Updated Technology Autobiography

My experiences with technology have been great in number, and have increased as time has gone by. I began using a computer in elementary school for typing, and I remember also playing games like “Number Crunchers” and “Oregon Trail”. These were the old Apple computers and I was never too inspired by them, but the gaming aspect held my interest as a young child. It wasn’t until the summer before my freshman year in High School that I began using the World Wide Web to surf the Internet, to access an email account, and to have social interaction with others via instant messaging and chat rooms. I set up my own account on AOL and began emailing friends, family and even people I didn't really know through chat connections.

This use of the Internet opened up a whole new realm for me. I was exposed to it through my uncle in California; he is a film editor and had been using it for years. I signed on to AOL through his account and computer, and had my own hooked up with a few months at home, using dial-up. I loved being able to research online, communicating with family and friends with e-mail, and chatting with people I didn’t really know for fun. I felt connected because of it, and I learned to type faster as well. I used the computer to create projects, got into using clip art and altering photographs, and also for writing in a journal, to which no one else had access. So, there is no wonder I like using weblogs so much; I had created my own offline without even knowing it.
Currently, I use technology in as many ways as I can comfortably, in order to make my life easier, and in some cases even to earn extra money. I take online surveys for extra cash, sell things on Amazon.com, and even publish my writing for a few cents per view. I am connected with the world, and I think that bringing this into the classroom is essential if I hope to reach my students in a way that gets them ready for the real world. I think it is essential that teachers are trained to use new technologies, and given the resources to implement the use of them in the classroom. I know that it changes the way education is brought to children in schools, but it is a positive change overall that should be embraced…it isn’t going anywhere!

My favorite idea about the use of technology that I learned in this class has been that technology is changing the way educators bring information to their students and it encourages collaboration among students, teachers, administrators, parents/family and staff. This is entirely true, things are definitely changing in the school systems, and it is exciting that I am coming into the profession when technology is quickly becoming a part of everyday life for most people. I feel confident that I will be able to incorporate technology in many ways, in large part due to the education I have received at U of L, and I can't wait to open up the doors to the many possibilities to my future students. Who knows what they can do!

Secondly, chapter 9 of the text suggests that one of the major shifts in education currently is from lecture-style teaching to conversational teaching, thus a much more student-centered approach. Thank goodness for this! I think we have finally realized that if we do not focus on the needs of our students we can't possibly help them succeed. Further, students can help us be better teachers if we just listen to them. What a novel idea!

My main issue with the use of technology remains that it presents many dangers to students and can be detrimental to the overall academic success of children if it isn’t used professionally and effectively. What I mean to say is that students can become so dependent upon using the computer for writing and for researching that they no longer have the skills to head to the old-fashioned library when they need a concrete source for a project. Or, if the computer isn’t functioning correctly, the excuses for late work pour in by the bucket loads. I see that teachers must convey to students the rules and regulations for using technology, and make clear their expectations for projects/assignments, but that they must also give students the tools they need to use other avenues in the event that the computer and internet are not available.

The secondary issue I forsee with the increased use of technology is limited availability. From my own student teaching experience I can say that my biggest frustration has been that we only have one Mac Lab at my school that can be reserved for student use, and it is most often taken up by teachers working on portfolios or on-demand/CATS prep programs. I have resolved to get in there over the summer when I figure out just where I will be teaching next year and make some reservations right away so that I can begin visiting the lab about once per week. Also, I am very interested in taking the grant writing course that U of L offers in order to try and secure more computers for my school, wherever that may be.

In closing, I must say that Teaching with Technology has been such a positive experience for me and my students because I took everything I learned into the classroom. They couldn't wait to see what I would bring in each week to show them! I have encouraged other teachers I know who are working on their RankI to take the course, and I have begun to plant the seeds among the older teachers as well. I hope it spreads like wildfire.

Chapter 9

I was so glad that this chapter was included in the book because I am always looking for practical applications to conceptual information. My favorite idea is that the most important implication for technology in the classrooms of the future is a greater emphasis on collaboration among students and teachers. I love that we have worked together in small groups and individually in our class this semester as a model for using the technologies with our students. By doing these projects ourselves, we will be more apt to see practical, everyday applications for the tools in our classrooms.

Further, my favorite “Big Shift” is hands down #4: “Teaching is Conversation, Not Lecture”. What a novel idea! It is amazing that it has taken so long for the field of education to evolve in this way, but I truly do agree that technology will push the field into this mode in the near future, even more so than it already has. For example, more and more teachers are coming out of graduate school with a student-centered approach to teaching, and are ready to use technology to better reach those students. These new teachers are most often very outgoing and willing to draw in their colleagues, asking them to come on board for new uses of technology. The result is a widespread change from the old, boring, non-engaging lecture style teaching that our poor parents and grandparents had to suffer through. Yea!

WebQuest Memo

Mr. Castillo,

Recently, I have had the pleasure of experiencing an emergent techonology called WebQuest, and I feel strongly that you should be aware of its implications in the classroom. Further, with your permission, I would like to present this new technology at the next faculty meeting because it can take our students to the highest levels of thinking and better prepare them for standardized testing.

To begin, I will give you a brief synopsis of the concept of a WebQuest, and direct you to an example that could be used in the classroom here at FCTHS. A WebQuest is an online adventure for students that is safe, engaging, student-centered, challenging, and which allows teachers to incorporate KY Core Content and Program of Studies into their lesson plans quite easily. This is essentially a tool for researching that prompts students to analyze data, create a plan for completing a research project, and synthesize all their findings for the final task. The teacher creates a scenario online to guide the students to very specific, safe websites that will allow them to complete the research, and the students then take over in small groups or individually with the project. Just to give you a chance to see what this means, please check this link: http://questgarden.com/46/54/6/070210123705/t-index.htm. This particular WebQuest is based on 11th Grade Social Studies, which Mr. Haire would be thrilled to see!

I hope this memo has at least introduced you properly to the idea of a WebQuest, and communicated my advocation of its use in the classroom at our school. It can be such a great tool, and anytime we can encourage students to reach new heights academically, we should certainly do it! I would like to take this suggestion a step further, however, and say that we could teach faculty members to use the tool at the next faculty meeting or even create a PD session centered around it. I would be more than willing to help.

Let me know what you think!

Kristie

Chapter 6: Social Web

As I read this chapter, I was reminded of the first time I logged on to AOL and went to a chat room. I was about 14-years-old and had never before used instant messenger. The feeling it gave me was awesome; I felt so connected to the rest of the world, and felt as if I could make friends in a safe, controlled way without having to worry about anyone judging me on my looks, my social status, or my ability to mingle with others my age. I loved the way I could just reinvent myself if I wanted. I know that many other millions of people have felt that same way, and continue to use the Internet to connect themselves to like-minded people across the globe. It is utterly amazing that we can communicate with another student in China that may be in a totally different situation, but may have endless amounts of information and experience to share with us.

The chapter talks about social bookmarking as a way for educators to simplify their lives, and I whole-heartedly agree with the idea. With endless possibilities in our lives at all times, any way to simplify is welcome in my book. Within a single school, I can see where social bookmarking would be an awesome way to share links with colleagues for educational resources, community activities, extra-curricular activities and even planning/problem solving ideas. This would help teachers, in addition to websites, blogs, podcasts, etc., get on the same page and share their individual knowledge and experiences with other teachers. Wow.

The quote that seems to set the stage for the entire idea comes at the end of the chapter, as usual: “But regardless of how you do it, the idea that we can now use social networks to tap into the work of others to support our own learning is an important concept to understand. It’s another example of how collective contributions created by the Read/Write Web are changing the way we work and learn” (100).

Chapter 8: Podcasting

Having already had some experience with podcasting, although very little, I was excited to work on the small group project in class Monday with the tool. It was so fun, even as teachers, to collaborate in such a way that forced us to be concise, utilize time management skills, and also to use creativity to solve a problem, which for us was finding a way to meld all five of our content areas into one short presentation. I can see that this is a great way for students to learn social/communication skills, to use technology in a non-threatening, fun way, and to help teachers stay on top of things even more than they have been able to in the past.

A couple of ideas I had and heard from others in class were:

1. Use podcasting as a way to record the conversations in small groups, such as literature circles, writing workshops, book clubs, etc. so that you as teacher can keep tabs on the quality of conversation, the participation of group members and make decisions based upon the recordings on how to improve the activities. These conversations can then be edited and used for podcasts that can be published on the Internet, perhaps even a class website, for parents, students, and the world at large to use and enjoy.

2. Use podcasting as a way to make book trailers for the books you might want to assign, or if giving the students a choice, these trailers can be used to give the students a preview from which to make a decision. This would be an easy, fun way for students to take their knowledge of a book they have read and pass it along to other students. They could make a radio show with the book trailers, or simply record the main highlights according to their own experiences. You could use this for assessment as well, and also encourage the students in the art of giving concise information. In the all-too-important world of testing, students now need to be ready to give short, complete answers on On-demand writing tasks and standardized tests. This can only help them prepare.

3. Use podcasting as a way to tackle the ever-increasing problem with make-up work in the classroom by asking students to record themselves reading class notes, and/or giving an overview of the day’s activities. I took this idea even further by thinking that perhaps I could require that each student in the class do the recording 2 times in a 6 week period, to make sure that all class meetings are covered. This would mean that students who are in class can each get a try at using the tool, and those who miss class would be able to catch up on the things they missed, without too much extra time spent on my part. This has to be the best idea yet!! I could even record my own voice during the mini-lessons I may give, transfer it onto our class website as a podcast, and say to the absentees, “here is what we did, listen to it and take notes in you free period or after school.” Awesome.

As far as the chapter in the book goes, I love it that there are several free and accessible options for using podcasting in the classroom. This is a tool that I think can be used in every school by every child, and that makes it very unique in the world of technological applications. So many times we complain about not being able to bring these wonderful technologies to our students due to lack of funding, resources or support, but there is simply no excuse with this one. If I wanted to use Idea #3 above, for example, I already own an MP3 player with recording capabilities that could be used with my own laptop to put this together. And, soooooo many kids have IPods that could be used as well. This can really work, and I am so happy to hear all about it.

Wikis

Chapter 8: WIKIs

I was utterly fascinated by this chapter because the idea is one of the only that we are working on this semester with which I am unfamiliar. Of course, wikipedia is no stranger; I use it constantly myself and with my tutoring students at U of L. However, I never knew or even thought about the implications of a wiki in the classroom. I think it seemed like something kids couldn’t do before I read this chapter. Now, I see all the wonderfully exciting possibilities.

A few sections of the text jumped out at me, so I will just give a few examples:
1. “Giving students editorial control can imbue in them a sense of responsibility and ownership for the site and minimize the risk of someone adding something offensive” (65).

Anytime we can promote a greater sense of responsibility in our students, it is a positive thing. So many of them have no sense of responsibility, no accountability, and no sense of purpose in general, this can be such a great help. In my experience, if you give the students responsibility for their own learning and the success of a large project, many of them will rise to the occasion in a big way. Also, this is a way to teach morals and ethics without getting tricky, or stepping on anyone’s toes in a religious way. I love it!

2. “On his own blog, Paul says, “To write in a wiki is to compose within a living organism”. As students approach the wiki with writing ideas in mind, they first search to see if content about that topic has already been posted. So they need to read critically first, if they are to find the areas where information is missing or disorganized” (67).

The idea that using this and other kinds of technology requires students to “read critically” is a new idea to me, and is great for gaining support from administrators/faculty. If those of us who believe in the use of these technologies can present the benefits, which are numerous, and minimize the possible negatives, we can finally bring our students and our schools into the 21st century. I had honestly never thought about the fact that students must read critically in order to use a wiki effectively before reading this, and it makes perfect sense.

3. “The collaborative environment that wikis facilitate can teach students much about how to work with others, how to create community, and how to operate in a world where the creation of knowledge and information is more and more becoming a group effort” (74).

I am a big believer in creating a safe, hard-working, organized community within the classroom, so this idea really hit home. In order to be the best we can be as teachers, we have to not only teach students core content and POS, but we have to get them ready to live in a technologically advanced world as well if we want to set them up for success. This sense of community online is spreading like wildfire, especially through social sites like MySpace or Facebook, and tapping into that for educational purposes is a brilliant, and necessary idea to reach students.

New Idea

I have decided to change my digital story idea; now I am going to make a movie about all the "hats" I wear in my life that make me who I am. I still want to make the digital story for my students and cooperating teacher, I just realized that it will take a very long time to do that, and I don't have all the pictures I need. I don't have a digital camera of my own, so I will need to borrow one in order to complete that endeavor.
So my new digital story will be just as cool, although not nearly as emotional. I could use this with my students, to show them who I am outside of a teacher, minus one picture that shows my friends and I at a party, just as Karen suggested with her story. It also allows me to save these pictures in a digital format for later in life...kind of like a scrapbook. I can see how easily this would be a great way for kids to do the same thing; they could even create an autobiography with this project. Hey: I think I just got a great beginning-of-the-year project for my kids!!