Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Week 11-- TPACK project
Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge--
TK-- techological knowledge is required to understand and use technology, or tools. (Downloading, knowing what software does what, where to find it, etc.)
PK-- pedagogical knowledge is related to the general methods and skills of teaching.
CK-- content knowledge has to do with knowledge of certain subjects or topics like math, history, etc.
Combinations of these 3 components are good, but in order for a teacher to be most effective, they need all 3 together: content knowledge, knowledge and skills to teach that content best to kids, and the technology to make it interesting and fun and applicable for kids.
There are also different ways to teach a concept with representations, such as:
Textual-- reading
Visual-- look at pictures, graphs, etc.
Auditory-- listening to speeches, podcasts, etc.
Dynamic-- usually has to do with technology that allows children to interact (a website that allows them to control and explore)
Multimodal-- Contains a combination of several of the above representations
** Which will be most interesting and of most benefit to students? **
Most of the technologies we have looked at in this class are dynamic, which I think would be more interesting to kids, especially SpEd kids.
TK-- techological knowledge is required to understand and use technology, or tools. (Downloading, knowing what software does what, where to find it, etc.)
PK-- pedagogical knowledge is related to the general methods and skills of teaching.
CK-- content knowledge has to do with knowledge of certain subjects or topics like math, history, etc.
Combinations of these 3 components are good, but in order for a teacher to be most effective, they need all 3 together: content knowledge, knowledge and skills to teach that content best to kids, and the technology to make it interesting and fun and applicable for kids.
There are also different ways to teach a concept with representations, such as:
Textual-- reading
Visual-- look at pictures, graphs, etc.
Auditory-- listening to speeches, podcasts, etc.
Dynamic-- usually has to do with technology that allows children to interact (a website that allows them to control and explore)
Multimodal-- Contains a combination of several of the above representations
** Which will be most interesting and of most benefit to students? **
Most of the technologies we have looked at in this class are dynamic, which I think would be more interesting to kids, especially SpEd kids.
Week 10
Voicethread-- this is a type of community blogging tool that utilizes video, audio, and messaging. It's pretty cool and versatile. It allows a community to comment, keep in touch, and contribute to a topic or page.
It is free on the internet.
Kidspiration-- This is a kid's page to help them learn and interact. It helps kids have fun, get involved, and learn things in school. It is also free, and it is already downloaded on the computers in the McKay Building TEC lab.
Stellarium-- This allows students to pick any place in the world at any time and look at the sky there. They can use it to study phases of the moon, stars, planetary motion, time zones, etc.
It can be found on the internet for free, and just needs to be downloaded.
It is free on the internet.
Kidspiration-- This is a kid's page to help them learn and interact. It helps kids have fun, get involved, and learn things in school. It is also free, and it is already downloaded on the computers in the McKay Building TEC lab.
Stellarium-- This allows students to pick any place in the world at any time and look at the sky there. They can use it to study phases of the moon, stars, planetary motion, time zones, etc.
It can be found on the internet for free, and just needs to be downloaded.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Internet Safety Reflection
NOTES:
*****795000000-- population of those interacting with cyberspace
20 % feel safer online than in the real world
50% identify anonymity with freedom online
81% spend at least 1 hr online a week
risky behavior online (giving personal info) increases with age
* Porn pages-- 270,000,000
90% of 8-16 have viewed pornography online, mostly unintentionally
* Companies target kids with pop-up ads and purchase domain names (typo squatting) to intentionally deceive= Truth and Domain Law
20% of children's sites allow gambling ads
* Hate sites are showing up faster than pornography sites and are meant to attract kids.
50% of high schoolers plagiarized from the internet in 2001
30% of kids say it is easier to chat online than in person. 15% have recieved mean or hateful messages.
* Cyber-bullying-- "the new bathroom wall..." with sometimes deadly consequences of murder or suicide
* Cyber Predation
* Educators might be in a better position than parents to know what kids are doing on the internet!
I chose to read Elder Bednar's talk "Things as They Really Are." We also watched the video about the stats of the internet-- it also discussed cyber-bullying and -predation, and how involved kids are with the internet.
My most important realizations from the talk and the movie were that technology is everywhere, critical to our lives today, and an amazing tool for good or evil. It is not a question as to whether or not we will use it; it is a question of how we will use it. Kids need it, especially if we are going to teach them effectively. Hence, we need to learn how to use the internet safely and responsibly, and teach our kids how to do the same. There is no avoiding it, so we need to make the most of it and educate our kids.
I talked to my brother and mum about the "doing" experience-- both my mum and brother had read the talk, and had thought a bit about it. Our family is not way into the technology scene, so it kind of surprised them but the agree with it, as do I. I think this has helped me, my brother, and my mum think how we need to be more educated about technology and especially the internet so we can teach others and so we don't run into something stupid ourselves. It really made us think about how we need to use all this technology, and especially use it in a positive way.
*****795000000-- population of those interacting with cyberspace
20 % feel safer online than in the real world
50% identify anonymity with freedom online
81% spend at least 1 hr online a week
risky behavior online (giving personal info) increases with age
* Porn pages-- 270,000,000
90% of 8-16 have viewed pornography online, mostly unintentionally
* Companies target kids with pop-up ads and purchase domain names (typo squatting) to intentionally deceive= Truth and Domain Law
20% of children's sites allow gambling ads
* Hate sites are showing up faster than pornography sites and are meant to attract kids.
50% of high schoolers plagiarized from the internet in 2001
30% of kids say it is easier to chat online than in person. 15% have recieved mean or hateful messages.
* Cyber-bullying-- "the new bathroom wall..." with sometimes deadly consequences of murder or suicide
* Cyber Predation
* Educators might be in a better position than parents to know what kids are doing on the internet!
I chose to read Elder Bednar's talk "Things as They Really Are." We also watched the video about the stats of the internet-- it also discussed cyber-bullying and -predation, and how involved kids are with the internet.
My most important realizations from the talk and the movie were that technology is everywhere, critical to our lives today, and an amazing tool for good or evil. It is not a question as to whether or not we will use it; it is a question of how we will use it. Kids need it, especially if we are going to teach them effectively. Hence, we need to learn how to use the internet safely and responsibly, and teach our kids how to do the same. There is no avoiding it, so we need to make the most of it and educate our kids.
I talked to my brother and mum about the "doing" experience-- both my mum and brother had read the talk, and had thought a bit about it. Our family is not way into the technology scene, so it kind of surprised them but the agree with it, as do I. I think this has helped me, my brother, and my mum think how we need to be more educated about technology and especially the internet so we can teach others and so we don't run into something stupid ourselves. It really made us think about how we need to use all this technology, and especially use it in a positive way.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Week 9
We as teachers can tell if we have successfully integrated technology into our lesson if it simply teaches the kids what we want them to learn in a fun and constructive way. The technology should not detract from the material being taught, and it should be relevent. If the class gets out of control or the students become bored or confused then those are pretty good indicators that our technology was not as useful to our lesson as we would have hoped.
In order to be a constructive and useful addition to my lesson plan, I would want the technology I use to relate very well to the lesson material, interest the kids without disrupting the learning process, and motivate them to continue learning about or using both the technology and the subject matter it was meant to help teach.
In order to be a constructive and useful addition to my lesson plan, I would want the technology I use to relate very well to the lesson material, interest the kids without disrupting the learning process, and motivate them to continue learning about or using both the technology and the subject matter it was meant to help teach.
Week 8 -- TPACK
Problems with learning TPCK skills-- (First of all, there is a problem learning what TPCK even is, because the article we were told to read seems as if it is almost trying to mask the meaning of this process-- one has to wade through a large amount of unnecessarily wordy vocabulary and badly-structured sentences in order to discern how TPCK can be used by the teacher. But that is merely my opinion, and neither here nor there...)
A potential problem with TPCK is that it emphasizes using technology as a learning resource and for activites, but there are schools with such limited funding and support that one might not have a lot of access to technology as a teacher. The article also points out that the possible learning activity types are countless, and therefore teachers might be overwhelmed when it comes to integrating this in their classroom. However, for the most part it is pretty logical (TPCK, not the article) and seems like a very effective mode of teaching.
Main idea of article-- How TPCK came about and how it is useful in the classroom.
Ideas that lead to main idea-- Since technology is "not yet well-integrated" in most classrooms, two birds can be killed with the single stone of technology. Using educational technologies both introduces and familiarizes students to technology, and learning activites integrating technology can be used to accomplish curriculum-based learning goals.
How TPCK is important to me as a teacher-- The idea makes sense. Students nowdays really can't afford to not learn about and use technology. If I, as a teacher, integrate the use of technology in teaching the curriculum, it will teach my kids both the curriculum and how to use the technology, while keeping their interest and providing fun and interesting activities.
A potential problem with TPCK is that it emphasizes using technology as a learning resource and for activites, but there are schools with such limited funding and support that one might not have a lot of access to technology as a teacher. The article also points out that the possible learning activity types are countless, and therefore teachers might be overwhelmed when it comes to integrating this in their classroom. However, for the most part it is pretty logical (TPCK, not the article) and seems like a very effective mode of teaching.
Main idea of article-- How TPCK came about and how it is useful in the classroom.
Ideas that lead to main idea-- Since technology is "not yet well-integrated" in most classrooms, two birds can be killed with the single stone of technology. Using educational technologies both introduces and familiarizes students to technology, and learning activites integrating technology can be used to accomplish curriculum-based learning goals.
How TPCK is important to me as a teacher-- The idea makes sense. Students nowdays really can't afford to not learn about and use technology. If I, as a teacher, integrate the use of technology in teaching the curriculum, it will teach my kids both the curriculum and how to use the technology, while keeping their interest and providing fun and interesting activities.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Week 7 PLE
Technology allows us to make our teaching more dynamic by giving us a plethora of resources we are able to see and therefore experience so much more! We can see kids in Africa, see how a cell functions, and access information easily and quickly. It's pretty incredible what we have access to becuase of technology.
However, in some ways technology can detract from learning. Observe our class every Tuesday, for example... with the internet at our fingertips, it is difficult to keep listening to one person talking when Facebook or email is up. Also, because of the huge amount of info available to us, sometimes the quantity of information overwhelms the quality of information. Also, our human connectedness (necessary for learning in public schools) can be neglected because of technology. For example, how many kids have more interaction with other kids around the world they have never met and never will meet playing computer games, than they do with their own teachers, classmates, or parents?
Effective technology can be tricky, because it all has potential to be both effective and ineffective. On my mission I was very grateful for technology like phones, that allowed us to waste less time-- in theory. Of course cell phones could be abused, and waste huge amounts of time. Most of us use email every day-- a very effective form of communication. Also, I am starting to realize how much cool technology is available to people with special needs. Different computer programs and the like are extremely effective in helping people learn in their own ways.
However, in some ways technology can detract from learning. Observe our class every Tuesday, for example... with the internet at our fingertips, it is difficult to keep listening to one person talking when Facebook or email is up. Also, because of the huge amount of info available to us, sometimes the quantity of information overwhelms the quality of information. Also, our human connectedness (necessary for learning in public schools) can be neglected because of technology. For example, how many kids have more interaction with other kids around the world they have never met and never will meet playing computer games, than they do with their own teachers, classmates, or parents?
Effective technology can be tricky, because it all has potential to be both effective and ineffective. On my mission I was very grateful for technology like phones, that allowed us to waste less time-- in theory. Of course cell phones could be abused, and waste huge amounts of time. Most of us use email every day-- a very effective form of communication. Also, I am starting to realize how much cool technology is available to people with special needs. Different computer programs and the like are extremely effective in helping people learn in their own ways.
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