Week 2 Reflections

Educational Technology Organizations

http://www.edutopia.org/

Edutopia believes that educational technology is achieved when it is used to support curricular goals.  Technology according to this organization is engaging, involves group participation, frequent interaction and feedbacks, and connects the learner to real-world experts.

According to the website this is their mission:

The George Lucas Educational Foundation is dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating for innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives.

The video below is a you tube video from Edutopia.  It shows how they believe that teachers should colloaborate with each other.  We should not just colloabarate with those in our school or district but just think how powerful it would be to colloaborate with teachers from other areas to enhance our students learning and development.  Technology is the tool to allow this to take place.

I chose this organization because they align with my school of philisophy.  I beleive that we are to teach our students to think critically, access and analyze information, creatively problem solve, work collaborately, and communicate with clarity and impact.  I believe that technology should enhance these skills and be integrated within the core curriculum.  We as educators most come together and share ideas in order to create greater concepts of learning.

http://www.cosn.org/

The following mission statement and core belief are taken from the COSN website.

Our Mission

Empowering educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments.

Our Core Beliefs

■The primary challenge we face in using technology effectively is human.

■Technology is a critical tool to personalize learning and overcome barriers of time and space for each learner. 

■Equitable and ubiquitous access to technology is a necessity.

■The effective use of technology for the systemic transformation of learning cannot occur without strong organization, leadership, and vision.

■Technological fluency allows our children to be prepared for the world of today and tomorrow.

■Technology enables innovation in our educational systems, resulting in greater efficiencies and productivity.

■To maximize the benefits of technology solutions the district technology leader should be part of the executive leadership team (CTO, CIO, etc.) of the education organization.

■Global connections are vital to transforming the education process and improving learning.

The reason I chose this organziation is that I like that they are finding ways to prepare students for the 21st century.  They want to find create ways to allow global connects for our students yet at the same time they want to ensure that technology remains a tools to achieve the goal of education.

What is Educational Technology?

My definition of education technology is closely aligned with the above video.  I believe that educational technology is a tool that educators use to facilitate the learning process in order to engage students in the learning process in order to allow them to use thier critical thinking  and creative skills to create learning experiences not only in their own communities but globally.

Week One Reflections

 

Educational Technology Philosophy (1st Draft)

The purpose of education is to allow students to develop connections between what they are learning at school and their world outside of school.  It is when these connections are made that true learning will take place.  Education should not be just to memorize a bunch of facts or about concepts that the students will not remember in a month or when the class is over.  Education has to be more.  Education is learning to apply what you are learning at school in your everyday life.  Education is to teach students the skills that will lead them to be successful in life.  It is much more than assigning a student a grade.

I believe that the teacher’s job in education is to guide students into constructing meaningful learning experiences.  A teacher’s role is not just to give students information but to create experiences and situation where students make connects for learning themselves.  A teacher should create an environment were critical thinking is the norm.  As teachers of digital learners we should equip today’s students with the necessary tools to thrive in today’s global market.  The typical style of teaching and learning is not what students of this technological era need.  Teachers must realize that all students are not the same and teaching mostly lecture style will not reach most students.  Teachers have a responsibility to learn how to incorporate technology into the classroom environment.  They must learn ways to collaborate with each other to find ways to create learning experiences that will be meaningful for students.

 I also believe that students must be actively engaged and involved in the learning process.  They can no long “sit and get”.  They must begin to make connection in the learning environment to their world. Students need to learn to collaborate with each other to create a meaningful learning experience that strengthens their learning.  Students should learn to use technology to expand the boundaries of their education.  Students need to realize that they also have a responsibility in the learning process. 

Educational Blogging

I like the idea of utilizing blogs to facilitate classroom discussions.  This would allow all students to participate and even the voice of the quietest students would be heard.  Students could reflect on concepts and post thoughts to ponder over the concepts or questions they may have related to the discussed concept.  The idea of using blogs to reflect upon reading assignments is a great idea. 

I must agree with the article in that once the class is complete most students stop blogging.  I also believe the cause is because students have not made the blog their own.  It was done simply to complete an assignment.  They have not connected to world outside of their classroom to truly have their thoughts challenged and validated.  It was simply something to do to get a grade.

I believe what stops educators from using blogs in the classroom are controlling what is written on blogs.  Security of our students is an important issue some parents do not want their children communicating with unknown individuals.  Educators are also bound by curriculum so students will always have to get needed concepts covers.  These topics may or may not be of interest to students. 

I truly believe that blogs could allow our students to communicate on a more global level but I security issues and curriculum issue will have to be addressed.  Parents and districts would have to believe that it is worth the cost and risk.

Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning

I enjoyed reading this articled by Alan November.   November discussed six points for one to ponder regarding technology and learning.    One concept that stood out in my mind from this article is that kids may have technical skills but do not possess the critical thinking skills needed to validate the information they are locating on the internet.    They are unable to “deconstruct” what they are finding in order to conclude if the information is from a valid source.  Basically the article stated that “if it’s on the internet then kids believe that it is true”.    I really believe that as educators we should not allow our students to access the Internet unless we also teach them to think and discriminate about the information they locate on the Internet. 

The above video points out how fast new information is developing using technology.  It is not so much that we teach our students how to use these sources of information but we teach them the critical thinking skills needed to successfully implement the use of such technology properly.  Our students are using technology at younger ages many before they enter into a formal classroom setting.  Today's children are truly digital learners and we must embrace this fact but we must also realize that is more that just using the technology that will make our students successful.

Class Expectations

My goal for this course is to learn more about technology and education.  I would like to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of incorporting technology into a learning environment.  I would like to learn more about the various ways educators can utlized technology in an educational setting to enhance student's learning and engagement.  I would like to learn some of the many web 2.0 tools that are available for educators and students.   An additional goal I would I would like is to begin to develop my educational philosophy and beliefs.  I would like to be able to explain why I believe what I believe and why I have the goals for students that I have.  My expectation is that this class will lead me to reach these goals or get me closer in my purse of these goals.

“Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.”

 Ralph Marston