Laura's Educational Blog

universal design

2006-11-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

The concept of “Universal Access” complements the “Differentiated Learning” initiative out school has pursued these past two school years. It also seems to follow along with the trend of “mainstreaming” in schools across the country. Universal design for learning can be accomplished in many ways, and is well-facilitated by strong technology. Technology has the power to modify lessons for students in audio, visual, and experiential aspects. Generally, lessons, activities, and assessments are supposed to be constructed in a manner that is open and accessible to a variety of learners, including those who have special needs and those who do not.

Reflecting on my own classroom, I have made some strides in creating lessons that are structured under the universal design model. My lessons involve “multiple means of representation, expression…and engagement”. (Lecture 11/14) I do this by presenting a lot of varied materials in which I continually ask my students, “What is your interpretation?” I have also attempted to use technology to promote universal design in the web quests and open-ended projects I have cooperated with the computer teacher on. We believe that the projects we have done have helped to advance the learning of students with special needs because they are more open-ended, material is organized and easily accessible. However, advanced speaking and other devices are costly. (Kelly article New Independence for Special Needs Students) Those tools that allow students with severe special needs partake in the regular classroom experiences are remarkable because they allow for students to be involved in ways they have never been able to before. In the school I teach at, however, we do not have the means to provide these advanced tools and are actually not required to because of our Catholic School status. But with the students we do have who have attention deficits or need more time to process, technology has had the power to change their learning experience.

There are a few specific examples that come to mind when I consider how I have integrated technology in a way to support universal design, as discussed in the articles for the week. While I have attempted to do this, I still don’t feel that I can reach all learners with universal design. I traditionally provide notes to students on the history material for about 20 percent of the total class time. I do this to help out a variety of learners: those who need to hear my explain it, those who need to write it, and those who need to see it. I have a few students; however, who I know have IEPs and have a hard time focusing on writing it down while processing the information. So for these students I had a conference with the parents to ask them to bring a USB drive to transfer my presentations to them so that they could listen and ask questions and then go home and load the presentations on their computer to review the notes in the same format. This takes all learners into consideration and it helps all students to receive the important basic information that they need to work with in the activities we do in class. However, I have one student out of the 93 middle school children that I don’t think I have had success in helping with universal design. This particular student is pulled out regularly from the classroom because he has problems engaging in the regular structure. Even when he works one on one with the resource aide, he struggles to make new gains. However, I have worked with the aide to ensure that this student can type his assignments and watch streaming videos. Both of these seem to hold his attention better and he is more able to retain the information.

I wish that there were book publishers who would take in all the great recommendations listed in “Curriculum Access in a Digital Age”. There are six features of design and seven principles that are all important in creating a universal design for learning classroom. This is incredibly hard for a teacher to do by him/herself on a daily basis. I sometimes wonder if publishers are not able to design a curriculum out of things such as universal design or differentiated learning, how can teachers accomplish this task?

Standards for Teachers and Students?!?

2006-11-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

In reviewing the technology standards for teachers, it’s clear that they represent the ideal rather than the typical or even what can be reasonably expected in the typical classroom. If the technology standards applied only to computer teachers, most of them may be reasonable. Basically the distinguishing factor between these to groups is the equipment access variable. The vast majority of regular education teachers do not have consistent access to technology to implement the standards and integrate them with the curriculum. For beginning teachers, their main concerns are keeping afloat while trying to learn and incorporate all the “new” buzz words being pushed by their administrators. The veteran teachers seem to feel stuck in their immobile position as digital immigrants. From my experience, these teachers have worked with the same curriculum for so many years they have a difficult time envisioning their curriculum in a different way, even if it could be greatly enhanced through technology.

The first technology standard for teachers seems reasonable; teachers should have basic operational knowledge of technology or at least have a willingness to learn what their district asks of them such as utilizing electronic grading software or electronic mail communications. However, I find the standard to be very unspecific; it’s hard to identify what it means exactly to keep “abreast of current and emerging technologies”. Is the purpose to simply know what our kids might be doing or to understand it to the extent that a teacher can incorporate it in the classroom?

The second, third, and fourth standard all assume that the teacher has regular access to technology and that the school can financially sustain the appropriate hardware and software to “develop appropriate learning opportunities”, “apply…to maximize student learning”, and “apply technology…for assessment”. All of those are ideal but not practical in every school. They are good guidelines for administrators. They are even hard for someone like myself, who has been through a year and a half of course work in this area.

It seems that most schools are moving in the direction of complying with the “productivity and professional practice”. This has to relate to practical uses of technology that are practical and encourage personal advancement and learning. I think this is attainable by teachers in most schools more than any of the other standards.

The student standards are very different in their focus. All the standards for students should be accomplished in a weekly computer class if it’s planned properly. Most students already have a solid background on how to use technology tools for productive and communication applications; that’s just a part of their digital native world. However, it’s important that the formal uses in these two categories are clarified and practiced in the school setting. The standards that promote technology as a “productivity tool” and “research tool” are not skills that are as easily assumed. Many students think they are using technology to its greatest productivity, but due to misconceptions and new advancements, students can become stuck in an old way of doing something and need to be refreshed, much like us adults. Additionally, research and problem-solving are advanced skills that have always found their place in schools and still do even with the introduction of technology.

Overall, I think the student standards are reasonable and easier to attain than the teacher standards. This is not only due to the discrepancy in technology exposure but also because of the level of preparation and training that the teacher standards involve versus the student ones. In order to meet the teacher standards, it would have to be a requirement for teachers to attend a master’s certification in technology and to provide advanced access to technology hardware and software. Unless the people who create the standards are in control of all the local and state budgets, they cannot make up these standards for teachers and expect them all to be reasonably addressed.

Copyright Thoughts

2006-10-31T17:35:00.000-08:00

The key question for this week is: Are we responsible users of technology/do we model it well? The “we” in this question refers to educators and “responsible users of technology” refers most specifically to copyrighting of material on the web and in hard copy text. My immediate thought is that teachers are generally not responsible in this matter, as I see bold copyright violations every day. Before beginning the CTER program, however, I know that I was ignorant of the copyright restrictions that apply to teachers. The problem is that after the Copyright Act of 1976, there are greater limitations put into place and anything, essentially that is “fixed in a tangible medium of expression” is considered copyrighted material, even if it doesn’t have the  sign after it. (U.S. Copyright Act of 1976) Because the copyright symbol seems like an official stamp that must be guarded, it’s easier for educators to justify copying work without the symbol since it seems less official without it. Because

Many educators believe that the “fair use” doctrine applies completely and wholly to anything in any quantity that relates to education, but the law becomes more complicated than that. Fair use applies to “scholarship, research, criticism, news reports, and parody” (Copyright and Internet in Schools). Unfortunately, claiming ignorance of a law is never an appropriate excuse, but educators are simply not provided with strong guidelines and the assumptions are perpetuated when undergraduate courses leave them unaddressed. Schools can help by outlining clear guidelines for teachers to establish what is clearly unacceptable copyright infringement and what is acceptable (Copyright and Internet in Schools). This is especially important because we trust that teachers will pass on these values to their students so that they do not face copyright infringements or other related problems such as plagiarism.

Fortunately, there are some resources available at many teacher education stores that, when purchased, provide clear rights to the teacher to copy for educational purposes. When teachers choose to utilize other materials in their classrooms, they must consider several factors before including them. The most important characteristic, I think teachers ignore is “substantiality of use/critical components of use”. (Lecture Week 10) This is a highly subjective component to document usage, and determining whether a significant and critical portion is used is often ignored by teachers. When I see teachers providing major copy packets in high school and college, it’s important for them to ask for permission, especially when they plan ahead to create a copy packet.

One of the areas that remains undecided is the area of link usage. It is clear that having your personal window appear around a linked page may be misleading because it appears that your page created that link. However, linking separately acknowledges the worthiness of the work and directs the viewer to that site to observe it just as they could if they independently searched. The problem with this is that to students, the distinction between linking and embedding becomes blurred as both applications are simple to complete in a copy and paste world. In the end, the most important thought to keep with us as educators is: how would I want people to treat my own original work?

Week 9 Digital Storytelling Reflection

2006-10-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Storytelling has been a significant part in civilizations since recorded history. The format has changed from oral to written, and visual. With the new technology formats available to teachers today such as imovie, we can bring the art of storytelling to a new level. Digital storytelling allows stories to be communicated in new ways to a new visual audience. However, as the readings for the week remind us, it is incredibly important that the focus remains on the process of creation of the story, while the technical side must come in at the end. Students will tend to focus on that aspect, however, so a teacher must consider how soon to introduce the technical aspect. Success is possible, but a solid plan is critical.

One of the most important ways to ensure success of digital storytelling in the classroom is to have a clear plan of action for how the students will move through the process from planning to implementation. The story must be clearly organized with a clear end goal in mind (Theodosakis). Most importantly, a student’s voice must play a strong role in the entire story (Ohler). This is important because a story should have a perspective and that slant should follow through the entire narration. Students can learn the software from the teacher, from other students, through experimentation, or step by step interaction in a computer-type class. Overall, I believe that digital storytelling is a meaningful tool and is a measure for learning.

There are many skills involved in creating a digital story. Unfortunately, there may not necessarily be specific standards tied to the skills used in creating a digital story, but they are indeed practical for higher education situations and the work world. The greatest skill to enhance learning is the research involved. In order to tell a good story, students must find out all they can about their topic; naturally, students will need to learn how to filter the information that they encounter. This may be something a teacher can devote a longer period of time to. Additionally, students must problem solve at each step of the process. They wil have to work through questions such as: who can help me? How can I express my idea? What equipment will I use and how will I use it? And how will I organize my ideas? (Theodosakis). Students will also have to learn how to build a community together to help each other within their classroom (Banaszewski) Most importantly, digital storytelling is a means to engage students who may have previously felt isolated from the educational format of school learning (Edutopia article). Students who are tactile learners and relate to hand-on experiences will strongly identify with the digital storytelling process and experience.

Digital storytelling can be a measure for learning if all the steps in the process are considered when a teacher grades the final project. I think the planning (using a digital storyboard) as well as the research and note-taking require a lot of additional effort and skills. How a student filters through that and makes decisions is critical to consider instead of just focusing on a final product. That way a teacher can assess how well the student took what they had and used it appropriately. The final product should have a focus, an intended audience, pacing, and multimedia appropriately placed to tell the story. It can prove to be strong evidence for learning about a topic as well as learning how to use the software.

Finally, I took some time to explore some sites which show digital stories with educational messages. One specific one that struck me had various digital stories from people who experienced the Holocaust, but in different ways. (http://tellingstories.org/index.html) This particular site was powerful for students to use to help them compare various primary sources and their varied perspectives within a historical unit. There are countless varieties of these types of stories out there, which, when viewed by an outsider such as myself, seem like documentaries or movies. They do have their place in the educational setting, but I believe that the ones made up by students serve a stronger purpose. They provide students with a strong sense of what it takes to deliver a message and there’s also a strong feeling of accomplishment when a student can deliver evidence of their work in a way to entertain our various senses.

Although digital storytelling may take a long time to process and create, (6 months in one classroom from the article “Digital Storytelling finds its Place in the Classroom”) I believe it can be an extremely valuable tool with many practical applications. As a history teacher, I value the art of storytelling as a primary source that passes on rich perspectives and culture. Even though technology changes that art form, the idea lives on and by perpetuating its usage, we allow a personal approach to live on in an age where impersonal means of knowledge are becoming increasingly a part of the norm.

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants In the Same World

2006-10-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

The concept that struck me most in the weekly presentation and readings on Digital Literacy is the comparison of the Digital Natives to the Digital Immigrants. I never thought of technology as a language and way of life. Just as with any language or way of life, the natives will always have the upper hand because it is what they knew from the very beginning to be a natural part of life and it’ something that the natives learn during their prime learning years. Just as schools are pushing second language instruction for the youngest grades, so to must we all pursue the new knowledge of digital literacy as soon as possible in our lives. The quicker it becomes a part of your regular life, the easier the technology will assimilate into your regular daily practices.

Although digital literacy has no specific definition, it’s something that one can identify through basic observations. The presentation’s definition includes: an overall competence and understanding of technology, applying programs, confidence of use, applying it to life, and the ability to problem solve. There are many ways in which we can distinguish a digital immigrant from a native. One of the ways in which these immigrants stand out, as recognized by one of the readings, is when they call someone to verify a sent email. That’s an immigrant dead giveaway. It’s an example of having one’s foot stuck in past technology, something that they still rely on and trust above new technology.

The questions is whether we educators are prepared to embrace these new literacies that have always defined the lives of digital natives. The problem is that immigrants are always playing the catch-up game. They will continually want to revert to the most comfortable ways of their past. It is simply the fact that we are most impressionable at the beginning of our lives. The experiences we have in our formative years never leave us. Reliance on old technology or no technology at all will always feel most comfortable to many of the immigrants. They will never be on the same level of understanding and technological integration of the natives. This does not mean that the immigrants cannot tap in to the new technologies and use them in the classroom. The articles by Roblyer, et. al and Prensky offer some suggestions to how we can even the playing field and actually enhance the educational experience to relate to the methods that natives seem to need.

Roblyer and Bennett outline the ISTE technology standards, which were finally established in the 1990s. These standards seem to be a part of a timeless framework, in which we should always be able to refer to when attempting to utilize technology in the educational setting. Their recommendation revolves around teacher integration of visual materials on a consistent basis to make up the majority of the learning experiences. The natives have been primarily exposed to external visual tools as a means to understand new information, so it is naturally important for teachers to tap into the methods, which are most natural for the native generations. However, it’s important for educators to be discriminating about what they choose to include in their lessons. Teachers must use the following criteria to evaluate their digital content: Is it age appropriate? Is it relevant, clear, and accurate? Are there biases? All of these are essential questions that good educators naturally use to evaluate all types of content. So applying the proper visual material should not be the challenge. The true challenge lies in finding and presenting the visual information. That takes actual technology instruction to get to that point.

Prensky argues that natives’ brains are in fact different from the immigrants because of the early technological impressions made on them. One of the suggestions that Prensky offers is to provide information at a faster pace, because this is what naives are most familiar with. I thought this was a tough suggestion to follow because as educators, we are told in many instances to slow things down for many students who cannot focus because of the information overload that they have been bombarded with. This is why it’s important to teach students to filter the flood of information put in front of them.

Overall, I believe that it’s important for educators to take the advice of other immigrants who have successfully tapped in to the natives’ world. The best way to do this is to be open to new technology and to always be willing to learn from the natives. In new classrooms, the new focus should be on mutual learning. Even as the natives begin their teaching careers teaching younger natives, they will still encounter discrepancies in their understanding and usage of technology. Natives and immigrants alike should realize that they each have something to offer to the other.

web based media posting #2

2006-10-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

So you can probably see the GW Bush posting. He sings " sunday bloody sunday" from a mixing of speeches from different points. I found this from google videos. http://www.video.google.com and I have to admit that I have never used this before but I could certainly add some video clips to a blog in the future or a web quest. Since I am going to be working with the computer teacher at our school on creating student blogs, this could be an additional feature. However I found from exploring a lot of the content that many were just silly and the ones with educational content cost money. There are a lot of great political commentaries, however, that would be wonderful for constitution discussions with my 7th grade.

The other site I found was the google image label site. I didnt know this existed either. Essentially it's an easy way for google to name its pictures, because it has people with way too much time do it for them for free. They actually make it into a game by having you and some random person come up with search names for a picture that google needs to have identified. If one of your names matches, they say that you win and that is then used for google searching purposes. I did several of these images, one of which is found at: http://www.nationalmedals.org/assets/images/kurzwell.jpg and it's an image of Clinton. That was actually the correct match term and therefore, that image would eventually come up if you searched "clinton".

Finally, I played around with pictures at phixr.com. This is different from other image modifying tools because it has some advanced features. I tried to email it to myself, but Im having trouble accessing it. This could be useful for a web quest or blog because it could enhance an image in ways that cannot be accomplished with a camera. It may also be good for studying artistic concepts and methods to modify artwork.

George Bush singing "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

2006-10-06T20:55:00.000-07:00


Thanks to http://onegoodmove.org and Rx @ http://thepartyparty.com/ here's a fun sample of a video clip that can be easily added to a blog. This particular one has limited educational value but it's fun and interesting

First Week In Oct Posting #1

2006-10-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

Role of Web-Based Media in Learning
As CTER students, we have all dabbled into various web-based media and have even begun to explore applications. As I have taken more classes, however, I have come to realize how there are endless educational applications. The major problem is finding where to begin, as the technology is so fast moving. The fact is, technology has come such a long way in the last five years that simply settling for a “Web 1.0” view would ignore all the simple “Web 2.0” applications that are becoming increasingly user-friendly (Williams, M. Lecture October 2006). I certainly agree that our new advanced media can promote learning, but that it can do so even better when the relationship is two-sided. Just as we have come to realize that a student-centered classroom is much more profitable to students than a teacher-centered classroom, we must equally acknowledge that a one-way web has limitations as to which students it can reach and the type of knowledge it can transmit. I believe there are a lot of great tools out there; however, some offer greater benefits than others.

There are various media with multiple applications, which a teacher can utilize, many of which are free or offered at low cost. Pod casting does not seem to be one of those. First, each student must have an ipod or other digital media device. This would be at least 150 dollars or more depending on the memory needed. The purpose would be for students and teachers to share audio content such as speeches, soundbites, assignments, and songs all related to the curriculum (Blaisdell, M “In Pod We Trust, 2006). For some of these digital media players, images and video can be transmitted; this would necessitate more expensive hardware, of course. I could see students using these in my social studies class because there are so many excellent primary sources that I love to expose them to. I could have them listen to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” or listen to “The Charleston” from the roaring 20s to get a flavor for life at that time. But I already do these things in class, so having a digital media player really would not be necessary. At least by incorporating it into my classroom, I know they are hearing it. Listening to an ipod on their way to school could look cool and include some learning benefit. However, I think these “tools” might become more distracting since their content is easily hidden. Students could also record their own content to share, but how is this much different than a computer, especially considering cost? Overall, this seems like a nice touch for an already tech-savvy school, but there are other technological priorities to consider. With ipod usage, students are replacing in-class technology, which is great, but it doesn’t seem to meet any of the critical components such as: “collaboation…creation of knowledge” (Williams, M. Lecture October 2006)

Weblogs are easy to set up, can be conducted publicly or privately, and they are often free (Richardson, W “Tech Tools for Learning” 2006). Being able to collaborate with others to create new knowledge is a key component to higher-order thinking processes. By “building networks beyond classroom walls” with blogs, students exchange ideas with others from around and transcend the four-walled confinement of the traditional classroom (Richardson, W. “The New Face of Learning” 2006). The opportunities are endless, so long as the teacher has basic knowledge on how to construct intra school networks as well as those outside of the school and even the country. Students can compare perspectives on historical issues or current events. Because I teach social studies, and I enjoy the Revolutionary War, I would love to create a weblog relationship with a British classroom. Their perspective on the motives, events, and outcome are entirely different in their society and in their textbooks. Not only would this open students to new ideas but it would challenge their American-centered focus that so many adults never break free from.

The final media that I wanted to discuss from the readings is streaming video. I have personally found it to be quite valuable in my own classroom, as we have had a subscription to United Streaming for the past year. It’s well-updated and aligns nicely with the curriculum. Streaming video from United Streaming has an absolute direct connection to classroom learning. However, as Richardson (2006) mentions, there are other types of streaming video available, which only require a media player and usually high speed access. (“Tech Tools For Learning”). I have personally noticed that many of cnn.com’s news stories, previously available in text are starting to become exclusively available in streaming video. It makes sense since people are more interested in having news fed to them. Students are too! Many students are very visual. The major issue is that when news is watched and read to you in this way, you are usually subjected to some annoying commercial. Additionally, it does not enhance reading skills. But it can be a wonderful way to see things that are better seen than read about. It’s especially wonderful for using with professionals such as doctors or biologists who can provide live streaming video to demonstrate and interact.

There are various uses for these web tools, which in many ways is intimidating to teachers. The technology changes so quickly, so despite its new user-friendly nature, just sorting through what you want to do can be a seemingly insurmountable task itself.

Blended Learning

2006-09-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Reflections for Blended Learning in a K-12 Environment

Blended learning can involve a combination of learning methods in order to enhance a lesson, reach a variety of learners, or tap into multiple intelligences. It can be a way of presenting information that lends to a different interpretation or even allows the learner to almost "see" the concept for the first time. Blended learning has been used in K-12 classrooms for years without technology. However, technology provides an entirely new dimension in which educators can experiment and allow students the opportunity to grasp higher understanding, previously unattainable to most.

In the traditional K-12 classrooms of 2006, blended learning should play a strong roles. The need is greater at the present because of the increasing class sizes as well as the push towards inclusive education which results in a varied-ability classroom. Because we recognize that are students are complex and possess different skills for learning, it is essential. Increasingly, educators are also beginning to understand the importance of teaching material for understanding. Blended learning can do that because it moves beyond the simple textbook.

However, in order for blended learning to be effective, it must be executed properly. It cannot simply considered as a random mixing of methods to simply rehash the same material in different ways, as in the "velcro" approach(Blended Learning, EPIC). Rather, the components need to be carefully combined in order to ehnance learning outcomes to meet with the objectives of the lesson.

Technology can and should play a strong role in many blends, but should not be used in blending just for the sake of using technology. It can greatly enhance lessons and bring them to new life in ways that traditional methods were unable to before. What might be most effective is for educators to evaluate lessons they have done in the past in terms of the topics or subtopics that were most difficult for students to grasp or those which the teacher did not think provided enduring understanding. It is in those areas, not in content that can be covered best without blending, that the greatest enhancements can be made.

My Own Classroom

I believe that I have been able to effectively utilize blended learning in many situations in my past three years of teaching. However, I noticed that my early attempts fell under the "velcro" approach, as I thought repetition through various methods would best meet all learners. I have come to recognize that reviewing the same information in different formats had little effect. Rather, I have learned in my first years to utilize advanced blending, especially with technology, for the major concepts that are not easily relayed by the textbook.

I would like to move to making the web a part of a "balanced mix" approach to blending (Scagnoli, 2006). However, computer lab time has and continues to be inconsistent and I have to rely on the computer teacher to follow through with the major concepts in computer class. The problem has been that computer class doesn't always flow, time-wise, with the topics I cover. So it might be a few days later that the blending occurs. Secondly, I have to rely on her to learn some of the material to help the students out. Finally, it's hard to echo what the students did in computer class in any other manner but a general discussion.

I have effectively blended United Streaming, station work, Power Points, simulations, and primary source readings for each of my small units in order to provide a bigger picture to the concepts. This year I decided to give all short answer and essay tests with the questions given ahead of time for the students in the beginning of the unit. That idea was taken from the "backward design" approach. This has helped me to effectively blend methods as both myself and the students know the final outcome. In this way, it will help me to know what major concepts I need to enhance through different methods in order to lead to deeper understanding. Some concepts are just too difficult to understand just by reading the book. Technology plays a major role in that area.

week 4: critical analysis of my webquest

2006-09-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Will my web quest empower student learning?
The readings and lecture forced me to think about all the possibilities available and I spent some time pondering the various angles I could attack the task from. I even reconsidered my original idea.

The lecture made me think about how the web quest could be enhanced with a camera. This is an obvious component of the “T” in the facts model that I never considered before, because I couldn’t think of an application until I heard the geometry example from the lecture. I would have to change my idea, but it got me thinking about doing something with the Bill of Rights. I think it would be neat to document the bill of rights in practice in the rest of the world. I liked this basic concept, but then the technological demands of my school popped in my head. We only have one digital camera and our school doesn't allow USB drives because of the possibility that they might transmit viruses. Then coordinating the students so that they can actually take the pictures and find the right scenes would be tough. After reading "Changing How and What Children Learn..." I realized that this would have good real world application but I couldn't solidify the critical component of purposeful group work...so I had to leave that idea aside for now. I guess this just makes me feel a bit more confident in my original idea.

I think my initial idea can be very promising. Of course, I want it to be highly useful to my students. In particular, I will focus it on my 7th grade. However, in order to make it effective, I will have to take several factors into consideration. The major problem I will have is keeping a focus and not becoming too overwhelmed in all the extensive extensions that can be made. I will struggle with keeping a focus because I tend to juggle a lot of options in my head and struggle with focusing. That's why I am starting to chart out each linked page in a notebook. That way I can see the layering and connections from one page to the next. I think the second challenge will be finding the appropriate sites to link to. The greater challenge involved in that is finding age-appropriate content that is not too lengthy. I might have to copy and paste some paragraphs while extensively quoting and maintaining adherence strictly to copyright law. I’ve found that as a teacher, it’s hard to “empower student learning” if students are given something too difficult or too long to dig through. However, some students can handle that, so some of the roles I will assign will be differentiated according to readiness level of each student.

I think my web quest will develop higher-order thinking, evoke interest, and enhance performance. The higher order thinking comes into play with the critical analysis of historical options presented that have to be sifted through; because students have to explain their logic, they will need to make a justifiable option. Students seem to be drawn to the idea of “starting over”, which is basically the situation for the characters in my web quest. It will place students into that realistic scenario; in a sense, it’s almost Sim-City-like (one of the only verified social studies computer applications with proven results, as discussed in the first reading). Finally, it will enhance both knowledge and skills. I find knowledge naturally flows when students are focused. The skills will come in constructing arguments and a final product. As the “Children and Computers…” article discussed, the computer is often criticized as being an entirely intrapersonal box. However, the article also reported how children are most likely to relay questions to each other when working with technology rather than an adult. I think this enhances interpersonal relationships and builds an authentic peer interactive situation.

This past week, I found how computers can be incredibly empowering for some students. I am increasingly concerned about students with special needs. We have very few students in our school with extra needs, but it’s easier for teachers to ignore that when 90 percent of the class is on target and advanced. I have a new 8th grader who is not identified with needs, but is clearly in need of a lot of modifications. I found through a lot of conversations and observations that he loves the computer. I set up a web quest that I created last year for CTER (my Andrew Jackson one that I referred to before). The computer teacher assigned it to her students in class and this particular child absolutely took off with it. This absolutely cemented a smile on my face because I feel I tapped into a student who I fretted I may never be able to understand. It gave me the opportunity to rethink the power of technology. I have now restructured my goals for him which includes a great deal of technology in his daily interaction with my subject. I can’t imagine what another web quest such as the new one I am developing, might do for him.

Laura's Web Quest Idea

2006-09-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have created a web quest before, which is attached to my e-portfolio section for my students. That particular web quest deals with Andrew Jackson and various decisions he had to make during his administration. That web quest was targeted at the 8th grade level. So I'd like my new web quest to be targeted at the 7th grade level.

One of the areas of US history we study is the various regions, including the geography, settlement, similarities, and differences. The country is very diverse even today because of decisions by settlers during the 16, 17, and 1800s. The economies, political interactions, and social interactions took different directions because of various influences. Because the book coverage is quite bland and I've had a hard time getting across the main idea of the diversity of the United States, past and present, I would like to target a web quest on this topic.

Introduction/Task
The quest could be entitled "Where in USA should we stay?" The Introduction would explain how a several individuals from Europe are all interested in settling in the "Americas". Each student is assigned a different character, whose vary depending on age, country or origin, gender, etc. I thought a group of 4-5 might be sufficient for the students to explore a variety of circumstances. The characters met through an add that was placed and are have been pooled their money to take the journey together. The problem is that they have to decide where to settle. Because of their financial limitations, they must choose only one place. Because each character is different, they have different needs, but they can also help each other out in their new settlement. I would include in the introduction that their survival and possible additional funding is dependant on their ability to choose the appropriate location.

Process
Each student would be required to research a particular developed region of "America" at the time to assess the liklihood of success for the entire group in that particular region. Student would be required to sift through primary documents of the time that refer to each area. Each student must explore the following about their area at that time: geography, political development, dominant religious focus, and economics. Each character would present their assigned region with a pros and cons presentation for each of the listed categories. They must cite their sources, provide a final ranking from one to ten, and show a sketched plan for what their settlement might look like. This could be accomplished with Power Point. The team would then come together to decide on the best location to settle based on the presentations.

Evaluation
The evaluation would be based on the depth of analysis each individual undertakes (evidence in work in class and in the presentation) and the final written intent submitted by the entire team, which must address all components and the analysis that went into it.

20 essential skills

2006-08-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

While we are all becoming greater experts at working with technology and weaving it into the classroom setting, I don't believe that all educators need to have all of the following 20 skills listed by Laura Turner. There are some that should be considered as essential because they are used in the most basic technological applications. Others are more specialized and are only necesarry under two conditions. First, the educator has a specialty in a particular field that specifically lends itself to that technology. The second situation is in that of the classroom or school that can afford and has advanced technology. Most schools still barely have one computer per classroom. So to understand this technology at this point might be worthless. It's better to wait and see what the future holds in those situations.
The following is a list of the "20 essentials" and my comments on their practicality and need.

1. Word Processing Skills
How can a teacher formulate a letter to parents without word processing skills? Typewriters might still be available, but there's not a whole lot of antique stores in many areas :) Word processing is the most simplistic application. It's easy to use and is essential for teachers to create practice guides and assessments for their students.

2. Spreadsheets Skills
Spreadsheets offer great versatility in organizing information and numbers but they work best for math teachers. If schools actually adopt gradebook programs, they will instruct on and mandate usage by the teachers, so it's hard not to learn it if it's required by the school.

3. Database Skills
Once again, this is another important skill for math teachers. It might be nice to make information look "pretty" for presentations.

4. Electronic Presentation Skills
I personally utilize this more in my classroom than any of the 20 essential skills mentioned. I think it's a great way to present information. It saves paper, can be easier to read, and it provides a wide range of options for presenting and stimulating thinking. I think all teachers can learn to do this easily and can even apply it in a simple manner in the lower grades. It certainly beats overhead projectors. Additionally, it can be saved from year to year.

5. Web Navigation Skills
Of course, this is essential not only for teachers, but the entire networked world. How can one live in the United States and operate in any job or communicate with people in 2006 without it? However, just being able to navigate doesn't mean it's being done effectively. Teachers need training on how to narrow search fields and how to sift through biased sources and incorrect information.

6. Web Site Design Skills
This seems to be the new wave of technological musts. However, most schools have a central management system for a school website where a teacher can easily modify his/her web page from a user-friendly template. It's not essential to be able to create your own website from nothing, but to modify one should be. It helps keep parents and students on top of the most recent information and it saves paper again!

7. E-Mail Management Skills
I cannot think of many days when I have not emailed parents. In a complex world, people are increasingly busy and therefore, hard to get a hold of. Emailing parents is an essential and quick way to monitor a student. Sending attachments is essential for anyone who has been on a committee and has had to write minutes or send ideas around to a unit team. Email skills are a must! Now if only the schools could subscribe to email services that didn't clog your mailbox with 200 spam each day...that's another story!

8. Digital Cameras
The problem with digital cameras is that they have limited usage in our over-protective society. Many public schools I know of cannot take and post pictures of students. You'd think a digital camera would be great for showcasing classroom activities on a school website, but that's usually not okay. There's nothing about using a digital camera that would really enhance the learning environment for students besides a study in photography. It's certainly not essential.

9.Computer Network Knowledge Applicable to your School System
Having a basic understanding of what a network is and how it functions is essential if your school runs off of one. Understanding the hows and whys are not so important. Understanding what is possible will enable educators to take their technology sharing to the next level.

10. File Management & Windows Explorer Skills
These kinds of files are becoming as essential as physical file folders. I use file management skills to store and organize all my lesson and unit plans as well as Power Points and notes home. Even if you're not tech savvy, you're using your computer for something-it should be organized just like everything else.

11. Downloading Software From the Web (Knowledge including eBooks)
I love ebooks-they're so much better than waiting weeks for an order to come. The only problem is that you can't preview them as well as a real book. Downloading software can be important but most schools have a technical person who can do this.

12. Installing Computer Software onto a Computer System
Once again, this is usually a one-time thing that a technical staff member can perform. It's a great thing to know and it may encourage you to invest in some new software, but it's not essential. If I was teaching computers, I'd personally be doing this more often, but I have no use in a classroom of one computer.

13. WebCT or Blackboard Teaching Skills
Im not really sure what you'd use this for if you don't have access to regular computer interaction with you and your students. In taking a masters course in technology-yes.

14. Videoconferencing skills
This would be great bonus skill for a limited technology classroom. The problem I have ( I assume others do as well) is finding the opportunities to engage in this. Videoconferencing certainly enhances lessons but the searching needs more guidance.

15. Computer-Related Storage Devices (Knowledge: disks, CDs, USB drives, zip disks, DVDs, etc.)
If you're going to create anything on a computer, you're probably going to want to keep it or transfer it...this is a no-brainer. This is essential! I think USBs are the way to go. Who uses zip disks anymore? CDs are wasteful and not all players play rewritables. I had that experience when I burned tracks for my history class and my computer wouldn't play them because the reader was too weak.

16. Scanner Knowledge
Scanners are great for complex applications but there's not too much you can do with a scanner to really enhance academic instruction. It's more like a skill that falls under the "nice to know to make something pretty" category.

17. Knowledge of PDAs
I thought Palm was essentially going out of business. Laptops are the way to go. I cannot manage my schedule on a dimly-lit little thing that loses my information if I forget to charge it. Unless laptop capabilities become more PDA-sized, their applications just aren't strong enough yet to make them essential to know how to use.
Deep Web Knowledge

18. Educational Copyright Knowledge
This is certailnly important to be aware of. However, it is quite complicated and there is so much gray area right now that's being fought out in the courtroom right now. So things are always changing in the area of technology copyrights.

19. Computer Security Knowledge
Too many people open their computers up to problems by lack of information in this category. Most security softwares do a good job and basic common sense should work here too.

20 Deep Web
Searching deeper is often what brings up the most interesting information. Yet it's hard to say it's the most accurate. I am honestly not as familiar with the distinction exact distinction that makes something deep besides the fact that it's not directly found by a search engine. Google and others are awfully good not though.