Now that we finished the semester, consider your first assessment of your technology skills. What are your strengths and weaknesses now? How will you continue to learn about technology after this class is finished?
Throughout this semester, I have learned a lot about web 2.0 tools and how I can use them in my teaching and in my personal life. One of the main things I learned is how to incorporate web 2.0 tools into my life as an organizational tool. For example, diigo is a tool that I now use in my personal research and when organizing information for lesson planning. Google docs and Voice Thread are also technology tools that would come in handy for me in the future. I have also improved upon my technology strengths and weaknesses. At the beginning of the semester I said that a major weakness I had was procrastination when dealing with technology. I would say that I have improved drastically in this regard. Since I was dealing with web 2.0 tools that were completely new to me, I made sure to start my assignments with plenty of time to troubleshoot, if needed. I think the distance learning format of this class also helped me to not procrastinate as well because if I had a question about my work, I would need ample time to post questions to the discussion board or email the professor.
I also feel that I have found out new technology strengths and weaknesses in myself. A new weakness that I found in myself concerning technology use, is that when I get stuck, I do not know how to move forward. For example, when trying to embed certain projects into my live binder, once I tried everything I could think of, I would often end up stuck. This was a huge learning experience for me, and I learned that when I am stuck I should ask for help. I cannot know how to do something I have never done before, and there is nothing wrong with asking for help. A new strength that I have found through this course, is my ability to use technology creatively in my lesson planning. Before this course, I think I looked at technology as a way to do the same old things I was doing, but in an up-dated manner. In other words, instead of students doing an oral presentation with a poster, I would update this lesson by having students use a powerpoint presentation. Now, however, I see that I wasn’t using technology integration to its fullest potential. Teachers must go beyond this level of technology integration, and move toward helping students use technology in creative and new ways. After learning about so many web 2.0 tools in this course, I have the ability to integrate these technologies into my teaching, so that students are creatively using technology.
To continue learning about technology integration in the classroom, I will remain active in professional organizations. For example, I am signed up for several librarianship listservs. Using resources like listservs will allow me to remain more up-to-date on new technologies with minimal personal research time. I will also continue to make a priority of integrating technology into my teaching and for my personal use.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Blog Post #3
Locate a lesson plan on the Internet that does not utilize technology. Describe how you would incorporate technology into the lesson. Be sure to include a link for the old lesson plan in your post.
Original Lesson Plan- Turning a book into a movie (an unconventional book report)
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/langarts/reading/bookrepts1.html
Imagine that you are the author of the book you have just read. Suddenly the book becomes a best seller. Write a letter to a movie producer trying to get that person interested in making your book into a movie. Explain why the story, characters, conflicts, etc., would make a good film. Suggest a filming location and the actors to play the various roles. YOU MAY ONLY USE BOOKS WHICH HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN MADE INTO MOVIES.
This lesson plan is a great twist on traditional book reports. This lesson goes beyond simply summarizing the book, and leads students to synthesize the information learned and use that information to create new ideas. To turn this lesson plan into a lesson that also integrates technology would be very easy. Most film production companies would be easier to contact via email, so instead of writing a letter and sending it via the US postal service, students could actually send the emailed letter to a production company or a film school. In addition to sending an email to a movie production company, students could use such web 2.0 tools such as voice thread or animoto to create a movie trailer for this book. Students would then present their movie trailers to the class. Also, these movie trailers could be featured on the school library website to get other students interested in reading these books.
Original Lesson Plan- Turning a book into a movie (an unconventional book report)
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/langarts/reading/bookrepts1.html
Imagine that you are the author of the book you have just read. Suddenly the book becomes a best seller. Write a letter to a movie producer trying to get that person interested in making your book into a movie. Explain why the story, characters, conflicts, etc., would make a good film. Suggest a filming location and the actors to play the various roles. YOU MAY ONLY USE BOOKS WHICH HAVE NOT ALREADY BEEN MADE INTO MOVIES.
This lesson plan is a great twist on traditional book reports. This lesson goes beyond simply summarizing the book, and leads students to synthesize the information learned and use that information to create new ideas. To turn this lesson plan into a lesson that also integrates technology would be very easy. Most film production companies would be easier to contact via email, so instead of writing a letter and sending it via the US postal service, students could actually send the emailed letter to a production company or a film school. In addition to sending an email to a movie production company, students could use such web 2.0 tools such as voice thread or animoto to create a movie trailer for this book. Students would then present their movie trailers to the class. Also, these movie trailers could be featured on the school library website to get other students interested in reading these books.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Blog Post #2
Locate an article about using handheld devices such as tablets (ie. ipads,nook), cell phones, and ipods for education. Summarize 3 keypoints from the article. Next, describe how you would use these devices in the library. Don’t forget to include a reference for the article at the end of your post.
Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom by Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting is a very interesting article that discusses possible uses of smart phones in middle school science classrooms. The authors poignantly quote Bill Gates saying, “cell phones, not laptop computers, hold the promise for the spread of one-to-one computing” (Luckwing, Christmann, Wighting 2010 p. 82). Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting make three main points throughout their article “Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom.” Firstly, the argument is made that most middle school and high school students have a cell phone already, so teachers should use this resource as a way to further integrate technology into the classroom. For example, most students have cell phones with text messaging capabilities. Online services such as www.textforfree.com allow subscribers to send text messages to cell phone numbers from any provider for free. Teachers can utilize programs like this to send students text message reminders of important assignments. Secondly, this article describes how downloadable cell phone applications can be used to enhance curriculum instruction. Examples that Luckwin, Christmass, and Wighting provide include applications such as Evernote, eReader apps, and Dynolicious. EReader applications can be used in the classroom for students to download book resources, often free of cost. Other applications can be incorporated to help students gain organizational skills, conduct internet queries, and sync information with other classmates. Lastly, Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting make the key point that there will be skepticism when teachers try to incorporate cell phone use into teaching. The authors argue against this by pointing out that when new technologies were brought into schools, they too had to go through similar tests of practicality and efficiency. “Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom” ends by simply stating, “Since we own [cell phones] let’s put them to work” (Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting 2010 pg. 85).
After reading this article, the uses for cell phones for instruction seem limitless. As a librarian cell phones could be used in several ways. Since librarians do not get to meet with all classes on a regular basis, cell phones as a means of mass communication would be very beneficial. For example, the librarian could send a mass text message to remind students when a special programming event is going on in the library. Maybe in the future, text message notifications for overdue books and fines will be commonplace. Another way to use cell phones in the library would be for librarians to do book-talks geared toward eBooks that students can access for free through downloadable applications. Librarians could also collaborate with subject area teachers to show them subject specific apps. Librarians could show a Math teacher, for example, how to download a scientific calculator app that students can use. The use of cell phones in the library and the classroom are only limited by our own creativity.
Lucking B., Christmann, E., Wighting, M., (2010). Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom. Science Scope, 33(9), 82-85.
Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom by Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting is a very interesting article that discusses possible uses of smart phones in middle school science classrooms. The authors poignantly quote Bill Gates saying, “cell phones, not laptop computers, hold the promise for the spread of one-to-one computing” (Luckwing, Christmann, Wighting 2010 p. 82). Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting make three main points throughout their article “Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom.” Firstly, the argument is made that most middle school and high school students have a cell phone already, so teachers should use this resource as a way to further integrate technology into the classroom. For example, most students have cell phones with text messaging capabilities. Online services such as www.textforfree.com allow subscribers to send text messages to cell phone numbers from any provider for free. Teachers can utilize programs like this to send students text message reminders of important assignments. Secondly, this article describes how downloadable cell phone applications can be used to enhance curriculum instruction. Examples that Luckwin, Christmass, and Wighting provide include applications such as Evernote, eReader apps, and Dynolicious. EReader applications can be used in the classroom for students to download book resources, often free of cost. Other applications can be incorporated to help students gain organizational skills, conduct internet queries, and sync information with other classmates. Lastly, Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting make the key point that there will be skepticism when teachers try to incorporate cell phone use into teaching. The authors argue against this by pointing out that when new technologies were brought into schools, they too had to go through similar tests of practicality and efficiency. “Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom” ends by simply stating, “Since we own [cell phones] let’s put them to work” (Luckwing, Christmann, and Wighting 2010 pg. 85).
After reading this article, the uses for cell phones for instruction seem limitless. As a librarian cell phones could be used in several ways. Since librarians do not get to meet with all classes on a regular basis, cell phones as a means of mass communication would be very beneficial. For example, the librarian could send a mass text message to remind students when a special programming event is going on in the library. Maybe in the future, text message notifications for overdue books and fines will be commonplace. Another way to use cell phones in the library would be for librarians to do book-talks geared toward eBooks that students can access for free through downloadable applications. Librarians could also collaborate with subject area teachers to show them subject specific apps. Librarians could show a Math teacher, for example, how to download a scientific calculator app that students can use. The use of cell phones in the library and the classroom are only limited by our own creativity.
Lucking B., Christmann, E., Wighting, M., (2010). Hang up and learn: Cell phones in the science classroom. Science Scope, 33(9), 82-85.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Blog Post #1
Describe your technology strengths and weaknesses. As an educator, how do you plan to use your technology strengths? What do you feel you need to do to overcome your weaknesses. What would you like to learn about technology in order to improve your instructional strategies?
As our world becomes more reliant on technology it is important to evaluate personal technology strengths and weaknesses in order to grow and use these new technologies to their full potential.
In reference to technology, I have several strengths and weaknesses. A technology strength that I possess is perseverance. It is not in my personality to give up. Sometimes new technology can be hard to setup or troubleshoot, but my perseverance will help me to push through any struggles that I may encounter. Another technology strength I possess is a strong willingness to learn and a genuine interest in technology. As new gadgets come onto the market, I tend to be very excited and ready to learn how to use these technologies in my daily life. This passion toward exploring new technology will help me as a teacher and librarian so that I can incorporate cutting edge technology into my lessons and help other teacher to do so as well. For example, eReaders are a newer technology that I use in my daily life; I see that these eReaders could become a huge resource in the public school system in the future. As an educator I will use my technology strengths to strongly incorporate technology into my lesson planning, and to help other teachers do the same.
Although I have several technology strengths, I am far from a technological guru. A major technology weakness of mine is that I sometimes procrastinate. This may not sound like it directly relates to technology, but it does. With technology there are sometimes unexpected problems that occur, if you wait until the last minute to do something, there is not time to complete the task and troubleshoot, if needed. As an educator it is extremely important, both when technology is involved or not, to plan ahead for the unexpected. To overcome this flaw of mine, I will have to push myself to always test my technology prior to teaching a lesson. For example, If I were to make a power point presentation at home, I should test to see if this presentation will be compatible with the school computer so that I can prevent any unforeseen issues.
To improve my instructional strategies I would love to learn about new technologies. So far, from reading though the course textbook Instructional Technology and Media for Learning by Smaldino, Lowther, and Russell I see that there are many technologies that can be utilized in the classroom that I was unaware existed. For example, Webquests seem like a great way to get students engaged in a lesson, while reinforcing technology skills. Learning about new technologies would help me improve my instructional strategies, by expanding my knowledge of resources.
As our world becomes more reliant on technology it is important to evaluate personal technology strengths and weaknesses in order to grow and use these new technologies to their full potential.
In reference to technology, I have several strengths and weaknesses. A technology strength that I possess is perseverance. It is not in my personality to give up. Sometimes new technology can be hard to setup or troubleshoot, but my perseverance will help me to push through any struggles that I may encounter. Another technology strength I possess is a strong willingness to learn and a genuine interest in technology. As new gadgets come onto the market, I tend to be very excited and ready to learn how to use these technologies in my daily life. This passion toward exploring new technology will help me as a teacher and librarian so that I can incorporate cutting edge technology into my lessons and help other teacher to do so as well. For example, eReaders are a newer technology that I use in my daily life; I see that these eReaders could become a huge resource in the public school system in the future. As an educator I will use my technology strengths to strongly incorporate technology into my lesson planning, and to help other teachers do the same.
Although I have several technology strengths, I am far from a technological guru. A major technology weakness of mine is that I sometimes procrastinate. This may not sound like it directly relates to technology, but it does. With technology there are sometimes unexpected problems that occur, if you wait until the last minute to do something, there is not time to complete the task and troubleshoot, if needed. As an educator it is extremely important, both when technology is involved or not, to plan ahead for the unexpected. To overcome this flaw of mine, I will have to push myself to always test my technology prior to teaching a lesson. For example, If I were to make a power point presentation at home, I should test to see if this presentation will be compatible with the school computer so that I can prevent any unforeseen issues.
To improve my instructional strategies I would love to learn about new technologies. So far, from reading though the course textbook Instructional Technology and Media for Learning by Smaldino, Lowther, and Russell I see that there are many technologies that can be utilized in the classroom that I was unaware existed. For example, Webquests seem like a great way to get students engaged in a lesson, while reinforcing technology skills. Learning about new technologies would help me improve my instructional strategies, by expanding my knowledge of resources.
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