You Tube
I just finished creating my Mastercard commercial with Photo Story 3. Using Photo Story was extremely easy (minus the fact that I couldn’t get any of my music from my computer on it). But luckily it has some music within the program that you can choose from. The music is somewhat cheesy and definetly not as fitting as other songs I can think of. Making the story was really fun too. I choose to do a more sappy/cute video, but it seemed fitting.
After putting my video on youtube I stopped and thought about anyone being able to watch that. It is pretty nerve wracking thinking about what others may think about your work. I have never published pictures on the internet for people I don’t know to see. My Facebook privacy settings are the highest they can be. So people cannot find me, add me, see me on other profiles etc. I’m sure someone could find a way around that, but it feels good knowing that random people can’t find me. Not that I have anything bad on there, it just creeps me out that people can see my life and know about my personal life without actually knowing me.
With all the videos on youtube, I am actually not worried about what people think about my video. I just thought about the reactions some people might have after watching it when I uploaded it. It will be interesting if people comment on it to see what they think. For my first upload on youtube and my first attempt with Photo Story, I think I did a decent job. There’s only one way to go from here…and that of course is up! If you want to check out my video, here it is.
Adopting and Adapting
After reading a comment by David Truss on my post titled “My Philosophy of Technology in the Classroom”, I wanted to reflect on some of the questions he gave for me to think about. David suggested I read an article Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom. This article was really interesting in that it talks about not only including technology in the classroom, but pushing technology to reach its full potential for our students. I realized after reading it that simply using a computer in the classroom is not enough for our students. We need to challenge them to use technology in ways that will enhance their learning in different ways.
This article discusses one problem with technology in classrooms and that is not having a one-to-one ratio or students to computers. I completely agree with this. After being in some of my field placements in elementary schools, there is no computer labs, just two computers in each classroom. With so few computers, how are students supposed to learn with technology? We can discuss the need for more computers to simply allow students to develop keyboarding skills. Something as simple as keyboarding cannot be mastered without a one-to-one ratio.
The article suggests that school dislike change and I believe that is true. It seems funny that we are living in a world where things are changing so rapidly, yet the schools seem to be the same. Schools need to jump on board and be willing to change the way schooling works so that students can get the most out of their education. Networks between classrooms around the world should be set up to learn about things from a broader perspective. Webcams can be used for students who are at home sick to watch the lesson. There are so many ways that technology can be used beyond the curriculum and in our schools.
After reading this article and reflecting, I still have so much to think about. This is a great article for anyone trying to improve the use of technology in the classroom.
My Philosophy of Technology in the Classroom
Alec suggested some topics to write our next blog on. One suggestion was to read Dave Truss’ blog about his philosophy of education. After reading I started thinking about my own philosophy in regards to technology in the classroom. These are my thoughts and feelings towards education and technology.
As Business Ed Major I not only find it extremely important to integrated technology in the class, but easier to do as well. Many areas in the curriculum involve technology especially in Information Processing. Beyond Information Processing technology can easily be integrated into Accounting by using software such as Simply Accounting.There are many programs, simulations and software available that you can integrate into any class. Spreadsheets can be integrated into a math or science class, blogs and word processing can be integrated into ANY class…the possibilities are basically endless when it comes to technology.
I believe integrated technology is very important because the future is now. We are living in a time when technology has a major impact on almost everything we do. Not only are we living in this era, we are working and learning in this era. It is necessary for all students to learn with and use technology because in many careers they will need to use technology. As teachers we need to enhance student learning and prepare them for life after high school.
Cell phones, Facebook, MSN and other social networks can be integrated into the classroom rather than blocked from student use. A class group can be set up on Facebook for students to chat about assignments or projects. Another use for facebook can be current events. Each student has a certain day they have to post a current event and other students can make meaningful comments on this.
I do believe technology can enhance student learning. But while integrating technology we must remember the problems that come along with it. Things such as computer failures, the Internet being down, a slide projector not working and especially cyberbullying must be considered when using technology. I plan to have a back up plan in place when using technology so that if you come across a problem there is another activity for students to be doing. Regarding the cyberbullying, I believe you should layout the rules and expectations with using computers. If a student is caught breaking a rule, consequences can be set up to deal with these situations.
This is a starting point for my philosophy. As I begin my internship I will be able to further develop this statement and create a clear philosophy. My philosophy will always be changing, just as technology is. It is something I will constantly need to consider and change as time goes on.
A Tragic End…
After watching the CTVnews last week I was shocked at an incident that occurred in Missouri. Megan, a 13 year old girl committed suicide after being harassed and having a relationship end by an online boyfriend named Josh Evans. The scary part is that Josh never existed. It was a false account made by a mom of a former friend of Megan to see what Megan was saying about her daughter. The mother is going to court to await their decision on the charges they have made. You can read this article here.
After I saw this I thought about how crazy some things with technology can get. This woman (who I believe is 39) caused a 13 year old girl to take her own life because of a cyberbullying/abuse incident. These are the things that give technology a bad name and cause us to think twice about what is going on with the Internet. Saying something over a computer is a lot easier than to someones face so it can be easy for things to get out of hand. This woman choose to take advantage of a young girl by making her believe she was in a relationship with a boy.
I think this goes to show that some people will take advantage of things. It is important for us as teachers and even parents to make sure our children know the types of things that can happen on the Internet. Children need to make sure they know who they are talking to if they are going to talk to them. It may be hard to know for sure who you are talking to all the time so they should know that if something seems odd that they may have to reconsider talking to that person because it may not be the actual person they think they are talking to. I also think that if people have Facebook etc they should have their privacy set to the highest setting so people can’t add you if you don’t know them.
Google Me
Have you ever Googled yourself? I’m sure most of us have. I know I have. I am happy to say that the first page that shows up are all websites about hockey games that I have played in during my university career. I haven’t found anything that I should be worried about…yet.
I say yet because I just read a post by Rodd Lucier which discusses other people googling us and finding information that may be inappropriate or even false. In the post titled, Take Ownership of your Identity, it gives an instance where a student created a false Facebook account about a teacher. The profile was complete with a picture and biography. The student was charged with impersonating his teacher because of this.
The post describes 5 ways to ensure you are well established on the internet and have a good online reputation so that when students, teachers or parents search for you, they will find good things, not bad. One way to get this good reputation and be well known on the Internet for positive things is just what we are doing in this class. By blogging and commenting about educational topics we are making ourselves present in a positive online community.
I thought this was a really good post and it is short so I would encourage all of you to read it and hope that some of you can find something interesting as well!
Making Meaningful Comments
I subscribed to a feed from a blog about Classroom Technology Tips. I read a post titled Blogging and Reading Comprehension Strategies. This blog discusses the fact that many classrooms, teachers and students are blogging. But one teacher wondered how they could encourage students to comment on others blogs and make it meaningful rather than just a plain old comment. The blog suggests some key ideas behind making a comment meaningful. There are 5 ways students can improve their comments; make connections, question, visualization, infer, and synthesize.
This is a good article for teachers who want their students to take blogging to a higher level. Rather than being concerned with only their own blog, they are encouraged to show interest and read others blogs as well as comment on them. I enjoyed reading this article because I am new to blogging so it helped me think about making comments myself. I also thought it would be interesting for others especially if they are planning on using blogging in the classroom. After all, what’s the point of doing something if you aren’t going to do it well? This information can help us teach the students to look at blogging more critically and thoughtfully.
Thoughts About Technology in the Classroom
After watching a video on YouTube titled Digital Learning in Prairie South 2008 I started thinking about some things. The first is the use of cell phones in the classroom. This is fine and dandy if you are in a class in which every student has a cell phone. But what happens if they don’t? I think the idea of using the cell phones is fun and can get students excited and motivated in some ways. If all students don’t have a cell phone, another option is to purchase “clickers”. These are handhel wireless devices that students can use to input answers into a system that gives them and yourself immediate feedback.
We used these in one of my marketing classes, and it was super fun. The questions were formatted as multiple choice questions. We had a certain clicker number for ourselves and each day we would take that same clicker. After everyone has answered the question simply by pressing A, B, C or D on the clicker, the answer shows up and you can see if you were right or wrong. It is annonymous so no one has to feel silly if they got it wrong. It was an easy way for us to get involved and it was fun because you can have friendly competitions with your friends. This is an expensive alternative, but if the school can afford it it would enhance the classroom a lot!
Here are some additional links about “clickers”
Desiging Questions for Clickers
Hope someone found some interest in this. Let me know if you’ve ever had a chance to work with the clickers in a university class.
Communication Skills
While thinking about technology and what it has done for us, I can’t help but think about one way that it has hindered some of us. The increase in popularity of texting, MSN, Facebook and email I think that some people have forgotten how to communicate face to face. I find myself writting more emails rather than calling people to talk about something such as a group project, placing an order or reserving a hotel. I know I am not the only one who is doing this and it can be causing some problems with the communication skills we have.
I think back to highschool and all the relationships that were started and ended over MSN. It can be so easy to say something over a computer when they can’t actually hear you and you can’t see their reaction. I also think that this increases bullying because it is so easy to attack someone emotionally over the computer.
It seems that more and more people text because they don’t have time to call. This to me means that you aren’t important enough to call. People don’t want to be caught on the phone for 15 minutes for a 2 minute phone call so we decide to text because it’s much easier to let someone go, or just not reply. Maybe I feel like this because I am not an avid text messenger. I am not very good at it and never proof read my text so my friends have to try and translate what I am saying haha.
With the increase in technology use, I think we need to focus on skills such as communication because no matter what happens, communication skills are always going to be important. In a classroom you could get over this by having students create power points and presenting them so they are comfortable talking in front of a group of people (a good skill to have for most jobs). These are just some of the things I was thinking about. I hope it made sense.
Hello!
My name is Ashley Dejaegher. I am a student at the University of Regina currently in my 4th year of secondary education with a Business Education major and a Math minor. This is my last class I need to take before my internship and I will be completed my degree after my internship which is exciting. I played hockey with the University of Regina Cougars for the past 4 years. I was born and raised in Regina and come from a family of 3 children (myself being the middle). I will be getting married on July 19th, 2008 to Kane. We have been together since grade nine. He is a new member of the RCMP and currently living in BC. I will be moving to BC in January 2009 after internship in hopes of finding a job.
I have some experience with technology, but I don’t consider myself a keener with technology. I would say that I have above average skills with Microsoft Word and Excel and average skills with Access, and Publisher. My internet skills are probably the same as most people my age, using the internet for searching, email and facebook.
I think that if technology is used in the right ways, it can enhance the students learning experience. During my pre-internship, I found that students are constantly texting, emailing or on facebook. I also think that by using technology in new and interesting ways, the students will be far more motivated because it is a new “cooler” way to learn. If done properly, facebook or blogging can be a nice addition to the classroom. My co-op teacher has a class website with all of her courses and assignments listed on them. I think this is awesome because students and parents have no excuses about what is going on in the class. This is something I am really interested in learning about in this class. It sounds like I will be able to learn how to do this perhaps with moodle.
My expectations are that I will learn more about technology in the classroom than I already have. In only two classes I can tell that this will already be the case. I am excited to see what the rest of the class will bring!
