Digital Badge #I

Information Literacy as a Learning Goal:

Information literacy transforms an ordinary student into a "wise information consumer" and "lifelong learner."  I always thought Information literacy was just something you "do" to learn about in college; I never looked at it as a way of becoming "information literate" which is something you become, via your coursework and personal experiences and interactions with information. Information literacy skills are not learned right away but, it’s something developed over time. In addition We, have learned the basics aspects of information literacy include using information technologies, such as personal computers, e-mail, software programs, and the Internet in the comforts of our homes in a way of entertainment and social media, however, information literacy involving the evaluation of the information you obtain using the Internet and online electronic resources I have personally only learned and used in college for academics such as writing a research papers. By reading this section in the book I can now see the relationship between college work preparing a person beyond college into a career the primary goals are to get people thinking critically about the information they encounter, the ability to use information technologies effectively to find and manage information, and the ability to critically evaluate and ethically apply that information to solve a problem are the characteristics of an information literate individual, Which includes the spirit of inquiry and perseverance to find out what is necessary to get the job done. These are the characteristics employers look for in an employee. I never would have made the connection that information literacy is the hidden source linking the two together. Now I do not have to wonder anymore about if I will ever use all the classes I am paying for in college in my career.

Evaluating online Information:

We live in the Information Age, and "information" is increasing at a rapid pace. We have the Internet, television, radio, and other information resources available to us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, just because so much information is so easily and quickly available does not mean that all of it is worthwhile or even true. Because of resources like the Internet, finding high-quality information is now harder than ever, not easier!  Finding the good stuff is not always quick!  And the good stuff does not always come cheaply, either! (In short, to make it in today's Information Age, you have to be even faster--not lower--than your computer but how can that be) To make matters worse, just because you know how to use a particular information technology today does not mean that there is not another one right behind it that you will have to learn how to use tomorrow! Once seemingly exotic technologies like "word processing" and "electronic mail" are now commonplace, but at one time, they were amazing and revolutionary. (To some of us, they still are). Today's employers are looking for people who understand and can adapt to the characteristics of the Information Age. If a student has "learned how to learn," upon graduation, they are a much more attractive job candidate. An information literate individual--with their strong analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills can be expected to be an adaptable, capable and valuable employee, with much to contribute.

Teaching Students about Internet Searching:

            There are billions of pages of information on the World Wide Web, and finding relevant and reliable information can be a challenge. Search engines are powerful tools that index millions of web sites. When entering a keyword into a search engine, you will receive a list with the number of hits or results and links to the related sites. The number of hits you receive may vary a great deal among different search engines. Some engines search only the titles of the web sites, and others search the full text. Search engines designed for younger students are useful tools for the classroom. They screen for inappropriate material and provide appropriate sites for students on topics related to educational and entertainment purposes. Using these sites helps to narrow the scope of hits on a search inquiry. As a result, the student will spend less time reading irrelevant material. I think this is great information I did not know there were so many kid friendly web search tools. Speaking as a parent I like the fact that some  search engines allow you to turn on filters to help filter out adult content, they are not always thorough or accurate. There are several good search engines that are specifically designed for the younger audience, such as Ask Jeeves and Yahooligans. My children safety is my main concern when they are on the web. I often wondered why some websites like National Geographic, and PBS kid’s content is so easy for children to comprehend. Their website is a search site designed for children with age- appropriate curriculum resources. Think when students are able to read and understand the material they fine online they do learn how to access and assess the information independently. I also think this maybe why most children like surfing the web.

           

Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Badge #H

Multimedia Technologies in Schools Today:

Photo Credit to Kathy Cassidy Flickr

When it comes to technology education has been behind in the game. Schools have now over the last ten years or so have just started making technology to aide academics being part of the curriculum with technology in the forefront. Our 21^st century schools now have academies in our local high schools to help make technology stand out for example,  Ida S. Baker high school in cape coral specialize in technology. Teachers use a lot of computer video presentations like YouTube, PowerPoint, Prezi, and also the smart board to teach different subjects now. I think multimedia presentations stimulate more than one sense at a time, and in doing so, may be more attention-getting and attention-holding. By schools becoming- technology-infused learning for students is enhanced using multimodal learning instead of single mode learning. I think this is successful because I requires you to use more than one lobe of your brain at the same time by students not all learning in the same way this model targets all the different parts of the brain that aids in learning to recall information. Multimedia tools I feel do create hands on minds on learning by students engaging in active learning students will then begin to apply higher order thinking skills to succeed in learning.

PowerPoint and Next Generation Presentation Tools:

 I personally am not a good note taker the teacher usually talks faster than I can write to keep up. I prefer presentations like slide shows they help me not only see the information but they also give me an example of how my assignment may look when it’s finished In addition, I tend to remember the entire group discussions we do in class as a whole. Over the last few years technology have add wiki’s and Prezi’s to the addition for Next-Generation web 2.0 tools. We can zoom our presentations in and out; we can work on together from a distance. We can also load text, data, and images to graphics we have created a way to make learning new information fun while learning at the same time. I think students like this because they can have fun and learn at the same time.

Photo Credit to Wesley Fryer on Wesley Fryer Blog

Photo- Taking and Movie-Making with Students:

The title of this seems unreal taking pictures in school, making a movie in school at one time being a camera to school you would have gotten in trouble if the teacher even knew you had it. And making a movie in school seems unheard of The new 21^st century generation of students has made digital media possible. This area I think is still really new to the field of education. In the public school system the only time I have seen students making videos is for either yearbook club or for extracurricular activities. Such as high school sports games to up load on YouTube. Student are involved in some way of their daily lives with videos and pictures the TV or,  movies students have an interest in creating and viewing visual images this and if teachers incorporated the interest of students into academic material then this could not only benefit the students but also the teacher. I think even we as adults when we look back at a photo that was taken when we were younger we tend to hold on to those memories because they were fun to us and had meaning behind the photo. I think students also share the same thought concept on pictures as we do. I remember the old say pictures are worth a thousand words.

Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Badge #G

Creating culturally relevant curriculum and instruction:

Photo Credit to Keoni Cabral on Flickr

I always thought students benefited from connecting school assignments with the issues and concerns they are experiencing of their own everyday life. I know I was this student it was easy for me to remember and learn new information by things I connected them to things of reality. I guess I can say I am like this now. I write my essays papers and recall information around my life experiences. I found it easier to talk about a topic when you are going through it than it is to talk about when you can’t relate to it. We are all so different and come from many different backgrounds and cultures. That I feel this is why it is hard for some teachers to teach to different populations of people. Sometimes not having a full understanding of something can make you not want to leave your comfort zone because you can’t see the unknown. It thinks it takes a special teacher who can organize teaching and learning to achieve multiple outcomes at the same. That way students not only get the textbook knowledge but, they also get the knowledge of society as well. Sometimes I know personally speaking things that were happening in my life when I was young clashed with the textbook it made me want to be the person in the textbook more. So that I did not have to face reality at home but, as the school day started to end I knew in the back of my mind that I had to go home. I think knowing who you are is a major factor to successful succeeding it make you feel complete. I think some students do need to be able to see the importance of both so school does not seem like a fairy tale compared to life when life does not come together like a textbook. This I know may seem unrealistic but, to a kid coming from an inner city school this is reality.

Universal Design for Learning:

Photo Credit to lloydcrew on Flickr

 How will schools serve all  students individual learning needs.I I recognize how the brain process information play apart in learning that is why some children are left or right brained users. I realize this concept from my son. How we as people process information to accommodate not only board students but also to accommodate students with short attention spans like my son. Maybe this will be a way to hold his attention if he had more than one way to see things especially if he could get multiple means of engagement. This says to me interactive activities. This says to me less time talking more interaction activities with students. My son’s teacher tells me he has a short attention span; he has a busy body that will not let him focus. He told me he did not want to hear her talk anymore he got tired of listening. All I can see how universal designs of learning could increase learning opportunities for all students. By it being universal the curriculum should target every background of each student in addition to their strengths, needs, and interests. This I feel could help stop students from feeling different when it comes to the barriers of learning so student face. I personally want to know more about how  our 21^st century schools implement UDL's into curriculum. 

Interactive Electronic Storybooks and Storybook Apps:

Photo Credit to heraldpost on Flickr

 Early childhood toddlers love the storybook Apps. My children had Leap Frog read along when they were young and the loved it. They also had vetch learning aids.The rewards were numerous they were stimulating and fun, encourages the use of imagination, and provides information and knowledge. For preschool children listening to stories is a powerful emergent literacy activity which promotes the development of beginning language and interactive communication, and provides a platform for acquiring reading and writing skills. Listening to different kinds of stories helps the child learn new words, develop longer sentences, and combine information logically and sequentially. Currently we are experiencing exciting new developments in the availability of story books on computer, described as computerized or electronic books. Stories read aloud by the computer  particularly those incorporating recently improved technologies in voice and sound, graphics, and memory capacity, provide a powerful experience for any child. I think this targets every part of the brain and students are actively engaged in the activity they are reading.

Electronic story books are particularly effective examples of the use of technology to include children with disabilities in activities that occur naturally within their environment. With the support of Assistive Technology and adaptive access techniques, computerized story book reading also provides a powerful equalizer in the classroom. A child with special needs such as the loss of motor control due to cerebral palsy can independently enjoy "turning the pages" of a story book along with their typically developing peers. A child who is visually impaired can have the text enlarged or can listen to stories while turning pages. The development of alternative access methods has paralleled the evolution in electronic storybooks in general, and new techniques to overcome access issues are constantly becoming available.

Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Badge #F



Photo By Daniel Iversen Flickr

Integrating Electronic Communication into Your Teaching:


Photo By Sean MacEntee Flickr

 I personally like this new area to technology.  Social Networking has increased the rate and quality of collaboration for students. They are better able to communicate meeting times or share information quickly instant message,  texting ,email, wikis, and google docs has increase productivity and helped students  learn how to work well in groups. Like we just learned how to do with the Wiki assignment being able to get instant feedback from friends and family on their creative outlets helps students refine and develop their artistic abilities and can provide much needed confidence or help them decide what career path they may want to pursue. Wow! Look how far we have come within the last couple of years. When I look back when I first started at FSW things were not this popular. Three years ago when I first took Intro to Education I do not recall any information about group collaborations on the computer. I did not get introduced to computer group collaborations until my second year at FSW in my public speaking class Google DOCs and my Ethics class a wiki. I did not understand why I has to do these group assignments on the computer when I was a ground student but, now I am thankful for the experience I learned.

Websites and Blogs for Teachers and Students:

Photo By Denise Krebs flickr

All I can stay for this if thank you for whoever made this possible and I thank the teachers who have contributed to information to blogs. I have used teacher’s instructional blogs as a reference to reteach my son subjects he did not understand in class and to get information on how to teach the subjects to him. Such as reading right now we are working on the Main Idea and supporting details. Which details are major details and which ones are minor details this is where he gets confused. I also like you always know what’s going on theirs calenderer's, and worksheets to help reinforce learning and also helpful web links you can go to if you need the extra help.  How teacher’s blog posts have made it more known how schools teach different subjects and the way the teachers teach the students makes a whole lot of difference.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/3rd-grade-ela-lesson

Using Email and Text Messaging as a teacher:



Photo By Brad Garner Flickr

I remember 2011 when my ENC 0028 Professor told me I had to create a Linked in account, a Blogger account, and either a twitter or a Facebook account I was not happy. All I could think to myself was, I am in a writing class why do I need to set up this account? What do they have to do with writing? Little did I know, I was going to use them now? Of course I email my professor asking her about the purpose of the accounts she answers me by email from her cellar phone. When I notice this I was shocked she was different from my others professors she carried around a tablet and did all the grading from her tablet. She told the class the purpose from the account was to introduce us ready for social Networking.  I later learned in my composition two for business class that this is used a lot in the world of business cell phone, emails, memos, and business letters for advertising they use the internet. Now our society cannot live without social networking for personal and business reasons. I like the quick response from professors some use their iPhone and androids and iPads to communicate with us students. And the wide range of resources it offer to students.

  

References:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.