Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Week 5 - Slidecasting
So this week we had to incorporate audio to our powerpoints that we made last week. Now while it is extremely innovative and very technologically impressive, the audio attachment to the powerpoint was not worth the effort in my opinion. Maybe it's because I am a perfectionist, but it took me 2 hours to get my audio just right for a 5 minute powerpoint. I personally continue to use powerpoint in my lessons, but I will still prefer to use my own voice while narrating the slides.
One of my greatest fears is if we were to incorporate our voices to a whole lecture, I believe it would lead to the eventual replacement of teachers as we know it. If I could do it, then any teacher can do, and eventually a publisher would start creating it. Then all it would take is for an administrator to simply say "teachers you are now to use <insert publisher here> lecture slides in your classes from now on" and teachers would become nothing more than a proctor for their classes. The necessity for interaction in the classroom between the student and teacher is vital in the education system. I feel that with timed presentations such as the one above, it limits student interaction and students would be intimidated to interrupt the slidecast.
Now this is not to say that I will abandon all use of audio technology in my classroom. I still believe that podcasting my classes live will be a vital asset to my students who wish to use it. I also like the idea of having my students use slidecasting for projects or other similar assignments. Overall, I would say that this slidecasting technology is a great asset when used properly, but to integrate it to my everyday lesson plan is something that I would not see myself incorporating in the near future. - SCHAMA SIGNING OFF
Monday, February 14, 2011
Week 4 - Back to School Night
This was my first time using google docs for a presentation and I was skeptical at first. As someone who has been using powerpoint since he was in 7th grade, I was not expecting alot from a web-based program like googledocs. However, I was pleasently surprised at the amount of options and capability of the program and was quickly able to get to work. The relative ease of using this software was clearly an assett that I plan on using in the future.
Therefore, I proudly present to you my "Back to School Night Presentation 2011" that I made with google docs. I can't wait to see what it will look like in its final edition. -SCHAMA SIGNING OFF
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Week 3 - Task 2 - Core Curriculum Content Standards
I chose the CPI standards, 8.1.8.A.1-5 within the Educational Technology standard 8.1 which states that all students will use digital tools to access, manage, evaluate, and synthesize information in order to solve problems individually and collaboratively and to create and communicate knowledge. I chose the 8th grade curriculum within Strand A (Technology Operations and Concepts) because I am currently teaching 4th through 8th grade mathematics. According to this strand, the students should be able to to do a multitude of tasks including professional documents on word, create a database, create a multimedia presentation, generate a spreadsheet and use appropriate tools to accomplish tasks and/or to solve problems.
My concept for incorporating all of these skills would be to have the students break into groups of 3-4 and present a whole lesson using power-point (I could even have be a weekly occurrence). The presentations would have to include a handout to their classmates of a detailed lesson plan ("crib-notes") as well as use excel to create a spreadsheet chart of the material that is going to be taught. As a math teacher, one example of a lesson that I would use would be the introduction of functions. The students would be required to use excel to create an input and output scenario for a function of their choice. Another lesson could be linear graphing and using excel graphs to show how different points can create different slopes. All of these tools can easily be incorporated into a power-point presentation that could be used to promote my student's knowledge of the technology available to them. There are many other possible concepts, but I feel that the idea of using a power-point presentation to teach a lesson, which is something I plan on using personally, would be a great asset for my students to learn as well. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
My concept for incorporating all of these skills would be to have the students break into groups of 3-4 and present a whole lesson using power-point (I could even have be a weekly occurrence). The presentations would have to include a handout to their classmates of a detailed lesson plan ("crib-notes") as well as use excel to create a spreadsheet chart of the material that is going to be taught. As a math teacher, one example of a lesson that I would use would be the introduction of functions. The students would be required to use excel to create an input and output scenario for a function of their choice. Another lesson could be linear graphing and using excel graphs to show how different points can create different slopes. All of these tools can easily be incorporated into a power-point presentation that could be used to promote my student's knowledge of the technology available to them. There are many other possible concepts, but I feel that the idea of using a power-point presentation to teach a lesson, which is something I plan on using personally, would be a great asset for my students to learn as well. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
Week 3 - Task 1 - Get with the times...or be left behind?
I really enjoyed the videos we had to watch for this week's blog assignments as well as the overall tone of the videos. I believe that the videos portray how schools districts are being forced to integrate technology in our classrooms. Now I agree that technology is a vital part of our classrooms in the 21st century but what extent is integrated I believe is still for individual teacher to decide. Now my heart went out to the English teacher at Chatham High School and that the new technology made her feel like a "dinosaur.", but I believe that she should make some effort to integrate any type of technology into her classroom. Refusing to use the technology around you as it progresses doesn't work in the business world, why should it work in the classroom. Imagine if a reporter refused to use a computer and still wrote his articles on a typewriter - he would never be able to make the deadlines expected of reporters today.
However, I don't believe that technology should be replacing our teachers completely. If spark notes is used to interpret a book and summarize it, how is a student supposed to learn those skills that allowed the spark notes author to write? So when the history teacher said "What is cheating and what isn't cheating" I believe it is up to the teachers to define what is cheating. Show that getting someone else's material and claiming it as your own interpretation is plagiarism and is cheating. However, the responsibility is on the teacher. If you notice your students are using a tool like spark notes and not reading the material, make sure a few of your questions cannot be found on spark notes. Try to make yourself available to the same tools that your students are using and use them to your own advantage.
In response to how I plan on developing with technology, one part of the Chatham School video really stood out with me, and that is the use of PODCASTS. I truly embraced this notion of using a podcast to make my lessons available to my students. This concept is one of many ways a teacher could make his/her knowledge accessible to his/her students outside of the classroom setting. As for what I look for in terms of technology when looking for a position, I am not truly picky as I currently work at a school where my books are over a decade old and I feel lucky to have whiteboard. But if I had to make a request, it would be that my classroom had a smart board or at the very least an overhead projector so that I could present my lessons in power-point form which would save me time during my class period that is usually wasted writing my notes on the board. I would prefer the smart board so I could interact with my slides on a regular basis. I feel that the interactive nature of a classroom does allow for a more "meaningful" atmosphere as shown in the 2nd video. If our students aren't doing meaningful work, then what is the point in assigning that work in the first place? We should use every tool available to us to make sure that our students truly appreciate and enjoy the knowledge we are sharing with them. TASK II COMING SOON!
However, I don't believe that technology should be replacing our teachers completely. If spark notes is used to interpret a book and summarize it, how is a student supposed to learn those skills that allowed the spark notes author to write? So when the history teacher said "What is cheating and what isn't cheating" I believe it is up to the teachers to define what is cheating. Show that getting someone else's material and claiming it as your own interpretation is plagiarism and is cheating. However, the responsibility is on the teacher. If you notice your students are using a tool like spark notes and not reading the material, make sure a few of your questions cannot be found on spark notes. Try to make yourself available to the same tools that your students are using and use them to your own advantage.
In response to how I plan on developing with technology, one part of the Chatham School video really stood out with me, and that is the use of PODCASTS. I truly embraced this notion of using a podcast to make my lessons available to my students. This concept is one of many ways a teacher could make his/her knowledge accessible to his/her students outside of the classroom setting. As for what I look for in terms of technology when looking for a position, I am not truly picky as I currently work at a school where my books are over a decade old and I feel lucky to have whiteboard. But if I had to make a request, it would be that my classroom had a smart board or at the very least an overhead projector so that I could present my lessons in power-point form which would save me time during my class period that is usually wasted writing my notes on the board. I would prefer the smart board so I could interact with my slides on a regular basis. I feel that the interactive nature of a classroom does allow for a more "meaningful" atmosphere as shown in the 2nd video. If our students aren't doing meaningful work, then what is the point in assigning that work in the first place? We should use every tool available to us to make sure that our students truly appreciate and enjoy the knowledge we are sharing with them. TASK II COMING SOON!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Week 2 - A School's Website
When I first read this assignment, I immediately said to myself, I should use my high school Alma Mater of Emerson High School. But upon further debate with myself, I decided that I should broaden my horizons and choose a different school district. Using the wiki website, I decided stayed within the 'GH' District Factor Group that Emerson also belonged to and decided to choose a school district that I had never heard of. That is how I came to decide to explore the Jefferson Township Public Schools website (it didn't hurt that the link to their website was right in the middle of my screen lol).
I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of detail to their webpage which seemed to have been recently upgraded (according to the District News its happened around 11/29/10). The front page of their website had all of the "trimmings" of a professional website and at the heart of this page was their district's "Philosophy of Education." On top they had a banner with your typical "school spirit" graphics, but directly underneath the banner was a scrolling ticker with updated news. For example, "Tuesday, February 1...All Jefferson Township Schools will be closed today. All afterschool and evening activities are canceled." was scrolling at the time I looked at the site. The site seemed very accessible to the public as it had tabs on the top of Schools, Parent's and Community, District Offices, Board of Ed., & Central Office and Superintendent, all of which had drag down sub categories with links. Furthermore, there are even quick links on the left side of the page with links to relevant information that parents would like quick access to (Teacher Web Sites, Lunch Menus, Athletics etc.). Of course the front page also has upcoming District Events as well as links to those events.
As per the assignment, I decided to delve into the teacher webpages of the district and found my way to 3 different math teachers webpages. All 3 of them had very similar webpages though it did seem that each teacher was able to have free reign in the design of webpage. Yet despite the aesthetic differences of Mrs. Millano's, Mr. Petric's, and Mr. Stager's websites, all of the sites conveyed the necessary information (such as contact information, upcoming homework assignments, classroom etiquette, etc.)
After spending over an hour looking at many of the different pages and links of the district, I can say with confidence that this website easily meets James McKenzie's "Four Goals for a School Website". However, my major concern with this is the relevancy of the article. As I stated in my previous blog, technology is changing exponentially and are the expectations of a school website 13 years ago the same as they should be today. That's a discussion for another time. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of detail to their webpage which seemed to have been recently upgraded (according to the District News its happened around 11/29/10). The front page of their website had all of the "trimmings" of a professional website and at the heart of this page was their district's "Philosophy of Education." On top they had a banner with your typical "school spirit" graphics, but directly underneath the banner was a scrolling ticker with updated news. For example, "Tuesday, February 1...All Jefferson Township Schools will be closed today. All afterschool and evening activities are canceled." was scrolling at the time I looked at the site. The site seemed very accessible to the public as it had tabs on the top of Schools, Parent's and Community, District Offices, Board of Ed., & Central Office and Superintendent, all of which had drag down sub categories with links. Furthermore, there are even quick links on the left side of the page with links to relevant information that parents would like quick access to (Teacher Web Sites, Lunch Menus, Athletics etc.). Of course the front page also has upcoming District Events as well as links to those events.
As per the assignment, I decided to delve into the teacher webpages of the district and found my way to 3 different math teachers webpages. All 3 of them had very similar webpages though it did seem that each teacher was able to have free reign in the design of webpage. Yet despite the aesthetic differences of Mrs. Millano's, Mr. Petric's, and Mr. Stager's websites, all of the sites conveyed the necessary information (such as contact information, upcoming homework assignments, classroom etiquette, etc.)
After spending over an hour looking at many of the different pages and links of the district, I can say with confidence that this website easily meets James McKenzie's "Four Goals for a School Website". However, my major concern with this is the relevancy of the article. As I stated in my previous blog, technology is changing exponentially and are the expectations of a school website 13 years ago the same as they should be today. That's a discussion for another time. SCHAMA SIGNING OFF.
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