Week Eight

So, here we are at the end of our Educational Technology adventure! I now know more programs and resources that pertain to education than I ever would have discovered on my own and, through this blog, will be able to retain those resources until I actually become a teacher and am able to utilize them.

This week's major focus is security, which, in our increasingly technology-driven society, is one of the most important concerns of the times. From teaching students to be vigilant concerning who they are interacting with online to reminding ourselves that, with so much of our personal information "out there," it becomes easier all of the time for someone to get their hands on that information and use it for ill.

I don't really have a school computer lab experience to talk about here, but I can expound at length about the security practices at the bank where I currently work. The banking industry is fraught with regulations, ones that come with heavy fines if disregarded or circumvented, that concern the security of our information, given that we are the safeguard of the financial lives of, literally, hundreds of thousands of people. Therefore, our network is heavily secured and password-protected at every level, to ensure that the only people who access our systems are those who should be accessing them.

Downloads are absolutely forbidden and restricted so that no one can install something on to one of the computers on our network without the program being vetted and permission being given. As such, incidences of malicious software being introduced into the system, usually only occur when someone opens a corrupt or malicious file that comes through in an email. Even if that happens, our virus protection software performs scans that allow for detection of such occurrences.

Given these experiences, I try to be really aware of security concerns and hope that, as a teacher, I will remain ever-conscious so as to protect myself, my students, and my school from the consequences of online practices that do not follow wise security measures.

I think that the biggest security concern for educators should be informing our students about the reality of Internet predators who may even use completely legitimate web platforms to contact children. It is a matter of utmost concern for me that, no matter how vigilant we teach our children to be, that some of these issues can never really be completely prevented and, as such, I hope that I am able to encourage safe Internet usage as I teach my students that the web can be both an excellent thing and a bad thing, but that, if we use it correctly, we only ever need know it as a resource that informs and improves our daily life.

Week Seven

Weekly Questions
- What did you learn this week that you will use immediately in your classroom?

The Dana Foundation is such a wonderful forum of resources concerning the brain and its relationship to almost every aspect of human life! The most important thing to remember, it seems, in regard to education, is that research continues to provide us with a clear link between the arts and brain health and development. This tells me that we, as educators, should find ways, no matter what our subject, to introduce the arts into our classroom in some way. One of our tech explorations this week provided some ideas for introducing the arts into the mathematics classroom through writing!


- What steps will you take to implement this in your classroom?

In my mind, the arts are an inherent part of English education, so I'm hoping that presenting the arts to my students is kind of an organic experience that comes naturally.
 
- What challenge(s) will you face when using this in your classroom?

As an English teacher, I wouldn't expect to experience as many challenges in regards to introducing the arts to my classes as teachers in other subjects might. I do realize that art is a highly conceptual and relative idea and, as such, some students might have trouble determining how it relates to "education" in its strictest sense.
 
- What will you do to overcome the challenge(s)?  

There are ways in which art can be presented and applied logically, which might help students who struggle with abstractions to form some meaningful relationship with it.
Week Seven Questions 

- Pick one piece of software or Web 2.0 tool to use in the classroom.  Identify the software or tool and the instructional objectives and goals you will meet.

I think that Dropbox is an especially useful Web 2.0 tool as it allows the backup and retention of photos, documents, and videos into a platform that can be accessed from anywhere. No need to try and keep up with a USB drive anymore! The primary usefulness of Dropbox in regards to the classroom is that presentations and such developed outside of school are easily accessible anywhere that one's account can be accessed!
 
- After using the software or tool with your students, discuss what went well and what challenges you faced.  What would you do differently if you were to use the software again?

I am not currently an educator, but there should be few challenges to using Dropbox in the classroom, as long as Internet connectivity and web access are not limted.

Tech Explorations 

Tech Exploration 19 - Delicious, historypin, diigo, and calculators

1. Describe what you learned from exploring this resource. Be thorough in your response.

Delicious – Delicious seems to combine the social networking aspects of sites like Facebook and Twitter with the premise of Pinterest. Delicious has obviously been around longer and, given the design and types of resources found from exploring, is geared toward a different demographic. I don’t want to say that it is a “smarter” Pinterest, but it does seem to lend itself to more serious and curious applications.

Historypin – Historypin is awesome! I even discovered a photo that Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge posted concerning his grandmother, Her Royal Highness, The Queen of England! Historypin is interesting in that it explores historical events, figures, and ideas through photos and resources added by normal folks around the globe.

Diigo – Diigo is a research tool that interfaces with Delicious. It allows you to bookmark and highlight web resources that are pertinent to one’s research. It also provides a sticky note function and those highlights and notes remain active on the web pages so that you can still see them whenever you return to a particular resource. Diigo makes collaboration a breeze, as it functions like a social networking platform, providing users with a search capability that allows them to access the entire network of saved information.

Talking Calculators – The PBS Kids calculator is web accessible and provides a colorful and engaging user experience. The voice function is crisp and clear, so as to be easily understandable. The Softpedia calculator is a downloadable full screen resource that performs basic math functions.

2. How could you use this resource in a school setting? It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.

Delicious – Delicious would be a great site for maintaining classroom resources so as to be able to access them again. Also, if a teacher could become part of a network of other teachers, he/she would have valuable input/feedback into other resources.

Historypin – Historypin would be an excellent classroom resource for teaching about other cultures and historical events. It would even be great to start an account as a class and be able to participate in history through the posting of photos and stories collected and contributed by students.

Diigo – Like Delicious, Diigo is a good resource for allowing educators to maintain a repository of information that could be helpful for their respective classrooms. It also provides them with the capability to collaborate on research projects in order to provide a more holistic and integrated education experience. Unlike Delicious, I can also see Diigo being particularly useful for students, as they work on research projects, both alone and as part of a group.

Talking Calculators – Obviously, the PBS Kids calculator is going to lend itself more to use with young students. I can also see it being useful in special needs classrooms, where auditory, visual, and tactile stimulation are incorporated to create a highly functional learning experience. The Softpedia resource also seems useful for special education purposes, as it is a full screen calculator and would be great for students with vision or hearing problems.

3. Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth. Why or Why not?

Delicious – I think that Delicious could be a useful resource, but one that is more geared for use outside of the classroom and school environment. I would recommend Delicious, and resources like it, for the discovery of new classroom tools and techniques.

Historypin – I would most certainly recommend Historypin to other educators! It gives users the ability to actually participate in history and contribute to the historical dialogue from their own POV! What’s not to love about that?!

Diigo – Unlike Delicious, I think that this resource could be useful inside the classroom and not just out. It appears to be streamlined and effective for easy storing of information and browsing of information that is already available. The platform does come with a fee, but the most expensive user experience is only $40/year, which I find reasonable if an educator thinks that the resource could be particularly useful.

Talking Calculators – I think that the PBS Kids calculator is fun and colorful and could be useful for young children. The Softpedia one is downloadable, which I am hesitant about, which may only be because my job in the professional sector does not allow me to download outside resources to our computers as the risks in downloaded material that has not been assessed for security purposes.

Tech Exploration 20 - Math Wiki and PicLits

1. Describe what you learned from exploring this resource. Be thorough in your response.
 
Math Wiki – This wiki features excellent information regarding the Writing Across the Curriculum educational reform movement that called for writing to be a focus in all classrooms instead of simply in English ones. The wiki is geared toward writing in the mathematics classroom and even features the exploration of poetry in the mathematics classroom, which, now I think about it is really an excellent concept, as poetry, at its most fundamental, allows us to put words to things that we don’t understand.

PicLits – PicLits is a creative writing resource that provides a variety of images designed to inspire and facilitate self-expression. The idea is to place words directly on a picture in order to create a verbal and visual experience for users.
 
2. How could you use this resource in a school setting? It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings. 

Math Wiki – This resource lends itself to usefulness as a tool for educators to find inspiration for trying Writing Across the Curriculum themselves. There are so many ideas and examples that, without a doubt, any mathematics teacher could find an activity here to use in his/her own classroom.

PicLits – PicLits is a great resource for the facilitation of creative writing in small doses so as not to overwhelm students. A PicLits assignment could turn into a longer assignment, as the idea behind the picture could be developed into a poem or story or personal narrative. I think that this resource could potentially  be useful across most grade levels, with the primary variance being the complexity of the compositions.
 
3. Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth. Why or Why not?

Math Wiki – I would recommend this resource to math educators. The concept of Writing Across the Curriculum is obviously a dated idea, but it has merit, as good writing skills are so instrumental to the future success of students!

PicLits – I would recommend this resource to other educators. It provides a unique and novel platform for encouraging creative writing and the development of connections between the physical world and complex creative concepts.