Social Bookmarking and Trends and Issues Response

I am apologizing for the length of this response in advance. I think it was just one of those days. Thanks for sticking with it if you make all the way to the end!


Part 1 - Social Bookmarking

What a great name for a website: delicious.com. It just sounds inviting. With that, I am not super impressed with this tool. I love the idea that I can have all my bookmarks in one place that can be accessed remotely. However, and maybe it’s just because I don’t bookmark sites as much as other people(?), wherever I am, I can usually remember some keyword, such as a title, or some key content from a certain website and simply look it up in Google or other search engines and it takes me right to where I need to go. I think it is fantastic that I can search for certain topics based on tags or keywords, but the tags found on delicious.com seem pretty narrow in topic, unless you are super technologically advanced, like creating your own websites and programs. And for some reason, much to my surprise, listing all my bookmarks for everyone to see seemed really personal, which was a little unsettling for me.

All gripes aside, I definitely see the multitudes of uses that this website affords in education. Why couldn’t (and shouldn’t) teachers start adding more tags and bookmarks for education. Right now the delicious.com website seems very technology biased, but it only takes a few to start using an easy tool like delicious.com or other social bookmarking sites to get the ball rolling in other areas of interest. I love the idea that you can build and tag off of other websites and other’s delicious.com links and go from there.

In terms of sharing this tool with the educational community, I know that there are many colleagues that I steal, oops, I mean borrow, ideas and lessons from. I can only imagine the possibilities that would come if the people with whom I collaborate daily would start sharing the many useful bookmarks I know we all have shared on our computers. I also really like the idea of skipping the “middle man,” instead of having to get the address from someone (written or emailed) then type the address in the browser (usually long) only to have to search out the information that I really need from a main page. I also love that not just my group of teachers could access these links, but anyone subscribed to the social bookmarking site.

The same idea of quickly and easily sharing specific website through a social bookmarking site would be helpful with students. Instead of creating a hotlist in a Word file and posting it on my school website, I could just use delicious.com to keep a running hotlist that is always available online and needs no other application to create. I think my kids would like it because they can then start building on their pages in a social bookmarking site, thus making the process a two way street, instead of me just providing a hotlist of website only I am aware of. Collaborating with the students to enhance the activity would help me find even more information and tools on the web, but it would also give my students a sense of ownership in whatever we doing.

I definitely don’t see myself using this website in my daily life, especially since I am already addicted to the RSS readers and the blogs, but what an awesome tool, yet again, that could enhance my lesson planning as well as my student’s interests in what they are learning and doing.


Part 2 - Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology

While reading Chapter One in our “Trends and Issues” book, I found that the authors did a fantastic job explaining themselves in an uncomplicated and straightforward fashion. As a new student in this field I was surprised by many things, including how early on this field began making its way into education and some of the ways the definitions of the field have changed over the years.

When you think back to the technologies that made a big difference in the 1920’s, such as photography and lantern slides (p. 3), it’s often hard to imagine what a difference they would have made to society at the time, as they seem like such basic forms of technology today. However, after putting it all into perspective, it is amazing how far we have come in such a short amount of time. The description of how the view on Instructional Design and Technology has developed over the years, from visual instruction to audiovisual instruction to our present day views, shows such an amazing progress that I only hope can continue.

Reading about the process of developing a definition for our field really opened my eyes to the importance of why defining what we are really doing in the field of Instructional Design and Technology is such a significant endeavor. As each definition was introduced, I seemed to be nodding my head in agreement to some or all of the idea put forward. It all seemed to fit and make sense. Yet, each new definition held something that called to me even more.
The most recent and published AECT definition brought about in 1994 really struck me with emphasis on the idea that “it does not separate teachers from media,” and focuses more on “incorporating both into the phrase “resources for learning.’” (p. 6). I definitely teach my students to use me as a resource for learning, but also teach them to be independent learners when finding helpful and reputable resources for learning which they will be able to use throughout their lives, including various sources of media and technology.

Also, I really responded to the addition of the term ethical in the 2006 AECT definition of Instructional Design and Technology. With the variety of uses of technology, from helpful to hurtful, I think it is imperative for teachers to realize “the fact that those in the profession must maintain a high level of professional conduct” (pg. 6). There are many easy ways to stray when it comes to using and teaching technology in the education field, and I feel it is very important for any educator to really understand how they are using technology to educate their students, not just to entertain or distract.

Finally, I never would have critically thought about how the Instructional Design and Technology field and its facilitators have made an “effort …on improving human performance in the workplace” (p.7). As a part of the generation that has grown up in a technologically advanced society, it seems a natural part of my world. But, when I step back and think about the ways in which this field has improved my everyday performance as an educator, it is terrifying to think about what I would do without it.

I really enjoyed reading this chapter as it only reiterated my belief that the Instructional Design and Technology field is one that is vital to our world, for students, teachers, parents, and communities around the globe, as well as a field in which its professionals are always striving to make a difference and looking towards the future. And, I am very excited to be apart of it all.

Here is the link for my delicious page. Enjoy!

http://delicious.com/wilgenhof4

Let me know if it doesn't work since I really have no clue what I am doing. Here goes anyway!

The Wiki World - Week 3 Reflection

Wiki is not a new word to me and I knew its general meaning and application when the assignment for this week popped up. I knew of Wikipedia and a few other wiki sites, but I had never actually participated in using and creating a page of my own. My first attempts at logging in and even editing went fantastically. I enjoyed the simple formatting, but also the fact that, within the simplicity of the design, there were choices for me as an editor of the page. I also enjoyed the fact that my group members and I could collaboratively work on making a page that showcased our individual thoughts and ideas, but, in they end, they were showcased together seamlessly as one. Now, sounds like I love the thing, right? Then came the problems.

On the second day of my attempts at making some wiki edits, I tried logging in. The website said it recognized my email and allowed me to log in, but did not allow me any editing privileges. So, I tried again. And, again. What to do? As much as I enjoyed being able to work with my partners from separate locations, I was suddenly faced with the fact that I was having a problem and didn’t know how to fix it. I am one of those people that like to be able to solve things myself, and I like to get work done when I say I am going to do it (sorry, group) so I panicked just a little. I felt helpless as I couldn’t solve the problem myself. Finally, Brian and I figured it out, but the whole second experience left a bad taste in my mouth. Another bad taste…I did not like the fact that we were competing for time to edit, as was the case with one of my partners and I. It was frustrating to know that we couldn’t be working at the same time, and either way, someone was unable to do their job at the time of another.

However, now that you made it through all that ranting and raving, I really do view wiki’s as a great tool that can be used by many of today’s teachers and students, even fairly young students. As with most middle schoolers who love to talk and share with their peers, I think creating a wiki project for my students would be an activity that my students would get highly involved in and excited about. In trying to relate a wiki idea to something I am currently working on with my Science students, I think using a wiki to explore the metric system would help my students to take their textbook knowledge to a higher level in which they could synthesize what they know and are learning in order to demonstrate their mastery of the subject. Each student group could be assigned a type of measurement within the metric system and provide definitions, examples, explorations of ways in which we use (and don’t use, in the U.S.) the system in the real world, and the importance of the metric system in all areas of life (not just science). They could also develop pages in which they could debate the reasons we should or shouldn’t adopt the system fully in the United States. It would be interesting to see, although all starting from the same basic templates, what the students would produce as a group, how they would split up their time and topic areas, and what the end product would actually be. My middle schoolers (and I) would love the personalization of it all.

Even with my earlier struggles, or maybe because of them, I really do look forward to helping my own students learn and create using wikis. And with that thought, I am also very thankful that I have a school that puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to technology integration. I am thankful every day.

PS - Thanks to my group members for putting up with me when I was frustrated (sorry about all the posts) as well as for your time and committment to working as a group to get things done. I know you dont always get so lucky in projects like these.

Week 2 Reflections - Blogging and RSS Readers

Topics:
Blogging
RSS Readers
Dale, 1969 - The Cone of Experience
Siegel, 2003 - Falling Asleep at Your Keyboard: The Case for Computer Imagination

As I began to undertake this week’s Technology Tasks, I was excited to see that I was in for learning something new. I have blogged, although limited, before. However, I have never even attempted to use an RSS Reader or any application of its kind. All I have to say is that I have definitely been missing out.

While writing my first blog for this class, I was pretty indifferent to the whole idea. Although I have some experience blogging, I have not kept up with any type of blog in the past because I have been fairly uncomfortable with sharing any personal information and/or ideas on the web, especially to no one in particular (speaking to the general audience that the internet affords). I did like the ease of use of Google’s Blogger, and was surprised by the types of options such an easy-to-use application offered, such as formats and personalization options. I also really enjoyed being able to read all of the responses from our “classmates,” although I was a little frustrated with switching back and forth between the blog address list and the blogging website.

But, then came the RSS reader! What an awesome tool. Honestly, as much as I enjoy learning and using various technology tools, I am shocked that I have not heard more about this tool or its multitude of uses. It was easy to set up and easy to use. It really is very applicable to my everyday use on the internet as well as for our class format. After setting up a folder for keeping track of all our class blogs on the reader page, I returned to my own blog page and found that the reader program was imbedded into my blog page, and that I could keep track of everyone’s updates from their as well. Also, after reading the information on Wikipedia about RSS readers, it is helpful to see that the basics of the various RSS readers are the same and, it seems, I would not have too much trouble navigating around readers offered through other sites. It is exciting to know this is a fairly easy tool to use and I know that most of my students would not have much trouble learning to use a tool like this and I feel I would definitely be comfortable guiding them through the basics. The hard part would be helping them filter the abundance of information and avoiding the “distractions” (Postman) this technology provides.

In terms of Dale’s Cone of Experience, I feel as though both the RSS reader and blogging fall under many levels simultaneously, as Dale pointed out consistently throughout his explanation of the cone’s purpose and function. For example, you could use blogging as a way of teacher provided “models and mock-ups” of scenarios and topics (Contrived experiences) and move through other “cone levels” in which students can respond and discuss together (visual and verbal symbols). For example, I could post science lab experiments that might be far too complicated or expensive for me and the school to produce (including directions, pictures of the lab in process and/or results) with which the students could later discuss, add to, and/or change to meet their individual needs. They could also work on changing variables in a simulated format and predict further outcomes of the lab and its purposes. From beginning to end, I would expect my students to be able to move through the various levels of Dale’s Cone, including virtual study trips with videos and virtual interactions, exhibits of certain lab tools and supplies, as well as results of each lab. Stemming from the blogs and websites that could be produced, students could then create an individualized RSS reader account in which students could track various science news and studies that might relate to the experiments discussed and completed, as communication and discussion are key in the scientific fields. Furthermore, students could create and post their own experiments in which they build on the findings of others and hypothesize and synthesize their information into new applicable formats. So we can then see, just as with blogs, the RSS readers then start to encompass all levels of the Cone of Experience, although I would think that with the amount of language and reading involved, students would mostly be interacting with the upper levels of the cone. Using blogs and RSS readers become an easy way to solve the issue of insufficient budgets that often lead to a lack of meaningful, interesting and/or applicable experiences that are so necessary to successful education of our students (as pointed out in the building of the Cone of Experience and the various levels we try and should reach with all of our students).

What do you think? Let me know!

Response to Reading - Week 1

In reading Postman’s article, “Of Luddites, Learning, and Life,” I found many of his questions and reflections to be ones that I have not wholly been able to answer myself. Yet. Postman’s writings successfully created questions in my mind that I, as a novice teacher, must work to find my own successful solutions to.

Postman says that “[machines] have nothing whatever to do with the fundamental problems we have to solve in schooling our young…because they are distractions.” This leads me to ask whether or not technology is a “distraction” that is worthy of our time. Are the technologies our districts are pushing taking much needed time away from the important part of schools, that being the student? Are they actually distractions? Many of the staff at my school would say yes.

Technology is something that I love and embrace, as well as find fairly easy to learn and adapt. However, when I look around at my many colleagues who struggle everyday to adapt themselves, as well as integrate technology into their day (let alone the children’s day) I can easily see how and why Postman refers to the push for technology in today’s school as a distraction, although I believe, for the most part, it isn't so.

After reading Postman’s article, and reflecting on the view of technology as a distraction, I jumped right into “Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation,” by Reigeluth and Joseph. It was amazing to me, and thought provoking, to read these two articles back-to-back, as there is such a difference of opinion. It also astonished me to see how these two very different views so closely resemble the many ideas of my colleagues, as well as the constant discussions on technology integration that occur within our own small building, let alone within our district, and even the state and national level.

Reigeluth and Joseph’s discussion on “technology integration versus technology transformation” takes Postman’s view of technology as a distraction and tries to show that technology is only a distraction when we try to make it fit to our current way of teaching, instead of letting it transform both our way of teaching and our student’s ways of learning. This leads me to more questions that must be answered before I can become an effective educator. Is my current way of teaching an outdated and ineffective way to handle my student’s needs for an education that will prepare them for a technological world? How can I integrate technology to help them advance without distracting them from what is really important?

After all this, where does it leave me? I definitely agree with Reigeluth and Joseph’s opinion that “it is not an exaggeration to say that technology is indispensable for allowing us to transform teaching and learning to better meet our children’s needs in the information age,” but I also wholeheartedly believe that as an educator, I must be wary of how technology is helping as well as hindering my student’s growth, as well as my own, as we all strive to be life-long learners in a technological world.