EDT 5410: Final Project

Target Audience

Students who are interested in continuing their education into the college level are the focus of this assignment. I would suggest any student as young as 10th grade. Any younger than that and it may be too soon to figure out what they would like to do as a career.

Context

This is for a school. It will help students to realize what is needed and expected at the higher education level. Along with that it will inform them of what they need to do and help them to make a decision on what they would like to do for a living.

Learning Objectives

By completing this lesson the students will know the following:
· Steps needed to complete to be able to attend a college/university
· Costs of completing this education
o The different types of loans and which are best and how to get them
o Scholarship Possibilities
o Grants – who qualifies and how it works
o Work-study – what it is, who qualifies, and how it works
· What field they would like to pursue as their career choice

Description of Lesson/Intervention

Students would be required to complete the following:
· Google Map - with at least 3 possible colleges - Within the map you would put the following information

§ Cost of Attendance

§ Possible Degree Choices

§ Scholarships Available
· Blog - Communicate with other student via their blog on this project for ideas

· Google Web Pages – Create a website that has useful links on it such as the FAFSA website, different scholarship websites, help with college websites, etc.

· Google Documents – Choose their top pick for college and write a brief timeline on what they need to do to be able to attend school, what to do for financial assistance, and the degree chosen.

Artifact

The students will be required to make each of the following themselves.

Google Map - http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=48.019324,-89.516602&spn=12.200328,27.070312&z=5&msid=108328551722908940835.00045057ed22c80e4cc7b

Blog – http://collegepreparationproject.blogspot.com/

Google Web Pages – http://hayesmeli.googlepages.com/collegepreparation

Google Documents - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ds9284b_3d8r8h6dx

Justification

My justification for each of the online tools is listed below.

§ Google Map – To be able to see a live map of each of the different colleges and have hyperlinks to various information about each is much better then just a paper map which shows you where about the college is within the state. You can zoom in also with a google map, get directions to and from, look at other sites nearby, etc.

§ Blog – To be able to share and discuss different ideas with your current students through a blog is quicker and more direct than having to say email or call on the phone. This way you can check everything out at times that are convenient for you.

§ Google Web Pages - By having interactive web pages all in one location it is much easier for other students to locate helpful information then having to go and do the searches themselves either on the Internet or in the library.

§ Google Documents - While Word is just as good as google documents, google documents is easier to publish to the web. Students will have a much easier time posting their docs out on the web for all their classmates to see by using Google.

EDT 5410: Week Seven Reflection

What was your favorite activity of the semester and why?

I really enjoyed checking out all the different websites this week. I was not aware o fany of these. The picnik website was simply awesome to me! I can not wait to edit all my pics on this website for free! Adobe photoshop is so expensive and sure it does more than this but this website does alot of what photoshop does and for free...did I say free!

EDT 5410: Week Seven Reflection (R/D13)

What most made you say (or think) "that's so neat!" Why?

Cybernetics!

The microchip in the arm is just amazing. How awesome would it be to never open a door, cook dinerr, clean the house, wash dishes or clothes, to have a robot to do it and a chip in your arm to schedule it. Or better yet to never drive a car...kinda like night rider! I hope some day I can afford one!!!

EDT 5410: Week Seven Reflection (R/D12)

Describe two tangible take-aways that you think you could apply in your work.

When I train different individuals on different software the visual aids of static images should be more effective. For example, when teaching a new employee how to award a student, if I were to show screen print outs of each of the different screens and steps that are in need of being changed and arrows showing what buttons are to be clicked on and when, that would be more effective than just text.

I think I could incorporate simulations into my current job in regards to our Return of Title IV software. This software takes various calculations into play and some of it is done manually. By having a simulation it may help our people figure out the complex calculations easier, not to mention to explain to the student how the calculation works. This could be used in the classroom also. Say for instance in a drivers training class. Before the students go out and drive if we had a car simulation program (similar to flight simulation) they could practice on and they could practice all sorts of things like parking, stopping, turning, and even different situations that may arise like wet roads, accidents, or icy roads.

EDT 5410: Week Seven Activity

Review at least two online applications.

Google Documents:

A wonderful product. It allows for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can upload from a variety of different software including the Office Suite of products. It is really neat that you can publish your work as a web page or post it to your blog directly and with ease. I would recommend using this product only if say the person didn't have Office and that is what everyone else was using. If Microsoft Office is available then you might as well just use that. Unless, of course you were going to post it to a blog and then you could save a few steps by using google documents.

Ajax:

I went out to the website and the first thing it wanted to do was to load a plug-in. I am not a huge fan of loading plug-ins to my computer so I was disappointed right away. I then continued to read and it suggested that the software works better with Firefox. Well, I am a Microsoft supporter so I don't use other software such as Firefox or Mozilla. Not that the software is bad but the average user isn't going to want to have to load the plug in and Firefox. So, no I wouldn't recommend it just due to the fact that you have to load different software.

Zoho:

Very similar to Google Documents. It has all of those abilities and then some. It has invoice software, online note taker, organizer, and chat just to name a few. It is very easy to share with others, you can publish directly to a blog, see the history, sign digitally and nothing is required to install. I would recommend this tool to be used because of all the different tools that it has to offer I think is is one up on Google Documents and that is why I am recommending this over it.

Picnik:

I am in love with this website! I am so excited to go out and put my pictures on it and edit them and play with the different tools. I loved how you have all different kinds of options to change your pictures for example, black and white, sepia, soften or matte. You can print just about anything from this site from pics to mugs to key chains to clothing and then some! It is easy to open up your pics from other websites such as facebook, photobucket, picasa and more. The auto fix button was the coolest. One click and my picture was so much more vibrant! I love it and would recommend it. It would be neat for a yearbook class or even a fundraiser.

EDT 5410: Week Six Screencasting

Lesson: Preparing Seniors for Applying for Financial Aid For College

Set of Screencasts: Free Application for Federal Student Aid Tutorial
Scholarship websites and how to apply
FAQ on Financial Aid

Audience: Seniors and their Parents/Guardians

Screencast: Free Application for Federal Student Aid Tutorial

Description: This would first talk about exactly what the FAFSA is. It would then take you out to the website fafsa.ed.gov and it would do the following:

• Walk the student through the process of applying for a PIN for both the student and the parent.
• It would tell them what information is needed to fill out the FAFSA.
• Demonstrate an example of filling out a FAFSA

Screencast: Scholarship website

Description: This would talk about the best ways to search for scholarships and show the most popular websites for finding scholarship. It would then also discuss the terms used when talking about scholarships and answer FAQs

Screencast: FAQ on Financial Aid

Description: This would answer various FAQs on Financial Aid. There are so many questions related to FA that I think this would be both beneficial to the parents and the students. It would also go into what to expect with FA and when the best time to apply is.

I think these screen casts will prepare high school students and their parents when it comes to Financial Aid. So, many students and parents come to our office with a bunch of questions and concerns and I feel screencasts like this would not only help them prepare but also help them feel more comfortable about going to college and how they are going to pay for it.

EDT 5410: Week Six Google Page Creator

Here is the link to my google page website



http://hayesmeli.googlepages.com/pcsetupandtroubleshooting



It contains links to useful websites for troubleshooting windows errors and also Oracle errors. Usually when I have a error I am not familiar I go to one of these websites to figure it out.

EDT 5410: Week Six Reflections (R/D11)

While reading chapter 27, reflect on what you perceive to be your own areas of strenght and what competencies you feel you need to work hardest to develop given your professional goals. State and describe at least three competencies you'd like to develop and why. I do understand that most of you are school teachers, not ID&T professionals, but certainly there is plenty overlap between these different types of roles.



My Strengths

I feel that I am very technically inept. I basically catch on to anything and very quickly. I currently fix PCs, write code, administer our server, end user support, etc. so I have experience on a wide range of technical aspects.

Competencies to work on

1. Assertiveness - I am not real assertive. I need to be able to speak my mind when something needs to be said or fought for but do it in a politically correct way

2. Confidence - I am not real confident in myself. I need to not second guess myself and just back myself up.

3. Learning P-12 - I have no experience when it comes to P-12. I need to learn the environment, political aspects, ISD's vs school districts etc. This way when I do become an administrator I will know the chain of command, the proper ways to do stuff, and the different techniques to use.

4. Certifications - I need to obtain my Novell, A++, and Microsoft certifications in order to further myself even more. I will be more valuable to where ever I end up with these certifications.

EDT 5410: Week Six Reflections (R/D10)

For your reading reflection, since you have now read for the past few weeks about instructional design/technology in three different contexts (business, P-12, & High Ed), identify 2 or 3 significant themes or differences you have noticed across these contexts and describe them. Is there a particular area or way that you believe your current professional working environment could learn from the other contexts described in these chapters?

When it comes to instructional design and technology all three areas business, P-12, and higher education all have the same systematic approach to it. The model of accomplishing tasks is basically the same between the three areas. Where they differ is the outcome. Businesses ultimately want to profit from the change, P-12 wants to benefit the students and higher ed wants the student to benefit but also needs to profit in order to operate on a day to day basis.

I don't feel in my current work environment that we could learn a whole lot from the other contexts except for in Chapter 14. The recognition of employees through praise may help out employee morale and in turn help in the retention of students.

EDT 5410: Week Five Reflections (R/D9)

As a kind of check in, I would like to hear a somewhat summative reflection on your experience in the course so far, particularly related to the technology-related tasks you have tackled. How challenging have you found them? What support you did not get that you would have appreciated (or what support did you get that you did appreciate)? Are you excited, frustrated, or both? Do you think you will find ways to incorporate some of what we have done in your professional work? For those of fairly (or brand) new to this masters program, how do you feel about this as a first or early course?

My experience through out this course has been time consuming and very informational. I have not had a real hard time overall with the different technology assignments. However, I also did not know that some existed or what they were used for. I have listed the different technology assignments and my thoughts below:

Blogging: I have never made or even used a blog before this class. I don't know that I would use this for my current job that I have. I could see myself using it though if I ever become a director of IT at a school district as a way to communicate with the different levels of staff. I personally did not find the blog as a challenge. I looked at it more as an experience:) I actually got support from my current work study student which was very nice.

WIKI: I once again have never made or used a WIKI. I found it very useful for group projects. I think I could incorporate it here at my current job when I am working on group projects. Currently, we just email each other and sometimes we forget to send it to some people so a WIKI may be the best alternative. It would just be a matter of training the different individuals on how to use a WIKI and then their willingness to participate. At first I thought this was quite the challenge but once we got going on it, it was a breeze. I received support from the discussion boards and through emails to both students and the teacher and it was great.

Social Bookmarking: Never made a page or used the page with social bookmarks. It was not challenging at all it was actually quite easy. I really like the idea of social bookmarks. In fact, I am trying to get the co-workers here to use it. They travel between two computers and they are always complaining about bookmarks and how wonderful would it be for them to be able to set up something like this. So, far I have gotten nowhere! They are not willing to learn something new but I am going to keep pushing the idea.

Photo Sharing: I had already done this not on any of the sites listed but on other sites and it truly is a wonderful tool. I put pictures of my little man out there and the entire family can go out and see him and order whatever pics they want.


Google Maps: I never really paid much attention to google maps other than to get directions. I could see us using this for different FA conferences and directions and what not but it would not be a huge help to my current position. It was a very easy tool to use and I really enjoyed playing around with it. I think at a school setting it would work great for different projects for the students.

I feel that this is a great introductory course. You get a little information on a lot of different aspects when it comes to Instructional Design and Technology and you get to play with all the different gadgets on the web!

EDT 5410: Week Five Reflections (R/D8)

Pick out two trends or issues that particularly surprised you and/or hit home and explain why?



Piecemeal vs. Systemic Change -

Both of these approaches hit home for me because when we were changing from out old mainframe system to the new student system I had to take a Systematic approach to the whole idea. We were starting back at ground zero and rebuilding everything that we had already accomplished and working in the old system but we wanted to change our current processes to be more streamline. Now, 3 years later I am taking more of the piecemeal approach and just touching up certain areas that need to be tweaked.

Step-Up-To-Excellence -

The step up to excellence methodology seems to be a great idea. I had no idea that they had something like this in place for educational environments. There are so many schools in the area in which I live that need to jump on this bandwagon. One thing that amazed me is that there has been something like this out there for 40 years and it has never really been used by a school district. Maybe it doesn't work that well but from reading this book it seems like it would work perfectly.

EDT 5410: Week Five Reflection (R/D7)

What are, in your mind, two unique or interesting or different or noteworthy ways, Instructional Design/Technology has been used in business & industry that you believe could be usefully applied to your own professional work? Explain.

Technology-based Trainings -

The leaps that are being made when it comes to training is just amazing to me. The cost savings along are incredible when you look at training over the web. The different tools that are available now to companies such as using either synchronous or asynchronous communication. Both would work great sure synchronous is the better of the two but asynchronous would be just fine. Also, the web based training that is self learned is key to training.

Legal Issues and Training -

It is true the average person probably would never think of any legal issues with training. But like it stated in the text:

"Airline companies are required to train their agents in the proper handling of hazardous goods. Failure to develop and offer training and to certify employees can result in legal action by the federal government"

And the real kicker legal cases resulting from injury while participating in training.....who would of thought you would get hurt in training.

Well, neither of these two legal issues would be a problem for me here in my current work environment however the third would be.

A third legal problem result of infringement on intellectual property rights of others. I could find all sorts of information on the Internet to train my co-workers with in regards to say for example Microsoft Office but would I be using that information legally in a training.

Roles of Instructional Designers -

The write up of the different roles struck my interest. So, many companies always use a consultant to do the work for them. Did they ever stop to think that maybe someone that is already paid by them could do the same work. Companies could save so much money if they looked at their own inventory of employees first before hiring a consultant to do the work. I understand the whole concept of fresh ideas from an outsider but I would always say check out what you have first and save money! We have no extra money here so we are always trying to get stuff done with whatever means we currently have but sure if we had the money it would be so much easier just to hire it out. Here in FA we go by the team member/leader approach. There are 10 of us that meet weekly to work on new ideas and better processes for the office to get information out to students.

EDT 5410: Week Five - Google Map Activity

I decided to come up with a lesson in which the students created the map.

Class: American History or Government

Idea: Create a map that shows the capitals of the states with brief history and pictures.

Assignment: To choose at least 10 different states and mark out their state capital. Then insert a brief description about each capital.

Extra Credit: Do more than 10 capitals and include pictures and whatever other extra's you can add to your map.

Example of a map is below.


View Larger Map

EDT 5410: Week Four Reflections (R/D6)

Related to Chapter 14 (R/D6), what are some ways the ideas/concepts/principles discussed in this chapter could be applied in your professional work? Do you see opportunities where these ideas could help you or your students?

I feel that HPI could be used in my current professional work environment by a simple performance management review concept. Currently, you are neither punished nor rewarded here as far as your review goes so where is the motivation for individuals to excel at their job and do better. If you could put a review system in place similar to the HPT model of the International Society for Performance Improvement on page 141 I think a lot of progress could be done. There needs to be consequences in place for those who are not meeting the job expectations. Those people need to be reviewed and told what they are doing wrong and then if they can not overcome the the aspect of not meeting the job then something needs to be done. On the other hand, those that are going above and beyond at their job need to be recognized and rewarded for their hard work.

Perhaps, there are different steps to complete and once you are through a certain amount of steps then you get a raise. Which is totally uncommon in the university setting currently due to the state budget but if not a raise maybe a different incentive on a smaller scale such as free lunch at the cafeteria or a designated parking spot, I don't know. But if the University could follow the HPT model, I think great things could come about.

These ideas could help both myself and the students here at WMU. If you have happy professors, staff, etc. then it is a better place to work and attend school. So, many of the professors that I have had here at WMU do not care. They are there to do their job and then some don't even want to do that! If there were some incentive programs to follow and the professors knew what steps needed to be taken to achieve that then I think they would care a great deal more about the students. I am not sure I am correct on this but teachers on the K-12 level have different steps...and with a certain amount of college classes they receive a raise??? Not sure on how exactly that works but I think something like that needs to be implemented at the college level also.

EDT 5410: Week Four Reflections - Podcasting

The podcast that I chose to listen to and profile was

Podcast: 123listen2me.com

PodCast Profile: This podcast is given by two young girls, Sara age 10 and Nina age 7. They podcast about twice a month. In the podcast they translate different languages, review books, movies, and music, tell stories and jokes. The podcast is focused on kids ages 4-15. They call it the podcast by kids for kids.

What added value might podcasting have in your professional setting (company, school, etc)?

In my current professional setting podcasting could be useful as far as computer training goes. I could set up podcasts that would help each of the individuals that I give technical support too. That would be very time consuming but I think that it would have its benefits for those individuals that would like to learn more on their own than in group settings.

EDT 5410: Week 4 Reflections (R/D5)

Indicate whether you think the Internet and Web will have a major impact in one or more of the following areas:

a. Educational programs at grades K-12

I feel that the Internet and the web will become more of a major impact on this age group but not right away. I do not feel that schools have the money to stay up to date with technology in both the hardware aspects and the teaching aspects. Teachers need to be willing to teach with the means of technology to accomplish this. I think that as the different generations come up through the education system and become teachers and key administrators, that is when technology as far as the Internet and the Web will have a major impact on K-12.

I realize that the text states that only 20% of teachers indicated that they frequently used technology to have students solve problems or analyze data and only 10% for research but I think that is where the generation gap comes into play. Those teachers did not grow up with technology the next generation of teachers did!

b. Higher Education (community colleges, colleges, and universities)

Yes, it will and does have a major impact of education. I feel that the Web and Internet already plays a major role in education at the higher level. Thinking back to my undergrad degree I had professors that did not allow us to use the web as sources. Now, just ten years later, all my professors push us to use the web for information...WOW its been ten years! I am getting old! Anyhow, back to the question at hand, I can not imagine what the Internet and Webs impact will be in say another 10 years.

c. Adult education (in businesses, government, and/or the military)

Tremendous impact, that is what the web and the Internet will have on businesses, government and the military. It already plays a huge roll in all three of these. For example, all of the online businesses, you can order just about anything but a gun online. I feel that eventually 90% of shopping will be online especially with gas prices, people won't be able to afford to drive to the store. Which brings me to my next point, I think the majority of the workforce will end up working from home. With all the new technology working from home is easy, thanks to the Internet. As far as the government goes, look at all the things you can do over the Internet now, drivers, licenses, unemployment, FAFSA, etc. The government is revolutionizing right along side the Internet and Web bandwagon.

I know the history of instructional media says otherwise about just how much of an impact the Internet and Web will have but, we are already using them both by leaps and bounds. Back in the day, technology did not take off as fast and then came to a screeching halt...the Internet and Web just continue to improve.

EDT 5410: Week Four (R/D6) Option One

Here is the link to the podcast that I found useful.

http://123listen2me.com/



PodCast Profile: This podcast is given by two young girls, Sara age 10 and Nina age 7. They podcast about twice a month. In the podcast they translate different languages, review books, movies, and music, tell stories and jokes. The podcast is focused on kids ages 4-15. They call it the podcast by kids for kids.

PodCast Title: Who said 6th place isn't a win? Holding our heads up in the face of great competition in podcast #37.

PodCast Title: Don't let elephants get into a elephunk? 123-listen 2 me - Elliecast #36

EDT 5410: Week Three Reflections (R/D4)

How might you incorporate photo sharing into a educational activity or unit? What might be some concerns you would have about allowing students to play with these services? What might be a great benefit of such services?

I think you could incorporate photo sharing in a journalism class. Having students take pictures of different events they have been to and then placing them on the Internet. Then the different students in the class could use those photos put add libs, edit photos etc. The photos would be more readily available not to mention convenient. My only concern would be inappropriate photos or photos of people who do not want their photo published. I think though that the benefit of having the photos available to all students is phenomenal. What an easy way to get pictures out to the students and allow them to work more as a group.

In reading Chapter 2, what similarities and what differences did you identify between the process the authors describe and the processes you have used to develop educational lesson plans? If you have not developed educational lesson plans, were there aspects of the process described in this chapter that you found particularly surprising, useful or unnecessary?

I think the aspects in this chapter were interesting. For example, the explanation of the characteristics of Instructional Design (ID) were exceptionally interesting. I really liked how it had a section for each of the six characteristics and it explained what was meant by each one. It started off by explaining what ID was, which was not surprising at all to me but it was nice how the book laid out all the various definitions. I guess I understood already what ID was but it was helpful to get the definition for each term used like interdependent, synergistic and dynamic to name a few. It helped me to understand a more detailed aspect of ID and the various different terms related to ID.

EDT 5410: Week Three Reflections (R/D3)

What value (if any) do you think social bookmarking might hold for teachers and/or students? You may think about students sharing with each other, teachers sharing with their students, teachers sharing with other teachers, administrators sharing with teachers, sharing with parents, or any other scenario(s) you can imagine.

I think social bookmarking could hold a tremendous value to both teachers and students, not to mention parent's and administrators too. For example, a government class could have various social bookmarks for their students to go out to get the best information available for research projects, papers, etc. Or on a different note where administrators could put bookmarks for parents on different behaviors to watch for in young teens and that way parents could be more aware of what their students are perhaps doing. Along with behaviors different trends could be bookmarked also.

Overall, I personally think it is a great tool. As far as the tags being done wrong well that comes with human error and hopefully the percentage is low enough it doesn't make that big of a riff.

Back to the Trends & Issues reading, to what degree do the definitions in this chapter correspond with what you have thought about this area and what it is you hope to do in your line work (or in a future career)? Is there anything surprising or very new you read in this chapter? Does something seem to be missing?

I feel the definitions that were given by the author are pretty accurate. When I think of instructional design and technology it hits on all the key terms needed to describe instructional design and technology. For example, throughout the various years all the definitions based their definition on the five domains; Development, Utilization, Management, Design, and Evaluation. Although the definitions were all different they were all pointing in the same direction.

I eventually hope to be in a position where I can push new technology out to teachers for them to be able to assist in how we should go about using the new technology but not actually teach it myself. I would however, like to be a key figure in the rolling out of new technology to teachers, students, parents, etc.

I was somewhat surprised on how the definition has changed through the years. I guess I never really thought about what instructional design and technology really was. Now, that I see all the progress with the definition I realize just how important it is to make people realize what instructional design and technology is. For instance, back in 1970 the committee handed out two definitions. The first definition:

"In its more familiar sense, it (instructional technology) means the media born of the communications revolution which can be used for instructional purposes alongside the teacher, textbook, and blackboard...The pieces that make up instructional technology [include]: television, films, overhead projectors, computers, and other items of "hardware" and "software"..."

seems to be more general in a sense. It gives the basic understanding of what technology is but not perhaps what instructional technology is. Now the second definition:

"The second and less familiar definition of instructional technology goes beyond any particular medium or device. In this sense, instructional technology is more than the sum of it parts. It is a systematic way of designing, carrying out, and evaluating the whole process of learning and teaching in terms of specific objectives, based on research on human learning and communication, and employing a combination of human and nonhuman resources to bring about more effective instruction."

I feel is by far the better of the two definitions. I can see why they put out two separate definitions though. It needs to be however, one definition and in 2006 I feel that the Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT) did just that with the following definition:

"Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources."

EDT 5410: Week Four Task 2 Activity

Static Image - Here is a static image from my computer

Embedded Video - Here is a video from YouTube

Google Map


View Larger Map

EDT 5410: Week Two

What are my early impressions of using a blog and what was your experience using an RSS Reader this week? Any surprises, pleasant or otherwise?

I am going to be honest here, I have never used a blog until this class. I absolutely love it. It is so convenient to state what you think and comment on what others think. And the RSS feeds what a wonderful creation! So, easy to get the information that you need and have it delivered to you instead of having to search for it.

I had a hard time at first figuring out how to set it all up but now I absolutely love it and I am learning and having a good time now.

Which part(s) of Dale's Cone do you thing each tool (Blog, RSS) lends itself best to and why?

I would have to say that blogging falls into all the categories except for the last three because those are actual experiences.

My reasons for these are

• Verbal Symbols - You can use podcasts
• Visual Symbols - You will have text out on your blog
• Recordings, Radio and Still Pictures - All of these items can be put on a blog
• Motion Pictures- You can post videos to a blog
• Educational TV - You can link up to TV episodes or other educational tools
• Demonstrations - You can upload demonstrations to be viewed on a blog

RSS falls into Verbal, Visual, Recordings, Radio and Still Pictures, Motion Pictures, Demonstrations.

My reasons for these are

• Verbal Symbols - You can link to podcasts
• Visual Symbols - You can link to any webpage with text
• Recordings, Radio, and Still Pictures - All of these items can be found through RSS
• Motion Pictures - You can get video RSS
• Demonstrations - Possible due to the RSS

Considering Siegala's concept of "compute imagination", what do you think would be at least one "imaginative" educational use of each tool (blog, RSS) that takes advantage of each tools inherent strengths? That is, what do you think you and/or your students could use these tools for that they might not be able to do with more simple or low-tech tools? Or, as ostman might ask, what is a problem to which each of these tools is an answer?

Being able to use blogs within a classroom setting should help out a lot. Some students don't feel like they can speak up in a classroom and with this blog they would be able to. The RSS feeds would also help out in the fact that information can be brought to the student and keep them up to date on the latest and greatest of each of the different topics they are wanting to learn more about without getting lost in all of the information that is available and become overwhelmed. By being able to use the RSS feeds it could eliminate the need to go and look for a book and read the entire book when with a feed you can search within it for certain topic or word and find it easily.

Reflection on WIKI

I have never used a Wiki before until this class and it seems like an obstacle to get started. Being that neither Nicole or I can edit the class wiki, maybe it is just an operator error on our part but I can't figure it out! Besides that issue Wiki's seem pretty neat and an easy way to communicate with a specific group. This tool would work great in a high school setting for a group project. You would not even have to meet up you could simply communicate through the Wiki. Like Nicole said though you would have to assume that all the students had Internet access away from class and I doubt that would be the case. If I was a teacher and I could assume everyone had access to the Internet though, I would definitely utilize this tool to its fullest capacity.

EDT 5410: Week One Analysis

In reading the article Beyond Technology Integration, I find myself agreeing with it not being the use of technology but how to teach it. In the conclusion it states "These changes highlight the need for us to go beyond technology integration with teaching to technology transformation of teaching and learning."

I feel that there are teachers out there that need to change the way in which they are teaching a class and focus more on the method of attainment-based instead of time-based. I am not saying that teachers aren't willing to do this but perhaps there are those out there that don't understand the difference and they themselves need to be trained in a different teaching method.

When I was in school it was totally standardization and like the article states it needs to be more customized. Certain students can not learn as fast as others and that in turn holds back the students that can. So, yes some customization needs to be done in the schools. I think once that is corrected students will be able to learn more and at the correct pace for that individual.

I am sure that is a lot of work for the teachers and they don't get paid nearly enough for the work they do and that is a totally seperate issue! But, I know that there are those excellent teachers out there though, who are willing to go above and beyond for the sake of the student and those are the teachers I hope will eventually be teaching my children.

Now as far as the Luddites article, I disagree with him for the most part. I understand the views on why do we need to keep updating technology and how it puts old technology out of business but he needs to understand that the world is ever changing. And part of living is to change with the times. The way he acted towards the car salesman about the cruise control and power locks just shows his resistance to technology changes. I work with several people who are not willing to learn the new technology trends and they are very hard to work with. They feel if it's not broke than don't fix it but, I say why not improve it? I don't feel that technology changing is a bad thing and I do feel that we need to have our K-12 students learning from the latest technology.

The fact is that our environment, our world runs on technology and if we don't educate the generation coming up from K-12 then what will happen in the world. Will the students graduating from the schools here be able to compete with those across the world. Our schools need to have technology in them and we need to figure out the best way to teach this to them so they can have prosperous and successful lives of their own someday. We are preparing them for the world of tomorrow and you need technology to do that!