Exit Slip

The chapter that was presented today allowed us to discuss in small groups the following aspects and their pros and cons:
Accreditation- pros: students can decide what to learn; cons: the students might think they know what they want to do, but then, later on they might change their mind.
Epistemic Frames- pros: very hands on; cons: its not a regular demand.
Focus on topics in school that teachers have trouble teaching- pros: when children struggle grasping things that are not tangible, then a simulation could be beneficial; cons:may not be able to transfer...but does not truly have the experience because it is only simulation.
Video games- pros: they can be engaging and be appropriate according to their interests; cons: distracting and may have inappropriate contexts, and it takes up too much time.
Course management systems- pros: it can be a great tool for organization and allows for online discussions to collaborate; cons: when teachers overuse it and it creates some mis-communications at times.
Technology as an equalizer: pros: using it as an additional resource within the classroom could be beneficial cons: it can be difficult to keep it engaging.
Some of these pros and cons were mentioned in the chapter, but some additional ideas were given, which gave me more insight on each topic.
A lot of the contemporary issues discussed today were very interesting. The issue of using calculators in our classrooms is an issue I go back and forth on. In my opinion, as an educator, you need to make an equal balance. Children should learn how to use a calculator, but they need to know how to do mathematical equations by hand. Also, Liz's issue about teachers using social networking websites inappropriately. I feel very strongly about not placing inappropriate photos on your profile because it is not professional. We are teachers as well as people that children look up to, so we should not be promoting inappropriate behaviors.

Ch. 8: How Schools Can Cope With the New Technologies

This chapter discusses the considerations educators will have to make as we begin to incorporate technologies into schools. The three main aspects that we need to consider as educators are customization, interaction, and learner control. In my opinion, customization and interaction are the biggest thing to consider as we incorporate technologies into our school system. Being able to provide people with the information that interests them the most and supporting them by providing them immediate feedback are the biggest benefits in incorporating new technologies into our schools. Providing children with curriculum that interests them will increase their motivation, and providing them immediate feedback will enhance their learning experience.
The new curriculum design that this chapter discusses really incorporates the two aspects that I view as the most important aspects to consider, which are customization and interaction. The curriculum design that focuses on teaching content that interests children I believe will be very effective. However, one flaw to this new design was will it teach our children what they need to know, like the core competencies. As I read on, it mentioned that the traditional academic skills, writing, math, science, history, and geography, will be taught, which I find crucial content areas that all children should know regardless of how often that information will be used in their future. Also, this design still involves parents and teachers to guide the children through their studies. And, the children will not be able to change the curricula often, which will allow them to develop deep skills and knowledge in whatever they are studying. I think this approach to incorporating technologies can be very effective. I do not see many reasons to deny this new approach. I believe that this new approach does a good job of blending the traditional approach with the new technological approach to make a new and improved upon curriculum design.

Exit Slip

The group's presentation today on chapter 7 was presented in a very interactive and engaging discussion, which I enjoyed. The cons that we discussed, which include less social interaction, isolation, digital divide, and equal standards, were cons that I remembered from the reading.
And, I gained a new perspective from a comment that Caley made on the research mentioned in this chapter. The research that was discussed found that people are more prone to depression and loneliness because they are on the computer all day. However, Caley's insight, which was that these people may already be predisposed to depression regardless of the amount of time they spend on the computer, was something I initially did not think about when reading this.
The pros that were listed, which include that it is engaging, promotes individual responsibility, universal access, which promotes just-in time learning, customized learning, and it caters to all different learning styles, were pros that I had already acknowledged and agree with. The question I was asked to discuss is, how can we individualize education within the classroom? First of all, the main way to implement this in your classroom is by basing your planning and instruction on your children's individual needs, interests, and abilities. This is a very straight foward answer and in my opinion, it is an obvious answer; however, there are many teachers out there that plan and implement instruction without individualizing it to their students, which is obviously ineffective.
The contemporary issues briefly discussed today are issues that I was aware of. Kelly's contemporary issue that she discussed was very sad, and it makes me think that social networking and new technologies can be dangerous. Like Kelly said bullying will always happen in school but it stops when they go home, but with the internet, bullying continues at home through the internet. This is scary and a huge con to social networking, and I do not know how teachers could enforce this and prevent these type of situations to occur. And, the cool tool presentations were good resources that I could use in the future as an educator.

Ch. 7: What may be lost and gained

This chapter discussed the pros and cons to the changes that are occuring in our education system today. Overall, I viewed this chapter as a quick review to what I have read in the previous chapters. I acknowledge all of the promising aspects that this change can bring us. For example, this change allows education to be more engaging and entice people to want to learn more, it promotes on the spot learning aka universal access, which I believe to be the biggest pro in this change, and it provides immediate gratification and feedback. One benefit from this change discussed in this chapter that I do not agree with is how it fully eliminates competition because children can't compare themselves to others. I can see how that would eliminate some competition; however, my personal opinion is that for many children that competitive nature can be motivate some to strive higher and succeed.
In regards to what can be lost, I agree that socialization becomes a huge factor. I have always felt that when children are sitting at home on their computers all day instead of moving around and socializing with friends it promotes poor social skills. The reason that this issue concerns me is because regardless of their job these chidlren will work in a field that involves them cooperating/working with others. This book stated that this can also lead to a reduction in the amount of friends, less socialzing with family members, lonliness, and depression. So, in my opinion, the cons that this change can bring, ecspecially this issue of less social interaction, is worrisome to me basically because once the change is made it will almost be irreversible.

Exit Slip

Today, my peers and I discussed and presented the chapter that was required to be read for this week. Preparing and presenting the chapter allowed me to fully immerse myself in the content in this chapter. So, I feel that I learned this chapter the best out of all the chapters we have read so far, and I already discussed my thoughts on the chapter in my last blog.
Along with the chapter, all of the cool tool presentations were new resources to use that could be beneficial to me in my future. The dweeber website, which is an online social networking tool that focuses on school work, is a resource that I can share with my future students. It would be a great way to have my students become "dweebs" and work collaboratively with their peers. Also, the parentella website would be very beneficial for me as a future teacher. I viewed this website as a great resource to update and communicate with parents along with using newsletters, emails, and phone calls to communicate with parents.
In addition, the contemporary issues that were presented were very interesting. Online tutoring, how poverty effects young children, and using video games as a teaching tool. None of these issues were completely new to my knowledge; however, adding video games as an educational tool in the classroom is something I have never seen used before. I do see it beneficial to some children who will learn better with a more interactive and fun video game opposed to drilling information to children. In my opinion, a component to being a life long learner means being open and flexible to using new tools and being open to new ideas, like using video games for schooling, and applying them.

The Three Eras of Education

This chapter was very informative and insightful. It did a very good job on informing me on how our system has changed from the apprenticeship era to the Industrial Revolution era and how we are moving into the life-long learning era. This is also my chapter that I will be presenting on. I think the expectations, the content, the pedagogy, and the assessment topics are the most important to focus on. In regards to expectations, people are able to focus on what they want to learn for themselves. This section stated that enforcing specific standards to follow just limits a person's learning, and this point sums up something that I have felt ever since I chose to become an educator. So, I will remember this and account for this in my future as an educator. Also, the section on assessment discussed how in the life-long learning era the summative and formative assessment begin to intertwine, like in the apprenticeship era. When using a computer based program, the assessment is ongoing. The program will provide support while a person is completing a task by assisiting you if you need the help,and it will inform you when you make a mistake and it helps lead you to the correct answer. This embedding assessment is obviously more effective, and this is something that all teachers should recognize and apply. As educators, we should always keep in mind this evolving change to life-long learning and incorporate this into our classroom or more importantly, instill this in our future students.

Exit Slip

Today, the presentation on the chapter we read prior to this class was reinforcing. It reinforced what I learned and have me new insights on the topics discussed. It was interesting to hear other people's perspectives on home schooling and distance education. These two topics are the most controversial to me and I consider myself more on the cons side for both of these topics; however, it was interesting to hear the pros opinion and made me more open minded. The K12 site that was introduced to us today, that went along with the home schooling debate, was an insightful new resource.
In addition, all of the contemporary issues were very interesting. I learned something new from each comtemporary issue. I did not know that they were considering using a new test in place of the FCAT, which probably would be more beneficial than the FCAT. And, I never thought to use a touch screen computer to accommodate for different children's abilities. Also, the cool tools presentations were cool and new to me. I really like the twiddla and the go-animate site, and I have added all of them to my delicious page to use as resources in the future. Overall, I learned about a lot of new resources and technological tools to use as well as new insights about the chapter we read for this week.