Podcast Assignment: Profiling the Students of Today

Click here for Permission Slips:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mUrsZBrpWXY0hjdEZJVXY4Rk0/edit?usp=sharing

Click here for Demographic profile:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7mUrsZBrpWXNUZNN3BtbHd0LUk/edit?usp=sharing

Evaluation for The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

My thoughts are synthesized in this short video, enjoy.

Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom a Story of Hypothetical High

Although Hypothetical High School was built in 1924, Hypothetical West New Campus was not constructed until 1968 when enrollment surpassed the capacity of Hypothetical High School. Built for $3.1 million, the new school had the ability to hold 1,000 students. Construction was completed and the first class, which consisted of just under 300 students, was the class of 1969. The new high school, or Hypothetical West New Campus, consisted of the Seniors and Juniors while the old high school, Hypothetical High, housed the Freshman and Sophomore students. Hypothetical West New Campus was able to handle the number of students for almost three decades, but in the mid-1990s ran short of room and added the first set of mobiles. In the late 1990s, student population growth would again become a challenge, prompting the addition of the second set of mobiles. Later in 2000, the number of students rose higher and forced the school to expand. Construction began in 2000 and was finished in 2003 with the additions of the new gym, cafeteria, and staircases.


Hypothetical West New Campus now houses 1522 students. Hypothetical high just hired on a new batch of teachers with a specialty of Instructional Design and Technology. Chief among the group is David Velasco, who is bringing his expertise into the school and teaching students how to learn through the use of blogs and wikis. Mr. Velasco brings a wealth of technical knowledge he learned as a Satellite terminal operator in the Army, as well as his Studies in Instructional Design, and integrating technology into the workplace. Here is one example of how students might be learning in this new and exciting class.

Grade level:

            High school freshmen sophomores Juniors and/or seniors.

Content area:

            Testing, quiz sections, reading comprehension, focus groups, short lectures, with video clips, review sections, teacher driven quiz game sections, Classroom engagement and note postings.

Rationale:

            What better area of a learner's development to check on technology needs, than the high school student. Here, I can adapt to their needs in the classroom. Aside from giving a physical lecture, I can adapt and enhance the learning through the use of a blog or wiki. In this blog, I demonstrate how to take a simple quiz by multiple-choice selection. Using google forms, I can instantaneously collect the answers and see who is needing more time in certain areas of study. Using a blog in lieu of traditional teacher worksheets should help to actively engage students. Granted, giving access to the internet can yield distractions, but either blocking sites, or guaranteeing good deeds can garner favorable results. A pertinent teaching style must relate to the task that is presented in the blogs, so this does not happen. It can allow outsiders such as school administrators, or college admissions determine how well students are coming along. Ultimately, I can see it being driven by a financial structure, as to where spending for the schools might be better served. Also, students can start to develop portfolios and collaborations on their particular work. This can help them later when getting into a college, or looking for work.

ADDITIONAL:

The presentation below outlines an app called Teacher kit which could be used along with blogging and wiki technology in the classroom. It is geared for teachers, but could also be used in a corporate environment for trainers who require records and reports to have accessible for distribution.

AND NOW TO GIVE A SAMPLE OF POSSIBILITIES OF USING A BLOG OR WIKI IN THE CLASSROOM, HERE IS MY EXAMPLE:

The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

 Hello and welcome to my Blog for Integrating Technology into  the classroom. This blog will feature some of the assignments, and aspects of learning I am doing, as I explore and discover about how technology plays an important role in the classroom. Today, educators who are against the implementation of technology in the classroom are fighting a losing battle. "Students inhabit a 21st century world for 18 hours a day, And all too often, educators put them in a 19th century classroom for six hours of that day, and the students feel a tremendous disconnect. We have a responsibility to teach them the skills to optimize these tools." (Lytle)

Technology Integration can enhance and simplify the way students learn. I consider the learning of today to be completely flexible and it allows us to learn anywhere in the world. That's a great thing! Let's hope we get the most out of our rapidly changing technology, and use it responsibly, ethically and noteworthy in the future. If the ways we are using it now are any indication, the next decades will definitely be interesting.

Edutopia is dedicated to transforming the learning process by helping educators implement the strategies listed here. Comprehensive Assessment, Integrated Studies, Project-Based Learning, Social and Emotional Learning, Teacher Development, Technology Integration. These strategies and the educators who implement them are empowering students to think critically, access and analyze information, creatively problem solve, work collaboratively, and communicate with clarity and impact.	http://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/classroom-technology
The purpose of tech for teachers is to take an extensive list of websites that are considered high quality, reliable, and valuable and organize them in a way that even "non-techy" teachers can utilize them. It took around 10 years to collect these resources, but new ones are found every day. All of these websites have been recommended by other teachers and educational organizations and qualify as "the best". You can find support for all core curriculum areas. In addition, you will find lesson plans, multimedia, and primary sources to enhance your students' learning environment.	http://www.techforteachers.net/blog.html
Aduino Blog for using an Arduino with education, and also some things that can be created and designed using the Arduino module Think of this as your classic Radio Shack tinkering and tooling around back in the old days, with a new twist.	http://blog.arduino.cc/category/education-2/
George Lucas on Edutopia and his hope for education.	http://youtu.be/A6MYXr2quMo
Teaching Channel is a video showcase—on the Internet and TV—of inspiring and effective teaching practices in America's schools. They have a rapidly growing community of registered members who trade ideas and share inspiration from each other.	https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/

References

Lytle, R. (n.d.). Study: Emerging Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom. US News. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2011/07/14/study-emerging-technology-has-positive-impact-in-classroom?page=2