Rethinking Chapter 4

Reading this chapter I get constantly reminded of Professor Brewer's history class where we talk about the industrial revolution and the effect it had on various aspects like schooling.  The chapter highlights how schooling became how we know it today.  The examples show how schooling started out as parents teaching their children the tricks of their trade like farming followed by the shift of schooling to the responsibility of the states.  Ironically, schooling in America as grown just like the technologies that some believe are unrelated to school.  In fact most of the technologies outside of schools needed some sort of instruction that had to be learned in schooling.  Various adaptations to the one room schoolhouse that shows that adaptation in education is possible were graded classrooms, tests, textbooks, standardization, improved structure in high schools.  This reading impacts my learning because it shows that even if computers are barred from school it is a parallel technology that schools need to instruct students to learn much like they did back when agricultural technologies improved and teachers adapted their teaching to prepare students for the upcoming changes in production in various ways.  One thing I will do differently is to try to keep myself prepared in technology changes related and unrelated to the classroom because they can influence what students need to learn once their brick and mortar schooling is finished.

Rethinking Chapter 3

After reading the prior chapter I was really enthused about making sure I can find educational advancements through technology, and with reading this chapter I still feel that way.  Technology skeptics bring up good points on not having enough resources or time to be able to implement and use technology in the classroom.  I chuckled when I read a statement from a skeptic about the need to turn on a computer, log in, and set up the lesson.  They make it seem like the teachers who use technology do not anticipate issues with setup and closing time in the classroom.  Just like a teacher would prepare an overhead sheet to use on the bottom lit projection screen by making them prior to class to start, a teacher who needs  to use any bit of technology would take transition time to start up their media.  This chapter feels like it is written by teachers who like to use the same lessons for years on end without changes.  Probably the largest factor that helps the skeptic's argument is the cost of implementing technology on a widespread basis.  Schools cannot afford a major overhaul of their curriculum to bring in technology because of the cost issues up front.  Skeptics forget that if you really calculate costs that if you were to go with a one to one style the upfront cost would be alleviated when you no longer have to buy new books given access to comparable knowledge through the Internet.  I just feel biased while I read this chapter since I really like the thought of using technology in schooling.

Rethinking Chapter 2

I think this chapter changes my thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning because of how the chapter highlights the many changes in education because of technology.  One of the various tools that this chapter reminds me of is the game Mario Teaches Typing which is simply a game that is used to be able to learn how to type on a keyboard.  In this chapter it shows how teaching and learning have changed to not think of computers as just an occasional tool you use once a week for its games, but more as a primary or secondary source for learning.  Another game we used in my generation was the Oregon Trail where you learned about the hard times of westward bound pioneers.  These were the technological connections to lessons of their times.  The chapter covers simulation games that can be used as learning tools now days.  If I would have told I was using Madden 95, 97, 2000, and so on as learning tools to work on math and finances, my parents would've taken it away from me.  Using popular games like Call of Duty would help me simulate history lessons to middle school students on warfare.  As a teacher I will try to keep an open mind when it comes to using games as a tool in teaching not just going to traditional educational games that can be considered lame by older students.  This chapter generally focuses on the individualized instruction that technology can bring.

BWP Chapter 10 & Epilogue

I really liked how this chapter brought out the facts of how education has evolved much like it has illustrated the book, but also mentioned old technologies that my teachers were handcuffed into using.  As much as I liked the comment of using the filmstrip, I know that some schools/teachers only use or know those resources.  Chapter 10 reminds me that technology that will be out there when I start my teaching will be extinct in 15 years (That was about the same time period it was since I was first exposed to filmtrips, no pun intended).  The fact that this chapter says how there are many print resources that can be used in the classroom, but they are being digitized more and more each day.  Resources now days are just a quick a click away.  The simple click away is not just to a website but to other teachers who may have tried a similar lesson you are planning to do.  I am reminded that efficient teaching is not just standing in front of the class and lecture the students, but to basically be a mediator in conversations based on the objectives of a lesson.  I may have to purchase a later edition of this book when I get into the field just based on the reminding that the final chapter does telling me to not get in the rut that many teachers tend to fall into by not "thinking outside the box" and using different ways of teaching.
The epilogue is a rather cool way to imagine what a technologically inclusive school would do to impact a teacher.  In the 15-20 minutes detailed, it runs through the teacher's morning and shows how care-free and easy it seems to prepare the day of school with the various updates in many aspects of the day.  I can relate to the routine because when I am able to sit down in the morning I tend to do my own style of a prep time.  Instead my routine usually starts with checking my email, then off to facebook, check my fantasy football teams, check on my teams' injury reports, and read news headlines I find interest to me.  When I got into teaching I never expected that I could stay up to date with assignments and school news just as easily as going through the routine I just listed.

Exit Slip 12/9

To start this day off rather confused because there is no week 14 agenda on D2L.  There is a link, but it goes literally nowhere.  Well ok, it actually goes to an empty google site.

In my middle school math classroom I would like to integrate an interactive whiteboard and possibly a SMARTTable so my students can have a more hands on way to learn their geometry than just drawing the angles on a chalkboard.  I would hope to be able to create more interactive games to make the subject more entertaining to the students.  I would use a networking site such as twitter, blogger, and/or wikispaces to list homework, answer homework questions and post notes for students to have access to outside of class.  I as a former student at that age has gone ahead and left out notes that I realized I needed later outside of school and did not have access to a secondary means of attaining important notes other than calling a friend/classmate.  Since I would like to use an interactive whiteboard (SMARTBoard) I would like to also create screencasts of the SMARTBoard lectures (if you would like to call them that in middle school) to post on my blogger site for students who were absent from class or even for my substitute to use in my absence.  Of course, being like 10 years from now I'll be asking Professor Boyer during Ella's parent teacher conference about newer technologies that I may have not been keeping track of as much as him.

I am really bummed over the changes that were "wikileaked" to us about changes not only to this class but also to our Professional Portfolio.  The changes on the book would've really helped me to complete the tasks on time without having to scramble to fix all the posts.

When I originally thought of technology in the classroom I really thought of the media of projector screens, televisions, calculators, and computers and really not about what is being used on them.  After going through this class I have learned probably more resources and got to try a new technologies I never would have heard of or tried before.  My new best friend is probably SMARTResourses with its collection of lesson plans on there.  Prior to this class I had one professor at University of Wisconsin Marshfield/Wood County who used the SMARTBoard as a whiteboard than for its actual resources.

Exit Slip 12/2

Miss Bobiash has integrated technology into her classroom and basically allowed her students to thrive by using it.  For instance, her SMARTBoard wasn't just a tool for her to use for teaching, but also for her students to actually interact with.  Her students also participated in online collaborative projects with students in the area and worldwide.  Miss Bobiash went ahead and started using blogging as a way to tell students what the upcoming assignments were.  No only did it preview but also reflected on assignments.  The blog also gave a chance to allow parents to see what was going on in the classroom.  She opens up a lot of technology like laptops to the students, but we were not sure if they were given to each student or offered on school grounds.
The Jigsaw conversation piece was a rather fun and interesting way to break down our discussion.  I was in group #2 and we talked about creative ways to gain technology (making it yourself, buying it yourself, spearheading fundraising).  My second topic was talking about not using your school computer at home for personal reasons.  I felt that using your work computer for personal reasons was a way for people to get a look at a personal side you may not want people to see.  I became long-winded in our group so then our group had to explain our piece to the class, oops.

BWP Chapter 9

Social networks are plain and simple to me as places you can meet people to stay connected.  A few of the popular sites that I have had contact with before this class and even before this chapter were MySpace and Facebook.  I use those sites for ways to connect with extended family and friends from high school and junior college.  I opened a MySpace account because it is easily customizable to show your character.  Another reason I opened a MySpace because at the time Facebook was still a eligible college networking site where you needed a valid school email address to join.  I only learned about another networking site before, Twitter, with everyone talking about tweets and Facebook making adaptions to their original format to mirror Twitter.  Ning is still a site that is rather new to me.  Ning is basically as customizable as a blank website where a teacher can develop it with posting personal profiles, photos, video links, groups, discussions, and blogs.
Before reading this chapter, I never really thought of any of these social networking sites being a tool I would use in my classroom, much less not knowing all of these (Ning) existed.  I could see using Facebook as a way to connect with fellow teachers in my school, in my state, in my content area, and stay connected with the people who went through the education program with me in college.  I guess because of hearing all the professional athletes using Twitter to make a joke of themselves I just found Twitter a public way to create a story.  I never really put thought into using Facebook/Twitter as a way to give students links on related content to class or even forwarding classroom/school news to parents and teachers alike.

BWP Chapter 8

Chapter 8 covers various ways to present materials through audio and visual means through your computer or other devices.  Originally when I heard the term podcast, I seriously thought that it was something that can be only played on an ipod and nothing else.  The chapter not only points out that a podcast is more than just an audio file that can be played on anything that can play an mp3 audio file.  I knew that a podcast was basically an informational audio file prior to reading the chapter because my favorite baseball team Chicago Cubs announcers have been doing podcasts for the last season and a half so I have become aware what it is about.  The video features talked about in the chapter of screencasts and streaming video were rather simple not only by name and popularity.  Screencasts are simple to figure out just by the name that it would be a telecast basically of what is on your computer screen.  Before reading the checking the chapter I really wasn't sure of how it worked, much less what can be used to make a screencast an effective school tool.  A couple tools that I feel are popular for not only home, but also school use are youtube and even live streaming audio.  Many of my colleagues use youtube as a way to show samples of lessons they are presentations they're doing basically being the lead example of how youtube can be used in schools.  I use youtube to post videos of events I have attended that I would like to share with the public.  I listen to live streaming audio shows of music that my friends have produced and put on their respective outlets.  When it comes to live streaming video, there are outlets like the sample of ustream from the book where you could use in class for news students can use.  Other outlets I have seen are Stickam and Justin.tv.  Some television networks offer tape-delayed video on their sites while some even offer live feeds of their news casts.

BWP Chapter 7

Chapter 7, Fun With Flickr highlights the positives and advantages of using a media sourse like Flickr to post, edit, customize, and label pictures for use with the students or parents.  I am more inept with a similar program photobucket to post and share pictures for others to see or use.  As the chapter points out that Flickr can use a RSS feed to give me as a teacher a way to tag a topic and if someone posts a picture with that topic, I'll know about it.  I think that would be way easier than just going ahead and using  a search site like Google to constantly try to find a picture on a topic.  I really like the option to be able to tag portions of the photos and give a description through text for viewers to understand what is going on in the picture.  I would find that helpful describing what was done on a field trip to explain to incoming students, fellow staff members, and other teachers inquiring about the field trip location.  Not only can you post/view pictures but also video to describe what was going on.  That also can be done on describing pictures taken on lessons in the classroom.  As a future teacher, this chapter really opened my eyes to using visual media like Flickr to show my parents different aspects that they can't see on a daily basis.

BWP Chapter 6

Chapter 6 The Social Web: Learning Together showcases the new ways of communicating and sharing between people over the Internet.  After being prefaced in the chapters before about wikis and RSS feeds, the chapter starts off with ironically a combination of the two in Twitter.  Twitter is essentially a free RSS feed that people can get information about other people and their interests.  Before reading this chapter and discussing the topic I really had no use for Twitter over Facebook.  I would only use Twitter as a way to post assignments for my students and to keep parents updated on in class tasks.  Facebook started out with short ways to communicate much like dry-erase boards on doors in college dorms with ability to show pictures and I would not want to use that as a educational resource over Twitter which can use pictures but is more based on the limited 'microblogging' Twitter offers.  Another feature of this chapter was the topic of social bookmarking.  I really never thought anything like social bookmarking was around.  I was one of the people prior to using Delicious in class that if I didn't have the bookmark from my laptop to my disposal I would have to search and hope I found the right site.  I will more than likely retain my Delicious account after completing it for the assignment because it is way easier than to just transfer favorites from machine to machine as you toss out computers.