Journal Post # 9

Chapter #9 Creating and Sharing Information with Multimedia Technologies

Focus Question # 1: What is multimedia technology and how can teachers use it to effectively create and share visual information dynamically in their teaching?

     Multimedia technology in the educational process is just the proper, balanced and effective selection, combination and integration by teachers of those tools that use words, images, voices, sound, video and animation, in order to convey information in an attractive, interactive, and creative manner and get students to assimilate, understand, remember and apply the study material.

     Common examples of these are Power Point presentations, academically CD-ROMs, DVDs, TV programs, podcasts, etc. However, the main point of all this is to use them in such a way that the teaching and learning process can be interactive. Only then, the students will be an active part of their own learning making them to live a unique and unforgettable experience.

Tech Tool Link: NGA Kids: The Art Zone

     In my opinion, something that makes the learning experience boring and even stressful, is when students are forced to do something they do not feel identified with, do not understand, do not see the relevance and applicability and to top it off, they have to memorize it for a test. It is not the same to get a lecture about an artist and his works, that personally to experience the process of creating something. Precisely this website enables children and young people learn while they themselves made ​​a painting, a collage, a sculpture, etc. At the same time, traditional folk music and surprising animations enliven the online compositions. Really it is a great tool to teach students to love the art. I tried the Collage Machine and created my own version. Here you are: 

Journey Through Life

Summary and Connection:  As inherent characteristic of this course I am still learning about the infinite possibilities that technology puts in front of us, the educators.  Many of us complain that our students remain too much time glued to their devices and technologies and that it takes them away from family and social realities enclosing them in a virtual world. But, you know what? At this point of this course I have realized that this is just a justification for our intellectual laziness and lack of creative effort. There are neither the students nor the technology; there are some of us who do not want to get out of our shell to experiment with new teaching methods exploiting the potential of the technology.

Photo credit to colemama on Flickr

Reference: 

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S. A., & Park, B. (2011). Creating and Sharing Information with Multimedia Technologies. Transforming Learning with New Technologies (pp. 243-244). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter 8: Communicating and Networking with Websites, Blogs, Wikis and More.

Journal Post # 8
"Our children have digital limbs. We cannot amputate them at the front door."- Brendan Murphy

Photo credit to Mike Licht on Flickr

Focus Question # 4: How can teachers use wikis to promote collaborative learning?

     Good teachers, always worry about getting their students to engage in a more personal, meaningful and creative participation in class. I remember long ago I heard from a good pedagogue, "the good professor speaks little, but listens attentively and makes his students speak." Technologically speaking, that is precisely what the Wikis achieve.

     Since a wiki is a website developed collaboratively by a community of users, allowing any user to add and edit content, this makes possible collaborative learning environments for teachers and students. For example, the teacher may pose a problem and students working collectively, but at the same time printing their own personal stamp, investigate, discover, and develop concepts, strategies, and methodologies for solving it.

     A variation of these is the wikitext, in which students participate with the teacher in creating the textbooks for their classes. The result is that they feel personally connected to curriculum content and therefore more motivated to study it. They are not just content receivers, but also content creators and editors. Evidently, this tool facilitates an inquiry-based learning with a student-centered learning very much in tune with the constructivist approach.

Tech Tool Link: Education Week

     I really believe this website contains updated, comprehensive, professional, helpful and practical information for us, the educators. I read varied and very interesting articles about how to motivate students, how to maintain constructive relationships with parents, address the students’ individual needs using the e-books, the importance of laying a good foundation in early education, etc. I also read about the experience of Todd Quinn, a zoologist who dedicates his time voluntarily to teach young and brings a different exotic animal to class each week. Some of his students' behavior, especially the behavior of his special needs kids, has changed since he started bringing in the animals into class.  Another article that struck me was the one written by Peter DeWitt, the principal of an elementary school about the need for educators strive to integrate technology into their classrooms rather than resist using it or classifying it as harmful to students. He said: “Some educators believe that students do not know how to use their devices properly, (…). Our job as educators is to build a bridge between what they use it for and what we want them to use it for.” Actually I loved the information on this site and I could continue commenting about the other possibilities it offers, but I prefer that you try it for yourself.

Summary and personal connection:

     I have always known that good communication is essential to obtain a good education, but to be honest, only until I examined and meditated on this chapter, I had not fully aware of the vast possibilities that teacher and classroom websites, email, discussion boards, blogs and wikis have to create engaging and productive educational activities as well as to facilitate and enhance communication with all those who in one way or another are involved in the educational process. Undeniably, this chapter has opened before me new perspectives for integrating technology into and out the classroom

References:

DeWitt, P.  (October 14, 2012). Resisting Technology Is Soooo 20th Century. Retrieved October 15, 2012, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2012/10/resisting_technology_is_soooo_20th_century.html

Heitin, L. (October 10, 2012). Florida School Goes Wild for Science. Retrieved October 15, 2012, from http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/

Problem Solving and Inquiry Learning with Software and Web Tools

Journal Post #7

Photo on Google

Focus Question #2: How can teachers evaluate the different types of educational software available today?

     Making correct decisions is a skill not very common. Daily, since we wake up until we go to bed, we have to make decisions, some more simple, but others are really important as they will have significant consequences. In fact, I would put the decision that as teachers we should do about which educational software use in our classes among these.

     It is essential therefore, get to know the differences between low-quality and high-quality software. I agree completely with what Seymour Papert wrote in his book "The connected family: Bridging the digital generation gap" that before deciding which software to buy, every teacher should ask first: “Will the child program the computer or will the computer program the child?” Unfortunately, still there are some that leave little room for the students’ creativity because what they do is merely controlling their activity, teaching them to repeat and reproduce mechanically and not to think, reason, plan, evaluate and apply learning. Fortunately, we have valuable help and guidance to choose wisely. There are rubrics and specialized websites that allow us to evaluate objectively the educational software considering the following criteria: Teacher support, Content, Assessment, Technical quality, and Instructional design.

      However, I have only one big "but."  According to our textbook for this course, teachers will commonly find software choices that have been preselected by the district; even more, in some schools they are not allowed to add their own software to the school system network and others allow them to add programs after having gone through a slow and cumbersome process (Page 178). I wonder, if we are the ones directly and daily in contact with students, we know well the curriculum, we are responsible for complying the  standards, then should not we have a greater and decisive involvement in the selection of educational software for an entire school or school system?  

Tech Tool Link: Educational Software Preview Guide (ESPG)

     I consider that this online searchable directory can be very helpful in locating educational software for a particular curriculum area, grade level, and hardware. Once selected the software, this website link us to the publishers and we can request it for preview. Moreover, the fact that it provides teachers a comprehensive evaluation tool and a document on using the evaluation instrument to assess the software, allows a constant feedback that can facilitate and improve the selection of educational software by other educators. My only concern is that its preview guide has not been updated since 2007; therefore, some of its information is obsolete. It is a pity because with so many responsibilities and demands that we have, being able to access a reliable website for accurate information about something as important as educational software would be really a great help to us.

Summary and personal connection:

     This chapter got ​​me thinking about how much teaching has changed since I was a student to this day. Back then having a good rule, a quality pen, a notebook with stripes and a comfortable and convenient desk made ​​us feel in heaven. Now we are able to use a lot of technological aids such as educational software for problem solving and inquiry learning, skill-learning games, virtual worlds, etc. Therefore, we need to catch up and make the best effort to encourage our students to think, create and solve problems. We urgently need schools that can achieve what so many years ago the pedagogue Jean Piaget said: “To create men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” 

                                                     The World is in their hands

Photo credit to Signe Cecilie Jochumsen on Google

References:
Maloy, Robert W., et al. Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Pearson Education, Inc., 2011, (pp. 178-179)