Journal #6 - Inspiration & iMovie

Inspiration

1. I enjoyed the Inspiration program. I think that it was fairly simple to use. As for students, visual learners will most likely enjoy this type of program because it is straight-forward and they can see how each concept is interrelated. Also, the fact that one can convert their graphic organizer into an outline might help a student that is not so much of a visual learner.

2. In a math classroom, students could use a graphic organizer to focus on Algebra as a whole. They could start at the beginning of the school year with the idea of Algebra. As they learn a new concept, they will add it along with a sub-category for each concept with an example of a problem related to that concept and then a real-world application to the concept.

3. Even though I did not use Atomic Learning to learn Inspiration, I think it is a great tool. I am very much a "learn by doing" person, however, there are many shortcuts that one could learn by using Atomic Learning. After learning how to use the program on my own, I would love to now go back and use Atomic Learning to help me speed up the process of creating a graphic organizer in Inspiration.


iMovie


1. I greatly enjoyed the iMovie program. I thought it was much more user-friendly than I would have expected it to be. I know that students would absolutely love to use this program. Not only is it highly entertaining, but it is a great tool to help students learn concepts using their audio and visual perceptions.

2. In a math classroom, students could use iMovie to create videos on real-life math problems. They can show how math comes up in one's everyday life and how they are constantly, usually without realizing it, using math tools to solve problems.

3. I did not use Atomic Learning to learn to create my iMovie, but I am sure, once again, that it would be an efficient tool is aiding my learning. I learned how to to use iMovie through a tutorial from my instructor. This was very straight-forward and almost just like a video self-tutorial. Atomic Learning is a great aspect for learning, especially if there is little student-teacher shared class time for questions and/or explanations.

Journal #5 - Disrupting Class: Student-Centric Education Is the Future

The focus of this article is the idea that simply adding computers to a classroom will not create better test scores and more advanced students. Instead, adding these just creates a larger bill to pay and not many results. The idea of online learning comes into the article as well. Instead of just throwing computers into the classroom one needs to look at the issue as though there were no other alternative but to use the computers. In this case, we look at online courses. The new ideas with online courses are that one could take a course that is not normally available to them and even create a course that is tailored to the ways in which the student learns. We are all well aware as educators that students learn best in various different ways and by taking one lesson and catering to the different ways of learning we could better reach each and every student.

Do you agree or disagree with this way of implementing online courses?

To an extent, I agree with this idea because I think that it is extremely important to include all learning styles into a lesson. Students often tell me that they struggle learning concepts and previous teachers were unable to change the way they taught in order to tailor to these students. I feel as though more students would be successful in learning if they were able to learn in the way that they learn best. The only problem I have with this is that I believe learning through an online course is not a one hundred percent substitute for direct instruction, but rather a great complement. It definitely adds to the classroom experience but I do not think that it is a full replacement of the teacher.

How could a school begin to implement these practices?

I think that just as the article stated, by incorporating online classes for students who need to make up a class in order to graduate, or for home school students, a school could begin to implement. Also, rather than completely replacing a teacher, one could have a classroom full of computers, like suggested, and have a roaming teacher going around the room and assisting the students if they have any questions. By doing this, the class still has the guidance of a teacher, but they are able to learn in their own individual styles.

Christensen, C., & Horn, M. (2008, August/September). Disrupting class: Student-centric education is the future. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from Edutopia Web site: http://www.edutopia.org/student-centric-education-technology

Journal #4 - Text Unto Others...

This article focuses on the idea of being an appropriate and good digital citizen. Teaching students to become a good digital citizen is just like teaching a student to be an appropriate classmate or even “real life” citizen. These ideas can include things from remaining true to oneself on social networking sites, to properly addressing people in e-mails. The “9 Steps to Building a Good Digital Citizen” as written by Mike Ribble are an important factor that should be taught in every school, every grade and every class. Netiquette is also talked of in this article. The idea of having proper etiquette on the net is important because of the constant use of technology today. Most of these ideas all boil down to the fact that so many of our students today are using the web and social networking sites. There are so many problems that are brought up regarding these and by teaching students how to behave properly on the web just as we teach them how to behave properly face-to-face, there will be less of these issues.

How would you include ideas of digital citizenship and netiquette into your classroom?

One way that I would incorporate digital citizenship in my lesson plans would be to break down the “9 Steps to Building a Good Digital Citizen” month-by-month. Each month we could focus on one step and throughout the month we would do simple, but effective tasks that could help teach the students how to behave appropriately when using technology. By spreading awareness to one’s class, there is the possibility of it being spread throughout the school.

Why is becoming a good digital citizen important to you?

Becoming a good digital citizen is important just as it is important when one is face-to-face with a person. Without behaving appropriately, one will not be able to be successful in life. By learning to properly communicate, follow rules and laws, and present oneself, a person will be successful in all aspects of life and be a “model citizen” as they should be.

Villano, M (2008, September). Text unto others . . . as you would have them text unto you. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from T.H.E. Journal Web site: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23225_6