EDLD 5364 Week One Reflection

For Week One in EDLD 5364, we had several readings and videos to learn from.  I enjoyed our readings, but I always find it interesting that these articles covering “new and innovative” ideas are anywhere from four to ten years old.  I was once reading an article that I thought was fantastic and couldn’t wait to try at school. After reading the article, I discovered that it was written while I was in high school.  My teachers should have been using these “new” techniques.  I should have had the opportunity to experience these theories as a student.  With that being said, I think we have to start pushing our teachers and making them try new ways to engage student learning.  We must incorporate technology whenever possible.  “Technical literacy should not be taught as an isolated subject, nor should activities with technology be isolated from other activities in the classroom.”    (Sprague & Dede, 1999)  Students today are digital natives and we need to immerse them in technology instead of having them “power down” when they enter the classroom.   Far too many times technology activities are given out separately as afterthought or time filler.  Technology should be seamlessly integrated into our daily lessons. 

The videos left me somewhat confused on the Constructivism and Connectivism Theories and after watching the Cyborg Learning Theory I felt like I was in the future.  In the cyborg video, Warwirk refers to being able to download information into our brains in the future, instead of reading or going to school.  I find this interesting, but I also worry about the lack of human interaction.  Many of his ideas and work with the nervous system bring about fears of having others control our bodies and minds.  The Constructivism and Connectivism Theories seemed like what we should already be doing in our classrooms.  Allowing students to explore, connect with others and reach their own conclusions.  As stated earlier, I enjoyed this week but I feel like this information should have been presented to educators years ago.

 References:

 Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, Am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning, 27(1). Retrieved from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf

Warwirk, K. (nd). Cyborg Life [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_l7SY_ngI

EDLD 5366 Week 5 Reflection

“Critical reflection is an important part of any learning process.  Without reflection, learning becomes only an activity-like viewing a reality TV show-which was never meant to have meaning, but was only meant to occupy time.” (Gerstein, 2011)  This course made us take time to critically reflect.  We had to process how our peers viewed our personality and work ethic, along with how we viewed ourselves.  We also had an entire week to reflect on the previous four weeks’ work to determine the impact it will have on our students and ourselves.  I feel that all the readings and assignments have solidified my current beliefs and teachings.  I also learned that “ having a strong authentic personal brand is an important asset in today’s online, virtual, and individual age.” (Goldsmith, 2007) I enjoyed creating a personal logo and working on a group website with my peers, each assignment gave us an opportunity to explore and create. 

As a life-long learner, I am trying to improve on my study habits.  During the summer I have tended to let my life take control and put school on the backburner.  I have spent countless, late nights reading and watching YouTube videos to complete the assignments.  As the new school year approaches, I must get back into my old routine and put school first. (at least some nights)  I feel that my performance on the assignments has been mediocre to good.  I would love to give more time and energy to the assignments, but sometimes a week is just not enough time.  I feel like I have to sacrifice family time in order to complete the tasks.  The greatest learning and interaction with peers has been through our Facebook page.  I feel people post on the discussion board because it is required and do not always give their true opinion.  Our Facebook page allows us to communicate and collaborate because we choose to, not because it is required in an assignment.

“Today’s K-12 students are very different from even their recently graduated peers.  Theses students are digital natives, a term attributed to futurist Marc Prensky to distinguish between those who have grown up with technology and those who have adapted to it.  They live in a world in which digital technology is part of the texture of their daily lives.  They have never known a world without technology.  Technology is their daily lives.  Technology is their- native language and they expect to use technology in school.” (Understanding Multimedia, 2008) My goal in this entire process is to become a digital native.  I plan on using the skills learned to help students reach their goals and share with fellow teachers different ways to reach our students.  One great way is to allow students to explore and create through a class website.  For elementary and middle school grades, a class could have a page for every subject.  Students could be split into groups and be responsible for posting content and projects relating to their subject.  This would be a great way for students to practice using technology, digital citizenship and it would also help with parent and community communication.

References

 Gerstein, Jackie. (August 2011).  Where is reflection in the learning process? Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/ -

Goldsmith, M. (August 2007). Authentic personal branding. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca20090929_228578.htm 

Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating Multimedia in the K-12 Classroom. (2008, September). Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/new_common_images/files/76/76426_BrainPOP_White_Paper-20090426.pdf 

EDLD 5366 Group Website

Click Here to access our website.  I greatly enjoyed working with my group members: Becky Brandon, Joseph Cantu, James Coates, and Scott January.  We work well together, provide constructive criticism and everyone does their part to get the job done.  Great week!

EDLD 5366 Animation

EDLD 5366 Personal Logo

My design seems extremely simple, but in a way so am I.  I feel that even though my design may not reflect the amount of knowledge I have learned; I have truly learned a great deal from this assignment.  I researched and played with several photo editing software programs.  I finally chose pixlr.com.  This website is free and extremely easy to use.  I kept my original idea of using a light bulb to represent the ideas that I help teachers come up with.  I originally planned to use blue text in my logo to represent loyalty.  When working on the logo, I thought the blue looked cheesy (for lack of a better word).  I decided to stick with plain, black font color.  I feel the color of the font ties it into the image and creates a cohesive look to the logo.  I am pleased with my logo.  It is simple and understated like me. 

EDLD 5363 Group Project

Below is the link to our group project over comparing fractions. I was extremely fortunate to have such an amazing group. Thank you Becky Brandon, Joseph Cantu, James Coates and Scott January!
 

Signore Fractioneri vs the Denominator Pizza Pie

EDLD 5363 Web Conference Reflections

Week 1-June 4, 2013 @ 7:00 pm: I missed the Week 1 web conference due to Mom and Me swim lessons with my son. I came home and immediately began watching the recording. To my surprise, everyone instantly started forming groups. I was in an absolute panic. I went to our Facebook group and pleaded for anyone to accept me into his or her already formed group. As I posted in Facebook, James Coates was asking for the same help from a group. Joseph Cantu came to the rescue and invited James and I to join his group with Becky Brandon and Scott January. I was immediately relieved. The web conference set the expectations for the course and gave a good overview of things to come.

 Week 4-June 29, 2013 @ 10:00 am: I was unable to attend this web conference as well. I am extremely grateful that Dr. Abernathy records the conferences. Dr. Abernathy confirmed that nothing is due in Week 4 , but we needed to make sure we are writing in our Google doc each week. She also clarified that no reflections, or discussions are required this week. We need to put the link to our final Google site with our video in the Week 4 Discussion. Dr. Abernathy spent the remainder of the conference clarifying the same type questions. Watching the conference made me feel like I was on the right track for the final week ahead.