A little background… My school is one of two buildings for our charter. I work in the K-5 building housing 900 kids and there is a 6-9 building housing 400 kids next door. This urban school has been around for eight years. It has an average of 60-80% turnover every year for teachers alone. As I read figure 14.1, Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model, I saw things that could be improved in every cell. Two of our biggest problems are; 1) matching between people & position, and 2) tools, resources, time, and materials designed to achieve performance needs. The lack of consequences (that are reinforced), incentives (made known to students), or rewards (that are actually given) from the Cause Analysis section of the ISPI’s HPT Model (figure 14.2) is the top concern. My students have rough, inconsistent home lives and bring a lot of baggage with them to school. Having an administration and staff that used some of the information in this chapter would work wonders to improve student behavior and teacher morale. I hope our management company will be receptive to the things that I’m learning and would like to present to them.
1. The site I chose is http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/humanities/cityzeum.php. It has a pull-down menu of 19 categories that each contain several podcasts. You can choose from humanities, English language and literature, math and science, history and geography, and modern and traditional languages to name a few. I chose to subscribe to the humanities city museum Paris podcasts. They have a lot of cultural information on Paris monuments, museums, squares and streets, gardens, statues, and more. It includes information on things to see there, things that are nearby, things to do, and/or which métro station to use. (The Paris métro system can be a little intimidating.) It also includes the address, admission prices, and phone number. The pronunciation is excellent. It is an UK listed site but, the accent of the speaker is midwestern U.S. It does not provide further information/links of the things being broadcast, the things there or the things nearby; however, everything is listed for easy searching on other sites. It would be useful to accompany a textbook, slideshow, posters or pictures. Some possible French lessons: directions, art, history, grammar (commands, past tense).
2. I think one area in particular that could be a great benefit is for K-12 educational programs to video/podcast lessons for students who are unable to physically attend classes, say due to illness, detentions or suspensions. My students don’t care about missing out on school. They don’t make the work up most of the time and have fun doing what they want instead of being “stuck” in classes. With a video/podcast lesson they wouldn’t miss out on anything. That would make teacher’s lives easier too with regard to all the makeup work.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
week 4 r/d 5
Our text cites work from Cuban (1986), regarding the recurrent pattern of expectations (high) and outcomes (low). I think that this time, with the Internet and World Wide Web, it is different. The ease, and low cost, of putting information online and updating it, makes it an attractive offer for schools, businesses, government and the military. The ease, flexibility, variety, and lower costs of online classes make them an attractive option for many people. Obviously, the Internet and its web applications are being used for an awesome impact regarding all of us. Taking classes solely online, let alone earning your master’s degree, is something most of us would not have thought of doing ten years ago. The number of applications today within the Internet and web offers a wide variety of options for learning/accessing information. Just think of all of our assignments applied appropriately for our students.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
week 4-- extra credit
The site I chose is http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/humanities/cityzeum.php. On the home page , it has a pull-down menu of 19 categories that each contain several podcasts. You can choose from humanities, English language and literature, math and science, history and geography, and modern and traditional languages to name a few. If you click above you can hear a lot of cultural information on Paris monuments, museums, squares and streets, gardens, statues, and more. It includes information on things to see there, things that are nearby, things to do, and/or which métro station to use. (The Paris métro system can be a little intimidating.) It also includes the address, admission prices, and phone number.
The pronunciation is excellent. It is an UK listed site but, the accent of the speaker is midwestern U.S.
It does not provide further information/links of the things being broadcast, the things there or the things nearby; however, everything is listed for easy searching on other sites. It would be useful to accompany a textbook, slideshow, posters or pictures.
The pronunciation is excellent. It is an UK listed site but, the accent of the speaker is midwestern U.S.
It does not provide further information/links of the things being broadcast, the things there or the things nearby; however, everything is listed for easy searching on other sites. It would be useful to accompany a textbook, slideshow, posters or pictures.
week 4 static images
The World Famous Toledo Mudhens Game on May 24, 2008.
They won 2-1 against the Louisville Bats in the bottom of the 9th.
They won 2-1 against the Louisville Bats in the bottom of the 9th.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
week 3 R/D4 -- photo sharing
(R/D4):
3) How might you incorporate photo sharing into a educational activity or unit? What might be some concerns you would have about allowing students play with these services? What might be a great benefit of such services?
I could use photo sharing for a number of units: family, my likes/dislikes, places that speak French (geography, tourist, citizens), foods, types of stores/buildings, clothes, furniture, modes of transportation, sharing with an e-pal, etc. Students could create a PowerPoint presentation, a book, a dictionary, a display. I think it would be a great tool for a group project. The numerous pictures available could be overwhelming for an individual project, depending on the time frame. Again, the filtering/policing thing is an issue for me. Authentic photos are so much better than the contrived ones in a text… no matter how good/up-to-date the text. A good picture is worth a thousand words.
4) In reading Chapter 2, what similarities and what differences did you identify between the process the authors describe and the processes you have used to develop educational lesson plans? If you have not developed educational lesson plans, were there aspects of the process described in this chapter that you found particularly surprising, useful or unnecessary?
Every week my school has us complete a standardized lesson plan form. It has us include: benchmarks (analysis), materials to be used (design & development), students’ prior knowledge (analysis), new vocabulary, objectives (analysis & design), direct instruction procedures (implementation), monitoring/adjustments to lessons (evaluation), assessment & evaluation (evaluation), extensions of the lessons, and levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy covered. Every other week we are required to do, and turn in to our administrators, curriculum reflections (summative evaluation)— what worked well, what didn’t, what we think we should do differently next time. I am the only French teacher in my building. The only teamwork I get is when I ask the Spanish teacher what she did/used when she taught ‘X’. Hopefully the material is easy to change (vocabulary) so that I can use it.
3) How might you incorporate photo sharing into a educational activity or unit? What might be some concerns you would have about allowing students play with these services? What might be a great benefit of such services?
I could use photo sharing for a number of units: family, my likes/dislikes, places that speak French (geography, tourist, citizens), foods, types of stores/buildings, clothes, furniture, modes of transportation, sharing with an e-pal, etc. Students could create a PowerPoint presentation, a book, a dictionary, a display. I think it would be a great tool for a group project. The numerous pictures available could be overwhelming for an individual project, depending on the time frame. Again, the filtering/policing thing is an issue for me. Authentic photos are so much better than the contrived ones in a text… no matter how good/up-to-date the text. A good picture is worth a thousand words.
4) In reading Chapter 2, what similarities and what differences did you identify between the process the authors describe and the processes you have used to develop educational lesson plans? If you have not developed educational lesson plans, were there aspects of the process described in this chapter that you found particularly surprising, useful or unnecessary?
Every week my school has us complete a standardized lesson plan form. It has us include: benchmarks (analysis), materials to be used (design & development), students’ prior knowledge (analysis), new vocabulary, objectives (analysis & design), direct instruction procedures (implementation), monitoring/adjustments to lessons (evaluation), assessment & evaluation (evaluation), extensions of the lessons, and levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy covered. Every other week we are required to do, and turn in to our administrators, curriculum reflections (summative evaluation)— what worked well, what didn’t, what we think we should do differently next time. I am the only French teacher in my building. The only teamwork I get is when I ask the Spanish teacher what she did/used when she taught ‘X’. Hopefully the material is easy to change (vocabulary) so that I can use it.
week 3 R/D3-- social bookmarking
(R/D3):
1) What value (if any) do you think social bookmarking might hold for teachers and/or students? You may think about students sharing with each other, teachers sharing with their students, teachers sharing with other teachers, administrators sharing with teachers, sharing with parents, or any other scenario(s) you can imagine.
Bookmarking would have to have some sort of filter set up so that kids, or teachers, aren’t sharing inappropriate things. How would you police that? Kids are pretty smart/sneaky. Teachers sharing with students and parents is a great way to get kids to find out about some of the cool stuff that geeks us that we don’t have the time to discuss in class. Don’t we all want to excite our kids about our particular subject? I think with the proper controls bookmarking could work for all the above scenarios. What happens when parents and kids starting sharing with us???
2) Back to the Trends & Issues reading, to what degree do the definitions in this chapter correspond with what you have thought about this area and what it is you hope to do in your line of work (or in a future career)? Does is there anything surprising or very new you read in this chapter? Does something seem to be missing?
I chose this program to help ensure a job. Spanish is much more popular than French & German combined. I’m tired of going to school and not being able to use my degree(s). I think my idea of educational technology was more like the older view 1970 version, implementation of hard- and software to help with instruction. As the definitions show, IDT is constantly changing. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing when I finally finish my degree. Just about everything I read was new to me. The thing that surprised me was how much the authors talked about how psychology is related. Psych wasn’t one of my better subjects. I’m not sure if there is anything missing. I bet I could answer that better at the end of June.
1) What value (if any) do you think social bookmarking might hold for teachers and/or students? You may think about students sharing with each other, teachers sharing with their students, teachers sharing with other teachers, administrators sharing with teachers, sharing with parents, or any other scenario(s) you can imagine.
Bookmarking would have to have some sort of filter set up so that kids, or teachers, aren’t sharing inappropriate things. How would you police that? Kids are pretty smart/sneaky. Teachers sharing with students and parents is a great way to get kids to find out about some of the cool stuff that geeks us that we don’t have the time to discuss in class. Don’t we all want to excite our kids about our particular subject? I think with the proper controls bookmarking could work for all the above scenarios. What happens when parents and kids starting sharing with us???
2) Back to the Trends & Issues reading, to what degree do the definitions in this chapter correspond with what you have thought about this area and what it is you hope to do in your line of work (or in a future career)? Does is there anything surprising or very new you read in this chapter? Does something seem to be missing?
I chose this program to help ensure a job. Spanish is much more popular than French & German combined. I’m tired of going to school and not being able to use my degree(s). I think my idea of educational technology was more like the older view 1970 version, implementation of hard- and software to help with instruction. As the definitions show, IDT is constantly changing. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing when I finally finish my degree. Just about everything I read was new to me. The thing that surprised me was how much the authors talked about how psychology is related. Psych wasn’t one of my better subjects. I’m not sure if there is anything missing. I bet I could answer that better at the end of June.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Week 2 Reading Reflection
What are your early impressions of using a blog and what was your experience using an RSS Reader this week? Any surprises, pleasant or otherwise?
Well, this is my first time for using both a blog and a RSS Reader. Setting up my blog was fairly simple. The hardest part was actually posting it. After I read the table of contents for week 2 on the left side I felt relief… so that’s how you post it. I actually did the whole thing by myself. :-) I consider this a good start for a non-techie. The RSS Reader wasn’t hard to set up, once I found sites that had the RSS feed symbol. Most of the sites I went to were sites where the information isn’t updated very often. The one thing that I was surprised about was how fast everything started being added to my selected reader sites. I’ve found it difficult to read everything. I ended up scanning a lot and reading a little. I’m not really sure how to use it with students, yet. I’m sure that will come as this class progresses.
Well, this is my first time for using both a blog and a RSS Reader. Setting up my blog was fairly simple. The hardest part was actually posting it. After I read the table of contents for week 2 on the left side I felt relief… so that’s how you post it. I actually did the whole thing by myself. :-) I consider this a good start for a non-techie. The RSS Reader wasn’t hard to set up, once I found sites that had the RSS feed symbol. Most of the sites I went to were sites where the information isn’t updated very often. The one thing that I was surprised about was how fast everything started being added to my selected reader sites. I’ve found it difficult to read everything. I ended up scanning a lot and reading a little. I’m not really sure how to use it with students, yet. I’m sure that will come as this class progresses.
Which part(s) of Dale's Cone do you think each tool (Blog, RSS) lends itself best to and why?
I think demonstrations, recordings/radio/still pictures, visual symbols and verbal symbols fit blogs well. A blog creator, and/or contributor, can add video, pictures, etc. to show how to make a crêpe. Visitors to the blog can then post questions/comments/recipes, etc. Recordings/radio/still pictures are easy (I assume) to add to a blog and can connect “pen pals” from different schools fairly easily. Blogs are full of verbal and visual symbols for even the most elementary users to enjoy.
RSS works with visual and verbal symbols as they are primarily news/information updates. Still pictures are also included in this. Students can read the latest news from Paris on a variety of topics, then dissect it through links, definitions (maybe a class wikipedia), grammar Q&A, etc.
Considering Siegel’s concept of "computer imagination", what do you think would be at least one "imaginative" educational use of each tool (blog, RSS) that takes advantage of each tool’s inherent strengths? That is, what do you think you and/or your students could use these tools for that they might not be able to do with other more simple or low-tech tools? Or, as Postman might ask, what is a problem to which each of these tools is an answer?
Blogs could be used to expose students to real language. Not the kind they read in texts or see in educational language videos but, rather real, as native people actually use it, every-day language. Students could be assigned a reading (Blog X) in which they then could add questions, definitions, links, etc. to a class blog to help each other understand what they’ve been reading on Blog X. Students could also be assigned a writing assignment on French Class Blog Y to contribute comments, in either the target language or native language, regarding the latest chapter of “The Little Prince”. Students could have various assignments; links to define terms, add clip art to help define terms, explain certain grammatical structures, etc. For students who don’t have Internet access at home, many schools have Internet available for individual and class work. Readers could also be used to expose students to written, published language. They could add comments or summaries of certain articles, defining terms, creating links, or explaining grammar on their own, or class, blog afterward.
The problem is that language textbooks quickly become outdated, teachers don’t always know the latest “X”, paper copies of foreign newspapers and/or magazines are cost prohibitive for many people, especially a whole class. Having students subscribe to newspaper RSS’s (Le Figaro or Le Monde) allows them to find out about a wide range of up-to-date topics. Blogs allow teachers to assess all students, not just the ones who repeatedly raise their hands in class to volunteer comments or answers.
Of course I couldn’t use any of this where I currently teach. No computers with Internet access for students, many students without Internet access at home, younger students who don’t know enough of French to navigate Readers yet.
I think this is appropriate for this paper about Dale’s Cone— “Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I'll remember. Involve me and I'll understand”.—Confucius. This class is an ‘involve me’ experience, over and over and over.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Week 1 Reading Reflection
I’m torn about Postman’s statement that new technologies don’t increase people’s options but rather decrease them. The examples stated do prove that but, without all the information that is available through these new technologies you wouldn’t have as many choices in deciding what to get your masters degree in, where to go on vacation, what books are similar to the last one you loved. I’d love to sail across the Atlantic but, how many people have the time and/or money to do so? A flight is so much more convenient for most people. I never would have been able to choose, much less find out about, the Educational Technology online masters program at WMU without the Internet.
If I wasn’t teaching at my urban public charter school I’m not sure that I’d agree as much as I do with Postman’s statement that “school is to teach children how to behave in groups”. Every day I am refereeing between fourth and fifth graders who are ready to punch someone who said something about their mama. Their parents tell them that if someone says something about them, or their family, that they have to defend themselves. I ask them, “Is it true? Do they know your mama? Brother? Sister?” It doesn’t matter. They have been in school for four or five years yet they still don’t know how to behave in a group setting that requires them to think for themselves or get along with others. Most of them have not heard the narratives that we heard growing up. If they have, they surely don’t believe them. Why should they? They don’t have proof that there is a way out or up from where they are.
I would love to have students on a standards-based, criterion-referenced teaching model. I think it would be difficult at first, for both teacher and students, to adjust. Having relevant technologies available would be key to make it work. Not every device would work for every subject or class. I agree with Joseph that teachers should not rely solely on technology to become more standards-based. I already use peer-assisted and collaborative learning as much as I can. I attempt mastery learning.
A friend of mine taught German via live video feed to students who lived in a small town. The district couldn’t afford to have a German teacher for a handful of students but, they were able to share in the cost of receiving video lessons (along with a few other districts) to provide those students with the opportunity to learn what they wanted. To make it cost effective, this district also used the live video feed for other subjects too. It only lasted one year, most students were bored or didn’t do well, nothing against my friend but, there weren’t any additional technologies or assistance available to the students.
If I wasn’t teaching at my urban public charter school I’m not sure that I’d agree as much as I do with Postman’s statement that “school is to teach children how to behave in groups”. Every day I am refereeing between fourth and fifth graders who are ready to punch someone who said something about their mama. Their parents tell them that if someone says something about them, or their family, that they have to defend themselves. I ask them, “Is it true? Do they know your mama? Brother? Sister?” It doesn’t matter. They have been in school for four or five years yet they still don’t know how to behave in a group setting that requires them to think for themselves or get along with others. Most of them have not heard the narratives that we heard growing up. If they have, they surely don’t believe them. Why should they? They don’t have proof that there is a way out or up from where they are.
I would love to have students on a standards-based, criterion-referenced teaching model. I think it would be difficult at first, for both teacher and students, to adjust. Having relevant technologies available would be key to make it work. Not every device would work for every subject or class. I agree with Joseph that teachers should not rely solely on technology to become more standards-based. I already use peer-assisted and collaborative learning as much as I can. I attempt mastery learning.
A friend of mine taught German via live video feed to students who lived in a small town. The district couldn’t afford to have a German teacher for a handful of students but, they were able to share in the cost of receiving video lessons (along with a few other districts) to provide those students with the opportunity to learn what they wanted. To make it cost effective, this district also used the live video feed for other subjects too. It only lasted one year, most students were bored or didn’t do well, nothing against my friend but, there weren’t any additional technologies or assistance available to the students.
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