Comic Life Romeo and Juliet

This Comic Life strip was designed to demonstrate how students can utilize Comic Life as

a reading comprehension tool. The students were responsible for reading act II, scene ii

of Romeo and Juliet. They then had to discuss what the key points in the scene were. They then had to rewrite the scene using for modern times to demonstrate they understood the language, plot, and dialogue.

Teachers Beliefs and Technology Practices

Palik, D., & Walls, R.(2009). Teachers' beliefs and technology practices: A mixed-methods approach. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41, 417-441.

In the article "Teachers' Beliefs and Technology Practices: A Mixed-methods Approach," the authors, Palak and Walls, focus on teacher practices in implementing and utilizing technology in the classroom. They started with over 138 teachers and surveyed them on their comfort levels and utilization of technology. The authors then chose a group of the teachers to interview and observe in the classroom.

The authors’ findings were unexpected because teachers from supposedly technology rich school systems who considered themselves adept at utilizing technology in their classrooms, failed to utilize most of their technology to its maximum capabilities.They started by observing elementary school teachers who had computers in their classes or free access to computers in their media centers. The authors found that most of the teachers used the computers for “rewards.” If students finished their assignments early, they were allowed on the computers, which kept them quiet. The teachers did utilize some of the software such as Compass, but only after traditional instruction was completed.The authors observed that most teachers used the technology for planning and managing instruction, but instruction that required the students to interact with technology was not visible.

Their suggestion was to develop a professional learning program that modeledapplications in the classroom for student technology usage. I found the authors’ research to be quite thorough. They focused on a school system that had provided the technological resources for its teachers, and then interviewed and observed the teachers during class time.Their research practices were valid and strong. They started by identifying their population by focusing on school systems that were supposedly integrating technology into ins instruction. They then surveyed the teachers on their teaching practices and comfort levels with technology.They then observed the same teachers and compared their responses to their actualutlization of technology in class instruction.

Their findings were realistic - teachers may have the technology available, but they need models to show them different ways to incorporate technology into student driven instruction. In fact, while most of the teachers describe themselves as technologically savvy, they often did not have a thorough understanding of the various means in which to integrate technology in student driven instruction.

Article Review- Defining Technology Integration

Defining Technology Integration
Doug Johnson’s article “Owning Our Curriculum”(2004) approaches the continuous process of integrating technology in today’s schools in a practical and realistic manner. Beginning with an anecdote about previous attempts at implementing new technologies that end up being cast aside after a year or two, he emphasizes the five steps schools should adhere to in trying to successfully utilize technology in the classroom.

According to Johnson, one of the primary problems integrating technology into schools is that there are not clearly established goals or standards. Educators and administrators want students to be proficient with technology, but with emphasis on high stakes testing, technology instruction tends to be pushed assigned. He emphasizes that each school should establish its own goals and utilize the media specialists for instruction.

Establishing curriculum maps and schedules is another area where Johnson claims schools fail in implementing technology. Lack of planning often ends with new technologies being introduced, but not supported. Schools must plan when, how and by whom the technology will be taught and utilized in schools.

He also emphasizes that if today’s schools want students to be proficient in technology, it is essential that the students utilize it frequently.

The final area of weakness Johnson finds in implementing technology in today’s classrooms is the lack of collaboration and assessment tools. Once schools establish what essential technological skills the students need to function and learn, they must utilize all of their resources. Johnson points out that library media specialists are underutilized resources. He points out that media specialists could provide consistent training opportunities to both teachers and students alike. They also could be utilized to develop assessments of the students’ skill levels and establish programs for instruction and remediation. His primary emphasis is that teachers and media specialists need to collaborate on how to best implement different technology in today’s schools.

The primary theme in Johnson’s article is that implementing technology into today’s schools is not problematic because of the technology, but because of the schools’ lack of preparation, instruction and collaboration. Essentially, schools need to cease treating technological skills as something to be learned during down time and in ASP, and instead develop technology standards for all students, not just those taking computer classes.

Johnson, D. (2004, October). Owning Our Curriculum. Library Media Connection, 23(2), 98-96. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database.

Reflection

I can see myself using technology more now that I have been in class and the experience with VoiceThread has been wonderful. The students and I enjoyed the task and we will even be sharing it with the faculty tomorrow.

VoiceThread Reflection

Our group has completed its VoiceThread professional development plan! After the hours invested learning VoiceThread and creating the plan, I have to say that I am being swayed towards technology. When I enrolled in the EDS program for technology, I was optimistic that I would learn some interesting strategies and techniques for the classroom. I am! However, it is much tougher than I ever anticipated. All of the acronyms kill me! Every time I try to update or change something, it seems like I get an error message. Luckily, I have a good group and a couple friends who are not as technologically challenged as I am.

In reflection, could I see myself incorporating VoiceThread into my curriculum and would it be worth developing a professional development plan for my school? Yes. VoiceThread has so many possible applications, it is unbelievable. My first VoiceThread focuses on scanned essays that the students can read (outside and inside of the classroom). This gives them opportunities to read, reflect and comment on other students' writing, which is essential. Students learn to proof and edit by doing, so this is an opportunity to do so in a non-pressured environment.

This would also be a great application to use for summer projects. All of my students have summer reading, so I like to post information such as study guides for them during the summer. Next year, I can actually make a voice thread where I can provide them information and incorporate interviews with the authors etc., and the students can respond, all before school even begins!

There are many other uses for VoiceThread that I hope to incorporate in the future. In addition, VoiceThread is VERY user friendly. I made a few mistakes and had to make a few phone calls, but everything considered, it was easy to learn. I definitely recommend it for teachers to use!!!

Collaborative Peer Editing

Joy Egbert's Supporting Learning with Technology

In chapter two of Egbert's Supporting Learning with Technology, Egbert disputes many of the arguments myself and others have cited regarding the difficulties of utilizing technology in the classroom.
One argument that I have supported as an English teacher is dealing with students' plagiarism. Students of today are accustomed to using the Internet as their primary research tool, which of course leads to issues in plagiarism. Egbert suggests that teachers should narrow their topic focus and require specific information rather than have the students search broad topics. This makes sense and is easily manageable.
Another point she makes that is valid is the Just In Time principle in which teachers teach
the skills when they need them, not in advance of the lessons. I use this approach in my classes when we use the labs. Some students are very knowledgeable about technology, while others have little or no skills. So as the necessary skills become necessary, the teacher introduces them. This lowers stress for the students and the teacher!

Voice Thread and Movie Maker

I recently have been introduced to Voice Thread and Movie Maker. While I was playing around and experiementing, I discovered that I had trouble importing video files. After much searching, I found out that my Sony digital camera saves the videos as a mpg file, which is not compatible to Windows Movie Maker (I assume this is the same problem with Voice Thread-if anyone can confirm this, please let me know).

I tried downloading several different conversion software and finally settled on AVS conversion.
After many hours, it finally worked. I was able to convert the mpg file into a WMV file and complete the presentation.

What is Technology (Integration)?

What is technology? Plainly put, technology should be any technological advance that improves our lives for the better. This includes the medical field, communications, education and science just to name a few areas in which technology seems to consistently affect our lives. One can argue that many technological advances have failed, but this is not necessarily true. I believe that if a new technology improves the quality or processes in our lives, if only for a short period of time, then it is successful, regardless if a new technology eventually replaces it. Does technology have to be necessary to be a valuable tool? I do not think so. If technology makes any person’s life easier or more enjoyable, than it has some value. Therefore, from my perspective, technology is any advancement that improves the quality of a person’s life.
On the other hand, the integration of technology should only be implemented after careful and thoughtful planning, as well as in-depth training. The implementation should also include input from all stakeholders, not just those making the final decision. If the entity responsible for integration does not consider all of the ramifications of implementing a new technology, often times schools find themselves regressing, rather than progressing. Last year our county implemented new grading software that is on-line. This seemed a good idea that teachers could enter grades at home. However, they failed to consider what would happen when all of the teachers tried to enter grades on the day before progress reports. The system was overloaded and literally locked down every time progress reports were due. The county office had to manually update grades because the system could not do it. Nobody thought to question if the system could handle high volume.