Chapter 12 -- What is educational technology literacy? Why is it important for educators?

Educational technology literacy is vital to educators; it is not only knowing how to use various types of technology, but also being able to apply the technology in a way that enhances their teaching and the students’ learning. Due to the importance of educational technology literacy, NETS standards have been released for students, teachers, and administrators, and most states have adopted these standards to at least a small degree. Because states have begun to require the use of technology to such a degree, it is important that teachers accept this and begin planning ways to implement the use of technology in their lessons.

Most, if not all, states also have technology requirements as part of their state teacher licensure. For example, this course is part of my licensure requirements. For teachers who began in the profession before such technological requirements, courses are required before teacher licensure is renewed. National certification is also available and looked highly upon; technology literacy is also important there.

Many educators are very resistant to technology because it is new and different, and even as these people become more familiar with the various forms of technology, they are usually hesitant to incorporate it into their teaching. I believe that requiring the use is a good start but will not necessarily totally “cure” the problem.
Technology is something that should now be accepted as a part of life, because it influences every aspect of our daily existence to some degree. Teachers are expected to model what they are teaching, so the proper use of technology is one of the things that needs to be modeled. It would not make sense to expect our students to be successful citizens if we as teachers were to just gloss over many of the points that have now become part of being successful; technology is one of these new points. Also, if teachers are seen by students as being too “old fashioned” then it will be more difficult to fully reach them.

What four questions related to the fair use guidelines should teachers ask before using copyrighted materials?

The four questions related to the fair use guidelines that teachers should ask before using copyrighted material are:

*What is the intended use?
*What type of work is it?
*How much of the work do you intend to use?
*What impact does this kind of use have on the market for the work?

What is the intended use?
This question is to determine the purpose and character of use. Determine if you are using it for educational purposes, and if it is noncommercial in nature. If the use is not educational, then permission for use needs to be granted. Also, commercial use would be cheating the publisher.

What type of work is it?
Determine whether the work is factual and if it contains a lot of creative or imaginative substance. If the work is primarily factual, then it is likely that the information could also be found in other places. If it is creative or imaginative, however, then using it without permission would most likely not fall under fair use.

How much of the work do you intend to use?
If you are using a work in its entirety, then it’s not likely to be fair use . . . for use to fall under “fair use”, then only a small portion should be used.

What impact does this kind of use have on the market for the work?
If the way you are using the work would serve as a substitute for someone purchasing the original, then it is not fair use. Also, if it has a negative impact on the market demand, then it most likely is not fair use.

There are a lot of stipulations for copying work created by somebody else, and sometimes it can be frustrating to have to deal with all of these stipulations. There are times that it becomes quite confusing when trying to determine whether or not something falls under fair use. Probably the most common type for a person to have to question fair use is when photocopying a document for classroom distribution. However, things such as showing a video in class or using a website for instruction also fall into this category.

While showing an old movie to a few students can be considered fair use, showing the same video for the entire student body would be questionable. By the same token, copying a portion of one page out of a magazine for article analysis in an English class may be acceptable while copying the entire magazine would not be.

At my school, the librarian handles both making photocopies and approving videos to be shown in class, so I’m very grateful for that . . . there are a lot of gray areas when determining what is and isn’t fair use.

Why is giving feedback a challenge in distance environments? How can this challenge be met?

In distance learning, students must work through lessons without the benefit of a teacher present. Although students are prepared from the beginning to work in a traditional classroom setting, they do not have that preparation for distance learning. A distance educator has the responsibility of not just teaching the content but also preparing the student for the distance environment.

In the distance environment, the teacher is not able to give nonverbal feedback such as reactions and body language as the students work. The teacher is unable to evaluate student progress as the student works through something; he or she must keep up some form of regular communication to assess learning. Adequate and frequent feedback is key. This is one of the many added challenges for distance educators. The teacher should seek to use new and creative lessons to remedy this problem.
Distance education is a definite new asset to the education system. It provides opportunities for all sorts of varieties of education that would otherwise be inaccessible to students. There are constant improvements and innovations to distance education and students and teachers alike are embracing these. As these improvements are made, new ‘problems’ will make themselves visible. However, distance education is becoming an increasingly more important part of higher education.

What is visual literacy? Where and when is it learned? Why is it important?

Visual literacy is essentially the developed ability of associating different visuals with certain information. Throughout life, people acquire information allowing them to interpret visual cues allowing us to function in society. A number of elements are presented in a deliberate arrangement; for visual cues to be effective several elements must be included – the visual must be relevant, coherent, consistent, and proportionate; it must have contrast, unity, and direction as well. All teachers have a responsibility to nurture visual literacy. However, students begin developing visual literacy long before even starting school.

Visual literacy incorporates things such as reading charts and recognizing symbols. Even very young children recognize a red octagon as a stop sign and a heart as a symbol for love. In the classroom, charts and graphs are often used visuals. My school using Thinking Maps to organize information, and the different types of maps are used for different purposes, and each map has a distinct look. By simply seeing what type of map we are using, my students are able to tell what sort of information the assignment is looking for.

The phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” definitely applies to this situation. One visual can easily and accurately convey quite a bit of information in an easier to comprehend format.

Text and affective elements are two other parts of a visual. The text needs to remain clear and visually pleasing as well as relevant and easy to understand. Affective elements include anything that elicit a response from the viewer, and a visual should have the appropriate affective elements to get the response the teacher or whoever designed the visual is looking for.

Because we live in a very visual world, it is important for students to be able to understand and interpret visuals fluently. To some degree, I think teachers incorporate visuals into lessons without even realizing it. Teachers should become more aware of the visuals being used, though, in order to use the best quality visuals.

What is an acceptable use policy? What impact does it have on the use of the Web in the classroom?

An acceptable use policy is the way a school system prevents students from abusing the Internet. The policy gives regulations on how the Internet can be used by students. Parents are asked to confirm their understanding of the policy and the consequences for using the Internet in an unacceptable way. If a teacher is going to provide links for students, they should also be familiar with the acceptable use policy.

The rationale behind acceptable use policy is quite easily understood. While most school districts have intricate filtering systems in place, at times unacceptable websites can slip through. Website creators are very creative, and students can be very determined. It is ironic that at times filtering systems are much too thorough and can block perfectly legitimate websites but at the same time allow inappropriate sites through. Since the filtering systems are not perfect, acceptable use policies seek to minimize student determination and curiosity.

At my school, computer access is fairly limited and very structured. Since it is very rare for students to have access to the Internet other than sites on the school’s network, the filtering is very liberal. Also, the filtering when logged on with a teacher network login and password is extraordinarily liberal compared with being logged in as a student. Because of this, my school’s acceptable use policy isn’t very limiting at all for me as a teacher. I have only had one instance this year where a site I wanted to access was blocked. It was a site I had never visited before that I found through a Google search, and I wasn’t certain of what was on it so blocking the site was only a minor inconvenience.

In schools where perhaps students have more access to the Internet and the network has a stronger filter or a more detailed acceptable use policy, I can see where that could be a problem for the teacher. Teachers would have a lot more work in monitoring student activities on the Internet and making sure that he or she models the acceptable use policy in giving assignments. The teacher would need to be certain that any websites he or she has students visiting isn’t linked back to an inappropriate site after several clicks. A perfectly harmless site may have inappropriate ads, or it could be linked to a site that’s linked to a site that’s linked to a site, and so on and so forth until, after just a few clicks, the student is at a site that the student doesn’t need to be at.

Acceptable use policies are definitely a necessity in technology-driven education and the reasons far outweigh the aggravation.

What are streaming audio and streaming video? How have they altered the use of audio and video on the Internet

Streaming audio and streaming video allow the user to use the media as it is being downloaded. Although there may be some delays, for the most part, you are able to listen or watch as you download. Most people’s Internet connections today are fast enough for audio streaming to not be a problem at all. Video streaming may be a bit choppy but the user will still benefit somewhat from the “instant gratification” most people crave.

There are many uses for streaming audio and video in a technologically equipped classroom. United Streaming has many resources available for a teacher to use in his or her classroom. While these resources can be downloaded and used, the teacher doesn’t have to wait to download the entire file before evaluating it, and valuable disk space doesn’t have to be used. Educational videos are available on many websites. Many topics are covered, from Language Arts to Science to Social Studies. Audio files are available for streaming such as interviews and musical pieces as well as other vocal art.

In higher education, universities are able to offer satellite classes using streaming video. Some classrooms also set up partnerships with classrooms in schools across the country or across the globe. Students in south Mississippi are able to develop a relationship with students in South Dakota or south Africa. A similar set-up can also allow teachers to give parents or students at home sick the option of being “in class” without actually being there.
Streaming audio and video are two new technologies with many options to be used within the classroom.

Chapter 6 -- What are authoring systems? How are they used for teaching and learning?

Authoring systems are a category of academic software that allows teachers to create their instructional software. Some programs create multimedia lessons or lessons for online presentation. These types of programs use a hypermedia format; the way these programs are set up allow students to move through the learning experience in their own way. Some authoring systems are very easy to use, while others create “commercial looking programs”.

One of the earliest forms of authoring systems created a stack of digital flashcards. PowerPoint is one of the more popular software programs for creating hypermedia lessons. Most shows are meant to be shown in a linear sequence but it is possible to create slideshows meant to be shown in a nonlinear sequence. Web authoring tools are another means of creating hypermedia productions. Some web authoring tools are very sophisticated while others are very simple and easy to use.

Authoring systems allow both teachers and students to create “customized, targeted lessons.” These lessons allow teachers to meet specific lesson objectives, and they can be used in large or small group presentations. These lessons can also be targeted to specific student needs.

In a classroom where the technology is available, authoring systems can be a tremendous asset for teachers. They would allow students to work and learn at their own pace . . . when one student needs review, the other students would be able to move on to new material. This can prevent boredom by allowing the students who don’t need the review to enrich their skills and re-teach the material for students who need it. The biggest drawback would be the lack of access for many schools.

The school where I work does not necessarily have authoring systems software; however, there is a program called “Orchard” that is used within the school system to target specific learning objectives with each student working at his or her own pace. The program adjusts itself to use student strengths and build up student weaknesses. I can only imagine how much more effective it would be if I, as the teacher, could use the program to work with whatever I am teaching in class rather than using it with whatever material the Orchard instructors are working with that week. As it is, the program has been shown to be very effective with students who actually apply themselves.

One of the other large weaknesses that any computer program would have is lack of student motivation. Even the best-designed programs are useless if there is a complete lack of initiative on the part of the student. Good programs must be combined with good teaching and many other things for that.

Week 7 -- Article Reflections

Today’s students spend more than twice as much time playing video games as they do reading, and more than four times as much time watching TV. Because of this, so many parts of learning are completely different for today’s students than they are for today’s teachers. Technology is such an integral part of life for most students that traditional paper and pen based learning is a foreign concept. Students are not accustomed to waiting for anything, and many high school and college students type more often than they write. Handwriting is not a part of normal life anymore. Ten or fifteen years ago, it was considered a big deal to have a computer in your home; they were considered a luxury item, and students may use a computer in school two or three times a year. Today, it’s not uncommon for a home to have several computers. Schools have computers in many classrooms and several sets of laptops on carts and may use laptops in several classes multiple times each week.

Since students are so technology intense, it’s important for teachers to instruct students in a way that is complementary to this. Online laboratories are one way to do this. Online labs offer many benefits by limiting the constraints that would be on regular labs. Online labs are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Also, students state that they learn better and are more engaged when using online laboratories and other technology than when they are just reading or being told about material. Online tools can also be used as a complement to traditional educational strategies. They allow teachers and students to remain in contact easier and more often.

Because of the many differences in students of my generation and students today, teachers must understand and embrace technological enhancements that are available. Expecting today’s students to learn from pen and paper and VHS movies would be like expecting my generation to use an abacus to do algebra. It’s simply impractical. Besides that, it would just be ridiculous not to make use of the tools that are available.

Chapter 5 -- What are the advantages and features of electronic spreadsheets? How do you see them as a benefit in an educational environment?

An electronic spreadsheet allows you to “organize, input, edit, and chart data and produce accurate professional reports for any administrative task that deals extensively with numbers”. In an educational setting, one prime advantage is the ability to track and average grades. Most spreadsheets also have built-in graphing capabilities that can turn “numeric data into colorful, three-dimensional charts”. Electronic spreadsheets "provide students with a method for tracking and analyzing data and creating charts from it" and "support student research such as tracking stock market data".

With an electronic spreadsheet, as long as the data entered is accurate, the results are always accurate as well; also, it is much simpler to change just one number in an electronic spreadsheet and get brand new results than it is to be forced to manually change a number and then be forced to redo all of the calculations. The “what-if analysis” capability of an electronic spreadsheet may prove useful to many classroom teachers; when entering grades into a spreadsheet, a teacher can check to see what a student’s average would be if he or she scored 100% on the next test by entering it into a cell on the spreadsheet. Besides tracking grades, spreadsheets can also be used to chart data in a scientific experiment. Growth and change over a period of time can easily be charted this way.

Excel is probably the one component of Microsoft Office that I’ve struggled with the most in all of my years spent computing; while I can follow directions to make it do whatever it is I want it to do (which is pretty much what I spent this past summer doing, while struggling to learn SPSS), I’ve never actually fully comprehended what, exactly, is going on. Because of this, I found it particularly ironic that this topic is the one I was assigned to read and understand in a bit more depth this week.

I can certainly see how spreadsheet software could effectively be used for things like charting student progress when a student is struggling in a class, or seeing perhaps where and when the teacher may need to reevaluate her teaching methods for a particular topic in class. I am perhaps fortunate in that my school uses another software package that performs much of the grading advantages spreadsheet software offers, since actually using spreadsheet software is such a struggle for me. However, since many school districts may not have access to these packages, it is very advantageous to have a more basic program that many people have on their home computers that is capable of so much.

Chapter 4 -- What is a virtual environment? What potential does it hold for education?

A virtual environment is an environment composed of virtual reality. A combination of hardware and software works together to create a digital environment with which you can interact. It is sometimes very sophisticated, using very specific hardware; other times it is much simpler. The more complex virtual reality set up uses a headpiece and glove and allows the user to interact by simple movements; the headpiece allows the user to see what his or her hand inside the glove is doing. You are able to take virtual field trips to real or imaginary places. Sometimes this technology can be used for students to explore the Amazon or Antarctica; other times it allows students to explore things at the nuclear level. Using the virtual reality glove, things can be picked up and explored from any angle. Simple virtual environments are available all over the internet; the more complex environments are usually only available in places such as research labs.

I can see where virtual technology would be particularly useful in science and social studies classes in particular; a science student would be able to explore the ins and outs of the body’s circulatory system or participate in performing open heart surgery. The social studies student could see the Civil War up close and personal. While game systems like the Nintendo Wii offer a very limited version of virtual reality (and many people may think more of game systems than educational purposes when thinking of virtual reality), a full system with total interactivity could offer many educational benefits. Students could become fully immersed in whatever they are learning about through these types of experiences.

I can only imagine if my school had access to something of this nature. As a teacher at a relatively small, very rural school, there are many topics that my students just don’t “get” and this would allow a higher level of understanding for those topics.

oops

Groupmates:

I accidentally left my textbook at work for the weekend and I'm not quite figuring out the e-book feature, so my post for this week will be a bit late . . . I'll have it done before this time tomorrow though. Sorry!!

Chapter 3 -- Describe the role of the operating system. How does it help you interact with the computer?

A computer’s operating system is a set of programs that essentially tells the computer how to operate as a computer. It also acts as an interface between the computer and the user. It is the most important piece of software that a computer needs. Without an operating system, there is no way for the computer’s user to communicate with the computer. Microsoft Windows is probably the most popular operating system used for personal computers today.

Most operating systems have a large set of menus and icons for the user to choose what he or she wants the computer to do. The user may choose to use either a keyboard or a mouse to communicate with the operating system, which then communicates with the computer. The mouse is a “work-alike” device that moves the pointing arrow on the computer screen the way the mouse itself is moved; the keyboard can select different things by using the correct combination of keystrokes. For some operations it is also possible to enter a text command.

The operating system communicates both with the different hardware components of the computer as well as additional software applications the user may add on to the computer. In some ways, the operating system is like a language translator; it “speaks” both human language and computer language, allowing the human user to do whatever it is he or she wants to do with the computer and all of its extra hardware and software.

The operating system is also somewhat like an office coordinator; after the BIOS loads, the operating system is then in charge of making sure all of the different computer processes happen the way they need to for programs to load and music to play and documents to print. If you are opening a document file from the Internet, then Internet Explorer has to tell the operating system to open Microsoft Word so the document can open.

Operating systems are definitely a vital part of the computing experience; they have come a long way since the days of DOS and Windows 3.0, and they are constantly changing and evolving. It’s only been about twelve years since Windows 95 was released, and the changes from 95 to Vista are extraordinary. It will be interesting to see what’s next.

Chapter 2 – What is the difference between formative feedback and summative feedback?

The terms “formative feedback” and “summative feedback” give a huge clue to what the differences in the two types of feedback are. As the name suggests, formative feedback occurs during an event or process and plays a part in shaping, or forming, each step along the way. Summative feedback, on the other hand, is more a part of the summary of the event or process . . . it can play a part in shaping the process the next time through, but it’s too late to play a part in the process it’s giving you feedback on. Formative feedback requires you to check and re-evaluate after each step whereas summative feedback plays a role in your reflections once it’s all said and done. Both types of feedback are very important. Checking yourself as you go through the steps allows you to readjust your plans; however, that variety of self-evaluation isn’t as thorough because a thorough evaluation requires you to step back and reflect.

A teacher using formative feedback may choose to spend more time than originally planned covering a specific topic because the students are having trouble understanding the concept. After the lesson is complete, the teacher may use summative feedback to decide on a better way to teach it so that students understand the first time through.

I believe that using both formative and summative feedback are key to being an effective teacher. If the teacher does not readjust the lesson to accommodate student needs as necessary, the student will become hopelessly lost over time. Most education builds on prior education, and it is potentially devastating to try to build on a block that is not there. This makes formative feedback vital. Also, once a teacher has the opportunity to reevaluate the lesson, it would be senseless to continue to plan to do something that clearly failed during a previous attempt. Doing so would waste both the student’s and the teacher’s time and energy.

A wise teacher manages to monitor all students and effectively use all types of feedback to remain effective in lessons. Feedback tells the teacher how each student learns best, and when the teacher accommodates all learning styles, it allows students to keep up with the lessons and learn to the best of their ability. When students succeed, that is when the teacher knows he or she is succeeding as a teacher.

Chapter 1

I was not assigned a topic for this week’s blog, so I picked this one.

My understanding on educational technology and its relationship with teaching and learning process.

Depending on who you ask, educational technology can range from Promethean boards and a class set of laptops to something as simple as a whiteboard and a basket of markers in multiple colors. Normally, though, it refers to newer technology. Educational technology serves as a new tool for teachers to use to enhance the teaching process. Like all technology, educational technology advances rapidly and is outdated as soon as it becomes widely available.

Since all students have their own, individual learning styles, educational technology simplifies the process of allowing the classroom teacher to reach as many different students with as many different learning styles as possible. It is important for the teacher to utilize these technologies, but it is also important for the teacher not to become too reliant on the newest, greatest technology. While technology enhances the experience, it should not become a crutch.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Tonya Whitfield and this blog is a requirement for IT 645 -- Computers in Education.

I am a 7th grade Language Arts teacher at Pearl River Central Middle School. Prior to this, I taught kindergarten at a private school in Slidell, Louisiana. I'm also a student at the University of Southern Mississippi, pursuing my Master's of Arts in Teaching. I took several online classes during my undergraduate work, and I am very familiar with most commonly used software. I'm not stranger to e-mail, discussion boards, and listservs either. I've kept a personal blog for several years now. The only thing preventing me from being even more familiar than I am with podcasting is the rural area where I live not having internet access faster than dial up available.

I expect to be introduced to a lot of new material for my classroom through this class, and I look forward to all of the new resources I will encounter.