Design Project

Final Design Project using Weebly.com

 http://tele-designproject.weebly.com/

Project Tomorrow

Story Board-MindMeister

Project Tomorrow Proposal

I would like my digital story to tell the story about the pros of using a cell phone in class. I would like to show the viewer both pros and cons of this topic from students, as well as teachers, ultimately persuading the viewer that there are many benefits of cell phones in the classroom. Transforming the idea that educators were afraid or hesitant to use this technology in the classroom, and that they were distracting students, rather than helping them learn, to the many benefits of using this technology in the classroom. I would like to use video/audio of students and teachers opinion, mixed with text, and numbers, since I am talking about cell phones. I think it would be great if the viewer could be interactive with this digital story as well. I would like them to be able to interact with this video by incorporating the use of the cell phone! At the end of the story they could use their cell to take a survey and get the viewers opinion! I would like to interview my cousins, both older and younger and get their opinions about using cell phones in the classroom. They would tell me if they think this is a good idea or bad idea, as well as what other ideas they have for utilizing the cell phone in the classroom, and even out of the classroom, maybe to discuss ideas with other classmates. I would also like to get teachers, those that maybe do use this technology in class, and those that are new to the idea, to get a range of opinions of how they view incorporating this technology into their classrooms. I think it would also be interesting to interview parents on this topic to gain their opinion about having their children use this technology in classrooms. Do parents think this will benefit their child, or distract them? I would like to research this topic fully, first by finding information about the first schools that used cell phones in class, and which applications teachers can use to incorporate this technology into their classroom. Secondly I would like to research why cell phones in the classroom got a bad reputation in the first place. Thirdly I will develop ideas for a plethora of uses of cell phones in the classroom, besides just texting, but for research purposes, and finding information quickly. Lastly, I would like to show the viewer how cell phones can enhance learning, and keep students engaged in class. At the end of the video I would like to get across how teachers become facilitators of the topics that are being taught in class, and having the students use their phones to discover some of the information them selves. Some of the sites I have been looking into are:

How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom. Tina Barseghian. May, 2012. Taken from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/05/how-teachers-make-cell-phones-work-in-the-classroom/. 

In the Digital Age, Welcoming Cell Phones in the Class. Mindshift. April, 2012. Taken from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/in-the-digital-age-welcoming-cell-phones-in-the-class/

Making Progress: Rethinking State and School District Policies Concerning Mobile Technologies and Social Media. COSN. Taken from http://www.cosn.org/Initiatives/ParticipatoryLearning/MakingProgress/tabid/12543/Default.aspx

2.0 applications

I have created my classroom web page to be geared toward organization/communication. Students will use our classroom website to access other applications, resources, assignments, that allow them to communicate with others as well as my self, as well as become and active/engaged student. The applications I have chosen are:

Google calendars- Calendar
I chose this AP because I liked how easy it was for me, as a teacher, to be able to update this calendar in Gmail and have it automatically update to my web page. I also believe that having a month by month calendar on my web page that this will help keep students and patent's on task with assignments, projects, meetings, field trips, etc. Everyone seems to have a calendar these days, whether it is on paper or their phone, that it why I feel this application is very important.

Skype- Skype-Log in
I enjoy the flexibility with Skype. My students, as well as parents are welcome to create a skype account. I will allow myself to be available one-two nights a week for homework help and/or conferencing. The students can also use Skype to video chat with other classmates while they are at home, to collaborate and have group meetings about projects, homework, etc. Students can also share files with one another, as well as screen sharing. Parents and students can Skype via, computer, phone, TV, and even gaming councils. Skype does not have to be face to face, rather it can act more like a phone call as well.

Poll Everywhere-Polls
This was one of my favorite applications I have found. It is VERY easy to use, and fun to use. I can post a poll question to my students to engage them in new topics, to rate their understanding, and vote. I think my students will love this application because it gives them a chance to use their cell phone in class! Standard text rates to apply, but what student wouldn't want the chance to use their phone during class. I, myself can get instant feedback on students knowledge, thoughts, and ideas.

Collaborize Classroom-Collaborize Classroom
I chose this application because I like the idea of Posting a question/video for my students and have them comment and give feedback. Some students may not like to share their answers in class, and my hopes would be they would feel comfortable sharing on this web page. Students can comment on each others post, posing opportunities for further learning and discussion. This web page is an extension of my classroom so I can have students write about topics we will be discussing the next day, to access their prior knowledge on a particular subject. I can also publish the results of responses to use in class discussions later.

Blog3- Designing a classroom website

As a pre-service teacher many ideas come to mind when I think about designing a classroom website. Since I will be teaching pre-k through Third grade I really have to think about my audience, which will most likely be the parent/guardian, and not necessarily the student. I also would have to take into consideration what type of school district I am in, am I in an urban school system, a private school, etc? Even though we live in an age of technology, some families do not have computers at home, and if they do, they may not have the Internet. So, I, as the teacher need to figure out the best way I can prepare my web page to be reached by as many families as possible. Do I update it once a week, or once every few months? Do I use my web page as a tool for teachers to contact me, or do I use it as a way to extend learning home to the child? These were all questions I asked the teacher I interviewed for this blog post. The response I received from her was that she uses her web page as a way to introduce herself to families before class begins. She has a welcome to class page, about me page, photo gallery, which shows what the students are up to, and she has a link to the students reading/literacy book, where parents can click the link and chose extra activities to do at home, if they so choose to do that. This teacher teaches first grade, and many of the students cannot read, so she has designed her web page towards the parents, and in some instances the parents can interact with the web page with their child, if they assist them.

Most classes I have had in my college career did not have a personal web page. Most of my teachers used blackboard, very crudely, to allow class hand out to be available, discussion boards, and view grades. Some of my teachers have had their own class web pages and I do not think they utilized them correctly. I remember it being more of an inconvenience for me than it was benefiting me. Maybe the teacher was new to having a web page and did not fully understand all of the power it can truly hold.

If it were the perfect world and I had the perfect web 2.0 web page for my classroom I think this can be a very powerful tool, especially with all of the applications out there to use. On my web page I would like to include a digital drop box where students can "drop" off their large assignments into. There I can grade their assignments on the computer and give them feedback with out having to carry around 10 pounds of paper. I think the students would like this as well because they can just drag and drop the file right into the drop box and not have to worry about printing it out, stapling in together, etc. I would also like to include an application where students can practice what they have learned the previous day by playing a game, word search, puzzle, that reinforces what I have taught in class. Children are always on the computer any way, so why not allow fun activities that are educational to be accessible as well? Also, I would live to include some type of face time application where I could be available for a few hours one or two nights a week, where I can talk with parents who have and questions, or talk with students as well. I can remember being a student and going home to do my homework, but forgot what I was supposed to do, or maybe didn't quite understand the assignment. I would have loved to meet with my teacher for a few minutes to refresh my memory. Lastly, I would like to include an application where I can allow students to be creative. I do not think the only way to test students is by standardized tests. Let's face it, students cram before tests, and afterwards all of that information has left their brain. If students to make a video about what they learned, or drew a picture, made a presentation, wrote a few pages in a book, to explain to me what they have learned, they are not only thinking critically about the assignment, but they actually have to do all the work!!

I think it is fantastic that there are applications out there where students can collaborate and share notes. Where did the idea come from that students were cheating if they shared notes? I was one of those students who struggled with note taking. If this tool was accessible to me when I was in my early years of schooling, that would have been amazing. I truly think that students can learn a lot from each other because they know each others language and how to better communicate to each other. I, as a teacher, could think I am explaining something perfectly clear, and the student would be looking at me like I am an Alien. While another student can reword what I had just said, and make complete sense to the other student. I think not sharing and collaboration is something that I value as a teacher, and would like to make available to my students one day.

With all of these applications I feel that I could better engage students in learning, as well as make myself more accessible to parents and students if need be.

The wicked, the protean, the opaque and the unstable -- wondering about technology...

An experience I had with a "wicked" technology problem was a time when a key popped off my keyboard on my laptop. I called one of the Dell technicians and to my surprise they were going to send me a new keyboard. The man gave me his number and told me to call him back when I received the keyboard in the mail, and he was going to walk me through how to disassemble the old keyboard and install the new one. A hundred screws later I had disassembled my entire computer and connected the new keyboard!! Only, when I went to reboot the computer, coincidentally my computer had a virus. The technician told me it had nothing to do with my new keyboard, ( I did not believe him). So then he had to transfer my call to another technician who could help me with my "new" problem. I was on and off the phone, on hold, pressing buttons I never knew existed, and still in the end the technician could not fix the problem and told me how to re-install my computer back to it's original state. I was very frustrated because I talked to countless numbers of people on the telephone giving me millions of directions about what button to press next, and the problem could still not be resolved.
Computers have grown so quickly and technology has advanced so quickly that there is simply not enough time to troubleshoot all of the problems one will encounter with a computer. Even though we, the people, have designed such machines, we are still not smart enough to fix the problem when such a "wicked" problem occurs.