This week we were supposed to check out websites and make sure that they were suitable for student and teacher use, using the five website evaluation criteria. This was a great assignment because this is something we can use in the future when we want to use websites both for work and personal purposes. We now know what to look for to make sure they are useful websites.
We met with our groups again twice since our last class meeting. We worked on our Newsletter, group Wiki and Chapter 8 Power point presentation. The Newsletter and Power point went smoothly. For the power point we thought it would work better if we split up the sections among us and then one of us make the power point. This worked out well since it is a little more difficult to put together a presentation over the computer, then if we were sitting around a table with each other. The Wiki on the other hand was a little more confusing, but eventually I think we got it. We put a lot of time and effort into this weeks projects.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A World Without Technology is Hard to Imagine
Do you ever try to think back to a time when you didn't have a computer or a cell phone, or when you had to carry around a cd player and cds, instead of your tiny little i pod. I feel like students today find it hard to believe that there was a time when you actually had to do your research at the library and didn't have the internet to just "google" something. I look at my little cousins and they have cell phones and ipods. I didn't get a cell phone until i graduated from college and up until 2 years ago I was that person carrying around a cd player and my book of cds.
Students today were born into a technologically advanced world. They have been using it since they were young. They don't know what life without it is like. I don't think most students would know what to do without a computer or their I pod. The students of the Net Generation are different from previous generations, because in a lot of ways libraries are becoming obsolete, students can find whatever they want online without even leaving their rooms. Implications of this generation for teachers are that some of the students are more Tech saavy then their teachers, so it creates a sort of barrier between student and teacher. From personal experience I've noticed that a lot of the older teachers are not up to date on all of the advanced technology because they did not grow up with it, they are in a way learning as they go. I even see it in my office there are those older employees who barely have basic computer skills and ask questions that many of our younger students would be able to answer just because it is the environment they grew up in.
Web 2.0 is known as read write web. It is user generated and is more interactive. The information in Web 2.0 flows in all directions and information can be shared among users, where as Web 1.0 is read only and not interactive. The shift in the classroom from Web 1.0 to 2.0 has made a new learning environment. Web 2.0 is student centered and use a multipath progression where Web 1.0 was a single path that was teacher centered. Web 2.0 allows for collaborative work and information exchange. It also allows for the use of critical thinking and informed decision making where web 1.0 used factual knowledge based learning. Finally Web 2.0 uses authentic real world content and Web 1.0 was isolated artificial content.
After viewing all the bookmarking videos I found that I liked Diigo the best. Though all similar, the Diigo video was more detailed and better put together, it sold the use of the product better. I liked how you were able to highlight and how it organized a list that you could share your bookmarks with others. You were able to connect with people who had similar interests. It was kind of like Myspace or Facebook you were able to see what others are up to and message them and share bookmarks.
Students today were born into a technologically advanced world. They have been using it since they were young. They don't know what life without it is like. I don't think most students would know what to do without a computer or their I pod. The students of the Net Generation are different from previous generations, because in a lot of ways libraries are becoming obsolete, students can find whatever they want online without even leaving their rooms. Implications of this generation for teachers are that some of the students are more Tech saavy then their teachers, so it creates a sort of barrier between student and teacher. From personal experience I've noticed that a lot of the older teachers are not up to date on all of the advanced technology because they did not grow up with it, they are in a way learning as they go. I even see it in my office there are those older employees who barely have basic computer skills and ask questions that many of our younger students would be able to answer just because it is the environment they grew up in.
Web 2.0 is known as read write web. It is user generated and is more interactive. The information in Web 2.0 flows in all directions and information can be shared among users, where as Web 1.0 is read only and not interactive. The shift in the classroom from Web 1.0 to 2.0 has made a new learning environment. Web 2.0 is student centered and use a multipath progression where Web 1.0 was a single path that was teacher centered. Web 2.0 allows for collaborative work and information exchange. It also allows for the use of critical thinking and informed decision making where web 1.0 used factual knowledge based learning. Finally Web 2.0 uses authentic real world content and Web 1.0 was isolated artificial content.
After viewing all the bookmarking videos I found that I liked Diigo the best. Though all similar, the Diigo video was more detailed and better put together, it sold the use of the product better. I liked how you were able to highlight and how it organized a list that you could share your bookmarks with others. You were able to connect with people who had similar interests. It was kind of like Myspace or Facebook you were able to see what others are up to and message them and share bookmarks.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Technical Difficulties
Well my first online class experience did not go as smoothly as I would have hoped. I figured, I should probably try and sign in early so I could make sure that I could get into Elluminate since the last time I tried it I was on a different computer. Of course, just my luck I had trouble getting in. First I tried clicking on the link that said fix the problem, and it told me it couldn't. So I called the helpdesk who transferred me to someone else who could help me. He was very helpful and told me something to download that would most likely fix my problem. So after 30 min of trying to solve my Elluminate issues, I was finally in and able to join the class. I missed the first group assignment where we came up with a group name and motto, but my group kept me up to date about what was going on. I signed on just in time for the online quiz, which was kind of strange and interesting. I liked listening to everyone discuss and think that maybe I should get a microphone, because I feel people are more apt to miss what those of us who were typing were saying because they were listening to the people talking.
When we broke up into our groups again I liked being in our own chatroom so we could discuss and create our toolbox. Again we learned that technology is not always perfect when our Power Point presentation would not cooperate with us. We had trouble getting it to save and post. Then at the end of class Dr. S. got kicked out of the chat. We will be meeting tonight, Thursday to make up for our Tuesday "Monday" meeting.
When we broke up into our groups again I liked being in our own chatroom so we could discuss and create our toolbox. Again we learned that technology is not always perfect when our Power Point presentation would not cooperate with us. We had trouble getting it to save and post. Then at the end of class Dr. S. got kicked out of the chat. We will be meeting tonight, Thursday to make up for our Tuesday "Monday" meeting.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
My Technology Journey
Week one was a little crazy and I felt a little overwhelmed by all we had to do and create. After talking to my group and going through the moodle, I felt a little less overwhelmed. I have never had a blog or a webpage, so I enjoyed making these and seeing what they looked like when i was done. I think that I am going to like seeing how they progress as the semester goes on. I like being able to reflect on my class experience in my Blog and to be able to read about other people's experiences.
This week we were supposed to explore the moodle and look at all the different tools and sites that we will be using throughout the course of the semester. I found that the moodle was very easy to navigate and the tools that were on it were very helpful when doing the assignments. It also gave a lot of helpful and interesting information not only for use in class, but also outside of class. I liked how there were videos that demonstrated how to do certain things. I learn better visually so I found this to be very helpful.
After my group met using gtalk, we decided that we would try out wiziq next meeting and see which chat method we prefer. I also liked how we had to post a picture and and write an introduction to ourself so that we could get to know each other since we will never meet in person.
I think my most memorable moments during this past two weeks were making my blog and webpage. I have always seen people who have webpage and have always though they were interesting. I think it is interesting to be able to follow people's learning experiences. I have also never taken a class online so meeting with my group and conducting the meeting/class in a chat room was a new and interesting experience. It was a little strange at first not being able to see who we were talking to but I think our meeting went a pretty well. We ran into a tiny snag when a few of us got kicked out of the chat for a little while, but after we got back in, we got back on track and got through going over the moodle and all of our assignments. This meeting definitely helped me out because before the meeting, I was not one hundred percent sure of what exactly was due, but after talking to me group it was a lot more clear.
I found that the video "Learning to Change and Changing to Learn," was very focused on how technology is very important today. I feel that it was saying that schools should do more to focus on the technology aspect of education and not just on preparing students for test. I agreed with the point where they said that "technology is not a choice" I think that this is completely true, these days we do not have a choice we need to learn how to use computers because they are used everywhere. If i did not know how to use a computer I would not be able to do my job. I think that the learning process needs to start early, because you see older teachers and even people where I work who do not have basic computer skills. The video also points out that students need to learn to use computers to solve problems, and obtain data.
Learning in the Digital age is different from the previous era because now it is almost impossible to learn without the use of technology.
You can check out my Website here: http://jmartellucci.webs.com/aboutme.htm
This week we were supposed to explore the moodle and look at all the different tools and sites that we will be using throughout the course of the semester. I found that the moodle was very easy to navigate and the tools that were on it were very helpful when doing the assignments. It also gave a lot of helpful and interesting information not only for use in class, but also outside of class. I liked how there were videos that demonstrated how to do certain things. I learn better visually so I found this to be very helpful.
After my group met using gtalk, we decided that we would try out wiziq next meeting and see which chat method we prefer. I also liked how we had to post a picture and and write an introduction to ourself so that we could get to know each other since we will never meet in person.
I think my most memorable moments during this past two weeks were making my blog and webpage. I have always seen people who have webpage and have always though they were interesting. I think it is interesting to be able to follow people's learning experiences. I have also never taken a class online so meeting with my group and conducting the meeting/class in a chat room was a new and interesting experience. It was a little strange at first not being able to see who we were talking to but I think our meeting went a pretty well. We ran into a tiny snag when a few of us got kicked out of the chat for a little while, but after we got back in, we got back on track and got through going over the moodle and all of our assignments. This meeting definitely helped me out because before the meeting, I was not one hundred percent sure of what exactly was due, but after talking to me group it was a lot more clear.
I found that the video "Learning to Change and Changing to Learn," was very focused on how technology is very important today. I feel that it was saying that schools should do more to focus on the technology aspect of education and not just on preparing students for test. I agreed with the point where they said that "technology is not a choice" I think that this is completely true, these days we do not have a choice we need to learn how to use computers because they are used everywhere. If i did not know how to use a computer I would not be able to do my job. I think that the learning process needs to start early, because you see older teachers and even people where I work who do not have basic computer skills. The video also points out that students need to learn to use computers to solve problems, and obtain data.
Learning in the Digital age is different from the previous era because now it is almost impossible to learn without the use of technology.
You can check out my Website here: http://jmartellucci.webs.com/aboutme.htm
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