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