Assignments

=**__Class Notes__**=

__**March 4th**__

My lesson using technology

- By April 8th, submit a plan on how I am going to integrate technology into a lesson that I previously did not use technology in. I'm thinking Geography for Social Studies 11.

- Write up the lesson plan, how it was and how it is going to be.

__**March 25th**__

For technology lesson - advantage to learning is collaboration of ideas / Informating vs Automating (Transfer of control from teacher to student)

**__April 8th__**
Programs

xtra normal

miro.org

windows media encoder

**__Writing Activity__**
Youtube: Grownup Digital

Questions

1.) Who are digital kids?

2.) How do you know?

3.) What can they teach you?

**__Response__**
1.) Digital kids are kids that were born in 1990 or later. I say that because by the time they were age 5 or 6, the internet was on the scene and everything just took off from there. These are kids who think digitally and act digitally. Digital kids have acquired most of the knowledge they have through digital means. They draw on the resources around them to figure things out and want to do it in the least amount of time possible. They don't want to use books, would rather not write on paper, and are often bored with technology that I once thought was cool. Most of them have access to the latest technology, such as ipods and iphones, and would love to use it all the time if they were allowed to. I think my generation is close to them so I don't have a problem with this but I know that many people in my school do.

In some cases, a digital kid is someone who is in a state of learned helplessness. They have been immersed in technology so much that they are not able to do things for themselves when they need to. "//A digital learner is a learner that lacks the ability to evaluate, analyse, and to comprehend. They depend on the technology to feed them information, and this disables their ability to think for themselves.//"
 * "I'm a 21st century digital boy, I don't know how to read but I got a lot of toys"**

2.) I know they are digital learners because I see their technology every day and I see them more engaged when I try to use technology in my classroom. They use their ipods everyday and are very good at using them. I know of one example where I realized that most of them are digital. I had a set of notes on the overhead, not very much and the font was fairly big. Some of them started to copy down the notes as I was talking, and about 18 students took out their phones and walked up to the overhead screen and took a picture of the notes with their phones. I know because they tell me. They tell me about using wikipedia, wiki-answers, forums, messageboards, grad transition online, chat rooms. They tell me about how to get things for free. I think they are digital learners because they want the best answer and they want the quickest possible way to that answer. And this generation knows how to find it!

3.) I think digital learners can teach me a lot as long as I am willing to listen and try new things in my class. They have taught me about how digital kids learn, and I am trying to adapt my lessons and the way I teach to best suit them. They can teach me about using technology to make things more efficient and faster, in and out of the classroom. Not all of the technology is for the classroom exclusively, and therefore they often teach me about music programs and websites that I use for life in general.

**__APRIL 29TH, 2009

Writing Statements__**

1.) Something I am learning about technology is....

2.) Something I am learning about learning is....

3.) Something I am learning about teaching is....

4.) Something I am learning about myself is....

1.) Something I am learning about technology is that it is always changing. This is something that I already knew before but have now confirmed through doing this program. I have tried a number of new things since I started this program and I am finding that as soon as I think I am comfortable with one program/teaching tool, someone mentions something else that is "better" or "easier to use". When this happens I feel the need to learn about it so I guess something else I am learning about technology is that I should be prepared to continue learning about technology now that I have started! As I said in the beginning technology is always changing and therefore if I am going to undertake something that involves using technology then I have learned that it is going to be an ongoing thing.

I have also learned that although technology is meant in part to make things easier and more efficient, it is not always as easy as it sounds. When someone talks about something being easy, they don't often mention the hours they have spent learning about it! New technology for use in the classroom does take time and energy to learn about and set up, and I must be prepared for this. If I am going to implement technology in my classroom it won't be overnight and I shouldn't expect it to be.

Having said that, I can say that I've learned that technology can be very beneficial in the classroom and that I should continue to try and implement it in my classroom. Wikis, Google Docs, Moodle, forums, messageboards are some of the programs I have tried using and I am learning more and more about them. My students seem to also be enjoying using these as a way to learn which is encouraging.

2.) Something that I am learning about learning is that the basics don't change. When I am learning about technology I must practice and take time developing skills, and that I can't expect to learn about something instantly. I am also confirming my longtime belief that when one is interested in something one learns more about it. I believe this to be true for all subjects in academics and LTT is no different. I am spending a lot more time learning about certain programs that interest me and that I can use in my classroom, while other programs that we are learning about I am not spending too much time on. Learning is about picking and choosing what interests you!

I am also learning that what I get out of this program depends on what I put into this program. I see other colleagues in my class doing amazing things and | know that if I want to do something similar I will have to put that time and effort in. This is not meant to sound negative, just reality. As I get more confident with certain programs I hope to spend more time using them and improving my teaching.

3.) Something I am learning about teaching is that change is necessary if I am going to be successful in my classroom. This is part of the reason why I enrolled in the LTT program. Students have changed since I first began teaching and I need to change with them. In some ways I have changed how I teach and I need to continue to do this. Students are now digital learners, and as I have learned, they don't learn as effectively with antiquated teaching methods. They have iPods, cellphones, laptops, MP3 players, flashsticks. What will be next? I need to continue experimenting with technology as I have found it to be a valuable resource. I have attempted to implement technology in a number of ways and student learning has increased as a result. Students are going to bring these to the classroom anyways so I should take advantage of it. Students will continue to change and therefore I must embrace what they bring to the classroom in order to be successful.

4.) Something that I am learning about myself is that I need to be patient when learning about technology. When I get interested in learning about something I tend to want to know everything at once. Learning about technology is the same as learning about anything else. It takes time and lots of practice. I am a visual learner and so I am finding that I need people to show me how to use a particular program or tool and then I need time by myself to practice using it. Trial and error is part of how I learn so I can't get frustrated when things don't go right the first time. I am learning that I can use technology to help me learn about technology (Google, How to videos, Wiki-answers). This makes things go faster and helps improve my learning. Learn from others! Collaborate! To be continued.....

piczo.com

Evidence: Find evidence that supports the learning statements. 3 or 4 pieces of evidence.


 * 1) 3 - Digital current events / Online projects
 * 2) 1 - Online lesson/ Projects - Benefits of technology
 * 3) 4 - Be patient when using technology (Setting up Wikis, using the online lessons)

What is a field study: I am researching me out in the field. I am not researching my students.

Question: What issues, problems, red flags do you see with using technology

- Time to learn about technology - Time to have students using technology. Often they come in not knowing about it. - Accessibility to the technology - Integration of the programs and resource....pcs vs macs - Stuck to the computer.....not always focused on your classroom - Shallow learning. Students are learning more about the technology than the curriculum. - Critical thinking skills. How does technology help? ( Am I empowering the kids to think critically through using technology?) - Loss of face to face. Social skills go down? - Lack of social accountability online. How can you be socially responsible on the web? - Cognitive streaming (taking away other aspects of thinking) - Glitches taking away from teaching time. - Cyber bullying - Level of access

1.)

Access - One problem that constantly comes up is access to computers. I work in a large high school with many classes wanting to use the library and the computer labs. This can be a problem when trying to implement technology into my classroom. It is not a problem if I am using the technology only in an automative way(i.e. on a cart in my room). However if I am wanting the students to be collaborating online, creating websites, or using a particular program I have to make sure that I book things way ahead of time. Sometimes it is easier to just teach it with the book and some overheads.

Access to the internet itself can also be an issue. On a number of occassions I have had some sort of technology incorporated into my lesson (Youtube, website) and the technology has failed. The district server has been under maintenance or is temporarily down. Sometimes it can be down or extremely slow for quite a while, forcing me to adapt my lesson on the spot. Back to the book!!!!

Knowledge - Another issue is that not all students know how to use some of the technology. The are very capable using technology that they use in their everyday lives for personal interest, such as iPods, MP3s, and cellphones, but when it comes to technology programs for the classroom they sometimes need a lot of help. This can be very time consuming and will cut down on time actually spent on the curriculum.

=**__August 17th, 2009__**=

Powerpoint vs Prezy?

- At least 3 sources to support field study

=__**August 18th, 2009**__=

Tumblebooks.com Tumblereadables.com Comicbook creater bubbl.us National Geographic Kids National Film Board Cartoons for Kids

=__**August 20th, 2009**__= Allaboutexplorers.com (Good lesson on some of the issues around internet accuracy).

=**__August 25th, 2009__**=

DVD Video Soft Free Studio

=**__September 30th, 2009__**=

rubistar.4teachers.org