I'll be honest, this was an interesting list. As someone who has grown up with the internet I consider myself very knowledgeable about current technology trends. I have made extensive use out of many resources both in my personal hobbies and endeavors, as a student, and through my various jobs as an adult.
I'd like to give a few examples of my endeavors to showcase my tech knowledge...
I'm a man of many hobbies... The majority of which I have connected with others with similar interests via the internet. I have been a part of many forums, and even moderated some, and have enjoyed the sense of community that the internet offers for many different interests.
In high school one of these interests was building home-made devices called Potato cannons. I showcased my work through a website which I built and hosted through a free service online. This taught me how to use HTML coding, and web page publisher's like Frontpage. (I won't include a link to that site because it's been taken over by a server which hosts malware now...)
With the advent of social media, like Facebook, its now easier than ever to create a personalized "page" to showcase your interests. I've done this for my interest in wildlife and nature photography and created this page: https://www.facebook.com/WildLifeOfWestKY
Probably the most "geeky" hobby I have is collecting and customizing action figures and various toys. To share this hobby I created a YouTube channel full of instructional how-to videos and other various videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/spudafett
During my time at Murray State University in my undergraduate program I was given the opportunity to teach Geology 101 lab sessions. In this job I was first introduced to technology in the classroom from the teacher's viewpoint. I got extensive experience creating and using power point slide shows, video presentations, and similar technology in the classroom. One great piece of tech I loved to use during lectures is the SmartBoard!
After I graduated I was given a great opportunity to intern at Fossil Butte National Monument. My technology expertise helped me greatly here where I was given the responsibility to work on museum exhibits, utilizing adobe photoshop, InDesign, Publisher, among other software programs. I created posters, two of my favorites are still on display at the park and can be found here as well: Birds of the Park, and Fossil Diversity
This internship would turn into a full fledged park ranger job the next summer, where I would be able to produce, film, and publish several video podcasts for the park. My favorite of these can be found here: Fossil Preparation
Another responsibility of my position at Fossil Butte National Monument was interacting with visitors and leading guided tours and hikes. My favorite part of this was leading school groups, ranging from kindergarten to college. My interaction with those students and their teachers is the main reason I am pursuing a career in teaching now...
So, back to the use of these technologies in education;
Even though I think of myself as highly experienced with most technology resources available for teachers I haven't actually started teaching in the grade-school levels yet. I know I have a lot to learn about how to utilize these technologies in the classroom and I look forward to learning how to do just that with this class at UofC, educational technology. My biggest area of growth won't be getting exposure to the technology resources themselves, but rather in exposure in ways to utilize them as a teacher!
One of the things we learned about this week that I have had little experience with are creating wikis. I think this is something that I will definitely take advantage of immediately when I begin teaching. Some challenges that I think I might face with using it will be finding the time in the busy weekly schedule to update it and find interesting ways to use it in lessons. The other challenge I see with any web based technology is asking students to use it who may not have access to the internet. Finding ways around the busy schedule is easy, just make myself do it! For assisting students who may not have internet access I would find locations (libraries?) that they can use or start an after-school program for students who need access to the internet.
As a beginning to my growth using technology in the classroom are the first three technology explorations we were asked to do for class. Using the format provided by the professor I've written short reviews of the resources:
Tech
Exploration 1: Wikis
1.
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Describe what you learned from exploring this resource. Be
thorough in your response.
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Wiki’s are web based resources which can be created around
a central theme, but edited by the public or people who are granted
permissions to edit them. This creates
an “organic” knowledge base which grows larger as more people contribute to
it. Wikipedia, arguably the most
famous wiki site, holds over 4,500,000 articles in English and can be edited
by anyone. Although occasionally the
information is incorrect, Wikipedia can be used as a starting point for
research, with the majority of the material within it having the source
information referenced in the Wikipedia article.
A wiki site which I commonly use is a fan made Wikipedia like site called Wookipedia. This online, peer edited “encyclopedia” is Star Wars specific. This shows the great versatility of the wiki style resource. PBworks is a company which allows educators to set up their own wiki style sites which can be on any topic, but are commonly used as an extension of the classroom. |
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2.
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How could you use this resource in a school setting? It does not matter if it is in your field
or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in
educational settings.
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Using wiki sites in the classroom can range from student
use to administrative use. Students
can use wiki resources like Wikipedia as a starting base for research, or a
guide to finding other sources for learning.
Education administrators can use wiki resources like PBworks to create an organic knowledge base for their school. This knowledge base can then be edited frequently to include current events, schedules, curriculum guidelines, classwork, etc. This resource can then be used by students and their parents to keep up with current goings-on within their classes and school. Teachers can use it as a digital repository for assignments, schedules, and other classroom materials. |
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3.
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Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike;
Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.
Why or Why not?
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I would definitely recommend wiki resources to be used by
other educators. Their versatile array
of uses can come in handy for teachers who want to make resources available
to students and parents. Having a
digital database to have assignments, course materials, and external
resources all in one place can assist teachers in the administering of the
course. This type of resource can assist teachers greatly in keeping
resources organized.
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Tech
Exploration # 2: Ebooks
1.
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Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.
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E-books, or electronic books, are traditionally books or documents
which have been converted into digital format. However, some published materials are now
exclusively available in digital format and are not in printed hard copy at
all.
There are several resources available for e-books, most notably Amazon.com for use with their e-reader (a device designed specifically for viewing e-books) the Kindle. E-books are available for reading on many devices however, not just the kindle, and can be read online on any computer, tablet or smart phone. There are e-books in every genre, from children’s fiction to non-fiction! Amazon.com lists over one MILLION e-books available for purchase and frequently runs specials for free e-books! These free e-books are typically out of copyright pre-1923 books. Beyond books many magazine and scientific journals are becoming digital only publications, and many are republishing their materials digitally. Scientific journal articles are available through databases like ebscohost. Joining the e-reader bandwagon there are now tablet based apps for downloading and reading journal articles (similar to how the e-books work). One of these apps used by Murray State University is called Browzine.
Many textbooks are now available in electronic/digital
forms as well!
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2.
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How could you use this resource in a school setting?
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E-books and digital versions of journal articles are a
great resource in education both for the teacher and student. For the teacher it offers a vast, easy to access
library collection! Teachers,
especially in the English department, now have access to literally millions of
book titles to teach from. Many of the
classics are even available for free!
For students, e-books, digital journal articles, and e-text books are an amazing resource. Research has never been easier! Students have worlds of information at their fingertips. Electronic text gives students the ability to carry everything they need in a single device or access it anywhere there is a computer with internet. Electronic publications allow schools to cut down on costs used for paper printed materials. E-text books mean less for students to keep track of. |
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3.
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Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike;
Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.
Why or Why not?
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I definitely recommend the use of electronic publications
for educators (and students). The ease
of access is phenomenal, the reduction in cost is a huge attraction, and the
ability to access it anywhere is great for both students and teachers.
The only downside is that you can’t take an e-book out into the woods to read in the quiet of nature! |
Tech
Exploration 3: Podcasts
1.
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Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.
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Merrium Webster defines podcast as a program made
available in digital format for automatic download over the internet. Podcasts are typically audio files which
are streamed via the internet to computers or mobile audio devices (like
Ipods) and are typically episodic in format.
Podcast creators will create new podcasts on a scheduled basis
covering different topics, sometimes conducting interviews or roundtable type
discussions. Podcasts vary in length,
and professionalism, and are available for several topics.
Pod casts can be listened to live as they are being
recorded in some instances, and offers a “radio broadcast” type feel.
Apple’s iTunes software encorporates podcasts into its
capabilities.
Variations on podcasts include “vodcasts” in which the video element is included. Creating an episodic video collection which is available for streaming. Typically video podcasts can be found hosted on youtube or other sites. Several National Park Service locations host short, 5 minute or less, video pod casts on NPS.GOV. These video podcasts feature the parks and information about them both educational and informative for visitors. |
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2.
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How could you use this resource in a school setting? It does not matter if it is in your field
or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in
educational settings.
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Pod casts for teachers range from discussions about
current teaching news, technology and techniques to recorded lectures on
course material. Teachers can utilize
podcasts to keep informed themselves about current trends in education or
create a podcast themselves for use in the classroom or at home by their students.
Podcasts and video podcasts about specific topics can be incorporated into lesson plans by teachers. I for example, will be teaching high school earth science and plan to make extensive use of the video podcasts available from the National Park Service. Most notably the video podcasts on the Grand Canyon National Park’s geology. |
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3.
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Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike;
Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.
Why or Why not?
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I would recommend podcasts to fellow educators. Audio podcasts are great for turning on at
home and listening to while doing other tasks, and are great ways to keep
informed on current events, opinions and trends within education.
In the classroom however I would recommend more extensive use of video pod casts. The added visual element of a video podcast will help hold the attention of students. Being a visual learner myself I find it very difficult to simply sit and listen to an audio lecture. For the ease of use, the multitude of variety, and the amount of free podcast options make this resource a valuable one to incorporate into the modern classroom. |
Thanks for reading! Sorry for the long winded post!
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