Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Fair Use Harbor Summary: NETS-T (IV) artifact
This is a collaborative summary document created by myself and Christine Fisher on Google Docs and based on information from the Fair Use Harbor Web site: It demonstrates my ability to model and teach the legal and ethical uses of digial information and technology.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Journal #10- Changing the Game: What Happens When Video Games Enter the Classroom?
Squire, Kurt (2005, August/September). Changing the game. Innovate, 1 No. 6, Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=82&action=article
In the past 30 years video games have transformed from a novel social outcast, to a multi-billion dollar Juggernaut embraced by the media and now even educators. e-Educators, in particular, have a lot to learn from video games as online courses are becoming more popular. e-Learning often has the reputation of being boring and ineffective with little to offer other than "online course notes". Video games, on the other hand have developed a reputation for being fun and engaging, as well as requiring complex problem-solving skills. While online courses have a very low completion rate, gamers spend hundreds of hours mastering games and even teaching others to play. The challenge is harnessing the excitement and appeal video games provide and applying it to an educational setting.
In order to bridge the game between gaming and education, the author Kurt Squire spent two years researching the educational uses of the game "Civilization III", a widely popular turn-based historical strategy game. One of the neat features of Civilization III in particular that make it a great game and potential teaching tool is it's complexity, flexibility, and replayability. Players are able to take control of a civilization and over the 6000 year span the game covers make decisions regarding government (democracy, republic, monarchy, communism, anarchy...), territory terrain (mountains, rivers, woods), economic and military considerations, technological research and development and more. The choices the players make in regards to these different aspects affect the success or failure of a particular civilization, and in tern help students understand the consequences of their decisions.The teachers at the schools were primarily concerned with finding an alternative for students who were alienated from school and uninterested in traditional teaching methods.
One would expect that when introducing games to a classroom setting, they would be at least be motivational, even if they were not educational. However, the author soon discovered that games created as many motivational problems as it solved, as students questioned to why they were even playing the game and were dubious to how a game could teach them about history. Twenty-five percent of the students participating in the program elected to withrdraw and participate in another structured activity because they believed the game was 'too hard.' However another 25% (particularly academic underachievers) were highly engaged and loved playing the game as it provided opportunities to replay history, and to consider possible alternative scenarios (ie, what if the Native Americans resisted European colonization?)
Through the study, the author discovered that while educational gaming appealed to some students, not all students embraced the curriculum. Students who were successful in traditional schooling felt their skills and knowledge were not valued in a gaming classroom, while often many students who were failing at school demonstrated complex understanding from a game-based curriculum. This study brings into light, who benefits from traditional education, and who does it fail?
Question #1 Besides teaching students individual subjects, such as history, what other benefits does gaming provide?
Gaming encourages and develops critical thinking, problem identification, hypothesis testing, interpretative analysis, and strategic thinking skills. Many of these skills are learned and developed from initial failure, and challenges gamers to try new strategies in order to be successful. In addition, mass multiplayer online games (MMOs) also develop leadership, teamwork, corporation and group coordination. Each of these skills are important and highly valued in the 21st century workforce.
Question #2 What are the disadvantages of a game-based curriculum?
Just as traditional educational methods are not effective with all students, a game-based curriculum will alienate other students, primarily students who are successful in a traditional classroom. Mastering any game takes time and requires the development of specific game skills that is enjoyable and challenging for some students, while frustrating for others.
Journal #9- The Kids Are All Right
Waters, J. K. (2009, March). The Kids Are All Right. THE Journal, Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/24104
In 2006, the John D. and Cathrine T. MacArthur Foundation launched a study to understand the impact of digital media and communications technologies on how young people learn. Although when initially launched the study was see how technologies would effect how students might learn the future, in it eventually dawned on the researchers that the future was now. A team of 28 researchers and collaborators interviewed over 800 teens and parents, and spent more then 5000 hours observing how these teens interact with websites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other networked communities. The researchers then labeled the student's level of participation and investment of the media activities into one three different categories: "hanging out," "messing around," and "geeking out."
"Hanging out" refers to when students engage casual socialization that transitions seamlessly from online to an offline environment. "Messing Around" occurs when students start to explore an interest through self-directed learning. A lot of search activities occur at this level. "Geeking out" is when students demonstrate a high level of interest and commitment for a particular media or technology. At this level, the user demonstrates a high level of expertise, and willingness to share information with other interested parties. This level of commitment and engagement is what teachers love, and while most students won't be "geeking out" over most school subjects, teachers need to harness that level of enthusiasm and figure out a way to facilitate their passions in the classroom.
The study concludes that the time spent online, is not unproductive playtime, but rather is empowering the tech-savvy generation to pursue a central element of 21st century education- self-directed learning on the students own schedule. In order for teachers to be relevant in the eyes of their students, teachers need to embrace, not shun the technology that has become such a central part of students' lives. The Internet won't corrupt students, and teachers need to loosen restrictions of how students behave online. Good kids will be good kids.
Question #1 How can teachers decrease the technology gap between themselves and their students?
Teachers can reduce the technology gap and have a better understanding of the students in their classrooms by embracing the technologies that their students use on a daily basis. Most students already keep a blog or an online journal of some sorts, so creating a class blog is a great way for students to utilize the technology in an educational environment. Teachers who embrace, and not shun technology have greater relevance in the eyes of their students.
Question #2 In what way can students "Geeking Out" interests be incorporated into the classroom?
Depending on the particular interest of the student, teachers can harness the enthusiasm of the student and incorporate the interest into a standards-based project. For example, a student passionate about skateboarding could do a research project on the physics of skateboarding, while a student who was passionate about sewing could research and perhaps even recreate the historical fashion of a particular era the class was studying.
Journal #8- Web 2.0, "Second Life"
As an avid online gamer, "Second Life" is an application that has certanally peaqued my intereste, but have never fully understood. I will admit I have my prejudices as I believe when it comes to MMOs (Mass Multiplayer Online), World of Warcraft > all, and almost all of the popular media featuring Second Life has been rather negative, featuring stories of virtual adultery and cyber sex. But as World of Warcraft has certainly gotten it's fair share of negative press as well, I decided to embrace Second Life with an open mind and experience it for myself.
I visited Second Life's website at http://secondlife.com/, and in just a few clicks created my virtual persona, "Vikki Cascarino" (In WoW, all of my characters names begin with "Vikk"; Vikkela, Vikkili, Vikkala, and so forth, so I am commonly referred to as "Vikki" online).
Although I would classify Second Life as an MMORPG (Mass Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), it is certainly unlike any other traditional online game. Instead of gaining experience by completing quests and killing monsters, Second Life is completely open ended, which can be a little unsettling for a gamer who is used to having some sense of direction. When I logged on, I found my "toon" standing on a grassy field with trees without any explanation to my whereabouts nor any directions on where to go or what to do. After fumbling with the controls trying to get a basic understanding of how to even move my character (thank goodness "WASD" controls work!) I explored the map and soon discovered I was on ISTE's (International Society for Technology in Education) private island! How did they know I was a member?!
After further stumbling around, I decided to resort to my favorite method of learning new applications -clicking on stuff- which soon got me scolded by the ISTE docent in charge, leading to my next Second Life revelation; there are no NPCs (Non-Player Characters)! In your typical MMO, while a lot of the characters running around are actual players behind a keyboard, there are lots of computer controlled characters that function as everything from merchants to peace-keepers. In Second Life, every character is being controlled by a real person. Even after getting to experiment with the game, one thing I can't understand is why would anyone volunteer to virtually stand behind a desk for hours on end? I spend enough of my REAL life standing behind desks, so when I'm online, I'd like to be able to do something I can't do in real life, rather then have a second tedious job I don't even get paid for.
The economy in Second Life is also vastly different then in your typical online game. While purchasing "gold" in World of Warcraft with real money is a violation of their terms of service and can actually get you banned from the game, purchasing "Linden Dollars $L" with real dollars is the only way to get game money. The Second Life economy is very much a real economy where goods are bought and sold, but unlike World of Warcraft, you can actually make real money by doing so! In World of Warcraft, players can choose a number of professions for their characters to help them earn money, such as mining, leatherworking or engineering. To make a good, a player simply needs to gather the necessary materials and then with the press of the button and a few seconds later, "Voilà!", new armor! However, in Second Life most professions actually require real life skills, such as graphic design or java programming, and real time to create an item to sell. This allows for complete creativity, as you are only limited by your own skills.
This complete creativity (with a few restrictions) can really be useful, and why Second Life has attracted many Educators to its virtual world. Want to visit the Sistine Chapel, Great Wall of China or the Louvre? Second Life allows you to virtually visit and explore these famous landmarks. Although no Second Life landmark can fully recreate the experience, it is great way for students to learn about and appreciation for these great attractions. Second Life can take the "virtual museum" experience, such as we discussed in Journal #2, to a whole different level. What's really cool about any kind of virtual exhibit, such as an art gallery, that in addition to being able to see the paintings (and fairly detailed too), by clicking the painting, often times you are able to read accompanying text about the work, such as you would find when visiting a real museum. Second Life Educators have also used the platform to create learning scenarios for their students to practice skills such as a powering a city electric grid, or even setting up a colony on Mars.
While I feel that Second Life does have some potential and interesting educational applications, for the most part I think it's a rather silly and gimiky tool. Office hours on Second Life? Give me a break! Another problem Second Life faces is that it is for adults 18+, really limiting its usefulness in a K-12 enviroment. Linden Labs do have a server called "Teen Second Life", however it is for teenagers 13-17 only. Educators can purchase Private Islands on the Teen Second Life Grid, but they are not allowed to venture outside of that island, really limiting the potential for "virtual field trips".
Second Life is certainly an interesting tool, and I've had fun getting explore and trying to understand this virtual world, but as far as online gaming goes, I think I'll be sticking with World of Warcraft, thanks.
Journal #7-Mining for Gold
Bigenho, Chris (2009, March/April). Mining for gold. Learning and Leading with Technology, 36 No. 6, Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Rather then browsing through multiple webpages looking for content you're interested in, RSS or "Real Simple Syndication" makes it easy to compile all of your blogs, news articles, websites and more into one easy to read digest. RSS technology consists of two parts, aggregators and feeds. Feeds use XML that contain channel tags for the individual items. Aggregators read the tags, track each subscribed page and notify the user when new content is added. There are two categories of RSS readers: internet hosted and client-side.
One of the main advantages to using RSS feeds in an educational setting is that it make it easy to monitor student blog posts. Rather then visiting each of the students individual blogs to see if he or she has posted, the teacher can subscribe to each of the individual blogs, and the aggregator will notify the teacher of whenever new content is added.
Another way RSS feeds are useful in the classroom is with social bookmarking tools such as Delicious. Delicious allows users to bookmark websites and add multiple tags. Teachers could create a class tag and have students subscribe to it, which can be a great way to share information and collaborate with fellow students.
Question #1 Why are RSS feeds so useful?
RSS feeds are a huge time saver! Instead of having to go to each individual site or blog to gather information, RSS feeds allow the information to come directly to the user. RSS feeds are also a great way to access news and other information of a particular interest. For example, if your class is studying the Middle East, many online news sites allow you to subscribe to individual topics, so whenever a new article is posted regarding the Middle East, you can read it with your aggregator.
Question #2 What are the differences between internet-based and client-side aggregators?
An internet hosted aggregator, such as Bloglines or Google Reader allows you to access your RSS feeds from any computer. So you could keep track of and read your students blogs from your home computer or at school. Client-side aggregators, such as Safari for the Mac, and Windows Live for the PC are saved to the individual's computer, so you can only access feeds from one machine.
Journal #6- Grow Your Personal Learning Network
Warlick, D. (2009).Grow your personal learning network. Learning and Leading With Technology. Retrieved 5/6/09, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200904/
Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) refer to to the resources we use to supplement our knowledge about the world around us. While this has traditionally referred to our families, friends and colleagues, as well as books, television and radio, changes in information and communicative technology have allowed us to access people and ideas we would have never had access to otherwise. In the article, Warlick refers two three types of PLNs.
The first, known as "personally maintained synchronous connections" is the traditional network of people you consult to ask questions or solve problems. However, there are many new tools that make it easier (and cheaper) to communicate then ever before. Text messaging, teleconferencing tools (Skype, Ventrillo), Twitter and virtual worlds such as Second Life, allow for easy real-time communication.
Another PLN is what the author ref errs to as "personally and socially maintained semisynchronous connections". Unlike traditional methods of communication which commonly occur in real-time, the Internet has revolutionized indirect communication methods, where people can communicate and collaborate with a community of people on their own schedules through tools such as blog comments, Facebook walls, and message boards.
The third type of PLN Warlick describes in his article is "dynamically maintained asynchronous connection". Unlike the first two PLNs where users go to the information, in this case the information comes to the user, which is largely accomplished through RSS feeds. Instead of visiting multiple blogs to check for new posts, by subscribing to various sites with tools such as Google Reader, you can have the information come directly to you as updates are made. PLNs have also made searching for information much easier. Rather then weeding through websites with a traditional Google search, social bookmarking tools such as Delicious make it easy to wade through the vast sea of information, since by someone bookmarking the website already, someone else has found it to be of value.
Question #1 What are some weaknesses of PLNs?
Although PLNs are a great way to learn and gather information, it's human nature to gravitate towards resources that agree with our own worldviews and beliefs. For maximum learning, in addition to "comfortable" resources, reach out to sources that directly challenge our ideas and viewpoints in order to be able to have better understanding and be able to think critically.
Question #2 How can PLNs be useful for teachers?
In order to be successful in the classroom, teachers need to be dedicated learners as well. The Internet has a wealth of tools to help teachers be more affective and dynamic. Looking for good lesson plan? Search Delicious for lesson plans other teachers have created. Subscribe to various educator blogs using RSS feeds to get ideas and inspiration. Share ideas and network with others you might have not otherwise been able to communicate with by reading and posting to various discussion boards and communities. These are just a few easy ways for teachers to expand their horizons and become a more educated educator.
Journal #5- Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Enviroment
Bull, G (2006). Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 04/22/2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=April_No_7_&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=2642
One of the primary features of a web 2.0 environment is "web syndication" in which website information is made available to multiple other sites. Rather than having to visit individual websites to obtain information, that information comes directly to the user via RSS feeds, which stands for "Really Simple Syndication", a type of XML file. This allows a user to subscribe to a number of websites with frequently updated information, such as news or blogs, and combine it into one place. In an educational setting, for example, RSS feeds can be used to help a teacher follow multiple student blog postings easily without having to visit each student's individual blog. RSS feeds can also be used to easily access news stories and topics of interest. Most major newspaper sites such as The New York Times ofter individual RSS feeds for the topics they cover, such as "Middle East" or "Sports."
Another useful collaboration tool in a web 2.0 enviroment is web-based word processors such as Writely or GoogleDocs. These tools allow multiple users to edit a single document, and as it's all web based, students can edit it from anywhere. This is extremely useful when working on group presentation, as it allows students to easily collaborate and edit without having to worry about emailing multiple versions among students.
Question #1 How are RSS feeds useful?
RSS feeds save time! Rather than having to visit multiple websites to obtain information, the information can come directly to the users. This is particularly useful when following multiple blogs, as the multiple posts are consolidated into an easy to read digest that updates as the blogs do. RSS feeds can be used to track news stories on the subjects your interested in. For example, if you were only interested in news stories pertaining to education, you could subscribe to various news sites RSS feeds and get updates whenever a related article is published, rather then having to search individual websites to see even if a educational-related news story had been published recently.
Question #2 How can collaboration tools such as GoogleDocs be useful in the classroom?
Love 'em or hate 'em, group projects are a staple of almost any classroom, be hi-tech or traditional. GoogleDocs makes it easy for students to work on assignment together, without having to worry about email and various versions of the document being passed between group memebers, as there is only one document. Students can easily provide feedback for their peers and edit as necessary. Also, as GoogleDocs is a web-based word processing program, it makes it easy for them to work on it anywhere- allowing students to start their project at school and be able to easily resume at home or the library.
Journal #4 Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students With 21st Century Skills
Riedel, Chris (2009, January). Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students with 21st Century Skills. T.H.E. Journal, Retrieved April 22,2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872_2
Although technology usage is a common occurrence in the daily lives of most students, schools have yet to widely embrace this 21st century phenomenon, which author Chris Riedel argues is ill-preparing students for future success as more and more professions are utilizing these technology tools. Students need to not only become readers and writers of content, but have experience as editors and collaborators as well, in order to be desirable employees in the future as employers are looking for individuals with creative problem solving and critical thinking skills that are able to quickly gather and evaluate data. The article outlines the top 16 ways to implement technology in the classroom and prepare students to be successful leaders of tomorrow with ideas such as collaborating with GoogleDocs, teaching students how to assess the validity of information and evaluate the content of a webpage, using social bookmarking, and promoting 1:1 computing so ALL students have equal access to technology.
Question #1 Which of these suggestions would you implement in your classroom?
GoogleDocs is a powerful tool, both for basic word processing (allowing students who don't have access to Microsoft Word to create documents and make it easy to transport documents from one computer to another without having to rely on email or flash drives) and for collaboration with other students. Since learning about collaborations with GoogleDocs, I have been using this tool frequently to work on projects with others both in and outside of this class, and would enthusiastically implement it with my students as it is easy to use. Using Delicious for social bookmarking is another useful tool, especially when it comes to group research projects, allowing students to share their discoveries with each other, making it much easier to do successful research when divided among the many. I also think it's important to use real-world scenarios as often as possible when teaching students. Students become more involved with learning when simulations are used to present various concepts since the learning is often "fun", as well as it prevents unnecessary "why are we learning this" whining.
Question #2 How can teachers who are unfamiliar with technology successfully educate their students?
One of the "Top 16" suggestions was to "Hug a Geek"- to befriend people who are knowledgeable with technology and thrive in the digital world and ask for help. If I were a school administrator, I would require all of my staff to take a technology survey, such as the "Ed Tech Profile" to assess individual strengths and weaknesses, and assign the more "tech-savvy" staff members as mentors to help out those who were struggling. That way they could better understand and become more comfortable with technology and be able to better educate their students
Journal #3 Keep Them Chatting
Cole, Jeannie (February 2009). Keep Them Chatting. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37, Retrieved April 22, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/
Jennie Cole's article focuses on how to keep K-12 students engaged in online classroom discussions via chatrooms, message boards or wikis. In an online setting, students frequently lose interest and move on to other topics of personal interest. Suggestions she gives includes asking high level-open ended questions and inquiries, giving students plenty of freedom and creativity to explore their topics and keep discussing with their peers. She encourages peer evaluations and collaborations, giving students the opportunity to work with their classmates and to evaluate other student work. By giving students open-ended questions and inquiries questions, she's helping students develop higher level critical thinking thinking skills, which are necessary for collegiate level courses, and encouraging students to take learning into their own hands.
Question # 1 Why are student collaboration and peer evaluations important?
Group projects are important for developing teamwork and cooperation skills, essential for a future in the workforce. Collaborations allow students to feed ideas off of each other, which can be a great way to keep students engaged in the topic, which seems to be the primary concern when dealing with classroom discussions, particularly in an online setting. By getting to evaluate other student work, they are able to get ideas from their peers that can inspire their own work, and by critiquing problems with peer work, be able to better evaluate and edit their own content.
Question # 2 What are the benefits of online discussions rather than traditional class discussions?
By posing on a message board or wiki, students and teachers are able to look back and reference previous discussions easily. Online discussions also make it easy to incorporate media such as pictures, movies, and websites seamlessly. Posting online also reinforces and helps students practice good writing skills, which are frequently weaker then their verbal abilities.
Journal #2- Museums in the Classroom
Reissman, R.. (2009). Museums in the Classroom. Learning and Leading with Technology, 38. Retrieved April 22, 2009 from: http:www.learning and leading-digital.com/learning-leading/200902
As school districts are tightening their belts and slashing all but the bare necessities, field trips and other learning tools are going by the wayside. Fortunately, students can now visit museums virtually without having to even leave their computers. http://www.resourcehelp.com/qsermuseum.htm is a search engine that offers links to hundreds of museums. Want to visit the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, or the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan? No problem! Although virtual visits don't compare to viewing the attractions in person, virtual museums are a great way for students to visit some of the great museums of the world that students would probably otherwise not get to see.
Question #1 How can virtual museums be used to supplement teaching?
There are museums on virtually any topic imaginable? Studying the Holocaust? Visit the Florida Holocaust Museum http://www.flhm2.org/ Reading John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" or "The Red Pony"? Visit the National Steinbeck Center http://www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html. One neat idea presented in the article was to have students investigate different museums and create displays and reports about each of their respective museums and have a "Museum Night" where parents come and tour each of the "virtual museum" student projects.
Question #2 What are the advantages and disadvantages to visiting museums online?
The advantages of visiting online museums is that there's no admission fees and you can visit the museums at any time of day or night. You can easily visit museums in different states or countries that most students would probably never get to visit otherwise. However, there really is no substitution to visiting a museum live, as online museums often don't have all the exhibits, and you don't have to opportunity to interact with the exhibits in the same way.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Journal #1- "Passport to Digital Citizenship"
Ribble, M (2008). Passport to digital citizenship. Leading & Learning with Technology. 36, 14-17.
In the article, Ribble illustrates the importance in modelling "appropriate and responsible" use of technology for students in what he dubs "digital citizenship". With technology becoming a necessary staple in our daily lives (what would we possibly do without computers, the Internet, email and cellphones?) it's important that students, as well as teachers and parents are educated about these important technologies and understand proper and responsible usage in what is often regarded as a anarchical and lawless realm. He outlines "Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship", competencies which he believes are essential in order to be fully participating members in a digital society:
1. Digital Access:Full electronic participation in society.
2. Digital Commerce: Electronic buying and selling of goods.
3. Digital Communication: Electronic exchange of information.
4. Digital Literacy: The capability to use digital technology and to know when and
how to use it.
5. Digital Etiquette: The standards of conduct expected by other digital
technology users.
6. Digital Law: The legal rights and restrictions governing technology use.
7. Digital Rights and Responsibilities: The privileges and freedoms extended to all digital technology users and the behavioral expectations that come with them.
8. Digital Health and Wellness: The elements of physical and psychological well-being related to
digital technology use.
9. Digital Security:The precautions that all technology users must take to
guarantee their personal safety and the security of their
networks.
To help students integrate technology and reinforce good "digital citizenship", Ribble frames a four-step process to help students understand a particular technology:
1. Awareness: Understanding how to use the technology and learning what is appropriate and inappropriate usage.
2. Guided Practice: Providing students with the opportunity to use the technology under guidance by focusing on "appropriate use." Exploration and risk taking is encouraged!
3. Modelling and Demonstration: Students need to see that teachers are being good role models and acting as good "digital citizens" by following behaviors being taught to students.
4. Feedback and Analysis: Teachers and students need to be able to discuss their use of technology. Teachers can provide constructive criticism and students can explore and analyze why technologies are used in a particular way.
Question #1 Why is it important for students to understand and participate in digital citizenship?
Technology is an inescapable and ever growing part of our lives. What used to be a novelty only used by the hi-tech elite, computer usage has exploded in the past decade. In order to become successful members of an increasingly digital-based society, it's important that we educate all students and ensure they have understanding of technology. Students who are not computer-literate are greatly handicapping their success in the future. However, it's important that students understand what is appropriate and inappropriate in terms of usage. The world wide web has a great wealth of information, and the seeming freedom and anonymity that the Internet provides can create an illusion of digital anarchy. It's important to reinforce that in the digital world just as in the real world there are certain guidelines and expectations of what is appropriate and inappropriate that students need to understand.
Question #2 How can we bridge the gap between technology usage and school and home?
There is frequently a disconnect in students' technology usage at school and home. Although some students may have more freedom with usage at home, often times students are far more technology-savvy then their parents, so the parents may be unaware of what is considered appropriate. Schools should send out a "technology guidelines" at the beginning of the school year featuring the NETS-S and explaining what "digital citizenship" is and its importance. This would help parents understand what their students are learning in regards of technology, and perhaps open a dialog between students and parents about being a good citizen in the digital world. As a teacher, I would recommend to parents that they set guidelines for usage at home and place students' computers in public areas so they can monitor what their students are viewing.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Social Bookmarking
http://delicious.com/lisavg
1) National Archives
At the National Archives site, I visited "Picturing the Century", a collection of photographs from the 20th century. The photographs selected for the exhibit did a phenomenal job of capturing various emotional moments of the 20th century, from a suffragette picketing for voting rights, to the first footsteps on the moon. The photographs selected in the exhibit also succeeded in capturing the diversity of America, featuring people of different age groups, ethnicities, socio-economic levels and religious beliefs. This website allows you to experience history first hand from the eyes of someone who was there, and understand the emotional impact of a certain moment in time, which is often lost in the usual "facts and dates" third-hand telling found in most history textbooks.
Photographs are powerful emotional tools. One picture in particular that really stuck me was a photograph of a very large box of thousands of gold wedding rings US troops had found when they raided a Nazi concentration camp. I don't think there's a more powerful symbol of eternal love then a wedding band, and seeing so many rings collected together shows how many families were destroyed by the Nazi regime.
2) National Education Association
Ways to become a more culturally-competent educator
Create a cultural competence committee or task force. Include administrators, teachers, education support professionals, students, family, and community representatives. The committee can serve as the primary governing body for planning, implementing, and evaluating organizational cultural competence initiatives.
When making decisions, I think it's important to have a diverse body to brainstorm solutions. Students, teachers, administrators, and community members will each have different viewpoints and experiences that are valuable to consider. Furthermore, by including members outside of the school from the community, the school become more integrated with the community and seen as a valued part of the community, rather than a separate entity. Developing a good relationship with the community is especially important as the community helps fund the school from property taxes, and makes decisions that could affect the school such as local bond and tax measures.
Network with other schools that are developing and implementing culturally competent systems. Adapt the processes and information that are consistent with your school's needs and interests.
I strongly believe that the sharing of ideas and information can lead to the development of new ideas. By connecting with teachers and administrators in neighboring schools who may be facing similar situations as your own school, you can effectively learn about what strategies are successful and what are not, and easily be able to adapt them for your own needs. Furthermore, you may be able to relay ideas your school has developed to other schools, which in turn may be useful for them. Education is not a contest, and it is in everyone's best interest that all teachers and students succeed. If something works, don't keep it a secret!
Identify and include budgetary expenditures each fiscal year to facilitate personnel development through their participation in conferences, workshops, and seminars on cultural competence.
Personal and professional development is essential to becoming a better teacher. Frequently, schools that want to implement a "diversity awareness" program give teachers very little, if any, guidelines or tools to become a more "socially literate" educator. There are numbers of workshops and conferences out there that promote multicultural educational and help train teachers to become more affective in a diverse classroom. However, attending these conferences can be expensive for a teacher to pay out of pocket, especially in addition to the other the other subject-specific conferences a teacher must attend for professional development. By providing funding for or hosting multicultural seminars or conferences, teachers can be better equipped with tools to be more affective and more culturally aware educators.
3) Kidsclick.org
At kidsclick.org, I did a search on "orchestra" and found playmusic.org, a website devoted to the orchestra and classical music. While kidsclick.org ranks playmusic.org as a 0-2 reading level, making it accessible for all readers, the website is by no means "juvenile", and would be accessible for kids from Kindergarten through Middle School of all reading abilities. One of the main features is an interactive orchestra, where students can click on an instrument and hear sound clips, and then read about the actual instrument. By reading and listening, students are able to learn through multiple intelligences and students who may not be as strong of readers or more auditory learners can still benefit from the website.
4) Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
What was really nice about this website is it's an organized compiled list of other great education resources, making it easy to find a good source for a particular subject without having to comb through a Google web search for a good site. I really liked that it had links for teaching tools such has rubrics, and using technology for teaching. I'd probably use this site for the various links to lesson plans and evaluation tools to give me ideas to use.
5) Multiple Intelligences (Edutopia)
I’m rather familiar with the theory of multiple intelligences, though I had never heard of the so-called ninth intelligence “existential intelligence.” Traditional education tends to favor linguistic and logic-smart learner while alienating students with other strengths, so as a teacher it’s important to create activities that that stimulate other intelligences. I also thought the concept of “listening to teach” to be very interesting. By listening to the class as a whole and as individuals, teachers can help identify students learning intelligences and be able to cater instruction to their needs.
6) Teaching Tolerance
On the Teaching Tolerance website, I found a lesson plan regarding the song “Strange Fruit” by Lewis Allen, and made famous by Billie Holiday. The song, written at a time before music was widely used as a form of social protest, describes the horrors of lynching. Students listen to the song, and are asked to describe, perhaps in a brief pre-writing assignment, what they think the song is about. After the initial write, students can share with the class what they thought. Although the song is rather graphic, the images are a little abstract, so having a discussion can help ensure students are able to understand the meaning of the song. Students would then watch the documentary “Strange Fruit” by Joel Katz that explores the history and legacy of the song. This lesson would be a great introduction to discussing segregation which would ultimately lead to the Civil Rights movement or the role of music in social change and looking at various protest songs.
7). EdChange- Multicultural Awareness Quiz
I found it very shocking that it takes 500g of powder cocaine possession but only 5g of crack cocaine for an individual to be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison, despite both contain roughly the same amount of drug per gram. This is disturbing on a number of different levels. 500g is a lot of cocaine, slightly over 1lb, so the law at present punishes dealers rather than individual users. This indicates that authorities believe cocaine to not be a “serious” drug, but rather a recreational drug of the rich. Many celebrities have been found to have been snorting cocaine (ie Lindsay Lohan) and at the very most got rehab. Crack, on the other hand punishes the user, by only requiring a possession of 5g for a mandatory five year prison sentence. Crack cocaine usage is more common among the poor, and disproportionately punishes far greater numbers of economically disadvantaged (and frequently minorities) then powder cocaine users.
I also found it disturbing (though I had guessed correctly) that the annual earnings of the average full-time worker in the US is equal to the daily earnings of the average American CEO. This further indicates how grossly disproportionate the distribution of wealth is in this country, not only between the rich and the poor, but between the rich and “average.” In Japan, the average CEO only makes approximately ten times the amount of the average worker. I find this especially disturbing in these troubling economic times where average workers are struggling to keep their jobs, while executives of even bankrupt companies being bailed out by the US government are receiving bonuses.
8) Netiquette
I got a 100% on the Netiquette quiz, but I am a seasoned citizen of the world wide web. Netiquette is important for students to learn since as we are becoming increasingly more reliant on technology, it’s important to understand the rules of behavior commonly practiced in a virtual setting. While many conventions of “netiquette” are common sense and similar to those in real life, some, such as the use of caps to indicate shouting, are unique to the Internet and need to be taught, especially to less “web-savvy” students, before committing faux-pas. Furthermore the anonymity of the Internet and being able to hide behind an avatar can lead to nasty interactions with other human beings, simply because there are no direct consequence associated when talking to a person directly face to face. It’s important for students to understand that when communicating online, they are not just talking to another computer or avatar, but an actual human being. =D (my favorite smiley, which I use way too much)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Introduction
I am a complete computer geek. I've been using computers since I was old enough to type a DOS command line, build my own computers, and spend a ridiculous amount of time staring at the computer screen, mostly gaming (World of Warcraft owns my soul) though I've been occasionally known to use computers for somewhat practical applications as well. I am experienced with Office 2007, but I am still rather fond of 2003, though at the moment I am typing this up on notepad, as my computer is only a month old, and I haven't gotten around to installing Office on it yet. And if you haven't noticed by now I am a loyal PC user, but I do know my way around Macs having used them since elementary school. I'll admit, I even considered buying a Mac once, but after a trip to the Apple Store where I was completely overcome with sticker shock ($400 for 2GB of DDR2 RAM?!) I reaffirmed my allegiance to PCs. As a avid gamer, I like the customization that is available to PCs. Besides, there's something slightly unsettling about paying over $100 for an OS that's Linux with a shiny GUI. And the lack of right click. And no, Command-Click is not the same thing!
Although my decision to attend CSUSM was purely locational, I believe the ideals found in the College of Education's Mission Statement to be very noteworthy goals. In particular as a music teacher I am especially committed to inspire my students to become life-long learners. Although most students will never become music majors or have a career as a musician, music promotes human development, and gives students cognitive tools to interact with the world around them. If you stop learning, you're dead. I am also committed to embracing diversity. Music is an integral part of our lives and found in every culture. By understanding music, we are able to better understand ourselves, and better relate to our world. We have differences, but we have even more in common.
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