Friday, July 23, 2010
Final Reflective Blog
I learned a lot from this course. Technology is necessary for successful instruction. After completing the Digital Storytelling project, I now know the logistics behind creating an educational presentation using Windows Moviemaker. Our constant updates on our blogs were "a preview of coming attractions." What I mean by this is that thanks to technology, our students will communicate with us via blogs and other means of communication. Giving students the opportunity to communicate with their teachers has the potential to dramatically improve academic achievement for future students. In the past, students would have to depend on a telephone call to contact their instructor. Now, thanks to technology, they can even send emails with attachments of their assignments for their teachers to critique. I fully intend to earn a reputation for constant feedback with my students because of the opportunities technology provides. When we completed the Copyright and Internet Safety assignments, I learned that integrating instructional technology is a privilege. We as teachers have certain rights and responsibilites when it comes to what we include in our lessons and how we include them. For example, if a video clip is longer than a certain length, we may be violating copyright laws and jeopardizing our careers. In conclusion, the integration of instructional technology will allow me to be more professional in my instruction. If I simply write on the chalkboard every day and ignore the advice of my fellow colleagues about how to integrate technology into the clasroom, then I am not taking advantage of the opportunities that make the content beign taught to my students more meaningful.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Portfolio
Standard 1 Technology Information Access, Evaluation, Processing and Application
The bookmarking activity that I completed using the Delicious software gave me a good idea
of what resources are out there for the content area of Spanish. In the process, I was able to develop my skill of evaluating technological information. This is important since I will be doing this for a good 30 years or more as a certified Spanish teacher. Processing means that the teacher makes practical and educational activities for his or her students. Ultimately, students and the teacher will apply what they learn; the students to their lives and the teachers to methods in which they can modify their future lessons.
Standard 2 Communication
The blog postings that we completed as a class allowed us as students to evaluate our attitudes concerning technology by reading comments from other students. For example, when we were asked to complete our Technobiography, Ashley Hurst liked what I said about Spanish teachers being able to speed up the time it takes to complete oral exams. Thanks to technology, every student can wear headphones and speak into a microphone. After 15 minutes, every student is accounted for. Traditionally, the teachers had to spend 1 to 2 entire class periods talking to students individually at their desk. Blogs have truly facilitated communication.
Standard 3 Legal, Social and Ethical Issues
The Cyberethics assignment was an excellent way to learn about the legal, social and ethical issues. I chose Firewalls because I saw a movie a few years ago with Harrison Ford that dealt with a wealthy computer engineer having to hack into his system in order to prevent the hackers from invading his personal life. Also, the Copyright reading we completed gave very detailed information about how to protect copyright laws under every situation possible. For exmaple, if a certain video is over a certain length in time, then it is not acceptable to use music that is protected by copyright laws.
Standard 4 Assessment For Administration and Instruction
The various technologies we used for our projects allowed us to determine which technologies work well under various instructional situations. The Glogster technology was very useful for the Learning Theory assignment because it combined text with images, and also included video applications.
Standard 5 Integrating Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction
Our Practical Teaching Experience highlights what integrating technology into the currciulum and instrcution is all about. Additionally, the Bookmarks I created using the Delicious software reminded me of what we are doing in my Curriculum and Assessment class. In that class, we are creating a Unit Plan. We determine what the appropriate objectives are, and then have our lessons reflect them. This can be accomplished with the integration of technology. For my content area of Spanish, the ideal example of integrating technology into the curriculum and instruction is creating a virtual tour of a famous city in a Spanish speaking country.
Standard 6 Assistive Technologies
Vocaroo, the technology that allows people to record their voice, was very helpful for the Universal Design for Learning Assignment. Although I did not use Wordle, I have in the past and I am fully aware of how it can help teachers. It can help teachers by creating concept maps in a social studies class or teaching a phrase that can help students master their grammar concepts in a foreign language class.
Standard 7 Professional Growth
The comments we posted on the blogs of other students served the purpose of professional growth. Also, I now have a better understanding in my mind of when to use what technologies: Worlde, Vocaroo, Glogster, to name a few. One of the easiest ways to grow professionally is to keep up with the technology. This allows teachers to be more diverse in their teaching methods.
The bookmarking activity that I completed using the Delicious software gave me a good idea
of what resources are out there for the content area of Spanish. In the process, I was able to develop my skill of evaluating technological information. This is important since I will be doing this for a good 30 years or more as a certified Spanish teacher. Processing means that the teacher makes practical and educational activities for his or her students. Ultimately, students and the teacher will apply what they learn; the students to their lives and the teachers to methods in which they can modify their future lessons.
Standard 2 Communication
The blog postings that we completed as a class allowed us as students to evaluate our attitudes concerning technology by reading comments from other students. For example, when we were asked to complete our Technobiography, Ashley Hurst liked what I said about Spanish teachers being able to speed up the time it takes to complete oral exams. Thanks to technology, every student can wear headphones and speak into a microphone. After 15 minutes, every student is accounted for. Traditionally, the teachers had to spend 1 to 2 entire class periods talking to students individually at their desk. Blogs have truly facilitated communication.
Standard 3 Legal, Social and Ethical Issues
The Cyberethics assignment was an excellent way to learn about the legal, social and ethical issues. I chose Firewalls because I saw a movie a few years ago with Harrison Ford that dealt with a wealthy computer engineer having to hack into his system in order to prevent the hackers from invading his personal life. Also, the Copyright reading we completed gave very detailed information about how to protect copyright laws under every situation possible. For exmaple, if a certain video is over a certain length in time, then it is not acceptable to use music that is protected by copyright laws.
Standard 4 Assessment For Administration and Instruction
The various technologies we used for our projects allowed us to determine which technologies work well under various instructional situations. The Glogster technology was very useful for the Learning Theory assignment because it combined text with images, and also included video applications.
Standard 5 Integrating Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction
Our Practical Teaching Experience highlights what integrating technology into the currciulum and instrcution is all about. Additionally, the Bookmarks I created using the Delicious software reminded me of what we are doing in my Curriculum and Assessment class. In that class, we are creating a Unit Plan. We determine what the appropriate objectives are, and then have our lessons reflect them. This can be accomplished with the integration of technology. For my content area of Spanish, the ideal example of integrating technology into the curriculum and instruction is creating a virtual tour of a famous city in a Spanish speaking country.
Standard 6 Assistive Technologies
Vocaroo, the technology that allows people to record their voice, was very helpful for the Universal Design for Learning Assignment. Although I did not use Wordle, I have in the past and I am fully aware of how it can help teachers. It can help teachers by creating concept maps in a social studies class or teaching a phrase that can help students master their grammar concepts in a foreign language class.
Standard 7 Professional Growth
The comments we posted on the blogs of other students served the purpose of professional growth. Also, I now have a better understanding in my mind of when to use what technologies: Worlde, Vocaroo, Glogster, to name a few. One of the easiest ways to grow professionally is to keep up with the technology. This allows teachers to be more diverse in their teaching methods.
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