Vaidyanathan Sheena. (2012). Foster in creativity and innovation through technology.Learning and Leading, 24-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx
Elementary students at Los Altos, California has found a way to express their artistic side that goes beyond a brush and canvas. The Los Altos School District has provided each 4th-6th student a 12-week digital design program that focus on art and creativity using digital software, many that are free to download or use online. I believe this is a great program because it can be applied to STEM subjects and promote creativity. For example, when students are exposed to digital tools, such as Google's free SketchUp service, it allows them to connect mathematic concepts such as manipulation of lines and vecter graphs. There are many benefits of implementing digital tools in the classroom. The programs used by LASD, are open source, meaning its free. Schools wouldn't have to worry about purchasing costly licenses, students would be able to download programs at home, and it's a great way to allow students to explore, create and innovate.
Q1: Schools can't afford to purchase additional software or services needed to run a digital art program like LASD, is there an alternative? How would teacher's implement the curriculum without spending additional money?
A: All the programs used by LASD are free, and runs free online as long as there is internet connection. Google offer services that are free, such as Google Docs, SketchUp, Blogger and only requires the user to create an account. The curriculum development can also be found at Creative Commons, for free! Finding resources should be easy because through Diigo, Twitter, and our PLN makes the search for these tools easy.
Q2: Can this be only applied on the classroom?
A: Of course not! Students are able to download and use the same programs at home. Teachers can also assign them as homework, and involve parents in the learning process. Parents and students can benefit from the use of digital tools.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Journal 9: How to do more with less.
Page Liz. , Sheehan Tracy, , & Worrell Colleen, (2012). How to do more with less. Learning and Leading, 39(6), 18-23. Retrieved from: http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20120304?pg=40&pm=2&fs=1#pg20
Educators across the nation are finding innovative ways to keep students engaged in learning despite of budget cuts and limited resources. The article discusses two types of online learning strategies, blended teaching and flipped classroom instruction. Blended teaching refers to mixing both traditional classroom instruction with online tools. Some blending teaching strategies include: online assessments, posting teaching resources online for students to review at home, homework help through online chat and online collaborative assignments. The second strategy is called the flipped classroom instruction. This type of instruction asks students to review the lesson before coming to class instead of doing homework. This allows students and teachers to actively engage with each other and apply what they learned to real world problems, class discussions, or lab work. This also allows teachers to give individualized attention and answer questions students may have. The article also provide additional information about free online tools that are accessible to students and teachers.
Q1: Is there something wrong with traditional teaching method through textbooks and whiteboards?
A: Absolutely not! Web tools are designed to enhance teaching and learning experience for teachers and students. Through the blending technique, and utilizing both text/digital resources allows students to learn though a variety of ways. Learning by actively engaging in blogs, online forums, and podcasts goes beyond what a textbook can provide.
Q2: Are their alternatives for those who don't have access to internet or a computer at home?
A: It is important for every educator to make sure that every lesson plan is accessible to all students. For example, if we create an online assignment for students, we also have to create the same assignment that does not require online access. Again, almost every home has internet access or public access such as local libraries and schools.
Educators across the nation are finding innovative ways to keep students engaged in learning despite of budget cuts and limited resources. The article discusses two types of online learning strategies, blended teaching and flipped classroom instruction. Blended teaching refers to mixing both traditional classroom instruction with online tools. Some blending teaching strategies include: online assessments, posting teaching resources online for students to review at home, homework help through online chat and online collaborative assignments. The second strategy is called the flipped classroom instruction. This type of instruction asks students to review the lesson before coming to class instead of doing homework. This allows students and teachers to actively engage with each other and apply what they learned to real world problems, class discussions, or lab work. This also allows teachers to give individualized attention and answer questions students may have. The article also provide additional information about free online tools that are accessible to students and teachers.
Q1: Is there something wrong with traditional teaching method through textbooks and whiteboards?
A: Absolutely not! Web tools are designed to enhance teaching and learning experience for teachers and students. Through the blending technique, and utilizing both text/digital resources allows students to learn though a variety of ways. Learning by actively engaging in blogs, online forums, and podcasts goes beyond what a textbook can provide.
Q2: Are their alternatives for those who don't have access to internet or a computer at home?
A: It is important for every educator to make sure that every lesson plan is accessible to all students. For example, if we create an online assignment for students, we also have to create the same assignment that does not require online access. Again, almost every home has internet access or public access such as local libraries and schools.
Journal 10: Ten surfire ways to destroy your Twitter
Still, B. (2012). Ten surefire ways to destroy your twitter credit. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(6), 32-33. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/DigitalEditionMarch-April2012.aspx
The internet and social media has been growing faster than ever. As a future educator, we have to set a positive example in and out of the classroom, which also includes anything we post online. Even though I am not a frequent user of Twitter, I do use Facebook. The article makes several important points of what not to do and how Twitter could harm your professional reputation within your PLN. The most important one is we must be careful posting inappropriate images, statements or videos. Even if it wasn't intentional or for fun, someone may find it inappropriate. Using slant and text lingo is also frowned upon. Abbreviating words also suggest that we are too lazy to type up a word. Being a Facebook user, I currently keep everything separate by using filters. Filters displays certain posts according to groups that I select.
Q1: What is the most effective way to prevent an accidental post from happening?
A: Keep your personal and professional networks separate. When making a post, always double check which networks would see your post. Or simply, don't post anything inappropriate. This ensures that you are always maintaining a positive images through out all networks.
Q2: Many students now have mobile devices, how could teachers identify cyberbullying through social outlets like Twitter?
A: Like many bullying incidents, its important for teachers to recognize signs of bullying that happens in and out of the classroom. And if you are planning to use public forums as a way to facilitate a discussion, or as an assignment, teachers have to make sure that it is a safe, educational environment.
The internet and social media has been growing faster than ever. As a future educator, we have to set a positive example in and out of the classroom, which also includes anything we post online. Even though I am not a frequent user of Twitter, I do use Facebook. The article makes several important points of what not to do and how Twitter could harm your professional reputation within your PLN. The most important one is we must be careful posting inappropriate images, statements or videos. Even if it wasn't intentional or for fun, someone may find it inappropriate. Using slant and text lingo is also frowned upon. Abbreviating words also suggest that we are too lazy to type up a word. Being a Facebook user, I currently keep everything separate by using filters. Filters displays certain posts according to groups that I select.
Q1: What is the most effective way to prevent an accidental post from happening?
A: Keep your personal and professional networks separate. When making a post, always double check which networks would see your post. Or simply, don't post anything inappropriate. This ensures that you are always maintaining a positive images through out all networks.
Q2: Many students now have mobile devices, how could teachers identify cyberbullying through social outlets like Twitter?
A: Like many bullying incidents, its important for teachers to recognize signs of bullying that happens in and out of the classroom. And if you are planning to use public forums as a way to facilitate a discussion, or as an assignment, teachers have to make sure that it is a safe, educational environment.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Journal 8: Adaptive Technology
Communication
Augmentative and Alternative Communication or AAC refers to all forms of communication other than oral speech to express thoughts, ideas, needs, and wants. Some forms of AAC includes, body language, gestures, facial expression, sign language, word boards, books pictures, symbols and writing. It is something we all do everyday, such as making facial expressions when we're laughing or waving our hand to say hello. For some, AAC aids and devices are needed to help those who have speech or language problems.
Low Tech Tools
Low tech tools comes in many forms, and does not require a electrical power to function. Low tech communication can include photographs, picture boards, and sign language. Communication books is a great example of a low tech tool because it requires no batteries and is portable. Communication books comes in a variety of forms depending on the user's age, cognitive and physical abilities and their interest. The book provide pages of symbols and words that are usually organized by topics. For example, book used by an AAC adult speaker would have relevant vocabularies for going to work, meetings, or shopping. Communication books can be customized by the user and organized in any manner such as "frequently used phrase" or "I feel" page. Since communication books are portable, students who use it may find it comfortable using it in the classroom and carrying it to school. It is not clunky like a computer and working in groups with other students would be easier.
I commented on Marlene's page & Kristen's page.
High Tech Tools
Access or accessibility refers to an AAC user's ability and /or method of using an ACC tool/aid. Being able to access or use any AAC system is important whether it is low tech or high tech input device. Input devices are physical tools such as a keyboard, pointer or joystick that can be used by the user to make a selection. Input devices comes in many forms, meeting the needs of the user. Joy sticks, such as the one pictured to the right, has additional buttons that can be customized to the user's preference. Another example of a hardware device are switches. Switches are like buttons where the user can make a selection by pressing a button. Selection switches can also work by body and eye movement.
Hi tech tools can include eye gaze systems, or any form of voice output communication aids or VOCAs for short. An example of a high tech tool is a dynamic screen VOCA. Dynamic screens displays images on a display instead of paper sheets. An advantage of a VOCA with a display is, the ability to store many "pages" digitally and being able to turn to pages with a push of a button or tab. Some high tech tools even goes beyond images, some tools have additional features such as a built in music player, internet access and email. Just like the communication book, VOCA aids with dynamic screens would work the same a classroom setting. The only difference is the user's personal interaction with the aid.
Accessibility
Access or accessibility refers to an AAC user's ability and /or method of using an ACC tool/aid. Being able to access or use any AAC system is important whether it is low tech or high tech input device. Input devices are physical tools such as a keyboard, pointer or joystick that can be used by the user to make a selection. Input devices comes in many forms, meeting the needs of the user. Joy sticks, such as the one pictured to the right, has additional buttons that can be customized to the user's preference. Another example of a hardware device are switches. Switches are like buttons where the user can make a selection by pressing a button. Selection switches can also work by body and eye movement.
A software such as Say-it! SAM by Words + is a great software for computer AAC users. This software can be installed on many devices ranging from tablets, laptops, and computer desktops. Whats great about this software is a feature that uses real-time word completion and word prediction. The software keeps track of most frequently use words and always adjusting to the user. The software also combines both dynamic graphic interface with pictures, texts and a intelligent keyboard interface allowing the user to communicate in a variety of ways.
I commented on Marlene's page & Kristen's page.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Journal 7: My Personal Learning Network
Technology is helping educators teach beyond basic materials such as books and overheads, it allows us to engage all students in a way that works best for them. The benefits of technology are not only seen by students but teachers as well. Teachers have the ability to retrieve resources from all types of outlets found on the web through their PLN or personal learning network. A PLN is a system of connecting people around the globe, where we can share ideas, post useful resources, and learn on another.
I created my PLN using the following tools:
Twitter: Twitter is an online social network and micro-blogging service that allows users to send small burst of information called "tweets". I mainly use my Twitter account as a way for me to learn from other educators who have extensive knowledge and experience in the field of education. To help streamline tweets and newsfeeds, I downloaded TweetDeck onto my computer. TweetDeck is an application that organizes all the different streams into columns. It allows me to manage my professional and personal streams in one central location. I use Twitter to follow educators such as Eric Sheniger, Steve Reifman, Aiden Levy, Lisa Dabbs, and Tom Whitby. I chose to follow many educators from different fields because I feel it allows me to learn about education from all perspectives. For example, Tom Whitby is a professor at St. Josephs in New York with over 34 years of teaching experience. Eric Sheninger is a principal and an author. Aiden Levy is a fairly new teacher with 6 years of experience. I chose to follow Aiden specifically because I believe he has been teaching for a small amount of time but still has lots of room for growth. By following him, I can learn from his tweets and and see what it is like to be a new teacher.
I also chose to follow educational streams such as #edchat and #ntchat. Through streams like these, I can follow multiple tweets that pertains to a certain subject. on March 28 2012, at 5pm, I participated in the new teachers stream. The topic was, "How is Coaching and Mentoring helpful?" I used TweetDeck to follow the stream and learned several things about coaching and mentoring. Someone made a good point in the chat, between the mentee(new teacher) and coach (veteran teacher), and that the relationship between the two should be reciprocal. New teachers should have full support from their coach and learn from them. Coaches should be able to listen, understand, and learn from their mentee. Both teachers should be able to learn, transform and modify each others teaching style and continue to grow as a teacher.
Diigo: Diigo is a social bookmarking service that allows users to bookmark web sites, highlight notes in the reading, and highlight directly on the web page as if it was a real book! By tagging each bookmark with a hastag, the Diigo community can follow specific "tags" and read what others have found. Diigo is a useful tool in building my PLN because it has allows me to bookmark anything on the web and read it at my convenience and retrieve information with ease using my Diigo sidebar or other internet connected device.
Using Diigo to build my PLN, I chose to follow John Evans, Crista Anderson, Beth Harvey and several other educators because I feel they all have experience and useful information that I can use. Crista Anderson is a fifth grade teacher who is always searching for innovative ways to engage students. When I was browsing her library, I found one of her bookmarks titled, "Teaching and Modeling Good Digital Citizenship". This article shared information about organizations such as iEarn, an non-profit org empowering millions of teachers and youth around the world to learn, communicate, and work on projects together. Bookmarking articles, blogs, and websites related to education on a regular basis is important as well. By taking a couple hours out of the week, to add and expand my PLN will only help me become a better teacher. A site I tagged "PLN" on Diigo is a blog called, Tech Savvy Ed Blogger. Ben Rimes, a technology coordinator is the author of this amazing blog! His posts are fun to read, and helpful because most of his them are geared towards integrating technology in the classroom. Ben's posts ranges from art, mathematics, history to advocacy. One of Ben's posts was titled, "When People Make Public Mistakes" and it was a great example of how PLNs can resourceful among educators across the nation. In the post, Ben shares his tweets between educators and admins receiving real-time support and assistance.
Educators Discussion Forums: I am also a member of two educational learning networks, Classroom 2.0 and The Educator's PLN. Both of these sites are for educators to add to their PLN. On both of these sites, you can find resources such as articles, videos, and blogs. When I was exploring the The Educator's PLN site, I stumbled across a discussion about the importance of reflecting as a teacher. Sandra keeps a professional journal and reflects about all the positive events that has happened. I responded to her post, about the importance of reflecting regularly as a student and future educator. Click here to View the Discussion Forum.
I created my PLN using the following tools:
Twitter: Twitter is an online social network and micro-blogging service that allows users to send small burst of information called "tweets". I mainly use my Twitter account as a way for me to learn from other educators who have extensive knowledge and experience in the field of education. To help streamline tweets and newsfeeds, I downloaded TweetDeck onto my computer. TweetDeck is an application that organizes all the different streams into columns. It allows me to manage my professional and personal streams in one central location. I use Twitter to follow educators such as Eric Sheniger, Steve Reifman, Aiden Levy, Lisa Dabbs, and Tom Whitby. I chose to follow many educators from different fields because I feel it allows me to learn about education from all perspectives. For example, Tom Whitby is a professor at St. Josephs in New York with over 34 years of teaching experience. Eric Sheninger is a principal and an author. Aiden Levy is a fairly new teacher with 6 years of experience. I chose to follow Aiden specifically because I believe he has been teaching for a small amount of time but still has lots of room for growth. By following him, I can learn from his tweets and and see what it is like to be a new teacher.
I also chose to follow educational streams such as #edchat and #ntchat. Through streams like these, I can follow multiple tweets that pertains to a certain subject. on March 28 2012, at 5pm, I participated in the new teachers stream. The topic was, "How is Coaching and Mentoring helpful?" I used TweetDeck to follow the stream and learned several things about coaching and mentoring. Someone made a good point in the chat, between the mentee(new teacher) and coach (veteran teacher), and that the relationship between the two should be reciprocal. New teachers should have full support from their coach and learn from them. Coaches should be able to listen, understand, and learn from their mentee. Both teachers should be able to learn, transform and modify each others teaching style and continue to grow as a teacher.
Diigo: Diigo is a social bookmarking service that allows users to bookmark web sites, highlight notes in the reading, and highlight directly on the web page as if it was a real book! By tagging each bookmark with a hastag, the Diigo community can follow specific "tags" and read what others have found. Diigo is a useful tool in building my PLN because it has allows me to bookmark anything on the web and read it at my convenience and retrieve information with ease using my Diigo sidebar or other internet connected device.
Using Diigo to build my PLN, I chose to follow John Evans, Crista Anderson, Beth Harvey and several other educators because I feel they all have experience and useful information that I can use. Crista Anderson is a fifth grade teacher who is always searching for innovative ways to engage students. When I was browsing her library, I found one of her bookmarks titled, "Teaching and Modeling Good Digital Citizenship". This article shared information about organizations such as iEarn, an non-profit org empowering millions of teachers and youth around the world to learn, communicate, and work on projects together. Bookmarking articles, blogs, and websites related to education on a regular basis is important as well. By taking a couple hours out of the week, to add and expand my PLN will only help me become a better teacher. A site I tagged "PLN" on Diigo is a blog called, Tech Savvy Ed Blogger. Ben Rimes, a technology coordinator is the author of this amazing blog! His posts are fun to read, and helpful because most of his them are geared towards integrating technology in the classroom. Ben's posts ranges from art, mathematics, history to advocacy. One of Ben's posts was titled, "When People Make Public Mistakes" and it was a great example of how PLNs can resourceful among educators across the nation. In the post, Ben shares his tweets between educators and admins receiving real-time support and assistance.
Educators Discussion Forums: I am also a member of two educational learning networks, Classroom 2.0 and The Educator's PLN. Both of these sites are for educators to add to their PLN. On both of these sites, you can find resources such as articles, videos, and blogs. When I was exploring the The Educator's PLN site, I stumbled across a discussion about the importance of reflecting as a teacher. Sandra keeps a professional journal and reflects about all the positive events that has happened. I responded to her post, about the importance of reflecting regularly as a student and future educator. Click here to View the Discussion Forum.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Journal 4: Join the flock
Ferguson, H. (2010). Join the flock.
Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), 12-15. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx
Miller, S. (2010). Enhance you twitter experience. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(8), 14-17. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx
This article is about the importance of creating a "personal learning network" or PLN with the help on online resources such as Twitter. Twitter is a great tool for educators because it allows you to follow certain topics or people that your are interested in. Educators can follow other educators and share information that they find. Sharing such information through Twitter is called "tweets." For example, through a tweet I can share an article with whoever is subscribed to me. Through tweets, we can create our own online resource that can be read at our own convenience.
Q: Why is Twitter an important tool in creating a PLN?
A: Twitter is a realtime tool that can be beneficial for all teachers. Teachers can "follow" other teachers and learn from others. When another teacher tweets something, it is instasntly posted to the website for others to view. Posts on Twitter can include, videos, links, pictures, and articles. When people post, others can comment which also allows viewers understand the information from a different perspective.
Q: If we follow a lot of users, is there away to organize Tweets and make it more manageable?
A: Yes. According to Shannon Miller, applications such as Tweet Deck and Hootsuite, filters and arranges your feeds into columns according to hashtags. When organized, it allows you to find what you are looking for easily in all in one application.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Journal 3: More than words can say
Krauss Jane. (2012). Infographics: More than words can say. Learning & Leading, 39(5), 10-15. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx
The article discussed the benefits of using infographics in the classroom. According to the article, an info graphic is a compelling representation of data sets that can be used to help clarify a complex idea or story. These pictures and graphs are beneficial because it incorporate words and visuals to help students both understand linguistically and non linguistically. Infographics have students critically think about the graphics and how it relates to the information given. Using info graphics in your cirriculum also help students learn how to make sense of data by analyzing and interpreting the information. When using info graphics, it should tell a story. The pictures should represent the context and be clear. The data used should be reliable and recent. When students use infographics, it allows them to better understand the context. For example, if a student is looking for a picture of the rain cycle, they would have to search, and figure out which one would best work for their assignment.
Q: Can info graphics be applied to all subject matter?
A: Yes, graphics doesn't only apply to presentations. Graphics can be used in math, science, literature or part of any lesson plan. Infographics doesn't have to be statistics, it can be a simple picture that would help supplement the context of the lesson plan.
Q: Are there interactive tools that students/teachers can use as info graphics?
A: Yes, there is a tool online free for class up to 40 students. http://www.polleverywhere.com/ is a website that creates a real-time poll results as students submit their responses through their cellphone via text. Since this tool provide real-time feedback, it allows a dynamic classroom discussion based on the results that are changing.
The article discussed the benefits of using infographics in the classroom. According to the article, an info graphic is a compelling representation of data sets that can be used to help clarify a complex idea or story. These pictures and graphs are beneficial because it incorporate words and visuals to help students both understand linguistically and non linguistically. Infographics have students critically think about the graphics and how it relates to the information given. Using info graphics in your cirriculum also help students learn how to make sense of data by analyzing and interpreting the information. When using info graphics, it should tell a story. The pictures should represent the context and be clear. The data used should be reliable and recent. When students use infographics, it allows them to better understand the context. For example, if a student is looking for a picture of the rain cycle, they would have to search, and figure out which one would best work for their assignment.
Q: Can info graphics be applied to all subject matter?
A: Yes, graphics doesn't only apply to presentations. Graphics can be used in math, science, literature or part of any lesson plan. Infographics doesn't have to be statistics, it can be a simple picture that would help supplement the context of the lesson plan.
Q: Are there interactive tools that students/teachers can use as info graphics?
A: Yes, there is a tool online free for class up to 40 students. http://www.polleverywhere.com/ is a website that creates a real-time poll results as students submit their responses through their cellphone via text. Since this tool provide real-time feedback, it allows a dynamic classroom discussion based on the results that are changing.
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