Hi everyone, I posted an episode to my podcast, Amys podcast.

Click this link to check it out:
PSA

- Amy

Digital Technology and the End of Social Studies Education

"Our beliefs about learners and tools come via Dewey and Vygotsky, and have been informed by the 'cognitive revolution' that in the last thirty years has given these ideas scientific weight:
~ Technologies as tools that amplify and extend fundamental human capacities to observe, understand and communicate about the world- tools that give us rich data, help us manipulate and think about it, and connect us with others around it in new and powerful ways." ~ Bill Tally
This article was an interesting and raised up many questions many educators, specifically ones who have been on the technology bandwagon, have been asking: Why hasn't technology in education been the tipping point yet? Three possible explanations: The teachers are to blame, schools are to blame, testing/accountability regime are to blame. I think, as a tech 'tinkerer', that a combination of all three have led to the education 'scale' to not be tipped.

The article also spoke about the purpose behind WebQuests that caught my attention. WebQuests were the 'craze' back when I was first teaching in Manhattan (over 9 years ago). We were asked to volunteer our time to spend several lunches with a professor from Columbia University, where we learned all about Bernie Dodge. Since that time, WebQuests have become a natural part of my 'teacher-speak'. However, this article raises the question of the 'ubiquitous' WebQuests: Are they purposeful? Do they represent the triumph of process over substance? Is it relevant? All these questions made me reevaluate my position on such projects.

All this reading and discussing made me think: Did education get evaluated and reevaluated when the radio was invented? Did teachers have to rethink the way they teach when the television was invented? I know these tools are different from what we are being introduced to these days, but I'm wondering if this is just a phase....

The Judgement of Thamus

"What happens to us when we become infatuated with and then seduced by them [new technologies]? Do they free us or imprison us? Do they improve or degrade democracy? Do they make our leaders more accountable or less so? Our system more transparent or less so? Do they make us better citizens or better consumers? Are the trade-offs worth it? If they’re not worth it, yet we still can’t stop ourselves from embracing the next new thing because that’s just how we’re wired, then what strategies can we devise to maintain control? Dignity? Meaning?" ~ Andrew Postman , 2005 (son of Dr. Neil Postman)
Speaking to other members of TEAM and with Brenda Dyck on this particular quote from the article The Judgement of Thamus launched a 45-minute discussion on the topic of purpose. Purpose of new technologies- are they beneficial? Do they create a division among educators’ the ‘so called’ winners and losers? This idea of the ‘great divide’ among those who are tech-savvy and those who are ‘not’ made me immediately think about my mom. She has been working as an assistant head nurse at Queens Hospital Center for the last 20 years. However, it has only been in the last 2-3 years that she has come home night after night complaining about work. Complaining about the new technology trainings she has to attend instead of seeing her patients. Complaining about how hard it is to acquire all the new tech information in such a limited amount of time. Complaining about the fact that just when she has a new piece of tech equipment learned, a new one has come to replace it. Complaining about the feeling of inadequacy.
Does this ‘great divide’ happen in education? Absolutely! I’ve spoken to a plethora of teachers who feel that the available technology (ex: SmartBoards, scanners, digital flip cameras) and the Web 2.0 tools that some are using (ex: Animoto, PhotoStory, Skype…) is making them feel very inadequate! The question that then comes to my mind is: Will this gap widen as each school year goes by? How do we close the gap?
In terms of if new technologies alter our understanding of the purpose of education, I’ll have to say yes. This is my 8th year of teaching, and my level of instruction has been enhanced due to the mere placing of a SmartBoard in my classroom. New technologies have helped me focus my teaching, keep me on track, engage my students, and actually ‘slow’ down the learning a bit [that’s a good thing]. Am I always using new technologies to its potential? Probably not, but I’m not using my SmartBoard as only a glorified whiteboard, either.

I just came back from a full day of being intellectually stimulated at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference in NYC. What an awesome experience! It was amazing to be among thousands of educators and administrators who were clearly excited about learning how to be better at what they do. I spoke to many different people this weekend, from many walks of life, and I was inspired to realize that we were all the same: we just want to carry out our 'mission' the best way we can.
One of the highlights of today's experience was to hear the plenary speaker, Sir Kenneth Robinson. If you haven't heard of him, stop what you are doing (and put it down b/c you soon will be falling on the floor laughing) and listen to the following video from a TED conference:

I’m excited about the fact that I am finally going to learn how to use Flash---a term I never thought I would ever have to use as a teacher. Being that I use my SmartBoard in nearly every lesson of the day, I constantly come across Flash games created by other teachers. I frequently wish that I could manipulate these games or create them myself! It’s always the case that every game/activity that I use ends up either missing information or providing content that I haven't taught. So, being that it is my last full semester as a grad student in TEAM, I am finally getting the chance to open the doors to the great big world of Flash.
First of all, what would I do with my new found knowledge? Here are several ways I might use Flash in my classroom this year: Following the ideas from the George Washington site, I would also create a similar task in the subject of science, specifically for the unit on light. I would have kids look at several paintings that illustrated the concept of light (with shadows, reflections, color..etc). On the paintings itself, kids would be able to click on several parts of the artwork, which would lead to learning more about how light affected the area they pointed to.
Another example of how I can use flash in the classroom is by using the technique found in the Tangram site. As an extension activity of my Geometry unit, I would create an activity where kids could manipulate quadrilaterals that they learned about to construct an image/illustration (only using those quadrilaterals or by using a specific # of shapes- 2 trapezoids, 3 squares…etc).
A third idea of mine of how to use flash in the class (hey, that rhymes--sort of!) was triggered by the Titanic site. In that site, visitors can click on an image to learn more about a specific person/event. Using this idea, I can envision teaching my students basic flash so that they themselves can create a 1 minute movie about a member of the Corps of Discovery (group that led the expedition out west in the early 1800s). Once complete, visitors to the site could click on a member of the expedition to find out more about them.I realize the countless possibilities that can come about with the knowledge of flash. I’m hoping I find the actual task of learning the program painless!

Wordle!

How cool does this look? I found this great Web 2.0 tool called Wordle, which allows you to create "clouds" similar to the ones found on del.icio.us. You can type in a bunch of words, which then randomizes the words into a cloud. There are many options/colors/fonts to choose from so you won't be disappointed. I learned the teaching strategy of 'wordsplash' back in my student teaching days, and this is a great tech remake of that. Wordsplash is an activity where you can preassess the students' prior knowledge of a particular topic. I usually put a poster on the wall/closet door and have kids write whatever word comes into mind when they look at the word on the poster (ex: Light, American Revolution, Spiders, Election...etc). This is a great way to understand what knowledge the kids are coming into the unit with. I plan to use this now as a new way of showing off my tech skills! :-)

My Face Should Really be on a Rubik's Cube...

I just read through Kathy Shrock's blog---so worth visiting! She wrote about a creative web2.0 tool called Dumpr that allows my face to be on a Rubik's cube! Dumpr is a really neat tool used to manipulate photos so that you can have your pictures placed in fun ways. The registration is free, and you can get an upgraded version with more choices for only $12 a year. I definitely recommend this site---check it out!
Create your own Rubik's Cube