Journal Post 7

The serious online learning game.
Hangman Game: The Solar System and Planets

I was playing a few serious learning games before I came upon this game, the reason that this specific game called my attention was because of the title: Planets and Solar System. My major being Biology for Middle School Education, I thought to myself how adequate this game would be for my sixth grade classroom. As a student myself, I had a hard time remembering the solar system and all the planets when I was in middle school, aware that some students may have trouble remembering the correct names and their positions, playing this game would help my students have fun while learning. 

As I continue to play this game of hangman, the following question goes: _______ is the largest planet in our solar system, the next question is :_____ is often called the red planet. I believe this game is very well rounded in the all the aspects of the solar system, but not very in depth, which is good. I am not looking for profundity at this time in the school year. I am looking for a foundation for my students to build on and this game his my students the proper first steps to approach a year of solar system and planets with the correct understanding. 

If my lesson for the week is for my students to learn the planets and the solar system, I will have them play the solar system game and have them make their own PowerPoint presentations on what they learned from the game, while adding pictures to their slideshow to represent that they understood the lesson and will be ready for the upcoming quiz. My students will be informed after the first time that they play this game, that I will be quizzing them on the planets and the solar system, therefore, they know that not only do they have to play around, but they really have to absorb the information in order to complete the assignment with the PowerPoint presentation. 

This is a screen shot of what the game looks like while it is being played, as you can see, I was typing in "VEN" for the planet Venus, which would be the correct answer, but I wanted to demonstrate what it looked like when a letter would be incorrect and how the stick figure would develop on the left hand side of the board.

Bernie Dodge's Quest Garden

 "Does smart technology contribute to smart minds???? or NOT? What is your final answer??"

by Amy Vaughn, Standard Midle

Link

This question seems to be one of those that haunts us, as students and as educators. Educators who do not want to move from their personal comfort zone in teacher, stay beneath their "forever shelf" of what they feel like has worked throughout the years in their lessons, and have no desire to branch out. In the 21st century that we live in today, we as humans in the society have technology to our full advantage, and yet, student's still get written up, criticized and even "kicked out" of class for using any device. Why are these devices looked down upon?

Educators need to put down their walls on why it is "bad" to use technology, go out with the old, and bring in the new knowledge all while using technology.

There multiple intelligences, according to Gardner's Theory, 

"The seven intelligences Gardner defines are:

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence--consists of the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.
Linguistic Intelligence-- involves having a mastery of language. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively manipulate language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically. It also allows one to use language as a means to remember information.
Spatial Intelligence-- gives one the ability to manipulate and create mental images in order to solve problems. This intelligence is not limited to visual domains-- Gardner notes that spatial intelligence is also formed in blind children.
Musical Intelligence-- encompasses the capability to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. (Auditory functions are required for a person to develop this intelligence in relation to pitch and tone, but it is not needed for the knowledge of rhythm.)
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence-- is the ability to use one's mental abilities to coordinate one's own bodily movements. This intelligence challenges the popular belief that mental and physical activity are unrelated.
The Personal Intelligences-- includes interpersonal intelligence -- the ability to understand and discern the feelings and intentions of others-- and intrapersonal intelligence --the ability to understand one's own feelings and motivations. These two intelligences are separate from each other. Nevertheless, because of their close association in most cultures, they are often linked together."
 (1999-2012 Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation)

Not all students learn the same, one while may find it more comfortable learning the old way by copying it from a chalkboard onto a paper with a pencil, one may utilize it better when it is already on a module on the web and the student can edit it or modify through his or her iPad, or any mobile tablet. Ofcourse there are pro's and con's to using technology when it comes to school, student's rather play games online or text their friends, or even take pictures...but what about if as educators we made the assignment so incredibly indulgent that the students wouldn't even think about doing anything else but the assignment it self. Having the freedom as a student to go onto other websites, but having the knowledge that one should do their school work rather than plays builds a strong foundation for any student.

If as educators we taught our students how crucial it is to stay in school and to learn, rather than getting our students in trouble because they don't want to work, would make an overall better society.
Everybody wants to learn, learning is interesting, new and adds meaning to life, the way that the past has morphed the idea of "learning" has scared the younger generation to want to learn. Distractions seem to be an issue, but as I have stated before, make the student want to learn and learn from the student on which type of intelligence they are and use it to your advantage as a educator to teach them, how they learn.

Link used wit a Flickr Commense License


Students can use technology to communicate, organize, search and research anything, with that ability they can find many different ideas and all contribute to each individual assigned lesson.

When it comes to using iPad and expensive technological equipment, there are those sticky fingers that come around. When one first purchases an iPad or another device, now a days, I know at least with my phone, I can tract it. Anywhere, anytime, whenever I lose my phone, I have created an account which I have easy access to and I can find my phone with the help of a computer. Lesson that needs to be taught to students can also be a very important one about stealing others belongings, learning the consequences, and for when those times occur, if they do, there are ways into retrieving it if having the correct set-up.



Link Used a Flickr Commense License

 Human beings have  came a long way, we have the ability to create a world wiser than we think we can. Technology has came a very long way and in a very short amount of time, knowing what we are capable with technology makes me wonder how far we could truly go. Wise minds come from within and with that being said, I do believe that technology would have a great contribution to intelligent minds.

Chapter 5

Researching and Evaluating Internet Information

Focus Question:

"What are search engines and how do they work?"
"Search engines retrieve information from the internet. A search engine is a software program that uses networks of computers to access information about a topic from its databases. What is remarkable about a search engine is its speed, propelling an internet-connected computer instantaneously through millions of Web pages to locate topic-related websites."

Websites such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, and Ask are sites that you can go on and search away. These search engines will look through the title, the subject, and any other words that were typed in your search bar depending on what search is activated. As I was reading through the chapter, I came upon the "free-text search" which is the " search that looks for the title, keyword, and description fields of each resource for the word or phrase you type into the search command." 124 Maloy. This type of search will show the results that include one or more words into what the individual typed on the search bar. There is another type of search that is called " A Keyword/exact math search. " This search retrieves information from the internet that contains the exact words that the individual typed in.

A new word or term that I learned today was the "Boolean Search."

According to Transforming Learning With New Technologies a boolean search uses the boolean search terms AND, OR, and NOT to create more complex queries.
" OR" is less restrictive, as it it will include any and all words or phrases joined by the OR operator.
"AND" is more restrictive since the return must contain all words or phrases joined by the AND operator.
"NOT" is used to exclude a certain word, such as "was AND NOT (Civil war)."


Tech Tool 5.1
Photo and audio resources on the web

Flickr is a website for anybody who loves pictures, different type of photography and audio. I have used Flickr before, about three years ago when I use to upload my pictures, I would love sharing them, and I enjoyed looking through other uses pictures, to learn and inspire me.
I never thought about how great of a website it could be for teachers to be able to give out lessons, through pictures. That would be a different assignment for children, but it would open their eyes to a different type of learning. A lesson can contain the instructions, and the material can be found through the pictures of the website of their choice, in this case Flickr.

"Flickr is an online photo managing and sharing tool with a number of instructional operation for teachers, You can locate, organize, and send photos that you have taken or that you locate within the site's vast online  collection. This offers an almost limitless way to add visual learning resources to your curriculum."(122, Maloy)


Conclusion

Reading this chapter was one of those that with every few paragraphs, I would be " wow.. interesting." This chapter reinforced the material that I already knew, such as the tech tool that was about Flickr, which is a website that I am familiar with. On page 123 states the different names for each concept, example: "Web search: A tutorial on how to use the google search engine" "Maps: Point-to -point directiosn to addresses anywhere in the U.S" Material like that in the chapter made me feel comfortable because I knew what they were talking about for the most part, and then there were parts in the chapter that really taught me something new.
The different searches: A free-text search and a keyword/exact match search, as well  as learning what IT fluency is: Information technology fluency" which is something that has "become the core goal for teachers and students who are learning about technology." (118 Maloy)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Integrating Technology and Creating Change


The chapter examines dynamics of educational change and envisions innovative uses of computers and information tools in teaching. There are also strategies for using whatever technology teachers have in classrooms to promote new directions in teaching and learning. (83 Maloy)

Focus Question:

"How can teachers integrate technology into their work as educators?"

Students in today's society are the ones that are the most up to date with technology, you can find the young ones figuring out how to play with an iPhone before the parent does.
Educators have this to their advantage, since children are so well connected with technology that is coming out today, educators have the freedom to utilize the internet for posts, instructions, directions,discussions, journals, homework, quizzes,etc.
Classroom instructions can be given through the use of technology. By moving aside the "old school" instructions with chalk on the board, PowerPoint presentations are one of the best ways to go when trying to keep the students focused. Most students, specially the younger ones, have a hard time staying on task, and finishing what they are reading, and if they do finish it, sometimes they don't know what they have read. Technology comes in very handy if you have student's that are mainly visual learners. Having pictures and videos near or next to the text of the instructions or directions can clear any obstacles of questions the child may have.
A quick text or an e-mail to the classroom, if the student's have cell phone's they can receive the message of an exam that will be coming up, another way that a quick text can be very helpful is remainders for class, if needed.


As the text states "Teachers can incorporate computers and other information technologies into three major parts of their professional work: 1) Classroom instructions, 2) outside-theclassroom activities, and 3) inside-and outside-the-classroom learning activities for students.


Tech Took 4.1
Online Technology Integration Resources

Edutopia: Information and Inspiration for innovative teaching in k-12 Schools, a website from the George Lucas Educational Foundation, features a fine collection of technology integration resources. You can find information under the Priority topics menu.

Reading the article by Marc Prensky pointed out some very good points, that I myself find wondering sometimes. The fact that technology is "hardly new" as he stated in his article, finds that most educators get the new technologies in, but when is it that they let go of the old things, the old ways to learn? One of the questions in the beginning of the article said " The biggest question about technology and schools in the 21st century is not so much "What can it do?" but, rather, "When will it get to do it?" We all know life will be much different by 2100. Will school? How close will we be to Edutopia?"

We know what technology can do for the most that, from common knowledge we know that can do almost anything we set out our computers, phones, television, the capabilities of our technology today is almost limitless. The question today is, when will educators get the chance to do this ? Schools today still block the access for socialmedia, the walls at school usually don't allow your cell phone to receive signal, and if you are caught using a cell phone, or ipod, iPad, you will most likely get it confiscated.  Why is that schools can't meet at a level where we can find a common and balanced ground where we would be able to use these machines and these great connections that we have in the palms of our hands, to better our knowledge and help individuals in school, and better yet, to be able to better the world we live in today. 

If we made the transition from handwritten assignments to typed assignments and realized the the outcome was not only neater, but much better, why is it that we all can't have the same mindset on how technology is out there to benefit us in schools, as well as many other parts of our daily lives.

"Many schools still ban new digital technologies, such as cell phones and Wikipedia. Even when schools do try to move forward, they often face antitechnology pressure from parents demanding that schools go back to basics. Many teachers, under pressure from all sides, are often so afraid to experiment and to trust their kids with technology that they demand extensive training before they will try anything new. All these factors impede even the many schools trying to change."
Marc Prensky

It seems as if schools and educators that are suck on the old ways, of how things were taught in the 1970's and 1970's, don't want to move from that, because they feel as if that is their comfort zone, so why should they leave something they are comfortable with, and has worked in the past to something new and different, where they may feel uncomfortable?
The answer is simple, doing the same thing over and over again will only get you the same result, stepping out of that comfort zone and being able to see what is behind the walls, individuals are able to learn something different, as professors and as well as students.


Conclusion

While going through the chapter and reading that really interesting article on Edutopia from Marc Prenski, opens my eyes a little bit wider than I usually see the world with. I know that technology would be a great investment and a very efficient one for schools to take into consideration with a little more concrete thought. The stages of integration on page 90 from the textbook talks about how as an educator one needs to take these certain steps,a process as moving from "dabbling" to "doing old things in old ways" to " doing old things in new ways" to "doing new things in new ways".
I like the last two, mainly the last one because it shows courage to really learn something "new" in a completely different way, rather than modifying the old material to make it new, where could lead to a state of confusion.

"The Five Stages of technology use in classrooms :
Entry: A teacher needs to gain specific skills in how to use computers and technologies befpre she or he is able to think about how to applu new knowledge to classrom situations.
Adoption: A teacher knows enough to use technology in the classroo, but only at a basic level and only occsionally. ( I mentioned earlier about stepping out of the comfort zone, this would be it, to adopt the technology to teach)
Adaption: Teachers fully integrate " new technologies into traditional classroom practices."
Appropriation: A teacher is using technolgy as both an inside-the-classroom and outside- the - classrom tool.
Invention: Teachers start to "experiment with many instructional patterns and ways of relating to students" A teacher is exploring new ways to creatively use technology in and out of the class as well as adding emerging technologies to a personal repertoire of professional skills and practices."

(90, Maloy)

In retrospect on my high school years, I wasn't very well connected as I am with my college professors. Thinking about that makes me wonder what exactly was so different about the communication factor. In college I can e-mail my professors, I can ask them for help and assistance and even plan out days before class to really understand a specific concept. In high school, I never thought about e-mailing any of my teachers, and I wonder if they would even reply if I did, that definitely makes a big different in the way a student has communication with his professors, because I know that as a young woman today I am doing much better academically thanks to the strong ground of communication I have with my professors, thanks to the internet.