Reflective Blog #5

I had many Aha moments throughout this short but very informative course this summer. Although I view myself as knowing a lot about technology, I had not even done a simple blog or podcast ever. I really enjoyed both of these assignments because they expanded my knowledge of various technology tools that could be implemented in different areas of education. Although I do not use technology in physical education, it has made me want to! I really enjoyed doing the podcast assignment because this is definitely something that I can incorporate in my classes to keep in better communication with parents. This definitely opens the window to new ideas and keeping my parents better informed of what their student is doing in my class instead of the boring handout.

I still hold firm to my beliefs that I have listed in my technology philosophy. Technology is improving and expanding everyday, and I believe that teachers need to take full advantage of teaching their students how to incorporate these new ideas into their curriculum. Many of these web tools can be used in the real world to showcase work and various pieces of work. Students should be introduced into these tools to better their education and broaden their horizons. 

Reflective Blog #4

Is It Age of IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation

After reading this article, I have come to the realization that I am completely dependent on technology. As I was growing up, I remember we had a computer in our house, and I would check my e-mail, but we also had dial up. When I went to college, I started using IM to chat with my friends because text messaging was not popular just yet. I did not have a smart phone in college to check my e-mail or browse on the Internet. Today, I have an Iphone and depend greatly on it. I am continuously checking my e-mail or facebook to see what other people are up to. I am also always playing games on my phone. I think as I was growing up the Net Generation was beginning but I was not fully diverged into it due to my upbringing and surroundings.

I am definitely more comfortable composing documents online rather than longhand. I enjoy being able to click in the middle of a sentence to add or delete information that I either forgot or messed up. This is much more convenient than erasing or scratching something out that was written. Plus I am a quick typer so composing documents takes no time at all. I greatly depend on technology devices to remember my phone numbers for me. I remember I use to have a phone and address book that I would keep all of my friends information in, but simply typing in a phone number and hitting save is so much easier! I still to this day keep a planner where I store all of my appointments, birthdays, and important information. I have not switched over to technology for this just yet. I do not go to meetings with my laptop or PDA. My meetings usually involve parent conferences or staff development so a computer is not necessary. However, I do have my Iphone on me during these meetings:) 

I am constantly connected. As I previously stated, I always have my Iphone with me to check up on what everyone else is doing or to check my e-mail or text someone. However, if I am going on vacation I do not have a problem turning off my phone and leaving it at home. It is nice to disconnect from the world from time to time, but I always have that thought in the back of my mind that I am missing out on something. 

I can engage in at many activities at one time. For example as I type this blog I have my phone sitting on the desk and my facebook page pulled up to constantly check. The use of dual monitors makes this very easy to accomplish. I do play both video and computer games. I was brought up playing both, but it was not as extensive as it seems to be today. We still played outside more hours of the day than we played video or computer games. I would still to this day rather be outside doing something than indoors playing games.

I feel like I am a mixture of a few generational categories. According to the chart in the article, I was born into the Net Generation, but due to my upbringing and surroundings I would not put myself into this category. I would not say until I was a young adult that I completely depended on technology 24/7 to continuously update me on what is going on.

Reflective Blog #3

Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning

This article discusses a major challenge in today's society with electronic portfolios to maintain learner intrinsic motivation to willingly engage in the portfolio process. I have listed the 10 principles below and will be discussing certain aspects of which principle of best relate to:
*AFL should be part of effective planning of teaching and learning.
*AFL should focus on how students learn.
*AFL should be recognized as central to classroom practice.
*AFL should be regarded as a key professional skill for teachers.
*AFL should be sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an emotional impact.
*AFL should take account of the importance of (and foster) learner motivation.
*AFL should promote commitment to learning goals and a shared understanding of the criteria by which they are assessed.
*AFL develops learners' capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing.
*AFL should recognize the full range of achievement of all learners.
*Learners should receive constructive guidance about how to improve.

After reading all of these principles, I feel like I relate to several of them. If I were to choose one that I really relate to it would be learner's capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing. Although I teach physical education, I am always trying to relate my lessons to what students can take with them into the real world. If they learn the task of self-assessment, then they will always be able to reflect upon their actions to see if they are making the correct decisions in their lives. I feel like portfolios are a great way for students to showcase their work and what they have learned. By assessing portfolios, this would be a great way to kind of transition from the normal test taking strategy. I think that portfolios would be a different way for students to be assessed, and students would want to try harder because other people would be able to view their work.


The creation and development of my own portfolio will help my learning because I can go back and reflect on the work that I have posted. I will be able to assess my work so that I can see how much I have learned throughout this course.

Reflective Blog #2

MApping Activity: 

After completing the MAPing activity, I realized that I do not know as much about information literacy as I thought I did. This also makes me realize that many other people, and students, are not necessarily collecting valid information when doing thier research. When I am searching for information on the Internet, I will keep this activity in mind and use some of the things that I learned. For example, I will use quotation marks when I am searching for an exact phrase. I will look at the extensions at the end of the web site to make sure that it is a credible source instead of just assuming that the information is correct. I will also browse through the web sites that pop up instead of automatically picking the first one due to convenience. I am not as confident about previous information that I have used for research. I feel like I was just like my students at school that automatically assume that the information put on the Internet is 100% accurate and not made up. These skills need to be passed onto the students so that they know how to locate accurate information. The information that was shared during this activity is great knowledge that I did not know, and I feel like is very important for students to be aware of before researching on the Internet. The students could take this information onto college with them and use it outside of the class. 

Organizing Information:

Delicious and Google Reader serve a great purpose for organizing web sites. Delicious allows you to place tags to help you remember what the web site entails. You can also share your bookmarks with other people that may benefit from your findings. This is simply a convenient web site that not only helps you organize your hundred of web sites, but it also allows you to share them with people as well. When I become a librarian, I could use Delicious to bookmark certain "How To" videos to show students how to find information in the library or help them find legitimate information on the Internet. 

Wikis & Web 2.0:

I had to create a wiki page in my Practicum course for Library Science. Wikis are a fantastic way to showcase your work for other people to view. For example, I have had to upload various papers and projects that I have completed over the course of my library certification courses. I could share these documents with my principal or even librarian so that maybe they could get some useful information to apply in their librarian or school. In the business world, this is a great way to showcase presentations and various data that has been worked on over the years. These documents can very easily be pulled up and presented to your co-workers as well. As a teacher, I could use my Wiki to communicate to the parents and students about what is going on in my class. They could view the upcoming schedule of events. I could also use my Wiki to post my basketball player's statistics on as well. This would make it fun for them to see their name along with how much they are improving throughout the season. Wikis could be used for a number of communicating between people, co-workers, and your boss.

After exploring the eLearning tools, I would like to find a way to implement some of these tools in my Physical Education class. I do not have access to computers in the gym, but I think it would be fun to pass information on to the students and see what they can accomplish on their own at home or in the school library.

Reflective Blog #1

Educational Technology Philosophy:
I believe that all students should have an opportunity to an equal and free education. It is my job as an educator to make sure that each and every one of my students walk away each semester with a new piece of knowledge that they did not possess before entering into my physical education class. As a physical education teacher, it is my job to teach students about healthy lifestyles. I want my learners to walk away from the gym with all kinds of different knowledge and skills about sports and physical activity. If these students can incorporate some of this knowledge into their daily lives, then I have done my job as a physical educator.  

The definition of a great teacher is someone that makes learning fun for the students. They do not always teach using the same methods everyday, but they find various methods in order to reach out to all of the diverse learning styles in the classroom. I have had teachers in the past that have taught with a combination of methods, and I felt like this made learning fun and interesting. I like to make sure that everyone is having fun while doing the activity that we are doing in P.E. Although some students do not like P.E., I have found by participating with them or simply encouraging them and telling them that they are doing a great job helps them to participate with a smile on their face or try a little harder. I always make sure that the students know they can ask me for help, that I am friendly, and easy to approach. I want my students to know up front that I am there to help them even if their problem does not pertain to Physical Education.

I felt that I connected with two philosophies: constructivism and pragmatism. In the P.E. world, the students are their own teachers. I am there to show and explain how a sport is played, but they help each other out when they are actually playing the sport. I am there as a facilitator, but the gym is very student-oriented. My students are motivated and want to participate. The ones that are not motivated I find it as my job to help them become motivated or find a way to show them that it is important to try at everything. In my class, we have a very flexible and relaxed atmosphere. The students are ready for a change of plan or activity at any moment. I like to teach by trail and error. If I try a new activity and the students are not getting it or not having fun, then we will switch to a different activity right away. I believe that the students should be connecting their education with real world situations in order to better prepare them for being out on their own. 

Technology is integrated by the students researching information on various sports or athletes. The students know that they can find sports games on YouTube or any web site that post videos. They can use these videos as instructional methods of learning how to play a sport or accomplish a skill. I am an informator because technology is integrated into physical education. Various cultures are valued in my class by introducing a variety of sports to the students. The atmosphere is very relaxed and flexible. The students are ready for change at any moment, but in an organized fashion.

Students tend to rely on educators to help guide them through their early years. An educator is one that is not only there to teach them the curriculum, but to better prepare the students for the real world and what is to become of their lives. Educators have a very important role in their students lives to help mold and shape them into young adults. I enjoy being that person that helps these students transform into young adults and hearing about what they have achieved when they come back to visit. This is the true job of an educator and a very rewarding one at that.

Educational Blogging:
Educational blogging is a very good way for students to share their projects and thoughts with one another. This is also a very good way to help teach them how to use constructive criticism when evaluating one another's work that is being posted. In Downe's article, he list several different ways that blogs can be used in education. I do not believe that majority of the schools have met this potential. Many schools do not even allow the students to use blogs because of fear that they will post inappropriate information. Teachers need to find a way to incorporate blogs into their classes so the students have a a new and different way to showcase work and express their thoughts and opinions.

Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning:
After reading all six areas to think about and changes on the horizon with technology and education, the one that stuck out the most to me was the first one: If It's On The Internet, Is It True? I have noticed that many students to do not know that just because an article is posted on the Internet does not mean it is true. They will use this information in their research projects for classes. The students need to be taught which web sites are safe to use.

Concept Map:
My concept map is made up of all of the words and details in the educational technology world. When I think of technology in education, the first word that comes to mind is communication, which is why it is a large word. The learners in the education environment today have many opportunities ahead of themselves with the evolving technology.

Class Expectations:

I expect to learn all kinds of new ways in incorporate technology into the educational setting. My goal is to eventually become a librarian, and I know technology is starting to play a bigger and bigger role. I want to be able to teach my students new and fun ways to use technology to help display projects and classwork. I am hoping that this class will show me different ways to achieve my goal.