EDLD+5364+-+Reflections


 * Week 5 Reflections**

This week I really liked the following quote posted in the discussion board by a classmate. It's from the video, //__Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on Grading with Games__//. At one point in the video James Paul Gee was talking about using the users manual when playing a video game: "Now if you played the game, what you do with the manual is you use it as a reference to look up stuff that you need to know to get better or to understand something in the game that you don't think you fully understand. That is the same way a textbook ought to be used."

I was really intrigued by this quote and went back to re-watch the video because she'd drawn my attention to it. I really do believe that our students today have developed differently (both physiologically and cognitively) than we have. As educators we really have to try to understand that difference and use it to our full advantage! We have to be willing to step outside our typical paradigm and try new things, attempt new methods, and we have to reflect often so that we learn from all of our successes and failures equally. I think our kids would be better off, our teachers would be happier, and our country would benefit from turning out whole generations of kids who can problem solve, find resources when needed, and who aren't afraid to try something new!


 * PERSONAL NOTE:** I am submitting my week 5 stuff early as I'm having surgery on Dec 15th and don't want to risk missing a deadline. Week 4's reflection is below! Thanks! - k

The emphasis this week on collaboration by students is so very vital for our students' success in the future, and yet it is an area that few secondary teachers feel comfortable with. Often working collaboratively is seen as "cheating." Group work according to Pitler in __Using Technology With Classroom Instruction That Works__ allows students to "make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others." It's a paradigm shift that we have to embrace as the global workforce has become increasingly project-based and dependent upon collaborative effort (local and international). We, as educators, will have to move out of the previous norm and move more toward this type of teaching/learning environment if our students are going to be competitive.
 * Week 4 Reflections**

The best way that I think we can help teachers to move to collaborative, project-based learning is to train them and then support them. Sounds simple, but it often doesn't happen. Professional development has to be hands-on and experiential for teachers. They need to see it in action, practice it, and have lots of examples to look at. They need time to assimilate the new strategies into their own curriculum, their school and classroom culture, and into their own personal way of teaching. They need to have follow up training, there needs to be some accountability for integrating these ideas into their classroom, and there needs to be instructional, integration, and infrastructure support to keep the teacher going even when it gets difficult. We need to connect teachers with others who are doing the same thing and allow them to create personal learning networks or "Communities of Practice' as Solomon and Schrum call them in __Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools__. We can't just do a drive-by training and hope we hit the mark. Constant opportunities to practice, give and get feedback, try again, and collaborate with others is necessary for teachers to truly move forward with integrating technology and student collaboration into their classrooms.

I was really pleased to find out about the UDL Book Builder this week. It's a great tool and I intend to share it with my teachers this week. There are several of them that will use it not only for instruction, but as a tool for students to use as well. I can't wait to share it with them.
 * Week 3 Reflections**

The readings were good this week. The whole theme of the week - planning - is so important when you begin to integrate technology into your classroom. So many teachers think they can just walk into the lab and everything will work the way they want it to. It's so important that our teachers get in to the habit of thinking through their integration, planning ahead, etc. Sure, it's more work on the front end...but once it's done the lesson will be there for them whenever they need it. The Marzano text had four great questions when planning an integrated lesson...I won't go into a lot of detail here as I used it as my discussion board quote...but it again raises the concept of planning ahead, of knowing what your kids should be learning/able to demonstrate when the lesson is through. No more technology for technology's sake. It's time to use it to teach our content.

The group action plan has been a nightmare. The task is vague - are we preparing for professional development, working with kids, or both? What is the format that the action plan should be in? Most people seem to just be answering the guiding questions and leaving it at that. I am the kind of student who like to have very clear expectations and I have had a really tough week because I do not feel I have them. It's been a huge source of stress.

I really enjoyed the readings this week - particularly The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement - What the Most Current Research Has to Say by John Schacter. It hit a particular soft spot with me - the use of technology for technology's sake. I really truly believe that instructional technology isn't going to be successful until we get teachers to buy in to the fact that technology is a means to teach curriculum...not a toy, not a gadget or gimick, not a crutch (because it can't save you from bad teaching), and not internet recess. It's incredibly frustrating to see teachers who don't plan, don't tie the use of technology into their learning targets, don't follow up to see if the kids have LEARNED the material, and who grade based on the technology skills more than the content. ARGH! We have to educate teachers, administrators, parents, board members, kids...everyone!
 * Week 2 Reflections**

Our team project is moving along. We're meeting in a live chat on Monday Night to knock out the final details and assign tasks to ourselves. I think the project will really take off from there. We've worked together before, so we're familiar with each others' strengths and weaknesses. We're a creative bunch too, so I'm excited about what we'll decide on for our product and the innovative ways my team will come up with to enrich or modify the assignment for our special populations. I have noticed a lot of emphasis on the special needs students in the project, so I'm going to make sure we address the more advanced kids too. We don't want our GT kids to disengage because we aimed for our spec ed population and forgot about them! This is going to be a great project!

And (as with my last two classes) the due date of Sunday before midnight is FANTASTIC. It really helps those of us working and taking care of little ones! I like it MUCH better than mid-week deadlines. I hope that someone lets all the profs know this...so they'll keep all of the classes this way. They get better work out of me because I can do it when I have time (and isn't that the real point of online learning).

I am glad that one of the text books is one that I'm very familiar with, and I'm looking forward to reading the Web 2.0 book. It is helpful to me in my position as an Instructional Coach for Technology to read about the field and what others are doing. It's exciting and keeps me pumped about what a cool job I have!
 * Week 1 Reflections**

The videos this week were okay...although the cyborg one sort of freaked me out. I'm all about technology, but have always believed that it is a tool to enhance human creativity and productivity...but not to THAT extent. It was creepy to see him hooked up to the computer. When does technology stop enhancing the human and start replacing it? It opened some icky options that really caused some sci-fi horror movie images to pop into my head. I don't want to completely discount anything, but I would be VERY cautious (read suspicious) of that.

The group project should be a fun project. Our group has worked together before and we work very well together. We've already got a shared folder on google docs, a google calendar for deadlines, and our google site is up. I've been elected team leader, so I'm really trying to stay on top of this, especially since I'm due to have surgery on the 15th of December. I'm going to have to have all of my final work done the week before it's due in order to be able to get it turned in on time.