EDLD 5364 Week 2 Reflection

This week has been very difficult because there was so much information to take in. In addition to that, as a campus leader (department chair), I've been very involved with benchmark and nine weeks testing and data disaggregation this week. I found myself trying to watch the videos and read the articles very late at night. This week's readings were very interesting and diverse. Probably what interested me most from the reading was the notion that using technology with at risk students lowers the dropout rate. (Page 2002) Even though I have always been a proponent of using technology with students, it never occurred to me that it does more than provide a high interest, engaging method for introducing new concepts. It only makes sense that students that are engaged learn more easily, and that students that are successful have more self-esteem. Having a high level of self worth is critical in lowering dropout rates. I had never made this connection until I read about it in the research by Michael Page. As a team, we are beginning to work on our plan for the given scenario. Luckily, our group members are all very flexible, and we work together well. Each of us brings something unique to the table, and sees things from different perspectives. I think I am in the minority with feeling more comfortable working with secondary students. Our other team members also have science and/or technology backgrounds, whereas I am an English and Speech teacher. Although this could cause problems in working together on a common goal, we have made our differences into positives by learning from each other’s backgrounds and experiences. I have been confused a bit this week about the different Google Sites, Google Documents, Wikis, and Blogs. We each have our own, and we also have our group pages. I prefer my Blog Spot for my reflections, and I hope that is acceptable since the assignment asks for my wiki ePortfolio. I’m not sure, so to be safe, I am posting on both my blog and my wiki. Page, M. S. (2002). Technology-enriched classrooms: Effects on students of low socioeconomic status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 389–409. Retrieved October 5, 2009 from the International Society of Education at http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Number_4_Summer _20021&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=830

EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology Week 1

The first week of EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology introduced students to three learning theories: construtivism, connectivism, and cyborg theories. Of these three theories, connectivism is the one that I am most familiar. I think that this a natural form of learning. As we take in new information, our tendency is to connect it to what we already know in order to make sense of it. This is why it is so important as teachers to either build background knowledge or activate schema before introducing a new concept. 

The connectivism theory seems to be all the rage right now. In my school district, the administrators do walk-throughs as a form of teacher evaluation. Several years back, this evaluation listed what the teacher was doing. Beginning last year, the evaluations moved away from the teachers actions and now focus only on what the students are doing. Teachers are becoming facilitators of learning, rather than the source of all learning.


The cyborg theory was by far the most radical view of the three. I enjoyed watching the video featuring researcher Kevin Warwick, who in 1998 implanted a silicon chip that was connected to his nervous system. This video both intrigued and frightened me. After viewing this video, I realized that it is possible to create a hybrid of man and machine. Warwick goes so far as to say that in the future, education will no longer be necessary, because we will be able to download information, images, and memories directly into our brains.


Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a Personal Event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved March 1, 2012 from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html


Warwirk, K. (nd). Cyborg Life YouTube.com. Retrieved on March 1, 2012 from http://www.hyoutube.com/watch?v=RB_L7SY_ngI

PSA: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

December 3, 2011 Web Conference Reflection

I was so glad that I was able to attend today’s web chat.  It turns out that the week 2 rubric had some errors, so everyone will see a zero in the gradebook.  Dr. Abernathy plans to average it as a 100 as long as the podcast was done.  I'm so glad I was at the conference to hear this, or I would have had a panic attack when I saw the zero!

I learned a lot today about copyrights.  We need to copyright our video in Creative Commons because we own it.  If we use stock photos or anyone else's material, we need to put the credits at the end.  Royalty free music needs to be attributed, too.  I always thought that if it was royalty-free, it didn't need to be cited.  I am so glad to know better now!  Dr. Abernathy also said the most common error made by students with their PSA is not giving the credits enough screen time to be read.  She said this is huge.  I was very worried about this since we only have a minute for our PSA.  I had visions of the credits screaming past.  As it turns out, the credits do not count towards our one minute limit.  We can have an extra minute for credits.  Copyright info is not necessary on drafts .... just the final product. 

Another very important thing I learned is that we need to give Dr. Abernathy and our IA (Linda Marshall) rights to our Drop Box so they can see our collaboration.  We should also be writing some kind of documentation of everytime we "meet".  We are in constant collaboration, but we have not been documenting it.  I am planning to add a document in our Drop Box to keep track of our "meetings".  

Google docs was suggested for the storyboard.  It can also be drawn by hand, scanned, and uploaded.  Julia Evans has volunteered to do this part of our project, for which I am very thankful.

Our group is very proactive.  We have lots of pictures, video, and scripts.  So far, we have worked well together and it has been a positive experience.

November 27, 2011 Web Conference Reflection

Dr. Abernathy reiterated that students need  to work in teams of 3 to 5 people.  She suggested that students post in the discussion board notify their IA if they are not yet in a group.  You should have a team within your own section.  99.9% of students say that working in groups was a wonderful experience, even though they wanted to do it themselves originally. 

The Week Two podcast only requires audio, but we do need to have an embed code for our eportfolios.  We are supposed to use Audacity for the podcast.  I felt better after learning that I am not the only teacher that has not ever made a podcast or used Audacity.  It was suggested that we search YouTube for Podbean tutorials.  These are free web 2.0 tools.  We should be sharing with our administrators that there are valuable instructional tools that are available and free.  We should be leaders on our campuses and share our expertise and knowledge of web 2.0 tools. 

Dr. Abernathy mentioned that Google sites are great for eportfolios, but we should make our own decision on what we want to use.  I've decided to use Google sites.  I also just learned about Drop Box, which has been invaluable for my group to sharing files.

Probably the most important thing I learned today is that we need to document our original work with Creative Commons – including our podcast, digital story, and PSA.  Dr. Abernathy  and the faculty believe that we should have our students register their work at Creative Commons, as well.

The web conference was very informative, as usual.

November 22, 2011 Web Conference Reflection

Today's conference centered around week two's assignment.  There was a lot of confusion about the podcast and whether it should include video as well as audio.  Dr. Abernathy clarified for us that it did not have to include video, but it could if we desired.  There was also a lot of confusion on how long the podcast should be.  Some students thought it was supposed to be one minute, others thought two minutes. I have not used Audacity before, so I was interested to learn about LAME, and that it should only need to be downloaded once.  Some students found groups to join during the web conference.  Andres Chavez and I have been helping each other since the first course, so we decided to continue working together.  He met two more ladies during a web conference, and the four of us are going to work together on our project.

EDLD 536 3Web Conference Reflection - December 3, 2011

I learned some very important information from this morning's web conference.  Probably the most important thing was that the rubric for week two was incorrect, and so even though our grade is showing as a zero, we will not be receiving that grade.  Whew!  Dr. Abernathy said that as long as we submitted the assignment and did a podcast, that we would receive a 100.  I'm thrilled to receive the 100, but I am proud of  my podcast and had hoped for some feedback from the IA.

I also learned that we will need to register our completed PSA with Creative Commons since it is something that we have created.  In addition to that, Dr. Abernathy stressed how important it is to leave the credits on the screen long enough to be read.  She said that a lot of groups have it flash by too quickly.  Until this discussion, I was thinking that since we only are alotted one minute for our PSA, we would be forced limit the credits to a brief flash, as well.  I found out this morning that the credits are not included in our one minute time limit.  We are allowed an extra minute for the credits.

Another benefit of this morning's web conference was that someone asked about Drop Box.  Our group is using Drop Box and it had not occurred to me that we needed to invite Dr. Abernathy and Linda Marshall.  We are keeping all our collaboration documents in Drop Box.

This was my 4th web conference this week, and yet I still learned something valuable.  I will make it a practice to attend as many as I can throughout my program.