Technology in Education

As the course comes to an end, I would like to share about my journey. My teaching practice will definitely reflect the new technologies I have learned. When teaching technology it is best to vary teaching strategies to reach learners with varied learning styles. I have discovered that I can integrate technology into just about anything. I can incorporate a new technology, such as Popplet, to mind map with my French students. Or, I can use Twitter to stimulate a class discussion on what students know about French food and etiquette. I have learned that technology can enhance and bring a more meaningful connection to the material. My students can use technology to be creative and transform the content they are learning and engaging with. After taking this class, I am confident in my ability use the web 2.0 in my classroom.

I find that by integrating the Internet, I can discover which technology tools work best for my classroom and online collaboration. For example, in this class, I worked with a group. We used Angel, email, Google Docs, Popplet, Delicious, Pinterest, Skype and Prezi to collaborate. It was not easy. We worked our way through these technologies, and I discovered that it was a lot of work to stay up to date and communicate with all group members. I evaluated each technology as we were integrating it into our project. I found that some technologies I preferred to use by myself, whereas others were fun to collaborate on. I really struggled never meeting via a video chat. I really value face time, and like to hear the voices of the people I am working with. In this project I never spoke or had any face time with my group members, and yet, we were able to collaborate, and create a group product.

I found that the NETS assignment that I turned in, exemplified good teaching. I created a great lesson, aligning to both Michigan’s State Standards and Benchmarks as well as the National Educational Technology Standards. I really put a lot of thought into it, provided an instructional plan, as well as a lesson with examples. This lesson would be really fun and engaging for students. I am excited to test it out on a real class when I return to teaching.

I have met the goals that I shared in my Personal Growth Plan, devised at the beginning of the course. My goals were to use technology more in my daily life, and be transparent in my growth and record my journey on my blog. I have met these goals and have enjoyed sharing new technologies with my family and friends. Some look at me as their technology consultant now!

Now that this course is over, I plan to continue learning and using the new technologies that I have learned. I plan to revisit my Personal Technology Plan every season and take other Educational Technology courses with MSU. When I return to teaching, I plan to integrate mobile learning, 21st Century Skills, and the NETS for students and teachers. I also plan to be mindful of copyright laws and teach my students about digital citizenship. I want my students to be good stewards of the 21st Century and know how to be creative and use technology to stay on top of their affairs and life ahead.

2/21/12

NETS Lesson

NETS Lesson: Scooping La Ferme on the internet

Michigan World Language Standards:

1.3 Communication: Presentational Communication: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.

3.1 Connections: Point of View: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the world language and its cultures.

NETS Categories: Creativity & Innovation; Communication & Collaboration

NETS-S Standards:

1 b. Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students create original works as a means of personal or group expression.

2 a. Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

Overview: (1) Students will create individual accounts at the following sites: scoop.it, wikispaces.com, youtube.com, http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons. (2) Students will work in groups to create a video or image collage of French Farm vocabulary and upload it to the internet via youtube.com or flickr.com. (3) Students will collaborate (using a wiki) and create a new topic at scoop.it, related to "La Ferme," where they "scoop" at least six videos in French or French images that relate to the topic. Students must also "scoop" the video/collage that they created. (4) Students will then present their work and share about their experience working together, collaborating online, and creating a social bookmarking site.

Essential Questions: Students are learning about using a popular social bookmarking site called scoop.it. Students will be able to use this site not only for my class, but for personal and other school related topics. Students will also see how efficient and user friendly using a wiki is for collaboration. Students will realize that they can learn French outside of the classroom and the textbook. Students will be able to explore the vast array of French videos available on the web relating to the content that they are learning in the class. Student will need to know and be familiar about digital citizenship, copyright and fair use laws, how to upload videos and pictures to youtube.com and flickr.com. Students will also be able to send twitter messages and how to make videos using their own technology, (i.e. cell phones, digital cameras, etc.) This assignment will be building on this prior knowledge, engaging students in new technological ways and expanding their French vocabulary.

Assessment: Students will produce a scoop.it page. Students will learn new knowledge by watching educational videos on youtube.com, by creating their own French farm vocabulary video, and by presenting what they have learned to their peers. I, the teacher, will assess student work based on a rubric, (provided to the students), as well as by viewing their scoop.it pages and wikis to see proof of their collaboration.

Resources: Students are collaborating using online technology and various digital tools to support learning. Students will use digital cameras, smart phones, home and school computers. Students have access to school computers, during class time and after school.

Instructional Plan
Preparation: Students need to know how to manage various online accounts with: google docs, wikispaces, twitter, email, scoop.it, youtube.com, flickr.com, and the like. Students have also learned about creative commons and uploaded material with restricted access. Students are able to make and share videos with ease. To ensure that students have this foundation, we have been building on these skills through the course of the semester.

Management: Students will work in the computer lab during class time. Students will also work on personal home computers, or stay after school to work on computers in the school's library. Students will also get together (during or outside of class time) to create their video for the assignment. Students will have two class periods to complete this project.

Instruction and Activities: My role as teacher will be the modeler, learning concierge, and network sherpa. I will be a facilitator and coach to aid students as they create, share, and collaborate. Students are the designers, organizers, participants, and teachers. Technology is the vehicle that will allow students to complete this lesson. Students will begin the assignment by observing. Then, students will be provided with an outline of steps that need to be completed, as well as with a rubric. I will oversee and check the wiki pages, class google doc, and scoop.it pages. The class google doc will ensure that I have all the students' info in one place.

Differentiation: This assignment is about taking snap-shots of media available on the web. Students will be drawn to various different French videos that relate to the farm. Students may choose cartoons, "how to" French videos, news related clips, etc. Students will meet the requirements of this assignment as long as the videos and images chosen are authentic. This assignment addresses visual/spatial, linguistic, intrapersonal and interpersonal learners. Students will have to work collaboratively to be able to share the responsibilities of this assignment. I will permit any extentions as students will be able to work outside of school. Late work will result in a percentage deduction.

Closure and Reflection: After students have completed the assignment, they will be presenting their scoop.it page to the class. The presentation should only take five to eight minutes. After the presentation, we will reflect on the assignment as a class. We will form a circle, and toss a ball around, like the game, "Hot Potato," and students will have to share one positive and one negative thought re: the assignment. After our whole class reflection, I will pass out a survey asking the following questions:
1. Did you find the lesson worthwhile? Will you use what you learned from it in the future? How?
2. What went well? What didn't?

Here is the activity description that will be handed out to students:

You are to complete the following lesson in groups of 3-4 people. You can work with classmates and up to one person via Skype from our partnership class in San Antonio, TX.

***Remember to work as a group and collaborate online

Step 1: Create accounts at the following websites: scoop.it, wikispaces.com, youtube.com, http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

Step 2: Update your online information at our class google doc. Include the wiki URL that you will be using to collaborate with group members, and the scoop.it URL for your group.

Step 3: Form a scoop.it topic
You will be adding videos and images relating to French farm vocabulary, so keep that in mind when you choose a name for your title.

Step 4: Search youtube.com or http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons for French videos/images that depict French farm life. Then, "scoop"those videos and add them to your farm topic. You must scoop 6-10 videos/images. Please consider what you have previously learned about digital citizenship and copyright laws.

Step 5: Create your own item to upload and "scoop" to your scoop.it site. This can be a video that you create, or a collage of images. Be sure to include a comment using the vocabulary relating to the work you created. You must work in a group and collaborate using a wiki. Here is an example of how a student began collaborating on the wiki: https://french1laferme.wikispaces.com/ You will need to upload the video to youtube.com or flickr.com, and then "scoop it."

Here is an example of a previous student's work: http://www.scoop.it/t/la-ferme

Bonne chance! Et amusez-vous!! Please send me a tweet, #ferme, if you have questions or any trouble.

We will be presenting your scoop.it pages to the class Monday, March 12.

2/17/12

Learning Styles

I am a visual learner. I thrive when I can create and use graphics, drawings, and other visual clues. I also learn best when I can see examples of what is to be learned. I am also a kinesthetic learner. I enjoy including movement into my learning. I retain info better when I can do something with it.

Looking back on my own learning experiences, I thrived when I could dissect what I was learning into parts. I did well in Math, which explores how things are related and I enjoyed learning about those relationships. When I began learning French, I looked at the language in a mathmatical way, grouping vocabulary and grammar into linguistic parts. A sentence in French became, in a way, a mathmatical equation, for example: Noun + Verb + Prepositional Phrase = Sentence.

As much as I love technology and how it has made learning more accessible, I do not learn effectively from reading articles and texts online. When I use a computer, I need to interact with what I am learning. If I have to read an article on the internet or as an email attachment, I do best when I print it out and use a highlighter and pen to take notes in the margins. I have found that I retain information better when I write it down with pen and paper: typing does not have the same effect.

I don't retain as much information when I rely on just one method of learning. I benefit most when I incorporate multiple learning methods and styles. My favorite learning styles are visual/spatial, body/movement, and logic/math. However I also enjoy learning through nature, with language, socially, intrapersonally, and with music.

As a teacher, I cannot teach each lesson using every learning style. I need to be self-reflective about my teaching goals and my strengths in teaching. I need to teach to various learning styles, but I also need to remember that learning and teaching styles are not inflexible. It might actually be good to diversify how a student learns and not always teach to what styles they learn best.

Creative Commons

Photo Attribution:

Original Image: “b079d (rescan)"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/presquilien/5150279991/in/photostream

By: Robert Bonnin

Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

This picture was taken before 1900 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Ile-de-France, France. I love this picture because it's candid and captures the fun of the moment. It is amazing to think that Paris once looked so rustic. This picture was taken before WWI and WWII. I would be able to use this picture in my Secondary French classroom in multiple contexts. It would be a good conversation piece to discuss the historic events that took place around the 1900's in France. Today, students' view of Paris, France is limited to the Tour d'Eiffel. However, this picture would prompt thoughtful inquiry to draw connections on its economic development. I would even guide students to explore how their hometown may have looked liked before the 1900's. I would challenge students to bring in or find images of their area on Flickr or Picasa and present them to the class in French. For example, students might show a picture of a local farm in 1890 and describe the landscape and what they see in the picture. "Voici une ferme. Il y a des vaches, des couchons et un chien. Il n'y a pas de voitures. Maintenant, cette ferme n'existe plus. Il y a une grande rue et beaucoup de maisons."

I have accounts with both Picasa and Flickr.

I uploaded an image of winter and licensed it with Creative Commons.

Photo Attribution:

Original Image: “icy lake sunset"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76853983@N02/6892845571/in/photostream

By: Heidi Embury

Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

2/13/12

RSS Page Reflection - Part 2

I am very enthusiastic about using RSS feeds in both my personal and professional life. (I am currently not teaching, so I do not have the opportunity to use RSS feeds in the classroom at this time.)

For my professional development:
RSS feeds keep me current with upcoming teacher workshops, various French current events, as well as with what other teachers are doing in their classroom.
When I return to teaching, I will use RSS feeds to stay connected with other faculty and exchange information between disciplinaries. I can use the connections formed and information learned from RSS feeds to expand what educational resources I use in the classroom.

For students:
RSS feeds will impact my classroom by providing students with an efficient way to stay connected and informed about course work, teachers and peers. RSS feeds give students the ability to follow developing stories and news in their chosen genres. By using RSS feeds in the classroom, I will be modeling a valuable life skill that students can used in their professional lives.

For parents:
I can use RSS feeds to stay connected with parents and students. I can integrate RSS feeds with email on my class blog, allowing parents and students to subscribe and get their class assignments, etc. emailed to them.

2/1/12

PC Maintenance and Security

We are apart of a "Tell-all" generation of digital citizens who need to not only protect ourselves and what we are putting out there on the internet, but we need to protect our computers from malware.

For the PC Maintenance and Security lab, I watched three videos on a variety of topics that I was unfamiliar with: malware, firewalls, and Mozilla Firefox. I have heard the terms malware and firewalls, but was unsure as to what they were really referring to. I use Firefox as my main browser, but was unaware as to what special features it offers for internet security.

"Defining Malware"
I learned that malware stands for all malicious software meant to destroy or damage computers, computer servers, or computer networks. I found it surpising that 90% of all computers have some form of malware.

"Explaining What Firewalls Do and Do Not Do"
I learned that Firewalls only warn us about malware or suspicious software. I found it surprising that it does not block virus installations.

"Explore the Settings of Firefox"
I learned that Firefox can save all your passwords, as well as provide you with a master password to further protect your passwords. I found it surprising that Firefox keeps a record of your passwords and with the click of a specific button under settings makes those passwords visible... and that's why it's important to have a master password.

Technology in Education

9/25/12

StAIR

Evaluating Learning Tools

MERLOT

Instructional Design

3/8/12

Personal Learning Reflection