Blog Post #12 Final Class Reflection

It seems incredible that this will be my last Class Blog Post. On my first blog I wrote “This is my first post. Creating my blog was a whole new adventure. It was interesting and a little bit intimidating but I did it.” My first technology tool was this blog and I found it intimidating but then came the following tool and the one before looked easier. After that, I had more knowledge and practice on how to post in a blog so I wrote more and started to sound more confident. News experience can be exciting but the time constraint made them a little bit stressful.

I have learned the basics of making a Tableaux, Digital Manipulation, Blogging, Web design, Digital Story, Non-Linear PowerPoint, and Podcasting. Also, I have learned how to use those technological tools without violating copyright laws. I have discovered many useful websites that will facilitate the integration of technology in my classroom. I discovered technology is an invaluable resource when use to support other activities and not as the main objective. Educational goals, how technology can enhance those goals and diligent professional preparation before using appropriate technology in the classroom are imperative. Relationship and personal interaction are also important elements in a learning process.

I have also faced many challenges, but I learn from them. I am not afraid of technology, but I can get very impatient with it. My challenges taught me that you cannot rush your work when using technology. You have to keep a steady and very careful pace while working with these tools. You also have to be flexible and patient with yourself and with others, especially the computer, if you want to master the technological skills. Another challenge was to listen to quick instructions on how to do tasks, retain the information quickly without taking notes of the steps to follow, and jump immediately into the hands on experience. This forced me to rely more in the tutorials to close any information gap. I am certainly going to incorporate this experience in my lesson designs, especially if they integrate the use of technology. I am going to utilize this experience to anticipate my student’s challenges when working with technology. I have definitively stretched my horizons way beyond my experiences through this course proving my self that we never cease to learn. So, now I stand in front of my computer more confident than yesterday and looking forward to my tomorrows.

Blog #11 The Computer Delusion by Todd Oppenheimer

Delusion “ implies an inability to distinguish between what is real and what only seems to be real, often as the result of a disordered state of mind” Webster Dictionary.

Once I finished reading Todd Oppenheimer article and got ready to start my reflection my first impulse was to look for the meaning of Delusion. What a surprise. Delusion sums up in one word the article’s main ideas. At the beginning Oppenheimer expressed how Clinton Task force, some educators and school administrators believed in technology as the main objective to improve student academic performance in education and careers opportunities. However, the author also presented other opinions from the business, technology and education sector in which technology was not viewed as the real solution for academic achievement or career advancement but as a hazard for students learning process. One might conclude that Oppenheimer believed that the first group suffered from computer delusion when they couldn’t distinguish between the real implication of excessive and careless use of technology from their perception of computers as the ultimate solution to all academic issues.
At the same time, Oppenheimer may use computer delusion to describe students’ perception of their learning process when using computers to solve virtual problems. If technology is not used properly, students may develop the impression that everything they see and learn through the computers is real and applicable; it only makes it look real, but is not. The strategies students learn through the use of technology, as the sole vehicle for learning, are not all the skills and knowledge they need to learn and use in the real world.
There is a recurrent theme in the discussion of the use of technology in the classroom. Educators have the responsibility to evaluate all necessary factors before deciding whether to use or not technology in the classroom. The main consideration should be what topic and skills am I going to teach. Who are my students? What are their strengths, weaknesses and special needs? What resources do I have available to support my student’s learning? Which of those tools can I use to provide them equal access to the curriculum? What are the benefits or downfalls of the available resources? Technology is a tool that should be subjected to this analysis as all other available sources. If technology as a tool passes the scrutiny, then the educator should be prepared and knowledgeable on the technological tool chosen and how to use it properly within the instructional content area. Students should receive instruction on how to use technology properly. The use of technology does not prevent the use of other resource. On the contrary, using multiple resources engage all kinds of learners while making education accessible to all. The use of technology in the classroom has to be carefully pondered if we want to prevent computer delusion in our school system.

Blog Post #10 Equity Issues

What thoughts do you have about digital equity after having read the three articles?
In your work setting, do you see evidence of a divide according to race, gender, or socioeconomic status? What are some ways you can address this issue?

One has to conclude, after reading the three articles that we still have to work with providing digital equity in several areas. We have to offer meaningful digital media access to all students regardless of gender, social, abilities or economical background. Technology itself is not at fault in trying to accomplish this goal, is the human being behind it. This is another example that educators are the main conductor in the student learning process. A teacher that cares about every student academic improvement will look for ways to provide opportunities to use technology in an enriching way. A teacher has to become and continue to be a learner before becoming a teacher. Educators cannot become comfortable in the traditional ways of teaching. They should become their student’s advocates in obtaining the appropriate digital media to their students’ needs. They should claim for better and continuing training on how to better use technology in the classroom.

Working in Bridgeport around four years ago, I saw my students attend their computer class. It was just a word processing class and the teacher will always stay away from the students. As a matter of fact, if the students came to the computer area in a rowdy manner she will send them back to the classroom as a consequence for their behavior. It took me few weeks to realize the teacher lack of commitment was affecting my student’s access to a quality technology education. They had the computers available but they didn’t have access to a quality instruction. Later, on I taught in Westport, where I say a smart board and a laptop cart for the first time. They had access to technology. Nevertheless, there was no equity in the access to a quality of instruction because while the French Department were using podcast and digital stories to teach, practice and create French communication the Spanish teachers used the computer laboratories to create just written projects with clipart without any interaction. At my present school, I have seen students take the Blue Ribbon test in computers. They have learned how to use Inspiration to organize information. They have used type to learn. What I have not figured out yet is if there is collaboration between the classroom teachers and the media specialist on the creation of project based learning. Also, I do not know if there is any type of accommodation for special education students in the educational use of technology what I consider is another aspect of digital inequity. I believe for what I have witness that they do not match the educational technology with the students’ individual needs.

One thing is clear, based in my educational experience; there is no equity in technology access. The best way to address this issues are advocating for more training on how to integrate technology education in the classroom providing quality and equal access to students regardless of gender, social, abilities or economic background.

Blog Post #9 PowerPoint… Evil?

The positions presented in both resources are drastic and inflexible. Power Points presentations are not supposed to substitute a speaker. They are supposed to aid the speaker to visually emphasize the most important points of presentations. PowerPoint helps the speaker organize the presentation, but that is not the only purpose. A PowerPoint tool will not compensate for poor presentations skills. There is no excuse; the presenter, teacher or student, should be knowledgeable about the presentation topic. The presenter would choose the type of PowerPoint resources, based in what are the presentation’s goals or objectives. The speaker can choose to use it, as part of a lecture including slides that will provide a visual aid to the audience. In this case, the speaker is the center of the presentation. A different use of Power Point will be as tool to interact or engage the students in which scenario it becomes an audience centered presentation.

In the educational field, PowerPoint enhances traditional instruction in the classroom. This tool supports student learning in various ways. This technology is not a substitute of traditional teaching, instead is a resource that complement an educational goal. Various PowerPoint educational objectives are to assist in provoking higher level thinking in content areas, reinforce procedural and technical skills. Another objective can be to provide different type of learners with a supplementary way of demonstrating understanding of content information in instances where the traditional way would prevent it. One more goal can be to provide students with necessary computer skills necessary in a global and competitive economy. PowerPoint can be a student centered activity when is used as an Inquiry based-learning project. The student will have to answer an essential question, find relevant resources, interpret the information found, and report the findings. A Power Point presentation is the end result of a thinking and preparation process, not a substitution for it. Of course, if the lesson objective is showing writing skills, a PowerPoint will not be the best resource to show mastery. Like every other teaching resource, a PowerPoint presentation should not be used if is not going to support the educational goal. However, one cannot drastically discard the use of technology without assessing its added value to teaching and learning.

Blog Post #8 Reflection on the MD 400 Course

I was looking forward to this course, because the use of technology in the classroom always triggered my intellectual curiosity and creativity. I have use the internet before to access information, strategies, and lesson plans to use with special education students and to teach Spanish. I have found some very helpful resources that I had use when I couldn’t find anyone to help me sort out an educational dilemma. The fact that you can write anything in a browser and find a world of possibilities is energizing. However, that world of information can be overwhelming and endless. You can get lost in so much information. My expectations for this course were to receive guidance on which resources in the endless world of technology I can use to further my students educational achievement. Furthermore, I want to learn how to use technology to provide better access to special education students to the general classroom curriculum and close as much as possible their achievement gap. I also wanted to learn as much as possible to be able to use effectively my lesson plan preparation time. Even though I thought it was going to be intellectually excited, I never thought how much energy and time consuming it was going to be. It is a mix feeling, ying and yang. I start every class eager to learn something new. Few minutes after the class has started I am feeling overwhelmed and anxious because I am not sure if I will be able to catch up. I see other students that were born in the age of technology navigating the class so smoothly and how it take me longer than them to get to the same place. Nevertheless, I think what a great role model I can be for my students in my struggle with something new. I can model for them that a human being does not stop learning ever as long as they are in this world. But when I see the final product of all those hours of hard work I experience a great sense of accomplishment. I know I will struggle at the beginning of every new task, but at the end, if that gives me the necessary tools to effectively transfer the knowledge to my future students it is all worth it. Once I heard someone say “Practice makes Permanent”. The more I try the new skill I learn in this course the better I will get at it and the more my student will reap the benefits. My hopes for the remainder of the course are the same I had before starting it: I want to get the most of this experience so I can be able to navigate smoothly the technology world and bring my students with me in that learning journey. As per suggestions, I like the feature the teacher has available in the lab to have all the screens show what she is presenting in the smart board. Sometimes is difficult to see the content, especially if you seat in the back of the room. Also, I think the tool of blocking everyone computers will be very helpful at time that the teacher needs everyone attention. I loved all the resources and the tutorials. I don’t think there is a tutorial to create digital stories but I could be wrong. Tutorials allow the students to catch up later at home with more time whatever was missed during the lecture. It is hard to see, do and take notes at the same time. I also hope I can keep in touch with the course Professor in case I need some guidance once I start my teaching career. As I always I say life is good and is getting better and if not at least interesting.

Blog #7 Implication of Copyright for Edcuators

The implications of copyright issues for educators are numerous. The use of traditional text material for educational purpose has been always subject to the scrutiny under the copyright law. Educators using traditional resources know the guidelines for the use of these materials and have instructed their students in the concept of plagiarism. Some school systems and educators disregard this copyright provision due to lack of knowledge or convenience. In doing so, they have exposed the school and their career to copyright infringement charges. Now, copyright issues have escalated to another level with the use of technology in the classroom as a teaching resource and as research tool for students. Sadly, there is a legal concept that says the not knowing about a law do not excuse us of complying with it. Educators need to be trained by the school about the implications of violating the Copyright laws and not following the copyright guidelines. Educators need to be trained not only in the scope and application of the law but also in the many resources available to use without infringing the law. This information should be transfer to all students using technology or written work of others as part of a classroom lesson plan. Instruction in this area should be delivered by the teacher classroom with the assistance of the school media specialist. Both educational opportunities should take place at the beginning of every school year. In education repetition is a great strategy. This approach allows the school system to include any update in copyrights provision each year. The existence of a Copyright Law and guidelines should not become a deterrent of technology use but a safe path for it successful use and integration to the educational process. Our goal should be to be fully inform so next time teachers have a DVD of the class school year with student’s picture and background songs they explicitly knows which specific guidelines to follow and why. To sum up, copyright issues have diverse implications for educators, however it can be properly address with proper training promoting an effective and legal use of technology in the classroom.

Blog Post # 6 Content Standars as Targe of Focus

I am using the Social Studies, Grade 5-8, Content Standard 2a. Students will use historical thinking skills to develop and understanding of the major historical periods, issue and trends in the United States history, world history, and Connecticut and local history. Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of major events and trends of United States history, specifically the American Revolution and the Civil War. I can link visual learning with digital imagery & inspiration for what I have learned so far by using a tableau media and a Concept Map. I think I can have the students make a tableau of some of the most important moments of the American Revolution and the Civil War. Taking pictures to explain important events will allow them to explore the sequence of events they have read as part of the curriculum. The process of taking the picture to present an idea will require the understanding of the event in order to reproduce it in a creative and relevant way. The Concept Map can facilitate the organization of events by historical sequence and eventually evolve to allow them to demonstrate the trends of the United States history. A collection of Concept Map will provide the students with a road map through history. Even though we have not discussed yet the use of Storyboards, Digital Story, podcast and other media, all of them can be used to support this learning goal.