I played around with Google Documents (Docs), Google Presentations, Zoho Writer, and Picnik Photo Editing.
Google Documents
I really liked how Google Docs was so similar to MS Word… not too much new stuff to have to learn. The option to have others collaborate, read only or read and write, is great for group projects.
The 30-second-auto-save feature is a both a benefit and a drawback. Thirty seconds is way too quick if you are creating something on your own. If you make a mistake it is saved. Sometimes you don’t know what you did, so how do you un-do it? Thirty seconds is great if you are collaborating. That is almost real-time editing possibilities.
The idea of accessing my documents anywhere without having to have a flash drive/disc is quite handy. I ran into the problem (at school) of Google actually running slow though. Too many people using its services at once? That could be a problem if there is a deadline to be met. It does not auto correct misspelled words as it does in Microsoft Word.
I love the colors in text boxes and its borders. Editing text boxes seems easier (done faster), has more options.
"Comments" are a great idea for collaborative ‘are you sure?’ work or notes to self. Having the options to make different colored comment boxes for different people, saying who wrote the comment and when, and adding a comment to the actual text without having to re-write it are great ideas.
Inserting special characters; i.e., letters from another language (è or ç), is much easier to do with Google. The MS Word special character insert box is smaller. You have to scroll down through it, making it harder to find what you are looking for.
Google Presentations
Google Presentations is also very similar to MS PowerPoint. I thought Google’s version was a little easier to use. The 30-second-auto-save feature is also on Presentations.
I liked the text formatting auto delete button.
It is easy to insert images and video. You can even drag pictures from a different site into your presentation.
Formatting of text boxes is also easy, with border color options and background color options available.
Adding YouTube videos was also very easy.
Zoho Writer
The tool bar options are more plentiful (easily accessible?) in Zoho vs. Google.
Zoho Writer is not as similar to MS Word as Google Docs is.
Inserting special characters (é and à) for example, is very easy with a button on the tool bar.
Smileys are a cool option.
Zoho Writer comments are hidden with a symbol vs. Google Docs comments showing what, who, when, and color options.
Picnik Photo Editing
Playing with Picnik’s features was fun and easy. Students could have a great time learning how to make their own class scrap books.
It has simple to follow button options. Edit allows you to choose from: crop, resize, red-eye, colors, sharpen, and exposure. You can even get rid of blemishes! If only real life were so easy!
The create button was my favorite. Under ‘effects’ you can change the picture a number of ways. My picks are: snow, goo-ify, doodle, pencil sketch, focal zoom, focal soften, 1960’s, black & white, and sepia. If you do something you don’t like all you have to do is hit the cancel button and it goes back to the last version you have saved.
Picnik allows you to send your pictures/creations to several different photo sharing/editing sites, e-mail them, print them, or save them to your computer.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Week 7 R/D 13
What most made you say, or think, “that’s so neat?” Why? [from chapter 31] What was your favorite activity of the semester and why?
Advanced performance tracking sounds pretty cool. I know plenty of people who would love to get their golf and/or tennis swing analyzed. The use of the microhydraulic capability glove that makes smaller and smaller corrections as you improve is a great supplement to the performance tracker. I wonder if you could save the analysis and improved results on a disc that you could play over and over at home? Of course, if it really works then you wouldn’t need to watch it over and over. On the down side, I got a little scared about all the super-hyped parents who would use it to create the next Tiger Woods out of their two-year-old. For a world language teacher, how cool would it be to have a student use it to learn the correct pronunciation of certain L2 words? The better the student’s pronunciation the less the microhydraulic capability glove would have to work! A great tool for world language teachers who don’t ever seem to have enough time to check on individual speech!
I love the idea of Dr. Warwick’s implant for those people who are disabled. What a great idea to help them lead a more normal, independent life! As for educational purposes, I’m not quite sure how they could be used except for maybe as a pocket-translator that would be automatically accessed when needed. Hmm… that could possibly put me out of a job.
Applying artificial intelligence’s I-PUSH learning environments would be a cool application for second language learning. Setting up different tutorial scenarios for students to work on at different times, or multiple times, would allow teachers to have more time for hands-on help with others who need it. If the I-PUSH tutorials had voice/pronunciation recognition, students’ verbal abilities could increase dramatically. Being able to provide one-on-one, or three-on-one, verbal help is one of the most difficult things to manage in a time-constrained classroom. Adding simulations on top of this would be phenomenal! Imagine a student negotiating the virtual Paris Métro system. They would have to use correct vocabulary (taught beforehand by the teacher), correct pronunciation, correct grammar to negotiate the subway system and reach the correct destination. Any mishaps would also provide a learning experience. Students would learn (hopefully) from these mistakes and not repeat them the next time they utilize the simulation I-PUSH tutorial. They could repeat it as many times as necessary to learn what they are supposed to. This would be WAY better than the contrived “conversations” that students have to do now.
My favorite EDT 5410 activity was the creation of my own website. I’m so proud of the fact that I did it all by myself with only a couple of minor problems. Currently, it seems to be the most useful thing. Adding pages, and information to my pages, is quick and easy to do. It is something that all students can access (even if through the public library’s computers) and use.
Advanced performance tracking sounds pretty cool. I know plenty of people who would love to get their golf and/or tennis swing analyzed. The use of the microhydraulic capability glove that makes smaller and smaller corrections as you improve is a great supplement to the performance tracker. I wonder if you could save the analysis and improved results on a disc that you could play over and over at home? Of course, if it really works then you wouldn’t need to watch it over and over. On the down side, I got a little scared about all the super-hyped parents who would use it to create the next Tiger Woods out of their two-year-old. For a world language teacher, how cool would it be to have a student use it to learn the correct pronunciation of certain L2 words? The better the student’s pronunciation the less the microhydraulic capability glove would have to work! A great tool for world language teachers who don’t ever seem to have enough time to check on individual speech!
I love the idea of Dr. Warwick’s implant for those people who are disabled. What a great idea to help them lead a more normal, independent life! As for educational purposes, I’m not quite sure how they could be used except for maybe as a pocket-translator that would be automatically accessed when needed. Hmm… that could possibly put me out of a job.
Applying artificial intelligence’s I-PUSH learning environments would be a cool application for second language learning. Setting up different tutorial scenarios for students to work on at different times, or multiple times, would allow teachers to have more time for hands-on help with others who need it. If the I-PUSH tutorials had voice/pronunciation recognition, students’ verbal abilities could increase dramatically. Being able to provide one-on-one, or three-on-one, verbal help is one of the most difficult things to manage in a time-constrained classroom. Adding simulations on top of this would be phenomenal! Imagine a student negotiating the virtual Paris Métro system. They would have to use correct vocabulary (taught beforehand by the teacher), correct pronunciation, correct grammar to negotiate the subway system and reach the correct destination. Any mishaps would also provide a learning experience. Students would learn (hopefully) from these mistakes and not repeat them the next time they utilize the simulation I-PUSH tutorial. They could repeat it as many times as necessary to learn what they are supposed to. This would be WAY better than the contrived “conversations” that students have to do now.
My favorite EDT 5410 activity was the creation of my own website. I’m so proud of the fact that I did it all by myself with only a couple of minor problems. Currently, it seems to be the most useful thing. Adding pages, and information to my pages, is quick and easy to do. It is something that all students can access (even if through the public library’s computers) and use.
Week 7 R/D 12
Describe two tangible take-aways that you think you could apply in your work. In other words, what are two ways you believe you can apply ideas in this chapter to improve your teaching/instructional design work? [from chapter 30]
I won’t place as much value on student knowledge based on their feedback surveys. I’ll still use feedback surveys, but I’ll compare them with test results. I think they will be best used in the future to tweak particular aspects of a lesson, get ideas from students, self-evaluate my lesson’s effectiveness and my effectiveness as an instructor.
The information about how much working memory a person has will affect my lesson plans. In particular, lower-level language students (who have less prior knowledge to aid them in learning) will receive lessons done in smaller, more well-developed chunks that give them an immediate opportunity to use/apply material from the lesson. Making sure to pay attention to the expertise reversal effect with higher-level students is important and something that I didn’t consciously pay a lot of attention to. Sometimes I use material for both levels because; 1) it took so long to create, 2) I think it is cool, or 3) I don’t have anything appropriate for that particular level.
My school has us write out our lesson plans the week prior to being taught using a form that pretty much looks like the cognitive process of learning described on page 315. It forces me to think out how the kids’ thought process might be as they receive my lesson. I am also much better prepared than some teachers I know who fly by the seat of their pants some days. I’ll try my best to continue doing lessons in that form when I move to another school.
I won’t place as much value on student knowledge based on their feedback surveys. I’ll still use feedback surveys, but I’ll compare them with test results. I think they will be best used in the future to tweak particular aspects of a lesson, get ideas from students, self-evaluate my lesson’s effectiveness and my effectiveness as an instructor.
The information about how much working memory a person has will affect my lesson plans. In particular, lower-level language students (who have less prior knowledge to aid them in learning) will receive lessons done in smaller, more well-developed chunks that give them an immediate opportunity to use/apply material from the lesson. Making sure to pay attention to the expertise reversal effect with higher-level students is important and something that I didn’t consciously pay a lot of attention to. Sometimes I use material for both levels because; 1) it took so long to create, 2) I think it is cool, or 3) I don’t have anything appropriate for that particular level.
My school has us write out our lesson plans the week prior to being taught using a form that pretty much looks like the cognitive process of learning described on page 315. It forces me to think out how the kids’ thought process might be as they receive my lesson. I am also much better prepared than some teachers I know who fly by the seat of their pants some days. I’ll try my best to continue doing lessons in that form when I move to another school.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Week 6 web site related lesson
Web Seek and Find for Elementary French
Using Madame Wellman’s web site http://dmvwellman.googlepages.com/home you need to complete the following activities.
Find five (5) new words in French. Write the French word and its English meaning. Each word must start with a different letter of the alphabet!
Go to the “Belette” site. Listen to and find one song that you know in English. Write the name of the song in French and English.
Find a game at the “Kids Playground” site that you like to play. There are many to choose from. [DO NOT use the “English/Anglais” section. Failure to use the “Français/French” section will earn you a failing grade.] After you’ve learned how to play it, write down how to play it (in English) so you can teach someone else. Be prepared to actually teach someone how to play it too!
This lesson helps elementary students with becoming more comfortable using their second language (L2). It provides a smaller, secure area in which they have to use L2. It makes the tasks something they can actually accomplish and be able to use more efficiently in further studies.
Using Madame Wellman’s web site http://dmvwellman.googlepages.com/home you need to complete the following activities.
Find five (5) new words in French. Write the French word and its English meaning. Each word must start with a different letter of the alphabet!
Go to the “Belette” site. Listen to and find one song that you know in English. Write the name of the song in French and English.
Find a game at the “Kids Playground” site that you like to play. There are many to choose from. [DO NOT use the “English/Anglais” section. Failure to use the “Français/French” section will earn you a failing grade.] After you’ve learned how to play it, write down how to play it (in English) so you can teach someone else. Be prepared to actually teach someone how to play it too!
This lesson helps elementary students with becoming more comfortable using their second language (L2). It provides a smaller, secure area in which they have to use L2. It makes the tasks something they can actually accomplish and be able to use more efficiently in further studies.
Week 6 Screencasting Potential Use
Montréal, Québec, Canada is the second largest French-speaking city in the world. It has four daily newspapers. The French-language newspapers (La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal, and Le Devoir), and the English-language paper, The Gazette. La Presse is the largest one.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/
As an end-of-the-year project for French I students, they will view a screencast (or several shorter ones) about how to navigate a French newspaper. Our foreign location of study has been Québec Province, Canada. They have already done other assignments on the Internet regarding Montréal, giving and following directions using Google Maps for example. The screencast will show them how to navigate a French Montréal newspaper, La Presse, and search for specific information contained within the various pages of the paper. Being relatively new to the study of world languages, navigating and searching for information that is entirely in French can be a daunting task. Having a screencast that they are able to replay at will should help ease some anxiety and wear and tear on my shoes from having to run around to show several students the same thing over and over. This assignment would serve as an end-cap to the Québec unit. It would review directions, weather words, dates, telling time, and other key vocabulary and allow them to apply it in a real-world situation. Learning to navigate a newspaper will help for further advanced lessons on grammar, reading, and writing summaries or responses to articles.
Scenario: You are going to be in Montréal with your family on vacation this summer. You are the only one who speaks French. You have only the French newspaper La Presse to help you out. What are you going to do? When are you going to do it? Will you be able to do it? How much does it cost?
Follow Madame Wellman’s screencast on navigating a French newspaper. You are going to learn how to find the weather, when certain tv shows are on, what concerts/activities are happening and when among other things. As a class, we are going to view the screencast together. Relevant questions and answers will come next. Then you are going to open a new Internet window (to keep the screencast available for replaying as needed) and find/answer the following. Remember your family is counting on you! Bonne chance!
La Presse de Montréal
View the screencast for each topic, as needed. Then answer the following in French.
-- La Météo/The Weather: You are planning on taking a bus for a day trip to Longeuil. What will the temperature and weather be in Longeuil tomorrow afternoon?
-- Les Actualités/The News: You are a little homesick. How would you find out what is happening in the U.S.? Write the name/headline of one story.
-- Les Arts et Spectacles/Arts & Entertainment: Your little brother wants to see a movie. Use the schedule to pick a kids’ movie to see. Write the name and address of the theatre, the name of the movie, and when you are going to see it.
-- Horaire télé: Mom and Dad are tired from walking around town all day. They want to watch a show, in English. They love Jeopardy!. What days and times is Jeopardy! on?
-- What is casse-tête? What do you do? Can you figure it out? Show Madame when you are done with it.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/
As an end-of-the-year project for French I students, they will view a screencast (or several shorter ones) about how to navigate a French newspaper. Our foreign location of study has been Québec Province, Canada. They have already done other assignments on the Internet regarding Montréal, giving and following directions using Google Maps for example. The screencast will show them how to navigate a French Montréal newspaper, La Presse, and search for specific information contained within the various pages of the paper. Being relatively new to the study of world languages, navigating and searching for information that is entirely in French can be a daunting task. Having a screencast that they are able to replay at will should help ease some anxiety and wear and tear on my shoes from having to run around to show several students the same thing over and over. This assignment would serve as an end-cap to the Québec unit. It would review directions, weather words, dates, telling time, and other key vocabulary and allow them to apply it in a real-world situation. Learning to navigate a newspaper will help for further advanced lessons on grammar, reading, and writing summaries or responses to articles.
Scenario: You are going to be in Montréal with your family on vacation this summer. You are the only one who speaks French. You have only the French newspaper La Presse to help you out. What are you going to do? When are you going to do it? Will you be able to do it? How much does it cost?
Follow Madame Wellman’s screencast on navigating a French newspaper. You are going to learn how to find the weather, when certain tv shows are on, what concerts/activities are happening and when among other things. As a class, we are going to view the screencast together. Relevant questions and answers will come next. Then you are going to open a new Internet window (to keep the screencast available for replaying as needed) and find/answer the following. Remember your family is counting on you! Bonne chance!
La Presse de Montréal
View the screencast for each topic, as needed. Then answer the following in French.
-- La Météo/The Weather: You are planning on taking a bus for a day trip to Longeuil. What will the temperature and weather be in Longeuil tomorrow afternoon?
-- Les Actualités/The News: You are a little homesick. How would you find out what is happening in the U.S.? Write the name/headline of one story.
-- Les Arts et Spectacles/Arts & Entertainment: Your little brother wants to see a movie. Use the schedule to pick a kids’ movie to see. Write the name and address of the theatre, the name of the movie, and when you are going to see it.
-- Horaire télé: Mom and Dad are tired from walking around town all day. They want to watch a show, in English. They love Jeopardy!. What days and times is Jeopardy! on?
-- What is casse-tête? What do you do? Can you figure it out? Show Madame when you are done with it.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
week 6 R/D 11
While reading Chapter 27 (R/D11), reflect on what you perceive to be your own areas of strength and what competencies you feel you need to work hardest to develop given your professional goals. State and describe at least three competencies you’d like to develop and why. I do understand that most of you are school teachers, not ID&T professionals, but certainly there is plenty overlap between these different types of roles.
-- Strengths—communication in visual, oral and written forms; planning instructional methods and materials; and organization. Teaching another language requires a variety of instructional methods. I usually have several forms incorporated into lessons to get the same idea across. I never know which one will be “the” one to work best. It also makes lessons much more interesting for my students. With eleven classes and 300 students I would die if I wasn’t organized at school. After I’ve had a down day (lack of sleep, sick), I get a little frustrated because I forgot to write down where I stopped for a particular class and the kids are telling me, “We’ve already done that!” I end up wasting valuable class time. We all know we can always use more class time.
Competencies—I’m not sure what my professional goals are. This is my first master’s class. I don’t know exactly what I want to do with this degree, yet.
I know I need to improve my skills and knowledge in IDT and related fields. If I’m earning a master’s in IDT, improving my skills and knowledge is priority number one. Each class, each assignment will help with that. Also having time off this summer will be great to play around with, and reinforce, all the stuff we’re working on now.
Managing the instructional process through the appropriate use of technology is sadly lacking due to the current absence of technology in my building. This class and getting a new job will help with that though.
Commit time and effort to the development of the profession. What better way to inform and promote IDT? I have a difficult time right now explaining what it is I’m going to school for. Instructional designers, training managers, and instructors are going to be so much more valuable as more and more people “get wired.” With the new graduation requirements there will be more of a demand for highly qualified people with training and certification in this field. Helping decide what kids and teachers will learn and use sounds pretty cool and fun.
-- Strengths—communication in visual, oral and written forms; planning instructional methods and materials; and organization. Teaching another language requires a variety of instructional methods. I usually have several forms incorporated into lessons to get the same idea across. I never know which one will be “the” one to work best. It also makes lessons much more interesting for my students. With eleven classes and 300 students I would die if I wasn’t organized at school. After I’ve had a down day (lack of sleep, sick), I get a little frustrated because I forgot to write down where I stopped for a particular class and the kids are telling me, “We’ve already done that!” I end up wasting valuable class time. We all know we can always use more class time.
Competencies—I’m not sure what my professional goals are. This is my first master’s class. I don’t know exactly what I want to do with this degree, yet.
I know I need to improve my skills and knowledge in IDT and related fields. If I’m earning a master’s in IDT, improving my skills and knowledge is priority number one. Each class, each assignment will help with that. Also having time off this summer will be great to play around with, and reinforce, all the stuff we’re working on now.
Managing the instructional process through the appropriate use of technology is sadly lacking due to the current absence of technology in my building. This class and getting a new job will help with that though.
Commit time and effort to the development of the profession. What better way to inform and promote IDT? I have a difficult time right now explaining what it is I’m going to school for. Instructional designers, training managers, and instructors are going to be so much more valuable as more and more people “get wired.” With the new graduation requirements there will be more of a demand for highly qualified people with training and certification in this field. Helping decide what kids and teachers will learn and use sounds pretty cool and fun.
week 6 R/D 10
(R/D10) For your reading reflection, since you have now read for the past few weeks about instructional design/technology in three different contexts (business, P -12 & higher ed), identify 2 or 3 significant themes or differences you have noticed across these contexts and describe them. Is there a particular area or way that you believe your current professional working environment could learn from the other contexts described in these chapters?
-- Well, each one seems to have the basics— they are well-organized, have management systems and employee training in place. All three try to employ the most motivated and knowledgeable people. Business is about the money. Schools’ main purpose is to educate. Higher ed is also concerned about making money, but if they don’t do a good job with educating students they won’t get the money.
Higher education requires much more in the way of meetings, research and training responsibilities than P-12. The things they do are very systematic, usually requiring piecemeal changes. Colleges and universities have to attract, and retain, their students. There is much more motivation/striving for excellence. P-12 students generally attend school where they live. Higher ed. has many faculty members for each area of study, whereas P-12 sometimes only have one or two teachers for a particular subject.
My current school is trying for systemic change through piecemeal work. They could learn a lot about having properly trained people in the correct positions who know what they are supposed to do and do it, organizing throughout, and following through on establishing and enforcing rules, consequences and decisions.
-- Well, each one seems to have the basics— they are well-organized, have management systems and employee training in place. All three try to employ the most motivated and knowledgeable people. Business is about the money. Schools’ main purpose is to educate. Higher ed is also concerned about making money, but if they don’t do a good job with educating students they won’t get the money.
Higher education requires much more in the way of meetings, research and training responsibilities than P-12. The things they do are very systematic, usually requiring piecemeal changes. Colleges and universities have to attract, and retain, their students. There is much more motivation/striving for excellence. P-12 students generally attend school where they live. Higher ed. has many faculty members for each area of study, whereas P-12 sometimes only have one or two teachers for a particular subject.
My current school is trying for systemic change through piecemeal work. They could learn a lot about having properly trained people in the correct positions who know what they are supposed to do and do it, organizing throughout, and following through on establishing and enforcing rules, consequences and decisions.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
week 5 google map lesson plan
Google Map Lesson Plan
For EDT5410, Summer I 2008
Oh no! A tourist comes up to you and, speaking French, asks for directions. They are looking to see three things in the French-speaking city where you live. You have to give them directions in French! There’s a problem though, directions must include a minimum of five changes in direction to arrive them at each of their points of interest. No straight lines! Bonne chance!/Good luck!
Students have been learning how to give and follow directions in French. They are to pick a large French-speaking city. (There will be a list of places to choose from for those who need it.) Students are to use Google Maps to create a route for a tourist/another student. The ‘directions from/to’ on Google Maps is not an option. The end goal is to have their partner re-create their map and arrive at three tourist attractions/places of interest. The route they take will be filled in with the line tool. Students are to give directions such as turn left, turn right, go straight, follow, stop, etc. Points will be given on the Google Map and its contents, verbal directions given, partner comprehension, and list of Internet sites used to create the original map. The pins on the original map will indicate the places of interest and should include at minimum: name, address, and phone number. Older students could also include: more points of interest, more twists and turns in their directions, a web site link, the bus &/or metro stop if applicable, things to do and see there, and pictures/video.
Teacher’s Sample Location: Montréal, QC Canada
Sample of student directions:
Commencez à la Basilique de Notre-Dame. Tournez à droite à la Rue Notre-Dame…. /Start at Notre Dame Basilica. Turn right on Notre Dame Street….
For EDT5410, Summer I 2008
Oh no! A tourist comes up to you and, speaking French, asks for directions. They are looking to see three things in the French-speaking city where you live. You have to give them directions in French! There’s a problem though, directions must include a minimum of five changes in direction to arrive them at each of their points of interest. No straight lines! Bonne chance!/Good luck!
Students have been learning how to give and follow directions in French. They are to pick a large French-speaking city. (There will be a list of places to choose from for those who need it.) Students are to use Google Maps to create a route for a tourist/another student. The ‘directions from/to’ on Google Maps is not an option. The end goal is to have their partner re-create their map and arrive at three tourist attractions/places of interest. The route they take will be filled in with the line tool. Students are to give directions such as turn left, turn right, go straight, follow, stop, etc. Points will be given on the Google Map and its contents, verbal directions given, partner comprehension, and list of Internet sites used to create the original map. The pins on the original map will indicate the places of interest and should include at minimum: name, address, and phone number. Older students could also include: more points of interest, more twists and turns in their directions, a web site link, the bus &/or metro stop if applicable, things to do and see there, and pictures/video.
Teacher’s Sample Location: Montréal, QC Canada
Sample of student directions:
Commencez à la Basilique de Notre-Dame. Tournez à droite à la Rue Notre-Dame…. /Start at Notre Dame Basilica. Turn right on Notre Dame Street….
week 5 R/D 9
R/D9: Reflection on experience so far. How challenging? Support? Excited, frustrated, both? How to incorporate things learned? Opinion as to first course?
-- So far, this class has been extremely challenging to me. I thought it would be difficult for a non-tech person, but I’ve invested more time than I thought I would.
-- Support has been good. It took me a while to figure out all the options/accessories that come with the blackboard system. The discussion postings are a great idea.
-- Yes, I have been both excited and frustrated. Excited because of the potential to use all of this stuff and because I can help other teachers and my own kids. Frustrated because I use so much time trying to figure things out that I know other people do in a fraction of the time.
-- I’m not sure how I’ll incorporate the things from class. Where I’m currently teaching I don’t have many kids with Internet access, no phones in my room, no computers in my room, no Internet access for my kids at school, no up-and-running library. With some luck I’ll be in a different district come fall.
-- As a first course, I think this class is good for opening up the possibilities/potential out there. I also think it helps weed out people who may not be quite right for the field. If I could make a suggestion it would be to make sure all incoming distance learning students had to take a blackboard tutorial before starting classes. If the student knows blackboard already they could take a quick “quiz” and exempt out of the tutorial.
-- So far, this class has been extremely challenging to me. I thought it would be difficult for a non-tech person, but I’ve invested more time than I thought I would.
-- Support has been good. It took me a while to figure out all the options/accessories that come with the blackboard system. The discussion postings are a great idea.
-- Yes, I have been both excited and frustrated. Excited because of the potential to use all of this stuff and because I can help other teachers and my own kids. Frustrated because I use so much time trying to figure things out that I know other people do in a fraction of the time.
-- I’m not sure how I’ll incorporate the things from class. Where I’m currently teaching I don’t have many kids with Internet access, no phones in my room, no computers in my room, no Internet access for my kids at school, no up-and-running library. With some luck I’ll be in a different district come fall.
-- As a first course, I think this class is good for opening up the possibilities/potential out there. I also think it helps weed out people who may not be quite right for the field. If I could make a suggestion it would be to make sure all incoming distance learning students had to take a blackboard tutorial before starting classes. If the student knows blackboard already they could take a quick “quiz” and exempt out of the tutorial.
week 5 R/D 8
R/D8: Pick out two trends or issues that particularly surprised you and/or hit home and explain why.
When I first started reading about Guidance System for Transforming Education (GSTE) I thought “that’s what my school needs.” The more I read the more I was overwhelmed with how much we would have to do and how little support it would probably receive. Our “district” comprises two school buildings (K-5 & 6-9) managed by a company that delivers from up high. The buildings are right next to each other, but there is very little interaction between the staff. The charter was much better in previous years, but this past year the quality of the students has decreased dramatically. I believe this in part due to our doubling in size. The management and higher administration are just now, in the last two weeks of school, realizing how bad things have gotten. Unfortunately, I don’t think GSTE is realistic for us at the moment. It is too big a pill to swallow especially when most teachers are looking for jobs elsewhere.
I also got excited about Step-Up-To-Excellence (SUTE) when I read Figure 21.1. This seems to be much more manageable. “Build team spirit.” That’s one they’ve worked on. “Periodically secure necessary resources.” They’ve tried their best with limited funds because of doubling our size this past year. “Engage in reflection.” Teachers do that every two weeks regarding their lessons. Further reading dashed my hopes— SUTE can “…be used with failing or low-performing districts if these districts develop the necessary conditions for successful whole-district change.” The book then lists five conditions. If these conditions aren’t in place then they have to be developed in the needed Pre-Launch Preparation phase.
I am learning so much and it is very frustrating not being able to use it. I hope that I can recognize these traits in my next district. I also hope that my current charter school’s management team puts some of GSTE and SUTE into place in the very near future for the sake of the students’ future.
When I first started reading about Guidance System for Transforming Education (GSTE) I thought “that’s what my school needs.” The more I read the more I was overwhelmed with how much we would have to do and how little support it would probably receive. Our “district” comprises two school buildings (K-5 & 6-9) managed by a company that delivers from up high. The buildings are right next to each other, but there is very little interaction between the staff. The charter was much better in previous years, but this past year the quality of the students has decreased dramatically. I believe this in part due to our doubling in size. The management and higher administration are just now, in the last two weeks of school, realizing how bad things have gotten. Unfortunately, I don’t think GSTE is realistic for us at the moment. It is too big a pill to swallow especially when most teachers are looking for jobs elsewhere.
I also got excited about Step-Up-To-Excellence (SUTE) when I read Figure 21.1. This seems to be much more manageable. “Build team spirit.” That’s one they’ve worked on. “Periodically secure necessary resources.” They’ve tried their best with limited funds because of doubling our size this past year. “Engage in reflection.” Teachers do that every two weeks regarding their lessons. Further reading dashed my hopes— SUTE can “…be used with failing or low-performing districts if these districts develop the necessary conditions for successful whole-district change.” The book then lists five conditions. If these conditions aren’t in place then they have to be developed in the needed Pre-Launch Preparation phase.
I am learning so much and it is very frustrating not being able to use it. I hope that I can recognize these traits in my next district. I also hope that my current charter school’s management team puts some of GSTE and SUTE into place in the very near future for the sake of the students’ future.
week 5 R/D 7
R/D7: What are, in your mind, two unique, interesting, different, noteworthy ways IDT has been used in business & industry that you believe could be usefully applied to your own professional work? Explain.
Prototyping is an excellent way to find out if your lesson idea is feasible or not. I always create a model/copy of a project/activity that I want students to do. I also have my own boys do it too to check out the feasibility. This way the students are able to see what it is I want them to do and I can tell ahead of time what needs to be fixed/revised. Prototyping doesn’t have students involved throughout the design and development though.
I believe enhancing training effectiveness and efficiency to be used in the form of teacher professional development would be great. I’ve sat through enough PD days that have basically been a waste of time and money. Having teachers put in time to complete a collaborative Internet-based activity, or self-work activity, where they were actually involved, instead of sitting in a large room listening to a speaker and wishing they could escape, would be a much better way to spend teachers’ time and schools’ money. Even teachers learn better through doing than passively listening. Unfortunately, I haven’t experienced any great technology-based training yet.
Foxon’s (1993) view of transfer, with regard to high-level evaluation, “as a five-stage process (not an event) that occurs over time after training” from page 180 is something that is used in schools already. It isn’t always followed through on, but it is initiated. Professional development gets teachers and administrators fired up about some new idea, it is touted as “the thing to do”, teachers try to implement it for a while, and then we fall off one by one. Support and follow up lag and everyone reverts back to the old. People are creatures of habit. Habit is hard to break. A good administration is key.
Prototyping is an excellent way to find out if your lesson idea is feasible or not. I always create a model/copy of a project/activity that I want students to do. I also have my own boys do it too to check out the feasibility. This way the students are able to see what it is I want them to do and I can tell ahead of time what needs to be fixed/revised. Prototyping doesn’t have students involved throughout the design and development though.
I believe enhancing training effectiveness and efficiency to be used in the form of teacher professional development would be great. I’ve sat through enough PD days that have basically been a waste of time and money. Having teachers put in time to complete a collaborative Internet-based activity, or self-work activity, where they were actually involved, instead of sitting in a large room listening to a speaker and wishing they could escape, would be a much better way to spend teachers’ time and schools’ money. Even teachers learn better through doing than passively listening. Unfortunately, I haven’t experienced any great technology-based training yet.
Foxon’s (1993) view of transfer, with regard to high-level evaluation, “as a five-stage process (not an event) that occurs over time after training” from page 180 is something that is used in schools already. It isn’t always followed through on, but it is initiated. Professional development gets teachers and administrators fired up about some new idea, it is touted as “the thing to do”, teachers try to implement it for a while, and then we fall off one by one. Support and follow up lag and everyone reverts back to the old. People are creatures of habit. Habit is hard to break. A good administration is key.
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