EDCI 271 :: Blog

There will always be more questions I have on technology, as there is always new technology being constructed, invented, and distributed; its neverending.  As long as said technology has some sort of instruction manual (for the love of God, make it easy to understand!!!!!), I should be just fine in the using and adminsitering of any piece of technology.

My own ramblings aside, I still seem to have trouble with Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Power Point.  I find that there is always something new I am finding out in each program.  For Word, there are numerous examples of which I have no idea how to do.  Currently, I have a bitch of a TA in my EDCI 270 class (Vanitha) who doesn't really explain what to do, she just focused on "why haven't you learned this?!" in that ever so delicious Indian accent of hers.  So any help in creating better Word documents would be greatly appreciated.

As for Microsoft PowerPoint, I would like to know more features I can use in making presentations more interesting, rather than having all words and no pictures on a presentation.  Thanks for your help!

I think I understand the technology that was presented to the class, but I haven't ever seen or used Alpha or Dana Smarts. This is the only thing I can think of that I don't understand.

I LOVE the Smartboads. I think it's a great idea for any grade actually. The Smartboards can be used to demonstrate how to run software or a program on the computer. It is great because it is hands-on and everyone in the room can see what you are doing. It is useful in other ways as well. You can create something that everyone can see and participate with.

 Kidspiration is also a great use of technology in the classroom. This can be used for practice, explanation, lessons, homework, worksheets or student to student interaction. I love the program and still use it today!

This is in response to the Case Study #2 that we were supposed to view.  The teacher REALLY got on my nerves, VERY quickly.  She seems to have a predispostion that her students are not very capable.  She need to have faith in her students and start doing her job: EDUCATING!

She first whined about how her students might "drop the digital cameras", or if they "should or can edit the video on their own".  This brings to light a BEAUTIFUL learning experience!  Why not teach them?!  Instead of complaining to the camera that is recording you, how about taking the time to learn how to do this task, and then teach the students how to do it?  If they drop the cameras, big deal!  Its better that a worthless piece of integrated technology suffer some minor scratches, rather than one of the children.

She also mentioned how the games are "disruptive", even the "educational games".  They are called "educational" for a reason; not just because some doofus in Doofusland decided to add the label "educational" to it.  Use them!  Games are how children learn a variety of things, including numbers, patterns, puzzles, memory skills, etc.  To say they are disruptive is a MAJOR error on her part.

In closing, I am sick and tired of these "teachers" that whine about the most mundane of things. Teach the kids, open your minds, and put some effort into your job.  That is all.

Mrs. Lahooti has many opportunities to integrate technology, but she needs to solve the problems she is having with the technology before she can integrate it. She has smartboards, digital cameras, video cameras, 15 laptops, data projectors, video conferencing, the internet, and 4 classroom computers. She also has access to a computer lab.

- She uses the smartboards in the same way that I would suggest. Her concern is that she doesn't know what programs to use. The smartboard is nice to use when you want your students to comment or add to a document, picture, etc and the program doesn't allow.

- Mrs. Lahooti uses digital cameras for her students to take pictures of things for projects, which is a great idea. She isn't sure whether or not to group-up the students or keep them alone, meanwhile keeping the cameras safe. I would suggest pairs because this ensures each student to get a chance to use the camera. Also, allow one camera at a time for a set amount of time as to keep tabs where all of the very expensive cameras are at.

- Mrs. Lahooti uses video cameras in her classroom for her students to record their plays and presentations. She is worried about the editing and whether or not that is too advanced for her students. Editing can be very difficult and confusing, even for a college student like me. If she was going to have her students edit the tape, it would be most helpful for them to have her there with them through the whole thing. They could, however, search on the internet how to do it or search through a movie editing program - depending on how advanced they are at using computers.

- Mrs. Lahooti has 15 laptops that she can bring into her classroom (via cart). I would use the same procedure with these computers as I would with her 4 classroom computers and while her students are in the computer lab. Split the class up into groups, so each group gets time with the computers. She needs to understand the programs she is expecting her students to use. She should have the remaining students work on something they can handle without help, so she can focus all of her attention on the students that are integrating technology.

I think that meaningful technology integration is using technology to better educate your students, help organize your classroom and enhance your lesson plans. ex) smartboard for quizzes, google earth for geography lessons, etc.

I think that using technology for technology's sake is using technology to ease a teacher's workload without having any affect on the students'. ex) storing lesson plans on the teacher's personal computer

 

 

 

Mrs. Lahooti has asked for our help to incorporate the technologies that she has available to her into her classroom. I first want to start off by saying, that the way that she has used Kidspiration with classifying the animals was an excellent idea. I could tell from her remarks that this really got the students excited about learning. They used clip art and pictures to make it their own. I feel that if Mrs. Lahooti was able to do this again with other technologies that are available to her, she will have much success just as she had with the kidspiration. Also, what Mrs. Lahooti needs to keep in mind is that she doesn’t necessarily need to use all of the technologies out there. It is ok not to us technology in every classroom lesson. As long as the students are creating meaning in what they are learning, and she can capture them in some way, they will learn the tasks at hand. However, I have come up with some ways that she might be able to incorporate technology into her classroom.

           The smart boards can be used in many ways, but here is one idea that might help bring more classroom involvement. Let’s say that you are doing a lesson on shapes. You can do 1 of two things. Mrs. Lahooti herself can draw the different shapes up on the smart board, doing two of each shape, 1 big triangle, 1 small triangle, 1 big square, 1 small square and so on. Then, she can ask the class if they can match the shapes to the ones that look alike. She can have them raise there hands and come up and draw a line to the matching shapes. Or, Mrs. Lahooti could ask the class how you draw a triangle and the students could come up and draw a triangle. Now, a way to make sure that everyone is learning the material would be to have the entire class have a white board with a marker at their seat. Before you ask for the answer on the smart board, you can have them do it on their own on a white board. I feel that a student will think that it is neat to get to write on the smart board and will want to work hard so they can go up and answer the question. This is where we see the student getting excited about the learning itself, it creates a meaning and the knowledge is obtained. Here is a website for additional information on smart boards, http://technology.usd259.org/resources/whiteboards/smart.htm

           Digital cameras were another technology that Mrs. Lahooti had available to her. Mrs. Lahooti felt like the students were not responsible enough to work with such equipment. I feel that if you make a lesson out of the cameras as a entire class unit, set rules about the camera and give certain consequences, students will use them responsibly. One lesson that she could do would be to have the class come together for circle time. The teacher herself can give a tutorial about the cameras and how to use them. She has to make sure that she tells them how careful they must be with them or they will not be able to use them again. I think the students will be excited about using such a neat thing as a digital camera and wont mess up. Now, you can put the students in groups, the number depending on how many cameras you have available. You can send them on a scavenger hunt to find a list of colors, shapes, letters, angles, types of trees anything really. Then, you give your students a list of things you want them to find, and after showing them how to use the camera during circle time, you can send them off to find the items and take pictures of them. Now, it is important that you put the students in groups so they can work together to make sure that they can use the camera. They will be socially interacting with one another and learning from each other through their experience. Also, the groups will help cut down on individual questions and will make the lesson a lot more time efficient. Once all of the students have taken pictures of the necessary items you can take them to the computer lab to upload them. Have the students stay in their groups at a computer with their camera. Usually at a school there are actual computer teachers so they can be in the lab to help as well. Show the class, as a whole, how to plug in the camera to the computer, upload pictures and alter them to their likings. All the students can work together and take turns editing the items that they found. So no fighting occurs you can have each group member do 2 items each and then switch. It would also be a good idea to plan ahead and ask for parent volunteers that could come in and help the task at hand. This will help make the lesson more efficient. Parents are always eager to get involved and I am sure that they would love to come and help. Mrs. Lahooti can send out an email to parents or send home a letter with the students the week before she does this lesson and ask for the help. The parents can respond, and the lesson will run smoothly. I would recommend using KodakEasy Share cameras for this lesson. They come with directions and are very easy to use, and are not too expensive in the digital camera world. Here is a website for more information on Kodak cameras, http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=130&pq-locale=en_US

           Another way the Mrs. Lahooti can solve her technology problems would be to use the Alpha and Dana smarts in her classroom. Since there are not enough computers available and these pieces of technology are cheaper, she could purchase some of these. She can have some students use the computers while others type on the Alpha or Dana smarts. One lesson that could do this with would be to use them in a book report assignment. The students can all work at the same time on their reports by typing the assignment up. This would be very efficient because students can work at their own pace and on their own time. Book reports are done in almost every classroom that I have seen, and this would be a very efficient way to get them done. It seems like Mrs. Lahooti’s school has a lot of funding for technologies and the Alpha and Dana smarts would be a much cheaper way to get some more computer technologies into the classroom. Also, the alpha and dana smarts are very simple to use and probably would not cause a lot of questions from the students saving class time. Mrs Lahooti might have to help with the printing part, but that is about it. Also, those students who are not very good at using the laptops without the mouse might be the ones who can use the Alpha and Dana smarts. They will not have to worry about using the laptop finger control to do their work. Here is a website to obtain more information on how to purchase and use theses devices. http://www3.alphasmart.com/

           Finally, Mrs. Lahooti talked about a video conferencing technology that she wanted to use. She has a pen pal system going on right now and I think that she can incorporate the video technology with this. She can again do this in small groups, teaching one group at a time, while other students are working on individual work. She can show them how to use the technology as a group and then let them run wild with it. How the video conferencing technology works, is it allows people at two or more locations to see and hear each other at the same time. These high speed networks are capable of carrying large amounts of text, voice, and video data over existing telephone lines. Like the telephone, videoconferencing works best as an interactive medium, and the audience and speaker will have to be prepared to use the technology effectively. The following website gives a tutorial about the technology for Mrs. Lahooti to learn more about. http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/vidconf.html. Mrs. Lahooti herself  would have to set up the actual technology with the pen pals the students have. Another way that she could use this though, if the pen pal system doesn’t work out, would be to use it in a lesson on the weather. You could be teaching a lesson all about weather and seasons, and then contact your local weather man, that I am sure all of your students know and would be excited to talk to. Have the weather man be hooked up to the video conferencing network. Mrs. Lahooti again would have to contact the news station about this. You can have your students each prepare questions that they have for him and have them ask them in a class video conference. You can have the students do a report on different types of weather in groups and let them present their findings to the weatherman. Also, you can ask the weather man to show them different things in the weather station, present fun and interesting facts, and ask the students questions. The students will be very excited to see their own weather man interacting with them personally. This would again make a student excited about learning and remember all the fun things that they have learned about in this unit.

           Overall, I think that it is good that Mrs. Lahooti has so much technology available to her and is willing to use it. I think that she can use my ideas in her classroom to help make for a more efficient integration of technology. She feels that she is not using the technologies around her to the best potential, but I feel that if she incorporates my ideas into her room she can have a better classroom. Mrs. Lahooti must keep in mind the idea that she doesn’t always have to use technology, and if it making her overwhelmed, the class itself is going to feel the same way. She can use my ideas, as well as other EDCI 271 ideas, to make her use of technology the best that it can be. If she has any further questions about my ideas, feel free to contact me at lgoldin@purdue.edu . I will be glad to explain my ideas and help her create an actually lesson plan. Hope that this helps Mrs. Lahooti and her technology integration issue.

        Meaningful technology to me means that it is a use of technology that is going to capture your student’s minds and attentions to get them excited for learning. From watching the VisionQuest movie, I have learned from the different teachers that learners must be active if they want to actually learn. It is meaningful technology when teachers are able to do this. For example, it is meaningful to a student to use a computer to create there own project and explore what the computer has to offer. If the student feels that they putting there own personal ideas and work into a project, it creates meaning for them. This is what the constructivist theory is all about, creating meaning through experience. Using a computer to create your own ideas and learn things on your own, while be guided by a teacher, can help use this theory of meaningful technology.
        Also, the teacher must reach all types of learners, and computers again can help do this. It can bring things into the classroom that may not be possible otherwise. An example of this would be a science lab that may not be able to be done in an actual classroom. It is important to use technology that is not the dominating factor, but it serves as a guide to enhance the learning.
Using technology just for the sake of using it would be having the students types there handwritten notes after they are done writing them. This type of technology integration would not make a student very excited. I personally think that they would not benefit from this in anyway because there is no meaning. It is just “plugging’ in information and “chugging” it out! Here we see an example of someone just trying to incorporate a technological machine. Also, it is not efficient to have a bunch of technology tools available and not know how to incorporate them into the class room. Sometimes I feel that teachers might think that they have to try and use every piece of technology out their, but aren’t using it in efficient ways. For example, if students don’t know how to use a computer efficiently and are always asking questions, this takes time away from the learning of the actual task. The teacher always has to run over the students, which takes up valuable class time.
        Meaningful technology can also create student directed activities. Here the teacher serves as more of a guide than an actually educator. If a student can use a computer and learn about a specific topic, create a project and present it in some way, they are the ones who are teaching themselves as well as the peers around them. They can find meaning in this type of work because it gives personal experience. Computers can take the well known “lecture” away and allow students to research and learn on their own. This also creates meaning because the students are active in what they are learning and again are creating a personal level of meaning. All of these are constructivist student directed activities because the student is the one who is finding the research, learning it, and creating meaning.
       Teacher directed activities can also incorporate technology. An example of this would be a PowerPoint of the lesson that the students can listen to. This type of teacher directed activity makes for an efficient classroom environment. Sound, pictures and animation can be added to such teacher activities which will capture their student’s attention and create meaning.
       Technology is only meaningful when a student can be excited about the task at hand. It is important for a teacher to realize when the student directed and teacher directed technologies are and are not doing this. From both EDCI 270 and EDCI 271, I have learned that technology is suppose to enhance learning. We are not trying to teach how to use the technology; we are trying to incorporate more knowledge in a meaningful way. It is not going to help anyone if a teacher decides to use a digital camera for no educational purpose, there must be an educational lesson involved in that. Teachers must create meaning for there students, and students must create meaning for themselves. Technology is here to stay and here to help.
    In my own personal classroom I hope to be able to use a constructivist approach to make what the students are learning mean something to them. I want to be able to capture their attentions in many ways to get them excited about knowledge. They can learn from me, themselves and their peers around them through their own personal experiences in the classroom. I feel that technology, computers especially can help me do this. I want to be able to use computers everyday to help my students become better learners. Technology can help us as teachers. I hope to be able to have my students use the technologies out there to enhance their learning. Tutorials, email, educational games, presentation software can do this, and I hope to be able to use these in my classroom some day!

 

My first and second visions for technology in my classroom are both pretty similar, but discussion in class brought up many new ideas with technology that I had never thought of before. What I realize now is that as educators, or as students here at purdue, we are not trying to master how the technology works so we can teach are kids, we are trying to learn new technologies to make learning more fun, efficient and productive. Before our class discussion I thought a lot about how we had to inform the students of technology, when really we just need to enhance their learning by using the many programs and technologies that are out there.
Like I said earlier, I want the technology in my classroom to be an outlet for students who may be struggling with a subject to come and get extra help, or for a student who is bored and needs a new challenge. I hope to use a wide variety of internet and CD-Rom games, as well as interactive tutorials to capture the child’s attention. I think that children become very bored with the everyday sitting and listening, so by using video, sounds and pictures with some lessons, a child may respond better and learn the information. I really want to learn more about Camtasia, KidPix, LeapPad, Alpha/Dana smarts, and the many educational gaming software out there to better my students. But, what I realize now is that it is more important that we are enhancing their learning rather than teaching them how to use a computer.
I do still think that technology doesn’t necessarily need to be in every part of the curriculum. For example, before I said that teaching a math lesson or spelling lesson may be best if done with the students just sitting and watching the teacher. They can interact with workbooks worksheets, but there does not need to be an extensive amount of technology involved. I still think that this could be done. However, as the teacher you might be able to use a PowerPoint to do a lesson or something besides an overhead to make it more efficient for you.
Also, I never really thought to much about the teacher and parental benefits that can come from technology. It is interesting to think that progress reports, announcements, projects, and even homework can be posted online for the parent to see. At purdue we use WEBCT, but there could be use for something like this in an elementary school. This will help teachers and parents stay in contact and receive the necessary information that they need. E-mail is another thing that I mentioned before and I think that this can work in a classroom as well. It can help with communication. Finally, in EDCI 270, we learned about Mail merging. It is a way to take a bunch of data and send it out to many people in the one swift click of a mouse! This right here is another way to incorporate technology into the classroom and make it more efficient for the teacher itself.
Although my vision has been altered a little, I still feel that technology is very important to learn and know, because it is changing and advancing each and everyday. Technology, well for the most part, is suppose to make our lives simpler and more efficient. There is limited time in the day to teach your kids, and because of the many new technologies out there, I feel that we can alter and improve how children learn each and everyday. We can make them achieve greatness and reach above and beyond by making our classroom up to date with proficient learning tools. I want to make sure that my classroom is student centered and that I am current with my knowledge of technology. Technology can help with many things, communication, special help, parental involvement, motor skills, more time to teach, focus on individual learners and make the learning environment the best that it can be.
Overall, technology will be found in my classroom because it can make learning a much better and more efficient experience. Technology is not going to stop advancing and as future teachers, we have to be ready to use whatever comes our way

My idea for Mrs. Ottenbreit in a preschool classroom dealt with kidspiration. For a lesson that focused on colors, Mrs. Ottenbreit can use kidspiration to practice the lesson.

( Our Case Study is posted in WEBCt, We didnt know how to post an attacment into our Blogg) I believe that this project, Case Study #1, has made me realize how important technology is and how important it is to learn about. Even though that Mrs. Ottenbreit is an award winning teacher, she is now faced with a horrible dilemma of not knowing how to use the many new technologies that are out there. By doing this case study we, as future teachers, not only learned about the different technologies out there, but we also are helping Mrs. Otttenbreit learn to use some simple technologies in her everyday classroom. I hope that the lesson plans that Dessa and I created will help her in learning about some different technologies. I contributed to this project by brain storming ideas, help create a lesson plan, researched the different technologies and also worked together with Dessa outside of class to make sure that we made the best and most understandable final result. We both have learned a lot in this activity and we hope that we can help Mrs. Ottenbreit with our 3 ways of integrating technology into the class room.