Entry 7- Final EME 5050 Posting

For my final EME5050 course posting, I have chosen to share my Learning Summary with my fellow classmates. I thoroughly enjoyed "meeting" you all this year. I feel through blog interaction that I've gotten to know many of you, through your experiences, personally. I hope to "see" you around as my graduate school journey continues.-- AD

At the onset of this course I looked at the syllabus and quickly became overwhelmed. After diligently reading through module and listening to the week 0 message, I followed a note from Dr. K and took a moment to, “just breathe.” During the first few weeks the course work seemed overwhelming. Even with my technology trainer background, I was intimidated about creating so many social media accounts. I’m constantly worrying about my online presence, because as an educator I want to avoid any chance of someone misinterpreting posts as unbecoming conduct. This course showed me that social media should not be feared. It is in fact a powerful to that can be utilized to communicate with students, collaborate with other educators, and engage in meaningful research. Using social tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Blogger has allowed for me to build my communication skills and increase my pedagogical credibility.

As the course rolled on I found myself to beginning to integrate NET Standards into my everyday lesson designs. Slowly but surely, I began to step out of my technology comfort zone, and became a better educator for it. For example, the biggest test of my skills came when building an entire WikiSpace. Though I admit to having previous experience in e-learning course storyboard designing, I never even considered that these skills could be translated into site design. Using existing skills to translate into new technology use allowed me to begin to truly apply course teaching to my everyday teaching life. In stretching myself I gained new and became more proficient in instructional design, and overall a better educator.

Entry 6

    In the past few weeks my posts have explored the benefits to integrating digital media into every day lesson planning.This week, I will attempt to present my own version of a digital story for your review. As a state technology trainer I am often providing adult learners with ways to utilize their Microsoft office Suite. While, I can, and do, teach many of these lessons in person or in a virtual office, digital story telling opens many doors to reaching my learners at their convenience. These types of presentations allow accessibility and mobility in learning; as such, I thought creating many micro-lessons that can be watched at the users leisure would be a fantastic use of this tool. Over time, my end goal would be to create and compile multiple digital stories in order to build a digital media page for my office-mates.  

    Below, you will find my first attempt at creating a content specific digital story. Please take a moment to watch my presentation and provide feedback on way to improve my lesson.

Click to Download and View my Digital Story Telling Example 

Once open, use the download button to view the Power Point with sound

Entry 5

     Over the past few weeks I have discussed the power that  “media literate” (Gunter, 2015, p. 19) educators have when affecting change. One super power that comes with this knowledge is the ability to use digital integration techniques for blended learning. No, you do not fall into a vat of nuclear waste to earn this supremacy, you simply need to be open minded about how you use digital media in your lessons.

During my time as a Florida Virtual schoolteacher, I often conducted lessons in distance learning whiteboard classrooms such as Skype™, Lync™, and Elluminate. Using these virtual technologies to convey lengthy Language Arts lessons could be quite difficult. Though it was a challenge, when presented this unique teaching opportunity I found it best to approach lessons from a digital story telling perspective. What is digital storytelling, you ask? According to Leslie Rule from Digital Storytelling Association, “Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling” (Rule). In laymen terms, digital stories are presentations that merge images, music, and voice narratives together, in an effort to create a layered lesson for all learner types. When using my classroom’s whiteboard I was able to create lessons with movable pieces, embedded videos, and sound bites. Interactive course creation became a cornerstone in my pedagogy and gave me an edge when reaching my distance learners. 

In my new capacity as a State Trainer, I have introduced a new course this year called, Train-the-Trainer Distance Learning Facilitation. Originally this course only focused on using whiteboard classrooms to teach an interactive course. I included information about making presentations in which participants can draw and write responses, embedding videos into slideshows, and also methods to encourage audience response. However, upon deeper thought I would be remissed if I did not challenge my students to attempt to create presentations of their own. Showing them is not teaching them, and what better way to learn than application of new concepts into job related practices? Challenging these trainers to valiantly stretch their multimedia integration (Gunter, 2015, p. 6) capabilities will strengthen their craft, and maybe even create a digital citizen or two.

Resources

Gunter, G., & Gunter, R. (2015). Integrating Educational Technology into the Curriculum. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating technology in a connected world. (Eighth ed.). Thompson Publishing.

Rule, L. (2011, June 3). Digital Storytelling. Retrieved October 29, 2015, from http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/index.html

Click to view or download my about the benefits of Digital Story Telling for Adult Learners

Entry 4

      This week let's talk about the death of my childhood. Tape cassettes, VHS's, and box set TVs all went extinct in a puff, and the new millennium raged on without them. Every black Friday lines wind around corners and malls are packed to the rafters (NWG Staff), as people wait in line for the best deals on laptops, flats screens and tablets. Consumers eagerly demand newer, faster, better technology, yet nearly 16 years after the Y2K craze, many schools have yet to leave the comfort of using 20th century technology in classrooms. In the ever evolving world of educational technology, hardware is becoming obsolete at an increasingly fast rate. This week we'll take a look at 3 technologies that are rapidly declining in popularity, but are integral pieces of classroom hardware.

     The first device that is beginning to be phased off the market are jump drives. Just like the floppy storage disc devices of the past, the jump drive allows users to store data and take anywhere (Gunter), but with multi-gigabit cloud space coming with many email accounts as a free feature, people find less need to carry documents on an external device. Why bother with carrying extra data sticks with less than 3gigs of space when I could simply email the file to myself, or save it to my cloud? With mobile devices allowing access to documents in any location, I predict that jump drives with less than a terabyte of space will soon disappear off of shelves.

Image: 'Levoluzione della specie' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9049083@N04/3895614433
Found on flickrcc.net

     The second device that will soon vanish from k-12 classrooms is the desktop printer. While ink jet, photo, and laser printers are great devices (Gunter) to have in the home, they will have no place in the classroom. Many people create and store items to the cloud without realizing it; pictures, iMessages, emails.  Most new printers on the market are Bluetooth capable,  which means users can access their clouds and wirelessly send documents to any printer within their school network. Perhaps you think a photo printer is needed for teachers want to clear the "class in action" pictures off of their phones and cameras; but in reality free photo services, like YorkPhoto and PhotoWorld, allow users to email or upload your photos and have up to 100 prints shipped back for free. Hooray for removing those clunky devices, taking up much needed desk space, and more freedom to print from any location!

Image: 'HP LaserJet Enterprise M830'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61980314@N04/10187568294

Found on flickrcc.net

     The final device that I predict will no longer be a classroom standard is the keyboard; especially those that require cords. Keyboards are gradually becoming smaller and more portable. Tablets created the consumer demand snappable keyboards, coders created the demand for rollable silicone keyboards, and the Millennial spawned the text to talk sensation. With the ever evolving capabilities of Siri and Alexa, or the assistance of apps like Dragon Text, the newest generation of learners has found a way to forgo using any keyboard that requires more fingers than their thumbs. Our kiosk (Gunter) ready culture is offering touchscreen solutions to what some dub the germ infested publicly used keyboard problem. When not cleaned regularly keyboards can spread viruses quickly (Reddy). Why run the risk of catching the flu, when I can bring my personal portable keyboard with me, or simply dictate my required notes to an app?

Image: 'Giving a try at the bluetooth official keyboard and magic mouse' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30013612@N03/16076525467
Found on flickrcc.net

     In truth, many of these changes may take decades to come about, or they could happen within a few months. Technology expands exponentially on a daily rate, and developers are constantly finding ways to improve user efficiency. Schools should fall into suit with consumers, and be willing to wait in endless lines for the best deals, stay up all night learning to use new techie toys, and watch countless advertisements with research on the best tools for classroom technology adaption. If schools apply Black Friday logic to our school education technology acquisitions, they too would hardly notice the obsoletion of 20th century technologies.

 

 Resources

Gunter, R., & Gunter, G. (2015). Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating Technology in a Changing World (Eighth ed., pp. 1-489). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

 NWG Staff. The Longest Black Friday Lines And Biggest Crowds Of 2014 (10 Photos). (2014, December 1). Retrieved October 17, 2015. 

Reddy, S. (2014, September 20). Germs at the Office Are Often Found on Keyboards and at Coffee Stations. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/germs-at-the-office-are-often-found-on-keyboards-and-at-coffee-stations-1412032235

Entry 3

Those who have been following my blog know that as a Millennial I am huge supporter of educational technology integration for schools and training rooms alike. I am always looking for ways to meet the plugged in student where they are. This week, I will be playing a little bit of the Devil’s advocate and touching lightly on my perceived downfalls to having a fully network integrated classroom; because even Albert Einstein knew, “technological progress is like an ax in the hands of a pathological criminal.”

 No matter how effective the teacher, technology is not 100% reliable or impenetrable. When novices begin using technology in an everyday classroom setting, they may encounter any number of viruses, tracking cookies, or phishing sites (Gunter) that can wreak havoc on a perfectly planned lesson. Whether it be clicking a link, or downloading a handout, teachers with internet access in their rooms open up networks to all kinds of viral attacks. Though many schools have begun running routine anti-virus programs and adding layers of firewalls to protect themselves, few are doing enough to truly safe guard against Trojan horse and logic bomb attacks. 

Català: Cavall de Troia, de María Helguera, i Llanterna, de Pablo Palazuelo, al pati de l'Auditori de Barcelona. This is a photo of public art indexed in the cataloge Art Públic of Barcelona (Spain) under the code number 2910-1 (prefixed with territorial id: 08019/2910-1)

     Another major threat to the tech savvy teacher is a familiar one… just presented in a 21^st century context. The disruptive student in a technologically integrated classroom is not one who talks out of turn, or throws paper airplanes, it's the hacker. For example, just 5 short months ago, in my home state of Florida, a 14-year-old student was “charged with a cyber-crime after allegedly hacking onto his school's computer network and changing the background image on a teacher's computer…” (Wong). This new phenomenon of hacking school sites can be observed on any given day in a google news stream. Any student can search hacks and l find a plethora of articles with directions on how to crack their school's system. The current generation of students have been using computers for years. If a school does not have a decent password protection plan in place, anyone can guess their way into a teacher’s account. It does not take a government level encryption code hacker to guess your birthday, or pet’s name. With just a few clicks of the mouse any disgruntled student can post inappropriate content to the schools website, or change an entire year of class grades into A+’s.

Image: 'Windows login screen'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/132889348@N07/20011568173
Found on flickrcc.net

     The last, and in my opinion scariest, attack that the networked classroom should be weary of is that of an electromagnetic pulse, also known as EMP. Never heard of it? Well you should read up. In 1962 an EMP was set off 240 miles above the earth and 900 miles away from Oahu, Hawaii; the result, “The EMP was powerful enough to affect the entire electric grid in Hawaii, blowing out streetlights, and resulting in telephone outages and radio blackouts” (Kelly- Detwiler). Depending on the EMPs size, an electrical energy surge is created that is capable of knocking out any device that uses a plug or battery within a desired range. EMPs are growing continually smaller and more powerful, as years pass, and may soon be small enough to be carried in a shirt pocket (Woolsey). What implications does this have on a plugged in classroom, or networked school? Complete system failure! 

Author: Firstfreddy      Description: Switchable multiple socket, power strip

Date 23 May 2007     Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Socket_5.jpg

     How do we charge bravely into the night, when we know all the dangers that lay before us? We commit to becoming versed in computer security, and increase our digital awareness.  In 2014, “President Obama signed an executive order to guard critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks,” (Woolsey) and schools should begin following in suit. A great way to start moving into safer classroom computer practices is to begin to build internet guidelines for your school. Outline the consequences for hacking, cyber bullying, and data corruption. Have fake phishing emails sent to the staff, and see how many actually open it; this will allow the administration to begin to truly assess the current level of the staff’s security awareness. Schools may also consider offering in-service training for safer internet use, and routinely updating resources on ways to counter attacks. It also wouldn't hurt to keep educators apprised of current viruses and malware plaguing the school.The bright side to all of this is that a versatile teacher can begin to integrate technology, while keeping in mind that if all else fails teaching with just a text book may be a safest back-up plan around.

Resources

Gunter, R., & Gunter, G. (2015). Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating Technology in a Changing World (Eighth ed., pp. 1-489). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Kelly- Detwiler, P. (2014, July 31). Failure to Protect U.S. Against Electromagnetic Pulse Threat Could Make 9/11 Look Trivial Someday. Forbes.

Wong, C. (2015, April 13). Florida Teen Charged With Computer Hacking After Changing Teacher's Computer Background To Gay Kiss Image. Retrieved September 23, 2015.

Woolsey, R., & Pry, P. (2014, August 12). The Growing Threat From an EMP Attack. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/james-woolsey-and-peter-vincent-pry-the-growing-threat-from-an-emp-attack-1407885281

Entry 2

     Sadly, there are many teachers in classrooms today who fear technology in their classroom. In the education world everyone hopes that all teachers would strive to evolve into highly effective teachers. However, just like in any profession, there are those who work hard to improve, some who seek out innovations daily, and others who would simply like to just show up until retirement. Those teachers, who do not choose to use all the tools at their discretion to grow, will be left behind in the ever growing world of Ed tech.

     During my junior internship I had the displeasure of meeting one such teacher, who we will call Mrs. J. This tenured teacher, of 38 years, is quite the expert on classroom management, but absolutely refused to have a computer in her room. Because she had no computer every email for in-service registration, student questions, and parent concerns would have to be addressed in person, or via the telephone. She was especially surprised when she walked into my classroom, and heard music coming from my laptop. With a wide-eyed face of shock she whispered to me, “I didn’t know that it could play music.” How Mrs. J managed to keep her room isolated from the network, I have no clue… but my inner nerd hopes that she claimed fear of it being a Cylon trap.

BSG SER 3 RAZOR Guardian Cylon | by Elitist Czar

     The Internet and World Wide Web are true game changers in the education world. Networking classroom computers offers administrators, teachers, and students to communicate throughout the school district (Gunter, 2015, p. 51). Why bother with paper attendance sheets, rubrics, or student records, when you could use a secured network to store information? Who needs only text books in your room when you could build a webpage to hold important links, reliable search engines, interactive graphics (Gunter)? With so many Internet services available to educators, it is crucial that we use these "tools [to support] student collaboration and provid[e] interactive experiences (Price)."

     Be an innovator, and find ways to engage your students using message boards or chat rooms. Find virtual reality games such as Minecraft or Number Munchers to add a “balance of play” (Gallagher) to homework. Foster a classroom of connectivism by engaging with students using instant messages or interactive whiteboard tutorials. Record a vlog (Gunter, 2015, p. 72) of quick homework tips, or create a weekly podcast to give students kudos. It is up to us to not be fearful of these changes, but lead the revolution in being technologically savvy educators.

Resources

Gallgher, C. (2015, June 3). 5 Things About Minecraft That Worry Parents. Retrieved September 18, 2015, from http://edutechniques.com/?p=6936

Gunter, R., & Gunter, G. (2015). Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating Technology in a Changing World (Eighth ed., pp. 1-489). Boston, MA: CengageLearning.

Price, S. (2014, September 19). EdTech Apps for the Collaborative Classroom. Retrieved September 18, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shayla-r-price/edtech-apps-for-the-colla_b_6184666.html 

Entry 1

Imagine a scenario in which you walk into your classroom at 9:00am and say, “Please sit down and turn on all of your devices.”  Long gone are the days of early class bells, banning wireless devices, and isolated overhead projector only classrooms. Schools with just one technology director or lacking Wi-Fi are expiring like bad lunch… Or have you not noticed the recent disappearance of soda and mystery meatloaf from cafeteria menus (Hrannar Ómarsson)?

As educators moving into a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) world, the changes can be a baffling experience. As if combating our iPhone apps daily isn’t hard enough; now we must become tech savvy enough to navigate a Smart Board, incorporate Prezis, and send mobile surveys throughout class. During our ongoing battle with multimedia integration (Gunter, 2015, p. 6), we will face the challenge of vying for student’s attention against Twitter Feeds, Vine Comps, and Tumblr updates. It makes many teachers long for the times when the biggest classroom distractions were fire drills, Walkmen, and the occasional disruptive student.  How can we, as educators, stay relevant when we are in constant competition with weapons of Mass Distraction (Rosen)?

As a digital native, I think the answer is simple; teachers need to make the effort to become digital citizens themselves. We should be diving into technology head first! We can’t be nostalgic for the outdated weekly typing classes and monthly bulletin boards; we must become “media literate” (Gunter, 2015, p. 19), which means learning how to create lesson plans using all forms of communication and information. We have a new responsibility to guide our students into utilizing the true magic of the internet.

Nowadays, most students in our classrooms have had internet access since elementary school; why not use this to our advantage?  Schools can no longer expect to reach the masses with TV and radio alone. If our students and their parents are plugged in, then the best way to reach them is in their daily feeds. If you’re a novice you can start small with sending out a weekly Remind101™ text message or student designed e-newsletter explaining upcoming assignments. If you want to go a step further, consider implementing virtual office hours so students have time to access you outside of class. The truly advanced should find ways to reinforce their curriculum with Sandbox lesson websites for students to play. These will offer great opportunities for any of type learner you may have, at any time of day. Being truly media literate could effectively eliminate the “all even, all the same” (Hrannar Ómarsson) lesson plan mantra.

When exposing ourselves to more technology based teaching it is imperative that we increase our information literacy. This means committing to the concept that teacher and student alike should know how to “find, analyze, use, and communicate information” (Gunter, 2015, p. 5). Teachers now have the capability to share what they are creating, which means collaborating via the internet has made one-size-fits-all workshops obsolete. Unfortunately, this free flow of information can lead to misinformation and poor investigative habits. Before Wikipedia or Ask Jeeves, traditional libraries, card catalogs, and hard covered encyclopedias were necessities for conducting thorough research. We must become truly engaged educators and use reputable search engines (e.g. Google Scholar) to teach our students how to find reliable digital resources.

      In the wake of these new e-learners, effective education means preparing our students to enter the work force and be competitive in the global marketplace. Recently many states, including my home state of Florida, have implemented laws which require high school students to complete at least one online course to earn a diploma (Sheehy). These progressive states know that universities, tech schools, and community colleges are reaching students where they are. Using technology to reinforce our face-to-face communication is just the start (Gunter, 2015, p. 6), we must be committed to life-long learning and be prepared to “focus all of [our] energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” (Millman, 1984, p. 113). This is the only way to be equipped educators, therefore shaping the future of education.

Resources

Friedman, T. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Gunter, G., & Gunter, R. (2015). Integrating Educational Technology into the Curriculum. In Teachers discovering computers: Integrating technology in a connected world. (Eighth ed.). Thompson Publishing.

Millman, D. (1984). The Sword Is Sharpened. In Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book that Changes Lives (pp. 1- 226). Tiburon,, California: Publisher’s Group Wes.

Rosen, D. (2012, December 18). Weapons of Mass Distraction. Retrieved September 2, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201212/weapons-mass-distraction

Sheehy, K. (2012, October 24). States, Districts Require Online Ed for High School Graduation: Requiring online classes may not benefit all students. Retrieved September 2, 2015.