The Truth About Wikipedia

After this class the first main thing I learned was about how to use iMovie since that is a program I have never even opened on my laptop and will have to play around with once I get home. As for the discussion we had today I really enjoyed the whole debate on WIkipedia because it was one of my blog questions, but to get some more feedback really helped. I personally agreed with Will's comment about using it as the bread crumbs to lead you to the more concrete information because using it as a starter is fine as long as students are then going to other more credible websites. And as like one of our classmates said (sorry I don't know your name) it isn't just about the information, but about teaching our students the value of the online community.


The 5 W's Criteria
- making sure that the information is there and accessible to the readers
- making sure the information is accurate and up to date
- having at least 4 of the W's answered on the site

Blog #3 - Online Research... Do we really understand it??

Chapter 5 to me was an interesting chapter because it made me think about things that I hadn’t before. When I think of having to do research online the first thing that comes to mine is Google, school databases, or Proquest. It wasn’t until reading this chapter that I realized how important it is to really teach our students about conducting online research and doing it properly. As a grad school student I would know what websites to use and what not to use as valid resources, but for elementary, middle and even some high school students they might be up to date on the last technology, websites and search engines, but that doesn’t mean that they really know how to do research online. In all actuality, I sometimes feel students rely too much on the Internet and any time they find themselves stuck they end up searching for and finding a website that answers their question, whether the site is valid or not is a whole other story though.

Of all the chapters read so far I think I actually liked this one the most because as I continued reading through it I found myself really understanding and learning about the process and how to pass on this knowledge to my students. I also learned some new tips for myself for when I conduct online research. However, I did come across some facts that I was unaware of and actually surprised by. For instance, I am not sure if this might still be the case today since the citation does say it is from 2007 but when I read, “it has been estimated that “less than half the searchable Web is searchable in Google”” (p. 119) I was surprised because I personally am very fond of the term “Just Google it!” so when I read this I was shocked because if this is still true, then how is it that Google has become so popular and is viewed as the “know all” of the internet? The next section on electronic note taking was something I decided I want to look into because the way it sounds, this method of electronic note taking can actually be quite helpful, especially for teachers.

The next piece of information that I gained from this reading that concerned me a bit was the fact that Google will be providing offline library resources to their databases. This concerned me because when it states “Eventually millions of pages of text that are now available only on library shelves will be online worldwide” (p. 122) I began to wonder would this lessen the need for libraries? By taking resources that are only find in libraries and publishing them online won’t that just make the need for a library unnecessary since everything will now just be a mouse click away.

The next part I felt was a whole lot of terms, but they are very useful in knowing, especially the terms on identifying problems and knowing the difference between the different types of information, i.e. misinformation, malinformation, messed-up information, and mostly useless information. However, the most relatable I felt for myself working with students is Wikipedia and comparing it with other encyclopedias. Too often I hear students referencing Wikipedia without even a second thought, and when I try to explain that not everything on Wikipedia is necessarily valid they just don’t seem to want to understand that. A perfect example that I sometimes like to share is that when I was a senior in high school this debate of Wikipedia being a valid source was a big thing in my class, so one day a group of my friends went onto Wikipedia made up some term using one of our friends last name, gave it a meaning and ta-da it was on Wikipedia. The next day during class we talked about how easy it is to put stuff on Wikipedia and it doesn’t even have to be a real word. So for my final question I would like to know if anyone here has had this issue of students using Wikipedia as a resource? Do you allow it? If so do students have to show other sources that prove the information accurate? And if it is not allowed how do you explain to the students why it isn’t an accurate resource?

                       Then.... 

               Now...

Notice how the Library has been replaced by Google...

and finally related to my first comment on how there seems to be a website for everything...

EDUCATIONAL VIDEO PROJECT TOPIC:

Bullying/Cyberbullying using the film Cyberbully and the book Bully by Patricia Polacco 

Learning Theories 2/14/13

Learning Theories

After today's class the main lesson learned for me was reviewing the different learning theories. During my undergrad years, mainly my freshman year, was when I learned about all of the different theorist and theories, so after having not talked or learn about them in about 5/6 years it was very helpful to review the differences. While assessments was something taught throughout all 4 years of my undergrad, the review of the learning theories was not. I would always remember the main names we always here such as Skinner, Piaget, Vygotsky etc. but had you asked me which theorist went with which theory I probably couldn't have told you. I feel it is very important to know the differences because each theory focuses on different main themes and just like with our students, we need to be sure we are meeting the needs and teaching based on the individuals in our classrooms.

Blog #2: Lessons with Technology

Developing Lessons with Technology

While reading this chapter on lesson development I definitely felt knowing the three parts of it was key because as teachers, and future teachers we need to know how to take the lessons we already might have an adapt them to fit the needs of the students of today. Knowing What to Teach, How to Teach, and What the students have learned helps to create an effective lesson which also includes feedback. While I was in undergrad I remember learning all about assessments and how they were the most important part of teaching because it allows us to see if we are effectively teaching our students. However, as I have continued to learn more about teaching and more about myself as a teacher, I wouldn’t say it’s the most important aspect of it. Indeed it is important, but not the most important. I feel being able to integrate all of the parts of a lesson makes a successful lesson, because if we don’t know our content, or how to teach it in a way that is engaging and meets our students’ needs then it doesn’t matter how we assess the students because the lesson itself wouldn’t have been effective. However, that is just my opinion does anyone have any stories or examples that might agree or disagree? Or do  you think that any one of the three (what to teach, how to teach, what they have learned) is more crucial than the other two? 

Another part of the reading that I was able to relate to from my student teaching experience was the section on meeting educational standards. The text states “As they consider “what to teach” for their lesson plans, many teachers list the essential ideas, key information, and important skills they want students to learn. Questions arise in choosing what to include and what to omit from the list, stemming from the reality that there is too much information in every curriculum area that students need to learn.” (p. 66). This is true because when I did my student teaching during the fall semester my senior year I began the school year with the students and by the 3^rd week of school was teaching about ¾ of the lessons. As I began my social studies unit I went to my host teacher for guidance because it seemed as if there was so much material to be taught in so little time, and the way I saw it was I didn’t want to teach to much to fast that the students learn nothing, but I also didn’t want to teach them only one portion in depth and leave out the rest. It was then I learned that sometimes we have to omit some lessons because there are just not enough hours in the day or days in the year. During that placement I learned so much about teaching that one never learns in a college class, because until you actually experience it you never really understand. So a question I ask to the class is if you were in this situation what would you do? Would you omit certain lessons? Would you try to fit everything into one school year? And do you think something should be done in order to prevent teachers having to omit from the curriculum? If so any suggestions?

For the remainder of the reading due to my course in undergrad, which placed assessments on a high pedestal, I was able to breeze through it without much thought. I was also glad to be able to learn about a variety of assessment tools that incorporate technology into the mix of it all, however, I began thinking if it was the best decision to use electronic grading software for recording these assessment because what if the program crashes or the system is down one day. I feel it is a great advancement and tool but I also hope teachers, or entire schools, do not rely on it too much and that they also keep a hard copy record as well, because just like with cell phones how many times have we had our cell phones break or suddenly reset and erase everything and we then have no phone numbers and have to post a status saying “Lost contacts text me or message me your numbers.” Thankfully we have social media, which helps us get these contacts back for the most part, but with grades and assessments it wouldn’t be as easy to retrieve if lost. Therefore, even though technology is helpful and very useful we as a society need to remember that it is still just technology and things can happen such as crashing, systems being down, getting erased, etc so no matter what at the end of the day we cannot be replaced and should always have a plan b and a backed up copy of all materials.  


We can't let this happen...

I am a Designer!?!?

The Role of a Teacher - A Designer??

1. Who am I designing for?
           I am a designer for my students, my peers, my society.

2. What am I designing?
           I am designing the foundation of what I would like to see my students become. I will use the support of my peers to help create the ways in which my students dreams can come to life. I will prepare my students by allowing them to know it is okay to dream, and ways in which their dreams can become a reality. By laying out this foundation that their goals can be achieved if they just put their minds to it and keep moving forward, it will start the ball rolling on helping them to think of, and become aware of, what their purpose in life is and how they can contribute to our growing society.

3. What is the final product of my design?
           Accomplished Dreams!!



           After this class the take away message I have is that we ARE designers, yes technology will always be here and continue to advance throughout the years, but without the designers the technology will be nothing. I was so worried about trying to find ways to integrate technology into my lessons without having them become a distraction or taking over my lessons, but now I see that without us the technology will be nothing. Therefore, as long as I am aware of how the technology will be used and am tying it in in ways that are going to be beneficial to my students, as well as to myself and my lessons, then all will be fine!

Blog #1

Based on the readings for this week I would have to say that using technology in the classroom is definitely beneficial, as long as its used in the proper way, where teachers are not being replaced with computers and apps. As I read chapter one I found that many of my beliefs are supported in the text such as "all of us tend to take widely used technologies for granted, hardly noticing their technological power or the changes they bring to the way we conduct our daily lives." (p. 5) which I believe is often the case when students try to say they are using their phones, laptops, and tablets to do school work when really they are instant messaging, going on google or social media sites, and/or playing games. I feel if students began using these devices as actual learning tools and not just for their entertainment or as an excuse to get out of listening to their teacher, then maybe they would truly see what their technology has to offer them. Another quote I connected with was "more than half said technology affected their teaching and instructional support activities by making lesson plans more accurate, timely, and interesting. (p. 9). This shows that technology doesn't have to be the main focus of a lesson to engage students, sometimes a simple clip or view of a website can bring the students into the lesson. Also by limiting the technology to only a portion of the lesson it leaves the student wanting to know more and allows them to then raise questions and possibly even results in them going home to search for more. However, as I read the mention of incorporating Web2.0 knowledge into curriculums was brought up and I was wondering Do you think that incorporating technology into school curriculums would be a good idea, due to not all teachers being comfortable with having to use technology in the classroom? Wouldn't this just put more pressure on them to be forced to use certain technology? 

Prior to doing the reading one question I always ask myself when discussing the use of technology in classrooms is "What if the students begin to know more about the technology than the teacher? Will the students be at an advantage?" I was glad to see that this question was addressed in chapter 1 when discussing the "digital disconnect." It goes into the differences between the older generation who still uses instructions and likes to learn about the device before using it vs. the younger generation that prefers the trial and error approach to activating and using a new technology device. The chapter also shares how based on a survey, even when students were allowed technology in the classroom they tended to feel as if there was no change due to not having the opportunity to chose the technology and using the tools appropriately and independently. So I wonder,  do you think students should be able to freely use technology in the classroom when they desire vs. only using it when they are instructed by a teacher to use the technology for a specific activity? 

Lastly, when reading chapter 2 it was more about the actual benefits of using the technology in the classroom such as to teach using visual learning, to access and assess information, and to engage and collaborate using technology. Of these topics the one that I found most interesting was on using technology for collaboration because it would be the way that I would like to use technology in the classroom. I want to be able to engage my students while still keeping their attention on the overall lesson rather than on the fact that they will get to use technology. I feel my biggest worry is that the technology will take over and it will no longer be about the teacher and the lesson but about having fun and getting to visit a website, create a slideshow or powerpoint, or just using the technology period. Therefore, for my final question I ask, "Does anyone have any ideas or stories on how one could incorporate technology as an assistive tool in the classroom in a way that is allowing the students to really feel engaged, but is not becoming a distraction that causes the lesson to be brushed aside?" 

Here are just a few images I found that can sort of relate. Enjoy!!