Topics for Today:
1. Downloads
2. This I Believe
Today's class went by fast. It was nice to explore and learn about a few different organizational tools. I have mentioned before that I like to save bookmarks, and two of the tools allow me to do that across computers. My tool was Skype, which was a good tool to explain because my group members already knew so much about it. We had more time to focus on how Skype could be used in different classrooms. I liked Evernote better than Diigo, and I liked Dropbox the least, but then I used Dropbox to back up a few of my files and I realized I might use it more than I thought. I liked the idea of having handouts for our group members, but my group found that the time to "teach" each other was too long for our teaching purposes.
Next week is the last week of our summer term here in the MAC program. The program is flying by, and final assignments are almost behind us. The "This I Believe" podcast is the final project for our technology class, but I am not quite sure what I believe yet. I know I want to incorporate technology into my future classroom somehow, but I am not sure what my school will have resource wise, and I am not sure what technology will be appropriate for my future classes. I have some thinking to do on this subject. Does anyone have any initial thoughts? My initial thoughts are to start with a general belief that technology is useful and ubiquitous in our society. I am thinking about teaching with technology as a necessary skill we should be helping students acquire. I am not sure what this thinking will lead to, but I have a couple days. Good luck on our last week, fellow MACers!
Like you, I'm also still chewing on my beliefs regarding teaching with technology. My initial thoughts are all over the place. I see the benefits of some applications of technology in the classroom and I also see the risks. I understand that society as a whole is becoming better-versed and more dependent upon technology but on a personal level, I don't always agree with or see value in some of these "advancements." So where does that leave me? Still mulling. Maybe with your initial thoughts, you could think about the qualifications technology must meet in order to be useful in your classroom. This could help you narrow your focus from the "general belief" you have about technology. Just a thought! Best of luck to you in the last week :)
ReplyDeleteTechnology is fun and amazing, but scary at the same time. Due to technology, there is now no such thing as privacy. It is all there somewhere. Unfortunately there is also someone who knows where that somewhere is and how to get there. Hopefully, there will be much more protection for the individual as we move forward with technology, but I do not think so.
ReplyDeleteI know I really enjoyed learning more about Skype myself. I really never knew there was that much information out there and how easy it was to access. I will incorporate Skype into my teaching, but I am not sure about how much I will use the other tools we learned about. I am hoping to get to know, and understand, these tools better, through more use, and as I do, perhaps I will feel more comfortable with them.
The podcast...have not even thought about it yet, but I know the time to is closing in VERY fast. I agree, this first, of three, parts of the MAC program is almost gone...oops, did I blink again....
My thoughts on technology...it is another tool in the toolbox. If you were a mechanic, you would love to see then tool that helped you to remove a radiator faster. I think we have to think of technology in the same way. The various technology items are tools to help us do our job better (note I did not say make our job easier because that is not always the case).
ReplyDeleteSo, maybe I am oversimplifying this, but I think the criteria should be, "Does this technology tool help me do my job better?" If the answer is "no" (and it likely will be a lot) then don't feel bad about discarding it. If the answer is "maybe"...then keep investigating. If the answer is "yes"...then you know what to do.
I have begun to think about my Podcast and this is where I am at. Like you, I reflect on what technology would be appropriate for my classroom. My issue is that I don't believe that what is appropriate is what is available. We are not ready.
ReplyDeleteThe growth of technology in the classroom can't be avoided, but it can be anticipated. In other words, What I am starting to believe is that educators need to be at the head of the technological wave. Teachers will need to have a strong foundation in computer science. Student will need to learn not just to play, but to program as well, as early as possible. Sophisticated, engaging, and curriculum-specific software needs to be developed.
So where is my role in this? I've got to get ready. My plans for professional development now include a focus on computer science and the use of technology in the classroom. On a personal level, I don't really want to. On the whole, I would prefer the "consumer" role. It's more fun that way. However, as an educator, isn't it my responsibility to know more?
Good luck to you as well!
The "This I Believe" podcast could also be titled, "This I Believe Right Now After a Busy Summer Term." It's meant to capture where you are right now, but certainly, we are all still very early in the MAC journey. Your thinking will continue to evolve and change, particularly once you are smack dab in the middle of a Real School Year. But the task of having to articulate what you believe in a positive frame is an important way for you to step back and ask, "So ... where I am I?"
ReplyDelete(And heck, there are always going to be more and more tools out there. Freetech4teachers.com posts 2 or 3 a day -- so since 504 began, there have probably been 50-60 new things announced. It's measuring those tools against their possible classroom/student impact and our own beliefs that keeps ed tech sane for us. After all, we had a ton of stuff we did NOT talk about this term!
T.R., I agree with you that the program is flying by, and I don't know what I believe yet, either. We've had so many new ideas/techniques/tools/processes come at us so quickly, and there has not been time for either practice or (what I think is called, although I'm too frazzled at this moment to cite an author) consolidation. I suppose this podcast assignment is an opportunity to do some of that reflective thinking, but I'm still not past the feeling of being intimidated by the format. To date, I've spent probably less than an hour using Avary. And that was, like, three weeks ago — which seems like an eternity at this moment. I'm going into the assignment feeling like a first-time user again. So it's really hard to feel as though I have any beliefs about the tool itself.
ReplyDeleteOverall, everyone has their own varying opinions on technology in the classroom. After our discussion/argument over these opinions from our last 504 session of the summer, I would say that this argument is hardly close to an end. I'm not sure when it will finally end, and I'm not sure if it will. I find it very similar to Anne Curzan's presentation on the way language has changed and will continue to change. But that's part of human life. We change constantly. In fact, that is my mother's favorite saying to tell me when I am saddened that something no longer exists and has basically been replaced by the 2.0 version: "The only constant is change." Damn you, Mom.
ReplyDeleteI guess the main argument isn't if technology WILL be in the classroom in the future, but more about the level or degree in how MUCH technology will be required in each classroom, or the ways we will be asked to use it. Based on the requirement of this course on using different applications for our future classrooms, it is pretty obvious that UM believes that we will see technology in our future classrooms. And if we were the ones who accepted admission into this program, shouldn't people be just a tad more on board with it?