ETEC 597 - Week 2 Reflection

I use RSS feed all the time using my Google home page. This way I can see what is new on each blog I follow without actually going to the site itself and checking “manually”.

Believe it or not, I never set up my Google Reader. So, this was a great opportunity to do so. I subscribed to all classmates’ blogs and added my favorite blogs to it:

Larry Ferlazzo’s Website of the Day has a huge selection of websites for educators and students. Everything is very well organized by subject, theme, or level. You will love this one!

Ozge Karaoglu’s Blog provides tons of resources for primary teachers and ESL learners.

Free Technology for Teachers always finds the greatest FREE resources for educators.

For the podcast subscription I selected Learn 4 Life because this guy is just amazing.

You can also find tons of great podcasts at the Education Podcast Network.

Very often podcast is confused with just an audio file. A podcast is not a “one time thing”. It should continue. Some of our schools are maintaining Weekly Principal’s Podcast. This is the place where principal actually informs students and parent about current events at the campus.

Also, some of our elementary students have created podcasts where they do the book reports and the teacher uploads a new file every week.

I think it is amazing how we get used to technology. A few years ago we were so excited about the ability to search for different things. Today, we don’t have time to search. We need more information. We need it all. And we need it NOW! That is why I like RSS!

Ahas of Working Smarter - Not Harder

The semester is finally over. Looking back and reflecting on all objectives in this class I can’t stop thinking about research techniques I have learned in this course. The research and evaluation of materials obtained online is not a foreign subject. Almost all of my graduate courses had a little online research incorporated in the instruction or assignments. However, the search techniques necessary to determine the true value and validity of information were introduced only in this course. Everyone in education business should learn these valuable research skills and share it with their fellow co-workers and students.

Another Aha moment was learning about MovieMaker. While I was already familiar with Digital Storyteller and all bells and whistles it comes, MovieMaker was a little easier to understand and use. It will definitely stay as one of my favorite and often used programs.

With semester over and my graduate work being done, I am not sure if I will have a need to keep this particular blog active. However, I am sure I will need to create a new one for the course I will be teaching at A&M Commerce this fall. After all, Web 2.0 applications are the best to create a quality communications with students.

With all of that said, I think I have learned how to work smarter and not harder. I will “see” you in my ETEC 424 blog!

Is it real or hoax? How do I know?

I think the most important thing we can teach our students is to learn how to evaluate the information obtained online. I have learned in this class that there are much more invaluable information online that what I originally thought. Obtaining information online for any purpose can be vital for person who performs the search. The validity and accuracy of the information is a must in such a case.

The National Archives website provides valuable information for anyone who performs a research related to social studies and government issues. The important fact is that they can relay on this source since the information are accurate and updated.

I am not fearless...

Trying to provide the best education for my elementary students I need to implement technology into curriculum on a daily basis. The Web 2.0 applications are booming all over the world and as strong communications tools as they are I am obligated to introduce my students to some of them. This can be very challenging in a traditional public school district in Texas. My greatest fear is still that my students will get exposed to inappropriate materials while using Web 2.0. So far I have gained an extensive knowledge of Web 2.0 applications and know how to use it in a school environment to protect my students. However, we all know that there is no 100% guaranty on Internet safety. Avoiding using these valuable applications with my students just because something “might” happen would be a crime. As an educator, I can explain to the parents the resources we are about to use, with all its pros and cons, and ask for their permission. Our parents and students sign an AUP form at the beginning of the school year anyway, so this would be just an additional back up.

Any Place, Any Time, and Any How

Many people are taking advantage of online college courses offered by different higher education institutions. The convenience of online college courses enable us to take classes at any time, any place, and almost any how. It is a common knowledge that high school students are often as busy as college students trying to balance curricular and extra curricular activities with their jobs. With that in mind, the necessity of online high school courses is evident. But are our public school districts ready to go this direction?

Plano ISD is one of the pioneers in offering online education to its high school students. This district has taken a chance to provide home schooled students as well as students outside of the district with quality online courses. The program started in 2000 – 2001 school year and its students and faculty constant growth are a proof of its success. More about this program can be found at http://www.pisd.edu/news/archive/2005-06/eschool.news.article.shtml.

Listen, Learn, and then…Teach them to think!

Learning everything and anything about all kinds of communication tools available today, I can’t stop wondering what is really necessary for elementary students. What kind of communication tools is appropriate for my students? Do we really need to teach them how to use both, wikis and blogs? Do they actually need to know how to e-mail and send a text-message? Why do they need Facebbok and del.icio.us accounts?

Lots of questions and I have found just one answer. We don’t really need to teach our kids how to wiki and blog, how to e-mail or send a text-message, how to create a Facebook account or how to benefit from a del.icio.us account. Our students don’t need instructions on “how to use Web 2.0 applications”. They already know how! They have learned it at home, at the day care, at summer camp, or at the friend’s house. What they really need is just a little more engagement in the classroom which will allow them to use these communication tools. They need educators who are willing to show them what is outside of the box. They need educators who understand their language – language of digital natives. To accomplish this we need to educate our educators first. They don’t know the difference between wiki and blog. Some of them never sent a text message. How can we expect them to change their teaching styles over night? Well, we all know if there is a will, there is a way. I recommend a 3 Step program.

Step #1: Listen to your students
Step #2: Let them teach you (us)
Step #3: Teach them to think by giving them assignments that will bring their creativity out and enable them to use the communication tools native to them.

Tip: It is not a shame to have your student teach you. It is a shame not recognizing that you can learn from them.

Photoshop, MovieMaker & PhotoStory

Due to a long experience with Photoshop mostly related to my work responsibilities I can say that I can’t imagine my life anymore without this software. I have created many different newspapers, fliers, and invitations. I also think that an experienced MS Word user can use MS Word as a substitute for Photoshop due to many similar features.

I was familiar with MovieMaker but never had the opportunity to use it before. Attending the TCEA conference in Austin I attended a workshop based on use of Photo Story, software with almost identical features. Many educators today use this software to improve instructions in the classroom. PhotoStory Can be downloaded for free at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx