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.

Blog Post #5b UDL Inspiration Concept Map

Universal Design is an excellent concept to apply with the purpose of differentiation. This concept allow the educator to take learning goals materials, methods and assessments and individualized to provide every student, regardless of their learning style and ability, access to the learning process. Universal design touch all type of learners with or without disabilities. Promote the use of flexible material to help teachers to individualized learning. One of the benefit of UDL is the potential of minimizing the need for assistive technology. I agree with Lisa's question Why won't more teachers set up a UDL? Is not the traditional way of teaching but we are not living in traditional times. Educators need to made education accessible to a more diverse group of students than in the past and a Universal Design of Learning can provide the flexibility necessary to engage our students in the learning process. UDL is a different way of teaching and it will require more work but teaching also involve learning in order to keep relevant. The more educators expose themselves to and implement UDL principles the easiest, effective and productive the learning process will be.

Blog Post # 4 Digital Image (jpeg)

My class group took this picture to demonstrate the concept of tableau, how to use digital imagery and Photo shop. I am a PC user so I am not very familiar with the Mac tools. At the beginning, I was very excited. As the teacher started to explain all the tools available in Photo shop to manipulate the picture I started to get confuse and anxious. My anxiety slow me down and did not allow me to follow all the steps as she was explaining them. In order to catch up I started to try to figure it out by myself. I managed to upload, download, manipulate the picture with Jerome help. I still feel I miss out a lot. I went home and downloaded the picture as a draft only to realize I did not save the Title of the picture. I spent few more hours figuring out what to do and how to do it. I hope I finally did it.This is the end result. Nevertheless, I have the impression that only by doing this often I will get to master it.

Blog Post #5a Dexter's eTips Insipiration Concept Map

Inspiration is software used to create graphic organizers, like visual concept mapping. This tool can help students with different ability levels to organize their thoughts and present material to show understanding of a content area. A student with a strong visual learning style can greatly benefit from this program. I used the software to create a Concept Map about the main ideas on Dexter’s eTip article. First, I started with the title. Second, I learned how to link the information in ways that will make sense to a viewer. The presentation had to be sequential and related. This process helped me to organize my thoughts step by step, from the small picture to the big picture and then to the small picture again. It forced me to review the information in both ways what can visually represent the real thinking process. Then, once the ideas were organized, I worked in the presentation and the final details. It was not as difficult as Photo Shop. The most difficult part was to remember to save it as a jpg and using the unfamiliar Mac tools instead the PC tools to finalize it.

Blog Post #3b Teddy Bears Go Blogging

Brenda Sherry, a second grade teacher, identified a learning outcome that drove her selection of a specific technology. Her goal was to improve second graders writing skills. She identified learning goals: writing work in small groups supervised by a teacher, independent work, reflection, editing skills and the appropriate use of an Internet blog. She provided added value to the teaching of writing skills by making it relevant to her student’s interest and learning styles. This learning occurrence was tied to student’s real experience which they shared with other students in more enhanced ways not available by traditional means. She empowered and motivated her students to develop ownership in their educational process which constitute a big learning motivation. Mrs. Sherry provided her students with skills to construct knowledge and use it for their continuous and future learning. She promoted communication between her students, students from two other countries and with students’ parents and relatives.

Security measures were taken by making the blog private also by checking the comments before publishing them. Furthermore, Mrs. Sherry made accommodation for some students with difficulty with writing or keyboarding to record oral messages. She monitored and supervised the students’ progress and achievement through out the entire project. This educator was involved in the integration and implementation of educational technology in her classroom. Brenda Sherry definitively follows the principles guiding teachers about integrating and implementing educational technology in the classroom. Of course, she probably was able to implement faster than any other teacher due to her 19 years of experience being a technology teacher.

What’s more, this project reminded me one of my daughter’s second grade elementary school projects: Flat Stanley. She loved the project, and it gave her another perspective of the world. The project motivated her to write more and not to feel threatened by writing itself. Mrs. Sherry Teddy Bears project is a technology-based version of my daughter’s Flat Stanley project.

I cannot wait to create wonderful opportunities for my students to learn and be part of the twenty first century. I know it will require a lot of work at the beginning, but like any other skill, it will get better with practice.

Blog Post #2

Current personal & work related use of technology, comfort level, and concerns and expectations for this course

I use different types of technology in my life and in different ways. I own a Blackberry, a Cannon Power Shot S5IS digital camera, a Cannon Digital Video camera, an IPOD, a Dell Desktop, a Dell Laptop and all the remotes that control our home entertainment devices like TVs, Home Theaters and Music centers. I have learned little by little to use all these media but not to their full potential.

In the work field, I started using computers around the 1990’s. As a lawyer, I always had a secretary who prepared my legal documents. Then, they started training the layers in the use of technology to prepare their legal documents in draft format. I loved it and was eager to learn more. Professional Development in that area back then was not very well structured nor scheduled. I took the task of experimenting with it and learn the most by myself. I have always been fascinated with the idea that not many of my mistakes will ruin my computer work, and the ways the computer will always provide help to help myself figure things out.

The Internet came and little by little I got into it. It has always been fascinating how you can answer so many questions by just typing them in the browser. I love information and have been able to help others gain access to it. Now, as a special education paraprofessional, I am using computers all the times. I use the Internet to find answers to student’s questions for which I do not have an answer. I have found websites that help me to use different strategies and resources to facilitate my student’s learning. When others did not know how to make modifications to some educational task, the internet helped me.

My only regret is not having enough time to keep learning about technology. Therefore, this course represents a great opportunity and a bridge to that wonderful world of endless possibilities. I expect to learn about how to use technology to help me and my students to look for information, learn from the Internet and provide them with a multisensory experience that can be used to cater to all students’ learning style. Also, I would like to learn to use technology to help students with special and unique needs gain access to educational information in ways they can understand, apply and integrate successfully. I expect to learn the most about digital imagery, the Internet, digital concept mapping, pod casting, digital storytelling and any other media, so I can be prepared and ready to integrate them with my instructional method and strategies.

This course can help me prepare to effectively and adequately integrate and implement educational technology to support my students’ learning, and also to better collaborate with the technology support staff in making technology accessible for all students, including students with special needs and exceptional learners.

Blog Posts #3a Digital Photos

Blog Post #1eTip- -Educational Technology Integration and Implementation Principles

This article is one of the best organized articles I have read so far. It provides a great blueprint to integrate technology in the educational environment. Traditional teaching cannot be replaced by technology, but it can be enhanced by it. Sara Dexter presented a series of educational technology integration and implementation principles that would facilitate the appropriate use of technology to enhance traditional instruction in a classroom. Teachers support student learning in many ways and with different activities through out the grade level curriculum. Currently, educators have various technologies available that expand the support resources used in the past. A teacher supported by the school integrates adequate technology will successfully add value to students’ learning. I found that the three eTIPs that prompt a teacher-designer to consider in the integrating and implementing process do not differ that much from the principles involved in good and effective lesson planning process. The first step of every teacher lesson design is to consider what and how to teach. Also, an educator has to evaluate what resources are available to complement the lesson delivery process. Finally, one has to reflect on how to assess and measure students’ performance and achievement when they use those resources. Educational technology is just another tool to support students’ learning. Educators, as longtime learners themselves, should not be intimidated by technology integration and implementation process to instruction. Through that process the teacher and school could decide to use or not to use technology by pondering the added value to teaching and learning.

Technology is the preferred media by the younger generation, so it is relevant for our students. An educator should consider any media that will present educational information to students in a way that allows them to make meaningful connections. Students can acquire facts, use higher level thinking in problem solving, and gain specific procedural and technical skills useful for their future life as productive adults. Technology provides students with special needs the opportunity to gain access to educational information, and different methods to manipulate and construct new knowledge in ways that traditional teaching fell short. Also, it offers them an alternative mean to demonstrate their understanding of a content area aligned with the student abilities or learning styles when traditional means are a real obstacle for that expression.

Through various technology tools, the student is prompted to use critical think within their own learning ability and style, making the learning experience more meaningful real and usable for them ultimately making it permanent and valuable.

Based on my experience in the education field, I have considered what the students are learning at the moment and how technology can facilitate and enrich their learning experience. How technology can help to assess student learning was a new question to reflect on. I found this question attention-grabbing. I am eager to learn how to answer the questions posed in the article: what are we teaching, what added value technology can bring to that teaching process and how it can help to assess student learning. I believe this will be an enriching experience for me as an educator in which my future students will reap all the benefits.

My first post

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.