CEDO 525 - Enhancing Learning Materials - week 1 blogs

First things first...I hope Kristine Deiner(our teacher for this class) recovers from her hospital visit as she was missing from our week 1 class.  Louie was our sub and did great but I just wanted to express well wishes for Kris.  On to this week...we were supposed to do two separate readings and then give a brief reflection on each one.

The first reading was from HERE.  The article is broken into two parts: Theory and Research Based Principles of Learning and Teaching Principles.  I'd like to reflect on the principle of learning that states: "Students' prior knowledge can help or hinder learning."  I agree that prior knowledge influences how students interpret the information that we present to them.  I also agree that prior knowledge can impede or enhance their learning experience but I'd like to expand on a few other thoughts pertaining to that.  When discussing topics that can be considered opinion-based (politics, etc) it is important to present both sides of things and let the students initiate the discussion.  The teacher must act simply as a moderator and remain as neutral as possible in order to get an honest discussion from the students.  It may be necessary to provide guidance during the discussion but the students should not know what your opinions are as that can influence students and often the tone of the discussion.  Another important role that prior knowledge plays relates to how much trust a teacher has garnered from students.  A student that has inaccurate or insufficient prior knowledge wouldn't necessarily be impeded by it.  If the teacher has shown themselves to be a trustworthy source of information the student will have no problem adjusting what they "thought" they knew to the newly presented information.

The second reading came from HERE. This was a 2003 study about the effectiveness of teaching and learning with technology on student outcomes.  The conclusion basically stated that technology had a moderate positive effect on the students tested.  It also emphasized that more research needed to be done to gain a better understanding on how technology is truly effecting student learning.
     Here is my take:  Research is fine and dandy and helps to illustrate trends but the nature of educational research is such that when it is finally published there is a good chance that things have already changed.  I also find a flaw in the way that this research was presented.  I think the role of technology is being underestimated.  I find it hard to believe that the control group didn't use technology.  I'd be interested to see what qualifies as using technology and what qualifies as their traditional methods.  Students learn better when using technology because technology is a part of society and their everyday lives.  It's that simple.  Technology helps students find information that they would never have available to them if it weren't for technology.  Technology also helps students find faster, more efficient ways to get things done.  To say that technology only has a minor or moderate positive effect on learning is like saying that books and libraries were only a minor improvement over leather parchment and quill pens.  It just doesn't make sense.  I think that technology simply being available is not necessarily going to make students smarter or better learners but the technology is there, and it keeps evolving.  It is the teacher's or integrator's job to guide the students on how to USE this technology to enhance their learning.

CEDO 520 Final Post

This week's main topics included copyright issues and keeping our students safe on the internet (in addition to ourselves.  As the state of things exists right now, there is a lot of unknowns when it comes to copyrights and their use.  This is especially true in education as it seems that some exceptions are made when things are used for educational purposes.  Not everyone's intentions are clear, however.  I'm referring to both the originator and the user when I say that.  That's why something like Creative Commons was created.  Creative Commons exists to help clear up any confusion when it pertains to what exactly the owner is willing to share.  Creative Commons provides an infrastructure of choices while allowing the creators to also customize the conditions of sharing their property.  Even with something like this trying to take hold around the world there is still a lot of gray area.  I'm not sure what the solution is, but I'll always err on the side of caution when using electronic content by giving credit to the original source and using other's work in an acceptable manner to the best of my knowledge.

Internet Safety has really come to the forefront lately and rightfully so.  As proven by even high profile individuals, not being careful of what you share online can have some disastrous results.  Last year was the first year that I put together a unit strictly dedicated to Internet safety and it will be a hot topic as long as the Internet maintains its status as a social networking venue.  The more that people use the Internet to communicate and do everyday activities, the more likely that people will exploit that whichever way they can. Staying up to date with social networking sites and demonstrating safe computing practices to students when it comes to using the Internet will help keep students safe but it will ultimately depend on parental assistance.  Parents cannot ignore what their kids are doing on the Internet anymore.  Just like my parents probably checked my dresser drawers or bedroom closets from time to time, parents of today need to be knowledgeable about what their kids are doing online.  Maybe that means they take a few classes to help them figure out how to check the browser history or they make their children show them their Facebook page from time to time.  Regardless, add that to the many parenting responsibilities that already exist.

As this class comes to a close I can't help but notice the similarities between this one and the previous class (can't remember the title off the top of my head).  This class seemed like a lighter, less in-depth version of it.  In fact they were so alike that I even found myself tempted to use some of the assignments that I had created in my prior class for this one.  I can't help but think that this class would've been more beneficial later on in the grad program considering that resources change so quickly.  The separation between the two classes might have helped...having these two classes back to back just felt redundant at times.  Just my humble opinion...

CEDO 520 - week 3

This week we got a chance to work with our groups.  The main assignment was to analyze some web tools on their potential use in the classroom as they pertain to promoting learning.  We looked at Adobe's online word processor(Buzzword), 280Slides online presentations, some cartooning applications(toondoo, pikikids, extranormal), Google Sites and Forms, along with some survey tools(Poll Anywhere, Survey Monkey).  I enjoyed working with 280Slides and I particularly liked its integration with MS PowerPoint.  The toolbar had huge graphics and was really easy to use so it made me think of its potential uses in grades 1-5.  I like the cartooning applications - they provide a fun alternative to doing assignments or presenting material for students who may become bored with traditional methods.  The survey tools are always useful.  We used survey monkey to get feedback from our staff a few times last year and it worked well but to be honest I really liked the idea of creating some surveys in Google Forms.  I can keep my forms stored in Google Docs and easily tweak them each year to fit my needs.  I especially like the responses being output to a spreadsheet...even the narrative answers.
The second thing we did was look at Tools for Online Classes and Virtual Schools.  ooVoo, AdobeConnect, and elluminate were the reviewed tools.  ooVoo was essentially Skype except with a few variations to their pricing plans and the capability for HD video calls.  I've used vRooms in elluminate before and they work well minus the video capabilities.  The advantage there is that it has classroom management tools that the others don't have.  AdobeConnect was a cross between those two but I didn't get a chance to test it out.  I actually have a new one that I'm going to test this weekend too...Google Hangout.

CEDO 520 - week 2

This week was mostly spent on Internet Search strategies and techniques and looking at ways to evaluate online resources.  I liked playing around with the Noodle Tools website which enables you to focus your search a little bit by providing search tools that match up with your informational needs.  It also provided a nice tool for citing sources in both APA and MLA styles.  It is hard to find a resource that offers both styles...for free.  Another interesting thing that we explored was Google Alerts.  I really liked the idea of getting one central email containing multiple links to the topic of my choice instead of having to check a few sources each day or subscribe to several feeds.  I could see using Alerts for current news on interesting topics or for something that changes often like Interest Rates on home loans.  Wikipedia became one of the topics when evaluating resources and the opinions on its validity as a source are as varied as you can get.  Some educators say it is never to be used, some say that its a good starting point, and some say that an entry can be reliable with proper editing and citing of sources.  In other words the verdict is still out.  Perhaps the most useful tool that we stumbled upon this week was Google Forms.  We created forms for evaluating internet resources and I found it to be extremely easy.  The options were great and the output generated simply migrated to a Google Doc spreadsheet.  They even allow branching of multiple forms, which was great.  I plan on using them for teachers and staff but I also would like to use them with the students.  Add that to my ever-growing list of "things to incorporate this coming school year".  haha

Internet Learning Resources CEDO520 - week 1

This is another class that I am excited to take because of its potential to immediately impact what I use in my teaching and more importantly how I teach.  The 4 week guide of topics include Internet Learning Resources, Search engines and Research, Tools to Support Learning, and Internet Safety, Ethics, Privacy, Fair Use.  I thought the week 1 assignments were a good way to ease into the class by making us evaluate how we perceive Internet Learning Resources and things such as Web 2.0.  I'm particularly interested in acquiring some more resources about Internet Safety, Ethics, Privacy, and Fair Use because that is something that I officially incorporated into the curriculum for the first time last year.  I had always talked about it in the past but now it is a concrete unit.  With all of the new ways that technology allows people to communicate and reveal personal aspects of their life it is important that students understand how to use these avenues responsibly.  Maybe the government and sports organizations should offer some training in regards to that, too, haha.

Technology Tools Summary 515

     Wow, the many different tools presented in this class will certainly give me a lot to chew on for the rest of this summer.  I'm not even sure where to begin.  I remember asking Louis Loeffler the question "How do you keep up with all of this and stay cutting edge?"  He basically told me that you have to schedule an hour a day to read and do research and make it part of your routine. (or whatever seems necessary) I didn't quite grasp it at the time but with all of the useful tools out there I think it is a must if I am to be a successful technology coordinator/integrator.  Here is a list of tools that we covered(mostly for my purposes when I look back at this post):

• Graphics programs
• Presentation programs
• Search engines and searching (Net trekker)
• Word processing
• Spreadsheets
• Google Calendar
• Technology integration
• Screen capture
• Google sites
• Software evaluation process

     I think I can take a little something from each of these areas but there were a few that really seemed to fit some of my current situations.

     Presentation programs have so many uses in so many content areas and teachers are always coming to me looking for different options than PowerPoint.  Up until now I've really only had experience with Prezi, which is a nice alternative option but the flow can be distracting if not used properly.  Now I have several other options to give to my staff.  I particularly liked Empresser, Slideboom, and 280 slides.

     We definitely explored some of the vast tools offered by simply having a Google account.  I have had exposure to Google Docs but it was nice to do a more detailed analysis of how they work and more importantly how they can be used.  I have had several talks with my administrator and tech committee about using Google docs more but I've never really had the in depth insight to convince them of any other uses besides our school email.  I'm hoping to bring my school some more valuable feedback regarding Google docs and their potential uses.

     The suggested screen capture resources look really cool and I know I can use them for creating tutorials of lessons.  The advantage of providing students with this alternative method of getting instructions and reinforcing the classroom content is evidenced by the success of a website like Khan academy (thanks Nate).

     Google sites is great - I had no idea all of it was free.  In my blog post prior to this one I addressed many potential uses for these...including getting rid of my school's paid web hosting service and saving my school approximately $800/year.

     Lastly, and perhaps the most useful topic for me was the software evaluations.  Our current system for choosing software was/is somewhat of a mystery to me which is one of the main reasons why I joined our technology committee this year.  I came back last summer to find we had made the jump from Microsoft Office 2000 to Microsoft Office 2010(much to my surprise).  I was extremely angry that I was not involved in this process and even more angered by the fact that I wasn't even told about it.  I made it known that I would like to have some say in any future software purchases.  After looking at many evaluation tools and achieving a better understanding of how the process would work I have a lot of suggestions and feel much more confident presenting these ideas to my administrator and the tech committee.

     Overall, great class.  In think Kristy said it best in her blog post when she said something to the effect of "I finally got a chance to explore the many tools that are out there - even it was by force", haha.  Dave, thanks for making the class enjoyable and your teaching style really enhanced the discussions with your politely probing line of questioning.  One thing I would have liked to have touched on is Student Management Systems (SMS) like Gaggle or Moodle.  Maybe that'll be in a different class.

Google Sites and Software Evaluation

As we enter the last week of the 3rd class, Using Productivity Tools Effectively, one of the tasks we were asked to do was create our own Google site and contemplate it's uses.  I currently use Teacherweb for my classroom website because it is what the school chose and they pay for it.  It is extremely easy and is loaded with features but it is $39/year.  That doesn't sound like much but when you multiply that by 20 (the amount of teachers we have) you're looking at $800.  That's nothing to sneeze at.  I have looked at a few other free options through some of our textbook companies (Scholastic) and various others but they have all been either too limited (my staff needs easy templates and automatic navigation bars/links), too cluttered with ads, etc.  Google sites might just be the resource that I've been looking for.  With a full set of features, somewhat easy design structure, and excellent price tag I think it is worth a try.  Our school uses a custom version of Gmail already (similar to Stritch with Wolfmail) so everyone already has access to Google sites.  I'm hoping that an in-service or two would provide the teachers with enough base knowledge to make use of Google sites.  Google sites could help our school, staff, and students in many ways:

• Teach simple website creation to students
• Create a cost effective school website
• Teachers can create a classroom website, a club website, or just use it as an easily accessible place to share a blog, calendar, videos, or pictures with students and parents
• Students could use it to create a site to keep track of their school work, calendar, etc
• Teachers could use it for keeping a portfolio for students on an annual basis or more

From a personal standpoint I could use Google sites to do anything from a family oriented site to a site dedicated to a hobby or interest of mine.


The software evaluation comparisons that we made this week working with our groups were very interesting. I have been at my school for 9 years now and I have never been involved in any of the decision making regarding software so getting some exposure to the evaluation process was a good experience.  I need to be aware of this process if I ever hope to become a Technology coordinator in the true sense.  I looked at three very different methods of evaluation.  One method used a very detailed rubric containing categories which were populated with more detailed line items.  Each line item gets a rating and then the end result is a mathematical representation of the value of the software.  The nice thing about it was the level of detail in the analysis and the amount of flexibility with the line items and rating system.  Another method was less of an evaluation tool and more of a deterrent for staff to request something as an impulse buy.  It was setup more like an application where the requester needed to provide lots of information of support for their proposal.  The last method I looked at was done as a large grid/rubric with generic headings and a simple yes or no answer went in each box depending on if it fit.  This style was excellent for getting a surface analysis of many different software titles quickly.  It would be great for creating a resource in which you could narrow down your search to a few titles and then do a more comprehensive analysis from there.  With my recent joining of our Technology Committee I am eager to provide some input and insight the next time software procurement makes it on our agenda.