Chapter 9

*New Schools*

What do you think we should do with these technologies for the future of teaching and learning?

There are so many new tools for teaching and learning being created, that it is hard to keep up.  It is even harder to plan for the future if all these new technologies are created.  Solomon & Schrum stated that Teacher's comfort level with technology is low and they want to be facile before letting students use it.  There is never enough  time and it takes longer to figure out integration strategies than to use tried and true methods. (page 188)This is true because it takes time to become comfortable with new technology.  I believe that technology is crucial to the classroom and learning because our students our students are now in a technologically advanced and growing culture.  We, as educators, need to make sure that what they learn at home and at school compliment in each other so that our students will be sucessfull in the real world.  There were great ideas in this chapter for how to approach using these new tools within the classroom.  I feel like there are so many different options that teachers should focu in on one main tool like blogging or podcasts, or other helpul tools.  I think using too many web tools will take time away from actually learning content.

Chapter 8

*Systemic Issues*

Accessibility for all students is addressed in this chapter.

How does your school or workplace provide access to technology and web tools for all learners?

In this chapter, Solomon & Schrum go into great detail about helping students with disabilities have access to using technology. (p. 159-176) Some of the examples the authors used to help make technology accessible for all students include the following:  blogging, podcasting, portfolios, and videos.  On the issue of English as a second language learners, Solomon & Schrum suggest that "current literature provides many ideas on how teachers can teach learning strategies and how certain strategies, such as activating prior knowledge, making connections, visualizing and asking questions, affect the general education student's reading comprehension." (p. 160) I know that this is important because students may know what each word is in a sentence, but they may not be able to determine the meaning of the sentence.  I know at one of the elementary schools here in Calcasieu parish, and ESL (English as a Second Language students) language lab is offered for these students.  This lab has computers that help these students practice the English language.  

Chapter 7

* Online Safety & Security*

What problems pointed out in this chapter have you observed in your school or workplace?

How do you feel about the way the problems were handled?

This chapter went into great detail about online safety and security.  It gave great examples of how we can keep our children in schools safe from online.  They gave great steps to avoid copyright problems on page 139; Davidson's (2005) Copyright Primer for Administrators states the folowing:

1. Create and implement a technology policy that includes a code of ethic and set procedures.

2. Review the entire policy with your educational community: students, teachers, and parents.

3. Appoint a technology manager to conduct audits and maintain a log of licenses and registration material.

4. Teach ethical and legal behavior for technology use.

5. Thank employees and students for supporting these steps.

Creative Commons is also a very good site to use without having to worry about copyright.

Some of the problems pointed out in this chapter include security, ethics, administrative restrictions, social networking, and image sharing.  Solomon & Schrum give great alternative solutions that will help schools and other workplaces make sure their people stay safe and all their information also stays safe.  (pg. 156)

I believe that administrators have a lot to think about when they look at what tools and web-sites to block and which ones to make available.  This includes commericial sites that are not set up specifically for student use, and this can put our students in danger.     

Chapter 6

*Leadership & New Tools*

As new technologies are introduced the leaders in the school decide if and when these new

technologies will be supported and permitted on the district servers.

From the point of view of a technology leader, what are challenges and the advantages of

implementing these new technologies? Are any of the new technologies supported by your

own school or workplace? Do you agree with the decision to support, or not support, these?

I think that there are both advantages and challenges to implementing new technologies.  The 12 reasons why to blog as an administrator from a book by Debbie Weil on page 121 states great advantages.  They are the following: sharing news and events, progress monitoring, status alerts, marketing, public relations, community building, customer relations, branding, creating "customer evangelists", thought leadership, advocacy, and replacing the school Web-site.  Blogs allow administration and their staff to keep up with numerous things all in one place.  I beleive that getting support may be a struggle at first, because most teachers do not like change unless it is for the  better.  Another issue that may come up is financing new technology.  Solomon & Schrum state that upgrades, maintenance, and support play a large role, so in looking at free, web-based tools, districts have to explore the real costs, thse above and beyond the software itself, and weigh them against alternatives.   

DANCE

DANCE

Please Check out my video!

These dancers are girls I used to teach at Center Stage!

ENJOY :)

Chapter 5

*Professional Development*

How are the web 2.0 tools being used in professional development?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of using these tools to provide professional development?

What are communities of practice and how can they be used to promote professional development?

The web 2.0 tools such as blogs, podcasts, and wikis are being used in professional development so that teachers will be more knowledgeable about the subject.  Solomon & Schrum (pg. 111) state that educators can use web 2.0 tools to have potential for building a "learning community" and be able to connect with their peers.  They will also have access to experts in a variety of content or process areas.  Blogs help with making teachers more comfortable in using these new tools (112).  Podcasting are a convenient way to "attend" a workshop.  They allow teachers to listen to a session on their own time without having to take time off of work (113).  I wish I had more experience with wikis, because they seem to offer a great deal of excitement.  Solomon & Schrum say that allowing members of a community to participate in the creation of goal, plan, or direction is a great opportunity (114).  I think these web 2.0 tools offer many advantages; the most important being communication.  Teachers and educators can share ideas and lesson plans using these tools as the source.  I think the major disadvantage would be that teachers and educators will have to take the time to learn how these tools operate, and that may take time to feel comfortable. 

Communities of practice are viewed in a couple of ways.  Solomon & Schrum look at Wenger and Bielaczyc & Collins views.  Wenger (1998) suggests that a community of practice defines itself along three essential dimensions--joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and shared repertoire.  Bielaczyc & Collins (1999) suggest that the defining quality of learning community is that there is a culture of learning in which everyone is involved in a collective effort of understanding.  Solomon & Schrum give a statement that I feel best explains how communities of practice can promote professional development; "If a learning community is presented with a problem, then the learning community can bring its collective knowledge to bear on the problem." (104)

Chapter 4

*New Tools in Schools*

How might you apply one or more of these tools to your own classroom curriculum?

This chapter offered so great insight on how to integrate technology into the classroom to help students be more prepared for the real world.  I love the examples this chapter gave about the cool schools.  Schools such as New Tech High and Lemon Grove School District are making technology the main technique to learning new skills.  These students participate in projects and use the web to access all things school related. (Solomon & Schrum, pgs. 78-80)
Even though I do not teach everyday in a school, I can definitely see how these new tools can be used to help students learn and be more engaged.  I teach a catechism class once a week at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic School.  The classroom I teach in has a Promethean board, and I wish I had permission to use it.  I could keep the students focus a little bit better if I could just show a PowerPoint presentation.  Since this class is only once a week, it would be difficult to incorporate blogs, wikis, or podcasting, because we do not have the resources.  I would love to be able to use digital storytelling with them using Flickr, because most of the content they learn as 6th grades deals with the history in the stories of the Bible.  We started basically at page one, and it would be more engaging if they got to find or take pictures and put them in order of a story and add dialogue and music to it.  Maybe one day this could happen!!
Solomon & Schrum give an example, my favorite, of one science teacher who got his classes involved in a project called Sribes.  Students kept a class blog, and each day a different student is given the responsibility of updating the blog.  They post class notes, pictures, upcoming events, and useful links.  (pg. 96)