease in imagination, and shorter attention spans.
The link to a blog which goes into more detail of these characteristics is posted below.
http://racdab2819.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/pros-and-cons-of-technology-in-the-classroom-and-where-i-stand/
Questions:
1. On the topic of critical thinking: I wonder if it's true that technology has led to a decrease in critical thinking because of what we learned about students becoming "creators" instead of "passive consumers" of the internet and media?
2. Are teachers changing their views of cheating and plagiarizing because of the easy access that students have to finding shortcuts? It was in one of the videos that we watched.
3. I also wonder if technology decreases or increases imagination in children?
The rise in technology has created a shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning. Student engagement is the mail focus of student-centered learning. Teaching and learning has undergone an enormous amount of change since the introduction of technology. The use of technology in teaching can provide students with visual learning, accessing and assessing information, active engagement and collaboration, and to obtain feedback from students. Technology can be used as a tool to gather formative assessments, as well. I found a list of beneficial effects of technology on students and in classrooms; there was a change in student-teacher roles, increased motivation and self-esteem, technical skills, accomplishment of more complex tasks, more collaboration with peers, increased use of outside resources, and improved design skills/ attention to audience. Some negative effects mentioned included cheating and plagiarization, decrease in critical thinking, decrease in analysis skills, decrease in imagination, and shorter attention spans.
The link to a blog which goes into more detail of these characteristics is posted below.
http://racdab2819.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/pros-and-cons-of-technology-in-the-classroom-and-where-i-stand/
Questions:
1. On the topic of critical thinking: I wonder if it's true that technology has led to a decrease in critical thinking because of what we learned about students becoming "creators" instead of "passive consumers" of the internet and media?
2. Are teachers changing their views of cheating and plagiarizing because of the easy access that students have to finding shortcuts? It was in one of the videos that we watched.
3. I also wonder if technology decreases or increases imagination in children?
Monday, September 17, 2012
Becoming an e-Teacher
Chapter 1- Becoming an e-Teacher
Electric childhood is the term used to describe adolescents, infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers that are "immersed" in media and interacting regularly with a variety of technologies. Adolescents are said to spend an average of 6 1/2 hours with media per day. Generation M is a term used to define children who have grown up using computers, the internet, and other media. Computer technologies have perpetuated society in a multitude of ways: Computer use begins with the youngest learners and continues from there, gender differences are not pronounced, there is a digital divide, parental education is a factor in technology use, computer use is different for different groups, family income affects technology use dramatically, and multiple technologies are in use.
Philip Jackson (1968) said that "teaching responsibilities must be managed at the rate of some 200 separate and important interpersonal interactions every hour, 6 hours per day, 180 days of the year. The complexities of teaching are being tackled everyday by the vastness, speed, and efficiency brought about by computer technology.
New technology can enhance the development of lessons and the level of engagement in students. I found Project Tomorrow to be an interesting program. This is an organization that collects the views of teachers, students, and parents through studies.
When I considered being faced with competing perspectives about the value of technology for learning, I realized that this means I need to recognize my own standpoint. Hopefully, this will be something I obtain from this class. A whole new concept for me, which I appreciated, is the idea and goal that teachers should "provide educational activities in which students and teachers are not just consumers of what technology offers, but are active creators, shapers, and evaluators of the information and experiences that technology presents."
Questions:
1. What challenges do today's teachers face in regards to online class newsletters, blogs, and e-mail within the scope of parent-teacher collaboration?
2. Are teachers becoming responsible for technology education for parents in order to promote collaboration?
3. Has the growing issue of cyber-citizenship been addressed in terms of research and guidelines?
Electric childhood is the term used to describe adolescents, infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers that are "immersed" in media and interacting regularly with a variety of technologies. Adolescents are said to spend an average of 6 1/2 hours with media per day. Generation M is a term used to define children who have grown up using computers, the internet, and other media. Computer technologies have perpetuated society in a multitude of ways: Computer use begins with the youngest learners and continues from there, gender differences are not pronounced, there is a digital divide, parental education is a factor in technology use, computer use is different for different groups, family income affects technology use dramatically, and multiple technologies are in use.
Philip Jackson (1968) said that "teaching responsibilities must be managed at the rate of some 200 separate and important interpersonal interactions every hour, 6 hours per day, 180 days of the year. The complexities of teaching are being tackled everyday by the vastness, speed, and efficiency brought about by computer technology.
New technology can enhance the development of lessons and the level of engagement in students. I found Project Tomorrow to be an interesting program. This is an organization that collects the views of teachers, students, and parents through studies.
When I considered being faced with competing perspectives about the value of technology for learning, I realized that this means I need to recognize my own standpoint. Hopefully, this will be something I obtain from this class. A whole new concept for me, which I appreciated, is the idea and goal that teachers should "provide educational activities in which students and teachers are not just consumers of what technology offers, but are active creators, shapers, and evaluators of the information and experiences that technology presents."
Questions:
1. What challenges do today's teachers face in regards to online class newsletters, blogs, and e-mail within the scope of parent-teacher collaboration?
2. Are teachers becoming responsible for technology education for parents in order to promote collaboration?
3. Has the growing issue of cyber-citizenship been addressed in terms of research and guidelines?
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