So I really enjoyed class tonight! I loved the cool tools demos...I had heard of some and hadn't heard of others! It was great to see some new Web 2.0 tools.
I also loved the breakout sessions. I know I had a great group but it was the first time...EVER...that I think a break out session in a class has been useful. I loved the fact that Jenny, Nick, and I come from very different situations on technology integration in the classroom. Jenny is trying her hardest to integrate as much as she can BUT with constraints on her from school (parents, meetings, grading, paperwork, attendance sheets, staff development, etc.) she is just trying to get it in there. Nick's classroom pretty much is set up to use all types of technology, his curriculum is problem based learning, and most days are self-directed learning...so sometimes you may ask "what does he do?"...totally kidding! You can see from ALL of the rewards his students get that he is doing it right. I think he comes with different challenges...of always having to find the next NEW thing. I am sure sometimes it would be nice for things to be easy and not everyone watching to see what his kids come up with next. Then, obviously, I develop online so we are trying to incorporate new technologies, different assessments, web 2.0 tools, etc. However, I don't have to figure out if it really will work...our students don't have any options BUT to do it that way. Furthermore, I think they like it. BUT, I do think we could incorporate collaboration better!
SO...with all that said, it brings me to LoTi! I think that Jenny, Nick, and I had some great discussions about the examples that we had gathered. Also, we referred to the flowchart at the end of the article which I think really helped us determine where things go. For example, Nick was thinking that most of his were a 5 (which I still believe they are!) BUT when we referred to the flow chart, he said "Welllll...I don't know if there is two way communication?" then we said "But you don't know if there is?" and so on. Therefore, the back and forth communication between us was great for us to think through things. I have found my examples BUT will have to go back and re-evaluate my LoTi scores for sure! ALSO, it was so encouraging to see my teams webpage examples. To hear their struggles as well as to see some really really great examples.
Now, I must admit...I am ready to conquer this challenge and get started on my lesson. I think as we go I have decided what I want to do although it does change and tweak as we continue to learn more about this! And, I can't wait to see others projects. This might be my favorite "theory" class thus far and I am excited about applying what I know to this class, our studio class, and my job! O.K...here I go!
I also think it may have something to do with the grade levels you teach. Our breakout group has all elementary teachers, though I teach outside traditional academics. We all had similar LoTi scores. Our struggles are most like Jenny's I would assume; availability of technology probably being number 1; age appropriate tools and time are probably tied for number 2. I also felt that after class I needed to revisit my LoTi assignments to the lessons I found. I thought I understood what I was doing, then we had class. Even though it was long, I enjoyed the class and felt like I got a lot from it. Good Luck with your lessons!
ReplyDeleteI too appreciated the opportunity to break out in groups and really examine the LoTI categories. It was much clearer to me after class. We also talked about the difficulties we were having with finding some lessons. Since we both work for an online school, we often take for granted the integration of technology. But for the sake of my children who are in a "regular" public school, I want for teachers to really seek out these activities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Twila - I think this might be one of my favorite classes so far, too. Especially since it combines what we've learned the last year & half with our jobs. Best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteThe breakout sessions were helpful. Seems like most of us public school teachers had the same general complaints regarding technology integration...lack of time, poor resources, etc. I find it really frustrating when technology funds go towards new hardware rather than spending the money to train teachers on the things we have. I know funds are allocated to certain areas and there's really nothing our school can do about that, but it's still frustrating. I have to admit that I'm somewhat envious of your technology knowledge. :-) You and Tami are always on the "cutting edge." As you mentioned, that is your job and your students have no other choice but to use the technology. I wish I had some of your techy knowledge and experience. Fortunately, we have you guys in our program and you're both great resources for neat software and creative ideas.
ChanMin: Twila, great to hear that you enjoyed the class and breakout room discussions were useful! Collective reflections help to advance understanding in many cases, like what happened in our wimba discussions on LoTI. Maybe this is why you thought of collaboration as what you could incorporate more in the courses. I also like your comment, "it would be nice.... not everyone watching to see what his kids come up with next." This reminds me of testing, outcome-oritented learning environments that encourage "performance" orientations. Even when we WANT to learn, we often forget how much we wanted to learn because of the pressure to show/perform. I think it is one of our jobs to tell ourselves and our students that we live with curiocity, which is the origin of wanting to learn.
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