Pam's Blog

Pam - thanks for sharing you're blog on skype. I have been in state testing HELL for two weeks solid, so I have been reading up on the chats I missed. Pam's proved the usefulness of this format at the high school level for sure.

Top Ten

If you can add one to each list below I would appreciate it.

Top 10 Reasons to Blog


TOp 10 Reasons to Podcast

Week 11 Reflection

It's hard to believe that week eleven is here! I was suddenly inspired to write this tonight, since our topic is the use of interactive games - and my husband received the gift of a Playstation 3 tonight.

I know that at my own school there has been huge debate on the benefit of using games as motivators to instruction. Some teachers are ardently against it, and some go full blast for it. We had a very creative teacher at our school who did a good job of balancing the use of games with other strategies, and since his departure the support for this concept has dwindled.

I think games are beneficial when used as a motivating tool and as a method of review. The issue becomes I think when teachers try to use games, or any technology, to replace instead of augment instruction. The issue becomes as well how to use games to keep an entire class engaged.

Saviors

Thank you'all so much for our chat the another night, and to Susan for the example of KAM 2. I am back to writing again on it, and I have a better clearer vision of what the finished product needs to be.

Week 10 Reflection

For some reason, I feel motivated to get this done early this week. I am really beginning to feel the pressure of the end of the term, especially because my kids take their state test in 10 days - so the pressure is double on to match last years scores.

This week's topic has reminded me what I often take for granted - that technology is not equal everywhere. Some of us say "blog" and people cheer, while in other districts they actively detour people from using such cheap and easy types of technology because they don't see the benefit of it.

Week 9 Reflection

Its starting to approach the end and I feel like this term has just been a whirlwind. This week, I won an award for my county for Conservation Teacher of the Year, my husband got promoted, I worked on the site team that earned my school status as a AVID Demonstration Site School after grueling visit today, the only one in our state, and I play my first "real" concert this weekend.

I have been trying in between all this to wrap my brain around LCM versus LMS. To me, a LCM is like windows vista versus LMS which is like windows 95. They are relatives of eachother, share many common functions, but one has evolved more than the other.

Can you all help me out with this?

For Ken ...

Ken and I were chatting on skype and I had never heard of the miers/briggs personality testing. Here is a link should you want to get a profile of yourself.

http://www.atzmi.com/TestIntroduction.aspx

Week 8 Reflection

I have decided that I am suffering from the four nine weeks syndrome ... just like my students. Its something about this time of year between Easter and summer vacation that just drains you, and makes you feel like your being pulled in too many directions at once.

This weeks topic of wireless technology in K-12 sent me back to a paper I wrote for another class a term or two ago. I lot of the papers I found were about using PDA's and very few of those were in a K-12 format. I wonder why this hasn't become more mainstream in K-12 education? It might be purely based on funding, because setting up PDA's to be used on a regular basis is not a cheap project. I also remember finding several articles on setting up wireless laptop classrooms. The problem with either of these options is that no study I could find showed that it had a significant impact on test scores, which is typically the bottom line for funding anything in public education. Any thoughts?

Multimedia Presentation

My multimedia presentation is available at rstustin.podbean.com. See "Tustin Assignment 3"

Week Seven Reflection

Thanks you'all for the chat on Sunday. It helped me get my multimedia project done, which I appreciate immensely. I hope you all enjoy it. My teammates here have had a positive feedback, and our tech specialist is showing it at her meeting which makes me feel that the gigantic headache of working out all the challenges involved were well worth it.

This is the first class I have had were I felt we truly utilized a synchronous environment at Walden. Most of the courses I have had used a more asynchronous environment. So far, I have enjoyed the synchronous atmosphere using Skype. I feel like for the first time, I really know my classmates. At first, I thought I would hate it because I liked the freedom associated with the use of the chatrooms because it gave me time to think, and look at what other people were saying and doing for the posts before I submitted mine.

Week Six Reflection

I have discovered in the past few weeks a new appreciation for just how technical podcasting can become. For example, I have a sony digital camcorder and tons of video I would like to podcast for my classes. However, because our district blocks certain functions of media player, most every application I have tried to use to make videos has HATED these files. After three weeks, I finally figured out that by blocking these aspects of media player, it also blocks other programs from retrieving the codecs to read the files automatically. I have learned a lot about codecs that I never really wanted to know. The moral has become, as long as I use my own personal pc its all good – but try it on a pc with tight security and you’ll beat your head against the wall.

Week Five Reflection

Sorry I am so late this week to do this you'all but it has been one long week. I had applied to teach at a new technology magnet in our district, and had a great interview, only to loose the spot over internal politics. I was very bold and ambitious with my ideas for types of technology, but basically I found out that no matter what I went in and said, I was never going to get the position.

I find that I have a hard time finding where to draw a line and call it an OLE or a WBL. When I looked at the descriptions of most of the OLEs in the text, most of them seemed simulation based, though the simulations had a great degree of learner choice. Things like geometer's sketchpad I wouldn't have thought of because to me they are a type of modeling software. I suppose just like anything else, there are degrees of OLE and one requirement is that there are at least some choices a learner can make.

Week Four Reflection: Blogs in K-12

As we take a minute to set back and reflect on blogs and wikis, as a middle school teacher, I yearn to use them, but at the same time I know that at some point some child would post something inappropriate and ruin it for everyone. We have used the chatroom feature in blackboard, because we can delete anything inappropriate. The thing I don't like about being limited to blackboard is I can't get as much interaction between my students and outside experts as I would like - especially if we are doing an ongoing project. Therefore, I think the question I would like to ponder as we all get used to this format, is what measures can be used to make blog effective and useful in a k-12 format.

That cat is just what I need

You're cat has managed to get me invited to post to your blog. I think everything is beginning to come together. I look forward to some serious reading and a great resource for sharing ideas.

The social aspect of learning.

Rachel,

Somewhere I just read that the way students learn today is different from the past in the aspect of the socialization that goes on while they are learning. There seems to be a need for students to socialize while learning. I am trying to figure out how to convince myself of this with my own students. That is I want test this out and be sure that I believe it. However, it does seem to be intuitively correct to me.

Rose Ann

I will cite that when I find it again for you.

Reflections

March 20 -I have enjoyed using this format this week much more than class. I think we are much more open and honest about our thoughts, and confusions outside of the confines of "class". I have seen most of your names in my classes this last year, but I feel like for the first time I am really getting to know some of you beside just your names. I am not sure how well I have even gotten to know the people I have done projects with besides the nagging of getting it done.

Rachel,

This has been a busy week to reflect upon. I have learned a lot and look forward to learning more. You have a great study partner. I wish I could have one or ten, but my husband is allergic to cats.

Rose Ann

Ed Tech Life!

Hey there!

If there is something to respond to, I don't see it! I guess we will have all this figured out very soon.

EDUC 8823

Welcome to my blog!