Teaching Literacy with Technology

ICP Lesson Reflection

2009-05-05T11:02:00.001-07:00

Overall I think the lesson went well. I would have liked to have more class participation and I think next time I will give more opportunities to do so. . I also feel that I need to monitor my time better. I was a little over and I may have rushed a bit. I need to be more aware of the time constraints and make sure that I cover my material in the allotted time.

Finally done!! And I mean that in a good way...

2009-05-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last night was our final class night and day 2 of our presentations. I went last night and it is a huge load off my shoulders! Although I am glad to be done with this course because it was a lot of work, I think it was well worth it. I really learned a lot more than I expected to and I experimented with many technological tools that I normally would not have. I think this course has really helped me be a better teacher and I cannot wait to have a classroom of my own to try out everything I learned. I'll have to take it slow at first, but I think it will all work out well. In particular, I really want to try blogging, having a website/wiki, and using other web 2.0 tools such as puzzle makers, podcasts, etc. I really liked using photostory 3 as well and I may experiment some more with that. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of this course and I think it has been one of the most beneficial courses to my teaching career.

This must be how Dr. S feels sometimes!

2009-05-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

The end is near. . .

2009-05-04T15:11:00.001-07:00

Tonight is our final class session and I can't believe how quickly it went. It is our final day for presenting our ICP. I present tonight and I am looking forward to it. This was the last major thing for me to complete and after tonight, I just have lots of self reflecting and rubric submitting to do. It feels good to be almost done!

Here is the link to my final project:
Using Technology to Develop Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking Skills

My lesson plan can be accessed on my personal website.

Heather's ICP Presentation

2009-04-27T16:46:00.001-07:00

3 Facts About Digital Storytelling:

1. Can cover a wide range of topics.
2. Can incorporate a multitude of pictures, music, etc.
3. Can be a more interesting way to cover material.

I utilized my information literacy skills when I created my digital story because I created my digital story based on past historical events.

Authentic and Smart Assessment

2009-04-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Required Blog:
Blog about your learning experience during this week about "Assessment" and the ways technology makes it authentic and smart.

My learning experience this week consisted of two things:
1. reviewing what I know and have learned about assessment and making it authentic and smart

and

2. how using technology can contribute to creating authentic and smart assessments.

Let me start with the course readings...I found the reading entitled Assessment: Overview and Discussion to be the most helpful in guiding my thinking and learning. Through reading this question and answer overview, I really found myself reflecting on the different issues, areas, tools, etc. of assessment. I think the first part discussing diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments was a great review of material I had learned in previous classes. It was a good reminder for teaching and for that section of the MSMC lesson plan that I am working on for my final project. The remaining parts were also a review, but they just led me to reflect on the importance of grades and tests and how they should play a role in my future classroom. Grades are essential in almost all schools, but what is graded and the criteria the grade is based on depends on the teacher in most cases. This is where I feel the teacher needs to know her students and their motivating factors, as well know the curriculum and what the students need to know. When these two factors are well known, the teacher should have less difficulty with both grading and creating authentic assessments. As far as the state tests are concerned, they make up a major part of the teachers school year, but they should not be everything and teachers can prepare the students for the tests using authentic assessments. I personally feel most students will learn the necessary information better and then the only other factor is teaching the students to transfer their knowledge and use it on the state tests. Through test prep and teaching good studying techniques, teachers should have little problems doing this. I think the future will lead to a more authentic way of teaching and learning and assessing as these philosophies are further explored. I found that the Conceptual Framework for Classroom Assessment reading contained a much more detailed look at what was discussed above and just allowed me to reinforce my thoughts on assessment.

As far as the additional resources provided are concerned, I found the web 2.0 tools to be most useful in creating authentic assessments. They are quick and easy and most teachers with a grasp on technology should be able to use them. I found that this technology will make it much easier for teachers to provide what their students need such as flashcards, rubrics, quizzes, etc. Not only does this take students away from the drill and practice routine, but it also provides ways for students to practice and communicate outside of the classroom, which many parents are looking for as well. Many of the technologies also answer the question, "how am I supposed to grade all this?" Many of the sites will grade the quizzes, tests, etc. for the teacher and then it is just the job of the teacher to transfer the grade. This is two fold in that it provides immediate feedback for the students as well.

Overall, I find that technology can only aide in creating and using authentic assessments, not take away from it. I think there are many different tools for teachers to explore and use and through doing so, their students will benefit. With the way of the world shifting, using the technology justs incorporates what students already do outside of the classroom and shows them how to apply it to their own learning.

Engrade Evaluation

2009-04-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

Today I had the opportunity to experiment with Engrade, an online grade book. I created an account and because I am not in the classroom yet, I created a 5th grade math class to input grades for. I set up the grade book to have four categories - Tests, Quizzes, Homework, and Projects. I then assigned them percentages. I then inputted grades for various assignments. My reflection on this web 2.0 tool is below: * Tell what features you liked, disliked, and why.

I liked the tool a lot. It was very user friendly and easy to navigate. I liked how easy it was to set up my class and how each student has their own number and ability to access their grades. I think this is a great feature to use and will save a lot of questions at report card time because students and parents can track their grades throughout the marking period.

* Provide some ideas or features that you think would improve Engrade.com

As of right now, I cannot think of any features that would improve it. I'm sure once I'm in the classroom and entering grades everyday, I will find something that I would think needed improvement. Everything I thought of and tried to experiment with today worked great.

* Tell why you think this software would or would not be useful for classroom teachers.

I think it would be useful in a lot of ways. Its simple to use, and once you set up a class list once, you can use it for multiple subjects. I also think giving students the ability to track their grades is great motivation for improvement. I also feel it would save a lot of questions at report card time. I also think it may be a lot of pressure for teachers to constantly make sure their grade books are completely updated on an almost daily basis because some parents/students will look for their grades everyday

* Tell why students and/or parents would like this online gradebook software, or why not.

I think students and parents alike would enjoy the ability to track their grades or that of their child's. I don't think all students and parents would participate, but I think for those who would, it could be a good communication device between parents and teachers in reference to grades.

Here is a snapshot of my "gradebook":

Web 2.0 Crossword Puzzle Maker

2009-03-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

During week 9, I also created a crossword puzzle using the same vocabulary by using a web 2.0 tool. In this case, I used Armored Penguin, since I am not a member of edhelper, which was the suggested tool. Armored Penguin was very simple to use and the puzzle came out great. I did have issues with some of the text formatting and for that reason, I found Excel much easier. Once you create the puzzle using Armored Penguin, you cannot go back and edit. When you use Excel, you can constantly edit. I do, however, see how Armored Penguin can be useful when you are limited on time or are having trouble making the clues you want to use work together in a single puzzle. Excel is more time consuming and you have to arrange the clues on your own. I personally prefer to be able to format and edit on my own, so I think I will continue to use Excel unless I am short on time.

Here is a snapshot of my puzzle created on Armored Penguin:

Excel Crossword Puzzle

2009-03-22T19:35:00.001-07:00

For my week 9 assignment, I had to create a crossword puzzle using Microsoft Excel. The following is my reflection on this experience.

1) This project exhibits how teachers can use technology and infuse it in the content you teach & 21st Century Literacy curriculum, instead of just teaching Excel as a stand-alone software. Give some thoughts/ideas about using software in context of teaching subject areas instead of just teaching software separate in a computer lab.

I feel it is extremely beneficial for students to experience this software in a context that is useful to them. As far as I am concerned, by creating this social studies based crossword puzzle using Excel, I was able to actually create something I can use rather than something I just created to experiment with creating crossword puzzles. I think this has allowed it to "stick" in my head better, as well as provide a real world use of this skill. I think the same can apply to students. If we give them a real context to use the software in, they will not only remember it better, but they will see the benefits that the software can provide for them.

2) Do you think this project would help students to learn to use Excel and to learn vocabulary?

I think this project would help most students with both. Some students may be overwhelmed with the software and not really learn the vocabulary during the creation stages, but by having students solve the puzzles afterwards, I feel they will learn both.

3) What would you do differently next time?

I just need to be more careful counting boxes so that I will not have to go back and fix my puzzle so many times. I also may play around with formatting more next time.

Here is a snapshot of my finished puzzle:

Reflection on Evaluating Websites

2009-02-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

Today was my first opportunity to actually evaluate a website using specific criterion. I found the forms to be very easy to use and extremely useful. I generally evaluate a website in my head before using it as a source, but this assignment allowed me to evaluate the sites according to use (teacher, student, etc.) and to keep my thoughts on the site organized. I found the criterion to be easy to understand and research. The evaluations were not time consuming and could easily be done for multiple sites during any given assignment or activity. I plan on using the forms in the future as a tool and a quick reference. While writing a research paper, I think taking the time to fill out the forms will be extremely worthwhile and useful, but I also find the forms useful as a quick checklist when evaluating a site to use personally for teaching practices and with my students as a learning tool.

Cute cartoon on showing your students the many uses of the internet

2009-02-22T12:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.chrismadden.co.uk/computer-cartoons/internet-weather.jpg

Moving Along. . .

2009-02-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

Week 5 of this course consisted of reviewing and finding more information of Learning and Teaching 2.0. Web 2.0 obviously can change teaching and learning and it can have a major impact on schools and classrooms. Through reading Learning Styles 2.0: Digital, Social, and Always On, I was able to summarize this impact for myself. Basically web 2.0 creates self directed learning opportunities that can take form in many different learning styles. It allows learning to be engaging, interactive, student centered, authentic, collaborative, and on-demand. After reading this article, I explored a media that was new to me: Mind-Mapping. I created an account on Bubbl.us and created a mind map summarizing my understandings of the article and the shift to teaching and learning 2.0. You can view my experimenting with Bubbl.us here:

I then explored a the website of a 1st grade teacher who incorporates web 2.0 into her teaching. This teacher uses blogs to display what they are doing in class and to display student work. She also allows the students to blog. I found this website to be extremely useful in visualizing how web 2.0 can impact my classroom and I really hope to use blogs and other tools that are available to me.

I also viewed a presentation entitled Fearless Learners Courageous Teachers. This presentation directed my attention to a redefined literacy when using the internet. The grammar of the internet is different, as well as reading, and establishing fact from fiction. I found this presentation interesting and it really allowed me to think about this different view of literacy to keep in mind when teaching my students.

During one of our group meetings, we watched and discussed the video clip What I Want for My Children. It was a great clip and our discussion afterward included opening our eyes as teachers and putting ourselves in the place of our parents. Basically, we need to work together to create the best learning environment for our students. As a parent, I really felt both sides that this clip related to and I think it just makes me really think about my role as a parent when it comes to my child's education and as my role as a teacher to the students in my classroom. I think as a teacher, this clip just reminds you that parents should be alliances, not enemies.

Digital Citizenship

2009-02-22T06:31:00.000-08:00

Week 4 consisted of two classes, both group meetings, in order to make up for another date. During this week, I met with my group on Wednesday 2/11 and Sunday 2/15. During these sessions, we discussed the course outcomes for the week and worked on the two group projects we were assigned. We also looked ahead and discussed Week 5 as well. The first group project was an advertisement for our online text created on Letterpop. It was difficult to collaborate on this project because only one person could do the Letterpop newsletter. The entire group contributed pictures and ideas, but it was hard to even do this without seeing the product we were creating. We were able to complete it and I think it turned out great, however, I don't know if Letterpop is the best tool for collaboration. The second group project we had to complete was creating our page on the class wiki. With wiki, only one person can edit the page at a time, but it is much easier to collaborate because we all have our own log on id's and access to the page. This collaboration attempt was much more successful and I think our page looks great so far! See it here! Our discussions for the course outcomes were insightful and really helped all of us come to a better understanding of what we needed to know. The discussions also allowed us to think about many areas of technology and form or refine our opinions relating to these areas.

During this week, we explored "Digital Citizenship" which is ISTE/NETS standard 4 individually and as a group. This included watching a slide share entitled "Going Global, Going Public" which discussed internet safety and digital citizenship. This slide share was created by Dean Shareski and discussed the topic in three parts - going public, myths, and going global. Basically, the section going public discussed our "digital footprints" and what that entails. In a nut shell, we need to manage our own digital identity or google (or something along that line) will. We need to help our students understand this and teach them how to build a good digital identity. The next section is where the myths around the internet and internet safety were discussed. This section made many strong points regarding what is thought/expected and what actually is. What made the strongest impact on my thoughts is how feared internet predators are, however, there are not as many as you think out there. Not that this is not a cause for concern, but it shouldn't be the limit of educating students and parents. There are other areas where they could benefit from more education. Another point he made that we, as teachers, should keep in mind is that not all students are internet savy. I think some teachers just assume this since most kids are very much into technology in this day and age. Finally, Shareski discussed going global or using the internet as more than just a tool to look up "stuff." Overall, I found the slide share to be very effective and it gave me a lot of areas to keep in mind when I am educating my future students.

The learning outcomes outlined for this week were based off a number of tools and websites to explore. The first of which was "effectively searching the internet." From the readings, I established that for myself, I need to use more than just google to conduct searches. I had realized this before, but the readings turned me on to yahoo (which I have used in the past) and a new tool, Exalead. I will now keep these tools in mind for future use.

The next outcome was based around Fair Use and Copyright. To be honest, unless I was writing a paper for school, I have not given either issue much thought. The readings around this really made me think about the do's and don'ts regarding these two issues. I also found this chart given to us to be a quick and easy reference and I have printed it out for my personal use in the future. Along with these issues, I explored Creative Commons and watched the podcast on APA and Plagiarism (view here). I believe I have viewed that podcast before and I am somewhat comfortable in using APA format for my papers, etc. Creative Commons was new to me and I found it to be a useful tool from exploring the surface of it, however, I did not fully engage myself in using it yet.

Again this week there was an outcome referencing AUP's and I found the readings very useful and I know that I need to request and sign and AUP before using the computer and the internet in a school district.

Finally, I explored the criteria for evaluating web pages which can be broken into five sections:
1. Accuracy of Web Documents
2. Authority of Web Documents
3. Objectivity of Web Documents
4. Currency of Web Documents
5. Coverage of the Web Documents
This information was all found on this website. I studied this thoroughly and I will put it to good use in completing the assignment due in week 5.

Outside of the learning outcomes, we were also asked to explore some social networking tools. These included Delicious, Diigo, and Ning. As discussed in an earlier blog, I have already explored Delicious and Diigo, however, Ning was new to me. I explored the site and created and account, but that is as far as I have taken it so far. The social network I created is called Educators Sharing Technology which can be accessed here. I hope to really use this network soon and share it with my group.

That about sums up week 4 and my adventures for the week...more to come with week 5!

How young it starts. . .

2009-02-11T20:59:00.001-08:00

My son absolutely loves the computer and fights me for it every time I am on it.
(Colin in May 2008)

21st Century Teaching and Learning Part 2

2009-02-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

Required Reflections:

What is the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 bookmarking?

From what I gathered through the course readings, when you bookmark in web 1.0 you are saving sites that you would like to revisit at a later date. All of these sites can be organized into folders for easy access, but you must check the sites on your own for updates. Web 2.0 bookmarking consists of subscribing to pages and receiving email alerts when they are updated. This is because web 1.0 consists of read only components of the internet and web 2.0 consists of the read-write internet components where sites are constantly updated by various sources.
Discuss the Net generation. Why are the digital students different from the previous generations of students? What are the implications for teachers?

Through the course readings and internal reflections, I have determined that digital students are extremely different from previous students and this can be attributed to many factors. Basically, digital students are used to having answers on demand. They are used to multitasking in their everyday life and that is what they relate best to. Their brains seem to function differently than previous generations of students. They use the technology at home and outside of school so why not is school. As far as teachers are concerned, we need to take advantage of our students learning approaches at home and apply them in school. Rote drill and practice will not be enough for our students. We need to use their ability to multitask to our advantage and in turn it will apply our students with the edge they will need in the future. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet...our video clips and class readings having strongly expressed this and it is extremely vital to our students future that we, as teachers, keep up on the technology and use it to our advantage.
What are the six 2007 National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) and which of the standards you think are well implemented? How do you feel about your readiness to meet those standards?

The six NETS-S include Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, Research and Information Fluency, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making, Digital Citizenship, and Technology Operations and Concepts.

From my personal experience on the elementary level, I don't feel that any of the six are really implemented well. I feel that there is more of an attempt towards creativity and innovation than in the past, but unfortunately, I don't think there are enough teachers making this attempt for it to be beneficial to the students. As far as communication and collaboration is concerned, I really don't feel like any attempt is being made because many teachers and/or their administrators are afraid of giving their students the power to communicate via the internet on school computers during school hours. When it comes to research and information fluency, I feel like students are using this standard for home-based projects and reports and are not really evaluating the sources used to the extent they could be. I don't feel there is enough critical thinking, problem solving, or decision making being implemented either. I think students are handed the answers more often than they are pressed to find them using their own problem solving skills. As far as the digital citizenship standard and the technology operations and concepts standard, I think students are taught these by the computer teacher during their computer time, but they are not really given in depth lessons on them. Now, these are just based on my personal experiences from student teaching and it may not be true of all schools and all teachers, but I think most teachers could do a much better job of incorporating these standards into their curriculum.

I personally feel ready to begin meeting these standards, but I feel as a new teacher it may take time to implement it into my teaching. I also feel that I need to keep taking courses like this one, as well as experimenting with tools on my own, in order to really stay up to date on the new technology. I feel like once I begin to implement more technology and creating projects that require innovation, creativity, research, etc., it will only take fine tweaking from there on out. I just think meeting these standards will take time and during that time, I will become more comfortable and it will eventually, hopefully, be more second nature than experimental.
Briefly discuss the shift of paradigms -- from school/classroom 1.0 to school/classroom 2.0.

School/Classroom 1.0 is slowly fading out of districts across the nation. Teachers and administrators are beginning to see the effect of technology in their schools and the shift has begun to include more up to date technology that students can relate to. This is where school/classroom 2.0 comes into play. In order to better prepare students for their future and to keep up with the technology that they are already using at home, teachers are incorporating more read-write applications into their teaching. Teachers are using websites, wikis, blogs, etc. to communicate with their students and parents on a different level. As technology increases, this shift will continue to occur and school/classroom 1.0 will be virtually non-existent in some senses.
Briefly share your experience with del.icio.us, diigo, slideshare, mind-mapping tools from the point of view of opening an account and using it in your teaching career.

I created an account with del.icio.us and I found it very easy to upload my bookmarks and I am looking forward to being able to access my bookmarks from any location. As far as using it in my teaching, I could see it as a useful tool to access sites I find at home on a school computer and vice versa. I could also see it as setting up a class account for my students to access at home and in school provided they have the password.

I also created an account on diigo and I am excited to experiment with it myself for use in my classes. I also feel that once I am comfortable with it, it may be a great tool to use with my future students when reviewing web pages.

I find that the account I created on slideshare will also be useful for my classes that I am taking, as well as for my future teaching in that I can share presentations with them easily from school or at home.

I have not created an account or experimented with mind-mapping tools, but I hope to do so in the near future.
Discuss the Internet Safety issues you learned from the posted resources and TDC chapters 7 & 8 content.

Many websites do not contain information that is not always accurate. Students need to be taught to evaluate websites for their quality of information before accepting its contents as truth. Teachers need to also preview and guide students to appropriate websites when conducting online projects. Teachers must also be aware of their school's acceptable use policies and monitoring software. Besides those direct classroom concerns, there are many other concerns with using the internet such as giving out personal information or locations and things of that nature. Students need to be taught what is and what is not acceptable situations to divulge personal information.

Keeping up. . .

2009-02-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/aba0350l.jpg

21st Century Teaching and Learning Part 1

2009-02-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

General Reflections:
This week's module focused on teaching and learning in the 21st century. In general, I was not surprised by the readings. I agreed with how much our students use the computer and other technologies and that we as teachers need to keep up with it, but more on the readings is part 2.

I was, however, surprised by the videos. I knew we were behind China and I knew that we did push our students to use their technological skills in the classroom, but I think the impact of what was said and how it was said really shocked me. The first video with the students holding up signs stating the statistics was really powerful (view it here!). I also really enjoyed the Did You Know? Shift Happens! video clip. It was very catchy and I think it made the same impact as the previously mentioned video just because it had the same and even more statistics. The Education Today and Tomorrow video clip was also really powerful in that it really laid out what education was lacking. The authors of this video really demonstrated that the rigor of past and many current classrooms is enough preparation for factory work and other jobs available today, but the reality is that our students will be working in jobs that are not even created yet. If we want our students to function in future society and we want society to function as a whole, we need to teach our students with the most current methods and technology available. I feel that all of this week's video clips and the readings really reflected this and although I had felt that this was what was occuring, I really had not taken the time to really think and reflect on the issue. I have always enjoyed technology and I really love incorporating it in my teaching, but I realize now that I need to do it more and I need to do it better. By better, I mean by taking classes such as this and educating myself on the what is out there. I need to not be afraid to try new methods and to explore with my students. I feel that this week's videos and readings really opened my eyes to this even more.

This week was our first whole class online meeting and it was a learning experience for me. I think I understand all of the aspects of Elluminate Live! now and what I need to be able to do to be successful. I feel that being able to keep up with everyone's comments and taking turns with the mic when in our whole class room and group rooms will come naturally with time. I would, however, like to experiment more with the tools of the whiteboard, but I think I will become more comfortable with it as opportunities arise to use it. As far as our first group in class project was concerned, it was a little difficult to communicate with everyone taking turns with the mic. The other issue was only one person was able to edit our LetterPop poster and it was difficult to complete it in the time allowed. We are able to spend more time on it now due to technological problems at the end of the class (sometimes technology makes its flaws apparent!) and we are planning on finishing it tonight during our 3rd group meeting. We also have our first group assignment to complete and I am curious to see how it plays out, but that is to be blogged about at a later entry.

My Educational Philosophy or Not?

2009-02-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

After reading about the Authoritarian Educational Philosophies/Theories and the Non-Authoritarian Educational Theories, I completed the survey to see where I stand and the results surprised me. The survey consisted of 40 questions that once scored placed you into one of eight categories that indicates your educational philosophy and psychological orientation. The categories were Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, Reconstructionism/Critical Theory, Information Processing, Behaviorism, Cognitivism/Constructivism, and Humanism. In general, I would say I am a blend of many of them and my results were close for each category which I expected. What I did not expect was that my dominant educational philosophy was Information Processing with Reconstructionism being a close second. I would have never thought of those being my dominant philosophies, but after further review of all of the philosophies, I'm not sure what I would have chosen as my dominant. I think I prefer to continue to think of myself as a blend where I can take from all theories and create my own - allowing me to teach to all students and their individual needs. Taking that into account, I will reflect upon the different theories and begin working on my educational statement.

The end is just the beginning. . .

2009-02-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

As the end of the first two weeks is here, I realize that this is just the beginning of the journey in this class. With that being said, I found the first two weeks both interesting and overwhelming at the same time. Now that I have finally completed what needed to be done, I am excited to further explore week 3 and prepare for class - which has approached faster than I realized and is tomorrow night! Before I can do that, I need to wrap my head around all of the information I have attained from week 1 and 2's assignments. . .

Week's overview and learning outcomes / The most memorable moments in the learning during the first week:

I feel that I have taken a sufficient amount of time exploring Moodle and what it has to offer, as well as exploring the resources laid out for this class. I feel that I have a firm grasp as to what this course will entail and I feel confident that many of the resources I will need are right at hand. I also spent a great deal of time self reflecting about what I know, want to know, and am prepared to do in this course through completing my learning contract, profile, and technology inventory. I found I know quite a bit when it comes to technology, but when it comes down to it, it is always evolving and there will always be more to explore and learn. I know that I will never know everything, but I look forward to the never ending amount of knowledge that is out there.
The posted assignments, readings, activities of the first week's module: Videos to ponder, Websites to review, Web 2.0 Tools to explore, etc.

"Learning to Change and Changing to Learn" was an eye-opening video clip. I never realized just how behind teaching is when it comes to technology. It made me realize how much many teachers are really limiting students potential and how unprepared many students will be for the future jobs they may hold. The clip not only made me want to make sure I keep on top of technology as much as possible, but also that I use it and introduce whatever I can from my students. I also realized that learning from my students and collaborating with other teachers are essential to being a great teacher.

Through reviewing the chapter 1 power point of TDC, I really gained an understanding of how one dimensional education can be and how limiting that is for our multidimensional students. I feel that technology is one of the best ways to address this and that through technology we can facilitate learning by giving our students what they need: technology, multitasking, goals, multi sensory assignments, etc.

I found the Evolution of the Internet in Pictures and Stories website to be very interesting and informative. I had never realized how early the development of the internet began and I found the visuals very useful in comprehending the information. The website really expanded my views on how technology develops and is used and the evolution it faces. I feel that this site really made me want to pay more attention to how our new technology is developing and evolving overtime. I also feel that in doing so, I will better prepare myself and my students for the future.

As far as the LoTi power point and website, I feel I gained a great deal of information. As I said on the discussion forum, I had never thought of a school's technology use in terms of levels and I was surprised how low many schools rate. What I didn't reflect on in the discussion forum that I have been pondering is where I stand. I do not have a classroom of my own yet, but throughout my student teaching, I feel I was at a level 3 or below. After thinking about that, I have made it a goal to raise my personal teaching level when I have my own classroom. I feel comfortable enough with the technology and Bloom's levels to do so, I just need to push my students embrace the technology and enjoy the real life learning it can include.

The Web 2.0 slideshare - "Literacy Remixed in a Web 2.0 World" really gave me some more information on web 2.0 since I had only a basic understanding of it. I also had never thought to do blogs with my students before since I had limited experience with them (this is my first blog!). I really look forward to using the web 2.0 tools out there such as blogs in my future classroom.

As far as Tapped In, I created an account and briefly looked through it and I think it will be a great resource for this class and for the future. I look forward to exploring it some more.
The meetings you had with the group and the whole class:

In my earlier entry, I spoke about my first group meeting. We had our additional meeting that I mentioned this morning and it went well. Dr. Smirnova joined us for some of it and really cleared up many of the questions we had. We also spent a great deal of time afterwards discussing our issues and making sure we all had submitted and completed what needed to be done. We then watched the video clips for week 3 together and discussed what tomorrow's class will entail. It helped give all of us an overview for tomorrow's class and I feel the online communication and collaboration is really beneficial and greatly increases learning, especially in an online course where the learning is more student centered. It really allowed me to gain a greater insight into technology and the power of online group discussions.

As I said earlier, I look forward to our first whole class online session tomorrow and the information and experience it will bring - which of course will be blogged about later. . .

The First Week

2009-02-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

The first week of this course was interesting for me. I have taken many classes with a web component, but this is my first course that takes place completely online. Having had Dr. S. before, I knew what to expect as far as the work load, but finding everything on Moodle and understanding what was due when was a challenge for me at first. I met with my group for the first time on Monday, February 2nd and many of my questions became clear. It was great to spend time collaborating with them and understanding what was expected and when. We have also decided to meet again on Sunday, February 8th to go over everything again and make sure we have all completed what was necessary, as well as discuss any questions or challenges any of us may have. I look forward to that meeting because I think it will be very helpful to make sure I have the hang of Moodle along with the rest of my group before the work load intensifies.