Assessing Meaningful Learning with Technology & Inspiration/Kidspiration

Integrating technology is becoming more and more standard in the classroom. The new technologies being implemented in today's classrooms have made learning easier as well as increase the student's grasp on the concept. Rubrics are becoming more and more popular with classrooms due to the ease of use and allowing faster results for the students and teachers. Faster results make it easier for the teacher to go over what the student went wrong in their assignment. It allows for easier organization and allows for easier sharing. The ease of this technology makes it where anyone at any level can use it. bridging the gap where no one is left in the dust. It also makes storing work that you have done a lot less hectic as well as keeps us well organized. Keeping track and keeping organized makes using this a must and should be looked into heavily.

Throughout this course i have seen new things that have given me ideas on what i could implement in the classroom. Try out new things and take a different approach to a subject. With multiple web 2.0 tools at our disposal it is our imagination that provides use to the class. This class has made me thing outside the box. For me i want to try as much of what we learned in this class for my classes that i will teach. From using streaming sites, to twitter, to wikis the possibilities are endless. I'm not afraid of experimenting with the tools we learned and want to see where i can take it. I also learned how much restricted with certain media teachers have and how important technology can be. I have used some of these web 2.0 tools in the past but never thought i could use them in teaching. For me my future in teaching has many possibilities and cant wait to see what comes next.

Technology Application Standards

It is hard for me to find one thing in the TEKS that is specifically for my grade that i want to teach. Since i am going for teaching high school most of what they learned from previous grades still applies but needs refinement and guidance. For that reason i was looking into mainly what would i really like to focus on and found one after reading most of what was on the site for high school teaching.

§126.37. Discrete Mathematics, recommended for grades 11 and 12th grade.

(b)

    (1) creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts.

(c) knowledge and skills

    (1)Creativity and innovation

    (2)Communication and collaboration

    (3)Research and information fluency

    (4)Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making

    (5)Digital citizenship

    (6)Technology operations and concepts

There is alot covered in here but mainly its a refinement of what they have learned, or should have learned from earlier grades these are just expanded to fully encompass and reinforce what they learned. Mainly this focuses on computer science which has its ups and downs but requires a high level of math in the later stage of programming. Since i want to become a high school math teacher what it focuses on is in part one and the same. the concepts they teach and reinforce are transferable to the math room. How i would utilize this TEKS in the classroom is in several ways. I want to encourage the students to think outside the box. Leaning multiple ways to look at a problem. Communication and Collaboration is a big deal as well i want easy communication and collaboration in the class, coming up with different ways to teach the subject is a big help to this. Research and information fluency, i would encourage the students to discover multiple ways to solve their problems. Proper research methods from using the computers to using the calculator to aid them, but not rely too heavily on.  I want them to use what is around them to aid them. using every resource they have to succeed. 

The one TEKS i really want to focus on is §111.32. Algebra I. When i was in high school i had a hard time with algebra is was not until recently i was able to solve them in interesting ways and able to see ways of how the way i was taught in the beginning was not repeated and able to show students how i was able to get through it. Algebra is important later on in life an i want the students to see that. Most think that they will never use it again but we use it without think about it and i want them to see that. Most of all the problem solving used in Algebra is important in other fields that don't use math, but the steps are the same for the most part. There is soo much covered in this part that it is hard to put it all down and how i would integrate it in the class. most of what i talked about did not have technology for the most part, but all the same the concepts it brought to the table is a big deal. The idea brought up are ways to improve the classroom environment. As i stated earlier this part of the school they need to be refining what they learned and improving upon it taking the next step in their lives. Concepts and ideas that change the way a class looks at that is technology in a sense, what they learned in the past is a tool and different ways of using that tool or modifying that tool is technology. Yes its philosophical for the most part but it was hard for me to see different technology applications for the most part that was on the list that seemed right to utilize and peak my interest. 

Visualizing with Technology

Visualizing is a big thing for teaching in my view. Some people, like me, need to see the concept in action. For math i need to see the problem to understand it as an example. Technology is also a big point in today's education. Combining the two is not as simple as it sounds but is a no brainer. Using technology to increase the students understanding of what subject you are teaching is a big deal. The students are seeing the problem in front of them and in some cases are able to interact with the problem. You are able to see the problem and then can see how to solve it. You also increase the awareness of students, helping them look at it in different ways. Expanding the ways of how a teacher teaches the subject, has its problems but is needed for the ever changing student. Combining multiple ways to teach is a benefit and a must for tomorrow's students.

The impact on the teaching world is greatly affected by this. You provide multiple ways to grasp the concept and see the way to solve it. You can create an understanding easier of the topic you are covering easier than just reading from a book or talking about it. Visualizing the subject is a bigger and deeper form to understanding what the teacher is saying. students now and days are moving away from learning just from lectures and require a visual aid to help them understand what is being taught at that time. There is multiple ways to increase the visualization with technology and there are many sites to help achieve this. Discovery education is a wonderful source for teachers to get ideas and different ways to teach a course as well as plans and tasks to do. Engaging with the students is becoming the better way to teach and becoming the most efficient way to help them grasp the concepts you want. 

Podcasting

I have been around podcasting for quite a while now. To be more exact mainly in terms of Video podcasting. Much to what I know about podcasting in general is fair. I on several occasions worked with friends on a podcast and even a video podcast a while back. I think podcasts can be used in the classroom in many ways. If a student is not there that day you can have videos and materials loaded up and put in a syllabus of what was covered on that day and have the entire lecture down. Or if the students only got half the notes they can go to the podcast and listen to the lecture and write down more notes. Even listen to parts they did not fully understand. You can also use podcasting to reach more people than just your students in class you can reach people all over the world.
Podcasting is similar to some aspects of web 2.0 tools that it is online and almost anyone can use it, but it is entirely different. Podcasts are user generated and can only be edited by the one who made the cast but usually means they have to reshoot the information. Versus web2.0 mainly wikis everyone can edit them. Podcasting is another form of social media. Anyone can make a podcast if they have the right equipment and anyone can listen to a podcast from anywhere. Part of the reason why I like podcasting as a medium, as long as you have the means you can listen to it anywhere. Podcasting can and very well be used in the future of teaching in terms of reaching people. It is a medium that has not fully been explored and is something I feel that should get looked into more.
I do own an mp3 player; more exactly I own a first generation Zune. I use it to listen to music on my way to class since I commute from Sulphur Springs to Commerce every day so for roughly 40 minutes each day I’m listening to it. Would I use an mp3 player in the classroom that remains undecided? Sometimes I feel it is a distraction, especially in class when I hear a phone go off or see students just listening to their mp3 player or texting instead of the lecture. I think it could be used but has to be monitored heavily to be used in classrooms. And also depends on the subject that is being taught if that medium could be used. I think the advantage of online communication tools outweighs the disadvantages. The main disadvantage being losing personal communications with the student. The main advantage is a student can listen to the same lecture he or she did not understand or even write down more detailed notes. And another advantage is you can watch or listen virtually everywhere.

WEB 2.0

I have heard of wikis before. i have occasionally used them in the past to get an idea of the topic i chose to to and then looked further on other websites. I did not know you could use wikis for other things than just that. i fell it could be good to use for projects in classes and such to coordinate what is needed and what information they already know. When i used sites like Wikipedia i don't just use that source of information or any other wikis in the beginning due to any one person can alter the page. So i would just use it for a brief intro into what i needed to look up in the beginning. Using wikis could be a great benefit to teaching but needs to be monitored so that the wrong information does not used. and if you are using it for research you need to only get an idea of what you are wanting to find not just use it as a sole resource. Though i never thought you could use a wiki for coordination like in the video. i hope that this could become a valued asset into teaching.

Copyright and Fair Use Policy, Cyber Bullying, Netiquette

After reading a bit on the Copyright and Fair Use Policy in great detail I learned a lot. I have known a little about the policy but never to this detail.  There were a lot of things that I did not think it would cover and what extent you could use of the material. I learned that some of my old classes were super restricted and I understand now why they only used portions of videos clips, poems, and such. I am a gamer and I know of cyber bullying. While I know of how bad cyber bullying can be. If I recall sometime in the past a several kids actually committed suicide because of cyber bullying. I feel it is a big deal with us moving toward a more technology based society. And I learned more of how to recognize some symptoms of cyber bullying and how to prevent it, which should be taught at an early age and parents should take note of it. Netiquette is a big deal for me. Personally I view it and treat it as if I were talking to a person face to face. And people should pay attention to it more. To me it is what I was taught growing up and should be handled like that. Basically to treat as if it were face to face with people.

How I feel about Copyright and Fair Use Policy, Cyber Bullying, Netiquette. For copyright and fair use policy I feel it’s too constrictive on teaching. Only using a certain portion from papers and such can be taken and used out of the context it was meant to. To me these should be reevaluated on the account of what they are teaching and should be extended on a case by case basis. For the cyber bullying I feel internet security should be a big priority to teach at an early age and teachers and parents should also be learning to deal with it and how to recognize if it is happening to someone. For netiquette its simple for me treat it as you were talking to someone face to face. That is how I view it and should be learned at an early age. These topics are a lot to discuss about the copyright and fair use policy can be taught later but the cyber bullying and netiquette should be taught early and roughly at the same time. And it is the parents and teacher to respond correctly and be able to identify what is happening along with how to deal with it.

MAPping Information avtivity

Normally I use Google for my online searches. Normally I did not care what sites it would pop out I just skimmed through each site one at a time until I found what I needed. I liked using Google was fast and easy to find multiple sites that I could use when looking up stuff. I have tried Bing but it was too clustered and a headache to work with. I did not know everything we covered about the search engine and search techniques.
I don’t think my habits will change for the most part, though I think I will broaden what I use instead of just using Google for everything. I will use the information learned here to help me with future projects, learning as much as I can about them. What I learned will affect my teaching many ways. It will help me with finding new ways to teach a subject and looking at different sources for my class. Yes my students will be affected by this.
My conclusion after doing this mapping exercise was before that I never really cared how a site or search engine was designed. I would just go through the motions to find the information I wanted to use. Each search engine I used was way different than what I normally use when using Google. They were sleeker, less obtrusive ads. The information was shown clearly and easy to sift through. I know in the future I will use more than one search engine to see what information I find.