Saturday, February 12, 2011
Class Reflection 2/12/11
I love learning about technology!. Thanks Todd! However, I felt a little behind today. Class went a little fast for me. Heavy sigh! I feel like I'm learning at lightening speed and there is still so much to learn. When I feel like I can't keep up, I get frustrated. I'm not frustrated with the class itself (I love it), but rather the challenges of not knowing how to do certain things and make them work. For instance, I created a new gmail account for ease of access, but found I can't change my blog address (or simply don't know how to). Now I have to go back and forth from one gmail account to another. Minor issue, but now I have to figure out how to resolve the problem. I tend to fall back into bad habits and "just do it for me" attitude.
TED Video Response
Using computers to teach children with no teachers.
This video reminded me of my experience visiting a school in Mikuni village in S. Africa. A few years ago I traveled to S. Africa with my best friends, most of them educators. The trip consisted of many different locations and attractions. One of them being Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia. During our stay (at the secure American gated community hotel) we were able to plan a visit to a local village. They informed us that our request to visit a village was not a usual one. When we arrived, we had the full tour of the village from one of the village residents. After the tour, we requested to visit a school. The school reminded me of the slums in India. There was no technology. Just a chalk board, a few books, and paper. What fascinated the children was the digital camera. They were craving the technology. They wanted to see themselves. They wanted to explore and play with the pictures.
This video reminded me of my experience visiting a school in Mikuni village in S. Africa. A few years ago I traveled to S. Africa with my best friends, most of them educators. The trip consisted of many different locations and attractions. One of them being Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia. During our stay (at the secure American gated community hotel) we were able to plan a visit to a local village. They informed us that our request to visit a village was not a usual one. When we arrived, we had the full tour of the village from one of the village residents. After the tour, we requested to visit a school. The school reminded me of the slums in India. There was no technology. Just a chalk board, a few books, and paper. What fascinated the children was the digital camera. They were craving the technology. They wanted to see themselves. They wanted to explore and play with the pictures.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Good Evening
Hi All,
Well, it's been a crazy week. But here I am trying to wrap my head around technology. Over the last week and a half I have been exploring the technology in my school. This is only my second year at my current school, so I have a lot to learn. I did some research and found that we do NOT have a technology plan for the school. However, we do have a comprehensive technology plan for the district. The plan consists of 27 pages of dense technical mumbo jumbo. Seriously??? I presented it to our technology committee at my school and they immediately ran the opposite direction! It is overwhelming. I plan to organize and simplify the information to I can relay the "jist" of the district plan to my colleagues. Once that is completed, I would like to propose creating a technology plan for my school. Does anyone have a technology plan for their school? If so, would you be willing to share? I'm most interested in your top priorities and the "appropriate" use of technology at the middle school level.
Changing subjects, I wonder what others are thinking about for their final project. I am considering the following options:
1. "Technology Plan" for my school.
2. Staff/Student/Teacher Surveys (survey monkey)
3. Incorporating "Technology News" section in our school newsletter/website/staff meeting
4. Movie - I'm thinking something similar to what Russo did at Reynolds.
I would welcome any suggestions, feedback, templates, or other documents to share.
Thanks everyone!
Well, it's been a crazy week. But here I am trying to wrap my head around technology. Over the last week and a half I have been exploring the technology in my school. This is only my second year at my current school, so I have a lot to learn. I did some research and found that we do NOT have a technology plan for the school. However, we do have a comprehensive technology plan for the district. The plan consists of 27 pages of dense technical mumbo jumbo. Seriously??? I presented it to our technology committee at my school and they immediately ran the opposite direction! It is overwhelming. I plan to organize and simplify the information to I can relay the "jist" of the district plan to my colleagues. Once that is completed, I would like to propose creating a technology plan for my school. Does anyone have a technology plan for their school? If so, would you be willing to share? I'm most interested in your top priorities and the "appropriate" use of technology at the middle school level.
Changing subjects, I wonder what others are thinking about for their final project. I am considering the following options:
1. "Technology Plan" for my school.
2. Staff/Student/Teacher Surveys (survey monkey)
3. Incorporating "Technology News" section in our school newsletter/website/staff meeting
4. Movie - I'm thinking something similar to what Russo did at Reynolds.
I would welcome any suggestions, feedback, templates, or other documents to share.
Thanks everyone!
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