Amy's EDT 545 Blog

Day 11: Evaluating the impact of technology on teaching and learning

2008-06-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Lead, don't lecture:
This article emphasizes teaching as coaching.

Transforming learning with technology:
this is a great website for teachers and school/district leaders to access that provides quick ideas for implementing technology into the classroom.

How do teachers become tech wizards?
This is an excellent, simple article that provides great resources including
TechLearning's website http://www.techlearning.com/

Laptops on Expedition:
This article reveals a successful program that is project based in a Maine middle school. Each student interacts each other on projects and everything is posted on their exceptional website. Their site is getting national attention for it's quality.

Day 10: Evaluating Web Sites and Standards

2008-06-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

Criteria for evaluating Web sites:
I. Content
Accuracy

Appropriateness

Scope

II.Technical Aspects
Navigation

Presentation

The ABCs of web site evaluation (by Kathy Schrock)

"The acquisition of digital literacy skills is dependent
upon the student’s ability to find information, determine
its usefulness and accuracy, and utilize it eff effectively. W h a t
follows are 26 criteria that enable teachers and students to
assess every Web page the Net has to offer."

This website is rich with specifics on the 26 criteria set forth for educators and students. This is definitely one that I could use in my second attempt at teaching via the Internet!
The standards websites are perfect too!

Day 9: Building Global Learning Communities AND School Web Sites

2008-06-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

An Internet Tour of Your School by Rosemary Shaw
The idea of a virtual tour of your school or specific areas to showcase for future or potential students and parents is a good one.

The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education Collaborative Projects
This is a great site that displays global learning community projects related to science and engineering. These appear to be similar to webquests in that a particular lesson or research question is posed with an objective in mind. What's most interesting to me is that there is a list of schools around the world that have or are participants of each project. This shows how far reaching such lessons can be.

Share the Pride: Create a School Web Site
This helpful article from Education World gives a short but meaningful explanation as to how to set up a school web page including the purposes for each component. It also provides links to various school websites across the country and gives feedback from schools as to how worthwhile their website creations were/are.
Application: I would use this article as a quick reference for what to include on a website and as a possible tool to convincing administrators as to why having a website can be helpful to not only students, but the community.

Creating School Web Pages
This article poses the following questions:

Every school seems to have a website, why?
What should go into a good school web page?
What are the steps in building a quality school web site?

Again, this is yet another quick and dirty (but useful) tool for helping you to explore, design, plan, and maintain a school website.

Day 8: Equity Issues

2008-06-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Caught in the Digital Divide by Norris Dickard & Diana Schneider

This article suggests that the digital divide resides within minority populations including blacks, hispanics, and Native Americans.
"The main telecommunications artery for the southwest runs parallel with the Rio Grande. A telecommunications artery similar to the Silicon Valley is generally referred to as the Rio Grande Corridor (RGC). Along the Rio Grande are the Pueblo reservations. The RGC runs through these reservations. ..." None of these people have access to it though. "Although the lines run right through the reservations, people do not have access. Apparently,the cost too prohibitive to put digital centers there.
Only one-fourth of the homes on the Navajo Reservation have phone service. According to some estimates, extending phone lines to existing homes in the area would cost more than $10,000 a mile. Even if digital enters were installed, access to the RGC would do the Navajo no good.

Rural areas across America and recent immigrants also fall into the gap.
Dissenters tend to believe it is not a lack of access, rather a lack of interest.

Application: I can see all sides to the disparity of technology; that of cultural, economical, and geographical. However, I have a somewhat limited perspective of this as my geographical situations have not changed much over the last eleven years. I have seen more efforts being made to add technology to classrooms, but I have not been the field of rural America or one of a terribly depressed economy. On the other hand, I am aware of the fact that often times, those in lower income areas are given grants for technology more often than not.

The Digitial Divide: Where are we today?
Since this article was written in 2002, I would like to see more updated information to either support or reject the findings of the study which states that there no longer is a gap in digital resources and that funding programs would be terminated in 2003. Were they correct?

Day 7: Information Literacy

2008-06-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

Teaching information literacy: tips and tricks
This is another "how-to" article with several websites listed as sources for teaching proper search techniques and more. I will be applying this guide to my own classroom setting next fall with respect to the list of objectives for students:

how to focus their searching strategies and zero in on the information;
how to recognize reliable resources and those that are not reliable;
what plagiarism is and how to avoid doing it;
how to paraphrase a selection;
how to give credit to their resources.

Media Literacy
This is a great resource for future use in teaching multimedia technology.

The Web--Teaching Zack to Think
In this article, November shows how to teach kids to analyze websites using several strategies in 3 categories including: Purpose, author, and meta-web information.
Locating meta-web information is a powerful tool that can place a Web site in context - the link command. November tells you how and it's quite simple. He also tells how to read a URL to decipher a site as a personal web page which can verify credibility, or lack thereof.

Application: This article in particular will be useful to me in the classroom next fall. I will teach the two important tricks mentioned above to my juniors prior to them conducting research on the Internet again.

Day 6: The Internet: Surfing Safety

2008-06-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Safe Passage: Teaching Kids to be Safe and Responsible Online
Media Awareness Network

This section includes classroom resources to help students develop the critical thinking skills they need to make their Internet experiences safe and rewarding.

Internet 101 Web sites E-mail Instant messaging Social Networking and Virtual Environments File-sharing Text messaging
Get the Most Out of The Internet Effective online searching Kid-friendly search engines and directories Technological tools (filters, monitors, etc.)
Know the Risks Privacy invasions Pornography Cyber bullying Online predators Spam Misinformation Violent and hateful content Gambling Reporting trouble

The CyberPilot's License: A Modest Proposal for Educational Curricula
This article written by a father, grad student, and teacher expresses his frustration with school and district requirements of signing an acceptable use policy (AUP) for using the internet at school. He gives several good points that are not ignorant in nature. He has some good points including educating both student users and their parents in proper use and the legalities of the AUP rather than merely having them sign the agreement blindly under "threat".

Application: I can relate to some of the points that R.W. Burniske suggests in the CyberPilot article. Much of what the AUP states is in a threatening nature and does not define clearly "ill-defined transgressions that could force users to "indemnify" the school "for any losses, costs or damages, including reasonable attorneys' fees" incurred due to "any breach of this agreement."
Students, particularly those under high school ages, aren't full aware of what the threats are. Similarly, neither do parents that are not themselves, users of the internet. It would be wise to give an informational session to parents at the beginning of the school year to at least offer the opportunity to inform parents and allow them the opportunity to express concerns and ask questions.

6/6~Day 5: Technology Transforming Education

2008-06-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

A Remarkable Transformation, Diane Curtis, 2003 Edutopia.org

This article features Union City Public Schools in New Jersey. Fourteen years after being threatened with a takeover by the state, this district is sought after by students who wish to enroll because of its innovative, cooperative programs which promote technology and high expectations.

It took focused leadership, a research based overhaul of the system, technology, teacher and community input, site based decision making, and money to turn things around. Literacy was put first as well as rigorous interdisciplinary projects, individual instruction plans and parental involvement. The district switched to block scheduling, cooperative learning, and eight-week assessments to monitor student strengths and weaknesses.

According to the teachers of the district, technology is what pushed it to great heights.

A Passionfor Projects: Students have a voice--and a choice, Diane Curtis, 2003, Edutopia.org

The focus of this article is that of the culminating project idea that numerous states have chosen to adopt as a part of their graduation requirements. Featured primarily in Washington State, experts pine in with how difficult it can be to create culminating projects as well as to assess them. Eeva Reeder is such an expert. She claims that if done right, "The culminating project has the potential to be the single most powerful change agent in the school" (2003).

Application:

From Curtis' "passion" article I am going to take recommended assessment criteria for my juniors when using Moodle including:

a) extending students' knowledge

b) demonstrating analytical, logical, and creative thinking

c) effective background research

d) evidence of initiative

Another important note for educators and agents of change is that starting substantive project-based learning should begin in the early grades.

Additionally, from the New Jersey district story, it is important for leaders to remember that positive change and innovation does not happen over night. Further, enlisting all stakeholders is valuable in getting buy-in and motivation to produce change.

6/5~Day 4: Web Quests AND Copyright and Ethics Issues

2008-06-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

Locating and Evaluating Web Quests, Annette Lamb

Wow! This site http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic4.htm

is extensive. There are 12 pages of links related to webquests. What is important to take away from this as an educator and an agent of change is that there are a plethora of "how-to" links to set yourself up for success. Of particular interest and value are the following (to me):

Dr. Alice Christie's Matrix of WebQuests (2004) http://www.west.asu.edu/achristie/wqmatrix.html

New Mexico Stte University Student WEbQuests

http://educcation.nmsu.edu/webquest/examples.html

Teacher and pre-service teacher WebQuests

Teach the Teachers http://www.teachtheteachers.org/

Technology-Webquests http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/computing/web_quests/ WebQuests by topic

Learning about WebQuests:

Enter the WebQuest by Teach-nology

http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/web_quests

Tasks and Design for teacing the WebQuest Way

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/workshops/stgregory.htm

workshop materials

Usint a webquest in your classroom (2000) from i4c

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/using_quest.htm

definitions, form, evaluation, collections, guidelines for building webquests

What is important to take from this article is clearly, the multitude of sources that leave little or no doubt as to how to create a web quest and how to do it well. Personally, I will be focusing on most of those favorites I listed above in developing my own Web Quest for my students next year.

Apple Learning Interchange: Plagiarism advice for lessons

This article gives 18 different suggestions for students in avoiding plagiarism. Not only does it include of ways avoiding it technologically , but also considers parents who tend to be overly helpful at times. This is a tool that I will use with my high schoolers directly prior to our next research project online.

Day 3:Searching the Internet

2008-06-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Step Zero: What to Do Before Searching
Four NETS for Better Searching

Collaborative Reading Assignment:
How to Search the Internet Effectively, Media Awareness Network http://www.media-awareness.ca/
This straight forward article does exactly as its title suggests; it gives you tips on how to maneuver through the Internet by using proper search criteria and terms such as Boolean basics, Keywords, use of phrases, and several quick tips.
The important information that I derived from this article is to never assume that Internet users no these basics. Most of our learning comes from simply "surfing" the web on our own with no clear purpose or intention at first. This kind of searching can lead to poor habits, ultimately resulting in inefficient searching.

Day 2: Internet & Email

2008-06-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

The key things that I learned about the concept of Internet and Email:

It was interesting to read the basics of internet use now that I feel I am a proficient user. I could have used these simple "how-to's" and background information long ago! I would have saved myself a great deal of frustration and time. What's great about these beginner articles is that they are still so relevant today. I personally, will utilize these in my classroom since I am taking my junior level students to a new level of learning. Their parents will need much of this information to help them see how using the internet will enhance their student's learning experience. Additionally, it will them as parents to see more clearly what their student will be doing in the classroom and how.

Beyond Technology: The End of the Job and the Beginning of the Digital Work by Alan November
In his article, Alan November highlights the true impact that technology brings to society:
Information, communications technology is completely reorganizing how, where, when, with whom,and even why people work.

William Cook, in Strategic Planning in America's Schools; "Truly educated people of the next century will not apply for a job. They will create their own."

The transformation of the workplace is well underway. Major companies like IBM and John Deere have cut in-house workers and middle management, replacing such positions with those taking place outside of the office place. Many of these workers have to unlearn how to work in a highly prescribed manner. Instead of expecting problems to be highly structured and defined and handed to them, these workers have to identify their own problems to solve, manage their own productivity, and seek and structure collaborations from around the world.

This article directly applies to my practice in several ways. The question is posed; "What kind of planning should educators consider to prepare students for economic reality of a high tech economy?
1. Students must be prepared to be flexible, adaptive, and interdependent. To do so, we must re-engineer the organizational design of learning. How? By providing the communications infrastructure to connect educators and students to the world.
2. We must help students manage their own experiences, including: managing their time, designing their own homework, co-creating assessments of their work, and continuously extending their collaborative work around the globe.
3. The key to successful schools who utilize collaborative technology learning is not technology, rather the expectations of children and educators to work in a collaborative environment.

The Organizational Design Issues for education leaders suggest that Students become:
a) learning associates (requires massive parent information and education program)
b) knowledge producers (expected to create knowledge products and publish them for authentic feedback)
c) connect to community (local and global)
d) collegiality (All students should understand how to interpret feedback about their work from amany different sources, some face to face, others across digital networks. Otherwise they are getting cut out of learning opportunities)
Moreover,
e) teacher evaluations (place teachers at the center of their own evaluation in collaborative teams, where the team evaluates itself)
f) equity (Families need opportunities to learn about technology, including take-home programs for families that do not own computers)
g) Permeability (Key leverage point for evolution--Remove as many organizational barriers in order to apply the flow and application of information)

Conclusion:
Virtually every concept in this article is important for educators and administrators to consider when incorporating technology in their schools. November identifies that important leadership skills will revolve around helping educators, families, and community to let go of existing structures. Additionally, having the capacity to promote teamwork and coalition building with local and global communities. Again, the goals for students are to become independent, critical managers of their own work.