I am currently building a sister site to Jamael's Shorts called Jamael's Shortcuts :-) It is a technology toolbox, a hodgepodge of tools for tech integration. It is still in its infancy, but please check it out- there are some things up that you may find useful. Hope to see you there!
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Some things I learned from 517:
I knew this would be a tough semester. I really did. Perhaps I'm coping better than I thought I would. But it has so far been nothing short of crazy. Why didn't anyone tell me working full time and going to school full time would be ridiculous?? Oh yeah, they did. Anyway, I'm launching into another semester of Educational Technology as my major at Baldwin Wallace University. The class that you guys are concerned about is the one where they prepare their students to overcome resistance and obstacles as leaders in technology. It has so far been a really intriguing class. I am LOVING the new tech tools we have been introduced to. They are different than the types of tools I have reported on in the past. Before I dive into a few of these tech tools, check out my Prezi on ISTE Coach standards :-) Cute, huh? Anyway, what I loved about my former Technology class at Akron was that it was inspiring. I started this blog (which admittedly I'm pretty terrible at keeping up on), and we were introduced to real and practical technology tools that kids love in the classroom. This class is about introducing tools that are useful to us as teachers and prepping us to deal with administration in making classroom technology accessible.
I will be posting more this semester. That's a promise (and a requirement). *innocent smirk* Jamael Here's a secret. I avoided this post for so long. I couldn't imagine how I could make this fun for myself. It's one of those things that needed to be done, whether I liked it or not, but herein we have a perfect example of the goal of educators. A lot of the subject material isn't fun and to the students, frankly, it sucks. But if we as educators pretend it's raging fun for everyone, who's the wiser? Similarly, the best thing we can do for our students is incorporate technology seamlessly into our lesson plans. If we are just using it because we have to, those kids know the difference! They can feel that the teacher is bored, and it makes class so much more dry than they initially perceived. I had a Physics prof in college that tried using so many different forms of technology, probably because she had to, but it was absolutely terrible. She projected notes onto the ceiling of the planetarium (with the lights on!), used an overhead projector that had certainly seen better days, she used display screens that were smaller than my TV in my apartment, and the list goes on. Hands down, the worst class I've ever taken. I didn't even realize that perhaps what made the class so terrible was the poor use of technology. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a nonprofit organization that regulates the technology standards in education. ISTE has 5 technology goals for teachers in every subject: 1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity 2. Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments 3. Model digital-age work and learning 4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility 5. Engage in professional growth and leadership Notice Number 5. The Ning community is just that. It is a social networking site that allows fellow educators to communicate with each other and promote professional growth in this digital-age. The students have similar standards in which they are responsible for their own success in these areas as well. Internet + etiquette. Netiquette. What a clever word. The basic rules of netiquette are pretty obvious. Be polite, disregard spelling errors, don't use ALL CAPS (because in text form, it looks like shouting- i have to agree), respect yourself and others, etc. As obvious as these are, it's amazing how often the rules of netiquette are violated. Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) are created as guidelines that help us know what is a fair way to use the Internet in certain places and situations. As made public by the National Education Association, a good AUP has these six key elements: a preamble, definition section, policy statement, acceptable uses section, unacceptable uses section, and a violations/sanctions section. Copyright laws are usually fairly strict for normal people, but as educators, we can use many copyrighted material for educational purposes. The Koce Classroom put it so eloquently, "Fair Use is the concept that if you are doing something for the greater good of society, like teaching, then your needs supersede the ownership rights of the copyright holder under the Copyright Act." Without fair use, education would become so much more expensive, and this would eventually harm the students in the educational system. It wouldn't affect the teachers so much as it would the students. This concept makes sense economically as well as educationally. Enjoy this little video about copyright laws in the United States, as told by Disney characters. Jamael
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