EDAP+688+Summer+2011


 * Paper Assignment #1** - //Factors that influence technology integration into curriculum; TPACK and its place in the process. What external factors do you think most influence your development and teaching technology-integrated curriculum? What internal and external factors do you believe will be most important to you?//

The factors that I feel that most influence my development of technology-integrated lessons are what can I do with the technology, how can the use of the technology help me get my information across to my students better and keep them engaged in it? I know that today's students are different from when I was in school and they are not a sit-n-get generation. They want to learn, but they want the information given to them in an interesting way or in a way that allows them to be more hands on. I myself am a technology driven teacher and I try to incorporate technology into every facet of a unit/lesson that I can because I feel that it helps me express the points I need to make in a more dramatic way that will stick with the students.

The internal factors that I feel are important to me are how comfortable I am with using certain technology and how well can I use it to demonstrate what I need it to. The external factors that I feel that are important to me are the availability I have to using certain technologies and if they are not readily available to me, how easily can I get access to it.

One of my new favorite pieces of technology that I am planning on using in my classroom is [|Twiducate]. It is a social networking site that can be set up within a school with limited access to those within the school or even just to the people within a certain class or group. It will allow students an opportunity to communicate with one another during class time, or with me anytime. Twiducate allows for me to set up a calendar of important dates, attach links to sites that are student appropriate, a blog page where I can set up classroom discussion. It will be a valuable tool in my classroom this upcoming school year.

Another tool I like to use is [|Animoto]. I have created several short videos that help express some of the points that we discuss in science. It allows students an opportunity to go back and review the material and to interact with the material. Animoto will also be a valuable tool that students can use to create their own presentations of material that we discuss throughout the year.

My favorite piece of technology that I have used and continue to use is Weebly. I have created a class website, [|http://mrsstinsonsscienceclass.weebly.com/]

On my website I have created several pages that students will find helpful. There is a way for parents or students to send me comments about the class or the site. I have a news page that gives information about upcoming events for the school or the class. There is a class materials page that contains all of the power point presentations we use in class as well as some Animoto videos that I have created. I have a page of pictures of my former students, a page of just for fun things, a page of useful sites for further information on any of the topics we discuss, there is a page that contains some activities that were created for reinforcement of topics discussed as well.

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Twiducate

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Animoto

I donot feel as though my concept of understanding has fully changed. I do not feel that understanding can be measured. In order to measure a students learning we can not assess for understanding, we must assess for learning. If students can take the given information and apply it to different real life situations or be able to explain it to others, then as a teacher, I can say that the student has learned the material; understanding of the material goes hand in hand with learning the material. However, understanding is not a measurable concept.
 * Paper Assignment #2** - //How has your concept of **understanding** changed? With which facets of understanding presented by Wiggins and McTighe do you feel most comfortable? Least comfortable? Why?//

The concepts of understanding﻿ that I feel most comfortable with are explanation, application,and interpretation. In science I believe that if a student can explain a topic that they exhibit understanding of the topic, throught this explanantion they can apply the information to other circumstances to make sense of them and through interpretation they are able to infer changes and make predictions based on ther understandingof the material I havepresented to them.

If I have to pick one of the aspects of understanding that I am least comfortable with i would have to choose empathy. I really do not think I am unempathetic, but sometimes i find it hard to look at things through another's eyes,especially when it comes to science.


 * Paper Assignment #3** - //Web 2.0 Resources use in Technology Integrated Curriculum. What technologies do you think would enable you to help students develop a deeper understanding of the subject/s you want to teach? What technologies best "fit" your established teaching routines? What technologies will require you to stretch the most when developing and teaching the curriculum?//

Some of the Web 2.0 resources that I know i am going to be using in my classroom are Twiducate and Animoto. I am going to be using Twiducate to set up a common area for each of the classes that I have so that each studnet has access to upcoming due dates and any news that is relevant to them. I will also be creating a weekly blog posting that students will be required to participate in and respond to one another to help further class discussions and to get different perspectives on the topics we discuss in weach class. The more interactive a web 2.0 tool is, the better I feel that it "fits" into my way of teaching. I am a very hands on teacher and i feel that by creating an interactive classroom setting I can relinquish some of the control over the classroom to the studetns and get them more involved in their learning.

I have some websites that are virtual lab activities, whether they are actually web 2.0 tools or not, theses will require me to expand the way i teach a little more because I do not have an actual demonstration to perform and the students will basically have to read and teach themselves. i will simply be a mediator during these lab times.


 * Paper Assignment #4** - //As you consider developing and implementing a Technology Integrated Curriculum with which step/component do you feel// most comfortable? Why? Least comfortable? Why? State how a systematic approach tot he development and implementation of curriculum can help you as an instructor/instructional designer/curriculum developer.

I feel very comforatable in planning and developing the technology integrated curriculum, sometimes actually implementing the ideas comes with a challenge due to student access to computers inside the classroom as wel as at home.

A systematic approach to planning and implementing a technology integrated curriculum to starts with what topic am i trying to teach. In science there are many topics that technology can be used to enhance the material and give students many options for learning the material. depending on the topic, as an instructor I may begin with a powerpoint presentation to introduce ideas and then using Animoto, create interactive videos to reinforce the finer points of the material. By doing this it also gives the students a way to review the material anytime they may need it. I have created a classroom Weebly website that contains all power points presentations and animotovideos that i have created. Students are aware of this website and know tht they can access it from anywhere they have an internet connection.

I am probably least comfortable with trying to explain my uses of technology to others that have no understanding or no desire to learn how to use such tools. They do not see the benefits that technology has on their curriculum and the way students are engaged and remain engaged throughtout technology rich lessons. Those teachers and administrators that are still "fighting" this change in the way students learn are not only hindering their students, but also themselves.