Technology Inquiry Wiki Reflection

       For my technology inquiry wiki, I exerted a lot of effort in making sure I developed my own wiki page to the best of my ability. I spent multiple hours on creating my own wiki page. In those hours I made sure that I was presenting myself in a professional manner through the proper use of grammar as well as making sure I passed the “yes test”.
      The value of completing this assignment was very beneficial. Even though this assignment required a lot of effort and work, I was able to learn a lot from doing this assignment. Through this assignment I was able to have a better understanding of how to operate my own wiki. I was even granted the opportunity to learn more about wikis due to the fact that my inquiry question was related to wikis and the classroom. Through researching my inquiry question, I came upon many ways to use a wiki in my future classroom. Throughout this class, I always wondered how all this technology could play out in the lower elementary grades, especially wikis. However, through my research I was able to determine multiple ways of including wikis in lower elementary grades. All in all the value of completing this course task allowed me to understand multiple ways in incorporating wikis into my future classrooms.
       Completing this task impacts my future, but more specifically my student's future. Prior to this assignment I wasnt going to incorporate wikis into my classrooms mainly because I did not know how to use a wiki. However, my views on wikis were completely altered do the research I conducted. Now, my students will have the opportunity to explore a classroom wiki and even more technology that I have learned through out this course.

Exit slip 12/9/10

Today's class I was able to regather all of the ideas we have learned throughout the Education 331, which was beneficial for me to recall how I can integrate technology into my future classroom.

How will I teach?

Three different ways I am going to integrate technology into my future classroom:

• Interactive White Board: through using an interactive White Board my students will be able to engage in all my lessons. Allowing my students to engage in my lessons will allow my students to retain the information presented to them better because my students will be actively engaged in the material.
• Classroom Wiki pages: Using wiki pages into my classroom allows me to communicate with my students' parents. The wiki page will be a classroom wiki in which I organize what I did through the day in order for the parents to know what their child has learned. I will also supply additional resources for the students' parents to engage in. In the classroom wiki I will display my students progress by putting their work on the wiki page in order for the students' parents to see their work. This classroom wiki will also allow my students to reflect on their day in my classroom. In a way, the students will sort of be able to discuss what has happened and what he or she learned.
• Show Beyond: I will use show beyond to "spice" up my literature corner. Show beyond will allow my students to put together their own story. My students will draw their pictures of their story and then I will let them take pictures of their pictures andupload it to the classroom computer. The students will be able to narrate their own story, as well as provide image text, which would enhance the student's writing skills.

Class responses for integrating technology into our future classrooms:

• IWB
• Video streaming
• blogging
• Scratch
• Epals
• Simulations
• online whiteboarding
• course website
• podcasting 1:1 initiative
• screencasting
• audio mechanisms

My thinking and role of teaching technology over this semester has changed dramatically. My idea of incorporating technology was something really simple like a PowerPoint, however this class has brought better technology into my teaching style. First, I thought technology was a way of taking away that actual teaching in the classroom, however now I know technology to be beneficial in the students' learning as well as improving my teaching. So, this class has left my on the positive spectrum of technology. I will engage students in technology through incorporating multiple technologies.

Exit Slip 12/2/10

Today in class we watched a video based on the integration of technology within a teacher’s classroom. I took away multiple things from this video, which will aide me in integrating technology into my future classroom. The first way of integrating technology into my classroom would be to have an interactive white board. Integrating an interactive white board into a classroom allows for cooperative learning, and engagement and participation among the students. Cooperative learning includes the making of groups, in which the students can come to the board as a group and participate in that particular interactive white board lesson. Another way of integrating technology within my future classroom that I took away from this short video clip is through online collaborative projects. With online collaborative projects, I as a future teacher, could integrate pen pals or in this case E-pals into my classroom. Another way of integrating technology I took away involves blogging. Using blogging as a teacher is a good way to keep a daily document of what went on throughout the day in your classroom. Having students use blogs will allow the students to express their opinion on current events as well as classroom activities. Through identifying these ways of integrating technology, we developed “lens” in which we were able to realize what we could do before, what we could do without technology, and what is made better with technology. Doing this lens activity was a great way to see how technology has bettered education.
Today’s class was a great way to discuss the brilliant aspects of technology as well as the mistakes of technology.


NOTES:
How she integrates technology into her classroom:
•Using a daily blog (open classroom: document what is going on within the classroom, it’s a way to document what went on throughout the day.)
•Interactive white board (cooperative learning: groups working at the Smart Board, engagement and participation: motivating, students are curious)
•Online collaborative projects (work with other students throughout the word) (epals)
•Student blogs about current events and classroom activities: state their opinion.
•Laptops (mobile labs)

Public Service Announcement Reflection

While preparing our Public Service Announcement, each group exerted a lot of effort in planning and producing our PSA. We met multiple times outside of class to prepare and gather our ideas together. We divided each other’s work up equally, in order to secure a proper balance of workload. Our PSA on Facebook privacy allowed us to be familiar with our content because of having our own accounts. As a group, we wrote our script in order to be prepared when recording our video. Prior to recording our PSA we practiced many times in order to ensure us of no mistakes. We gave our best effort in producing the best PSA we are capable of making.

Creating and sharing our PSA allows our peers to view our content and educate themselves on the harm of Facebook. This impacts my future teaching because a PSA exposes me to a different technology tool I could use in my future classroom. It would be a great way to implement the classroom rules through using a PSA. Developing a PSA relating to classroom could be produce by my students or me. Allowing my students to produce a PSA would allow them to fully understand the classroom rules. Creating a PSA allows me to familiarize myself with the understanding of using iMovie in order to develop a finished product of a PSA.

Viewing my classmates’ PSAs can supply me with knowledge about other content too. When I view my peers’ PSAs I am able to develop other way to approach a PSA that could benefit me in my future teaching. Overall, we each exerted a lot of effort on our PSA to produce a PSA to the best of our ability.

Public Service Announcement upload

 

Exit Slip 11/18/10

Today in class we discussed the final chapter in the book. While debriefing the group’s presentation I gained a better insight on the grouping of Jigsaw. I realized how important this grouping is because Jigsaw allows everyone to put in their input because the groups are smaller. The students are able to receive input and give input.  Another thing that I took away from the debriefing is using multiple tools, not just using an Interactive White Board (Smart Board), but also the Document Camera (ELMO). Which brings up another topic and that is identifying certain tools properly by using the tool’s name and not just the brand name. I also learned about the three new R’s for education, which are Relevance, Rigor and Relationship.

Another thing that I took away from class today is when we were searching for media for our future classroom. This allowed me to see that things on the web are easy to find. I also learned that finding media that will be beneficial for me in the future will allow me to easily access this media later. I am also able to access my classmates’ Delicious account, which allows me to save time and use sources from their account. This class allowed me to future my Delicious account and also to see that I should add things that will benefit me and my future students.

Exit slip 11/11/10 and "What we did in class wiki"

Today in class I was really relieved to hear that today was a “catch your breath” day. I think this was beneficial to do because I am able to take time and revise and catch up on a few things.  During the debriefing of discussion Chapter 9 I was able to learn some beneficial ideas for presenting in the future. Those ideas included using new tools such as Scriblink, assigning perspective to students, using tools that benefit visual learners and using the” five words or less” summary. The rest of class we were allowed to work on what we needed to work on. I worked on my iRLO and my Inquiry question wiki page.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Today in class:

1.       We were informed that today will be a “catch your breath” day.

2.       We were reminded about our podcasting to make sure we are doing a SWOT analysis and not showing how to use the cool tool.

3.       Sarah Jackson, Kara Halambeck, Casey Bahr, and Casey Moon presented discussion on chapter 9: What does It All Mean?

1. They presented:

                                                               i.      What are positive/negative traits students learn from technology?

                                                             ii.      What are positive/negative impacts of social communities on learning?

2. Debriefing:

                                                               i.      Plus: had a plan B, New tool (Scriblink), Using a new tool would allow all students to have their input, new grouping,  assigning perspective, visual learners for new tool, summary in five words or less

                                                             ii.      Delta: share prezi, forgot student.

4. Discussed the quote that was provided in the chapter 9 presentation.
5. Shared article: First graders use Facebook as a learning tool
1. Found on D2L under course home.
6. Shared article: Series of Eight : Building a Better Teacher
1. Found on D2L under course home.
7. Closing comments/concerns
1. Professor Boyer shared his personalized Google page.
2. iGoogle: provides feeds to come to you, you can personalize your own Google page.
8. The rest of class we took time to catch up on homework
9. homework:read Ch. 10 & Epilogue of Rethinking Education (pp. 147-159); post a reflection to your reflective learning blog:

o    How does this reading impact your thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning?

o    What will you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?

2.       A contract only: submit revised IWB lesson to dropbox on D2L

3.       A contract only: continue revising your iRLO based on peer feedback (final version is due in 3 weeks)

4.       continue developing your technology inquiry wiki page; annotated bibliography may change (additions, deletions, revisions); begin identifying 3-5 "best practices" synthesized from your formal and informal sources (WORK IN PROGRESS: due 7:00 PM on 12/20/10)

5.       add helpful resources to your delicious account