Weekly Reflection #11 EDTL230.2008.M008

This week in EDTL we looked at the issues with integrating technologies into the classroom. This mostly has to do with Fair Use/Acceptable Use/Software Piracy, The Digital Divide, and Freedom of Speech/Privacy Issues. The group was very clear and professional in terms of how they handled the addressing of these issues. The legal guidelines are essentially concerned with the misuse/piracy of their software. It is important for educators to be cautious with what software they use in their classroom because using illegal software, whether consciously or not, can cost an educator their job. Piracy is a big issue for companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, etc. and they are willing to bring down the iron fist on those caught using or distributing pirated software. Another issue that educators must be aware of is the issue of students’ privacy on the Internet. An educator must contact their administrators/school board before even considering the construction of a class website. After that, the educator must contact parents to make sure that parents approve of their students pictures/video being displayed on the Internet. I feel that it’s unfortunate that these precautions must be followed because of the environment in which we live today. However, I realize that the students’ must be protected and that it is our job as responsible educators to protect them.

Weekly Reflection #10 EDTL230.2008.M008

This week in EDTL was a unit on Distance Education. Now, there may be preconceived notions about Distance Education specifically that it cannot work. These were addressed under the heading “Preparing for Murphy’s Law” because Murphy’s Law states, “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” The trio share group stated that backup systems should be incorporated in case of a failure in the primary delivery system. For example, if a class is being conducted by videoconferencing and the primary video system fails, then you could have a speakerphone available so that class can still be conducted. I appreciated that the group addressed how important feedback was and also how it can be difficult to provide feedback when conducting class via distance learning technologies. However, the group showed us that distance learning institutions integrate many contact methods such as frequent phone calls, email, etc. into their plans in order to combat the lack of face-to-face contact. I also appreciated that the group spoke knowledgeably about many of the pertinent technologies such as videoconferencing, discussion boards and web portals, internet chat, radio broadcast, and compressed video. In essence, I feel as though distance education is becoming more and more useful as a way to accommodate special circumstances and really encompass the learning needs of all students.

Weekly Reflection #9 EDTL230.2008.M008

This week in EDTL we learned about many things, but they were conveniently interrelated. The overall theme could be summarized as “An Overview of the Internet and How to Use It for Teaching”. Most of the information was nothing new for me personally, however, I appreciated that both groups presented it well. It was essentially an overview of the basics of the Internet such as web pages, email basics, and multimedia on the Internet. We also went more in depth about the different types of sites that you and your students can utilize such as governmental websites, web blogs, and educational portals. Web authoring and web site design was also discussed, especially what educators should consider when designing their own classroom site. The point seemed to be that we shouldn’t be afraid to utilize the Internet in our classrooms because it can help us to provide the best learning experience for our students. In my future classroom I plan on doing a few application projects where the students would need to research and compile resources for their presentations. I would try to monitor the student’s computer use in school because I accept the reality of proxy servers that allow students to bypass filtering systems such as BESS. In essence, I agree that the Internet is a wonderful tool that can expand a student’s mind; however, not all students will remain “academically focused” and must be monitored a little more.

Weekly Reflection #8 EDTL230.2008.M008

This week we really didn’t have a specific trio share, so our class was much more discussion-based. We continued on with the series of videos about teenagers and the Internet. I think that these videos are wonderful to show in a class like EDTL 230 because I believe that many students come to college not fully understanding the true dangers of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. They don’t consider how what they post on these sites could affect their futures. For example, an increasing number of employers are searching Facebook and MySpace when a person applies for a job at their company. If a person has a bunch of pictures posted from last weekend’s drunken frat party then that employer is probably less likely to hire that person. The issue of sexual predators also comes up when dealing with these social networking sites. It may seem like a virtually non-existent issue, but the fact is that stalkers are on these sites. It may seem like a one-in-one million chance that it would happen to you, but what happens when you’re that one of one million?

Weekly Reflection #7 EDTL230.2008.M008

This week our focus was much more on the different types of academic software. Again, I was familiar with many of these programs because I’ve used them before. This class has caused me to realize that I was very privileged in terms of my technological exposure throughout my life. As the TRIO group presented their chapter, I was thinking about how I could integrate the software that they were speaking about into my future classroom. I thought of different projects that I could do, and I kept thinking that I have to be careful not to let technology dominate my classroom. Students have to understand the concepts without the technology before they can use the technology that deals with those concepts. I really like the idea of having the TI CONNECT software available for the students to use. In my experiences as a student, many of my classmates weren’t very familiar with how to use the basic functions of their TI-89 graphing calculators. There is so much that the TI-89 can help students to accomplish, and it’s a shame that so many students are unfamiliar with how to do more than the basic operations with it. I want my students to know how to use their TI-89 calculators because if they do, I know that they’ll find uses for them later on in their educational careers. I’m even considering doing a unit on programming if I ever teach a class of high school juniors or seniors. We would use Microsoft Visual Basic (if available) to create a simple program that would calculate the volume of a container if the user enters the dimensions and units desired. I have come to realize that there are so many ways technology can be integrated into the classroom. I just have to choose which technologies are most effective for educating and engaging my students.

Weekly Reflection #6 EDTL230.2008.M008

This was an interesting week in EDTL; our main focus was administrative software and how educators can utilize it in the classroom. Okay, well maybe it wasn’t an interesting week, but it was quite informative. Administrative software, along with academic software, falls under the category of educational software. Administrative software helps teachers manage and complete tasks, other than actual teaching, that are associated with their profession. Academic software assists both teachers and students in the teaching and learning process. I’m very familiar with most of the software that was mentioned in the chapter and by the TRIO group. In my future classroom I’ll definitely be integrating this basic software into my lessons. I think I’ll have the students send me weekly journals via e-mail. I’ll just make it a few sentences telling me how they’re doing and what (if anything) they don’t understand. Everyone will send the document in .doc format, which is a standard form that any word-processor can open. I’ll also create a few PowerPoint presentations for extension activities. I’ve also thought of a great final project for a class of Calculus students that would integrate all of this software. In groups of no more than three, students would take one chapter of the book, and create a three-part presentation to re-educate the class on these topics. I would schedule a lab-day (assuming we have a computer lab) where I would instruct students on how to use these program in both Windows and Mac operating systems. They would create a PowerPoint to accompany their explanation of the chapter’s topics, a Word document that would accompany a short activity related to the chapter, and an Excel grading rubric for me (which would have to include certain criteria that I would explain). I would have the students work on these presentations throughout the semester and present them at the end of the year as a reminder before the students leave for college.

Weekly Reflection #5 EDTL230.2008.M008

This week we took a look at digital technology, which I think is fascinating. I particularly enjoyed using the Palm Pilots, mostly because I love to use them but I can’t justify buying one. The group presenting gave a layout of the basics of digital cameras, scanners, clickers, digital camcorders, and palm pilots. The information was mostly old news for me, but I’m beginning to realize that I have been incredibly privileged in terms of how much technology I’ve been exposed to. However, I did begin to wonder how effective it would be to do some extension projects with my future students using some of this technology. I decided that it could be an incredibly effective tool for engaging students in some deeper thinking about the concepts and theorems they use everyday. I can imagine many extension lessons, involving physics, where these digital technologies would be incredibly appropriate. I think that it helps students to give them a balance of activities and lessons; it helps prevent stagnancy in the classroom. I think of especially doing an activity where students use digital cameras to find structures around town that resemble certain functions (ex. an archway resembles f(x)=x2). I could even expand it to include equations for circles, squares, etc; I think I would possibly use it as an introductory activity (possibly for extra credit only). Anyway, I suppose I’m hesitant to use too much technology in my classroom. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I’ll use less technology than other teachers because of my specialization area. I feel like math is a subject that has some truly wonderful opportunities for technological enhancement. However, I also feel that it’s crucial that teachers do not diminish the importance of basic tools (such as book problems, board work, etc.) in the face of these technological enrichments. The technology has the power to engage and entertain students because it’s outside the normal classroom routine, however, it’s still the teacher’s job to direct and facilitate the learning. And that’s just another reason why technology is a complement to teachers, not a replacement for them.