In their article, "Lights, Camera. Learning", found in L7L June/July 2009 issue, Glen Bull and Lynn Bell focus on the transformative effect that digital media has had not only on popular but also educational culture. Because analog TV media has only been in existence for about the last 60 years, the fact that digital media has changed what we do and view so quickly it seems like a tornado effect. There have been one million hours of video posted to You-Tube in the last six months according to this article, which is more time than the TV networks combined have broadcast since their existence! WHY? Michael Wench who is a digital ethnographer feels that this huge growth in "participatory media" is due to it's two-way conversation. While analog is just a direct one way stream of information, digital provides not only the one way feed, but also the chance to interact with it, thereby creating a dialogue. What does this mean for educators...plenty. Learning needs to be interactive;therefore, this digital medium becomes a wonderful classroom tool.
Different subject correspond depending on their nature as to how we can incorporate digital media as part of the curriculum. An obvious choice would be social studies because images and sound bring history to life. Not only that, but it also allows students, with teacher guidance to utilize authentic,digitized primary sources for raw data. Another subject that lends itself well to the use of images over time is science. Because science is based largely on observation and empirical thought about the world around us, time-lapse, zoom details and super-slow-mo type special effects allow students more astute observation opportunities. No matter what your subject area, digital media can help aid your classroom presentations and assignments.
Q? What about mathematics and English? How would I incorporate these with digital images?
A. Digital imagery brings a subject like math to a new level of understanding, especially for students who have trouble visualizing a concept or who are second language learners. By presenting a visual road map of relationships, concepts and patterns, visual learners can analyze solutions with more facility. English, language arts specifically is a different approach because instead of importing knowledge, students are exporting their personal synthesis of knowledge. There is, according to the authors, a wonderful occasion in language arts to both "consume and create multimodel compositions". It is a new concept to be explore-non printed text and an area in which I think students will be highly creative and excel within the frameworks provided by their educators.
Q? Why is You-Tube so popular?
A. Long ago when human communities were still indigenous and societies smaller in size, individuals were recognized for having creative talents. Still today Aborigines sing themselves from location to location on their walk-abouts, for they keep no other tracking devices, they are singers. Native Americans honor that each of them can create, they are "artists". People would make up stories about natural phenomenon or relationships and tell them around the fire, they were writers of oral traditions. People would hollow out tree stumps and stretch hides across them or cur reeds and make flutes and they were musicians. Today you cannot hold any of those titles with society recognizing you specific talent and titling you as such; however, we have never lost that innate yearning to be creative. As humans we have unlimited potential to create in many different ways, AND to be acknowledged for it.
This is why You-Tube is so popular. Because it allows for two way connection-a conversation between thew poster and the viewer, and it allows the need to create to be satisfied, You-Tube has fulfilled a huge void in societies globally who have no other satisfying outlets for their members.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Journal #7
In the June/July issue of L&L, Paul Wurster condenses the results from ISTE's 30th anniversary poll on "What is Your Favorite Ed Tech Tool?". While technology is much like a high rise building, where the top floors cannot exist without the support laid by the floors below, and ultimately the foundation of the building, there are still many "older" technology tools along with their "newer" comrades which made the top of the list. The categories for tools were broken down into the following:
-Internet Tools-e-mail, browsers
-General Productivity-word processing, spreadsheets
-Interactive Whiteboards/Projectors
-Web 2.0 tools
-Portable Digital Devices
While many educators had trouble choosing just one category, especially since we often use these tools in tandem or layered, a third choose internet tools because without them, there would be very little access to tech afforded information and knowledge acquisition. Another big chunk of votes fell into the general productivity tools twenty percent said they could not collaborate or reach as many of their peers or save lesson plans and other curriculum without these "old fashioned"(20 years old) tools. Interactive whiteboard/projectors were very popular because educators feel that they are "transformative" and "revolutionary" within the classroom setting as a method of subject matter acquisition. This is especially true for second language learners who can visualize the lesson and not have to struggle with language barriers as much.Web 2.0 tools got the thumbs up as a collaborative tool for both students and educators, as well as bringing more accessible technological tools into the classroom. Finally, portable digital devices received eight percent of the votes and was credited for allowing technology to become a less isolated in terms of sitting in a room and working at a computer that is chained down-now your computer time can be outside under a tree with your laptop or your technology can be used at a concert or on the freeway etc. It is hard to believe that in just the last twenty or thirty years we have been afforded such expansion of human capabilities. I hope that we are finally getting to the point as educators and as a society-both globally and locally, that our perspectives, limits and mores regarding such infinite potential will keep us in a positive use of these amazing tech tools.
Q?It seems like technology is taking over the classroom, what about the teacher's teaching?
A. We are a modern society, and as such, we need to keep ourselves and our students up-to-date with the tools and modalities of learning that are available to us. If it seems as though tech tools are taking over the classroom, that is a positive because it means that our students are current with the global society as well as being afforded the opportunity to learn and acquire knowledge in new ways. Teachers are certainly not falling by the way side, instead they are facilitating the students in the most wonderful way. By creating and providing new projects that incorporate the use of technology, they are allowing their students to approach learning in a very creative, authentic and memorable way. This leads to greater understanding and therefore, ownership of the material being presented. Without teacher's "teaching" i.e constructing these types of opportunities, students would not know where to begin their acquisition becuase there are too many options available. Thus, teachers will still be teaching, yet the style of presentation is getting a make-over!
Q?As a teacher, what should I focus on in terms of ed tech tools?
A. Obviously you will need very basic tools such as general productivity tools(word processing etc) and access to internet tools(-e-mail and browsers)because these would help you collect, share and document your work for both students and teachers. From there you can build your tools based on your subject matter and grade standards content. For example, if you were an art teacher and wanted to do demonstrations, you might want a projector such as the "Elmo" because you are able to project detailed work while you are creating it to a screen that is accessible to a large class size. This brings your students a better understanding of how to approach their own project assignment. Furthermore you could take the same project a step farther incorporating their projects in a "how-to" digital story project that would be a web 2.0 application. It just really depends on your needs as an educator in your specific field. The most important aspect of any technology, whether used by the teacher or the student is what benefit will it have for the individual student and/or the class as a whole? Will it provide an authentic source or audience? Will it create ownership of knowledge? Will it be an opportunity to stengthen the classroom community? These are some of the criteria by which you can assess the vaule of the technology tools.
-Internet Tools-e-mail, browsers
-General Productivity-word processing, spreadsheets
-Interactive Whiteboards/Projectors
-Web 2.0 tools
-Portable Digital Devices
While many educators had trouble choosing just one category, especially since we often use these tools in tandem or layered, a third choose internet tools because without them, there would be very little access to tech afforded information and knowledge acquisition. Another big chunk of votes fell into the general productivity tools twenty percent said they could not collaborate or reach as many of their peers or save lesson plans and other curriculum without these "old fashioned"(20 years old) tools. Interactive whiteboard/projectors were very popular because educators feel that they are "transformative" and "revolutionary" within the classroom setting as a method of subject matter acquisition. This is especially true for second language learners who can visualize the lesson and not have to struggle with language barriers as much.Web 2.0 tools got the thumbs up as a collaborative tool for both students and educators, as well as bringing more accessible technological tools into the classroom. Finally, portable digital devices received eight percent of the votes and was credited for allowing technology to become a less isolated in terms of sitting in a room and working at a computer that is chained down-now your computer time can be outside under a tree with your laptop or your technology can be used at a concert or on the freeway etc. It is hard to believe that in just the last twenty or thirty years we have been afforded such expansion of human capabilities. I hope that we are finally getting to the point as educators and as a society-both globally and locally, that our perspectives, limits and mores regarding such infinite potential will keep us in a positive use of these amazing tech tools.
Q?It seems like technology is taking over the classroom, what about the teacher's teaching?
A. We are a modern society, and as such, we need to keep ourselves and our students up-to-date with the tools and modalities of learning that are available to us. If it seems as though tech tools are taking over the classroom, that is a positive because it means that our students are current with the global society as well as being afforded the opportunity to learn and acquire knowledge in new ways. Teachers are certainly not falling by the way side, instead they are facilitating the students in the most wonderful way. By creating and providing new projects that incorporate the use of technology, they are allowing their students to approach learning in a very creative, authentic and memorable way. This leads to greater understanding and therefore, ownership of the material being presented. Without teacher's "teaching" i.e constructing these types of opportunities, students would not know where to begin their acquisition becuase there are too many options available. Thus, teachers will still be teaching, yet the style of presentation is getting a make-over!
Q?As a teacher, what should I focus on in terms of ed tech tools?
A. Obviously you will need very basic tools such as general productivity tools(word processing etc) and access to internet tools(-e-mail and browsers)because these would help you collect, share and document your work for both students and teachers. From there you can build your tools based on your subject matter and grade standards content. For example, if you were an art teacher and wanted to do demonstrations, you might want a projector such as the "Elmo" because you are able to project detailed work while you are creating it to a screen that is accessible to a large class size. This brings your students a better understanding of how to approach their own project assignment. Furthermore you could take the same project a step farther incorporating their projects in a "how-to" digital story project that would be a web 2.0 application. It just really depends on your needs as an educator in your specific field. The most important aspect of any technology, whether used by the teacher or the student is what benefit will it have for the individual student and/or the class as a whole? Will it provide an authentic source or audience? Will it create ownership of knowledge? Will it be an opportunity to stengthen the classroom community? These are some of the criteria by which you can assess the vaule of the technology tools.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Journal #6
Areil Owens'article, "Mapping Student Minds", shows a brilliant application of technology in the classroom. Her teaching strategy incorporated factors that would not only be engaging to students but also inspire them to synthesis and make connections in their learning. Using knowledge she and a colleague learned at the Aquatic Outreach Institute, she introduced her sixth grade students to the scientific observation of Pine Creek in Walnut, CA, over time. They collected water samples, observed indigenous and non native vegetation and collected trash. Besides the two class field trips to the site, she added an after school option for further trips to the site.The students had record and enter data regarding the health of the creek over time. Students also used data available to them through WISE, which is a Web based Inquiry Science Environment hosted and maintained by Berkley. The time factor was introduced in order to provide the connection that the creek was a dynamic situation instead of a one time source of data creating a static observation in the students' minds. The students created causal maps, forming links between what factors contributed to the health of the creek, and what detracted from the health of the creek and surrounding organisms. A causal map is a wonderful tool for explaining the web like dynamic that exists between things. The causal map was developed by Dr Eric Baumgartner in order to "make thinking audible". By providing a visual cause and effect diagram, students can think and explain what those relationships explain. It lies between a concept map and a system model, and therefore is an accessible tool for students because it explains more than just a concept but does not require all the specific measurements of an actual model. Many factors effect biomes and the causal map provides a visual model of how each factor has a positive or negative effect on the big picture.
There were so many benefits to this project in terms of providing a hands on activity that modeled serious scientific research that is investigated by the EPA. Students really "got it" form the discussions they had about where to place water treatment facilities to what would be allowable content levels for the different things they found existing in the creek.
Q? If I wanted to emulate this curriculum for my students what else would be "selling points"?
Besides the interactive field trip opportunity it provides, this process stimulates all types of learning styles because of it's wholistic approach to learning. If you have very bright students who have already accumulated a great deal of scientific inquiry, they can pursue deeper issues or create more intense studies of the creek water. For students with less experience, there are always aspects to observation they can tackle. All kids enjoy the water so there is an instant connection to splashing around, collecting and playing in shallow water.
Q?How will I know if my students are learning?
Students' causal maps will provide you with a good assessment of the types of concepts they learned. Also students will self correct inappropriate data and observations as they make corrections over the duration of the project. finally their synthesis will push them to make links on their own-and some of their ideas and reasoning may even surprise you!
There were so many benefits to this project in terms of providing a hands on activity that modeled serious scientific research that is investigated by the EPA. Students really "got it" form the discussions they had about where to place water treatment facilities to what would be allowable content levels for the different things they found existing in the creek.
Q? If I wanted to emulate this curriculum for my students what else would be "selling points"?
Besides the interactive field trip opportunity it provides, this process stimulates all types of learning styles because of it's wholistic approach to learning. If you have very bright students who have already accumulated a great deal of scientific inquiry, they can pursue deeper issues or create more intense studies of the creek water. For students with less experience, there are always aspects to observation they can tackle. All kids enjoy the water so there is an instant connection to splashing around, collecting and playing in shallow water.
Q?How will I know if my students are learning?
Students' causal maps will provide you with a good assessment of the types of concepts they learned. Also students will self correct inappropriate data and observations as they make corrections over the duration of the project. finally their synthesis will push them to make links on their own-and some of their ideas and reasoning may even surprise you!
journal#5
In Sherri Turkle's article, "Can You Hear Me Now?", she brings up some compelling issues about our technologically tethered society. After spending time observing professionals at a convention,children and teens, and everyday people, she has concluded that we are loosing our sense of self and self reflection due to our concept of our virtual/digital self. We are what we do as related to the technology we own. We are what we own by virtue of our technology becoming an extension of our bodily selves. We have become what our technology enables us to do. Reality barely exists, moreover, as the children at the natural history museum in the article pointed out, they could care less if a live tortoise was at the museum or a robotic one. The craving for real emotional, face to face intimate connection has gone to virtual connection without facial expression or touch.
Terkle points to five areas where there is a significant loss of awareness. Because of the multitude of software available to us for creating virtual situations from gaming to creating a dream home to alternate personalities who can meet virtual others, get married etc., we are loosing touch with who we are in the hoop of this realm, walking the earth in this present time. If we look at indigenous cultures all over the earth, one thing they have in common for a healthy and successful society is interpersonal relationships. Not only is that intimacy between people understanding eachother on a deep level important, but the significance of honoring and respecting each individual, their talents and contributions to the group as a whole, allows the individual a sense of belonging and inclusion. We have lost our sense of value because our "belonging" has become a virtual belonging. To relate that to NETS-S,the classroom community can help to pull students back to belonging in the present in the here and now by engaging them in real-life situations and discussions.
The other areas Turkle points to are our lack of time due to the encroachment of technology, when in fact it is suppose to save time. The tethered adolescent who cannot rely on her/himself because the cell phone is just a rescue away. The fact that we have become masterful at self presentation and we find virtual validation a fair trade off to violation of 360 degree observation by strangers and the government.Finally, we cannot seem to be fully present for anything in our lives because we suffer from "split attention" syndrome. I was totally stressed out reading this article and it is the precise reason why I refuse to own a cell phone. I also think it makes clear why we always feel so "Busy" and there is no time to catch your breathe reflect and calm down; it becomes sensory overload.
Q? We are at such an exciting time in technology, why shouldn't we use all these things available to us?
Well, if this article doesn't change your mind, I think that there is a place for technology; however it has to be modified in how much we utilize it and how we prioritize where it fits into our lives. As a society we think if some is good, more is better-that is why we have so many addictions. It starts in a lot deeper place than why we use technology to the extreme. We have so many issues that young people and adults are facing-but most all of the surface issues of poverty, racism, abuse etc all go back to that feeling of needing to have placement in the continuum of existence. Where do I belong? How am I accepted, from the family unit on out it is like concentric circles rippling out from the person to family and on out to society as a whole. We do not insure that the individual's needs are being met, therefore the individual has to look beyond themselves for something fulfilling. At my son's old high school, Mr Win, the mathematics teacher spoke at graduation saying,remember, you will be spending most of your time with yourself. If you do not like who you are, you will be spending most of your time with someone you do not like. Perhaps we could have a more balanced relationship with technology if we enjoyed our own company more.
Q?what is the role then of technology in the classroom?
Because of our fascination with technology, I think it should play a significant role in the classroom. Without including technology, many students would become disengaged with learning, especially since they are digital natives. It would be akin to not acknowledging someone's culture. By setting up discussion boards, foe example, students who are not participating in daily in class discussions have an opportunity to express themselves. Then the teacher who has pulled them on board with the virtual discussion can pull them into classroom discussion by bringing up the salient points they had posted on line. Technology can be included within specific learning parameters.
Terkle points to five areas where there is a significant loss of awareness. Because of the multitude of software available to us for creating virtual situations from gaming to creating a dream home to alternate personalities who can meet virtual others, get married etc., we are loosing touch with who we are in the hoop of this realm, walking the earth in this present time. If we look at indigenous cultures all over the earth, one thing they have in common for a healthy and successful society is interpersonal relationships. Not only is that intimacy between people understanding eachother on a deep level important, but the significance of honoring and respecting each individual, their talents and contributions to the group as a whole, allows the individual a sense of belonging and inclusion. We have lost our sense of value because our "belonging" has become a virtual belonging. To relate that to NETS-S,the classroom community can help to pull students back to belonging in the present in the here and now by engaging them in real-life situations and discussions.
The other areas Turkle points to are our lack of time due to the encroachment of technology, when in fact it is suppose to save time. The tethered adolescent who cannot rely on her/himself because the cell phone is just a rescue away. The fact that we have become masterful at self presentation and we find virtual validation a fair trade off to violation of 360 degree observation by strangers and the government.Finally, we cannot seem to be fully present for anything in our lives because we suffer from "split attention" syndrome. I was totally stressed out reading this article and it is the precise reason why I refuse to own a cell phone. I also think it makes clear why we always feel so "Busy" and there is no time to catch your breathe reflect and calm down; it becomes sensory overload.
Q? We are at such an exciting time in technology, why shouldn't we use all these things available to us?
Well, if this article doesn't change your mind, I think that there is a place for technology; however it has to be modified in how much we utilize it and how we prioritize where it fits into our lives. As a society we think if some is good, more is better-that is why we have so many addictions. It starts in a lot deeper place than why we use technology to the extreme. We have so many issues that young people and adults are facing-but most all of the surface issues of poverty, racism, abuse etc all go back to that feeling of needing to have placement in the continuum of existence. Where do I belong? How am I accepted, from the family unit on out it is like concentric circles rippling out from the person to family and on out to society as a whole. We do not insure that the individual's needs are being met, therefore the individual has to look beyond themselves for something fulfilling. At my son's old high school, Mr Win, the mathematics teacher spoke at graduation saying,remember, you will be spending most of your time with yourself. If you do not like who you are, you will be spending most of your time with someone you do not like. Perhaps we could have a more balanced relationship with technology if we enjoyed our own company more.
Q?what is the role then of technology in the classroom?
Because of our fascination with technology, I think it should play a significant role in the classroom. Without including technology, many students would become disengaged with learning, especially since they are digital natives. It would be akin to not acknowledging someone's culture. By setting up discussion boards, foe example, students who are not participating in daily in class discussions have an opportunity to express themselves. Then the teacher who has pulled them on board with the virtual discussion can pull them into classroom discussion by bringing up the salient points they had posted on line. Technology can be included within specific learning parameters.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Journal 4
Tami Noorzay
EDU422Jour#4
“In Moderating and Ethics for the Classroom Instructional Blog”, Patricia Deubel makes clear that parameters must be set in advance for a classroom blog so that both the teacher, and subsequently, the students are aware of what the intention of the blog is. By establishing a safe environment for the class blog and outlining the standards and goals of the blog, the teacher gains clarity. By asking one question each week, reminding the students of the frequency and due dates of their posts as well as their response timeframe to other’s posts, and their code of ethics, the teacher has provided a good foundation for the class. Students are then able to weave their discussions and stay relatively on topic.
The most promising aspect of such a blog is its accessibility to students who don’t normally participate in class discussions for whatever reasons. Additionally, it gives all students an opportunity to share more fully than class time allows, or to bring up thoughts that may have occurred at a later time. Most of all, class blogs help build community and allow sharing from the privacy of the computer screen, which, these days seems to be the only place people interact on a very personal level.
EDU422Jour#4
“In Moderating and Ethics for the Classroom Instructional Blog”, Patricia Deubel makes clear that parameters must be set in advance for a classroom blog so that both the teacher, and subsequently, the students are aware of what the intention of the blog is. By establishing a safe environment for the class blog and outlining the standards and goals of the blog, the teacher gains clarity. By asking one question each week, reminding the students of the frequency and due dates of their posts as well as their response timeframe to other’s posts, and their code of ethics, the teacher has provided a good foundation for the class. Students are then able to weave their discussions and stay relatively on topic.
The most promising aspect of such a blog is its accessibility to students who don’t normally participate in class discussions for whatever reasons. Additionally, it gives all students an opportunity to share more fully than class time allows, or to bring up thoughts that may have occurred at a later time. Most of all, class blogs help build community and allow sharing from the privacy of the computer screen, which, these days seems to be the only place people interact on a very personal level.
Journal 3
In “Too Cool for School? No Way!”, P. Mishra and M. Koehler wonder how technology should be re-purposed for school. How technology can fit into that space between pedagogical knowledge and how it can be taught. It seems that there are many good fits. For example, DJ software was brought up in the article as an excellent resource for a math/music overlap. By creating a math lesson around using the performance art of DJ-ing, I think that students would be very motivated to tackle the project. Not only is it a contemporary format, but any style of music could be selected from Latin to Bollywood, hip- hop to classical, thus providing equity in the classroom and acknowledging the multi-cultural aspects of the student body.
The main issues would be safety on the internet, good digital citizenship, and teacher monitoring of progress and original work. If teachers are able to address these issues, the use of technology based projects not only belong in school, but I believe, will be the way of the future.
The main issues would be safety on the internet, good digital citizenship, and teacher monitoring of progress and original work. If teachers are able to address these issues, the use of technology based projects not only belong in school, but I believe, will be the way of the future.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Journal entry #2
A sense of belonging is one of the major contributors in keeping students in school. If they feel included then they can be successful. By participating in meaningful work with their peers and sharing their learning using web 2.0 students and teachers are participating in the "learning landscapes" described by Jim Klein in his article,"Social Networking for the K-12 Set". The article explains that the Saugus Union School District has set up a safe technological learning environment to eliminate social and geographic boundaries between student, teachers and their peers and colleges.
Q?How do you know this mode of learning is successful?
In the Saugus School District, they saw a noticeable gain in standardized test scores amongst their students who were participating in this style of interactive learning. Not only that, but there was also a gain in fluency as well as overall standard of work. When students are provided with sophisticated mediums as well as a forum of like minded learners to interact with, the quality of their work improves.
Q?What standards does this meet?
By establishing technology driven work groups,blogging tools including sophisticated editing programs, secure storage and sharing sites, and RSS and pod casting capabilities, students and teachers embraced Web 2.0. With this comes work that is founded on the NET/S and NETS/T. The work is creative, collaborative and profoundly rooted in critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. It opens the door to digital citizenship and the type of evaluative thinking that grows out of processing large amounts of information. Finally, for the teacher, it provides a vehicle for professional growth and leadership. For the student, such opportunities allow them to practice technological concepts, Web 2.0, and trouble shoot. Once again the internet both delivers the world into the classroom while exporting ideas out to the world.
Q?How do you know this mode of learning is successful?
In the Saugus School District, they saw a noticeable gain in standardized test scores amongst their students who were participating in this style of interactive learning. Not only that, but there was also a gain in fluency as well as overall standard of work. When students are provided with sophisticated mediums as well as a forum of like minded learners to interact with, the quality of their work improves.
Q?What standards does this meet?
By establishing technology driven work groups,blogging tools including sophisticated editing programs, secure storage and sharing sites, and RSS and pod casting capabilities, students and teachers embraced Web 2.0. With this comes work that is founded on the NET/S and NETS/T. The work is creative, collaborative and profoundly rooted in critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. It opens the door to digital citizenship and the type of evaluative thinking that grows out of processing large amounts of information. Finally, for the teacher, it provides a vehicle for professional growth and leadership. For the student, such opportunities allow them to practice technological concepts, Web 2.0, and trouble shoot. Once again the internet both delivers the world into the classroom while exporting ideas out to the world.
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