Journal Question #5

Question: 3-2-1 (3 things you want to try with your students, 2 things you want to investigate to share with a colleague, 1 thing you want to incorporate for your professional growth)

I would like to try using Glogster with my students to create engaging presentations.
I want to use Wordle as way to help students with math vocabulary.
I want to use a blog as a discussion board for students to ask and answer questions.

I will definitely share Glogster with my colleagues because I feel that it can be used in may different subjects with success.
I will share the sites polleverywhere.com and the create-a-graph site on the NCES Kids' Zone with my math colleagues because they could be useful applications in our classes.

I want to incorporate more interactive technology into my lessons. I have always been able to use technology myself when delivering the lesson but I have struggled to develop a way for students to interact with the technology. This is one of my goals for the next school year.

Journal Question #4

After reading the case study "Digital Storytelling: A Shareable Media in Education," I think that digital storytelling is a great way to encourage students to write and express themselves. For me, when it came to writing I was much more like Laura than Glenna. I never enjoyed any form of writing because it always became such an arduous task. I never liked to just throw my thoughts down on paper and revise later; I would agonize over every word and sentence until it was perfect then move on to the next thought. This created an extremely stressful atmosphere which undoubtedly contributed to my dislike of writing. Another of my problems with writing assignments for school was finding the purpose in the task. Whether it was a book report for middle school English class or a paper on symbolism in a certain text for my college writing class, I struggled to see the point of dissecting all of the subtleties of another person's work. I believed (and still do to this day) that I am wired as a more logical and mathematical thinker and the ambiguity of interpreting another's thoughts seemed unnecessary.

However, with digital storytelling this process can be simplified and more engaging. Just the idea of combining visuals with the text promotes a greater connection to the story for both the author and the reader. With the ease and accessibilty of technology for students, digital storytelling provides the perfect canvas for exploring new ways to share experiences. I really like how Mr. Smith asked the students to post their digital stories to YouTube and comment on fellow classmates'. This provides a safe atmosphere for students to express themselves without feeling like they are bing put on the spot to read or present in front of the class. I would think that this would generate more open and honest results from the students, which would make a better overall product in the end. In addition, putting the digital stories on YouTube gives them a global audience. I'm sure that students around the world could relate to some of the stories shared by the students in Mr. Smith's class. I think that digital storytelling is an excellent way to connect the traditional elements of storytelling to the technology-savvy students of today. There are a multitude of possibilities out there; it is up to us as teachers to put them to good use.

Journal Question #3

Question: Cell phone use is increasing, though it is still repressed more than accepted as an educaitonal tool in U.S. high schools. Think about how the dynamic interaction between you and your students would change if you can say, "Please put away your cell phones, we are not ready to use them yet" instead of, "Put away your cell phones, you know they are not allowed during class time"? Discuss your viewpoint of cell phones in the classroom.

I think it would be tough for me to accept the use of cell phones in the classroom. First, students are prohibited from having cell phones on them during the school day so the use of them in my class would violate a school policy. This undermines the rule for all teachers, which could lead to problems. Second, I know that majority of students have cell phones but I know that there are students here and there that do not have them. I would not want to make them feel excluded by asking students to use them during class. Also, how could a teacher possibly monitor the use of all of the students simultaneously? How does a teacher know that a student isn't texting another student while also completing the task assigned by the teacher? I think the use of cell phones in the classroom opens up too many possibilities for problems and these outweigh the benefits.

Journal Question #2

Question: After reading the article "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," start to blog about your thoughts in terms of the "Digital Generation Gap." What are the primary challenges facing instructors of digital natives?

Link: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

I agree wholeheartedly with the ideas presented in this article. There is a definite gap between students' technological abilities and the teachers' knowledge and willingness to use technology. Being a younger teacher, I feel more connected to the technology used by my students but I know that there are still many things that I can learn from them about these new tools.

Prensky brings up some great points that every teacher needs to consider. The so-called "digital natives" will not go backwards so teachers must make every effort to adapt to the new tools and learning styles of the students. Forcing the students to conform to outdated norms and methods of running a classroom lead to disinterested and unmotivated students. I try to use technology in the classroom as often as possible but I know that up to this point, I have not done all that I can do. Just in the past week I have learned about many new tools that I know my students will enjoy using both in and out of the classroom.

One of my hurdles in teaching the "digital natives" is the access to computers on a regular basis. I do not have computers for each student and the limited computer labs are often snatched up well in advance by English teachers from all three grades in my school. I would be great to assume that every student has access to a computer outside school on a regular basis but I cannot guarantee that. I think the way to get around this is to allow for an extended period of time to complete assignments that involve a technology component. This would allow students without a computer at home to make plans to either stay after school to use the computer or go to a friend's house.

I think another challenge facing the "digital immigrants" is the speed at which change occurs. There are so many new tools and applications popping up every day that it's hard for educators to stay ahead of the curve. From Twitter to Glogster, students have so many ways to communicate their ideas and feelings that for teachers to become well versed in all of these seems like a daunting task. I think educators should focus on one or two of these tools and try to integrate these into their lessons. From experience, I know that students will respond positively to these attempts to use technology.

Journal Question #1

Article: "Teaching Zach to Think"

Link: http://kathyschrock.net/planting2/pdf/group5.pdf

Question: At what age/grade level do you think students should be encouraged to "search independently" by using search engines such as Google or Yahoo and not using links that have been bookmarked by a teacher ?

I feel that students should be able to search independently on the Internet by middle school, starting with sixth grade. I know that many students by that point have been using the computer for five or more years but I think that at this age they can be taught how to conduct meaningful searches using legitimate sources. Obviously, I don't advocate students wildly searching without the proper training on how to search effectively. Teachers should be responsible for showing students how to differentiate between fact-based scholarly websites and personal websites that may or may not be accurate.

The eighth grade students in my school have a interdisciplinary research project conducted in both history and English class. This is a great opportunity to show students the proper procedures for Internet research. The students were instructed not to use Wikipedia and had to use at least 5 different web sources. Students were responsible for checking the validity of their information by cross-checking it with other sources such as encyclopedias or other library books.

At middle school age, students are bombarded by information from a multitude of sources on the Internet. They need to be able to weed through good and bad sources in order to make informed decisions. Teachers can help students several ways. First, students should be instructed to avoid any websites with the word "users" or the "~" sign in the address. Students should also know that any site with a ".gov" or ".edu" ending can be safely accessed and trusted. Lastly, make sure that the author or authors of the website have credentials to back up their writing. Informing students of these tips can greatly increase their ability to effectively navigate the Internet.

Web 2.0 Evaluation

1. The name and URL of the Web 2.0 tool you are evaluating.

I am evaluating the Web 2.0 tool called SimplyBox.

2. What can the Web 2.0 tool can do ?

SimplyBox is designed to capture, organize, and share content from the Internet. After downloading the SimplyBox toolbar, you can go to any website and capture text, images, videos, etc. and save them in your "box", which functions as a digital workspace to organize and share this content. The "box" can be shared with as many people as you want, from a couple of friends to the entire public. Other people can also write comments on the items in your "box". SimplyBox can also be linked to a Twitter account so that a new tweet will be generated whenever the you add new content to the "box".

3. What do you think it could be used for in the classroom ?

I feel this Web 2.0 tool has many uses in the classroom. It can be used to help students collaborate on group research projects. A group can make a "box" for their topic and students can individually compile information, images, or videos about the topic. Once entered in the "box", group members can comment on the additions and the teacher can also comment on any of the appropriateness and relevance of the content to the group's topic. The teacher can also use SimplyBox to share content with students and allow them to comment on it. For example, I could make a "box" with online applications of proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. Students could then comment on which one they preferred and even add additional resources they have found like real-world applications.

4. What you like about the tool?

I like that the tool is very user friendly. There are several videos to teach new users the ins and outs of the tool and once you get started, it's nothing more than clicking and dragging content to your "box". I love the tool's sharing capabilities, especially the ability to comment and add to other people's "boxes".

5. What could be improved about the tool?

My only reservation about SimplyBox is that you need to download the toolbar in order to use it. While this is not a problem for a home computer, most schools do not give students access to download and install programs on the school computers. I assume this would have to be done at the computer administrator level. As a teacher, I would also want to make sure that students do not make their "boxes" public, thus inviting anyone from anywhere to view and comment. I would like to see if SimplyBox could develop a version for educators where teachers can create student accounts and limit sharing and commenting to just members from the class and the teacher.

6. Would you recommend it ?

I would definitely recommend this tool. I think it is very easy to use and can be extremely helpful when collaborating on an idea or project.

7. How many stars would you give it out of 5 ?

I woould give this tool 5 stars.

All About Me

My name is Dan Bennett and this is my first post on my EDU598 Technology blog. This is my sixth class in the West Chester cohort of Neumann University's masters program in Instructional Leadership.

I am an 8th grade math teacher at Colonial Middle School.