Blog #3: My own learning with presentations

As a learner, I know I am a visual learner with a splash of kinesthetic.  I know that I am in no way an auditory learner.  I find that I can tend to tailor my lessons for visual learners because I am so dominant in that area.  PowerPoint presentations can tend to favor a visual learner in general so when we talk about software for presentations the hardest part can be making it hands-on and appealing to an auditory learner or a kinesthetic learner.  I also find that in most of my college classes as an undergraduate and as at the graduate level that I would have professors read to me off of their PowerPoint slides.  I would become more and more frustrated as the presentation when on that they weren’t sharing anything with me that wasn’t already there for me to read for myself without their help.  As I work with my students I try to think in terms of if I was sitting there listening to myself and would it be as thought provoking and powerful as I intended and would it include things that were authentic for my audience to walk away with and know aside from just the information on the slides themselves?

Spector, J. M., Merrill, M. D., Merrienboer, J. V., Driscoll, M. P. (2008). Handbook of research on educational communications and technology. (3^rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Thorsen, C. (2009). Techtactics: Technology for teachers. (3^rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Blog #2 EDUC 630: Online Communities

My first experience in an online community was when I signed up for the babycenter.com newsletter and began to chart my first pregnancy and participating in their blogs.  Through that I was able to connect with other moms and get sound advice when I would freak out over the little things.  I continued with MySpace and then Facebook so I could connect with friends and family.  Most of my online community involvement revolved around the social aspect of it and for simple information and feedback.  Throughout my professional career I have utilized things like SchoolTube and TeacherTube for instruction and lessons and professional exemplars.  In those cases I am able to connect with other professionals and make sure my students are equal in regards to the rigor and standards of others product development.  I believe that my students and I can really benefit from knowing what others are doing in our field and online communities offer that benefit to us and others seeking the connectedness offered by those communities.

Spector, J. M., Merrill, M. D., Merrienboer, J. V., Driscoll, M. P. (2008). Handbook of research on educational communications and technology. (3^rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Thorsen, C. (2009). Techtactics: Technology for teachers. (3^rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Blog #1 EDUC 630: Technology in My School District

The school district I serve as a part of their teaching staff is one of the big 8 school districts in Ohio.  We face many challenges as a district that serves nearly 10,000 students and their families.  Those challenges include the planning and implementation of usable, valuable technology hardware and software.  It seems like we just get the necessary upgrades in place and then the training to use the technology is a brief overview and a “go get 'em guys” as we leave the 30 minute training session with not much more than what we came in knowing.  I have become accustomed to using YouTube for tutorial demos or going to a source site to find more information on the hardware/software.  The money is there for technology upgrades and our district receives a good amount of money to make sure we offer up to date services for our urban population of students but it can be difficult to make sure everyone is on the same page and gets adequate training. 

Training and follow-up tend to be the weak links in my district.  I believe the volume of staff members it serves and the fact there are 3 high schools, 4 middle schools and 15 elementary schools along with some alternative programs spread over the entire district lead to a difficult scenario for our technology liaisons to make sure we are really using our technology to the fullest potential.  The professional development offered is also somewhat geared toward our elementary teachers and can be borderline silly for high school teachers when participating in the sessions.  As a part of my passion for seeking my Master’s of Ed in Technology, I hope to develop some strategies to help my district and other districts bridge that gap between getting the technology in the classroom and the teachers actually feeling comfortable using it with their students who crave technology in in all facets of life.

Spector, J. M., Merrill, M. D., Merrienboer, J. V., Driscoll, M. P. (2008). Handbook of research on educational communications and technology. (3^rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Thorsen, C. (2009). Techtactics: Technology for teachers. (3^rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.