Podcasting

Prior to this weeks studies, I was not completely new to podcasts but I also was not far from it. I have used podcasts in one previous class. I enjoyed the use of the podcasts and seemed to learn a great deal from it. It was much more enjoyable than reading directly from a textbook. But, it was also difficult at times if I missed something that was said because it was not very fluent if I continuously had to rewind it. There are many great ways that podcasts can be used in the classroom. As with the other technologies, if used appropriately in the classroom, it can definitely be a benefit to have. I am saying that a teacher should not attempt to replace any live presentation with the podcast. Instead it should be used to enhance what is accomplished face to face.

Podcasting does not appear to be too different from most of the other Web 2.0 applications we have been discussing thus far. There are a lot of great aspects about them all. They allow the student to learn in a much more advanced manner than only having the textbook. The applications provide students with the ability to interact with other students locally and across the globe as well. This is very helpful with our changing world and diversity in America. This type of learning allows students to learn about the culture of others where they would not be able to otherwise.

I personally do not own an MP3 player of any type. The funny thing is that my son is nine years old and he owns an iPod and an MP3 player. I sometimes use his iPod but he only has music and movies on it. He also has an iPod that has been provided to him through his school for music memory. I would be very interested in using one of these devices in my classroom. As stated in our lecture, students are very concerned with there appearance to others and would be much more likely to listen and learn if others were unaware of what they were actually doing. There are many advantages to online communication tools like I have previously described. It allows the students so much more opportunity to learn with and from others that would not be possible without the tools. As far as I can tell, the only real disadvantage would be for a teacher to rely on these tools too much.

Web 2.0

Wikis and blogs are great uses of technology that can bring students together in and out of the classroom. I plan to introduce my students to these types of technology as quickly as possible. This technology allows interaction that would otherwise not be possible. I believe that I can introduce the use of wikis and blogs inside the classroom for discussion such as this. I also will afford the opportunity, possibly for extra credit, to those students that continue their discussions on their own time. Unfortunately it will be difficult to mandate the use of wikis and blogs outside of the classroom because of the need of an Internet connection.

Social bookmarking is a great way for students to communicate their research findings amongst one another. This will allow them to compare their findings and it also allows the teacher to view the research that have led the students to their decisions or writing. I am definitely interested in introducing Voicethread into my classroom. I feel that Voicethread is another great way for students to communicate amongst one another to voice their opinions, discuss research or assignments, and to continue classroom work. I plan to teach at a high school level so it is my opinion that Voicethread is appropriate. My opinion would change if we were discussing elementary education because of the level of maturity.

Tapped in is an amazing concept. I have never heard of this until this week. As stated in the textbook, "Tapped In defines itself as the online workplace of an international community of education professionals. K-12 teachers and librarians, professional development staff, teacher education faculty and students, and researchers engage in professional development programs and informal collaborative activities with colleagues." This appears to be a great place for teachers to communicate with one another and find guidance from other teachers across the globe.

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Week 6 Assessments

       However frustrated students may feel about assessments, they are a necessary part of our classrooms. We must use assessments to determine aptitude of each student. Assessments provide a great deal of feedback no matter what form they are given. Assessments measure the knowledge of each student and provide the teacher with feedback of where that student is when compared to his/her peers. Authentic testing must be accomplished to measure where a student is in an objective manner. This measurement will assist the teacher in determining the best method of instruction for that student to ensure progression. A performance assessment will give feedback about the working knowledge a student has about the given subject.
    
     "E-portfolios are a collection of digitized artifacts that may include video clips, graphics, sound, writing samples, artwork, and multimedia presentations" according to the text. Portfolios are geared toward a performance type assessment. They are great in that they provide constant feedback to both the student and teacher. E-portfolios allow the teacher access to view not only the final product, but often times the progression and processes used to achieve this final product. Computer-based tests are just as they sound, tests that are given and performed by using a computer. These tests are often necessary because of the large ratios of student to teachers. Any other method of testing would often not be practical because of the lengthy grading process. I do not feel that the use of computer-based tests impacts validity or reliability. The teacher must simply be aware and remember that this is an authentic type of testing in most cases so it may not be an accurate assessment of the students actual knowledge.

     Assessments are looked upon in different ways by both teachers and students. There are authentic assessments and performance assessments. These two types differ in the feedback they provide the teacher and student. Authentic assessments are more structured and provide exact feedback about the student's comprehension and recollection of a specific topic. Performance assessments are more subjective and provide feedback as to the working knowledge of the student. Both assessments take many different forms. I believe that there is a need for both types of assessments to accurately measure where a student is in comparison to his/her peers and others at the same grade level.

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

   

Week 5 Copyright

     I believe that it is important that we follow and respect copy rights and fair use rules to protect the owners of these writings and to protect ourselves. By having rules to protect the ownership rights of writings, the owners are protected against misuse of the works they have spent so much time and effort creating. Without copy rights and fair use rules, anyone could use a work and claim ownership to it. These works are often created to earn money and even earn a living as a career. If there was no protection from misuse or misrepresentation, these types of careers would not be worth pursuing. We are protected ourselves by these rules because there can be no blame placed on you due to something that someone else has written.

     Online safety refers to the use and/or misuse of identifying information on the Internet. Online safety refers also to the steps that we take to prevent this misuse. These steps are what we use ourselves, and what we teach our students about the ways predators can misuse our information to obtain some type of gain for themselves. This is different from cyberbullying in that online safety is a preventative measure taken to keep yourself safe. Cyberbullying is something that takes place while you are online that is an attempt to bully you or make you do something or say something that you would not ordinarily do or say. I feel that the simplest and most effective way to protect our students from either of these types of predator activities is education. We as educators must do just that and educate our students what and how these things are and what steps can be taken to prevent them.

     This weeks activities were quite interesting to me. I also believe that they are extremely important because there is no avoiding our fast movement toward a completely digital world. We as educators (or prospects) must learn everything that we can about these topics so that we will have the knowledge and ability to inform our students. Basically, everything I read in this week's assignments was new to me. Of course I had heard of these topics but I did not have a true understanding or grasp of the concepts prior to this week. My score of 60 on the copyright quiz proves this but I do feel that I have gained a great deal of knowledge.

Netsmartz Workshop. (2001). Retrieved September 29, 2010, from Netsmartz Workshop Web site: http://www.netsmartz.org/