What I activity I liked best. GOOGLE SITES

My favorite activity this semester was …I can’t narrow it down. I really liked a lot of them. If I had to pick my top two, I’d have to say I really liked Camtasia and interactive Google maps (and Google sites and Podcasting and Picasa 3 and social bookmarking). (and oh, I liked Wikis even though I’m still learning about them.) Okay that covers the favorites. Okay I’ll narrow it down. I like Google sites the best, but only because I can incorporate so many other technologies into it. I have spent the most time on Google sites. I’m using it to do my final project. I am going to test it out on this year's eighth graders. With the site, I am using Camtasia, Google maps, photos, and of course Google gadgets. I am giving the students access to a social bookmarking account and teaching them how to add YouTube. There will also be Camtasia videos for the students to learn how to do the things I am asking them to do. I like the Google sites because it is so easy to use, and it is FREE. I can give editing access to no one, or anyone I choose. My site can be public or private. (I actually used it this year to e-mail my kids Christmas list along with photo and links to stores that carried the items.) I really like the dropdown menus that help me put in whatever Google gadgets I need. It is very simple to put in links, extra pages, and photos. I really like that there are different types of “preprogrammed” pages to choose from. I can add a page that gives access to documents. This is very handy for all of those handouts and study guides the students keep losing. In addition, I can make it all accessible right on the main site page. Even people with little computer experience can navigate their way around a well-designed Google site. I think it will be easy for the kids to use. Also, parents will be able to see what their kids are doing in class. I love it. There are a lot of reasons to love Google site. One of my favorites is the editing setup. If I make a mistake and have saved it, I can go back to a previously save version. I don’t have to clear the whole thing and start from scratch. How could you not like this program? I hope my next class in my Master’s degree are as useful as this one.

"The Near Future" very cool stuff

In Chapter 31 "Emerging Instructional Technologies: The Near Future", we were supposed to write about something that made us go “Wow! That’s so cool!” I found three wows, all for different reasons. After reading a little about them, I would be interested in learning more, or maybe even participating in one of these fields.

My first “wow” was when I read about Cognitive Science and Neuroscience. “Researchers are studying brain regions that appear to give rise to memory and retrieval process, thereby making it possible to monitor the levels of knowledge acquisition and retention…Can a gentle electrical impulse focused on a specific brain region spur acquisition and recall of to-be-learned information? If a learner is temporarily unable to focus on the task at hand or is experiencing a more general sense of low motivation, can focus neural stimulation assist the learner to refocus…?” This could be a new direction for learning disabled or brain injured students. Could this retrain the brain to think and process at a level considered “normal”? Can a devise be used to help students learn at the same rate expected of average or above average students? I know there are ethical rules to work out, but the potential for students whose brains honestly don’t function correctly is astronomical. Maybe it could be used in brain injured patients or people with Alzheimer's. This is a WOW in my book.

The next “wow” was in Advanced Performance Tracking. The book gave an example of teaching a person to learn a better tennis serve—something I could use work on—however, I believe it could be used for so much more. The sleeve with the “microhydrolic capabilities” could be used for so much more than improving sports. My daughter has a hard time holding a pencil correctly and it shows in there writing. A devise like this could help her and other young children with other similar problems. On a larger scale, technology like this could aid in both physical and occupational therapy. One word, WOW!

The last “wow” was when I read about Cybernetics and Nanotechnology. When I read about the professor who walked around with a nanocomputer inside of him, I was a little freaked out. But, as I read further, I thought “wow”. A tiny computer that can be controlled by a person’s nervous system that will open doors or go over e-mail, or even run a bath is incredible. Would this be possible for quadriplegics or paraplegics? Even if it’s not, it could help those who suffer from muscle debilitating diseases. Again, endless possibilities. Giving people back their independence and, in some cases, their dignity. What better way for technology to serve mankind?

I must admit, I did not understand a majority of this chapter. If I had, I might have a bigger list of “wows”. As it stands, I am quite impressed with the future of IDT and am looking forward to learning more.

Chapter 30 reflection

Chapter 30: Using Rich Media Wisely was my favorite chapter so far. As a teacher, I am always looking for ways to motive and improve learning. I have learned several, however, I am always in conflict on how to present these “new ways” to both my low learners and my high achievers in the time frame allotted by the school calendar. This chapter was not about what exactly to present and when, but ways to present material for the maximum understanding.

Reading this chapter has given me a new outlook on how I teach. The first take-away I have is “Adding interesting but irrelevant words and graphics can distract learners.” (Reiser and Dempsey p. 321). I always thought that giving interesting information about the topic was a great way to get students interested in learning the concept I was trying to teach. Now I see that giving too much of this type of “interest driven” information is clogging up the pathways. When I start designing rich media to help my students learn better, I will stay away from interest based irrelevant information. I will also take this principle into the classroom with me.

Another “take-away” will be to use audio to help students with their learning process. The proof is in the chapter. “Mayer (2001) reports Audio narration is more effective. Mayer (2001) reports an average 30% gain with an effect size of 1.17, which is considered high.” (Reiser and Dempsey, p. 317). I have always been self-conscious about the sound of my voice on recordings. Well, it is time to get over it. If I can use audio to help my students learn, it will be worth it. The ideas in this chapter were the most helpful to me. It is probably because I have so much prior knowledge on the subject. I will take not only the two ideas above, but also the information as a whole when I start designing my own rich media based teaching/instructional design work.

Using the concepts from this book is important in the school population in which I work. I teach 7th and 8th grade English language arts. It is not the most popular subject among the tweens. I have a few students who are high achievers, some average students, and many low achievers. I have been looking for a way to help all of my students at the same time. Using Audio and visual will help all of my students work better and learn more. The question is…Am I creative enough to develop rich media lessons to engage and teach my students. I’ve found some on the internet, but they are costly and my school just doesn’t have the budget. If I want to use media to help my students, I’m going to have to develop a lot of it myself. This book is a start.

Review of Google Docs and Sumo paint

For this weeks assignment I explored Ajax and Google docs. Ajax is an online desktop. Unfortunately, I cannot access my account. I keep getting an error message saying the path is invalid. I was able to get another account, but I had to use a different e-mail account. It is too bad. I think it had possibilities. I reviewed all of the image editing freeware. I’m still not sure if I liked them any more than I like Picasa 3. For this reason, I will review one of the image editing freeware sites and recommend anyone reading this to investigate Picasa 3 beta..
Google docs was definitely an online application that I liked. Google docs is basically an online windows office. Any person can create a free account. With an account, a person can create and share a document, presentation, spreadsheet, or form. It also has folders to organize and store files. I concentrated mostly on the documents. I found this application the most useful. I used it upload some of my teaching materials at home, and then I was able to retrieve them at work. It was very convenient. My laptop has been giving me a little trouble lately when I try to burn a disk to get information from it to my school computer. With Google docs, I was able to upload my documents and edit, store in my desktop, and print the materials I needed for work. It was wonderful. I used this feature again when I was online in the school library. I found the information I needed, but the school printer was low on toner. I uploaded the document strait from the web and was able to retrieve it from my classroom computer. It was wonderful. I know any teacher in my building would appreciate this application. It is a time saver to say the least.
Another really great thing about Google docs is the ability to share. An owner of an account can choose to share his or her documents with others. The accounts owner only need the email addresses of those whom s/he would like to share. This is a wonderful for people who are on the same school wide committees or teachers who may be working collaboratively on a project from two or more different locations. One idea I had for this application was hit me when I was sitting in a writing conference in Grand Rapids, MI. The instructor/speaker was from Nebraska. She kept putting up documents on her overhead and saying, “This one is not in your book. I can get it to you, if you want it.” Of course, we wanted it. The speaker could have used Google docs to send all of us the missing documents in seconds. They already had our email addresses from registration.
Google docs also has a really impressive list of templates a person can use. They have one for finding out haw fast a person can pay off a credit card. I uploaded my monthly budget spreadsheet to share with my sister. All of the interactive budget codes I used worked after I uploaded it. I was impressed. Now my sister can show me her numbers and I can work on them with her so that she can pay off her debts faster. It was almost as if we were working on the same computer. The spreadsheet works like regular word spreadsheet, except with all of the advantages of storing them, being able to retrieve them from any computer with internet access, and sharing them with others. I would recommend this product to my school. I have already recommended it to my students. Often they work on a paper at home, copy it to a disk—their printer doesn’t work or is out of ink—and they can’t recover the document on my schools outdated computers. If they used Google docs, they would not have that problem. This product is a winner.
If I had to choose an image editing site I liked the best, it would be Sumopaint. I liked this one the best because it wasn’t the same old cookie cutter image editing freeware. I must admit, I have not even begun to understand all of the things one can do with sumo, but I will equate them with Adobe photoshop. In both programs, the user can create layers to enhance or create an image without altering the original until the layers are compressed. I think there are more options on Sumo than Adobe. I am still trying to understand them all; it may take a few weeks of exploration and practice. I would use this in school to make posters or brochures. Items that need to look professional or need several layer of work to complete. I am also thinking of using this program to put together a children’s book. I will use the artwork as the first layer, add some effects to the artwork like boarders or feathered edges, and finally add a layer of text. If this works, I may try to use this freeware for a project my students do when they must write about a famous painter. It would be spectacular if it worked.

Chapter 27 Reflection

After reading chapter 27 “Competencies for Instructional Design and Technology Professionals”, I have discovered a pathway to conduct my efforts. You see, I am a teacher in a small district. Our school is in the beginning of a district wide school improvement program. I was one of the lucky ones who, somehow, ended up leading the way for out writing improvement plan. In my role as writing chair for our intermediate, junior high, and high school, I am in charge of leading the committee in finding the problems and solving them. No small task. After identifying our weaknesses, it was my responsibility to guide our committee to find ways to fix the problem. After a year of planning, we had to gather baseline data, implement our strategies, do teacher training, gather more data, do more training, monitor teacher’s efforts in the classroom, and on and on. I’m sorry to say, I was given no plan of action I should take in order to accomplish these goals. Reading the competencies has really helped me to understand my role as a chair. At first, I concentrated on the instructor competencies because that is what I am. Yes, there are some that I feel I am very good at, and there are others I need to work on, but the real challenge for me is this district wide writing improvement plan I am supposed to do. That is why the Training Manager really peaked my interest. I know there are more than three competencies that I need to work on, but I will just choose three as the assignment asks. In reality, I will use these competencies as a road map to complete this project.

The first competency I need to work on is the communication in written, oral, and visual forms. Up to this point all of my communications have been face-to-face or over the phone. I have no paper trail to speak of. I will definitely be communicating more in the writing and visual aspects of this competence and follow it up with conversations. I guess I never thought about sending out memos because I didn’t want to seem like I was dictating, but that is my role—to make sure teachers know what to do and are following through with their responsibilities. I know I appreciated it when I am given written information. It gives me something to refer to. I definitely need to work on this competence.

The second competency I am weak in is the evaluate training and performance interventions. As the writing chair, I have given about a dozen professional development workshops on The 6+1 traits of Writing. These training have been for grades K-12 in all subject areas (except math and shop). Even though I give refresher training each year, I have not gone to these teachers to see if they are implementing the changes correctly. This is definitely something I need to do to make sure the plan we put into place is being implemented properly. If it is not, then the plan will not work.

The third competency I nod to improve upon is the use of technology to enhance the training function. Before I took this class, I did not have the tools to do so. Now, I have some stellar ways to help teachers train with or without me. I have started a wiki page (a work still in progress) to use with the staff at my school. This way the teachers and I can collaborate with each other without trying to schedule sit down meetings. This can be a very powerful thing for anyone who has a busy life style (everyone) and can’t always drop everything to attend several meetings. Also, it will be a tool for teachers to help teachers. I will also use Camtasia to teach the teachers how to get extra training online. There are several more ways I can use the information I have learned to help me be a better training manager.

It will take a lot of work and a long time, but I know it will be extremely helpful in the end.I need to learn more and work it out, but that’s expected. This was a very eye-opening chapter. It told me what I was doing wrong, and gave me a map on how to try to fix it.

My Class Web Site

http://sites.google.com/site/mrsrorksclass/

I worked on this most of the weekend. I am really proud of it. I think I will keep it going and share it with my students and their parents. What do you think? There is a link to the right on under My Web Links.

My Camtasia project

This video is a tutorial for my seventh grade students who don't know how to format microsoft word. It shows them step by step how to format word in MLA format. This screencast would fit into my lesson of research papers. My students learn the ins and outs of doing a research paper. We start with planning, then research, and go through the stages of the writing process. It has always taken so much time for me to go around to each student who does not know how to format their papers on microsoft word. I didn't have the time to teach and format over 20 students' computers. Now I can sow them this video and let the students learn it for themselves. They can even stop and replay the parts they don't undrerstand the first time. Is is very exciting.

Week 10 reflection

There are several similarities and differences in the three instructional design/technology contexts—business, grades p – 12, and higher education. One common theme among these three contexts is the role of the Instructional designer. As you will recall, the role of the ID is very important. Although it may take on different aspects, the ID has the same objective in business, k – 12, and higher education. That role is to coordinate the different departments of people in order to successfully develop the product. The ID in higher education will communicate and coordinate with other staff in order to develop on-line courses, staff development, or other projects the institution deems necessary. In business, it is the same role, except the ID may be coordination internally or with multiple entities. Their job is to make sure everything runs smoothly and on time. In P – 12. ID is an important role to create and make change happen correctly. Another common theme is the multiple roles an ID must master in order to be successful in his/her ventures. As an ID in higher academia, a person must not only use their ID skills to help develop programs for the institution they work for, but they must also be a mentor, researcher, and lifelong learner of new technologies. This is the same for ID’s in business and P-12. If the ID cannot keep up with changes or is not able to communicate well with colleagues, then the ventures will fail. Finally, the theme that most jumps out at me is that ID uses a process to accomplish their goals. There is no textbook, one size fits all answer for the ID’s. Each ID must first analyze the situation, get input from “experts” or community members, use research to plot the best course of action, confer with colleagues, and implement their outcomes in a series of steps. In other words, design, develop and deliver with measurable outcomes (chapter 18, p. 180), or “understand effective processes for implementation of innovations” (chapter 21, pp. 215-216), or “using the basic components of systemic design” (Litchfield, chapter 22, p. 227). These themes are interrelated. An ID cannot be successful if s/he is lacking skills in any one of these areas.
A particular area a P-12 education working environment could learn is the process of change. Understanding the systemic change process and helping other staff and community member understand it could help a school system change for the better. Most school systems adopt a change without the proper procedure. They make change an “event” and not a “process”. This is frustrating for the teachers, the students, and the parents. The only people who know why the change has been made are the “higher-ups”, who don’t normally spend a day in the trenches. This is not only frustrating, but it is insulting. A lot of the time, these changes are counter productive because the reasons and training are given AFTER the change is ordered to take place. Using a system like Step Up T Excellence, could be the answer most schools, are looking for. It gives everyone involved some ownership and a drive to see the project through to completion. If you’ve got a stake in the action, you’re going to work for success. And there is no stronger force than an entire community (parents, administration, teachers, and students) working toward the same goal.

Chapter 21 Reflection

The first issue that hits home is the systemic change explanation. In Michigan, all schools are being affected by the “statewide policy systemic change”. The state has recently changes the graduation requirements for all high school students. The requirements have become more intense with more classes geared toward college bound students. For a lot of students, this is a good thing. It forces them to take the classes they will need to succeed in higher education. On the flip side, for students who are not planning to go on to a college or university, there changes can hinder their future. Let me explain, there are students who can succeed with effort. The motivation comes from the fact that if they don’t take all of these required classes, they don’t get a diploma. This program is good for them. There are those students who simply cannot pass certain classes, no matter how hard they try. These are kids with learning difficulties (who do not, BUT SHOULD) qualify for special education programs. There are low performing students who perform to their I.Q. level. If a student’s level is at 4th grade, even though they are in 8th grade, and he performs at a 4th grade level he won’t qualify for special education. [Keep in mind, this is a very base explanation of the system as it was explained to me.] These kids are now expected to complete the college prep. classes in order to get a diploma with a state seal. For some people, this is impossible. However, the statewide policy systemic change says this is where all schools need to be. (I’ve heard the state is reconsidering some of these graduation requirements.) This statewide change has initiated District and Schoolwide systemic changes. Our school has considered either going to trimesters or increasing out school day from 6 periods to seven in order to keep up with the state mandate. I am trying to reserve judgment. I am but a junior high teacher and am not affected by the new statewide systemic change. Yeah right! I, as well as the other junior high teachers, am working to help the school develop a course of action to help all of our students achieve to the best of their ability and walk out of our school with a state seal on their diplomas.

The other trend that hit home is the product vs. process approaches to change. The school at which I work is involved with an accreditation program. The goal of the program is the product of having a more successful school, based on two or three areas in which the school decides it need to improve. We set up teams from the top; principals of all schools in the district and the superintendent; teachers to over see the process; teams (involving all of the teachers from the schools) with a team leader to plan and help others implement the changes. It sounds great in theory; however, I believe we would have much better results if we followed the Step-Up-To Excellence approach. The way we have been trying to improve our school, over the past seven years, has not done much. I have not seen any real changes at all. On paper we look good, the place granting us the accreditation said we are doing a great job and gave us the accreditation. (They also showed us how to show positive results in out final report.) But, if you asked me and I could talk anonymously, I would have to say that our school has taken a downward turn in the last five years. A lot of it has to do with the lack of money in the school system, but some of it is that this process we are using, is not really working. The product is not there. I truly believe that our school is trying to do the right thing. If the could adopt the Step-Up-To Excellence approach, with its many teams and roles, our school would have a better chance of making changes for the better that would actually work, not just look good on paper.

The Life and Death of Edgar Allen Poe

This map is so full of information it is hard to read on this small space. If you'd like to experience the whole map including photos, youtube, and text, go to this map link. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?client=firefox-a&hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100181033036540227442.00045a6c6e3da6f1b9eaf&z=3.
I also posted a link on my blogger link list to the right.

When I first started this project, I thought I would only be making a map for my students. I would use the map to teach students about a particular author. I started to create a map featuring the life and death of Edgar Allen Poe. He is a very interesting fellow and it is Halloween. Poe, being the father of the horror story, seemed a logical idea. Also, junior high students really seem to like the tales he spins. Once I figured out how to use the map features and embed YouTube and photos, it took a short time to complete. I was having fun. At school, I showed one of my seventh grade English classes my completed Poe map. They were glued to the computer screen. No one was fooling around, talking, or even fidgeted. They especially liked the YouTube videos. Some students even asked if I had any Poe books they could read! It was at this point that I realized this was the perfect tool for the students to use to create author biographies. It has all of the media the students like, YouTube, photos, and copy and paste. How much more fun can that be for a young tween/young teen? So I had to revise my lesson idea to the following.

Before introducing my lesson, I will have the students look at the Edgar Allen Poe map. I will let the students take their time to explore the different media and text balloons. Then we will discuss what they learned about Poe. After the discussion, I will teach the students how to use the interactive Google map features. When students have practiced with Google Map for one class period, I will give them the assignment below.

My students will create an interactive Google map of Mark Twain. The students will mark his birth, death, and marriage place. In addition, students should mark places where he lived or worked during his career. Also, include any traveling abroad. As a bonus, students can mark the settings for the different short stories or novels Twain wrote. The students should have at least 10 balloons with text. (Go to Wikipedia or another online encyclopedia to get ideas and copy text for your balloons.) Students will also need to embed 5 (five) photos and at least 1 (one) YouTube about Mark Twain.




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Week 8: Chapter 18 and Class Reflection

Chapter 18

When I first read the chapter title, I thought, what could I possibly learn from this chapter that will apply to my job as a junior high educator. Well, again, I was surprised to find that it is about teaching (training), and that training applies to all learners. I did find two concepts in the chapter that perked my interest. The first was Foxon’s view of transfer as a five-stage process that occurs over time after training. The second is how ISD designers must internationalize (strip the product of all cultural specific traits) a product and then localize (add cultural specific traits) the product for the target audience.

Foxon’s view of transfer as a five-stage process that occurs over time after training can easily be, and should be, the goals for teachers in all grades. Foxon’s stages are as follows: 1. intent to 2. Initiation, initiation to 3. Partial transfer, partial transfer to 4. Conscious maintenance of skills, conscious maintenance of skills to 5. Unconscious maintenance. This is what I try to do with my students on so many different skills. I have never heard of the learning process broken down this way. It really simplifies the explanation of the teaching process. A teacher can teach, but if the student cannot use the knowledge outside of the classroom, then the students didn’t really learn. (At least in the reading and writing process.) I have had several students who did not complete the five-step process after “training”, that it makes my job as a teacher more difficult. I now have to repeat the training the student already had. This time trying to make sure s/he gets to the conscious maintenance or, hopefully, the unconscious maintenance of the skill. I really like Foxon’s view and will try to adapt it to explaining my lesson plans to students and parents.

Internationalize (strip the product of all cultural specific traits) a product and then localize (add cultural specific traits) the product for the target audience can be a useful tool for today’s educators. As all teachers are aware, each end every class that comes through your room is different. They have had different experiences, are at different learning levels, and have different learning styles. A lesson that was “golden” the year before, may not work this year. Keeping a base lesson plan, an internationalized lesson plan would be very helpful. The teacher could then plug in, or localize, it for the current class. As a teacher, I am leery about becoming predictable. I don’t like to use the same information I’ve used a million times before to teach the same concept. Because of this, I never keep lesson plans for more than a year. It is a lot of work, but it keeps ideas fresh and keeps me from becoming boring. If a lesson went really well, I tend to remember the lesson for the next year. It also helps me to design lesson geared toward my current student population. If I had “internationalized” lessons, I could build on the basics and make the lessons specific for my current crop of students. This would definitely save me planning time, and keep me from reinventing the wheel every year. It would also keep to my style of teaching toward the learner. I’m looking forward to trying it. Now maybe I will keep something in my filing cabinet besides my purse.

My Class Reflection

Well, let’s see. A summative reflection of my first graduate class. And, not just any graduate class, a technology-online graduate class. I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said I wasn’t terrified about starting this class. If you’ve read my older blogs, you would know that I am a recovering computerphobe. When I first started teaching in 1999, I could only use a computer to word process and maybe print if there were only one printer choice. I slowly got over that. I came to love technology. I became a closet computeraholic. I want to learn and share as much as I can about how to use technology. The only problem, it takes me a really long time. I was afraid the concept in this class would be too hard for me and I would fail. In fact, I put this class off for a year because I was afraid. I’m really glad I final took the class. Not only have I learned about some really great educational and personal tools, but I’m getting the confidence I need to go out and try some new things that aren’t on the weekly to do list. For example, I learned how to use Picasa 3. I never would have tried this photo organizer and editor before I took this class. I am really enjoying myself. (Okay, I’m enjoying myself when I finally get it right after hours out trying, frustration, trying, frustration, trying, jubilation, reflecting, and sleep.) It’s true, I have been very nervous about trying the new software and I get frustrated a lot (due to user error), but every time I get it right, I grow more confident. I am even sharing some of the things I’ve learned with my administrator and other staff at school. Finally, I am happy when the assignment for the next week is posted early. This way I get more time to play around with the project. I’m very curious about the final project. I hope I’ll have enough time and skill to complete it.

As for the support part of the class, I am more of an I-can-do-it-myself-if-I-keep-trying type of person. I only ask for help after hours of trying and failing (and crying). The one time I did ask for help, I found it was an internet-hosting problem. I got that fixed right away. Mostly I look to the forum to see if anyone else is having any problems. I have found a solution there before. I am quite satisfied with the way the class is progressing. I am getting more confidence in my computer skills, (my typing is getting faster), and I’m learning so very practical applications. I always look forward to the comments on my blogs and enjoy reading everyone else’s, even if I don’t always comment. I get a lot of insight from these, as well. Over all, I like the class.

Human Performance Improvement Week 7 reflection

Chapter 14 was a bit difficult for me at first. I actually had to read the chapter twice to feel I had a grasp of the information covered. I understood a few items. Human Performance Improvement is very important to education today. I know that the school I work at is under the gun to improve the students’ state standardized scores every year. While I was reading the chapter, I found myself thinking about a recent staff meeting. All of the teachers in the jr./sr high school were present with the principal and the superintendent. We were like a brainstorming HPI machine, trying to figure out ways to improve student performance on these Michigan state tests. It was very informative. We were able to pin down the problem areas and tried to come up with ways to correct them. Our main problem is student motivation. Our school is very small and one student can count up to 3% on a standardized test. This is difficult when there are several students who don’t care about the test, have no motivation for performing well on the test, and would rather blow the test than spend even five minutes working on it. This is very frustrating. We had all sorts of very good ideas including getting parents involved and training the teachers to help the students achieve better on these types of tests, but it didn’t solve the problem of motivation. We then discussed ways to motivate the kids to care. I gave an example of what I do in my classroom. In the JR. High, we celebrate the high scores in an awards ceremony. This helps to get the achievers to keep achieving. I also bribe the students into actually completing the test by giving them a three hour (three class period) break from English class to kick back and watch a modern movie. They only get this reward if every single student puts forth their best effort. I walk around the room on test day and look to see if the students are filling in all of the blanks and writing a good looking essay. (I can’t talk to them, but they know I am looking and taking mental notes. This gets even the unmotivated student to write something. No one wants to be the kid who blows it for the entire jr. high. Finally, I offer them a cake and pizza party if they beat the scores from the year before. Most years I have had to follow through. This has increased the test scores over 50% in the past four years. Of course, none of these strategies would work if the educational basis were not in place. Hopefully the school can make this type of reinforcement for performance a school wide idea. I really believe it would help. As for the teachers, the motivation is to see our school start getting the credit it deserves for the educational excellence that we give our students everyday. It is painful to have people think your students are dumb and the teachers are worse when it is just a few unmotivated students throwing the test. We’ll have to see if this works.

Podcasting and my first podcast (link)

Please visit my podcast or you can find it on i-tunes under the title "The Christmas Orange"

http://lucasstories.mypodcast.com/2008/10/The_Christmas_Orange-151199.html

Podcasting was very nerve racking. I tried a few different free podcasting creators before I settled on the first on I tried. Mypodcast.com worked very well for me. The reason I didn’t stay with it at first, is because the original recording had a lot of background clicking sounds. After a few days of trying others (that I couldn’t get to work), I went with mypodcast. Luckily, the background noise didn’t affect the final product. It was really exciting to hear my own story being published. WOW, what a great way to help kids who are having trouble with class. It would be so easy to record a lecture, even while you’re giving it in real time to the class. Many teachers already wear headgear for a speaker system. Why no wear one for recording your lesson. This way you would have a record of every class lecture. Students who need to hear the information again could just download it. It would also be helpful for our school tutors and special education teachers to see what is being done in class. These people are very important to my students. They help the kids get what I am trying to teach. If they could listen to the podcast of the lecture, they will know the exact concepts I am working toward. Finally, kids who are sick both short term and long term could download a lecture and listen to it at home. Not only that, but their parents. There are always parent, myself included, who wish they could find out what is going on in class. Especially when the child comes home and answers every question with, “nothin’.” “What did you learn today?” “Nothing’.” It is very frustrating. Other uses are educational podcasts. These are really informative and a lot are free. What a great idea to give parents who ask what they can do to help their struggling child. I really like the podcast idea. I’m going to have to do more research on the matter.

The Web and Internet are here to stay in K-12 Education

I most definitely think that the internet and web will have a major impact on educational programs at grades K-12. In fact, I believe the impact has already started.
Here in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, our schools are not schools of choice. This simply means that a parent cannot take a child out of school A and enroll him/her into school B (in the same county) without the permission of the superintendent from school A or paying a very high tuition rate at school B. Despite this, several schools in our county are competing for those ever-important federal dollars that students bring to a school. It is about $7,000 per enrolled student. Here is the catch. If a parent can provide a “good” reason for wanting their child to be released from a school district, the district will have to release him/her. Why am I telling you this? This is why. There are several schools in our county that cannot possibly compete with the bigger, better funded schools. These schools offer more. They have more foreign languages, AP classes, and college prep elective classes. The smaller schools don’t have the funds (or room) to offer these classes. Here is where the Internet and the Web come in. Through Michigan Virtual, a Web based program that offers foreign languages, AP classes and college prep classes, schools can offer their students any class that is found on this program. Now parents don’t have a “good” argument to move their child to a new school. Another advantage to this program is that smaller schools can produce better prepared students. All it takes is a computer lab, a lab monitor, and a Web based program called Michigan Virtual. (This is also available for homebased learners.)
Another advance I see in Internet and Web based learning are programs like Nova net. This Web based program can help students who have failed classes with traditional teachers get another chance at credit. Nova Net is a Web based program where students cover all of the state mandated high school curriculum for a specific class on a computer. The student works at his/her own pace with short lessons. Students can then go to the Internet to learn more about what they are learning. Each module of a class is broken down into exercises, which a student must pass with a predetermined percent of accuracy before continuing on to the next section. The results of assessments are immediate so the students get results and go on if they have passed or retake the section if they failed.
A final example is Study Island and other test prep Internet based programs. These are programs for learners of all ages and grade levels. These programs are similar to Michigan Virtual and Nova Net in that they teach interactive lessons and give feedback. The difference is that they are geared to different goals. The two programs mentioned above are used to help students achieve credit in high school courses. This program helps students to get better test scores on standardized tests. Teachers can use them both for specific instruction and to keep records of each students progress. The programs let the students go on at their own pace.
All of the above programs fit the criteria set forth in Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, chapter 3, page 23. Reiser and Dempsey state that “in recent years there has been a significant increase in the use of instructional media”. The reasons they give for this increase mirror the qualities of the programs above. Specifically, “learners receive instruction and/or support…low-cost method of providing instruction to students…increased interactive capabilities.” The authors also state “with increasing multimedia capabilities”, schools can proved “more complex interactions between learners and content”. Their examples describe the Web based programs above. “feedback and problems presented has expanded, computers can present information in a variety of forms, and learners can link to various content.”
I believe the success and popularity of these programs are a taste of what we will see in the future. I still believe that a teacher is key in facilitating these programs, however, more classes will be taught through computers. The Web and Internet are the future of education.

My beautiful Klinger Lake

This is a google map of Kilinger Lake, Stugis, MI. THere are close up photos below.


View Larger Map

Below are three picture my dad took of Klinger Lake, Sturgis, Michigan, U.S.A.
This is a very special place that my family has been to every summer for four generations. It has a peace about it. I hope you enjoy them.

 
 
 

Barbie Diamond Castle Outtakes. My kids love this

My three kids LOVE the outtakes from Barbie movies. This is kind of cute. I think you'll like it.

My flickr site incase you missed the link on my blog page

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30962173@N07/

I posted this link on my blog on Thursday, but then I realized that if your using reader, you may not even go to my blog page to get the link. If you like old (100 years or so) photos, you'll like this photo share.

Week 5 Flickr (not for me) & Instructional Design/Lesson PLans

Flickr. I’m really not sure if I would use this site for educational purposes. Oh, I’m sure there are some very positive ways a teacher could use this site to enhance a lesson, but the possibilities of students getting to inappropriate content to too great, at least for the age group I teach.
One possible use for Flickr is to make the learning visual. A teacher could use this site to download photos of any subject that s/he is teaching at the time. For example, a history teacher could download jpegs of different presidents and give notes about those presidents in the comment boxes. The teacher could even categorize these presidents by party affiliation, era, wartime, the list goes on. Now the student gets a visual of the particular president, a category to place him in and notes under the picture. This would be a fun and interactive way of learning. Many teachers in different subject areas could do this. Nevertheless, this could also be done on some of the other sites we have been introduced to during this class.
On the down side, there are way too many opportunities for students to get into trouble. I was curious if Flickr had its own blocking system. It doesn’t. (Or if it does, I didn’t see it.) When I was on my own flicker site I clicked on the explore link, typed in the words naked people, and got several photos that would be inappropriate for a school setting. I teach kids between the ages of 12 and 14. A lot of them would also try this when I was not looking. (It is impossible to monitor the each computer in the lab and work with students at the same time. We don’t have the computer monitoring software set up on all of our computers.) I could not take the chance to use or even recommend this site to my students. I would more than likely end up in a lot of trouble with my principal and superintendent, not to mention the parents. The first chapter mentioned “Ethics” in Instructional Design and Technology. For my situation in my school, it would be unethical for me to introduce this site.
If there were a program that was very careful to monitor and filter out the content that was inappropriate for children under 18 or even 13 (my students’ age group), it might be a good learning tool. Until this happens, I think any benefits it may hold are far outweighed by the potential problems.

Chapter 2 of Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology outlines the lesson plan process very accurately. I use the Madeline Hunter lesson plan design. This design like Instructional design is “goal oriented”. “Establishing well-defined goals is central to the ID process.” Lesson plans must have well-defined goals and objectives as well or I would not know what to teach and the students would not know what they are to learn. Another similarity between ID and my lesson planning is standards of performance. The goal of all learning is for the student to be able to take the knowledge they have acquired and apply it to the “real world”. Just as ID “prepares learners to perform meaningful and complex behaviors including solve authentic problems.” I try to design lessons to help students learn the information and that use it in new, “authentic” ways. Of course, there are lessons of rote learning, but those are building blocks to the ultimate goal of having a learner able to use what hey have learned in new, out-of-school situations. Another way ID matches my lesson planning design is “assumes outcomes can be measurable in a reliable and valid way. I try to assess my students both formally and informally. Most of my assessments are “related to the issue of performance. Students must demonstrate to me that they are proficient in all steps of the writing process. The only way they can do this is to write and be assessed with an objective rubric. Objectivity is very important in keeping assessment fair and even. Every writing sample is graded the same way with the same assessment. This is a “valid measurement of performance”. I don’t, however, agree that multiple-choice tests are not valid. I believe they do show whether a child has read a book or not. It depends on the goal you set forth. If your goal is that a child read a specific number of pages a night, a multiple-choice test can answer that question.
There are some explanations in ID that I don’t think would work in my lesson plans. Reiser and Dempsey say that ID is learner centered. I agree. The whole point of teaching and creating lesson plans is to teach the learners. That being said, I don’t agree that “there may be no initial assumption that a live teacher is even needed for the learner to achieve the stated objectives”. I don’t believe this for a moment. In my lessons I always plan for teacher input, teacher modeling, teacher checking for understanding, and teacher led guided practice. These steps are very important. Most if not all of my junior high students need teacher interaction to accomplish the goals set forth. Even taking this online class would be difficult without an actual live instructor. I know I have had to ask the instructor questions or looked at the answers he has given to other members of our class. This is a very important part of the learning process. (I took another online class with no “live” instructor. It was a lot more difficult because I knew I was on my own. There are still parts of the assignments I’m not sure how to do.)
There are a few other characteristics I don’t necessarily agree with. Reiser and Dempsey say that “data collection is at the heart of the ID process. Yea, data collection is extremely important to show that the lesson plan is working and the students are learning, however, there is more to teaching that data collection. Teachers need to teach students how to learn. There is a human side to the educational process that children need. Data can be misinterpreted very easily. For example, the school where I teach, my students do very well on the MEAP test. The data shows that my school is at the bottom of the county for test scores. How is this possible? Well, the data does not state that a schools score is lowered when less than 95% of students take the test. Our school has an alternative/adult education program. These students are counted in out MEAP/MME scores. Most of them don’t show up for the test. Therefore, our scores look lower than they actually are. Data can be misinterpreted. It can’t be the end-all for measuring progress. Finally, ID is explained as a team effort. My lesson plans are based on a plan that was put together from a team. The state tells me which lessons I must teach in my subject area in my grade. I am the one, however, that plans the lessons, implements them, and assesses the students. Therefore, I would say that it is kind of a team effort, but not really.
Overall, I was impressed at how closely ID is to lesson planning. I really made me think about what goes into long-distance learning.

Week 4 reflection Definition of Instructional Design and Technology

My previous view of Instructional Technology is consistent with the key point in the definitions that have not changed over the years. That is to say that I have always thought of instructional technology as “the use of media for instructional purposes” (Reiser and Dempsy pg. 7). I had never considered Instructional Technology as a process. Reiser and Dempsy would say I am using the definition of “Instructional Media”, not Instructional Design and Technology”. This concept was a bit challenging for me to fully comprehend. I must admit that I remember the way life used to be, before home computers, cordless phones, or even remote controls for television. When I was young, we only had three stations on the television and if your antenna was strong enough, you could get a fourth channel on a clear day. (I was born in the early 70’s) I always thought of technology as the tangible items developed by super geniuses. Then as I got older and learned more about computers and other basic technology, my definition changed. I now added software, the internet, and anything that could be used with the hardware to my definition. Once I discovered the internet, I knew I liked all of these technological advances, especially the ones that helped me.

Now that I am a teacher and have had some exposure to the field of instructional technology, the definition I am most comfortable with—probably because I understand it and agree with it—is the 2006 AECT comities definition, “Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (n.p.).” This definition matches my main directive as a teacher… I am here to teach and facilitate learning. The 2006 definition seems to be based on instruction; therefore, it matches my belief in what instructional technology and design is… “creating (generating instructional interventions and learning environments), utilization functions (selection, diffusion, and institutionalization of instructional methods and materials), and management (incorporates project, delivery system, personnel, and information management)” (Reiser and Dempsy pg. 6).

I was surprised when I read that a definition of educational technology and design would include “noninstructional means”. How can a concept with the word instructional have the term noninstructional used to define it? The book uses the term “noninstructional” when they discuss “improving human performance in the workplace”. The authors of this book say this field had “been dubbed human performance technology or performance improvement. I don’t see the connection between improving human performance in the work place with instructional technology. One could use instructional technology and design to improve human performance but the improving performance is not instructional in itself. I’m sure there is someone out there who can make me change my mind when they explain the concepts in a new way. Until then, I consider the terms very separate.

Until I am more educated in the title instructional design and technology, I will take the definitions at face value. I can’t see anything that might be missing in the modern definitions. But, to be completely frank, I didn’t see what was missing in the 1994 definition until I read the 2006 definition. As I learn more, I believe I will be able to see whether or not there is any information missing in either the 2006 AECT or the authors’ Reiser and Dempsy definition of instructional design and technology.

Week 4 Reflection (Part 1) ...Social Bookmarking can be a Tool for Teachers

This assignment was actually a little difficult for me. I am a rather private person. I didn’t mind writing the blog because I could word thoughts and ideas to academic standards. This way I only let people know what I want them to know. Using Delicious was scary at first. I wasn’t sure just how much information I wanted to give out. Do I really want people to know about my hobbies and interests by letting them know what web pages I like to surf? Than I figured, I could try it out. I don’t necessarily have to link all of my interest to my delicious page. I played around with it for a few days and decided, if used correctly I could handle having one.

I could definitely see the potential of a social bookmarking tool. One of the projects my junior high kids work on is a persuasive essay research report. The students are given topics to choose from by the science teacher. She also provides two or three websites where the students might be able to find some information. This was always the difficult part of the research. The students would go to these sites and search for hours. Literally, the kids would have to word things just right in order to get any information on the subject they were researching. A social bookmaking tool would have been a blessing. I could stop sitting at student computers trying to find the “right” search words and actually teach the kids how to take notes from the web or write web bibliography cards. If the science teacher and I could have made a social bookmark took for this project, the research part would have been so much easier. Granted, students need to learn how to find information on the internet, however, that could be another lesson at another time. The point of the persuasive research paper was the writing.

I also like the idea of staff sharing with staff. I just sat through a professional development hour where a fellow teacher reported back to us about a technology seminar she went to. She had a 50 plus page packet filled with web addresses. It was a lot like the social bookmarking except on paper. I wish now that she would have just directed us to a social bookmark with all of these addresses on it. It would have been so much easier. To tell the whole truth, I have not picked up that packet of web addresses since the professional development two weeks ago, even though it has some sites I was interested in. If it had been on a social bookmark site, I would probably have played with it a little.

As for parents of students in my classroom, I can absolutely see a use for it. In my class syllabus and my open house newsletter I list at least seven websites the parents and students can go to for extra help or practice. I only list seven because I know that more may overwhelm some people and others are not going to go and type in all of these LONG web addresses just to check them out. If I had a social bookmarking page just for students and parents, then I think the parents (and students) would actually spend some time surfing these sites. They may even learn something.

Once I got over my initial fear of social bookmarking, I found a tool that has a lot of potential for education. I’m glad I got over it and got with it.

Kendra

K. Rork's Delicious Page

I added a gadget to my Blog page so that anyone who goes to my blog can also access my delicious page. If you can't access it, let me know so I can fix it. I put up some links for Wiki's if anyone is interested.

http://delicious.com/rorkk

Wiki has Incredible Potential for Education

When I found out we had to work on a wiki page this week, I was a little nervous. First of all, I had never even heard of a Wiki before taking this class. Second, we were working in groups and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. So, I did what I always do and tried to learn everything I could about Wiki’s before I got started on the “real thing”, the assignment. I went to PBWiki and registered for my own account. It was very informative. I was pleasantly surprised when it had a “Back to School Challenge” that offered a free $250.00 up grade for just practicing and learning about Wiki’s. It was really easy. It gave me step-by-step instructions on the basics. Each time I completed a lesson, I earned points. The lessons covered things like setting up pages and links. It also covered some things like plug-ins and inviting people to visit my wiki. It took about five days, but I finally earned enough to get my free Wiki upgrade. The thing that I really liked the best was the training videos and the wiki manual. The videos are sixty-two short clips, about 15 to 30 seconds in length that tell and show you how to do one thing. It was extremely helpful. I liked the manual even better. It had more information than the video section.

After practicing the wiki, I started to do my share of work on the assignment. The first night it took me about 3 ½ hours. After that, I was able to do the same thing on our other page in less than an hour. It was actually very satisfying. I really liked the look of our page and the information it gave. I even learned of a few new websites I can use with my students. With my new knowledge in hand, I went to the principal of my school and talked to him about getting a wiki account for out district, at least our building. He said he had heard about them and was interested. So, now I am testing out a wiki for my school. I’m setting up different folders and pages. It is still in the planning phase, but soon I will be able to use it for our staff development on improving writing. It is very exciting.

As for how I will use a wiki with my students…I already have a plan forming. I used to maintain a nice looking and practical class web page. It had my syllabi, lesson plans, handouts, and other teacher things. It worked well for its purpose—to give information. But now that I have seen some of what a wiki can do, from my practicing and the examples from this class, I don’t want a web page anymore. I want a wiki. I would like to set up a wiki account for my classes. The wiki would contain the same information as the web page, but it would do so much more. I could use it to send and receive information to parent and guardians about my class where parents could comment on lessons and upcoming school events. I could have a Q and A page where parents could ask me questions and I could post my answers. No more having the same conversation about the same topic twenty five times. I would also use it to get feedback on which fundraisers parents would like to participate in and where the class trip should be. Not to should cliché, but he possibilities are endless.

As for a teaching tool, I already have some plans. My first idea is to use a wiki, in school and out if the students choose to work on out “Fighters of Darkness” assignment. I work with the art teacher to have the students learn about famous artists and their painting and then write a biography and a persuasive essay showing how these artists have somehow improved the world with their talent. It is a fun project, but on a wiki, it would be incredible. Now, not only can the students write their biographies and essays on the wiki, but they would also have to link to their sources—bye, bye plagiarism. In addition, students can link or upload the art they will be discussing in their essays. I would also ask them to add links about when and where the artist lived, as well as, any other interesting information they may come across.

Another idea that I would like to try is using a wiki to keep the students reading logs. My students are required to turn in reading logs, reflections or answer to teacher supplied open-ended questions, each week. I would like the students to post their reflections on the wiki. This way other students can read the reflections and see which books they might like to read. I would also like each student to keep a reading list with book star ratings and comments about the book. This way other students could have an insight into which books they would like to try. Students could also link the book to an author’s web page to see what other books were available from the same writer.

I have several other ideas I would like to try, but I don’t want to burn out the students. Not to mention that time in the computer lab is short when you share it with five other grades. I am very excited about using my free upgraded wiki account to work with my students. I am also looking forward to see how the staff at my school will use the wiki (separate account) for staff development in writing. If it works out, maybe the school will use a wiki instead of the massive amount of paper we use now for daily announcements and teacher memos. (Think of the money and paper we can save.) I hope my colleagues, students, and parents give the wiki a chance. I think they will come to like it.

Teachers, and Readers and Blogs, Oh My! EDT5410 week 2 reflection

“Hello, my name is Kendra, and I’m a technoholic.” Well, maybe not a true technoholic. I don’t have any cool equipment. You know, the kind with all of the bells and whistles, but I really like to blog. And the Google Reader? Don’t get me started. I admit I was very reluctant to write my thoughts on a medium that the whole world, if it chose, could read and therefore judge, but it was am assignment. What could I do? So I bellied up and just did it. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. I had a lot of fun doing it and it actually changed my mind about blogging. Then, when I went back to check my blog—I still couldn’t believe it was me who wrote one—I saw that someone was following it. That was quite exciting. I had to see what else Google had to offer. That is when I did it. Completely accidentally, mind you. I set up and RSS. Whoa! Now I could follow everyone’s blog in the class without ever going to a different webpage. The heavens opened up and the choir started singing. You see, for some reason my WMU elearn site was taking a very long time to load all of the different pages. I’m not a good one for waiting. I was a little frustrated. But now I didn’t even have to go to the WMU site at all. It really made my day! As you can see, I’m hooked. I will definitely be using the Google Reader to keep track of topics I’m interested in, especially genealogy, specific news events, and educational sites. I hope I don’t sound too flighty, but I really am hooked.

Now for the question, which layer of the Dale’s Cone would I place blogs and RSS’s. To answer this question, I had to break down and analyze the types of information and learning that takes place when a person uses blogs and RSS’s. A blog takes a person’s personal thoughts and displays them in text format to anyone who would like to read it. RSS’s keep up to the minute track of any updatable site a person my be interested and stores that information, to be read, at the users leisure. There is a lot of information transfer going on, but it is only in text format. Therefore, it is my opinion that both the blog and the RSS definitely belong in the Verbal Symbols section. The information potential in both blogs and RSS’s are “limitless”, and both are “a common ground for anyone who can (read)” (and use the internet).

Computer Imagination. What exactly is it? According to Martin Siegel, Ph.D. in “Falling Asleep an Your Keyboard: The case for Computer Imagination” it is something that can do the following: “follow interest, find information, integrate multimedia, be interactive, limit the amount of information, spread ideas quickly, affect a community of users, and is updatable.” But most importantly, it “must achieve some desired end.” To use a blog or RSS as an “imaginative” tool, it must “develop understanding that leads to effective action.” Do RSS’s and blogging do these things? They can. In the world of education, blogging can be quite a tool! I had a few “problems” that blogging and could help solve. Some school—more than you think—are running on fumes as it pertains to money. This can be a problem with discipline. Some schools just don’t have the money to staff a full time in school suspension supervisor. What if students who were issued out of school suspensions had to make up their studies the same day by responding to specific teacher created blogs? They would have to follow the instructions on the blogs, visit any website listed, complete the tasks issued, and respond to the blog before the end of the day. This way the students would be responsible for his or her making up missing assignments. This problem is a big deal in the school I work at, as the powers that be say that any student getting an out of school suspension must be able to make up missing work. This way there is an alternative assignment that has time constraints. On a more positive note, blogging could be used for things like homework help. There are many teachers who can’t be available right before or after school due to other obligations. In addition, there are students who don’t know they are going to have issues with their homework until they get home to start it. In these cases, a teacher could set up a nightly blogging time to help students who have questions. Teachers could then direct students to web sites that can help. For example, if my class was working on a research report and a student was having trouble setting up a works cited page, I could direct them to citationmonster.net. A site that can help them properly site any source. Or if he was having trouble with adverbs, I could send him to any number of grammar sites. On the side, blogging could help students work on typing, spelling, sentence structure—your basic writing skills.

An interesting, imaginative way to solve the problem of parents who have trouble with their child not doing his/her assignments is using both blogging and RSS's. An RSS could be very advantageous. A parent could connect to teacher’s homework blog sites to find out exactly what a child had don at school. Teachers could write a short description of what took place in class and any related homework assignments. The parents would always be on the same page with the teacher and there is no more,

“What did you learn at school, Johnny?”

“Nothin’”

“Do you have any homework?”

“No.”

In this situation, the child has the advantage. Mom or dad has no idea if Johnny is telling the truth. But if they had just checked their RSS, they would already know the answers to both questions. An RSS could help stop the frustration of kids who don’t always tell the truth about homework or parents who just like to know what is going on with their child’s education, but don’t want to call every teacher, everyday. This solution would only take minutes for the teacher to update their blogs, and minutes for parents to check. Chalk one up for parent/teacher communication.

As you can see, I am on my way to being a “technothinker”. But, I defiantly should leave the coining of new terms to someone else.

My attitude on the potential for technology in education

The potential of technology…it’s a mind-spinning concept, especially when you apply that potential to the world of education. My experience with technology has definitely put me in league with Charles M. Reigeluth, although; I do not totally agree with his current assessment of the way schools are “sorting students”. Using technology in a school setting could change the face of education as we know it. There are several problems that could be solved with the equipment, know how, and resources available right now. Moreover, as technology advances, the future holds even more exciting opportunities.

As a teacher I have first hand knowledge of the problems with the educational process. I, too, have been frustrated to the point of tears about the way the current system does not, or should I say, cannot help students with special needs. The requirements some of these students have to meet to get “special services” are daunting. The time it takes and the way students are assessed would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. The potential for technology here is fantastic. Neil Postman in “Of Luddites, Learning, and Life” states that “(Technologies) have nothing whatever to do with the fundamental problems we have to solve in schooling our young.” I have to respectfully disagree. The main “problem” is getting students to retain information and be able to use that information in other ways. If the equipment, programs, and training were available, students with special needs could learn at a pace that would be beneficial to them and in ways that would increase retention and synthesis of that information, without the need for qualifying for “special services”. Having an individualized learning program using different technologies would do wonders for these students. Reigeluth supports this in his article “Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation” when he writes, “An alternative assessment paradigm would be to have an inventory of attainments, each which reflects certain standards, and check off each attainment…(this) characterizes the learning-focused paradigm.” As you can see the potential for technology to solve problems with low learners is immeasurable.

Using different kinds of technology brings high interest to bored and frustrated students. There are several reasons for students to become bored and/or frustrated at school. One of these reasons is that the learner has already mastered the information being presented and now must sit through the lessons anyway. He/she must wait for the other students to catch up. Reigeluth states in his article “Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation” that students “learn different things at different rates in different ways utilizing authentic tasks…can only be made manageable and affordable with technology.” Using technology-based programs like NOVA net—a computer class that lets students work at their own pace—could be a real advantage. Now students can advance as fast as their potential and work ethic will let them. No more waiting for Johnny to get it so the class can move on. Another reason for boredom and frustration is that a student is not being taught information in a way that he/she can easily comprehend. Let’s face it. There are many different learning styles—audio, visual, or kinetic. It is difficult for teachers to teach every lesson in every learning style. Some students get frustrated with failure when they have trouble processing the information. It is not a lack of effort, but a lack of time and resources. Technology could potentially help teachers teach the required information in many different learning styles at the same time. This would expedite the learning process, alleviate student (and teacher) frustration, and give students more opportunities for success. Using Computers and other technological devices could let each student learn the same lesson in a way that is most advantageous to him/her. The more successes s/he has, the harder s/he works to achieve his/her goals. It really is a win/win situation. Neil Postman in “Of Luddites, Learning, and Life” believes that “New technologies do not, by and large, increase people’s options but do just the opposite.” I believe that if he spent more time in the schools seeing how technology is helping students at all levels, he would change his mind.

This is my vision of the technological age in education. Using technology to help EVERY student succeed regardless of the learners level or learning style and to help all students advance as far as they themselves are willing to go. I know modern and future technology is not the answer to all learning difficulties and problems, but it would definitely, definitely help many students and teachers make the most out of education.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

kkrork