Course Embedded Reflection-EDLD 5364

Teaching with Technology has been more of a learning experience than I first thought it would be. When I saw the title of the course I thought to myself, “This should be pretty easy. I teach with technology every day.” I soon found out that was not the case. Teaching with Technology was a good learning experience for me because I had to view technology from the standpoint of an instructional technologist for my district instead of through a teacher’s eyes. Although this was tough at times it was something that I enjoyed and now know that I can do.
The readings and videos for this class were enlightening. I enjoyed the videos in this class more than I did the readings. I am a visual learner so the videos caught my attention. I particular like the videos from week one when we discussed the three different types of learning theories. As I read and listened to the videos concerning the three learning theories I realized that I am more of a believer in constructivism. “Learners bring unique prior knowledge, experience, and beliefs to a learning situation. Every learner has experiences that influence his or her understanding of the world.” (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1999). I truly believe that our students learn and retain what they do because of their experiences in and out of school. Although, I believe I lean more towards the constructivism view point I can also understand the point of view of connectivism. I agree with the fact that the knowledge that our students are learning regarding technology may be obsolete in a few years, but the knowledge that they learn by using the technology will not be. . In my opinion, as I watched and learned about the cyborg theory of learning I felt as though I was watching a science fiction movie. I have not caught on to the theory of chips being implanted that allows for greater communication. I know technology is evolving, but cyborg theory seems very science fiction. Learning, no matter what theory you believe is evolving. Teachers and now students alike must be willing to learn and change with the times.
Another aspect of the class that I enjoyed was learning about the UDL’s. “One size fits all doesn’t work” (Lessonbuilder.cast.org, 2009). Brain research has proven that we all learn in different ways. “The way we learn is as different as our fingerprints or DNA” (Lessonbuilder.cast.org, 2009). This statement is evident when a person walks into a classroom full of 22 students. Each child learns in a different way and needs to be taught in a way that they can be the most successful. Technology can serve as a way to help teach our students in different ways. The CAST group has shown how Universal Design of Learning can help not only the non-traditional learners, but everyone involved in the learning. For instance, a podcast may be created to help the visually impaired student in a classroom, but the podcast can also help the auditory learners in the classroom as well. As an educator it is often hard to reach all the students in the classroom with the varying needs that they have, but technology helps to bridge that gap. “Although the advantages of computers in modern society are quite evident, it may be that technology, if only in educational circles, has failed to fully prove itself” (Page, 2002). The readings and videos overall did a great job of pulling the class work together and making me understand what I needed to accomplish on the group assignment.
We are living in a digital generation and often times we forget that our students are engaged from the time they wake in the morning until they close their eyes at night. The use of technology has been a staple in all the classes that I have taken so far. Technology helps to engage our students and, now more than ever we are preparing our students to work in a global work force. As Pitler says, we must be using collaborative and cooperative type work in our classrooms to prepare our student’s for this global world (Pitler, 2007). The technology that was incorporated into our lessons was a great example of how a teacher can use technology to help engage his/her students. The technology that had to be used for the group work is also another great tool that we can use in a classroom to help incorporate technology. Using Google Docs is a great tool to allow students to write and share their writings with other students or the teacher. As I participated in the group work I could see the value of working collaboratively with a group of people. It allows for brainstorming and team work. These are two very important skills that we need to teach our 21st century learners.
As I went through this course I learned that it is important to do our best to not stop learning. Technology changes all the time and it is our responsibility as teachers and future instructional technologist to stay abreast of the skills our learners will need to be successful in the workplace. Often times our students know more about technology that we do and they can teach us how to use the technology to help them learn. 21st century learners are not afraid of technology we have seen they often “jump into technology without an instructional manual” (Edutopia, 2009). We need more of that fearless approach to using technology in our classrooms because it can be beneficial to all our students.

Southwest Educational Developmental Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved on February 21st, 2011, from Http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html
Page, M.S (2002). Technology Enriched Classrooms: Effects on Students of Low Socioeconomic Status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4),389-409
Lessonbuilder.cast.org(nd.)The Brain Research. Retrieved on Oct. 5, 2009 from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Edutopia. (2009, October 5). Welcome to the Digital Generation. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from Edutopia.org: http:www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-poject-overview-video

Week 5 Reflection-EDLD 5364

This week I have learned what an important tool gaming can be in the classroom. Games are really an ongoing assessment (Edutopia.org, n.d.). I never realized how much of an impact games could have in a classroom setting. Teaching second grade we often play games on the Smart Board, but the games that I viewed in the videos this week were three dimensional and realistic. What an awesome way for students to view places they would never be able to go in real life. Our students are passionate about gaming so why not bring the gaming into the classroom and have to use the games to teach real life applications such as water erosion. Sasha Barab suggested that instead of using a simple textbook to learn about water erosion to have the students play a game and actually learn how to solve the water erosion problem that a community is having (Edutopia.org, nd). This is a real world application that our students would be passionate about simply because we have them solving the problem in a video game format. “Technology makes it easier for students and teachers to track the effects of effort and facilitates more immediate feedback” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, 156). The gaming also allows for immediate feedback which our students are use to because they often play video games at home. The immediate feedback allows them to continue to problem solve and eventually get the answer on their own. The teacher is simply the mentor to guide them to find the answer.

Technology has changed the way that we must teach our students. Teacher must learn to be more creative in their teaching. We must begin to create innovative and creative learners if we want our students to compete with the global community. "Web 2.0 is sometimes called the 'Participatory Web' based on its architecture, which is designed for interaction" (Schrum and Solomon, 2007, p. 171). We have so many Web 2.0 tools on the Internet that can help our students become innovative and creative thinkers. We, as teachers, need to model this learning for our students. We need to learn the technology with our students (Edutopia.org, nd). I believe sometimes teachers are scared to use the technology because we do not know it well enough, but we have to realize it is a perfect opportunity to teach our students what it means to problem solve and we can learn along with them.

References:
Edutopia.org (nd.) Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on grading with games. Retrieved on Mar. 21, 2011 from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-james-gee-video
Edutopia.org (nd.) Big Thinkers:Sasha Barab on New- Media Engagement. Retrieved on Mar. 21, 2011 from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-sasha-barab-video
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., and Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Schrum, L., & Solomon, G. (2007). Web 2.0 new tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Week 3 Reflection for EDLD 5364

We are living in a digital generation and often times we forget that our students are engaged from the time they wake in the morning until they close their eyes at night. In two of the videos that we watched the students that were interviewed stated that the first thing they do when they wake in the morning is work with some kind of technology. Whether it be with a video camera working on making videos of their hockey stroke or simply checking their email and social networking sites. We must keep our students motivated in school by using technology. We are teaching a digital generation and it is our job to welcome that technology into our room. One of the “Top 10 Tips for Using Technology in the Classroom” is to use the student’s gadgets (Picardo, 2009). What a great way to use technology that is free and accessible to you in the classroom. “As our knowledge of the distributed processing in the brain grows, we know that students do not have one kind of intelligence or one way of learning they have many (Meyer, 2002). Students learn in a variety of ways and we technology is a way to capitalize on the way that students learn. Often times our students know more about technology that we do and they can teach us how to use the technology to help them learn. 21st century learners are not afraid of technology we have seen they often “jump into technology without an instructional manual” (Edutopia, 2009). We need more of that fearless approach to using technology in our classrooms because it can be beneficial to all our students.
Picardo, J. (2009, October 5). Top 10 Tips for Using Technology in teh Classroom. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from youtube: http://www.youtube/watch?v=xiiste0bunk
Meyer, D. H. (2002). Teaching Every Student in a Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. ASCD.
Edutopia. (2009, October 5). Welcome to the Digital Generation. Retrieved October 5, 2009, from Edutopia.org: http:www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-poject-overview-video

Week 2 Reflection for EDLD 5364

“One size fits all doesn’t work” (Lessonbuilder.cast.org, 2009). Brain research has proven that we all learn in different ways. “The way we learn is as different as our fingerprints or DNA” (Lessonbuilder.cast.org, 2009). This statement is evident when a person walks into a classroom full of 22 students. Each child learns in a different way and needs to be taught in a way that they can be the most successful. Technology can serve as a way to help teach our students in different ways. The CAST group has shown how Universal Design of Learning can help not only the non-traditional learners, but everyone involved in the learning. For instance, a podcast may be created to help the visually impaired student in a classroom, but the podcast can also help the auditory learners in the classroom as well.

As an educator it is often hard to reach all the students in the classroom with the varying needs that they have, but technology helps to bridge that gap. “Although the advantages of computers in modern society are quite evident, it may be that technology, if only in educational circles, has failed to fully prove itself” (Page, 2002). I am not sure how technology has not proven to help students in their learning. I do believe technology is around our students 24/7 and has changed the way teachers must reach their students. Our students need constant engagement and often teachers that teach using old school techniques do not reach the students with the fullest potential. “Teachers need to be able to respond to differences, but with old approaches they can’t” (Lessonbuilder.cast.org, 2009). Teachers must find a way to put their fear of technology away so they are able to reach all of their students no matter their needs. Diverse learners make the classroom and interesting place and we, as teachers, must embrace them all.

Page, M.S (2002). Technology Enriched Classrooms: Effects on Students of Low Socioeconomic Status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4),389-409

Lessonbuilder.cast.org(nd.)The Brain Research. Retrieved on Oct. 5, 2009 from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos

EDLD 5364 Reflection Week 1

Week 1 Reflection- EDLD 5364:
As I read and listened to the videos concerning the three learning theories I realized that I am more of a believer in constructivism. “Learners bring unique prior knowledge, experience, and beliefs to a learning situation. Every learner has experiences that influence his or her understanding of the world.” (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1999). I truly believe that our students learn and retain what they do because of their experiences in and out of school. Technology allows teachers to give students the experiences and knowledge they may lack. Virtual field trips and animated books bring a whole new world to some of our students. “Good teachers have always used experience as a valuable instructional tool; that is why we arrange field trips and hands-on projects" (Southwest Educational Developmental Laboratory, 1999).
Although, I believe I lean more towards the constructivism view point I can also understand the point of view of connectivism. I agree with the fact that the knowledge that our students are learning regarding technology may be obsolete in a few years, but the knowledge that they learn by using the technology will not be. We are raising a generation of learners that must continue to learn as the times change. The only difference I see in this generation of learners and past generation of learners is that the changes happen at a faster speed. In my opinion, as I watched and learned about the cyborg theory of learning I felt as though I was watching a science fiction movie. I have not caught on to the theory of chips being implanted that allows for greater communication. I know technology is evolving, but cyborg theory seems very science fiction.
Learning, no matter what theory you believe is evolving. Teachers and now students alike must be willing to learn and change with the times.

Southwest Educational Developmental Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved on February 21st, 2011, from Http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html

Reflection Week 2 EDLD 5345

Review of Chapter 247 of Texas Administrative Code:

Generally, TEA does not accept anonymous complaints. However, anonymous reports of violations involving the administration of tests in the state assessment program are accepted and reviewed by TEA to the extent possible.”
“Information the public sends to TEA by email may not be secure. Confidential or sensitive information should not be transmitted to TEA by email. TEA will remove confidential or sensitive information when replying to the public by email. If a complaint is sent to TEA by email without complete contact information, TEA must verify the sender before reviewing the complaint. The full name, phone number and complete address of the sender will be requested. “
“To adequately review and address a complaint, certain information is needed. TEA must be able to identify a clear violation of a school law and determine whether TEA has authority to act upon the allegation.”

Checklist of information to include in a complaint:
• complainant’s full name, mailing address and signature
• local written decisions
• detail description of the actions or decisions that violate a school law (do not include identifying information of a person who is a minor)
• documentation and facts that give reason to believe that a school law was violated
• name of the school staff members who were notified of the complaint
• complaints filed with other agencies and responses from other agencies
• the resolution requested
• full and accurate name of involved educators

Any person, group of individuals, or organization may file a complaint.

Agency, T. E. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions About TEA Complaints. Retrieved January Thursday, 2011, from Texas Education Agency: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=5143#1

Recruiting and Retaining Highly Qualified Teachers In My District:

In the interview with my principal I learned that my school and district does not have a high turnover rate. EISD offers job fairs which is a great way to recruit high quality teachers. To retain those high quality teachers the school district tries to stay abreast of the new and upcoming technologies. The school district also offers what we call TERP which is a matching system based on attendance. Basically the school district will match whatever you place in a 403 B based on your attendance record each year. If you do not miss a day they will match 100% of your money up to a certain dollar amount. As we teachers like to say, “It is free money.” Not too many districts this type of incentive so it is a great way to keep high quality teachers.

Reflection on EDLD 5366

Digital Graphics, Animation, and Desktop Publishing have been a new experience for me the last five weeks. I have gained a great deal of knowledge from this class. I had no experience in digital graphics or animation. I did not realize how useful animation could be in the classroom setting. As stated in the article, Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating Multimedia in the K-12 classroom, the author states “Including multimedia as part of instruction can significantly enhance student learning” (Research, 2008). I have found this statement to be true. I believe anytime technology can be integrated into a lesson it helps keep the students focused. "Games succeed because they encapsulate powerful design principles for learning environments"(Halverson, 2005). I find this to be true with most technology. I have learned throughout this course that students thrive on learning new technology. I have absolutely loved learning the software and taking the design principals we have learned and putting them into place on each of the projects.
As I read the literature for this course I found myself nodding my head in agreement with so much as we learned about the design principals and the importance of placement and color. It really brought my attention to the way that ads are created and why the creators do what they do. I particularly enjoyed reading the article with the movie poster from “Sweet Home Alabama.” I learned a great deal on how movie posters are made and how they place things to capture your attention without you even knowing. I found that to be interesting and tried my best to put those principals in place when creating my newsletter.
I found myself wanting to try Microsoft Publisher with my students, but feel they need a little more basic skills before we dive into creating a newsletter. I may start simple and let them create a one page flyer about Christmas Around the World and what they have learned over the past few weeks about Christmas in different countries. I feel technology in our studies should be integrated in all possible ways. With the 21st century learners that we teach on a daily basis, it is important that we capture their attention with the things they know, and they know technology.



Research, S. (2008). Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating multimedia in the K-12 classroom. Brain Pop , 1-17.
Halverson, R. (2005). What can k-12 School Leaders Learn from Video Games and Gaming. Retrieved from http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=81

Investigating Ancient Manuscripts EDLD 5366 Assignment 1.2

The first impression that I had of the Bible from Ethiopia was that it was similar to most works done in this time period. It seems that most works done around this time were in the column format and written in black text.

Proximity is seen with the writing in the two columns. The picture at the top of the page is and the writing at the bottom of the page is important in some way because they are set by themselves. The alignment of the page is a two column page with an important writing of some kind on the bottom center. The picture in the upper left hand corner is left justified and captures your attention because it is in color. The black text is repeated throughout the text and gives the book a sense of consistency. The writing that is in black and the colored picture with writing is a type of contrast that allows your eye to flow through the reading easily.

The author makes it apparent by the amount of text that is on the page that the text is important and needs to be read. The picture also has some significance because it was done in a different color. This manuscript is an important piece of work because of the time it took to compose such a piece so long ago.

EDLD 5363- Wrapping It Up!

I must say the group work that was done the last few weeks was a great success. The group that I had the opportunity to work with was great! We all did a great job pulling our own weight. Each of our talents came out while working on this video project. I was nervous about having to work with a group, and things being out of my control. I was greatly surprised how well we all worked so well together. Our Skype calls were a great way for us to collaborate and organize our thoughts on a weekly basis. The group wiki was an awesome idea and was also a great way for each group member to post their work. We decided, as a group, to each create our own version of a video and then vote on the video that we wanted to use as our final production. This gave each of us an opportunity to learn the software more thoroughly. After a little discussion, we decided to use Lamar’s video. Lamar’s video was a step above each of ours. Even though we were each proud of our individual videos, Lamar’s video captured the essence of our topic. This class has been a challenge at times, but overall it has been a great learning experience. I hope that my future group work will be as positive as the one I have had in EDLD 5363.

Group Wiki: http://edld5363psagroup.wikispaces.com/
PSA on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S88aTGIQTCM

Week 4 Update for EDLE 5363

I was a bit nervous about having to work in a group, but the last few weeks have been well worth the time and effort. My group is Timothy (Lamar), Michelle, Jose, and Lucinda. I have enjoyed working with these four individuals and we have all worked hard to make this project a success. We have had several Skype calls to make sure we are all organized and on the same page, and Lucindia started us a wiki page for us to put all of our information. It has been great getting to work with this group, and I look forward to seeing the finished product. We each had our assignments and we each have fulfilled our duties to make this a successful week.


Wiki URL:
http://edld5363psagroup.wikispaces.com/

Web Conference-Monday, September 6th

I attended the web conference this evening. I found this web conference informative about the next few weeks assignments. I am looking forward to starting the next assignments now that I have a better handle on the information.

I was also able to get my camera to work this evening which was unable to do at the last web conference I attended. It was a little strange watching myself on the computer. I realized that it would be a good idea to fix my hair and maybe put on a little make-up the next time I am online. (Smile)

Overall, I found the web conference a success!

Adventures In Video Editing Software-Week 2 Assignment

Integrating media production in your curriculum can help you find new access to students and help them find new access to the material. Media production engages and excites; it leads to unexpected discoveries, increased self-awareness and esteem, sharpened critical thinking, analytical skills, group work skills, and ability to communicate ideas. Media production demands writing and rewriting, research, group effort, and clarity of thought” (Garrison, 2010). This quote explains exactly how I felt as I dove into the video editing software for this week’s assignment. I have never used any type of video editing software so this experience was new to me. I had to use my skills on Internet searching to find open source editing software.

I finally chose Windows Movie Maker and Blender. I found Blender a very complicated software to use and it was mostly for 3D graphics and that is not what I was wanting to use. Although Blender is compatible for more than one type of network it is tough software for beginners. I am defiantly a beginner when it comes to video editing.

I decided to go with Windows Movie Maker. Come to find out I already had Windows Movie Maker on my computer. It was so much fun diving into this program and learning how to use the software. I used several tutorials from YouTube to teach me the basics. Movie Maker is a very user friendly software and it great for beginners. I believe I would be able to create a class project using Movie Maker with my second graders. Later in the year I would like to tackle this project. I would love to collect video from the year and pictures and share this with the parents. I believe this would defiantly engage my students, because I could not seem to get enough of this editing software.


Garrison, A. (2010). Video basics and production projects for the classroom. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article3.html

Personal Digital Story Experience- EDLD 5363

I must say I was really excited about getting to learn something new. I had never used Photo Story and I was looking forward to trying it out. The technology is great and who can complain when the software is free. All I have to say about creating something with software that you have never used before is SAVE OFTEN! After working for several hours with Photo Story I lost every bit of my work and had to start all over. I wanted to cry. I had just spent the evening away from my family in hopes that I would finish my project and all I came home with was frustration. I have always been told to save often, and I usually do. I got caught up in the new and forgot to do the one thing you learn in technology 101. My project is now complete and I am glad that I learned a new software and the hard lesson of saving often.

EDLD 5301 Reflection

The greatest insight that I learned from this course is the true meaning of action research. I now know that research can be done on a daily basis. It is important to focus our research on topics that are important to ourselves. I have enjoyed learning how to put together an action research plan. I really want to learn more about how to make action research a productive part of the day. I will continue to use the Harris text as a resource and will also continue to practice doing action research. I believe, the more we put something like this into practice the better we will become.

Discussion About Action Research Plan

My mentor did not see that there were any changes needed to my action research plan. I am looking forward to getting my research started with the new school year starting.

Action Research Plan EDLD 5301

Goals:
How is the acceptable use policy pertinent to a school district?

Activities designed to achieve the objectives:

Quantitative Analysis:
I will test a small group of teachers to see what knowledge they have of our AUP.

Interview:
I will test a small group of teachers to see if they know where our AUP is located on our district web page, and if they know the importance of knowing the information in our AUP.

Survey:
I will use a survey to form my results for my qualitative results.

Resources and Research Tools Needed for Data Gathering:
I will need to form a test/survey to to give to the small group of teachers so hat I can collect data on what the teachers know about our AUP.

Draft a Timeline for Completion or Implementation of Activities:
August 2010-December 2010

Persons Responsible for Implementation:
Christine Maier and Kim Hollingsworth

Process for Monitoring the Achievement of Goals and Objectives:
I will set a timeline during the semester for myself to make sure different phases of the on-going research s being completed.

Assessment:
I will have the teachers play a Jeopardy game created in Notebook software to test their new knowledge of the AUP.

EDLD 5301 What I have learned in Week Two

Week Two has been an eye opening week in the area of action research. I learned about the nine different areas of action research. While there are nine different areas for eductors to look at when doing action research, I see them all as equally important.Educators and administrators must be active researchers to stay on top of their field and know what is working in the education sector.

How Educators Can Use Blogs

Educators could use blogs as a form of communication between parents and students. Blogs in a classroom would allow students opinions and thoughts to be heard about activities done during the school day. I also think the same could be done with parents.

What I Have Learned About Action Research

Action research is an important part of an administrator's role. As a person who hopes to hold an administrative position in the technology field, it will be important to find the time for research. Scheduling time for research into my everyday routine would be beneficial. It will not allow me to use the time factor as and excuse. The seven steps within the systematic approach gives me a starting and stopping point, and it will allow for a successful solution. When others are allowed to engage in action research, more people can be heard and be encouraged to give their opinion. It ultimately allow for camaraderie in the school environment.

One action that I would like to implement in the future is a technology learning community. This community would allow for lead teachers and administrators to gather and discuss the needs for technology at the school and district level. Strengths and weaknesses can be easily identified when members of the learning communities are present from all levels. In discussing this with other teachers, we could see the things that are necessary in primary through secondary levels that would help their technology development as students move along in their schooling. Using these skills will help us to use reflection and ultimately have technology successfully implemented throughout the district.

Web Conference-Tuesday, June 1st

Web Conference- Tuesday, June 1st

This was my first opportunity with a web conference, so I was a little nervous because I did not know what to expect. At first, I had a hard time knowing exactly what I needed to do, but as the conference went on, I learned what the different buttons were and how to speak during a web conference. The only problem I had with the conference was I was never able to get my web camera to show up on the screen. It would come on for just a bit and then go off again.

The information discussed in the web conference was a bit overwhelming. The internship is going to be a great experience, but I have to get my head wrapped around what is expected of us. I look forward to attending another web conference soon, and hopefully my web cam will work.