Final Reflections: Week 5

My aha monents have been realizing how easy these Web 2.0 applications are to use. I was not comfortable using wikis before taking this class and now I feel like I can use them with some degree of ease. Also, blogs are so much fun. I did set my home page to Google with news. I will set up some RSS feeds like WFAA for local news and weather later. I will be using blogs to give information to parents, students and other librarians. I can use the wiki that I set up for RC librarians to collaborate and create a database of resources that we can all use. I also plan to put the shelfari widget into my blog as well as into my library webpage so that I can put popular books on display.

As I have said before, my pragmatic philosophy has guided me in that I like things that I can use right now in my personal and work activities. I can use blogs, wikis, Google sites and applications, as well as eTools in education as well as my personal endeavors. I like that I have learned to use tools that can be used in the library and the classroom. I will be sharing these with teachers, students and other librarians. I will continue to use these Web 2.0 tools and applications in creating projects for students. Like I said before, I will use wikis to share knowledge among other librarians. This my also be a way of communicating with teachers as well, but I will probably use the blog for that and they can add comments for suggested books and resouces that I can buy. I will also use Jing and YouTube to create videos that I can use in the library/classroom for future lessons. The possibilities with Web 2.0 are endless. I think that my philosophy has mostly remained the same. I like to teach and learn things that will help me and my students to succeed in life.

Week 4 - How Much do I use Technology?

• I take notes on paper, then compose online to save time. I guess I still feel more comfortable doing things in longhand and then typing.
• I put most things on a paper calendar, which must be on my desk at work because it is not with me now. At work, I put events on a large calendar, but will be using the online calendar with reminders, due to the fact that I forget to look at the calendar on paper. The online calendar saved me when it reminded me that I had a librarian's meeting that day that I had forgotten all about. I need to use the calendar on my phone that my husband says is there.
• I do not bring a PDA (I don't own one) or a laptop to meetings. I would have to unplug the speakers and pack up the laptop as I use the laptop and a projector everyday during the school year. I still bring my notepad to our meetings. Most everyone else does also, even though three librarians have IPhones and one has a blackberry. I have the lowly LG Shine, which I do not recommend due to not being able to see the screen in the sun and it does not have a keyboard.
• I am usually constantly connected. I always have my cell phone with me and the Internet is up at work and at home.
• I can engage in a few activities at one time, but if too many people are talking, like my son seems to be, I don't do things very well. At home, I find myseld watching TV, reading e-mails, reading a magazine and a book at the same time. There is so much down time on TV that I need to do something else when viewing. I e-mail, answer questions and teach classes simultaneously.
• I do not play video or computer games.
• I am at the beginning of the generation Xers, but just barely as I was born in 1966.

There are definitely things we need to do to change for the Net Gen students. We need to be technology savvy and always be updating our skills and learning new things to pass on. We should use digital media and graphics, anything visual for these visual learners. We should use team and discovery learning whenever possible. The needs of disadvantaged and non-traditional students shoudl be addressed to even the playing field so they get more time with technology. Maybe grants for disadvantaged students to get computors and the Internet at home might be a start.

Week 3: E-Portfolios and Deep Learning

The article was interesting in that it conveyed the multiple purposes of the e-portfolio as well as its original purpose, which was to provide the learner and the teacher with an individualistic, developemental tool in the learning process. It has become a skills checklist that is used to address state and program requirements. It was difficult to pick just one of the Assessment for Learning principles. There are two principles that stand out to me.

• AFL should take account of the importance of (and foster) learner motivation.
• AFL develops learners' capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing.

I feel that it is imprtant to take into account learner motivation, especially todays learner and how different he/she may be from the learners of the past. Just like today's society is different, the student of today is different. The e-portfolio can address this in an individualist and constructivist manner. Also, isn't self-managing, self-reflective people what we want all of our student,s and children as well, to be now and in the future? These are the intrinsic, on-going learning elements that we want for our students.

There is great potential for portfolio assessment using these guidelines. These types of assessments would be great for art students. Of course, they are probably already doing this. Children are so "plugged in." This would be great for those kids that lose a lot of their work because it is online and always there. Also, there is so much room for individual creativity in this kind of practice.

I think that the creation of my own portfolio will definitely help me in the self-assessment as well as help me in my chosen career. I was a bit leary of wikis from other classes. Now that I created my own from scratch, it seems much easier. I am able to pass these skills and help students use them in their own individual way.

Reflections: Week 2

I chose the site about the velcro crop shortage in California. The site was obviously a hoax. This was a personal web site with the name of the man in the site, although when clicking on the link, one is taken to a bogus biography. The biography of Mr. Kumbach had many clickable links, many which didn't work. The ones that did work were sites to buy things like vacume tubes or advertising like domains for sale. The biography and links had so many strange tags that did not make sense. The purpose of the site and links is a funny way to sell things.

Reflection:Week One

The educational technology philosophy exercise helped me to realize that I like to have activities that have a real-life purpose. I want to learn things in this class that I can use myself and with my students. I like to look at blogs for entertainment, but they can also be full of information, such as a Texas Librarian blog that I look at. There is a blog we call "the crazy mom blog" that is really full of information yet downright entertaining as well. I think that blogs are definitely an outlet for creative people. Blogs provide a forum for questions, reflection, information, emotions and more. I would like to create my own blog of what I like to read with reviews and maybe my own travels. The philosophy assignment made me realize that as teachers, we have an important role to play in getting these children ready for life with ever-changing technology.

Today I talked to a friend and fellow teacher and mentioned that I needed to work on this blog. She asked how a blog could be important or beneficail to education? I told her that unlike a webpage, it is somewhat interactive in that readers can leave comments or ask questions. Also, a teacher can post assignments or give instructions on a blog. Blogs can be collaborative for students and teachers alike. I told her they have so many uses and some people make money due to the advertising links and such provided if the blog is popular.

Have we seen the potential for blogs outlined in the article by Downes? Yes and no. I think that it can be used more in education. I really like that students seem to be encouraged to write when it is for a blog. They love to be heard. The collaborative aspect of blogs can be seen when used in the classroom and outside the walls of the brick and mortar classroom. I believe the point was made that it is the information that blogs link to that make it relevant to education or whatever. Blogging definitely has not reached its potential. On the other hand, I think in some areas it may have surpassed what the author imagined. Who would have thought that someone's opinions on a subject or products like diapers, could make money?


In the November article, the author makes some good points. I have to agree that to informate is way more important than to automate. I have seen money thrown into technology without clear ideas about what information was needed. Technology for the sake of saying you have it is wasted money. I still think that training on the technology is needed. I think that teachers always have great ideas for lessons and projects. Another good point the author made is to always know who is behind the information on the Internet.

Educational Philosophy
Shannon Crowell
ETEC 524

My educational philosophy draws from my educational experiences as a student as well as my experiences as a teacher. I can easily align myself with parts of all five of the educational philosophies examined. The school of thought that I most identify with is Pragmatism. Pragmatism teaches students the skills, ideas and facts to solve real life problems.

As stated above, I subscribe to the pragmatic educational philosophy. I feel that education should teach or give skills to succeed in life. Also, education should not be stagnant. Life is always changing, therefore education methods and curriculum must change also. That being said, I subscribe to some of the concepts of Realism. I think actual things should be studied and Science is very important. As a former art teacher, we examined things to draw them and to create new things from existing objects. On the other hand, I believe that thinking and ideas are of great value to an education, so some of the Idealist tenets are part of my own educational philosophy.

I cannot state my educational philosophy without mentioning the influences of my favorite teacher. We studied the classics for Honors English in high school. Studying the classics in our time made me think and compare what went on so long ago to what is going on in our lives now. The classics are classics for a reason. They stand the test of time. They have real value in education and should not be left out of the curriculum. I guess I am pragmatic in my thought as to how the classics fit into my life and what I can learn from them.
My worst teacher shaped my educational philosophy in that he did not give us the skills needed to do Algebra II. Algebra teaches us problem solving.. Then again, I don’t use algebra in daily life, so did I really need it in the first place? What algebra does teach is how to think and that is something that we need in life. I guess I am a “cut to the chase” kind of person. Just give me the skills and information that I will need in life.

We should teach skills that will be needed in daily life, as well as, the classics, ideas, how to think and problem solve. I think that we need both. Education is made up of so many parts that all of the philosophies studied could reasonably fit in to one’s educational philosophy. The purpose of an education should be to teach students to think and to problem solve while giving them skills to succeed in life as it changes.

The teacher and the learner both have important roles to play in the educational process. They both should be active participants. A teacher should be a facilitator, not just a robot imparting information, as well as a life coach. The learner should take part in the activities provided and show an interest and individuality in their own education.

As a school librarian, my own objectives are to use technology to excite children about reading and literature and to teach them to use technology to create things, problem solve and find the information that they can use. I teach research skills using the Internet. I also promote literacy using programs that give away free stuff as rewards that can be accessed on a computer with Internet access. I teach students how to create their own books that can be published. I show videos and PowerPoint presentations, on how to do things using a computer, book reviews, web sites, digital books online and e-books in our library. Students learn how to research and how to do things on a computer.

I expect students to use the research strategies and web sites, and databases to complete assignments. I expect teachers to remind them to do this and have the website and database address posted. I expect teachers to use the information, web sites, and materials to make their lessons and activities fun and relevant to today’s technology savvy student.

In conclusion, I believe that students must have the skills and access to the technology that will help them to succeed in whatever life hands them. An education must include the classics for teaching us to think about ourselves and other cultures and should include problem-solving skills with applications to life.

Educational Technology Definition

This is my definiton of educational technology as a Wordle Concept Map. From the articles, I learned how the new digital native learns a new way due to the immersion in technology such as television, computers and video games. The brain actually changes just as education and technology changes. Teachers, must learn and use new ways to teach these students.