#2 ILP "Participation" -- Technology Related Lecture (TED Talk)

1. Evidence of Learning: watched video: "Mae Jemison: Teach Arts and Sciences Together"

2. Description of Experience:

Mae Jemison spoke on her passion for the revitalization of the arts and sciences.  She tells the story of her broad educational desires growing up, eventually coming to a cross roads in her later years of college, when forced to choose either professional dance or medical school.  She later when on to become an astronaut.  She talks on how inventions, advancements, works of art, virtually all things are manifestations of creativity.  Therefore she argues that art and science are so crucial to our future, and a necessity in education.  She concludes her speech with the claim of "Arts and sciences are not separate!... Ideas have potential energy, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action."

3. Products/ Evidence:

Video can be found at https://www.ted.com/playlists/124/ken_robinson_10_talks_on_educ 

#1 ILP "Participation" - Technology-Related Lecture (Ted Talk)

1. Evidence: picture/activity log:
I watched the Ted Talk "Let's use video to re-invent education" by Salman Khan, presented in March, 2011, in Longbeach, California.

2. Description of learning experience:
For my first Independent Learning Project, I watched a TED (technology, entertainment, and design) Talk on the topic of Online Education, given by the creator of Kahn Academy, Salman Khan.  This was an incredibly interesting talk that addressed the success and advantage of video-based learning.  Salman began his talk by describing how he started Khan Academy (putting educational videos on youtube for his cousins).  From these videos, he received messages from students, parents, and teachers -- thanking him for his help and encouraging him to do more.  Thus, the Khan Academy, a not-for-profit was built, and today has thousands of videos spanning every subject and learning-level.  Salman Khan then spoke on the "next step" of his company, detailing successful "flipped-classrooms" and explaining his concept of knowledge maps (as of 2011, there were 90 available).  Paralleling his method to that of learning how to ride a bike, Salman Khan's knowledge maps allow for student practice and failure, but does not allow advancement in subject material until mastery is accomplished.  Traditional education allows for "swiss holes" in student learning, but by ensuring student understanding of basic concepts, the more complex teachings will be more effectively learned.  Teacher-specific tools have also been added to Khan academy, enabling instructors to keep tabs on each student, what level they are at, how they compare to the rest of the class, how long they spend on the material each day, et cetera.  In conclusion of his lecture, Salman Khan painted the picture of this "one world classroom" that Khan Academy is attempting to create.            


3. Product/ Evidence:

The TED Talk can be reached at this link:
https://www.ted.com/playlists/24/re_imagining_school

The Khan Academy website can be reached at this link:
https://www.khanacademy.org

Blog Post 10:

Power Point Interaction:

I thought I already knew powerpoint, but this week's assignment taught me things I never knew powerpoint could do!  The action buttons for example -- I never thought of creating a non-linear presentation, but with actions buttons a boring, familiar powerpoint can be turned into an interactive and fun presentation!  I certainly plan to utilize this method of powerpoint in my future teaching career.  It would be a good way to make practice quizzes for my students, for example.  I have nothing to change about this assignment.   

Data Collection Tools: 

For my future teaching career, I see the potential of using data collection tools and plan on using data collection in a multiplicity of ways.  For a high school Literature class for example, I could collect data on student opinions on required readings, test score data, end-of-year review data, even data from parents through email.  In more math and science based courses, data collection can be more student driven when assignments require them to obtain and analyze project data.

Technology-Related Skill:

...that I would like to learn next -- Tips for/ better  understanding of Cloud Computing/ Storage/ backup/ sharing.  Although this is a broad topic, I think I would really benefit from a deeper knowledge of The Cloud and the best ways to integrate it into my classroom/ teach my students its practicality and usefulness.  It's true I know some basics of "the cloud" concept, but I feel as if I'm still stuck in "save-to-hard-drive" mode.  Seeing the quick progression of digital work now being saved, shared, and stored in the cloud (and the weighty risk of not doing so, chancing loss of work if computer crashes) strongly prompts me to really learn the ins and out of this new, but already prominent, internet hallmark.  

Achieving my Educational Technology Goals:

Enhancing my teaching with purposeful and helpful technology will be a constant process throughout my future years of teaching -- largely due to the fact that technology is always changing and advancing.  In effort to stay up-to-date, I hope to collaborate with other teachers, continue tech/education research to keep my knowledge and ideas fresh, reach out to technology experts to understand their perspective, and ask my students about how they would like to see technology integrated into their education (if age appropriate).  And of course, I will keep my class textbook from EME 2040 for reference when I need it!  

Blog Post 9

1. The Flipped Classroom
The flipped classroom is a blended delivery model that essentially has students learn new material for homework and practice the material in the classroom (opposite from the traditional "learn new material in the classroom and practice at home" format of teaching).  The "learning-for-homework" is most frequently done through educational video casts called vodcasting.  As an example, a math teacher could pre-record a lecture on new material, assign it to the students to watch for homework, and then use class time to have students practice what they learned with the benefit of having the teacher available for additional explanation and any questions.  Chapter 10 of Teaching and Learning with Technology cleverly terms the teacher's role change from "sage on the stage" to "guide on the side."  I particularly love this method of teaching because of my natural learning style.  Often times in the traditional class, I am very lost, the new information is overwhelming, I'm so focused on writing down lecture notes that I don't have time to comprehend the information or ask questions, et cetera... which causes me to feel constantly behind in class and often forces me to teach myself the material after school and then attempt the assigned homework.  The flipped classroom appeals to me because  I can watch the recorded lecture at my own pace, rewind or re-watch if I need to, write down any questions, and have time to process it on my own before going to class.  If not wanting to pre-record lectures, websites like Kahn Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org) are great assets.

2.  Professional Development Web-Resource Review
I decided to review Discovery Education's Educational Professional Development website.  (http://www.discoveryeducation.com//what-we-offer/professional-development/explore/index.cfm)
This company partners with districts to identify goals, develop customized learning plans, collaboratively design professional learning plans, address teacher and administrator needs, provide certification opportunities for web-based learning experiences, and offer free digital academies in leadership, literature, math, and STEM subjects.

It comes at a cost though: One day of on-site professional development is $2,500, which includes a six hour session with an expert instructor.  For $600, a three session webinar is available for purchase.  However, Discovery Ed offers K-12 teacher classroom resources for free!  This aspect of the company I believe would be the most practical and useful for me as a new teacher.   The community blog and the student resources are also helpful tools to enhance my future teaching!  Overall, this website/ company seems to be very helpful to all those in the education realm, weather a elementary student, high school teacher, or district administrator.

3. Reflection of Information Dissemination Assignment
This power point assignment was actually quite fun!  Although I grew up using Windows, I was not familiar with the newest/ upgraded powerpoint software.  I learned that there are so many options to help create a great presentation.  One element I was unfamiliar with was the "button" function -- allowing the viewer to click through the slides or access whatever page the button is hyper-linked to.  It was also helpful for me to think about effective instructional techniques when using power point.  The tips Lauren gave about keeping it concise and not overloading the slides with information were extremely helpful!  I don't think I would change this assignment in any way.
(and unfortunately I don't have a screen shot of my assignment -- I created it on an FSU desktop computer since I have a Mac and don't have powerpoint)    

Blog Post 8

I believe electronic paper holds the biggest promise for future education.  Once it becomes more fully developed and sold at a more affordable price (currently around $100), I predict that this technology will be a great asset to the majority of classrooms and schools.  Not only will it drastically decrease the need for paper, but it is a much improved alternative to ebook readers/ tablets -- lighter, flexible, unbreakable, compact, and (soon to be) less expensive.  As long as this technology doesn't have a significantly adverse affect on handwriting, this tool has a very positive outlook for widespread usage in classrooms (especially if it adopts the "book-like" screen of some e-readers rather than a computer-like screen that can be distressing to the eyes).  

http://hechingerreport.org/kids-teaching-robots-is-this-the-future-of-education/

One future technology not mentioned in chapter 12 is the possibility of educational robots.  Described in the above hyperlink, a robot named "Betty" is designed to "learn" from students, enhancing the students' learning process while not being judgmental (as another human might be).  

    

The digital divide is the gap between people who have access to technology (and knowledge/ use) and those who do not.  This disparity is a major problem since modern advancements are increasingly tech/ computer-based -- meaning education, jobs, employment skills, et cetera will be more and more technologically based.  Therefore, those with little to no access to these technologies are at a significant disadvantage in the work force and education realm.  Luckily, I have have grown up with access to technology, knowledge of its use, and frequent practice of tech-skills.  My accessibility and knowledge of technology/ computers places me in the "digital native" category.  However, not all students in my future classroom will be "digital natives" as I am.  In effort to boost "internet-fluency" I will integrate computers and technology into my lessons, making sure to give practical tips to all students.