Week+3


 * Week 3 Assignment, Part 3.2: **** Week Three Addition to Comprehensive Examination **

One of the best parts about continuing education is that I frequently find out things about myself that I was not previously aware of. During the many classes I have taken through Lamar University, I have discovered that some of my teaching methods or strategies were not supporting technology to the extent that I had hoped. I would ask students to complete tasks that required very little understanding of a topic but they used the computer to find the information.

Two of the largest parts of the process that I was excluding were collaboration and self expression which may be the may be the most important. As time and my courses went on, I began to see how very important the collaboration aspect was, in developing new and different ideas. Without group collaboration, the student is only seeing their own ideas and work but with the use of small groups, students are able to really communicate about different ideas that may have not been thought of on their own. Just as collaboration is invaluable to the learning process, self expression is equally important to learning new concepts. Self expression gives the students a chance to explore, retain, and teach it to others in ways I may not have thought. The idea that a student can express their newfound information in their own way, shows mastery on a much more detailed scale than on a test or quiz.

Overall, I was challenged by this course, to examine how comfortable I was in giving much of the learning power back to the students and let them locate the information themselves. Recently, I have began developing lessons with broad ideas that student will get into groups, collaborate about what particular idea they want to investigate, and then create a project that enables them to explore their ideas.


 * Assignment 3- 4: **** Reflections on assignments in EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics, Animation and Desktop Publishing as shown in the Course-Embedded Assignment document in the Resource section of the course. **

** EDLD 5366 ** EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics, Animation and Desktop Publishing was a hands-on class, where we created a digital version of ourselves and visited a place called econd life. EDLD 5366 opened my eyes up to a whole new side of technology and the uses. Although I am not sure why people would spend a significant amount of time on the computer, engaging with fictitious people, it broadened my understanding of video games and the use of avatars.

In addition to the creation of the avatar, we also completed a newsletter activitiy, using different publishing tools in Microsoft Publisher and Word. Some of the most important concepts that I learned from this course is the self-guided rubric and learning the tools that Microsoft has created for the purpose of designing a professional quality product. Another concept that I found invaluable during this class was the information on using tables and graph building for the purpose of showing statistical data. During this course I relied heavily on the discussion boards for guidance from other students. I would say I enjoyed using the discussion board the most during this class while participating in the Simple Life activity.

I continue to research new ways of presenting information and because of this class, the basics have been laid out for me. In my current position at my school, I am expected to present new data that has been given to me in ways that will be appealing to our teachers. Using what I have learned in EDLD 5366 has given me the edge that I needed.


 * Week 3 Assignment, Part 3.5 and 3.6 ** : ** Reflections on the readings in Chapters Five and Six of your text, ISTE’s Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards, pages 101-146. **

While serving as the technology liaison for the school I am working at, I see one of the largest barriers to moving technology into the classroom is the amount of time required for educators to learn specific software or hardware. Williamson & Redish (2009) states that a “barrier to realizing higher levels of productivity from technology in schools is the extended amount of time required to master use of productivity tools (p. 103). I agree with Williamson & Redish on this but I think it should go a step further to encompass hardware. There have been many times when one of my teachers have been to a large amount of training to learn how to manipulate the software but do not know a thing about connecting the hardware to make it functional. I see a lot of frustration in this and it usually it usually backfires, causing the educator to become frustrated and decide not to use the technology, and instead, revert back to their original ways of teaching, with paper, pencils and textbooks, even though this is not the best or most current practice for student learning. If we could find the time to let the educators get “hands on” experience with the hardware, before showing them the software aspect, we may be more successful in integrating the technology.

Technology leaders need to be well versed in many aspects of technology, in order to better be able to help educators meet the challenges in ways that would benefit first the student and then the teacher. One interesting thing that I read was that “Technology leaders assume full responsibilities associated with professional development at the school, district, and national levels”(p. 110) I find this to be a true statement but, as with anything else, collaboration is the key to learning and with the above statement, technology leaders must stay involved with many different organizations outside of the school to understand what business leaders are needing in high school graduates.

I grew up during a time when computers were first put into schools and, as we all know, technology has made a monumental jump within the last 30 years, One thing I find to be challenging is my personal struggle to keep up with a lot of the new technology, due to the cost or time requirement in order to remain current in my training. I also struggle with trying to convince my “old school” principal that technology is necessary in every classroom and, therefore, we need to put the tools into the hands of the teachers and students. Bibliography CDW-G (2007). School safety index. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http;//webobjects.cdw.com/webobjects/docs/pdfs/cdwg_scool_safety_index_2007.pdf

Nardi, B., & O’Day, V. (1999)Information ecologies: Using technology with hearth. Cambridge, MA: MIT. Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). //Technology facilitation and leadership standard: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do//. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.


 * Assignment 3-6: **** Reflections on Technology Facilitator Standard VI: Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues in your textbook. **

Chapter six is, in my opinion, one of the most important chapters in this book because it deals with social, ethical, legal, and human issues when related to technology in the classroom. With the quick expansion of technology and the ever-changing speed at which it changes, there must be continuing conversations about different issues that may arise. An example of this would be the file sharing situations that had never been a problem before but now are a major thorn in the music industry. Many of the issues that arise from evolving technology have never been seen before but as technology presents new challenges, it also introduces huge legal issues. Chapter 6 of Technology facilitation and leadership standard points out that “it is difficult to predict how educators and students will use new technologies and what consequences of those uses will be” (p. 123).

There are several points that chapter 6 discusses, including digital equality, where all students are entitled to the same technology, no matter the social economic status of the school. Privacy and student records are the second point of chapter 6 and it outlines the importance of keeping students information private and out of the hands of hackers and in accordance with FERPA. The third point is to ensure that the students experience online safety from internet predators that are trolling the internet for people (students) to take advantage of. “Balancing equality, safety, and instruction efficacy is often difficult” (p. 129). Technology and copyright is the fourth important point that was made in my reading. This discusses using another persons work and not giving credit, as well as downloading copyrighted music and or movies for personal use and profit. This point also deals with loading illegal versions of software onto school computers. The final issue outlines how educators need to have a way of restricting access to inappropriate content and protecting the safety of students.

All of the ideas above are necessary precautions but I do not think we have reached a foolproof method of achieving what we have set out to do. As an educator, I run into the frustration that many of the resources that I attempt to research on the internet are blocked by the network administrators, leaving it impossible for me to access the information that I need. On the other hand, I have caught several students on websites that should be prohibited. This is a constant frustration and something that we should look into resolving quickly.

 Bibliography

CDW-G (2007). School safety index. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http;//webobjects.cdw.com/webobjects/docs/pdfs/cdwg_scool_safety_index_2007.pdf//

//Nardi, B., & O’Day, V. (1999)Information ecologies: Using technology with hearth. Cambridge, MA: MIT.//

//Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009).// Technology facilitation and leadership standard: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do//. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.