Sunday, October 31, 2010

Journal #4 Computing in the Clouds

Journal #4 Computing in the Clouds

Johnson, Doug. (2009). Computing in the clouds. Learning and leading with technology, 37(December/January 09/10), Retrieved from http://iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Computing_in_the_Clouds.aspx

Nets-T #3
Nets-T #5

The author Doug uses his article, “Computing in the Clouds” to present a whole new way of learning inside and outside the classroom. He examines and presents the idea of requiring students to purchase a low cost netbook for about $250 and compose, save and interact via “the cloud”. This means that instead of using applications, students can use google docs, flickr, delicious and be able to access and work on any project…anywhere, no matter what computer. The three things that each student would need are netbook, web browser, ant-virus, and spyware. According to Doug, these would be the only necessary accessories for each student to be efficient in their studies.

Question#1: In addition to the students’ necessary accessories, what would each teacher require?
Answer#1: It would be necessary that each educator have training on how to use this type of learning inside the classroom. It is also important that the teachers are proficient in using all computer technology!

Question#2: How could students use their netbooks at home?
Answer#2: Teachers could assign homework from online websites, in addition to technology-based projects.

Journal #3 Bring the World into Your Classroom! / Nets-T 1 & 2

Journal #3 Bring the World into Your Classroom

McDermon, Linda. (n.d.). Bring the world into your classroom. Learning and leading with technology, Volume 38 No. 2 (September/October), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100910//Pring_submit.action

NETS-1 and 2


Bringing video-conferencing into our classrooms allows for world experience at a cost efficient price. The idea of having the students create a play or “lesson” and then present it to a class across and around the world is an experience, in my opinion, that a student wouldn’t forget. I also liked the idea of showing a museum in the classroom via video because it takes away less classroom time by not driving to a location. The four main points addressed to incorporate web-video learning are find, evaluate, collaborate, and present. I think that the author was making a point that an educator cannot just use this type of teaching without being efficient and observant of its benefits.

Question#1: Will all students benefit from this type of learning?
Answer#1: No, I personally do not think that all students would benefit academically because every individual learns differently. But I do think that regardless of academics, it would be a life experience that is important for a student to have inside the classroom.

Question#2: How much video-conferencing/learning would take place inside the classroom?
Answer#2: It is important to have a balance in everything you do, therefore, it is important to not over or under use technology inside the classroom. The main idea of this article was to present a piece of technology in a way that can be used for several schools and classrooms across the country!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Journal #2 Join the Flock! & Enhance Your Twitter Experience/ Nets-T 3 & 5

Miller McClintock, Shannon. (2010). Enhance you twitter experience. Learning and leading with technology, 37(June/July), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=June_July_No_8_2&Template=/Members

Ferguson, Hadley. (2010). Join the flock!. Learning and leading with technology,37(June/July),Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues?Volumes37200920

Journal #2 “Join the Flock!” and “Enhance Your Twitter Experience”

NETS-3
NETS-5

“Join the Flock” and “Enhance Your Twitter Experience” brought on great ideas and encouragement for using Twitter and incorporating it into our everyday life experience. The idea of teachers creating a PLN, or Professional Learning Network is very wise because there is so much information in the world that our every day, person to person interaction cannot fulfill. Ferguson described Twitter as a location where people, specifically teachers can create a community and learn together. The idea of “lurking” without tweeting made creating a PLN much less scary because it doesn’t hurt to just observe, right?

McClintock was more specific in her article by describing and communicating the benefits of having a twitter. She presented the idea of a Tweetdeck, which I then downloaded, and found how efficient it was in maintaining my Myspace, Facebook and Twitter all on one page. She also provided a Twitter terminology chart to help those who are Twitter illiterate. My favorite part about reading this article was the encouragement she gave in saying that it’s not easy at first, but with the help of resources and the goal of being strategic, maintaining a PLN is important and effective for classroom teachers.

Question#1: Are there any negative things incorporated with having a Twitter?

Answer#1: The only two drawbacks I see are 1) time. This process takes time and effort to make it efficient enough to use. 2) Who you are on Twitter, represents what people will think about you. It is important to maintain a professional atmosphere on Twitter or any personal network.

Question#2: Is it reasonable to say that Twitter will become “big” in the education world in years to come?

Answer#2: I think that Twitter is a big competitor, and if teachers and staff of a school learn how to use it well then it may become a large part of education. As of right now though, I do think there is still a negative stigma with social networks.

Journal #1 Taking Laptops Schoolwide/ Nets-T 5

Green, T, Donovan, L, & Bass, K. (2010). Taking laptops schoolwide: a professional learning community approach. Learning and leading with technology, 38(1), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading

ED 422 Journal #1 “Taking Laptops Schoolwide” evaluated by Brittani MacKenzie

NETS-5

“Taking Laptops School Wide” encourages integration within multiple grade levels. To incorporate laptops in the classroom, the author presents several guidelines teachers and staff must think about and execute in order to be successful. I liked the idea by Richard Du Four, who created the Professional Learning Community where teachers look at their jobs as learning rather than teaching. An interesting idea of using websites as books and learning tools for homework is a design I would love to incorporate in my classroom!

There were four main areas of concentration the author presented to make sure teachers who incorporate laptops are doing it well and efficiently. First, school climate must encourage integration; this means that the administration, parents and community are all on board with laptops and technology style learning. Second, communication was brought up which seems so conventional, but the way they proposed teachers communicate with students and parents was with a webpage for the class, how cool. The third and fourth areas presented were collaboration and progress, it is important to have formal participation with teachers, and it is also valuable to create a structure for the use of laptops.

Question#1: How will laptops be funded for the classrooms?

Answer#1: Since technology is becoming a big part of our education and society today, there are fees able netbooks available. Think about the amount of money we spend on students having 6 plus books, we could possibly save money, paper, and time by providing our students with 1 piece of technology that has all necessary material for their grade level.

Question#2: Will all teaching and learning outside of technology be completely excluded? If not, at what level is it incorporated?

Answer#2: No, there are still several different things to learn in school and life that don’t involve computers or technology. For example, cursive, a talked about subject that many schools are starting to take out of the curriculum. In my opinion, cursive is very important to still be taught in the classroom, not only does it teach a student precision, and patience, it is also necessary for everyday life, ie. Writing bank checks.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Presentation Prezi Assessment/ Nets-T 2

Using google forums I created a survey for my fellow classmates to take in response to my Prezi presentation.


Prezi-Presentations/ Nets-T 1

Using Prezi I created a presentation that demonstrated my knowledge of Nets-for Students and performance indicators for first grade. For each standard I created and thought up a lesson plan that could be used to integrate the specific standards inside the classroom. My presentation was also visually appealing with hyperlinks and graphics.