Wk 4 Reading

In this weeks reading I was touched by the story of truth and reconciliation. In South Africa the Truth and Reconciliation Committee was established for people to explain to the government the atrocities they have committed toward other human beings. Sort of a way to justify what they did or it can also be viewed as a confession. Each person who would speak would tell their story of what happened and prove that they were mandated by the government to do what they were told to do. This committee helped form a movement in this society. A movement that keeps the people moving forward and work as a community.

I strongly believe that when people work together changes can occur much more quickly than when it is just one person trying to make the change. I suppose that is why they always say that two heads are better than one.

Wk 4 Wimba

Each person shared their publishing leadership project and gave constructive criticism on their projects.

There were many interesting projects presented.

Learning a different language can be difficult for some students. Sandra’s project on How to use web 2.0 tools to learn a different language was quite interesting. She focused on technology in the learning process, technology as a motivator, technology as an educator.  I really liked her idea of using comic strips for the students to write a story. I also liked that she used plan B when Glogster did not work for her. Many teachers hesitate to use technology tools because sometimes it fails. There should always be a plan B in place. I think she did a wonderful job putting it all together.

Trina’s project contained very thorough information. Her students did show growth in reading. I felt as if her article was too lengthy. I think that when she is ready to send it out to the publishers some of them will admire all of the information she provided (such as tables on her data), others will feel it is too long. The pictures did look good on her paper, but will the publishers accept it?

Jen’s keynote project positive behavior support really hit the spot for me. I had to deal with many behavior issues last year with my students. I could relate exactly to how she felt. This year they actually implemented a behavior plan in my school. Much of what she mentioned in her literature review are strategies learned in classroom management classes. Her documentation of classroom behaviors made me think that maybe I should take note if the strategies I use and see if students improve during the year or not.

Mikes action research was fun. Mythology is a subject that most students like learning about, at least when I have taught it. Integrating technology with mythology is great. I liked his idea of a no risk project. Letting students choose how to learn about a subject makes the lesson much more interesting. I got a lot of ideas from his project. It seems as if he kept his students engaged. It’s true what Kathy said about him.

Wk 3 Reading

The Art of Possibility

Possibility is available to all. Keeping a fixed reality does not offer the vision of all of the possibilities that are available. Having a vision and making it a reality is the process of creating. Creation comes from within and we all have different ways of expressing that which we create. Therefore if one wants to awaken this possibility in others they must guide the other in learning how to tap into all the possibilities they have inside of them, and change the way they may perceive situations or things.

It’s all about how a person perception of what is surrounding them, or what becomes part of their reality. If the person can grasp the fact that his or her perception can be changed just by changing their thought pattern they will be able to perceive all of the possibilities that are available to them. Positive thinking reinforces the abilities that are already there for them. Gives the person that feeling of confidence. And should the situation not manifest, as the person desired it is best if that person looks at the good that came from that experience, instead of what did not happen for them.

When one accepts the changes that are occurring and flows with it then transformation happens.

Wk 3 Wimba

There was a lot of information shared during the Wimba session this week. A discussion I wanted to comment on was about change in education. I do agree that there is not a lot of change that happens in education. Actually when change does occur it occurs slowly. I think it has to do with the general public not accepting the change, and of course funding. Like Kathy mentioned during the Wimba session change is not good for test score administrators.

I enjoyed reading peoples response to the questions presented for the readings of The Art of Possibility.

Wk 3 Peer Response II

Melissa Lodhi says:

April 8, 2011 at 9:36 pm

In many cases, I have found the educators to be much more open to the integration of technology than the administrators. Many are not sure where to begin and the thought of trying to figure it all out is overwhelming on an already stretched timeframe. Dealing with technology requires a person that is a creative thinker and problem solver. As we have seen in the past, there are often glitches and the best laid plans fall in ruins as the system crashes, student access numbers don’t work, and the site you planned to use is suddenly bluecoated.

One of the most valuable ways to help educators through the trepidation is to teach them how to adapt to new platforms and where to go for help and tutorials. Dealing with endless trainings on platforms that are extinct before they are mastered is frustrating for educators. If the technology integration does not stress their already limited time resources and can be adapted to meet individual needs, it will be more effective.

Reply

• Britni Hendrickson says:

April 11, 2011 at 1:57 am

Melissa,
I think that this is where a strong IT department comes into play. I personally feel like the department at my school is overworked due to not having enough staff. It is almost like you have to reserve them to come in to answer questions/fix problems/host training. I also think it takes a special person to be in the IT department due to the rapid rate change of technology each individual has to stay current and yet be trained for the past. On a side note, I personally LOVE the lynda.com tutorials, I have learned so much from them. I think this has been even more valuable than the technology department at my school, at least when it comes to programs on my MAC.

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• Andrea Nichols says:

April 11, 2011 at 9:08 pm

Our district’s IT department is severely understaffed and overworked. It is hard to imagine integrating anything new into my school when much of the old stuff is broken!

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• Kathy Toth says:

April 13, 2011 at 10:42 pm

I hear you, Andrea. This year we have had seven IT people available to cover the problems of 90 schools, who complained that their problems weren’t fixed the day they were submitted.

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• Angela Alipour says:

April 15, 2011 at 5:50 pm

Melissa,
I think what happens to those teachers that do not embrace technology so quickly is that they are either the type of person who does not accept change or they just think they do not have enough time to integrate something new into their lesson. My action research project is based on integrating technology into the curriculum. I found that many of the teachers were willing to learn but all they kept on thinking about was when they were going to implement, they can’t do any of it before FCAT, and that it will take too long for their students to learn how to use the technology they plan on implementing. The last excuse was a shocker to me. Especially when all students have been exposed to technology tools in one way or another.

Wk 3 Peer Response

Pamela Holifield says:

April 6, 2011 at 9:50 pm

Implementing new ideas in my school is touchy. We love it, but you need to go about it very carefully, and you just can’t push it. We are contracted year to year.

For example, I wanted to add blog writing for my writing skills class. It was shot down almost instantly. They are just not ready for that. However, when I introduced new websites, the school loved them, and has asked me to teach a class over the summer to the new and returning teachers.

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• Dena Moncrief says:

April 15, 2011 at 7:39 am

Wow, I just wanted to ask…Isn’t that backwards? You would think they would love the blogging for many reasons.

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• Angela Alipour says:

April 15, 2011 at 5:12 pm

When I think of them not accepting blogging the first thought that comes to mind is, “how were they presented with the information about blogging?” Were the administrators shown the benefits of blogging? If they were and they still did not accept it then it can be understood why education does not advance quickly. I think these people are just afraid to try it out.

Wk 2 Wimba

The Wimba session for this week reviewed. much of what was discussed during week one. I learned some interesting facts about copy write laws. It's amazing how much can be placed in the grey area. The Creative Commons laws do provide a better guide as to whether or not the creator of work will or will not allow use of his or her work. I do agree that if there are such strict copy write laws then it will prevent future generations from understanding and learning from other creators.