EDLD 5364: Week 2 Part 1

In the state of Texas, we teach according to a set of standards that our students are suppose to learn, Unfortunately, Texas hasn’t found a standard it doesn’t like. For example, in 7^th grade Science there are approximately 44 knowledge and skills standards to be taught within the school year. Of those 44, approximately 12 of the standards are tested on the STAAR test, I know that our first question to answer when planning a lesson is: What knowledge and skills do I want my students to have at the end of the lesson, but more frequently we ask ourselves: What do they need to know to pass the test? We spend a great deal of class time teaching standards that aren’t tested rather that teaching kids how to apply what they learn to real life.

            Students have a high motivation and interest when they are allowed to set learning goals and methods of assessment. I have found that students are generally harder on themselves and peers when grading projects and assignments. Classrooms are full of diversity whether it be culturally or academically. Using various methods of technology such as word processing applications, organizing and brainstorming software, data collection tools, web resources, and communication software can give all students the opportunity for success.

            When contemplating lesson planning and organization, Universal Design Learning (UDL) is a method that has become quite common. UDL applies built-in flexibility to curriculum and improves access to learning for all students. Multimedia tools can be used to create learning materials that are more flexible than textbooks. With the use of UDL, educators are able to make the information as well as learning accessible to all students. A successful learning environment supports and challenges students to recognize essential cues and patterns, master skillful strategies, and engage in learning while minimizing barriers. The UDL framework supports multiple, flexible methods of presentation, expression and apprenticeship, and for engagement. This structure allows students of varying degrees of academic and cultural diversity to succeed.

            Technology is becoming integrated into the classroom and curriculum as an increasing rate. I believe using the technology is fascinating and can really get the kids involved. I wonder though how students are to interact with technology assignments when they do not have access to the Internet at the home. How can I ask students to use a blog or wiki outside of school hours if they don’t have access? I have thought about trying to give them time during the class period to go to the library and use the computers, but by the time we finish our class discussions and activities, there isn’t any time left. I am literally teaching bell to bell. I have students that are more worried about having food, running water, electricity, and shelter rather than having Internet access to complete assignments.

EDLD 5364 Week 2 Web Conference

This weeks web conference was a bust. Dr. Boral was having trouble with the sound so all questions and responses had to be typed in the chat box. I felt so bad for Dr. Boral because she tried everything she could to get the sound to work. Web conferences where you have to read and following all the chat in the chat box is very difficult. I left the web conference and skyped with my group members to discuss and plan for the team project. I found this very useful since we had many questions for each other. We formulated a plan and assigned duties. Even though the class web conference didn't go well, I was still able to use the time wisely and meet with my team members.

EDLD 5364: Week 1 Part 1

Technology is changing the world. Competition is fierce and can come from anywhere in the world. People that see technology as a driving force in education are eager to learn and incorporate the technology into their daily lives. Bloggers communicate for a variety of reasons. Companies create web pages and wikis to track commodities and customer satisfactions. Education must change with the technology. As workplace skills become more technology based, educators must use current technology to engage and prepare the students for the future. Collaboration and communication must expand to better serve students and teachers. This will cause a transformation in student thinking and educator teaching methods. Students already use technology for communicating, playing video games, conducting internet searches, using the web for homework, and sharing music and video files. Teachers need to engage the students by using technology that is already being used outside of the school walls. Since students learn in a variety of ways, technology can be used as a powerful educator tool to introduce different teaching strategies.

Constructivism is a learning theory that states learning is a product of experience and social discourse. This theory allows learning to be a personal event for each individual. Knowledge is constructed in many ways and experience is used to create new learning experiences. According to this theory, teachers should provide learner-centered opportunities with plenty of chances for students to reflect on what has been learned.

Connectivism is another learning theory which states learning is a process of connecting information sources. Knowing more is more critical than knowing what is current. Making connections between ideas, concepts, and fields is a core skill. Learning and work related activities are connected while technology and making connections are linked.

Various technologies can enhance student learning, but only if used appropriately, Technologies can bring excitement to curriculum, connect real world problems, expand opportunities for learning, give opportunities for feedback, and build local and global communities. Children process information differently, and introducing and using a variety of technology resources can aid in the learning process. Technology is a tool to help students problem solve and create a better understanding of the world around us.

EDLD 5364 Week 1 Web Conference

I enjoy attending web conferences because it gives everyone the chance to ask questions and clarify problems. I find that sometimes it’s difficult to follow the conversations and questions since there is so much going on. Dr. Boral clarified documents that we need to complete and went over the assignment for this week. We have transitioned from Epic to Blackboard and everyone has run into major problems. Because the discussion board has been difficult to manage, Dr. Boral decided that we did not have to post our discussion responses and everyone would receive credit. Some of our IA’s changed due to the move to Blackboard. I have always had Creighton for the last 10 classes, but my new IA is Linda Marshall. I don’t know how I feel about this since Creighton is an awesome IA. This is my 11^th class and I wish they could have left things the way they were until I finish this and my next class. It’s difficult to learn a new system this late in the game. Anyway, we have a team assignment this class. I have a great team of ladies and we have worked on projects together before. Laura Dacus, Mary Thrasher, and Lauren Ramondetta are fantastic and I’m glad I get to work with them again. Our Google docs page has already been created and shared with the faculty, so we are off to a roaring start.

EDLD 5363: Week 3 Web Conference (November 29, 2011)

On Tuesday, November 29, 2011 I attended a very small web conference. There might have been 10 students in attendance. I don’t think this was a scheduled conference, but since there were connection problems the night before, Dr. Abernathy decided to squeeze this one in. I really like the web conferences with smaller attendance. There is more room for individualized questions and instruction. This is a lot like my classes. I find that if I have 24 students in a classroom, it is harder on instruction time and classroom management versus having 12 to 15 in a classroom.

Dr. Abernathy was still in New Orleans at a conference. She went back through an explained the assignment for weeks 3-5 and clarified questions. She stressed that we needed to be working collaboratively with all people in our groups. She also suggested using GoogleDocs with different colors to identify each person and their contributions. Since we did have a small group, we were able to ask and answer questions among ourselves. I like being able to help fellow classmates and actually knew the answers to some of the questions.

Unfortunately about 20 minutes into the conference, Dr. Abernathy had to take a phone call. During the phone call she lost her connection and never returned to the conference. The rest of us hung out for about 10 minutes talking and helping each other, but once we decided that Dr. Abernathy wasn’t going to be able to return, we decided as a class to end the session.

EDLD 5363: Week 2: Web conference

Week 2 web conference went a little better than week 1. Week 1 there were a lot of participants and it was difficult to keep up with all the conversations and questions. There were fewer participants this time so it was easier for me to keep up.  There still seems to be a bandwidth problem either on Dr. Abernathy’s end or mine. For at least half of the web conference, the audio was stuttering and breaking up. This makes it very difficult to understand and follow what is being said when I am only getting half of the information. Some others commented on the stuttering also, so I wonder if the problem is really with my Internet connection and bandwidth.

Dr. Abernathy clarified several questions concerning Week 1 and 2 assignments. I’m glad I am not the only one that didn’t understand all the instructions given in the homework assignment. Sometimes there is so much information given in the assignments that it becomes overwhelming. Also, I think the assignments sometimes assume that we already know how to use some of this technology when we really don’t know how. I am not the kind of person that can be given something and told, “Here go play with this and learn.” I am the kind of person that needs instructions to know what to do.

I am enjoying the web conferences more and I participate in them. I still can’t get my lighting right, so most of the time I do not use my cam. I also find that if I try to use my microphone, everything has a tendency to freeze. I guess I need to fork out the money and buy some better equipment.

EDLD 5363: Digital Story: A Girl and Her Daddy

I am now in EDLD 5363: Multimedia and Video Technology, which is my fifth class at Lamar University. For our week 1 assignment we had to create a digital story. This is another first for something I have never done. Basically after reading the weekly assignments, I figured out we were suppose to create a digital story using still photos to tell a story. How appropriately named: a digital story. Anyway, I began thinking about what kind of story I wanted to tell. Would it be funny, sad, romantic, or devastating? I thought about telling a story about old houses. If they could talk, what stories would they tell? I thought about my dad who passed away very unexpectedly a little over a year ago. Maybe I should tell a story in his honor for my family to remember him by. I knew that I would have to use pictures that I already possessed since I didn’t have time to go around taking pictures or searching for them on the Internet. I began looking through my files of pictures and realized I really began starting pictures about five years ago when my daughter was born. So from that point, I knew the story would be about my daughter. I quickly began uploading funny pictures to a file since my daughter has turned out to be quite the little comedian. When I was finished uploading, I realized my story was over ten minutes long. Whew!! I love my daughter. Since my story could only be two minutes, I realized I needed to cut out a lot, but deciding what to remove was harder than I imagined. When I began looking at the pictures, I started seeing something a lot of the photos had in common. There were pictures of my daughter and my husband. I thought about the special bond I had with my dad and soon realized there’s no greater relationship than the one that exists between a girl and her daddy. So all of a sudden I have a title for my story, “A Girl and Her Daddy.”

I used Photo Story 3, which was another first, to create my video. I worked for several hours deciding on photos and getting them in the right order. Then I decided instead of me narrating the story I would have my daughter do it. I think it adds a little extra sincerity. We went through the script one picture at a time and she loved it. She kept asking if we could do them over even though the narration sounded great. I think she liked having the headset with microphone on. In completing my story, I decided to add music. Once the project was complete, I had to upload it to a public free video hosting site. I have a little bit of a problem with this since it has private photos of my family, so I plan to either make it private or delete it once I am finished with my degree. I decided to use Teacher Tube. I set up my account but when I uploaded the video I kept receiving a message that said, “generic failure.” For 45 minutes I tried to upload my video and couldn’t get it to work. I got frustrated with Teacher Tube and decided to move on over to You Tube. I created an account on there and uploaded the digital story. This one work, but when I went back to search on the title and key words, I couldn’t find it. I included the URL on my homework assignment and when you click on the URL the video comes up. I don’t understand that one either.

Anyway, all in all I am pleased with the video. Even though it was more time consuming than I thought it would be I am proud of it. It might not be perfect, but my husband likes it and my daughter had a blast helping me make it. I have included the URL to YouTube for your enjoyment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh2lWKGJ2l4&feature=youtu.be