Inspiration - NETS 2 & 3

This is my Inspiration assignment.

This assignment was to create a mind map using the downloadable (30 day trial) program Inspiration. Inspiration is a visual learning tool that inspires students to develop and organize their ideas. It supports visual thinking techniques and aides students in numerous ways. The mind map I created shows the artifacts that apply to the five NETS for Teachers standards. Each NETS standard has a brief description of the standard and how it applies to the different classroom artifacts I have created.

Journal # 6: Video Conferencing

Video Conferencing is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two way video and audio transmission simultaneously. It is a bit different than videophone calls in that it can reach multiple individuals rather than two. It can connect people across the globe instantly and
While reading the different threads on Classroom 2.0 about Video Conferencing, I was immediately drawn to the set backs and concerns different educators had. One example is how an Educator is concerned that her students and herself may have trouble communicating over video conferencing due to their heavy southern accents. She foresees this being a problem but offers the solution of searching for others to test her theory and also searching out of the country for educators with different language accents. Through my own personal experiences communicating with my family and friends down under (Australia) I have had no issues with language barriers or diction misconstruing our conversations.
Another Educator created a tool that aides Educators in Video Conferencing called Edu-Skyper’s Phone Book. This is an international database of educators who want to connect via the tool Skype, which is a free video conferencing service that millions worldwide use. After signing up and giving your information, Educators worldwide can contact you and share and teach new ideas to use in and out of the classroom, you can search by age of students you teach, the subject you teach, or what you wish to Skype about. It is an extremely useful tool to keep connected.
Another benefit for Video Conferencing is for students who are sick or have an illness. Through video conferencing, a student cannot only in theory attend class via the Internet, but also interact and respond to the lesson plan. For example, a mother posted on the thread I was following on Classroom 2.0 that she has a medically fragile daughter. She can be put in the hospital due to even just a simple cold and the mother is trying to find a solution to get her daughter educated AND interact with students. Home school is an option but in this case, the mother does not want her daughter to live her education years in solitude but interact with her peers. I feel this is a great tool for situations such as this; it enables students with physically and mentally challenging disorders to lead as normal of a life as possible.

PowerPoint Project NETS 1

422 Power Point Project

I have created a PowerPoint Presentation on the NETS Educational Technology Standards for Students. I made a slide for each standard and created a lesson plan or activity that I could apply in my future classroom to meet each Standard. I demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the standards and my Powerpoint abilities. I also displayed creativity, program knowledge, and competency in completing the assignment.

PowerPoint Collaborative Rubric NETS 3 & 5

This assignment required the corporation of the entire ED422 class and instructor to create a rubric to grade our powerpoint assignment on NETS for students. We created the rubric by using http://www.rcampus.com/ and came up with a rubric to effectively grade and set a standard for our project. This was a useful assignment to learn for my future classroom in creating rubrics for assignments.

Journal # 4 NETS 3 & 5

Journal # 4

Bull, Glenn, Alexander, Curby, & Ferster, Bill. (2010). Finding Students Who Learn Through Media. International Society for Technology in Education, 37(5), 1-4. Retrieved February 27, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=February_No_5_4&template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4495&ContentID=25255&DirectListCombolnd=D

Student created media has opened many doors in engagement and learning. Students can create short online documentary films using web based programs such as Primary Access Movie Maker. (www.PrimaryAccess.org) OVer 10,000 students worldwide have used this program and created more than 20,000 digital media documentaries ranging from subjects on science to history and everything in between. Not only can theses students learn from making and presenting these projects, but others can view them and learn from their peers instead of an adult.

Is this time effective in the classroom?
Yes, though explanation and instruction is necessary to teach the students, many classes can be consolidated into one. Many think a lengthy explanation is unnecessary, but how can a student effectively learn and use a program if they do not have sufficient knowledge on it? They can’t learn properly if there is not an instructor there to answer questions, and help problem solve.

Is this creating less work for the educator?
Of course not! Assignments and programs like Primary Access Movie Maker in a classroom setting require substantial knowledge of the program and the subject that is being taught. Not only must the teacher instruct students on the technology they are using, but they must monitor and analyze the students actions, research, and filming techniques and be available to answer questions and help problem solve.

Journal # 3 NETS 3 & 5

Journal # 3

Levinson, Matt. (2010). Keeping the Peace. International Society for Technology in Education, 37(5), 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=February_No_5_4&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4495&ContentID=25237&DirectListComblond=D

In 2007, students received laptops at Nueva Middle School in Hillsborough, California. This article relates to the controversy that is centered around the issue that students were able to access programs such as iChat and were instant messaging among themselves. Parents thought this was taking away from their schooling and they were spending too much time socializing. To keep the programs going, the school was forced into making a pro’s and con’s list to determine the outlook for the program. Parents were also concerned when they could not monitor and control iChat at home and felt their students were becoming unfocused and not spending enough time doing school work, just chatting.

What can be learned from the Nueva Middle School handling of the issue?

From the way Nueva Middle School handled the situation, we can ascertain that asking the opinions of parents, educators, and students can be beneficial, yet harmful. No where in the world is everyone going to agree or have the same opinions, no 2 parents are going to agree on the upbringing of their children. In this case, I believe a vote should have been taken to determine the opinions of the parents.

Is instant messaging dangerous for students?

I believe giving any information out over the web is dangerous. The school cannot be held responsible for a student giving out their information, it is their own doing regardless if the school provided the program or not. If there was a way to limit who each student could chat with, then maybe the program could be safer, but I know on my laptop, I can get access to people around the world. I for one was not allowed into chat rooms or similar programs until I was 14 years old.

Journal # 2 NETS 3 & 5

Journal # 2

Maguth, B.M., & Elliott, J. (2010). Using Podcasts to Develop a Global Perspective. International Society for Technology in Education 37(5) og 1-2. Retrieved Febuarary 21, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/AMTemplate.cfm?Sections=February_No_5_4&Template/ =MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4495&ContentID=25244&DirectListCombolnd=D

This article has to do with developing a global perspective the the use of podcasts. At a high school in Columbus, Ohio, students who excel in math, science, technology and engineering, are creating podcasts and sending them out to others in hopes that they will learn about other cultures. This sending and sharing of podcasts has allowed these students to interact with other students from around the world and discuss global issues with people from different backgrounds and upbringings. First they must do extensive research and learn the background information before engaging in debated via podcasts. Some of the global issues he says they discuss are things such as terrorism, disease, famine, economic development and climate change. I agree with him that it is an educators responsibility to insure that students are informed and aware of global issues as well as local ones. This not only teaches collaboration techniques and tech savvy skills, but also teaches diversity and acceptance. I believe as Americans, we are only given the “Western View” of things. Only a person or people can define themselves accurately. The students do also get a look into a creative way to share ideas and language skills. Communicating with people let alone people from a different culture can be intimidating in person, but over the web, seems to be a little less stressful. 

Is creating podcasts easy enough for low income schools to incorporate into lesson plans?

I do not believe this would be easy for low income schools to use. Though most is done online, voice recording tools, cameras, and other technologies are not always readily available. What about the students in other countries? Will we only get to communicate with educated students that have access to these resources? What if we wished to discuss and issue with the uneducated population? I just can see this costing more than it is worth. If a plan was laid out and approved then possibly, but it is difficult to assess the individual needs of schools.

Is there a way to insure all podcasts are authentic and age appropriate?

I am concerned that this technique will open doors for false information or off limit information to reach unsuspecting ears. With most research and information now found on the web, there is ample opportunity for students to learn false information. I think i strict set of laws and access needs to be made on this such as this. Not only could students get false information, but they may click on something that says global warming and get a podcast that tells them how to grow marijuanna or click on a podcast about tribal clothing, and get to a porno. The interent is a dangerous things for students and I believe regulations are necessary to prevent things like this from happening before this can be implemented into schools and lesson plans for children under the age of 18.