Final Reflections

It's hard to believe that the course is over. As they say, 'Time flies!' I learned so much about authoring tools and technology integration. Viewing peer PowerPoint presentations of various authoring tools helped give me ideas for activities, lessons, and applications for the coming school year. The articles I read on hypermedia and student achievement and 21st century skills solidified my beliefs that the educational system needs a major overhaul because the students of today require a new approach to instruction.

The knowledge gained throughout this semester has inspired me to restructure my approach to addressing the curriculum. I see the completion of this course not as an end but as a beginning to start planning and expl0ring my options for the upcoming school year. The possibilities are so exciting I just hope my approach will have my students feeling the same way.

NECC Sites - Scoped Out

Google Apps - Docs & Spreadsheets
I used this with my Authoring Tools Assignment #2 partner. It was a great resource for us to easily and effortlessly edit and email changes to our project outline without having to worry about attachments or downloads.

Gaggle.net
Free email accounts for students! This looks like a great idea for class communication because it is filtered and monitored for inappropriate content.

Teacher Tube
This is a great resource! What a great way to hook students as you introduce a concept! Especially great for those of us who don't have a United Streaming membership.

Spector 360
This software provides the ability for employers to document your computer use...emails, chatting, Internet sites, Watch Out!

Ball State Electronic Field Trips
The scheduled electronic field trips look very interesting. What a great way to plan thematic lessons for older students.

21st Century Skills

The article on 21st Century Skills defines the approach that has the power to change the educational system and maximize the effects of teaching and learning. The students in the classrooms across the U.S. are digital natives and differ in many ways from every other generation in their learning styles and interests. To be successful in educating them and helping them carve a path in the world towards their full potential we need to keep this in mind and restructure the classroom experience with 21st Century Skills as our guide. The pedagogy that drives this method will enable students to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in a competitive society. The skills developed throughout this process will strengthen the whole student enabling him/her to have knowledge of the world, the ability to communicate effectively with the world, and understand his/her role within the world.

21st Century Skills

• Digital Age Literacy
• Inventive Thinking
• Effective Communication
• High Productivity

LINKS TO 21st CENTURY SKILLS INTERNET RESOURCES
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Framework for 21st Century Learning
The Gateway to 21st Century Skills (NEA sponsored site loaded with resources)
Evalutech Technology Literacy

SMART Boards

I recently went to a SMART Masters workshop and learned so many exciting ideas for the classroom. If you don't have a SMART Board...do whatever you can to get one & if you are lucky enough to have one already, please don't just use it as a projection screen, it is so much more than that! The SMART Notebook software is easy to use, if you can handle PowerPoint you can master this. This feature provides the opportunity to create lessons ahead of time and print what your students see displayed on the SMART Board. Your files can also be saved and shared with other teachers or posted to share with your students. If you have a SMART Board you and all of your students are allowed to download the software onto your home computers so students can not only read your presentations but they can also create their own to show to the rest of the class!

Follow this link to find links to sites with ready-to-go activities, interactive lessons and games, tutorials, templates, troubleshooting tips, and more!

SMART Board Resources

iLife Suite: Authoring Tools

The iLife Suite has the potential to offer so many exciting tools to the educational experience. The seamless integration of photos, audio, and video clips from one application to another makes multitasking the multimedia process a breeze. Giving students the power of creativity is a remarkable tool. The applications offered in the iLife Suite such as, iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, iDVD, & Garage Band can provide numerous opportunities for authentic assessment where students can display their knowledge on many levels. Check out the following resources for ideas on how to incorporate educational activities using the iLife Suite.

CLASSROOM RESOURCES
iLife Social - Studies Gallery
iLife - Language Arts Gallery
iLife - Math Gallery
iLife - Science Gallery
iLife - Additional Subjects Gallery

SUPPORT & TUTORIALS
iMovie Support & Tutorials
iPhoto Support & Tutorials
iDVD Support & Tutorials
iWeb Support & Tutorials
Garage Band Support & Tutorials

Tips For Making Your Movie

PISA - Partnership for Improving Student Achievement

This week I began a 2-week professional development partnership with Stevens Institute in Hoboken, NJ. The cohort of 80 teachers will meet for 2-weeks each summer for the next 3-years to learn how to implement teaching methods and student centered activities to increase achievement in Math and Science. This year the focus of the workshops is Life Science. The partnership is funded by a grant from the NJ Department of Education and involves teachers from Bayonne, Hoboken, and Jersey City.

We have been involved in some excellent hands-on activities to help advocate and inspire questioning, researching, imagination, and exploration. The site also contains links to excellent web resources, activities, and information about this exciting opportunity.

NETS: New Standards

The NETS (National Education Technology Standards) have recently been redesigned to maximize effectiveness. The former NETS were in place for a decade, so an update was necessary and perhaps even over-due. In light of the ever-evolving aspects of technology specifically in the educational arena, ten years is an eternity to go without even a slight change in scope or structure. The new NETS for 2007 are designed to increase teacher and administrator accountability and enhance student performance through technology integration. Standards have been developed to identify the specific objectives necessary for students, teachers, and administrators to achieve success. Standards for students are now more focused on the productivity and abilities of the student to create, design, and solve problems rather than the focus being on the technology itself.

In reading "Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards" by Gary Stager (http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1186&p=6) I was struck with the sense that he had lost site of something instrumental to the learning process, student motivation. While the new NETS do require more sophisticated and widespread use of technology in education they also offer a new way to ensure that technology is being utilized within the classroom in a way that is challenging and motivating for students. Yes many of the concepts can be and have been completed in classrooms without the use of technology, but many of the students of the Digital Age fail to be interested in such tasks void of technology integration. The bottom line is the implementation of the new NETS and the use of innovative ways to teach our students is what helps us as educators reach our students and provide meaningful and inspirational learning opportunities for everyone.