Our world is changing rapidly. Corporations are moving towards 4 day weeks to save on operating costs, more and more employees are electing to work from home via VPN, the list goes on and on. While we are becoming a society that heavily relies on electronic communication we are moving further away from social interaction.
Although, I believe, that this way of communication and learning is not going to go away and our students will become completely bored with how we are delivering instruction if we do not change how we present it to them.
I think the biggest prevention is our desire as humans to have contact. Personal interaction is still very important in our society and many do not want lose that.
If I could change anything I would change the way our students have access to communication. I would allow smart phones and Ipods to be used on campus and come up with innovative ways to assess the knowledge of my students.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Blog Reflection #5
My purpose for this week's wiki was to see if I could develop a workspace for my leadership team. Although due to privacy issues I wouldn't actually be able to invite them to the workspace. However, my goal was to develop a structure to support it. I think this could work and would prove itself to be very useful especially when I need them to review or prepare for upcoming changes. I can have them do all of the legwork from their desktop such as reading articles, submitting drafts, all under the same subject line. This is a more organized digital approach than email.
I think that wiki's foster the spirit of collaboration. It brings people together under one common idea or theme. Possibly one disadvantage could be that you may have those who choose not to participate. In an educational administrative setting that can be an issue. How would you use a lack of collaboration to hold them accountable? If as an administrator, I am going to reduce the need for face to face to meetings then wiki's would be a great way to keep everyone in the loop.
I think that digital natives will find wiki's to be more useful and engaging because they live in a day and age where actual verbal conversations are limited through texting and social networking sites. I think as educators we have to help them find a balance so that they do not lose their social skills.
I think that wiki's foster the spirit of collaboration. It brings people together under one common idea or theme. Possibly one disadvantage could be that you may have those who choose not to participate. In an educational administrative setting that can be an issue. How would you use a lack of collaboration to hold them accountable? If as an administrator, I am going to reduce the need for face to face to meetings then wiki's would be a great way to keep everyone in the loop.
I think that digital natives will find wiki's to be more useful and engaging because they live in a day and age where actual verbal conversations are limited through texting and social networking sites. I think as educators we have to help them find a balance so that they do not lose their social skills.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Blog Reflection #4
The learning tenent that I chose this week was how Assessment For Learning should be regarded as a key professional skill for teachers.
I feel that teachers are trained to used technology as a supplement to instruction rather than an assessment for learning. It is evident in my research article that this is predominately how teachers are currently using technology however their desire for more training is also evident. How do we address this? I believe that it starts with professional development design. If we have established the argument that our children are changing, then we can't continue to train our teachers the same. This is absurd.
The creation of a portfolio will help me not only to learn what is out there to utilize within the classroom, but will also help me to have a collection of artifacts for bookmarks as I enhance my proficiency.
I feel that teachers are trained to used technology as a supplement to instruction rather than an assessment for learning. It is evident in my research article that this is predominately how teachers are currently using technology however their desire for more training is also evident. How do we address this? I believe that it starts with professional development design. If we have established the argument that our children are changing, then we can't continue to train our teachers the same. This is absurd.
The creation of a portfolio will help me not only to learn what is out there to utilize within the classroom, but will also help me to have a collection of artifacts for bookmarks as I enhance my proficiency.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Blog Reflection #3
My findings during this MAPping activity yielded some positive results. However, I also took the time to view some additional websites that were listed in the choices and noticed that there were some pieces missing that make a site authoritative. Luckily, early in my technology ts training in undergraduate I took a course that was designed specifically for utilizing the web as a resource. This class really helped with being very analytical with my choices.
I chose the All About Explorers website. This site is an awesome website for social studies teachers and students. This website has more than on author with substantial backgrounds in history and education. A student using this website for a project about European explorers would find this site very useful.
Most students who are utilizing the web K-12 do not always have access to this information. An article such as the one that we read regarding indicators on how to determine whether a site is valid is very helpful. As an English teacher I would require my students to keep a copy in their notebooks and have it readily available when we are doing web research. If students do not learn how to use the web appropriately in the lower grades we will be doing them such a disservice when they enter higher education. Soon, learning will become more digitized and students must be able to identify the validity of information for the purpose of their educational progress.
Deli.cio.us is absolutely the best thing since sliced bread! I am going to create a separate account my teachers to follow next year for professional development. This is such a great way to continue the important conversations without demanding time from teachers.
I chose the All About Explorers website. This site is an awesome website for social studies teachers and students. This website has more than on author with substantial backgrounds in history and education. A student using this website for a project about European explorers would find this site very useful.
Most students who are utilizing the web K-12 do not always have access to this information. An article such as the one that we read regarding indicators on how to determine whether a site is valid is very helpful. As an English teacher I would require my students to keep a copy in their notebooks and have it readily available when we are doing web research. If students do not learn how to use the web appropriately in the lower grades we will be doing them such a disservice when they enter higher education. Soon, learning will become more digitized and students must be able to identify the validity of information for the purpose of their educational progress.
Deli.cio.us is absolutely the best thing since sliced bread! I am going to create a separate account my teachers to follow next year for professional development. This is such a great way to continue the important conversations without demanding time from teachers.
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