Blog 10

When reviewing the blog of one of my classmates one thing struck me, she said that technology is not only integrated into the classroom but into everyday life. Now that technology has grown and advanced so much, everything that we do is now on-line. Communicating is done through e-mail and instant messenger, now there is even video chat where you can see the person you are talking to through a camera on the computer. People pay their bills on-line, fill out job applications, even attend classes. Much of everything you could ever want to know or see is on the web. New tracking sites help you keep healthy, they also help you track your spending, how much money you make. You can tithe through church web-sites, even attend church services virtually. This is a world of amazing new opportunities and I want to learn how I can utilize these amazing tools and how to teach others to do the same.

The most important skill for me to learn would be how to edit videos. I think that for my lectures this would be a beneficial skill. I would like to learn how to present information through video and make videos myself so they are personal and relative. This is also a skill that is personally beneficial to me because I would love to learn how to make videos. I am passionate about documentaries and all media that makes you think. I also want to learn how to mix and make music on the computer.

In order to achieve my technological goals I would like to take media related classes at the university. I have friends who attend the film school here at FSU and they know some classes which they recommend I take in order to learn how to edit and film correctly. These classes also teach you how to use the technology and what things you will need to achieve the production value you are looking for.

Using Film to Teach: Blog 9

As a future Secondary English Education teacher, my goals are:
-to make English a fun and meaningful experience
-teach students how to confidently put their thoughts on paper in an artistic form.
-to use film perspective to teach story writing in the classroom.
I think that showing students how to organize thoughts and show emotion without mundane telling you need to visualize it. This is why I hope to teach students about perspective, imagery, mood, tone, etc. through media. I plan on integrating technology a lot within my lectures, group projects, and field trips.

In order to achieve the goals listed above I will need to incorporate using media related topics into the English department. I will use the following site in order to inform the education board about my ideas and give them a layout of how it is relative and important to the subject matter http://www.tii.se/reform/inthemaking/files/p106.pdf. Along with a proposal written by me and this site on media productions I will need to inform them of the media tools I will be using in the classroom. The man tool would be ivideo. All of the related software I would need to create a relative lecture through media would be available through Apple software. Other editing tools might also be required.

I think that technology has come a long way in the classroom but I think there is still more we can do. The culture of today relates and responds greatly to visual instruction and information. If all teachers could come up with a software that is both an editing tool and a recording tool for lectures classes would be much more interesting. In the future I will definitely be researching tools that allow for video in the classroom.

Chapter 8

Computers hold valuable information important to the user. “Computer security risks are any event or action that can cause a loss of or damage to computer equipment, software, data, and information, or processing capability in the computer.” A virus is “designed to destroy or corrupt data” by altering the way they work. Viruses are common so it’s necessary that precautions be made against them. One such precaution is antivirus programs which are designed to “detect, disinfect, and protect computers and networks from viruses.” The most common way for a virus to be spread is by inserting an infected storage media or by infecting an infected file, many things found on the Internet are infected, sometimes from e-mail. If you download or purchase anti-virus software it can keep your computer safe and alert you of any problems. These programs are “designed to detect, disinfect, and protect computers and networks from viruses.” Most anti-virus programs can also repair the infected files.

It is possible to find almost anything on the Internet including damaging material. It is important to be able to limit the amount of objectionable material children can view on the Internet. Since their may not always be an adult present “Filtering software programs prevent browsers from displaying materials from targeted sited or materials that contain certain keywords or phrases.” In an educational facility where having computers present is more needed and expected there also needs to be the use of filtering programs so children stick to the educational use of computers. I know first hand from volunteering with certain programs that kids will abuse computers if left unattended or unfiltered. It's hard to devote your time to a child who needs help if you are worried that the kids on the computer are looking at harmful material. I'm glad there are programs able to filter out unacceptable material and block what the educator chooses to ban.

Since last week I have learned more about power point and the creative things you can do with it. I would definitely choose this as a method to help teach a lecture to my class. I love to have visual aids in order to keep attention and to help outline notes for my students. It shows what I think is most important in the lecture and what the focus will be. I'm looking forward to seeing the other power point presentations.

Chapter 7

This chapter is about how to evaluate educational technology. The evaluation of student software involves analyzing if it is appropriate when used to enhance the learning process. If technology isn’t helping students to achieve a better understanding of the material it’s not doing the job. You should always compare your students understanding of the subject matter before using the program and after use performance should improve. The program must also be motivational. If the student has no interest in how the information is presented, they won’t want to learn and will only perform to “get by,” not to learn. Lastly the technology should address the curriculum and learning objectives. Even if the technology works, if it doesn’t address the subject matter it shouldn’t be used in the classroom. Outside information, with no connection to what is taught in class will confuse the student and take away from what the teacher is teaching.

Since last week I have been reinforced in my belief that computers are unreliable. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate the value of computers. My best friend lives in London, England and the only way to talk to her is on-line. I also love photography and the computer effects are amazing. I love the fast info, immediate and cheap advertising, and the worldwide individual expression….. However, the ease downgrades work done by hand, and the unreliability makes me nervous. Though I love to type my work because of the speed and immediate perfect legibility I hate it when my work is deleted and lost. I always print copies because computers make me nervous. I have always had trouble with work getting lost or files erasing, or my entire computer deciding to break one day. In the last class I realized even though computers can be great for learning they can also be frustrating for the teacher if something doesn’t work. I think I am more skeptical of computer use. I would definitely categorize myself as someone who would seldom use computers in the classroom, aside from brief visual presentations.

One thing I would like to do for my class is to use movies. I think that movies can teach a lot in a short amount of time. I also think they reach a different type of learner and help to capture the attention of all students. Another visual aid that would be helpful is power point. This would help students learn how to visually organize notes they take in class, and keep them focused during a lecture.

Chapter 6

“Curriculum is defined as the knowledge skills, and performance standards students are expected to acquire in different grade levels, or through sequences or clusters based on subject matter units of instruction, such as language arts, mathematics, science, English, history, physical education, and others.” Every state and sometimes every different school have their own curriculum, which is defined by teachers and the Educational Department. The State Department of Education provides schools with “curriculum guidelines for the schools to follow, and to keep on track. Technology can help reach the curriculum standards by improving the speed at which kids learn and understand the material. Technology should be made accessible to teachers and students so they can use curriculum based programs to learn the material. A lot of these programs build on what the teacher teaches. The key to technology integration is realizing what you want to accomplish in your curriculum, then you will be able to integrate the proper technology to compliment your lesson.

Last week I realized the benefits of technology and its many uses. However I also recognized the fact that technology can’t replace the “one on one” quality attention you receive from a teacher. Students must learn how to interact in a social setting with other students which can not be done with technology. In class I learned how to make a table on word. I also learned how to formulate a rubric in order to help students evaluate websites. My rubric was designed to help students who were doing research and didn’t know how to tell if something was a scholarly article or just a mediocre response someone posted on-line. I learned how to shade my table to make it easier to read. I also added bullets, underlines, and borders as well. This should be very helpful in the future when I have to formulate “real” rubrics for students to use.

This week I enjoyed the warm air and sunshine. It’s been busy since midterms are this week, but hopefully everything will go well. On Wednesday Blue Man Group is coming so if you don’t already have tickets you should try and get them. My sister saw them perform in New York and she thought they were amazing. I have the sound track, it’s awesome.

Chapter 5

“Today, digital media and multimedia play an increasingly important role in education, business, and entertainment (Gunter, 277).” Multimedia is simply, more than one type of media such as text, video and audio. Digital media is a more advanced form of media enabling the user to create and interact with information. This media is ideal for communication use, and for the ability to explore links which transfer the user to more information. Students can use this media to interact with parts of the world otherwise off limits to them. Students can view the Mona Lisa in the Louve. They can explore other countries and national treasures through digital technology. Educational programs that use this technology enable students to learn and explore new information of their own, at their own pace. Digital media applications are designed to challenge students, make them engage in the material, and teach them to think critically. This technology is used frequently by teachers in order to deliver lessons. Entire classes can be completed via digital media, and computer-based training is used to educate people in different skills.

Though this new technology is a welcome commodity that has proven very useful and enlightening, it can also be a hindrance. Since advanced technology exists today which can help people explore and learn, people seem to think teachers and life experience are less important. Even though you are able to find programs that will teach you skills and help you learn, the interaction and close attention you receive with a teacher cannot be matched. Computer-based training can teach you what you need to learn for job skills but only an instructor can relay personal advice, encouragement, and relative experiences. In the end simulations and models don’t compare with real life interaction, and hopefully will never replace it.

Since last weeks class I learned how to better use the SAM program. I also was playing around with my digital camera this weekend after I decided to take some pictures. I learned how to download the pictures to a Google program called “Picassa.” This program edits pictures. You can do so many cool things to your photos artistically. It’s a free download from the Google home-page. Everyone should try it out to see if you like it! :)

Chapter Four

Last week in class I learned how to use the program “Inspiration.” This program enables you to insert information into a chart. The program comes with pictures and other graphics to assist in the creation of the visual aid. This tool can be used to display information to students in a way that bonds it together as a whole.

Computers are important to education, so it is important that educators choose a machine containing the necessary tools for educating. Proper input devices are needed to enter “data, programs, commands, and user responses into a computer.” Input devices include the keyboard which is used to type documents and enter data into the computer. It also includes the mouse which is used to make “selections on the screen.” Different clicks and points can tell the computer to perform different actions. However there are different ways to select information on the computer, one is using a touch screen, where you can select data using your fingers. A touch pad, track ball, joystick and wheel, are all other equally sufficient alternatives to a mouse. Aside from the normal forms of input discussed above there are “digital cameras, audio and video input, all valuable tools for a future educator.

When the computer processes the input data into information you can see it’s now called output. There are many different types of output useful in a classroom setting. There are four main types of output which is text, graphics, audio, and video. Texts are the characters derived from the keyboard, used to create documents by formatting words and sentences. Graphics present “non-text images,” which can be pictures, charts and diagrams. Audio is also supported by most computers. Any “music, speech, or any other type of sound,” is classified as audio output. Computers can turn any sound into an analog and then to enable storage, save the information in a digital format. Video consists of photographic images that play all together in real time, which produces a moving image. Basically “any computer component capable of conveying information to a user” is an output device.

I saw that a lot of people enjoyed using the internet to play on-line games, and view videos. I discovered recently that bands and other groups have started going live on the internet using video games. The people choose a player on the game and you view "live" what they are doing. One on my favorite local artists SarahMac, used this to air her new album. It's really cool and everyone should check it out.