Final Blog Entry

Three questions that have arisen throughout this course are:
1.  What can I do with an Instructional Technology degree?

When I first decided to get my masters in Instructional Technology I was just thinking that I like to incorporate technology in my classroom and that it is an important aspect of future teaching.  I also believe that technology can improve the classroom and student learning when applied correctly.  So I wanted to expand my knowledge on this and learn about new ways to apply technology, but while doing that I began to think of other directions this degree could take me.  Instructional design was one aspect we talked about, leadership- I may be able to create materials for others to use or mentor them and share my enthusiasm of technology.

2. How do you confront the challenges of technology integration?

I liked our discussion about the challenges of technology integration because it made me think about my school and the staff and what the challenges are.  I also thought about myself but it led me to thinking about how to confront and change those fear or challenges.  How do we get more time to plan, create, integrate technology?  If we can't get more time how do we still continue to grow with integration?  How can we change people's attitudes and beliefs so that they are more comfortable with technology?   I believe in the positive affects of technology and would like to share the uses of it with others. Confronting these challenges may also be an area with someone with our degree can help.

3. What is the most important part of Instructional Technology?

 I just wonder if the most important part is understanding the details of all the terminology or it is using the technology.  To me it is using, knowing and integrating the technology, but some may believe that being able to tell exactly what you are or what your degree is most important.  This is just a personal question that I wonder how others feel about how people look at our field. 

Web Page Design and Development

One idea that intrigued me from the readings this week is that there are many little things that go into making a web page.  Something I hadn't thought about was the device that people will be using to access web pages.  Whether they are using the computer, the size of the computer screen, a TV, a phone, or whether it is being printed.  All of this affects how the designer should set up the pages.  When making my web site I thought about where things were placed and the colors used.  I tried to keep it simple and after reading it seems that is the best way to go.  After reading I found myself thinking back to when I created my web site and I thought about how I used the guidelines without even knowing them.  I think this is due to the idea that as a consumer and user you get used to seeing sites set up in a specific way.  The readings mentioned that users expect to see certain aspects in certain areas, such as the breadcrumbs or the search bar or the ads are in specific areas. 

The important thing to keep in mind when making a web page is your users.  Think about what the site will be used for and what your users are like. The readings said a lot about how too much can distract the readers/users.  Flashy graphics do not replace little or bad content.

Participatory Culture/Media Education

One idea I agree with from the article Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century is that "Youth must expand their required competencies, not push aside old skills to make room for the new."    It is important for students to learn about and use technologies but it shouldn't take place of learning basic skills.  As stated in the articles in order for a student to engage in the participatory culture they must be able to read and write.  They can't get on a blog if they can't spell or read what others write. Now there are devices to help read words to students but they still have to understand and respond in writing to post.  They may also have to read directions or prompts when playing games, this takes reading skills and comprehension skills. 


One thing I agree but have reservations about is affinity spaces.  I agree that given students a choice makes them more motivated and engaged, but when online they can choose anything they want to talk about, research, create.  This is not always possible or reasonable in the educational setting. There are going to be topics that students aren't interested in or have a difficult time understanding and learning but they can't just exit the room as if they were in a chat room. So of course they will be more actively engaged, participate more in the popular culture than a textbook because they are CHOOSING to participate.  From the minute they go to school that free choice is gone, they have to come to school.  As a teacher you can give them choices in activities, reading, projects, how to learning but they have to learn and that is where some students wish they could choose to exit the room.  I think that informal and formal education can be mixed to have a good educational plan. 

Students need to learn about technologies and need to be able to use them but that shouldn't mean to get rid of the "old" skills or learning/teaching styles.  Being a primary teacher it is harder to relate to this topic because my students can't blog or go on social networks to share ideas and collaborate, they have a hard enough time working in a group in class face to face. So it is my responsibility to introduce the technologies we use and teach them the basic skills to later on be that tech suave student that will be able to improve and contribute to their community and society.

UDL and Internet Readings

I found the study done on teaching internet literacy strategies very interesting.  Researching as an adult is difficult and so time consuming sometimes that it gets aggravating. Although when you are researching something that is of interest to you there is more motivation and drive to find the information. That's why I liked the idea of the hero project that students had a choose as to who they were researching.  The idea of 6 week project is unforeseen considering all the time & grading constraints we have, there is no way we could spend 6 weeks on 1 topic/project.  Even though I think students could truly benefit from something like that.

The second reading was things that I believe teachers know but it was backed up by brain research.  Teachers try to learn their students strength & weaknesses then differentiate. Every student learns differently so there is no one size fits all for teaching. You have to provide lessons in multiple ways and engage students using different methods and allow them to show their understanding in different ways.  Students are all different and teachers have to provide multiple facets for them to show that. 

TPACK Readings

As I was reading about TPACK there was 1 main concept that I continued to see throughout all the readings, that using technology should enhancing the content you are teaching and it is a thoughtful process as why you are using that technology. I feel my philosophy of using technology matches TPACK- you need to consider the content you are teaching and the best way to teach it before you bring in the technology. If you decide to use the technology then you as a teacher have to have the knowledge of manipulating it and the ability to teach your students to use it in a way that is beneficial to reaching your objective.  I think it is important to know the technology and think about the best way to use it in the specific lesson or area you are planning.  While reading I came across how some think that technology is a "one size fits all" and that it can be shown in a professional development session and teachers can take and use it effectively.  This idea was criticized due to the idea that each content area is different and technology can be applied differently in each area.  I find this to be so true especially being in a primary grade technology use is very different in a 1st grade room then in a middle school classroom or even 5th grade classroom.  There are great resourced out there but I don't want to sit in a whole professional development session about a technology that isn't that applicable in my classroom. For example the social networking sites (Wikis, blogging) have great uses in older classrooms but my students have a difficult time typing.  It takes them FOREVER to type and their writing skills are just developing so expecting them to share ideas by typing is a challenging task that not all students are ready for. Some are more efficient in typing and those tools could be used to differentiate.  If we are looking at professional development time I would rather learn about the tools that I can apply more frequently and meaningfully in the classroom.  I can learn on my own about Wikis and apply to the group of 4 students that may be ready for it.  With the younger student it is more important to think about their safety and privacy online because they aren't as aware of those issues as older students.  Thinking about the different content areas there are different ways to apply use of technology.  In reading you may want to use concept mapping but in science you may want to use a simulation to teach a concept so the technology would be different depending on what is being taught, it is not one size fits all.

As an ending note I agree with the writers in these articles.  It is very important to keep in mind what you want the students to learn. You have to have an objective and plan to how the students learn the best. Then use technology as an avenue for your students to reach that objective. As a teacher you have to have knowledge of the content, the best teaching strategies and the technology. Once all of these are in place technology integration can be successful and meaningful to your students.

Learning Theories Concept Map

Sept 7: Constructivism and Behaviorism

What I found most intriguing and applicable is that most educators fall in an area where they use a combination of theories to teach.  I find myself in that in between area where both theories are applied.  I love the idea of constructivism- allowing the students to choose how & what they learn, but my experience has shown that this would not always work in every situation.  I believe that it is important for students to take ownership over learning but as young learners they have to learn that concept and learn how to become aware of their learning and understanding. I do use constructivist ways in the sense of applying learning to the real world and allowing students to experiment and develop understanding.  However I feel hindered by the county pacing guide and grading requirements.  We are expected to be finished certain math and reading units by a specific date and we have to have a certain number grades in by a specific date. So with these time restraints it's not always applicable to allow students to explore & build their learning at their own pace because you have to have the grades in the gradebook for report cards. 

Another aspect I found intriguing in the first article was the factor of fantasy in Malone's Motivation Theory.   My students don't always have a motivation to learn or come to school.  It is a challenge to increase that motivation especially when family support is very low and education is not the most important thing.  I like the idea of using fantasy to make learning apply to the real world.  As I read this part I thought about my students in writing, they really struggle to use their imagination.  It seems as if sometimes they don't have that ability to imagine anymore.  They have their video games, computers, TV and don't use their imagination as much, relates back to the positive & negative of technology.  So when I read this article and saw that fantasy could be a motivational factory I was trying to think of how I can incorporate that into teaching more areas then just writing.  Can I have them imagine running a little store when we talk about money? Could I set that up so that they are absorbed in the whole fantasy?  Will they buy in and be motivated to learn and be able to apply the concepts and retain in the long term memory?  I plan to try to apply that motivational factory in my classroom.

My last thought after looking at all the articles is that I think it is important to apply both theories when teaching.  You have many different students in your classroom, many different learners.  They more you can mix it up and use an eclectic style the more your students will benefit because you will reach  more of them. So I find myself combing the theories in hope that I can reach all my students in one way or another.