Final Reflection

Overall, I would have to say that I am ending this course feeling very optimistic.  I feel I have learned some very practical and helpful technologies that I will actually use in my classroom and encourage other colleagues to use as well.  I have enjoyed working on this course's content, and I feel as though I have learned and applied a lot of newly acquired knowledge.  I am almost excited for school to start (I said "almost") so that I can put into practice what I have learned!

The Computer Delusion

The first thing I felt when I read Oppenheimer's article was shock and horror.  I cannot imagine something more terrible than cutting art and music programs in order to make way for new technology.  Now don't get me wrong, I feel that technology is very important in education, but if we start cutting disciplines, what are we using technology to teach?  It seems counter-intuitive to cut educational programs in order to buy more tools to improve education.  But I am not really that surprised because most decisions made in education are counter-intuitive.  The fact that teacher think technology is more important than reading, history, science, etc. is probably a good example of why our educational system is in shambles.  Again, I think technology is important in education, but it is not more important than education itself.  I fear for my children if that is the philosophy our schools and educators are adopting.

When hearing about the misinformation found in the "studies" surrounding computer technology, again, I can't say I was surprised.  Technology is a tool not a panacea.  Technology will not fix bad teaching.  Best teaching practices such as project-based learning, collaboration, inquiry-based learning, and UDL all improve student learning.  Technology is a piece in that puzzle, not every piece.  Ortiz's experiences at Sanchez school just reinforce this idea.

The article states, "Other options mentioned in the group's report -- reducing class size, improving teachers' salaries and facilities, expanding hours of instruction -- were considered less important than putting kids in front of computers."  I have to strongly disagree with sentiment.  Nothing is more important than small classroom sizes and good instruction, not even technology.    I also strongly disagreed with Michael Fellows, who stated: "Most schools would probably be better off if they threw their computers into the Dumpster."  This is a ridiculous and backwards statement.  We need to find a middle ground between the two sides.  We need to have students who have experience in the real world and with technology.  In this society, students need to be developmentally ready for anything.  I also disagree with the idea that student shouldn't be exposed to the inaccuracies of the web.  Students need to be taught about credible resources, not protected from them.

Overall, I think that this article made some very valid and interesting points.  However, I think they are far too pessimistic about technology and its virtues.  Overall I agree with Steve Jobs (quoted in this article): "'What's wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology,' he told Wired magazine last year. 'No amount of technology will make a dent.... You're not going to solve the problems by putting all knowledge onto CD-ROMs. We can put a Web site in every school -- none of this is bad. It's bad only if it lulls us into thinking we're doing something to solve the problem with education.'"  Well said Steve.

Reflections (Post 8)

In this course, I have learned a lot of applicable information in a very short amount of time.  I like how the class learns and completes practical applications of new technologies that could definitely be used in the classroom.  This method makes me more likely to actually use the technology in my own classroom.  It also helps me build a portfolio for job interviews!  

The technology I found the most useful so far would have to be the use of blogging.  I really like the opportunities that blogs and discussion boards may present in a classroom.  I feel that their interactive nature and their easy-to-use and easy-to-moderate format make using blogs very educationally friendly.  It changes up the mundane and opens pedagogical doors.  I would say that I have found every technology we have worked with thus far to be helpful and practical.

The most challenging technology I've worked with in this class would definitely have to be Photoshop.  It is a complicated program with endless possibilities.  I am very excited to continue to work with Photoshop in the future.  It really adds the ability to be creative with digital images.

For the rest of the semester, I would like to continue to learn new technologies that I can use in my classroom.  I would like to become better versed in MovieMaker and iMovie.  I would also like to learn how to make interactive quizzes that can be scored on the computer instantaneously.  

So far, I have learned a lot in the class and find it to be very interesting and applicable.   

Copyright Infringements and the "Unfair" use laws (Post 7)

For educators, copyright issues have dangerous implications.  As educators, not only are we responsible for following copyright laws, but we are also responsible for making sure students know and follow laws as well.  Laws are the cornerstones of any society.  Whether educators agree with the laws or not, they need to make sure that the rule of law is upheld.   If an teacher breaks the law, that sends the message to students that laws do not have to be followed if an individual doesn't want to follow them.  This is a dangerous precedent to set.  How can a teacher then be angry or punish a students for copying and pasting an assignment or not following classroom rules?  Educators cannot have a "do what I say, not what I do" attitude.  They must be good role models for their students.

Not only is it important for their students that teachers follow the law, but it is important for the teachers themselves.  Teachers may get themselves into a lot of legal trouble if they break copyright laws.  Penalties for breaking copyright infringements range from steep fines to jail time or both, depending on the severity of the offense.  It is not a secret that teachers do not make a great deal of money, so it is important that teachers follow the law so that they do not end up losing what little money they do have.

On a personal note, I do disagree with the changes that have been made in our copyright laws.  As stated in Dr. Langran's article, it is clear that Thomas Jefferson did not intend to have such lengthy copyright laws (26).  He first intended 28 years as the maximum length of copyright.  Now we have 70 years AFTER the author's death.  That means that people are not allowed to freely use materials until 70 years after an author dies.  Who gets all of that money?  Not even the author's children will benefit from this law (unless the author dies right after obtaining copyright.)  I feel this law is a crime against society.  Teachers use materials, books, music, etc. to enrich society, clearly not to make money.  If districts and teachers have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to pay for the copyrighted material of someone who died 50 years ago, they have two options: either do not use the material at all (robbing students of important exposures to culture and information) or use less materials to teach students what can be afforded (again limiting students' access to culture and education).   Districts with less money have to teach fewer things because of budgetary restraints, which means that students form poorer areas start out life at even more of an educational deficit.  To me, such laws should have never been passed because they are against the foundations of our country and the intents of our founding fathers, and they are crimes against our children and society.  In the end, these laws promote the legacy of the lazy rich and hurt our children.  I can't think of something more unjust and despicable.  To me, these laws spit in the face of America's basic ideals of freedom.

UDL Concept Map and Reflection (Post 5b)

I feel that UDL is a very interesting pedagogical initiative that has a lot of merits. I feel it is wonderful to meet the individual needs of your students in a meaningful way.  However, I do questions the practicality of creating 5 different options or types of lessons, worksheets, etc for every preparation, especially if a teacher has 4 preparations.  I think there needs to be a happy medium in the world of appropriate accommodations.  

I love the idea of using digital media (such as eReaders, etc. to accommodate students based upon their individual needs.  However, I do fear that objectives and standards will have to be lessened in order to achieve this UDL model. For example, if an essay assignment has more than one objective (to write organized paragraphs and to write in cursive handwriting) according to CAST, most students can't handle both objectives.  That is a serious reduction in rigor for students who may would benefit from additional practice.  I do think that modifications and accommodations should be appropriately made for all students, but I fear that lessening standards, so students only complete what they are good at and enjoy is a slippery slope.  

We are trying to educate students, true, but we are also trying to prepare them for the real world.  In a real job or in college, people cannot pick and choose what they want to complete, and they they are expected to meet certain standards.  As a secondary teacher, I like incorporating technology and offering options to students, but I do feel there needs to be a balance between planning lessons based upon individual and collective standards. 

Concept Map (Post 5a)

Jabberwocky VICTORY! (Post 4)

This image is the finished draft.  I inserted a cartoon monster's head, colored in the monster's head and neck, edited out Jean's body and hair, inserted a sword into Leslie's hand, edited out some shadows, added a title, re-sized the photo, and changed the color to give the picture a "vintage" look.  I used Photoshop and Picniks to edit this photo.

Here is the original picture!

Content Standard (Post 6)

I am going to work with Content Standard 7 for Technology Instruction Grades 9-12.

This standard will allow me to use Inspiration because I will be able to have students create concept maps of new key concepts that students are expected to explore.  For example, students can create a concept map about electronic publishing or accepted principles of design after researching and/or reading articles about the selected topic. 

This content standard also lends itself perfectly for visual learners.  Because students are required to design video and multimedia, generate images in a 3D format, and work with images, visual learners will benefit from many different activities related to this standard that require critical viewing. Screen shots, which are helpful to visual learners, will also be provided for students to help them utilize and work with new technologies and key concepts.      

Communications Systems
Content Standard 7: Students will understand and be able to effectively apply physical, graphic and electronic communications techniques in processing, transmitting, receiving and organizing information.
	a.     describe electronic publishing and give examples of this technology
	b.     demonstrate the proper use of the terminology associated with electronic publishing graphic arts and computers
	c.     identify and describe component functions of a microcomputer electronic publishing system
	d.     apply accepted design principles of text and graphics to the layout of printed and electronically published materials
	e.     operate a scanner and digitize a video image using appropriate software
	f.     demonstrate skills in marketing printed products
	g.     send and access information through a network
	h.     design and produce a video and multimedia production
	i.     capture a signal from an orbiting satellite
	j.     transfer information using laser transmission technology
	k.     communicate using fiber optic cables
	l.     operate a computer-aided drafting (CAD) system
	m.     generate a computer image of an object in 3D format
	n.     render an object to include texture, density, lighting and rotational movement
	o.     export and import images in a variety of file forms

Teddy Bears and Technology

I love the idea of blogging.  I think blogs are a very cool feature that could definitely be introduced into a classroom or beyond.  Blogs are the ultimate form of democracy.  Anyone can write about anything they want.  Blogs promote freedom of information and speech- for better or worse.  I personally read certain types of blogs in my spare time.  There are some news blogs, fashion blogs, and technology blogs that give me current information about a topic in which I am interested.  They can be informative and are typically written in an engaging style.  I even have a friend who writes her own blog about cleaning a house using environmentally friendly supplies and methods- it offers some cool ideas! 

Although I do like some blogs, others I strongly dislike.  Because blogs encourage anyone to say anything he or she wants, in whatever manner he or she wants, some people write very mean blogs that say very mean things about different people and topics.  Some blogs encourage cyber-bullying and negativity, which I do not like and avoid.  I also am not a huge fan of blogs that tell me about people's days.  Many tend to be a little boring and narcissistic, but what do I know?  I guess at the very least it gets people writing, right?

In my career, I set up a professional blog for my students to use.  I was going to incorporate wiki blogs and discussion posts into my classroom.  However, my school did not feel comfortable opening our district up to the legal liability that could come along with blogging and discussion posts.  However, with all of these new editing and moderating features out there (as discussed in the "Teddy Bears Go Blogging" article), maybe I can convince them to let me use them this year with my classes.  I love the visual and interactive opportunities that Sherry opened up to her students by creating the Teddy Bear blog.  I also love the idea of parents being involved as well.  Hopefully, I will be able to follow in her footsteps this year!  

Response to Dexter Article (Post 2)

I thought Sara Dexter, in her chapter entitled "eTIPs-- Education Technology Integration and Implementation Principles," made some excellent points about incorporating technology in the classroom. The most important point I felt Dexter made in her chapter dealt with incorporating technology based upon a teacher's daily and unit objectives or "learning outcomes" (58).  The only way technology can successfully be incorporated into the classroom is if the technology helps students master the objective of the activity.  If technology does not help meet the learning objective(s), teachers should not incorporate it.  However, Dexter recognizes that it is important for teachers to identify the potential advantages or the value that technology can add to a lesson (58).  It is also crucial that teachers be trained in how to effectively incorporate such technologies.


Dexter brought up some of the more specific ways that technology can be used to augment student learning.  She mentioned that technology can be beneficial by helping students recall information, synthesize learning, provide content information, and symbolically represent a variety of information (Dexter 58). This means you can use technology for a variety of beneficial reasons.  A teacher can also use technology to differentiate and individualize student instruction and assessment (Dexter 59), and use formative and summative assessments more effectively in order to monitor student progress (Dexter 61).  Technology can be used to accumulate data for formative assessments.  I also loved the idea of having students save their work in different drafts, so that the teacher may check the various processes (Dexter 61).  What a great idea!  As far as using technology for assessments, I think the only negative would be the amount of work it would require teachers to do upfront in order to set up all of the assessments, software, etc.  Tackling a full year's worth of formative and summative assessments all at once might be a little overwhelming for any teacher, especially one who isn't proficient in using technology.

That brings me to the another important point Dexter made in her writing.  I really appreciated what Dexter said about providing teachers with access to technology and giving them the technical support staff that they need (62 and 64).  If a teacher does not have regular access to technology, what's the point of he or she planning to use it?  In my school, we have constant availability problems with technology.  This leads me to never plan to use school resources outside of my classroom.  When I do use it, I have a strict time limit that restricts my class' usage.  These things make it too difficult to plan effectively and therefore, I plan around NOT having access to technology- which negatively affects my students.  Also, if you give teachers the access to technology but not the tech support, teachers will not be able to effectively use the given technology (which I have also seen firsthand in my school). 

Overall, after reading this article, I feel the teachers should use technology in their classrooms if they have access to it and if they feel it adds value to the educational process of their students.  I have experienced firsthand how technology can really augment a lesson and make it more meaningful for the students!

Digital Pictures (Post 3a)

Go STAGS!

Picturesque walk through the quad.

Comfort Zone (Post 1)

I currently use technology everyday in both my professional and private life.  I cannot imagine completing my job as a teacher without at the very least a word processing program, the Internet, and an email account.  I also have become accustomed to using my SMARTBoard and projector everyday.  I also utilize Podcasts, images, videos, and other technologies in my classroom.  For me, technology makes my research more convenient, my lessons more interesting and interactive, my handouts more user-friendly, and my communication more succinct and timely.  Overall, technology is vital to my teaching practices.  

I feel very comfortable using technology both in and out of the classroom.  I am fairly proficient at most technological initiatives in education.  However, I would like to learn more ways to incorporate technology into my classroom, and to spend time playing around with some of the newer things out there.

Overall, I do not have any concerns about the content or work for this class.  I have already used some of these resources in both my professional and private life, and I am excited to learn some cool new things to add to my bag of tricks.  My biggest concern about this course is the fight through morning traffic to get here from Essex, CT!

My First Blog Post of ALL TIME!

This is my first blog post on my very first blog.  Pretty excited!