One More Note

I forgot to address the blog itself... I would like to set up a blog for my classes. I'm wondering though about the upkeep, grading and monitoring. I might set one up for my web designing classes and see how it goes. Time will tell.....

MY FINAL AHAS AND HORAYS

Oh my gosh, where to start? First, my aha is the student created lessons. What a novel idea. We covered everything and more on my list. How wonderful is that?

There are so my more aha’s. Skype was too great. My husband bought me a camera for the computer and a speaker. He got it all for ten bucks on the streets in South Dallas! His timing was impeccable! The only person I tried to call was you and you wouldn’t take my call! Unidentified contact I guess. Logged off right after my call attempt… what’s up with that?

I’m very sad that I missed the communities lesson night as I think communities may be the most useful learning source for my students. Because my students are not allowed to have contact with their home school, it would be great to be able to form a community with another alternative center in the U.S. I am scheduled to attend November’s conference in July. Now if I can just get on that plane! I was so excited by his philosophy that when I shared it with our technology director, he arranged for 6 additional people to attend the conference. The others are members of the Campus Improvement Teams for my school district! I think my enthusiasm shown through.

The primary and secondary sources lesson was too much for me. Like the Internet itself, it became too over whelming and I lost whatever lesson I was to learn.

Of course the other class I missed was WebQuest. I have however, downloaded tons of the information you suggested and intend to create a WebQuest this summer for at least three of my classes. I think the students will love the challenge and independent learning. I cannot do the group activities but will devise a WebQuest for students to work alone.

Second only to November, is Secondlife. Wow, what a concept. The possibilities are endless for use in a classroom, IF the technology department would allow access. I sent an e-mail my coordinator concerning access to Secondlife and what I’d like to try with it. Without discuss access was denied with a suggestion that we talk it over in the future. My challenge now is to set up some method of using it in a homework situation. The problem with this is our students are not “required” to do homework. In addition, almost 90% of my students are on free lunch and have not access to a computer at home or a means of transportation to the library. I’ll work on it and see what I can come up with. Maybe my artistic students can draw and create items in Photoshop while others upload to Secondlife. I’d love to set up something with a core subject teacher but, and this brings me to my biggest AHA, they don’t what to be bother with computer assignments and interactive lessons. My AHA didn’t come from them not caring about computers it came from learning my associates are the majority not the minority; that as a Nation, we are not using our resources as we should. I thought until this class, it was my school district and we’d never really use the technology we have purchased. I feel better knowing it many many districts that are failing to use what they have available.

As for suggestions, I would have liked more time to discuss our reading assignments, online learning, uploading web pages, tricks of creating moves and definitely more Secondlife. I also realize that to cover as much as we did, it is almost impossible to set aside class time for discussion. I noticed too not many of the students were into conversing about what we were learning. I think it may be due to the diverse reasons for taking the class. I took it not as a requirement (although it was I think) but as a base to build more technology classes upon.

It cannot be said that this class was easy because it was not. It was a reach into areas that I, as well as many in the class, didn’t know existed. It was fulfilling and well worth the money!

Technology Enhanced Curriculum

Technology Enhanced Curriculum

I loved the quote by Fisher, “Some will say that technology and education are doomed as partners for one moves too quickly and the other too slowly.” I connect this with, “Too many cooks spoil the broth,” or with Romano’s 3^rd guideline; … the rate of change and the increment of change possible in any given situation are inversely proportional to the number of people involved. It is interesting to me that his number 2 strategy is in direct contrast to the 3^rd guideline.

I do not agree that creating a national advisory committee with broad representation is the best first step when integrating technology into the classroom. The foremost reason is exactly what Romano shares in guideline 3. It is only logical that if a committee is national, than there must be many layers of bureaucracy before it gets to the classroom; going through state boards of education, county/city boards, high school, middle and elementary schools curriculum writers, technology departments approval, purchase and installation of new computers and software, acceptance by and integration training for teachers, and all of this IF there is money. So beginning at the national level is a very bad idea to me. Romano’s suggestion that the district with the highest SAT scores be the demonstration site is absurd beyond belief. A school district having the highest SAT scores in the nation would most likely have the highest income per capita to backing its schools. I’m sure the dollars spent per student in the top SAT district would outweigh the lowest income per capita. If a school district is unable to provide the funds necessary to support an education with textbooks for every child in every class, how can it consider TV monitors, a VCR or DVD player for each classroom?

Romano is living in his own little world. In Garland ISD all high schools have credit recovery programs that include remediation as a teaching method. The problem, credit recovery classes are held during a one-half hour time slot; too many students, not enough time. Remediation is a fabulous teaching method as well as the narrated videos discussed in chapter seven. But if there are not enough computers and/or teachers to provided remediation to students who have already failed and need to get back on track, how can a computer lab be used for TEC?

I have researched TEC in my own district and find that by “department” there are great discrepancies. One department supplies only Power Points presentations for their TEC and video narration is not an option. However, in the math department, TEC is routinely updated and training provided though out the school year. TEC is only as good as the leader assigned to its development.

MY STRATEGIES

I think Romano was going backwards in his strategies. When doing an analysis’ for software or hardware needs, I think it is most important to identify the end user, so this is where I will begin.

Strategy 1: THE END USER

What is the end user to accomplish by being educated with TEC? Is the purpose of the “system” to provide multi-media education methods to reach various levels of ability of various levels of students? The end user must provide input as to his hopes and goals of education. Everyone knows the goal of administration is higher test scores so starting with the district administration is a waste of time. If you start on the “state” level, you must take into consideration the make-up of every district in the state. The per child dollars, although supposedly equal through Robin Hood in our State, isn’t really equal. If it were, Sped and ESL programs would also be equal. Thirty-five students in one science classroom would be the norm if all was equal. If we start with the understanding that nothing is equal and what the end users want, TEC might just work.

Strategy 2: THE TEACHERS

What do the teachers want? They want not to fear loosing their jobs, they want training and support. Show them they are necessary to make the new TEC work. Train and support them with an ongoing system. As the software updates, training takes place.

Strategy 3: REMEDIATION TIME

Two hours once a month as suggested by Romano is not enough for remediation. What if the student lost their way the second day of the 10 week lesson? He has only 2 hours to make up what he’s missed? The student will feel defeated and give up, make the success of TEC null and void.

Strategy 4: Start the TEC at the high school level and flow downward. High school students are closer to either graduating or giving up and becoming another statistic. Middle school students can be help in high school, and elementary students have years to be brought on line with TEC. This is not to say middle and elementary students don’t deserve TEC but districts must address the severest areas affected first. It is a triage for high schools.