Chapter 2 Transforming Learning with Unique, Powerful Technology

*All links are highlighted in yellow*

Focus Question:  How can students express their creativity using technology? 

• Word processing, desktops, design tools, digital cameras, digital video, movies, and podcast to support expressions of creativity by students and their teachers. 
• Fostering creativity involves establishing conditions in schools where students express new ideas, create new approaches, and envision new solutions.
• Using computers for writing and electronic communication establishes new patterns of self-expression and interaction among students. 

 Photo credit to Raffa LUCE Flickr 

There were 7 different questions that I could have chosen to talk about this week, but I chose the question about students expressing their creativity using technology. As soon as I read this question it just popped out at me, I can totally relate to this first hand. Creativity is the ability to transform traditional ides, rules, patterns,  and create a new ideas, rules, patterns, ect. Creativity is being able to think outside the box, and step out of ones comfort zone. When I was in high school I tried out photography because it was just something to fill my schedule, but by the end of the semester I was in love with photography. All four years I was in high school I made sure to take as many photography classes as I could, it was my new hobby. With digital cameras, students could choose from tons of different effect to do to an picture. Also with a old film camera, students could also develop picture in any way they choose  There are endless possibility what the final product of what the picture could be. One way that students could express their creativity by using technology is by creating a photography blog. The picture that I have above is just an example of what a photography blog could look like. Once a student has finished editing their picture the way the want, they can post it to a blog. On the blog the student could describe their feeling, emotion, and purpose of the picture. For one of my photography classes we had a certain kind of picture we had to take each week. It could be anything in the category that the teacher gave. Once we had the picture we wanted we could tweak it which ever way we wanted, and then had to post it to a blog. In that blog we had to state why we picked that picture, and what it meant to us. We could basically go where ever we wanted to go with the topic. It was a great way to express the meaning behind the picture. I always loved doing these assignments because not only could I show off my picture to the world, but always explain my meaning of why I took it. Technology is a big influence on today's society and how students can be creative, and expressive. 

Tech Tools Link: Digital Storytelling

Just how I have stated above about how creative you can be with your own picture blogs, I think this program is another way that students can express their creativity through pictures. There are a few different programs on this website that they can choose from, each program help create a story. The website is highlighted above. When the student gets to the website they should go to the tap that says create, and will see different options there. Students can express their creativity through making a story with a picture, audio, collages, or clip. I think this website is very useful and can help with a project, or just for fun. I looked through the website and found there was a link to download photo story. It looked very interesting to me, so I clicked on it and downloaded it. Here is the link to take you directly to the photo story page. Once it was downloaded, I tested it out to make sure it was going to be a useful website I could talk about. It is a very interesting program, and here are the steps that it takes them through.

1. Add as many pictures as you would like.
2. Make a unique cation for each picture. 
3. Record an audio of your voice for each picture. For steps 2 and 3 you can create something new for each picture.It does not have to be the same thing. 
4. Pick a song you want to incorporate with your picture that you have selected. 
5. Save
6. Enjoy what you just created!

In order to see the creation make sure that you have the latest version of windows media player. I highly recommend this page, it is fun and useful. It is a different way to express creativity other then just having a picture blog. It can also be useful towards any project. Add some spice to a power point presentation, or a photography class. 

Summary & Connection:

This chapter has taught me that there is more to learning and expressing yourself, then just showing it on paper. I now know that it is important for students to express themselves through technology. Technology can help any student in many different ways like access and asses information, learn visually, engagement and collaboration, rapid feedback, and expressing their creativity. There is no need to restrict internet access in a classroom because it is starting to become the number one way to teach and learn. After each chapter that I read I learn more and more how technology is influencing classrooms. It is no longer a bad thing to have computers in the classroom, but a blessing and a privileged to be able to access much more information than before. I have also learned about the three theories of learning, which are behaviorism, cognitive science, and constructivism. Each of the theories are based around how the student learns to what the computer can do for them. I would of never thought that a computer could be used in so many ways for education. It does not matter how you learn because there is a way that the computer technology can be useful to all learning styles. A new door is opening everyday on how technology can be incorporated into a classroom. 

The first video shows how someone animated their own short clip. The second video gives some reasons of there should be technology in a classroom. 

Hope you enjoy!

Animation!

Reasons!

References:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B. P. (2010).Transforming learning with new technologies. Allyn & Bacon.  

Chapter 1 Becoming an e- Teacher

*All links are highlighted in yellow*

Focus Question: How do new technologies create new opportunities for teaching and learning?

• Educational technologies offer exciting, engaging, and effective alternatives to traditional instructional methods 
• Computer technologies can be used in ways that promote high levels of interaction and engagement among teachers and students 
• Web 2.0 tools are a new generation of technologies that can be used to create highly  interactive, inquiry-based learning experiences at all grade levels. 

Photo credit to TinaMariposa Flickr

Referring back to the first bullet new technologies in a classroom are always a wonderful privileged. There are many children in this world that do not get to privilege the experience of learning with technologies, as people do in the United States.  The active board, as shown in the picture above, is one of the new technologies that have been put in schools to further the interaction and education of students. The teacher can now transfer information from their computers to the active board, which makes students interactions easier than the white board. Before teachers had to write the lesson plan on paper then transfer it to the white board, and once space was gone they has to erase everything and start over. Now with the active board teachers can create a lesson plan on their computers, and transfer it directly to the active board. There is no longer a worry of how space might be limited because they can jump from page to page with this software. I think it is a good thing because if a student did not catch something the teacher has and could go back a page, or always look for the specific lesson plan on the computer and go back to it. This gives teachers and students an interaction 10 times better than it was before. Teachers can create lessons that focus on the curriculum, and also the interaction between each individual student. Some web 2.0 tools that a teacher can use in the classroom are blogs, wikis, podcast, inquiry-based educational websites, social bookmarking, and other interactive tools that are starting to become popular (Dolan, 2008 ; Solomon & Schram, 2007 ; Waldrop, 2008). As technology progresses throughout the years, teaching interaction and education with students will become outstanding.  

Tech Tools Link:  Ultra Portable Laptop Computers

I believe that having a computer throughout college is an essential. I know if I did not have a portable laptop it would be much harder for me to complete my work. Not only can I move my studying around the house, I can travel with my laptop wherever I go. It is light and easier to move around then a computer with a separate modem. I would recommend anyone who does not have any type of laptop to look into getting one. The website that I have linked above is a good place to start looking for a laptop computer. It has a handful of different laptops, prices, and useful information. Someone could buy a portable laptop from this site, but I also would recommend shopping around. Make sure that you receive the best deal possible for what you are looking for. Here is a helpful link that has tips for people looking into buying a portable laptop. It is a very useful website that breaks all the essentials down to purchasing a great laptop.

Summary & Connection:    


This chapter is just a glimpse of what is to come for the rest of the book, and I cannot wait to learn. I knew that technology was present in a classroom setting, but it was not until I read this chapter that I realized how important technology actually is. Computers and software's are starting to become the number one way of learning in a classroom. It is becoming easier to incorporate technology in a classroom because many students already use it outside of the classroom. In a study it showed that 85% of students 5-17 years old use computers at school, and 68% use them at home (US Department of Commerce, 2008). Even though technology has to be involved in classrooms, never forget that we are preparing students for their future education. Students still have to think critically, make judgments, solve complex problems, think creatively, communicate, collaborate, and take charge of one’s life.

Something that I found interesting in the reading was that teachers who are tech savvy use technology in the classroom more than teachers who are not. Even though it might be required by the school that they use certain programs they do not use them because they feel that they do not get sufficient technical assistance. I can relate to that because in high school there were always certain teachers that used the active boards and technology in class more than other teachers. I feel that it is not fair to students that the teachers decide not to use certain things. It takes away from the learning experience that the student could have had in a certain class. All teachers should have better education on the technology they could use for their students. I hope to be a teacher that can easily integrate technology in the classroom for my students and be a e- Teacher. I want to make sure that when students finish my class they leave with something valuable, and actually learn something.


I have included a cool little video titled "Teaching in the 21st Century" to get your mind going! Hope you enjoy it.

Teaching in the 21st Century! 

References:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B. P. (2010).Transforming learning with new technologies. Allyn & Bacon.