Reflective Essay

EME2040 Reflective Essay

By Marla Fisher 

       Photo Credits to EpeSos.de on Flickr

As a college student, you take many classes and in each class taken you leave with new information. My Introduction to Technology for the Educator class is ending soon. Honestly, I had a very vague idea to begin with of how this class was going to be. This course required more contribution than a typical college course of my past experience. My personal contribution would be in-class discussions, online discussions, collaborative assignments, geocaching, digital story telling, website critiquing, creating websites e-portfolios, rubrics and blogs, as well as creating a PowerPoint presentation and presenting it to the class.

The class was assigned on a regular basis a discussion topic and each student was required to post a reply to the topic in addition to a reply to at least one classmate's post. The collaborative lesson plan was a group assignment to create a lesson plan collaboratively. Geocaching was a fun GPS scavenger hunt in which the students were to research and answer questions regarding APA format. Several collaborative in-class and out-of-class assignments were given such as a collaborative lesson plan and an instructional wiki webpage. An in-class assignment which I enjoyed was digital story telling. The students were to create a digital story of any topic using any technology tool that could create a story. I used ToonDoo and created a short comic about my career choice. Also, on a mostly weekly basis students were assigned to post in a blog about a chapter from our textbook. One of the last projects I did was an e-portfolio. I used Weebly to create my e-porfolio. Another project was to create a PowerPoint. I did mine in Pecha Kucha format and my topic I chose was how-to make a paper airplane.

The final wiki page was a collaborative assignment in which students were to communicate strictly through the wiki page. I liked better being able to communicate in other ways due to the fact that text messages and other more instant methods of contact are received directly to the person and communication can be quicker. A positive thing about wiki-only communication is that everyone can see what is being said and we can state our opinions in one place rather than using variety of communication methods. My group's wiki was overall a success. We had one student who mostly took charge of the home page and put it together very well. My group as a whole finished in a timely manner and our page was pleasing to view but in my opinion had some parts that were too wordy which  might steer viewers away. We had pictures and videos as well as hyperlinks located throughout our wiki page.

One lesson I enjoyed and I can see myself using is geocaching. It is similar to a scavenger hunt and can be incorporated into a variety of lessons to make learning fun.  I am looking to teach 2nd grade and young children love to explore. Another activity that I would like to use in my own future classroom is digital storytelling. Instead of your typical book report, a digital story would be a more interactive and stimulating activity for my young students.

This is a great video on How-to Geocache with Children:

References:

 Ablett, Eric, Dominick Bellizzi, Carole Snitzer, Ryan Bowse, James Byers, Sarah Cove, Max Dobrusin, Adam Faye, Jeff Hank, Ryan Koopmans, and Julie Newcomb. "Wikispaces." Wikispaces. Tangient LLC, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <www.wikispaces.com/>.

"ToonDoo - World's fastest way to create cartoons!." ToonDoo - World's fastest way to create cartoons!. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. <http://toondoo.com>.

"Weebly." Weebly. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <www.weebly.com/ >.

Chapter 10

Engaging Teachers and Students in Learning and Self - Reflection

                                          Photo Credits to Sean MacEntee on Flickr

Focus Question : What is performance-based assessment for teachers and for students?

Performance-based assessment for teachers is homework, New teacher self-assessments, teacher education course participation,and new teacher writing assignments. Performance-based assessment for students is student writing assignments, individual and group projects, and student self-assessments.

Tech Tool: iLife

iLife is created by the well-known Apple for Macintosh. It is software created to archive and manipulate photos and videos. The website says"From your Facebook Wall to your coffee table to your best friend’s inbox (or mailbox). Do more with your photos than you ever thought possible. And do it all in one place. " For those with Apple products iLife is a good tool to use for easier easy storing and sharing of photos and videos. 

Summary & Connection

This chapter talks about evaluating of teachers and students using technology. E-portfolios and online surveys are just a few examples of how you can evaluate using technology. I enjoy online surveys more than paper surveys because you can get instant results and it takes less class time. 


Resources:
 Maloy, Robert W. Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Web

Chapter 9

Creating and Sharing Information with Multimedia Technologies 

                                          Image Credits to Robert Lowe on Flickr

 

Focus Question: What is multimedia technology and how can teachers use it to effectively create and share visual information dynamically in their teaching?

Multimedia technology is when more than one type of medias of technology  are used to communicate information. Teachers can use it effectively by integrating it in their lessons for a more interactive way to learn for the students that will help keep their focus.

Tech Tool: Voice Recording Microphone or Digital Voice Recorder

Our textbook says that this tool is best for singular or group situations. Students would enjoy using these for assignments. I think that these recorders would be helpful for blind students and also for ESOL/ELL students to help them practice proper word pronunciation.

Summary & Connection

This chapter has a main focus on ways that multimedia presentations are used to enhance education. They allow teachers to create and communicate through technology using a variety of medias such as audio and video. I always enjoyed in class when we would watch a movie. It keeps your focus and it is a nice change from the typical textbook page.'



Resources:
 Maloy, Robert W. Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Web

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 :Communicating and Network with Websites, Blogs, Wikis, and More

Photo Credits: Richard Cawood on Flickr

Focus Question:  How can teachers use wikis to promote collaborative learning?

Teachers can use wikis in many ways. They help the students to learn together and share information. Also, a wikitext can be created together as part of a class study topic. Our class currently uses the wiki to view assignment due dates and rubrics at any time without having to ask/email our teacher.

Tech Tool: Blogger

Blogger is new to me; I just started using it in this class. I enjoy it and think that for being a free blogging website, it has a lot of good features. We use it - like I am right now- to do our weekly journal post assignment. It is very user friendly has nice free backgrounds to choose from. Another feature I like is that it is public so anyone can view your blog. All in all, blogger is a great tool.

Summary& Connection

This chapter is mainly about how teachers and students can share ideas together online. There are various methods such as blog websites, discussion boards, and email. Before I began this EME2040 class I was not aware of all of the blogging websites out on the internet. I think that as our culture is evolving quickly to more technology based learning that classes will be using these kind of technologies for most assignments instead of the typical paper turning in methods.

Resources:
 Maloy, Robert W. Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Web

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 : Problem Solving and Inquiry Learning with Software and Web Tools

Photo Credits: Michael Surran on Flickr

Focus Question: How can teachers use computer games and simulations as learning resources?

First of all, not all teachers agree on using games for students to learn, but if used correctly they can enhance students' skills. Games keep the student engaged and they are learning and sharpening their skills while doing an activity that they are enjoying.

Tech Tool: The Learning Company

I couldn't find Zoombinis Logical Journey on the website that the book gave, although I found it via Google search, and it had high reviews. I went on The Learning Company's webpage and their a variety of Software programs available for purchase. Most people like free things, and honestly there are tons of websites with free learning games.I'm sure the games are great games, but as a future teacher, I think free is the way to go.

Summary & Connection

This chapter defines what inquiry learning is and explains how it engages students. Also, in this chapter we learn about different sources available via Web and Software programs for inquiry learning. When I observed a 2nd grade class last year, the teacher had brought the class to the computer lab and the students were using a Software program for math that was a space game. The students were excited when it was time to go down to the computer lab. I could tell that they enjoyed playing the math game.


Resources:
 Maloy, Robert W. Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Web

Journal 6- Chapter 6:

Teaching with Educational Websites and Other Online Resources

 

Image Source: Shane Pope on Flickr

 

Focus Question: What is information management and digital content?

Information management is a business term that typically describes the way organizations and systems keep track of data and making decisions and setting policies.

Digital content is an easily accessible source of academic information and knowledge online.

Tech Tool:Diigo

Diigo is similar to Delicious.com in the fact that you can bookmark websites. But with Diigo you can highlight Web pages and add sticky notes. Every time you go on that page your notations will be there. I like it better than Delicious and found it to be very user friendly and they even have it on the iPad.

Summary & Connection

 This chapter talks a lot about bookmarking and ways that you can organize information on the Web. In class, all students were assigned to make a Delicious account but I honestly haven't used it very much. I think personally I just don't like bookmarking websites. Maybe when I become a teacher I would have more uses for them.


Resources:
 Maloy, Robert W. Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Web

Journal 5 - Chapter 5: Researching and Evaluating Internet Information

Chapter 5:  Researching and Evaluating Internet Information

 Image Source: Danard Vicente on Flickr

Focus Question: What are search engines and how do they work?

Search engines retrieve information from the Internet. They are a very fast way to access a variety of information. The way they work is by searching through millions of Web pages to locate topic-related websites. Some examples of a few well-known search engines are Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Tech Tool: LibriVox

LibriVox is a free website that has audio recordings of books. I can think of many ways this would be helpful for teachers and students. This could be beneficial as an assistive/adaptive technology for blind students or for students that are audio learners. Visual learners could follow with the text and audio learners could listen.

Summary & Connection

 This chapter discusses how teachers and students can locate information online. It also goes over the very prevalent issue of plagiarism and explains how to evaluate sources for bias. The internet is full of information, but many people will use someone's  information - plagiarism- and not even realize it. I think it is important to teach students early on the meaning of plagiarism and its consequences.