Final Reflection

Sorry that my final reflection is a few days late, but I wanted to utilize the entire 7-day trial period before I reflected on Classroom 2.0. This Ning site provides teachers and other education professionals the much needed opportunity to share their experiences with technology integration within ANY classroom. So often, we as teachers are forced to “do more, with less”; an online environment like Classroom2.0 eases that task by saving us trial-and-error time and by pointing us in the direction of the most effective practices. The interactivity offered by Classroom2.0 goes beyond teachers sharing ideas within the realms of a discussion board; the site provides outside links and daily emails to tutorials, actual classroom demonstrations and even webinars that’s available the all of its users. I plan to remain an active member of Classroom2.0 because it is really a good resource to have in my educational toolbox.

3D Game Lab

When I visited Classroom2.0, I saw that a video had recently been added about 3D Game Lab. I have always been sort of skeptical about gaming within instruction and their benefits on student learning; I’m an EOC teacher and as many of you know, we don’t have time for games (literally and figuratively). Of course I recognize the motivational and engagement aspects that gaming offers students, I just haven’t been sold on the quality of content that games cover, especially for mid- and upper-level math. However, I still peruse various supplemental math sites that offer games and/or simulations just to see if any new, useful interactions have emerged. That is why when I viewed the snippet for 3D Game Lab I got a bit excited because one thing that they advertised was curriculum-aligned content that “meets the national standards”.  Seems like my prayers regarding gaming within my class has been answered. Check out the video clip.

Join me at Classroom 2.0

I recently became a member of Classroom 2.0, a Ning space geared towards social media in the classroom. Educators are encouraged to participate in discussions ranging from evaluating Web2.0 tools to social aspects in today’s schools. It is rather refreshing to candidly partake in discussions around the good and bad of technology in school. For instance, I contributed to the reoccurring debate of cell phones in the classroom and how I feel as though they should not be allowed. My reasoning is mainly because students have already linked cell phones as a tool for leisure and socialization; therefore, it will be difficult to get them to dissociate the tool to be used as intended. And because there are so many types of cell phones, it may difficult for the teacher to provide instructions and/or demonstrations on how they are to be used.  Plus, there are several other tools and software that can perform the same (if not more) than the cellular devices.

Whether you agree or disagree with any of the Classroom 2.0 postings, the environment is so welcoming that members feel compelled to state their position. I’ve skimmed through several posts so far there’s so much insight and ideas available.

Internet Proper Usage

The use of the internet within 21^st Century education requires a significant amount of good judgment of its users. When using the internet as a resource, students will have to be able to decipher between facts and opinions and learn to seek out reliable sources. We, as educators, will never be able to provide the students with an all-inclusive list of sites and sources that have been deemed as unreliable; therefore we must teach the students how to seek out and evaluate sites, themselves. Just as we did in last week’s assignment, ask the students to compile of list of characteristics of a quality site and reliable source (or better yet, ask them to create a site that includes those listed features).

Students must also know and adhere to a code of ethics when using the internet as a resource. Though the internet may seem to be a grand collection of ideas and point-of-views for anyone’s viewing and learning purposes, we must teach students to respect the intellectual property of those writers. This can be done by requiring the students to formulate and state their personal beliefs on a topic first and then resorting to the internet to find information to support their views. Too often, the internet is used as a replacement tool of students’ thinking rather than a supplemental tool.

Doing the Wrong Thing Is So Much Easier…but it’s Still WRONG!

This week’s activity pertaining to fair use of information and media found online reminded me of an incident that happened in my math class a few semesters ago. For one of my class projects, I overheard (no, actually I was eavesdropping) one of my student skim the statement “the content of this site cannot be used without written consent…” and respond, “Man, [I ain’t] writing them for permission;” he proceeded to copy an image and a description, without any citation, and submit it to me. The next day, I returned the project to him, circling the questionable area with a message that read: “I contacted the web-designer from which this content belongs and he said he never authorized you to use this…you should’ve written him for permission;” a substantial amount of points were deducted and he was directed to receive the written permission to reinstate those points. Now of course, I didn’t really contact the author (that was a “teacher lie”) but I thought it was indeed a teachable moment on valuing the intellectual property of others. If only he would have assumed the responsibility and taken the extra time to seek permission and/or cite his finding, this incident would have been avoided. I then made it my business to share this happening with his class and other classes so they would be informed of the possible repercussions of misusing info found online (yes, I’m that kind of teacher :-/).

Back Into the Swing of Things

It's that time of year again! The commencement of a new year always brings a sense of revival to my spirits and my endeavors. This year, that sense has been magnified because of the following: new baby (she's CRAZY to the 10th power), new house (first-time homeowner...YIKES!), and of course THE FINAL COURSE TOWARDS MY MASTERS (#POW)! Not to mention a new part-time job and enrollment at a community college for my medical assisting certification (you guys know I'm obsessed with staying busy..."an idle mind is the devil's playground" and I know that oh too well o_O).  But anywho, I'm beyond stoked about ECI 719! I can honestly say that I've grown academically and professionally due to this IT program. In the past year, I've become that go-to-gal for several of my colleagues' technology/tech-integration needs (too bad my paycheck doesn't reflect that :-/). It's such a rewarding feeling to apply techniques gathered from my studies to benefit teachers, students and community members. I look forward to even more growth as a result of this course and the sharing/learning with my fellow classmates. So in the words  and spirit of the Black Eyed Peas "LET'S GET IT STARTED!"