"Moderating and Ethics for the Classroom Instructional Blog" by Patricia Deubel
Patrica Deubel supports her theory that even in K-12 classrooms, class blogs are a good source of learning for students. She states that students can more actively engage in collaborative peer to peer learning through class discussions on blogs. Students who normally do not like to be called on or students who know answers to questions, but are too shy to answer, have a much more relaxed medium in which to express themselves. Blogs are also good tools for student journals, portfolios, as well as a means of communication between teachers and parents.
All of these mediums do however have one thing in common that must be determined by the teacher, what level of freedom will be given to personal expression on these mediums? Will the teacher take down offensive comments or not? Ground rules must be laid by the teacher, and must be followed by all students. Certain rules should include posting guidelines (i.e. minimum number of words or postings). HTML support is another important aspect of blog support. Finally, priority to student commentary for the teacher is an important stimulant in the process of student learning.
I partially agree with this article. I think blogs are a good source of collaborative learning, but I do not see the role of blogs as being as important as that of power points and computer generated reports in the K-8 classroom. I think blogs are more of a 9-college educational tool. I am a more traditional technology kind of teacher though and most likely would not utilize blogs in my classroom.
1)How would I monitor blogs in my classroom (i.e. offensive language, comments, etc.)?
I would not delete offensive language or comments on a class blog (even in the public sector) because it is a personal theory of mine that students need to be in a classroom environment that does not shelter them from the offensive nature of reality. Out in the "real world" people curse all of the time, and do make racist or offensive comments. So I believe it is not right to shelter students from the nature of our world. It's not always rainbows and butterflies! :D
2)What would the limitations of a class blog be in the classroom?
If I worked in a low income school or school district, using a blog as a means of communication between teacher and parents would not quite be a reality since some low income families can not afford desk top computers.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Journal 3
"Social Justice: Choice or Necessity?" by Colleen Swain and David Fayburn
The main concept of social justice in the most basic of explanations is the distribution of good and bad amongst people. This concept ties into the system of technology in the sense that the best technology gets distributed to the wealthiest of school districts and the best schools. This unfair balance of technology in our schools gives a real disadvantage to students in low income schools. Students suffer loose out not only on educational opportunities at universities (even the most gifted of students can loose admission to a school for not be technologically fluent), but students also loose out on future employment opportunities that require them to be technologically fluent.
The unfair balance of technology can be examined in the practice of making students share computers at school. Most often, boys get more time on computers, while girls loose out on opportunities to use technology due to the more aggressive nature of the male counterparts.
This article argues that there are ways for technology to become more widespread in low income schools. Open source websites offer free programs such as Microsoft office without infringing on copyright laws. Web explorers such as Firefox are also free to all users. Even deeply discounted computers are offered to schools on websites such as that of Digital Equity Portal and Toolkit.
I agree completely with the authors of this article that technology is unfairly distributed to schools of different income levels. As a current school district employee who has worked in both low income and high income schools, I have seen the effects of social justice, or lack thereof in regards to technology in the classroom. High income schools definitely have an advantage when it comes to technology, which negatively impacts the education of low income students. I think that more should be done to correct this problem.
1) How could I help to improve the social justice effect on technology in the classrooms?
One way that I could help to even out this imbalance is to donate my time to go to different organizations and companies to ask for donations for technology in the classroom. This would not only be an effective means of bringing technology into the room but it could be a fun project that other teachers could get involved in as well.
2) How would I incorporate technology in to my classroom?
Students will use technology to type up reports, as well as take notes from power points. I believe that power point presentations are highly effective tools in the classroom.
The main concept of social justice in the most basic of explanations is the distribution of good and bad amongst people. This concept ties into the system of technology in the sense that the best technology gets distributed to the wealthiest of school districts and the best schools. This unfair balance of technology in our schools gives a real disadvantage to students in low income schools. Students suffer loose out not only on educational opportunities at universities (even the most gifted of students can loose admission to a school for not be technologically fluent), but students also loose out on future employment opportunities that require them to be technologically fluent.
The unfair balance of technology can be examined in the practice of making students share computers at school. Most often, boys get more time on computers, while girls loose out on opportunities to use technology due to the more aggressive nature of the male counterparts.
This article argues that there are ways for technology to become more widespread in low income schools. Open source websites offer free programs such as Microsoft office without infringing on copyright laws. Web explorers such as Firefox are also free to all users. Even deeply discounted computers are offered to schools on websites such as that of Digital Equity Portal and Toolkit.
I agree completely with the authors of this article that technology is unfairly distributed to schools of different income levels. As a current school district employee who has worked in both low income and high income schools, I have seen the effects of social justice, or lack thereof in regards to technology in the classroom. High income schools definitely have an advantage when it comes to technology, which negatively impacts the education of low income students. I think that more should be done to correct this problem.
1) How could I help to improve the social justice effect on technology in the classrooms?
One way that I could help to even out this imbalance is to donate my time to go to different organizations and companies to ask for donations for technology in the classroom. This would not only be an effective means of bringing technology into the room but it could be a fun project that other teachers could get involved in as well.
2) How would I incorporate technology in to my classroom?
Students will use technology to type up reports, as well as take notes from power points. I believe that power point presentations are highly effective tools in the classroom.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Journal 2
“Real Life Migrants on the MUVE: Stories of Virtual Transitions” by Ross A. Perkins and Cathy Arreguin
The article “Real Life Migrants on the MUVE” is an interesting piece on how virtual realities work and how they can be applied in the classroom. A multi-user virtual environment is a technological tool that is quickly growing in popularity and in utilization in public classrooms. These fascinating second worlds allow for the highest level of personalization, giving the student a great sense of pride in their virtual reality. These virtual realities can be used to complete class assignments as well as being used as a fun extra credit assignment. One example of how this tool could be used in lieu of a traditional hard-copy classroom assignment is given through the example of a timeline. Instead of students making a traditional timeline on paper, they could take a single event from a timeline and create a virtual world to show the event taking place or what the environment would look like.
The article wraps up by giving advice on what to consider when buying a virtual reality for the classroom. Don’t ever buy for novelty, it fades away faster than you expect. Always consider user capabilities, software, hardware, networking, costs, goals, standards, legal protection, the needs of special education students, and finally the amount of time and training that is required to lean the new software.
Although I like the idea of integrating different technological elements into the classroom and classroom assignments, I do not find this particular tool very appealing. I am a child of the technological age, but believe that some things, such as homework and projects should remain old-fashioned. Some assignments should remain hard-copy. For example, if a test is administered through a virtual classroom, in which the student is really at home, it is much easier for the student to cheat. But I do believe that this would be a fun, exciting tool to use to reward students for good work and/or behavior. It would also be a lot of fun to use for an extra credit assignment.
1) How would I use this as extra credit in my classroom?
Since I aim to teach British literature in high school, I could use a tool like this to have students create a world like that of Shakespeare and Marlowe. They could create the royal court of Queen Elizabeth or the Globe playhouse.
2) How would this help students to learn more about the subject area?
I would give my students the freedom to pick any aspect of the Elizabethan era that they like and want to explore further. This will foster their interest in the subject area (hopefully).
The article “Real Life Migrants on the MUVE” is an interesting piece on how virtual realities work and how they can be applied in the classroom. A multi-user virtual environment is a technological tool that is quickly growing in popularity and in utilization in public classrooms. These fascinating second worlds allow for the highest level of personalization, giving the student a great sense of pride in their virtual reality. These virtual realities can be used to complete class assignments as well as being used as a fun extra credit assignment. One example of how this tool could be used in lieu of a traditional hard-copy classroom assignment is given through the example of a timeline. Instead of students making a traditional timeline on paper, they could take a single event from a timeline and create a virtual world to show the event taking place or what the environment would look like.
The article wraps up by giving advice on what to consider when buying a virtual reality for the classroom. Don’t ever buy for novelty, it fades away faster than you expect. Always consider user capabilities, software, hardware, networking, costs, goals, standards, legal protection, the needs of special education students, and finally the amount of time and training that is required to lean the new software.
Although I like the idea of integrating different technological elements into the classroom and classroom assignments, I do not find this particular tool very appealing. I am a child of the technological age, but believe that some things, such as homework and projects should remain old-fashioned. Some assignments should remain hard-copy. For example, if a test is administered through a virtual classroom, in which the student is really at home, it is much easier for the student to cheat. But I do believe that this would be a fun, exciting tool to use to reward students for good work and/or behavior. It would also be a lot of fun to use for an extra credit assignment.
1) How would I use this as extra credit in my classroom?
Since I aim to teach British literature in high school, I could use a tool like this to have students create a world like that of Shakespeare and Marlowe. They could create the royal court of Queen Elizabeth or the Globe playhouse.
2) How would this help students to learn more about the subject area?
I would give my students the freedom to pick any aspect of the Elizabethan era that they like and want to explore further. This will foster their interest in the subject area (hopefully).
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Journal 1
"Your Google Guide" by Doug Johnson
In this article, Doug Johnson argues the importance of utilizing the Google web engine as a classroom tool. The author, in fact, believes that Google is so important that the advanced search page of this site should be the home page on every computer in our schools. While this is quite a large task to take on, it is not impossible, or even unreasonable to wish for our schools and children.
Google has many useful tools to offer not only adults, but children as well. Johnson argues the only thing holding more people back from using Google and using it more effectively is the lack of knowledge on the part of Internet users. Johnson argues that while users may have an idea of what they are looking for, that they do not know what they are looking for-the specifics of their search. For example, is a student looking for Christopher Columbus the explorer or the science teacher at San Marcos High School? He also explains that multiple terms, effective operators (“ “ and -), and the difference between sponsored links and non-sponsored search results are all ways that can help students to better understand their search goals and results.
I myself prefer the school search engines that mull through the library catalog and article databases. However, when using a for-profit organization, I have found Google to be helpful. I do agree with the author that the Google Advanced Search page as the homepage, only if the school does not have it’s own search engine.
1) How can I better utilize a tool like Google in my own classroom?
I could better utilize tools like Google by asking for the librarian for a crash course in Internet search engines. Knowing shortcuts and how to better request topic information, I can in turn teach my students.
2) How could this tool be used to help English learners?
Students could use this tool to find reliable sources to translate between languages and to find fun classroom activities for English language learners.
In this article, Doug Johnson argues the importance of utilizing the Google web engine as a classroom tool. The author, in fact, believes that Google is so important that the advanced search page of this site should be the home page on every computer in our schools. While this is quite a large task to take on, it is not impossible, or even unreasonable to wish for our schools and children.
Google has many useful tools to offer not only adults, but children as well. Johnson argues the only thing holding more people back from using Google and using it more effectively is the lack of knowledge on the part of Internet users. Johnson argues that while users may have an idea of what they are looking for, that they do not know what they are looking for-the specifics of their search. For example, is a student looking for Christopher Columbus the explorer or the science teacher at San Marcos High School? He also explains that multiple terms, effective operators (“ “ and -), and the difference between sponsored links and non-sponsored search results are all ways that can help students to better understand their search goals and results.
I myself prefer the school search engines that mull through the library catalog and article databases. However, when using a for-profit organization, I have found Google to be helpful. I do agree with the author that the Google Advanced Search page as the homepage, only if the school does not have it’s own search engine.
1) How can I better utilize a tool like Google in my own classroom?
I could better utilize tools like Google by asking for the librarian for a crash course in Internet search engines. Knowing shortcuts and how to better request topic information, I can in turn teach my students.
2) How could this tool be used to help English learners?
Students could use this tool to find reliable sources to translate between languages and to find fun classroom activities for English language learners.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Intro Letter
Hey, I’m Stephanie. I was born in Minneapolis, MN. However, I grew up in Murrieta, which is about 45 minutes north of San Marcos. Which, as a kid, was a small, not too exciting, white, middle-class city. The most excitement you find in Murrieta is a fight between two drunken white guys fighting over a girl in the parking lot of the bowling alley on a Friday night. I lovingly refer to Murrieta as “Yuppie central.” I began school at Rail Ranch Elementary in Murrieta in second grade. Before that I went to first grade in Oceanside. My kindergarten year, I went to school at Austin Elementary in Austin, Texas (right outside of Houston). I went to Shivela Middle School and graduated from Murrieta Valley High School (although I participated in independent study during my junior and senior year). And that is my childhood in the most basic of nutshells.
I am a creature of habit and therefore am a PC person. I never had macs around as a kid. At my office there are 3 mac machines in the entire building. However, I barely know how to use them since no one has ever taken the time to formally teach me. (I’m an audio learner and don’t like to read manuals to get the info I need. I would rather have someone show me.) I use technology every day since I work in the Human Resources department at the San Marcos Unified School District. My entire day is spent on the computer since our employee database is completely electronic. I use computers at home every day as well. I will admit that I check my email way too much and spend far too much time on the Internet. I love to surf the web, shop on the web, and pay all of my bills online. It’s so much easier than addressing an envelope and paying postage. I am completely dependent upon technology and computers to function day to day. Even in high school, all of my work was done on the computer. I think having a laptop PC is a great tool in college because one is able to absorb much more information that handwriting.
The mission statement of the college of education is does play a role in my decision to apply to CSUSM’s CoE. The mission statement seems to share a lot of the same ideas and values that I hold as a future educator. One thing that seemed to jump out at me in the mission statement is the emphasis of improving education for students by improving teachers themselves. I feel that as educators, we must continue to improve ourselves and build upon our bachelor’s degrees. To me, bachelor’s degrees are only stepping-stones to higher educational goals. My belief that the continual building upon one’s educational base is reflected in the statement that the college exemplifies, “…reflective teaching, life-long learning, innovative research, and ongoing service.” I also feel that the focus of the college on diversity is important. Especially since we live in California, this focus on diversity could not be more important. Our classrooms are filled with children from many different cultural backgrounds. The overall improvement of the education relies on the ability of teachers to continue to grow, learn, and adapt to continually changing times. The understanding of the inner workings of a multicultural classroom are just as important, although. If an educator does not understand his or her students, how can they be an effective educator?
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