Objectives, Feedback, and Recognition

What kinds of technologies can I use to help students set objectives?

There are two tools that I use to help others set objectives. First, I like to introduce new technologies either using a PowerPoint or a short movie in combination with a verbal introduction. I also will provide a demonstration showing them what this new technology can do. This gets my teachers familiar with what my goals are by implementing this technology.

I can think of a time that I asked students to fill out a survey to provide feedback.

A survey is something I use on a regular basis and it is a process that everyone understands. I like to ask my teachers what they need from me to successfully use new technologies in the classroom. I then use that information to push their goals higher so they can provide a more meaningful experience for students. In general, this method works great. The teachers provide me with great feedback and, after knowing them for a few months, I know their technical abilities and can set goals for them accordingly.

What questions do I have about using technology to provide recognition?

I am not one who provides a lot of recognition unless someone is doing something extraordinary. In that case, I usually e-mail the person and may mention them in a staff meeting. I need to get better at recognizing when people reach their personal goals or do something that is outside of their normal technological abilities. These things happen quite often but I am not sure how to use technology to provide recognition.

Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology Week 2 Article Review

I read the article Focus on Effectiveness: Setting Objectives. The very first objective really opened my eyes. I have a tendency to set objectives that have a very narrow outcome. To me, the objective is only met if I reach the goal I set in my mind. It must be exactly how I want it or it is not successful. Now, what I want and what is successful may be two different things. I may be able to implement a program at my school and make it work without meeting every little goal in my mind.

I also do not allow students, or in my case teachers, enough time to adapt. I expect all of them to pick up new technologies quickly and do not have patience for those who cannot figure it out.

Again, I am not a very flexible person and expect everyone to understand things the way I do. I like to carefully plan things and when it does not go as planned I think it is not a success. Working on some of these objectives may help relieve stress in my job.

Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology Week 1

This week we were to read about learning and teaching principles. Two of these principles really stuck out to me.

The first was the learning principle stating that students' prior knowledge can help or hinder learning. I never really thought about that before but as soon as I read that title it made complete sense to me. Students do come into a situation with a certain knowledge and what they know influences how they interpret and react to the new ideas presented to them. The same is true in adults. In an adult, this prior knowledge makes it hard to teach them something different or new. When I have to teach a new technology to teachers, this prior knowledge and attitude keeps some of them from really taking their teaching skills to a new level.

That kind of leads into the next principle that I connected with. That principle states that effective teaching involves progressively refining courses based on reflection and feedback. Again, the prior knowledge principle comes into play. If a teacher is knowledgeable and comfortable in their lessons they sometimes do not feel the need to change. I know many teachers who would not change their lessons if they were not forced to use a new technique or technology in their classroom. Many of these teachers have been teaching the same way for years and have no interest in changing. I think it is important that teachers review their methods and lessons regularly and ask for feedback. Changing their approach and technique makes them more interesting to the many unique styles of student learning

Internet Learning Resources Week 3

The last couple of weeks have brought up some interesting topics. The first one was the quote from Tom March about the Internet being "an embarrassment of riches" and is useless without teachers. There were some interesting reactions to this quote from class members and the diverse thoughts were great to read.

The other big topic that was interesting for me was the Wikipedia debate. Wikipedia is one of those things that seems to bring out very strong feelings in people. It is almost like discussing religion or politics. Some people are adamant that Wikipedia is no good while others try to find a use for it. Again, I really enjoyed reading these comments and am anxious to see how Wikipedia evolves and whether or not it becomes accepted in education.

I also really liked getting in back into the group work. I was again joined up with Brian and Kylie who were in my group in the first class. We have all come a long way since then and it was good to catch up a bit with them.

One of the items we reviewed was virtual classrooms. We strayed from the assignment a bit and reviewed an alternate online classroom. We decided to see what WebEx could do for education. It is widely used in the business world for trainings and meetings but could that be adapted to education? We found that it had most of the same features that Elluminate did. Depending on what tools you wanted for your online classroom, it could be used for online classrooms.

Once more week and we have finished our fourth course in this program. Hard to believe that we have already come this far. I am already looking forward to the next class.

Internet Learning Resources Week 1

This is the first week of a new class. After a few glitches with our first lecture we are now off and running with our first group of assignments.

Understanding what Internet Learning Resources are is key to this first class. We all have ideas of what they are but I think that most of us expanded our definition after looking at the links provided to us.

For a few years, I have been providing my teachers with resources like MIT's OpenCourseware and iTunes U. Teachers have used these lesson plans, videos, activities, and handouts to enhance, and in some cases, replace their lessons. I now have more resources for them so they can continue to improve their classroom.

Technology Tools Week 6 - Course Review

Once again, this was a very informative class for me. A couple of things really stand out and are things that I will use in my job.

First, the software evaluation tool review was extremely helpful. Right now, I have to know about the programs, research them, and decide if they get installed or not. By using an evaluation tool, the teachers need to do the research and get the all of the appropriate information to make a decision. This will save me a lot of time when deciding on software for the classroom.

Another item that was really helpful were the guidelines for professional development. I need to create some professional development courses for our staff to introduce new initiatives like Open Office and Google Apps. Using some of the guidelines in the book, I will be able to produce helpful and meaningful professional development courses.

Finally, I really learned a lot about using Google Apps spreadsheets. Now that we are moving forward with implementing Google Apps in our school, it is important that I know how to use the programs.

Overall, I thought this class was very well done. Thanks to everyone in my group for working so well together to accomplish our goals.

Technology Tools Week 5

After a long break, it is finally time to get back to work. This week we looked at software evaluation tools. At my school, the teachers come to me with the software, I review it, and purchase and install if approved. There is no real formal approach. It is just done via e-mail or phone. Looking at these evaluation tools gave me some things to think about.

Some of these evaluations were very simple, asking only basic questions about how it will be used and if it applies to state standards. The evaluation tool from Sun Prairie was definitely the most thorough tool and the one that our group chose to be the best. It covered the cost and standards and requested input and approval from administrators. In larger districts, this is probably a good idea. In a smaller situation, like mine, I fill the role of most of the people on the sheet.

I think it is a good thing to have some sort of process in place for evaluating and purchasing new software. It is something that I will put on my to-do list for summer.