We can all agree that technology is playing a bigger role in education than ever before. Students are expected to be proficient in typing, word processing, spreadsheets, Internet use, and more. As students are born into the digital age, they have a knack for technology. They tend to be quite proficient in technology use, and even surprise some of the most seasoned technologists. In addition, as technology integration becomes increasingly important, the federal government is working to implement standards for technology education. With these standards will come additional student testing. The recently approved stimulus plan has allocated additional funding for technology education and classroom integration, reinforcing the importance of technology education.
If I was a teacher, and I had $10,000 to spend on my classroom, I would outfit it with what I believe are essentials. I would start with a Promethean board and add all of the gadgets to go along with it. The following is the pricelist for the Promethean board and the components I would want to make the best use of it:
78” Promethean Board....................................$1439.00
Promethean Board Rolling Stand.......................$449.00
Promethean Response Systems.......................$1965.00
Promethean ActivSlate......................................$360.00
Epson Powerlite 83+ Projector..........................$559.00
Qomo Presenter QD700 Document Camera.......$995.00
Apple MacBook...............................................$1146.00
Bretford ECILS3FF-BK Multimedia Cart..............$337.00
LG 60PG30FC 60” Plasma TV...........................$2660.00
Sony BDPS350 Blu-Ray Player............................$258.00
Total..............................................................$10168.00
I believe each of these devices would enable me to be a better teacher and would allow me to engage students more effectively.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Module 11 - Portfolios
Portfolios have become commonplace in recent years. The concept of a portfolio was first introduced to me during my final years at Davenport University. Each class in the new curriculum requires the student to complete a project known as an “artifact,” which is then added to the student portfolio. The intent is to create quality projects for the portfolio, which are to be used when applying for a job after graduation. This is probably one of the most common uses for a portfolio.
Because the portfolio project was started well into my college career, my portfolio is incomplete. If I had a complete portfolio, I imagine that I could use it to “sell” my skills and myself to a perspective employer. Thankfully, I’m not in the market for a new job. The textbook includes some great ideas for portfolio artifacts; items such as a professional resume, transcripts, awards or honors, letters of recommendation, and endorsements or certificates are great examples of information that one might include in a portfolio.
If I were to put together a portfolio, I would consider having the information available in both paper and electronic forms. Employers are eager to have information available in a digital format for quick access and sharing documentation within the office.
Because the portfolio project was started well into my college career, my portfolio is incomplete. If I had a complete portfolio, I imagine that I could use it to “sell” my skills and myself to a perspective employer. Thankfully, I’m not in the market for a new job. The textbook includes some great ideas for portfolio artifacts; items such as a professional resume, transcripts, awards or honors, letters of recommendation, and endorsements or certificates are great examples of information that one might include in a portfolio.
If I were to put together a portfolio, I would consider having the information available in both paper and electronic forms. Employers are eager to have information available in a digital format for quick access and sharing documentation within the office.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Module 8 - Assistive Technology
As each day passes, technology plays a larger role in classrooms across the globe. Over the years, I have seen teachers enhance their technology repertoire, moving from the age of overhead projectors, video cassette recorders, and computers with 5 ¼” floppy drives, to the age of document cameras, DVD players, and computers with DVD burning capabilities. I’ve been intrigued by new technologies and devices that enhance classroom education for sometime, but more recently I’ve become very interested in the technology offered by Promethean.
The Promethean ActivBoard is a 21st century blackboard. Gone are the days of chalk and dry-erase markers; here are the days of ActivPens. Located in Blackburn, United Kingdom, Promethean manufactures an interactive whiteboard that integrates a touch-sensitive surface. Users project their computer onto the ActivBoard and then manipulate the computer using an ActivPen.
The ActivBoard is the foundation for the array of tools available from Promethean. Other support tools include the ActiVote, which allows students to vote from their desks, while poll results are shown instantly on the ActivBoard. Teachers may use the ActivSlate portable tablet, which allows them to write on the ActivBoard through writing on a slate. A teacher can stand in the back of their classroom, and continue writing on the ActivBoard at the front of their room. There are a total of eight tools available to support the ActivBoard, each of which can be viewed on the Promethean website.
The board also comes with the ActivStudio software, which allows the user to create lesson plans, which integrate the use of the ActivBoard.
I have watched teachers use this product with great enthusiasm. In turn, their students are also enthused and engaged in the lesson. Students are unbelievably eager to have their opportunity to write on the “magic board.” We have a math teacher at our high school who was so excited by this technology, that she could not resist purchasing one for her classroom. Through classroom fundraisers, she was able to save enough money to purchase a computer, projector, and ActivBoard. With help from my technology staff, I happily installed this equipment for her, and we were rewarded with her gratefulness and many thanks. I am confident that technology such as this will truly change the way teachers teach and students learn.
This YouTube video is a great demonstration of how the ActivBoard is used in one Baltimore school.
The Promethean ActivBoard is a 21st century blackboard. Gone are the days of chalk and dry-erase markers; here are the days of ActivPens. Located in Blackburn, United Kingdom, Promethean manufactures an interactive whiteboard that integrates a touch-sensitive surface. Users project their computer onto the ActivBoard and then manipulate the computer using an ActivPen.
The ActivBoard is the foundation for the array of tools available from Promethean. Other support tools include the ActiVote, which allows students to vote from their desks, while poll results are shown instantly on the ActivBoard. Teachers may use the ActivSlate portable tablet, which allows them to write on the ActivBoard through writing on a slate. A teacher can stand in the back of their classroom, and continue writing on the ActivBoard at the front of their room. There are a total of eight tools available to support the ActivBoard, each of which can be viewed on the Promethean website.
The board also comes with the ActivStudio software, which allows the user to create lesson plans, which integrate the use of the ActivBoard.
I have watched teachers use this product with great enthusiasm. In turn, their students are also enthused and engaged in the lesson. Students are unbelievably eager to have their opportunity to write on the “magic board.” We have a math teacher at our high school who was so excited by this technology, that she could not resist purchasing one for her classroom. Through classroom fundraisers, she was able to save enough money to purchase a computer, projector, and ActivBoard. With help from my technology staff, I happily installed this equipment for her, and we were rewarded with her gratefulness and many thanks. I am confident that technology such as this will truly change the way teachers teach and students learn.
This YouTube video is a great demonstration of how the ActivBoard is used in one Baltimore school.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Module 7 - Multimedia
Technology and multimedia have completely changed the way we view presentations. Gone are the days when an audience packs a room to simply sit and listen to a speaker. Today, there are a plethora of resources and tools available for breathing life into presentations: PowerPoint, Keynote, video clips and feeds, audio clips and feeds, video and still cameras, document cameras, smart boards, etc. Each of these technologies has changed the way a presenter presents and an audience interprets the presenter’s message.
Although I don’t have students, or a classroom to utilize multimedia tools, there are many teachers within my district who do. Many teachers utilize projectors to display online Discovery Streaming content and other videos that are available on the web; I have seen teachers use document cameras on a regular basis to capture and display images and video of examples, that are too small to see without camera magnification; teachers use PowerPoint to highlight key-points in the topics they are discussing. Everywhere I look, I see teachers integrating technology and multimedia into their presentations. It may be something as small as a photo or as large as an entire lesson that is presented using a Promethean Board. Seeing these teachers in action is a truly exciting experience. Multimedia integration has a tendency to allow students to think differently about their learning experience, thus positively engaging students.
In my personal experience, I have used videos, pictures, document cameras, PowerPoint, and Keynote while presenting to my colleagues. In talking with teachers, I have found that the largest hurdle for implementing multimedia in the classroom is making sure the technology works when there are 30, mostly impatient, students watching. Technology can be unpredictable, but many issues can be resolved through additional teacher training and the availability of technology integrators. It’s my job to make sure that teachers have the necessary technology and resources to successfully integrate multimedia. Unfortunately, I have concern that pending budget issues in my district will have a negative impact on available technology, integration, and training.
Like most educators, I would like to see the continued and expanded use of technology throughout our district. As more technology-oriented teachers take to leading classrooms, we will certainly see the use of technology and multimedia increase within our classrooms and schools. I look forward to the future and the opportunities technology will bring to our students.
Although I don’t have students, or a classroom to utilize multimedia tools, there are many teachers within my district who do. Many teachers utilize projectors to display online Discovery Streaming content and other videos that are available on the web; I have seen teachers use document cameras on a regular basis to capture and display images and video of examples, that are too small to see without camera magnification; teachers use PowerPoint to highlight key-points in the topics they are discussing. Everywhere I look, I see teachers integrating technology and multimedia into their presentations. It may be something as small as a photo or as large as an entire lesson that is presented using a Promethean Board. Seeing these teachers in action is a truly exciting experience. Multimedia integration has a tendency to allow students to think differently about their learning experience, thus positively engaging students.
In my personal experience, I have used videos, pictures, document cameras, PowerPoint, and Keynote while presenting to my colleagues. In talking with teachers, I have found that the largest hurdle for implementing multimedia in the classroom is making sure the technology works when there are 30, mostly impatient, students watching. Technology can be unpredictable, but many issues can be resolved through additional teacher training and the availability of technology integrators. It’s my job to make sure that teachers have the necessary technology and resources to successfully integrate multimedia. Unfortunately, I have concern that pending budget issues in my district will have a negative impact on available technology, integration, and training.
Like most educators, I would like to see the continued and expanded use of technology throughout our district. As more technology-oriented teachers take to leading classrooms, we will certainly see the use of technology and multimedia increase within our classrooms and schools. I look forward to the future and the opportunities technology will bring to our students.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Module 6 Blog - Spreadsheets
I find it easy to pinpoint absolute uses for word processing and database applications, but very difficult to pinpoint absolute uses for spreadsheets. Perhaps this is because spreadsheets can be used for a multitude of tasks, whereas word processing applications are used to type documents and database applications are used for record keeping. Spreadsheets don’t have an absolute use; they can be used for anything from accounting to creating class rosters.
Although I don’t use spreadsheets on a daily basis, I do find myself using them many times throughout the week. I use spreadsheets in a variety of ways: tracking the IP addresses assigned to network devices, maintaining inventory of network equipment, creating budgets, and even for tracking results from the district’s annual 5K run. Spreadsheets allow me to organize data quickly and efficiently.
Like me, my district’s teachers use spreadsheets for a variety of reasons. A quick scan of the fileserver showed that teachers are using spreadsheets to create calendars, rosters, fine lists, maintenance logs, check-out lists, food orders, schedules, polls, etc. The list of spreadsheet uses is seemingly endless. Our teachers make excellent use of spreadsheets, but I’d be hard-pressed to say that they use them more than our district’s financial department. Spreadsheets are a vital tool for accountants and financial personnel. They allow for the tracking of finances, through the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division formulas.
Overall, spreadsheets play an important role in both the worlds of business and school. For some, spreadsheets allow us to better organize data; for others, spreadsheets allow us to keep our financial records in order. For me, spreadsheets have become an important tool that I will continue using for an assortment of tasks.
Although I don’t use spreadsheets on a daily basis, I do find myself using them many times throughout the week. I use spreadsheets in a variety of ways: tracking the IP addresses assigned to network devices, maintaining inventory of network equipment, creating budgets, and even for tracking results from the district’s annual 5K run. Spreadsheets allow me to organize data quickly and efficiently.
Like me, my district’s teachers use spreadsheets for a variety of reasons. A quick scan of the fileserver showed that teachers are using spreadsheets to create calendars, rosters, fine lists, maintenance logs, check-out lists, food orders, schedules, polls, etc. The list of spreadsheet uses is seemingly endless. Our teachers make excellent use of spreadsheets, but I’d be hard-pressed to say that they use them more than our district’s financial department. Spreadsheets are a vital tool for accountants and financial personnel. They allow for the tracking of finances, through the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division formulas.
Overall, spreadsheets play an important role in both the worlds of business and school. For some, spreadsheets allow us to better organize data; for others, spreadsheets allow us to keep our financial records in order. For me, spreadsheets have become an important tool that I will continue using for an assortment of tasks.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Module 5 Blog - Databases
BORING immediately comes to mind when I hear the word database. Luckily for me (sarcasm), I live in a database during much of my workday. Well, not literally, but most everything I do at work does revolve around two enormous databases. I don’t typically think of these as databases, but rather as systems. I utilize our student information system and our work order system on a very regular basis. While these examples may not be your typical “contacts database,” the fact remains that they are a structured collection of records, and therefore are classified as databases.
The largest database I work with is our student information system. Our district teachers and staff use this database primarily to track attendance and grades. Other information contained within this database includes: demographics, contacts, schedules, grades, transcripts, immunizations, etc. Parents and students are also able to access this database from the Internet to access much of the same information. Although this data is not entered or viewed as in Microsoft Access, the structuring of information conforms to that of a database.
The database that I use most often is our work order system. This database has changed the way I work. When a staff member has a technology issue, they call or email our helpdesk, who in turn adds a record to our FileMaker Pro database. I frequently check this database for work order updates, as do other members of my technology staff. This database has significantly increased efficiency and turn-around time in technology issues, requests, and repairs. Without this database, the technology department would be hard-pressed to keep technology repairs organized and completed in a timely fashion.
Databases are an amazing tool for organization. Whether we realize it or not, we access databases on a daily bases. Whether you’re using an electronic checkbook, address book, student information system, or electronic library resource, you’re using or accessing a database. I can say with certainty that they save me an immeasurable amount of time. Although databases may seem boring at first glance, perhaps they’re not so boring after all.
The largest database I work with is our student information system. Our district teachers and staff use this database primarily to track attendance and grades. Other information contained within this database includes: demographics, contacts, schedules, grades, transcripts, immunizations, etc. Parents and students are also able to access this database from the Internet to access much of the same information. Although this data is not entered or viewed as in Microsoft Access, the structuring of information conforms to that of a database.
The database that I use most often is our work order system. This database has changed the way I work. When a staff member has a technology issue, they call or email our helpdesk, who in turn adds a record to our FileMaker Pro database. I frequently check this database for work order updates, as do other members of my technology staff. This database has significantly increased efficiency and turn-around time in technology issues, requests, and repairs. Without this database, the technology department would be hard-pressed to keep technology repairs organized and completed in a timely fashion.
Databases are an amazing tool for organization. Whether we realize it or not, we access databases on a daily bases. Whether you’re using an electronic checkbook, address book, student information system, or electronic library resource, you’re using or accessing a database. I can say with certainty that they save me an immeasurable amount of time. Although databases may seem boring at first glance, perhaps they’re not so boring after all.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Module 4 Blog - Word Processing
As I write this, I wonder what a world would be like without word processing. Can you imagine no Internet or email? Both of these technologies are dependent upon word processing. If you’re young, you more than likely take word processing for granted. Even after living through the use of typewriters, although primarily during my elementary years, I still take it for granted.
I use word processing everyday to type memos, letters, email messages, and more. I don’t know what I’d do without it. I spend much of my day writing correspondence for work. When I was in elementary school, we were taught to pre-write, create a rough-draft, revise, and then create a final-draft, which was to be typed. Although this procedure is still viable, I usually start a document by keying it into a word processing application. I simply don’t have the time to handwrite a document and then input the information into a word processor. Without these applications, we’d have to pre-write all of our documents and then type them without mistakes. This would be a difficult task for me, as I almost always make additions, subtractions, and deletions while word processing.
Most of the students in my district utilize word processing everyday too. After the Internet, Microsoft Word is the most used application on our computers. The students use Word to process school reports, journals, letters, memos, etc. The students can use Word on any district computer, after which they can save their document(s) to the fileserver. Students also have AppleWorks and TextEdit available for their word processing needs.
I believe most of the district staff use word processing to facilitate many of their needs. Like our students, the most used teacher application is also Word. Our teachers use word processing to develop worksheets, answer keys, parent letters, etc.
I’ll continue using word processing for my daily activities, but I would like to incorporate some of the features that were read and discussed in chapter 6 of the textbook. The tutorials posted on Blackboard were extremely informative and great material for review. I was pleased to pick up a tip or two. I will take these tips and incorporate them into my future documents.
I use word processing everyday to type memos, letters, email messages, and more. I don’t know what I’d do without it. I spend much of my day writing correspondence for work. When I was in elementary school, we were taught to pre-write, create a rough-draft, revise, and then create a final-draft, which was to be typed. Although this procedure is still viable, I usually start a document by keying it into a word processing application. I simply don’t have the time to handwrite a document and then input the information into a word processor. Without these applications, we’d have to pre-write all of our documents and then type them without mistakes. This would be a difficult task for me, as I almost always make additions, subtractions, and deletions while word processing.
Most of the students in my district utilize word processing everyday too. After the Internet, Microsoft Word is the most used application on our computers. The students use Word to process school reports, journals, letters, memos, etc. The students can use Word on any district computer, after which they can save their document(s) to the fileserver. Students also have AppleWorks and TextEdit available for their word processing needs.
I believe most of the district staff use word processing to facilitate many of their needs. Like our students, the most used teacher application is also Word. Our teachers use word processing to develop worksheets, answer keys, parent letters, etc.
I’ll continue using word processing for my daily activities, but I would like to incorporate some of the features that were read and discussed in chapter 6 of the textbook. The tutorials posted on Blackboard were extremely informative and great material for review. I was pleased to pick up a tip or two. I will take these tips and incorporate them into my future documents.
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