What have I learned this Quarter from Intro to technology in the classroom?

Before I took this TIE-300 class I never know how to use google Drive.  I didn’t know there was such an application to store your documents, photos, make a slide show and much more.  I don’t have to worry about purchasing a USB to save and store my documents and presentations.  I can access my files from anywhere.  

I’ve learned how to give a good presentation to an audience using powerpoint, showing a video from powerpoint and making eye contact.  I’ve really enjoyed learning about 3D printing and it was exciting for me to share with the class what I have learned on it and show them a video at the same time.  

Blogging was new to me.  I would have never considered blogging.  I recall seeing it in a movie and I thought about it for a few seconds but it went away.  I’ve learned blogging is journaling and sharing it to others around the world.  I also found out while blogging is that you can make money from it!  

Twitter was also new to me.  Again, something I would never have done without taking this class.  Twitter will definitely come in handy as a future educator.  I can take what people are sharing on twitter into the classroom.  Millions of people are on it and the resources on education is endless and very informational.  

I learned how to create a video and learning about Marissa Mayer.  Making a video is not as easy as it looks and it does take time to make it with voice, text, pictures and music.  I praise all of those producers out there.  I took for granted watching a video but now I appreciate all of those videos and movies out there.  

Thank you Mr. Cunningham to introducing me to what I mentioned here and many more I didn’t mentioned.  This course has been a great learning experience with technology.  It has pushed me to engage new technology out there and not be afraid of it.  Thank you! 

How does copyright law affect my use of technology in the classroom?

Educators have a responsibility and a legislative mandate to model ethical, legal, and appropriate respect for US copyright  law in their own teaching.  Educators must also educate the next generation about the importance and requirements of intellectual property law.  We as teachers of all levels have the responsibility and the legal obligation to model appropriate respect for copyright and educate students about how they can do the same.  

As technology grows and changes, I need to be aware of laws of copyright protection and how they apply to me.  The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) state that you cannot place copyright work on the internet where it can be shared in a google search.  DMCA which changed net copyright in many ways.  It puts all sorts of legal strength behind cipy-protection systems, making programs illegal and reducing the reality of fair use rights.  To read more on the DMCA please click on this link  on copyright.

An excellent place to start understanding the US copyright is to visit the US Copyright Office, online at www.copyright.gov. 

According to Wikipedia, the TEACH Act was signed into law educators and students were at a disadvantage with respect to the materials they were allowed to use and the way in which these documents were presented through the online learning environment.  

Teachers must remember a simple rule when it comes to the net - If you didn't write it, and you want to reproduce it ask the creator.

What is media literacy and it's importance

Media literacy is a 21st century approach to education.  

Media literacy as defined by the Wikipedia is an education that provides tools to help people critically analyze messages, offers opportunities for learners to broaden their experience of media, and helps them develop creative skills in making their own media messages.  This could be analyzing the meaning of a speech, poem, news article, television show, or even video games.    

Media literacy can empower students to interact positively with their peers and society.  Tools such as; get objective new, investigative reporting, solve problems and highlight issues for someone to take it up and can help high-risk youth develop more responsible decision making skills.  Students must develop the right tools with which to interact because media literacy can help promote positive attitudes toward learning and help provide an effective means of conveying ideas and information.  Media literacy will show students how to use the media as a tool for life-long learning.   Here is a list of an importance of media literacy on this link from Center of Media Literacy.       

New approaches are required when teaching media literacy.  It is important for teachers as for students to become aware of the media’s power and influence.  The effects of media literacy have proven positive in studies across various disciplines concerning various subjects.  It is incredibly important that we keep ourselves, our children, and our society media literate in order to counteract the possible negative influences media may have on us.  It is important to be media literate, much like it is important to be traditionally literate.  To read more on the importance of media literacy, Mark Hannah wrote a good article you make read.  

Web 2.0 tool

Web 2.0 is a term that is used to describe the 2nd generation of the web that focuses on collaboration and evolution of the internet.  Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, hosted services, web applications, mash-ups and folksonomies according to Wikipedia.

Web 2.0 describes the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and can also get collaboration among users. Web 2.0 technologies provide a level user interaction that was not available before.  Now websites have become more interconnected, creating a ‘community’, which is easier to share information on the Web.  A lot of the Web 2.0 features are offered as free services, such as Facebook and Wikipedia which people like, and have grown at amazingly fast rates.  Web 2.0 continue to grow, adding more features, changing and evolving.  

An example of a Web 2.0 for the classroom is VoiceThread.  VoiceThread is a group of conversations that are collected and shared in one place from anywhere in the world.  This this not require a software to be installed!  VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate pages and leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video.  Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.  Users can doodle while commenting, use multiple identities, and pick which comments are shown through moderation.  

Click on this link to watch a video on VoiceThread VoiceThread Video 

What is the meaning of technology "affordances" and "constraints" in terms of education

What is the definition of affordance?

Affordance are properties of technology that facilitate activity and create “possibilities for agentic action” (Hutchby, 2001, p. 444).  The affordance is there, it has always been there, but it needs to be perceived to be realized.  A subsidiary idea is that affordances provide both opportunity and constraints.  The concept of technology educational affordances refers to the properties and the potential of technology that enable the educational interaction between teachers and students needed to carry out their educational plans.  Technology educational affordances are by nature dynamic and therefore should be identified and analyzed in the development of each educational situation.  To read more on a research that took place with the analysis you may follow this link. for a study that took place.  

In the figure above the affordances are push-able, flip-able, and rotate-able. The objects in the environment are buttons, switches and knobs. The action of pushing are for buttons rather than knobs, the constraint on buttons allows it only to be pushed, rotating it will not turn on the light bulb. The light from the bulb is considered feedback which tells us whether our action is successful or not. In the case of the switch and the knob, it tells us which way is on and off. Up or down for the switch, clockwise and counter clockwise for the knob. 

What is the definition of constraints?

Constraints are things that the design of the particular object MUST have and they must be included in the final design.  By creating a list of constraints, it can be used to determine which one will be a developed.  To get teachers to a point of constraints, it’s important to begin on  a common ground.  This article can help you get a better understanding and plenty of examples.  

Constraints limit the affordances and the properties of action associated with them.  To learn more about the students who wrote the contents on affordances and constraints you may follow this link.

Flipped classrooms in your teaching

How would I use the concept of flipped classrooms in my teaching?

     One might ask what is a flipped classroom.  A flipped classroom according to the article I read assigned by my professor, is the term used to describe almost any class structure that provides prerecorded lectures followed by in-class exercises.  

I can use the concept of the flipped classroom in my teaching by recording a short video lecture for my students to view before the next class session.  By the students watching the video at their own pace they can come to class with any questions or comments and move right along to projects or any hands on activities.  I can create my own video or chose one from other online resources. This is also useful for those students who were absent and they can watch the teachers video podcasts.  So now there isn’t any excuse for missing any information.  To see a visual concept of the flipped classroom concept please refer to this online referencehttp://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/.

An example of this kind of flipped classroom model I would be the implementing in my classroom is the website Khan Academy, with a real-world classroom results and over 235 million online lessons viewed.  This is just one component of many more ideas for a revamped approach to education.  

I feel this flipped classroom approach is a great tool to enhance students for the 21st century learning community.  Students are able to interact online and become comfortable in online platforms at an early age.  Flipped classrooms also gives the students the opportunity to become exposed to this method and get them used to online courses in the future.  

What are some important best practices for technology in the classroom

After reading the article Best Practices in Education Technology best practices I have learned that more learners are readily to adapt technology into their learning.  One of the important best practices for technology in the classroom is the relationships among teachers, students and parents.  Teachers need to know that there are alternatives to teaching by expanding their resources, options, and support.  With the use of the leading-edge technology in the classroom, educators can get the most accurate picture of students’ capacities and must also carefully consider the materials and tools available to them in the classroom.  Parents can get involved by promoting the technology in the classroom by becoming advocates for their children.  Involved parents can initiate other parents and teachers into the new technology trend, creating a powerful boost for change in their children's school. 

     Some students like to explore ideas and create their own individual approaches.  Others would be paralyzed by that degree of freedom.  By offering students a selection of materials from which to choose, each with varying degrees of learning, teachers can offer all students an appropriate learning context.  As mentioned in a article, the motivation and self esteem that is used with technology in the classroom among students is really changing students.  The students are becoming more successful.  The classrooms that use technology are giving way to new visions and possibilities for flexible learning tools and methods.  

Students; affective differences demand that teachers apply this flexibility to vary challenge, media, content, rewards, and learning context as teachers individualize each students’ instruction.  Technology in the classroom also gives students responsibility and independence with their studies.  Read the following article how Apple devices changed a classroom in a private school.