In 2011, almost 2012, why is technology still a class kids go to to learn to use a tool and not an integrated part of the lessons we teach? I believe the answer to this question is because teachers aren't comfortable integrating technology into their lessons. For younger teachers, this might not be the case, but teachers who are closer to retirement age could very likely feel this way. Most of their teaching career didn't involve much technology, so they aren't comfortable using it now. They are "digital immigrants".
At the elementary school where I work, technology is taught during library skills time, but I think several of the teachers do a great job of integrating technology into their lessons as well. We have three eMINTS (enhansing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) classrooms in our building. These classrooms have approximately one computer for every two students. The teachers who have these classrooms do a great job of using the resources provided to them.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Effective Instruction is a Must
Why is effective instruction so important for us as LMS or TIS professionals? In the district where I currently work, the elementary school LMSs actually teach technology classes. The things they are teaching the students are skills they really need to know, especially since we live in such a digital age, such as mouse skills, typing skills, PowerPoint, etc. It's also very likely that the LMS or TIS will need to teach colleagues as well as students, so their instruction needs to be effective for everyone.
What is our role when it comes to helping teachers be effective? I think our role is to provide resources to help teachers be effective. There are many professional books and magazines in the school library where I work for teachers to use. Teachers often check out those materials to get ideas.
Monday, October 31, 2011
PowerPoint Templates are Boring
This week we began studying presentation design. I had no idea that the PowerPoint templates were considered to be boring. I always try to find a pretty template and use it for my presentation. The idea of making my own slides never crossed my mind.
Another thing I learned is that an effective presentation doesn't have a lot of text on the slides. The more text a slide has, the less attention the audience will give the presenter because they'll be too busy trying to copy it all down. This is something I need to keep in mind because I tend to make my slides on the heavy side with text. I also need to remember not to put every single thing I want to say, word for word, in the PowerPoint. Only important points should be included. There's no point for the presenter to read the slides word for word because the audience can do that themselves. Instead the presenter should use the PowerPoint to highlight important parts of the presentation.
Images are much more interesting than text. They can really enhance a presentation. I learned that its best for the presenter to use their own pictures or ones they find online. Clipart, which I often use, doesn't do the trick for an effective, professional looking presentation.
These are just some of the many things I learned by watching these presentations. I think these tips will help me to create better and more effective PowerPoint presentations.
Another thing I learned is that an effective presentation doesn't have a lot of text on the slides. The more text a slide has, the less attention the audience will give the presenter because they'll be too busy trying to copy it all down. This is something I need to keep in mind because I tend to make my slides on the heavy side with text. I also need to remember not to put every single thing I want to say, word for word, in the PowerPoint. Only important points should be included. There's no point for the presenter to read the slides word for word because the audience can do that themselves. Instead the presenter should use the PowerPoint to highlight important parts of the presentation.
Images are much more interesting than text. They can really enhance a presentation. I learned that its best for the presenter to use their own pictures or ones they find online. Clipart, which I often use, doesn't do the trick for an effective, professional looking presentation.
These are just some of the many things I learned by watching these presentations. I think these tips will help me to create better and more effective PowerPoint presentations.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Week 9: Instant Messaging
I am pretty experienced with instant messaging. When I was in high school and college I used MSN Messenger all the time to chat with my friends and family. I remember getting in trouble for staying up until 2:00 AM one morning chatting with friends when I was in high school. Lol. Now if I IM it's on Facebook. I don't use it very much to IM, but once in a while I do if I see someone online I want or need to talk to.
I enjoy instant messaging. It's another convenient way to communicate with people. I haven't used instant messaging for work, just for personal use. However, there is an icon for instant messaging in the email program my district uses, so if I ever want or need to use it, I have the option.
I enjoy instant messaging. It's another convenient way to communicate with people. I haven't used instant messaging for work, just for personal use. However, there is an icon for instant messaging in the email program my district uses, so if I ever want or need to use it, I have the option.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Week 8: Cloud Computing
This week I created a document in Google Docs, which I had never done before. I found that it was really easy to do. I emailed Mrs. H. when I first saw the instructions for this project and asked if we needed to invite someone from 23 Things Kansas and a colleague. She said we could invite anyone. So I invited my husband and one of my good friends to edit my document. I wanted to make it fun. I decided to create a quiz about me. I typed ten questions in my document and labeled five for my husband and five for my friend. Then I shared it with them. They went in and each answered their five questions about me. They both did pretty well with their answers. :)
Cloud computing was easier than I thought it would be. It's a great tool for sharing and editing documents and other information.
Cloud computing was easier than I thought it would be. It's a great tool for sharing and editing documents and other information.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Digital Native
1. Because of my age, I would consider myself to be a digital native. I am part of the generation Prensky described of being surrounded by technology all of my life. Cell phones weren't popular until I was in about middle school, but computers, video games, video cameras, and things like that were always part of my life. I remember my computer teacher teaching my class about email when I was in fourth grade. Although I'm a digital native, I definitely don't consider myself to be very tech savvy.
2. I'm a library aide, so I don't actually have a classroom. However, I assist the LMS with teaching her kindergarten classes. She teaches technology lessons. The kindergarteners usually play games on Starfall that help them with their mouse skills. There are also games she has them play online that help them with typing skills. They love playing the games. As mentioned in the article, games are a great learning tool for digital natives.
3. Like I mentioned, I am a digital native, so I know a lot of the "language" of multimedia. The classes I'm taking and have taken in the past for this masters program are helping me to better understand the "language" associated with the Digital Age. Another beneficial step to take to further my knowledge would be collaboration with other eductors about how technology is used in the classroom.
4. YouTube is blocked for student access at my school, but teachers are able to access it on their laptops. I think this is good idea so that students aren't able to get to any inapproprite content. If teachers want students to see a video its very easy for them to show it on the SmartBoard. The only drawback to this setup is that students aren't able to upload their own videos to YouTube at school. Teachers can upload videos, but students can't do it themselves. Unfortunately, I don't really know of a good way to allow students to have access to YouTube without also having access to all the inappropriate content on the site.
2. I'm a library aide, so I don't actually have a classroom. However, I assist the LMS with teaching her kindergarten classes. She teaches technology lessons. The kindergarteners usually play games on Starfall that help them with their mouse skills. There are also games she has them play online that help them with typing skills. They love playing the games. As mentioned in the article, games are a great learning tool for digital natives.
3. Like I mentioned, I am a digital native, so I know a lot of the "language" of multimedia. The classes I'm taking and have taken in the past for this masters program are helping me to better understand the "language" associated with the Digital Age. Another beneficial step to take to further my knowledge would be collaboration with other eductors about how technology is used in the classroom.
4. YouTube is blocked for student access at my school, but teachers are able to access it on their laptops. I think this is good idea so that students aren't able to get to any inapproprite content. If teachers want students to see a video its very easy for them to show it on the SmartBoard. The only drawback to this setup is that students aren't able to upload their own videos to YouTube at school. Teachers can upload videos, but students can't do it themselves. Unfortunately, I don't really know of a good way to allow students to have access to YouTube without also having access to all the inappropriate content on the site.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Week Seven: Microblogging
This week I did something I never thought I'd do: joined Twitter. I always heard people talk about Twitter, and I thought to myself that Facebook was enough for me. I'm not really sure what I think about it yet because I'm still trying to get used to it.
It was easy to find people to follow. 23thingsks is an organization I am following. I'm sure I'll learn some useful information about technology by following them. I also requested to follow two of my younger brothers. They both have accepted my request and one sent me a request to follow me. I'm glad they think I'm cool enough to tweet with. Lol!
I can see why people enjoy microblogging. It seems like a good way to communicate with others for both work and personal use. It would be easy to communicate with colleagues and others in the same profession. You can even follow people in your profession that you don't even know and get ideas from them. It's also a great way to keep up with friends and family.
Maybe I'll grow more fond of Twitter the more I use it, but for now, Facebook is still my social network of choice. :)
It was easy to find people to follow. 23thingsks is an organization I am following. I'm sure I'll learn some useful information about technology by following them. I also requested to follow two of my younger brothers. They both have accepted my request and one sent me a request to follow me. I'm glad they think I'm cool enough to tweet with. Lol!
I can see why people enjoy microblogging. It seems like a good way to communicate with others for both work and personal use. It would be easy to communicate with colleagues and others in the same profession. You can even follow people in your profession that you don't even know and get ideas from them. It's also a great way to keep up with friends and family.
Maybe I'll grow more fond of Twitter the more I use it, but for now, Facebook is still my social network of choice. :)
Monday, October 3, 2011
Week Six: Tagging and Social Bookmarking
I created a Delicious account last semester for part of an assignment for a class, so I knew a little bit about Delicious before I started working on this week's project. First I imported my bookmarks from my browser to my account. I chose to keep my bookmarks private. Then I tried to make a bundle, so to figure out how to do it I watched the video and tried to follow the steps. Apparently the Delicious website has changed because I wasn't able to follow the steps. Then I looked around the Delicious website and found frequently asked questions. After reading through that, I found out that the new Delicious doesn't have the support to edit network bundles.
I can see myself using Delicious both for work and for my personal use. Every teacher in my school district has a laptop. However, I'm a library aide, and I don't have one. I use the desktop computer in the library that we use to check out books. Delicious is a great website to use for situations like mine. If I find a site at work that I might want to use at home (or vice versa), I can add that site to my Delicious account and easily access it from the other place.
I can see myself using Delicious both for work and for my personal use. Every teacher in my school district has a laptop. However, I'm a library aide, and I don't have one. I use the desktop computer in the library that we use to check out books. Delicious is a great website to use for situations like mine. If I find a site at work that I might want to use at home (or vice versa), I can add that site to my Delicious account and easily access it from the other place.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Week Five: RSS and Feed Readers
I had a difficult time with this one in the beginning. I chose to use Bloglines for my feed reader. Evidently the website has changed since the tutorial videos were made. I tried to follow them, but my screen looked very different from the ones in the videos. After a long time of trying to figure it out on my own, I clicked on the Help icon on the Bloglines homepage and got some of my questions answered. I finally succeeded in adding three RSS feeds to my reader. I added USA Today, MSN News, and I also found an RSS feed for my district website. Although I had some difficulties with this assignment, I was glad to do it. Before today I had never really understood what RSS was. I heard about it all the time but never knew exactly what it was. Now I have a much better understanding. :)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Ten Things That Make Me Go Hmmm About Educational Technology
Most of my ten things are in question form, and a couple are in statement form.
1. Why does technology change so rapidly? Schools purchase technology items for teaching, such as iPads. Next thing you know the iPad 2 is out, and iPad is outdated. Schools can't afford to keep up with all the technology advancements.
2. What will educational technology look like in twenty years? Educational technology looks very different now than it did twenty years ago. How much will it change in another twenty years?
3. Will online classes ever become more mainstream that traditional classes? I first heard of online classes when I was in high school (just 6 short years ago), and I thought that sounded crazy. Now here I am doing my entire masters program online.
4. There seems to be no solid definition to educational technology. We all defined eductional technology in our own way, and we built an "Educational Technology is..." map with ideas that just kept growing.
5. Kids today must be exposed to a lot of technology before they even begin school. My librarian is also the librarian at another school in the district. She is at my school every other day. She told me last week that she was teaching mouse skills to the kindergarteners at her other school, and it seemed to her that many of them had never really used a mouse. She said they wanted to touch the screen or put the mouse on the screen. She said they must be used to using iPads.
6. How do most older teachers feel about educational technology today? I would think it would be difficult to change the way the they teach after teaching so long with limited technology.
7. Are kids more interested and engaged when using technology tools in the classroom? When I was in school it was exciting to use technology tools, such as laptops. Now technology is used a lot more regularly. Are they excited about the technology, or is it just everyday school work to them?
8. Will Kindles replace library books in the future? Since I've started this program my dad has asked me that question several times. I tell him I don't know, but it's definitely a possibility.
9. How popular is the flipped classroom concept? I've never heard of it outside this program. Statistics show that it is very successful.
10. Are there still many classrooms that don't have an interactive whiteboard, such as a Smart Board? My hometown just built a brand new elementary school, and they have Promethean Boards, but the old elementary schools that it replaced still had just white boards and chalk boards. That reminds me of a funny story. Last school year I was subbing for a first grade class, and the teacher had left me a transparency to use on an overhead projector for an activity they were doing that usually involved the Smart Board, but she was going to a meeting and had to take her laptop, so the overhead was the best alternative. Apparently that was the first time those first graders had ever seen an overhead projector. They were in awe over it and kept saying how cool it was. I felt ancient when I told them that's what my teacher used when I was their age. :)
1. Why does technology change so rapidly? Schools purchase technology items for teaching, such as iPads. Next thing you know the iPad 2 is out, and iPad is outdated. Schools can't afford to keep up with all the technology advancements.
2. What will educational technology look like in twenty years? Educational technology looks very different now than it did twenty years ago. How much will it change in another twenty years?
3. Will online classes ever become more mainstream that traditional classes? I first heard of online classes when I was in high school (just 6 short years ago), and I thought that sounded crazy. Now here I am doing my entire masters program online.
4. There seems to be no solid definition to educational technology. We all defined eductional technology in our own way, and we built an "Educational Technology is..." map with ideas that just kept growing.
5. Kids today must be exposed to a lot of technology before they even begin school. My librarian is also the librarian at another school in the district. She is at my school every other day. She told me last week that she was teaching mouse skills to the kindergarteners at her other school, and it seemed to her that many of them had never really used a mouse. She said they wanted to touch the screen or put the mouse on the screen. She said they must be used to using iPads.
6. How do most older teachers feel about educational technology today? I would think it would be difficult to change the way the they teach after teaching so long with limited technology.
7. Are kids more interested and engaged when using technology tools in the classroom? When I was in school it was exciting to use technology tools, such as laptops. Now technology is used a lot more regularly. Are they excited about the technology, or is it just everyday school work to them?
8. Will Kindles replace library books in the future? Since I've started this program my dad has asked me that question several times. I tell him I don't know, but it's definitely a possibility.
9. How popular is the flipped classroom concept? I've never heard of it outside this program. Statistics show that it is very successful.
10. Are there still many classrooms that don't have an interactive whiteboard, such as a Smart Board? My hometown just built a brand new elementary school, and they have Promethean Boards, but the old elementary schools that it replaced still had just white boards and chalk boards. That reminds me of a funny story. Last school year I was subbing for a first grade class, and the teacher had left me a transparency to use on an overhead projector for an activity they were doing that usually involved the Smart Board, but she was going to a meeting and had to take her laptop, so the overhead was the best alternative. Apparently that was the first time those first graders had ever seen an overhead projector. They were in awe over it and kept saying how cool it was. I felt ancient when I told them that's what my teacher used when I was their age. :)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Week Four: Photo Sharing
I chose option A of exploring Flickr because I don't have a Flickr account, and I don't really know of anyone off the top of my head who has one that I could share my photos with. Occasionally I upload photos on Facebook. That is the extent of my photo uploading. Lol.
I looked at many of the links that were provided on the 23 Things Kansas website for Flickr. I took the tour on the Flickr website, and that helped me to understand more about it. It looks very user friendly.
When I first began looking at Flickr I found the photo I wanted to use right away. I clicked on the explore link on the 23 Things Kansas website and it gave me an option to choose a month. I chose September 2011 to see recent photos. Then it brought up a calendar with a thumbnail photo on each day. The photo on the 10th caught my eye, so I clicked on it to bring up a larger image. It was a beautiful tribute to the 9/11 Memorial! The photographer is Ryan D. Budhu.
This is the thumbnail photo. I couldn't get it any bigger without it being blurry. To get a better look at it, here is the link.
I looked at many of the links that were provided on the 23 Things Kansas website for Flickr. I took the tour on the Flickr website, and that helped me to understand more about it. It looks very user friendly.
When I first began looking at Flickr I found the photo I wanted to use right away. I clicked on the explore link on the 23 Things Kansas website and it gave me an option to choose a month. I chose September 2011 to see recent photos. Then it brought up a calendar with a thumbnail photo on each day. The photo on the 10th caught my eye, so I clicked on it to bring up a larger image. It was a beautiful tribute to the 9/11 Memorial! The photographer is Ryan D. Budhu.
This is the thumbnail photo. I couldn't get it any bigger without it being blurry. To get a better look at it, here is the link.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Education HAS Missed the Boat
"Education has missed the boat with respect to instructional design. Teachers come up with lesson plans on the fly, with little thought to why they are presenting information or even who their audience is. Teacher training, at the university level and during Professional development, needs to focus on helping teachers become comfortable with instructional design principles." After watching the videos and reading the articles about instructional design, I would probably have to agree with this quote. I didn't know that instructional design was so in depth.
After I graduated with my degree in elementary education I substituted for a year and a half, and shortly after the beginning of the second semester last year I was hired to teach third and fourth grade Reading for the remainder of the school year. My job only lasted for four months because the position was no longer available this year. I have to admit that when I made my lesson plans during that time, I did not think about all the parts there are to instructional design. I did put good thought into what I was doing but not to that extent.
In college, I was taught how to make lesson plans, stating the objective, anticipatory set, standards, benchmarks, indicators, etc. That was required for assignments, but the instructors said that probably wouldn't be required when we actually teach, but we needed to know how to do it. In fact, they said that it may not even be required to turn in lesson plans. They were right. I wonder if that is a contributing factor as to why teachers don't always focus on instructional design.
The models of instructional design, such as the Morrison, Ross, Kemp Model and the ADDIE Model, might be considered too limited or too broad for what the teachers are trying to do. That could be another reason as to why instructional design is not always used.
I agree that teacher training should focus on helping them become more comfortable with instructional design. The more comfortable they are with it, the better educator they will be, and the more students will learn.
After I graduated with my degree in elementary education I substituted for a year and a half, and shortly after the beginning of the second semester last year I was hired to teach third and fourth grade Reading for the remainder of the school year. My job only lasted for four months because the position was no longer available this year. I have to admit that when I made my lesson plans during that time, I did not think about all the parts there are to instructional design. I did put good thought into what I was doing but not to that extent.
In college, I was taught how to make lesson plans, stating the objective, anticipatory set, standards, benchmarks, indicators, etc. That was required for assignments, but the instructors said that probably wouldn't be required when we actually teach, but we needed to know how to do it. In fact, they said that it may not even be required to turn in lesson plans. They were right. I wonder if that is a contributing factor as to why teachers don't always focus on instructional design.
The models of instructional design, such as the Morrison, Ross, Kemp Model and the ADDIE Model, might be considered too limited or too broad for what the teachers are trying to do. That could be another reason as to why instructional design is not always used.
I agree that teacher training should focus on helping them become more comfortable with instructional design. The more comfortable they are with it, the better educator they will be, and the more students will learn.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Week Three: Online Meetings
The webinar I watched was called Using Technology for Time Management. Susie Quinn was the host. I thought it was really helpful. She discussed how to use a smart phone to develop time management skills. I'm pretty good at managing my time wisely, but I think this is something my husband needs to watch. :)
This was my first time to watch a webinar. I think webinars are a convenient way to get information. People don't always have time to attend workshops or conferences, and this is a great way to be able to "attend" without leaving the house. Archived webinars are great for when people don't get a chance to watch them live.
In the next ten years I think webinars will be even more popular than they are now. I can see librarians using this tool a lot in the future to keep up to date on technology and other things.
This was my first time to watch a webinar. I think webinars are a convenient way to get information. People don't always have time to attend workshops or conferences, and this is a great way to be able to "attend" without leaving the house. Archived webinars are great for when people don't get a chance to watch them live.
In the next ten years I think webinars will be even more popular than they are now. I can see librarians using this tool a lot in the future to keep up to date on technology and other things.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Educational Technology is Very Broad
I believe educational technology is many different things put together. It has a very broad definition. Educational technology involves teaching and learning. It can easily be confused with technology in education, which is applying technology to a subject. Another common mistake made about educational technology is that it is the actual media that teachers and students use, such as computers, a Smart Board, iPad, digital camera, etc. I, myself, have confused this with educational technology. All of these things make up educational technology. It's essential that educators in the field of educational technology keep updated on technology because it's constantly changing.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Week Two: Online Communities
I chose Facebook for my online community because I already had an account. The thing I like most about Facebook is keeping in touch with friends that I don't see very often. I check Facebook at least once a day but usually more than that unless I'm really busy.
For the most part, I just use it to keep up with what is going on in my friends' lives. This past May when the tornado hit Joplin, I found that Facebook is a very useful tool. We lost power, so my husband and I went to stay with my parents, and I used Facebook to let everyone know that we were fine and to get updates on the community. In the future I'll probably use it more to communicate with colleagues.
I work in a library in an elementary school. I could see us using Facebook to promote upcoming events in the library and to communicate with other staff members.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=329300126
If my profile doesn't come up, it's probably because I have my privacy set so that only my "friends" can see it. If you want to see my profile, send me a friend request. :)
For the most part, I just use it to keep up with what is going on in my friends' lives. This past May when the tornado hit Joplin, I found that Facebook is a very useful tool. We lost power, so my husband and I went to stay with my parents, and I used Facebook to let everyone know that we were fine and to get updates on the community. In the future I'll probably use it more to communicate with colleagues.
I work in a library in an elementary school. I could see us using Facebook to promote upcoming events in the library and to communicate with other staff members.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=329300126
If my profile doesn't come up, it's probably because I have my privacy set so that only my "friends" can see it. If you want to see my profile, send me a friend request. :)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Week One: Blogging
Hi everyone! This is my first blog. I've read several blogs before, but I've never really created my own. I don't consider myself to be a very tech-savvy person, but I'm enjoying learning about educational technology.
I am currently a library aide at West Central Elementary School in Joplin, MO. This is a perfect job for me because I get to learn firsthand about being a librarian. I feel like I'm gaining valuable experience for the future!
I'm very excited to learn more about blogging and technology with all of you through 23 Things Kansas!
I am currently a library aide at West Central Elementary School in Joplin, MO. This is a perfect job for me because I get to learn firsthand about being a librarian. I feel like I'm gaining valuable experience for the future!
I'm very excited to learn more about blogging and technology with all of you through 23 Things Kansas!
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