Jamaica Gleaner News - LIME's command performance - Outlook - Sunday | December 19, 2010

Jamaica Gleaner News - LIME's command performance - Outlook - Sunday | December 19, 2010

Colleagues, Jamaica is moving forward with more technology. Just thought I'd share.

The End of an Excellent Course

http://www.screencast.com/t/uPudFfKEyhttp://www.screencast.com/t/uPudFfKEy



'WE DID IT OUR WAY' (Indeed)


Dedicated to ALL my colleagues in VIF 6 - Way to go guys - Kudos to you all!!




Can you believe how far we have come? It has indeed been a wonderful run and I'm so excited to be able to go into my staff development workshops as an empowered administrator having the ability to use different modalities of Web 2.0 tools to teach and to reach my staff and students.
I look back with real pride on my photostory tutorial. I read all the instructions and I was ready to go 'Jing' it up but there was a problem - I promised my colleagues during the tutorial that I would actually show them an example of a photostory; but here I was at a road block what to do, what to do? I just could not get it uploaded to my blog.
My grandparents used to tell me that 'patience was a virtue' and I really found out at that moment the true meaning of the saying. I met many other web 2.0 tools that night - www.Picasa3.com, www.camtasiastudio.com and of course the good 'ole' www.youtube.com  It was a wild run with me the techno phobe at the controls but as my introduction alluded, I did it my way and eventually conquered the obstacles.As Marc Prensky said "we must engage  students or enrage them".  A student will be more interested in what is being taught if he/she finds the material interesting. As an educator we must use technology and adjust our teaching style as well as our learning style. I did a lot of that during this course. At times I was enraged when I couldn't figure out what to do but overall I was engaged throughout the course with the wildly interesting issues we discussed.
 I move forward as an administrator to engage my students as Marc Prensky suggested but not only my students but my staff as well. Technology is never static, it continues to move and so continuous training and staff development workshops is an absolute necessity if teachers are to chart the way forward with technology.
Thank you Dr Watwood for showing us how much more than a smart-board technology is; thank you colleagues for your sharing over this time. It has been truly great and I feel quite honored to be a part of this group. Have a safe holiday and all the success in the new year. Hopefully we'll be together again online in January. 

Visionary High School's Three Year Technology Plan - Group One

http://www.slideshare.net/walshdavisjm/final-draft-tech-plangroup-work-1-6200751

Before viewing this, please read the introduction posted on Conscientious View's Blog. Thank you all. Looking forward to your feedback.

Emerging Technology - Then and Now

The 'Tech-Ready' Teacher!

             According to http://www.wikipedia.com/ mobile computing is a form of human computer interaction where a computer is transported during normal usage. It has three aspects - mobile communication, mobile hardware and mobile software. One of the most important aspects of mobile computing is portability.  As I researched I came across two schools of interest. Beijing Municipal uses mobile phones as a part of their class but it became an issue affecting exam security so the Education Department installed mobile phone screening during college entrance exams to prevent illegal transmission of answers through mobile phones.

In his book Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn, professor and author Larry D. Rosen states “iGeners are growing up with portable technology'. Marymount Girls' School NYC is one such environment that is packed with IGeners. Mobile technology is integrated into the school's curriculum for multiple reasons. It was created to allow girls to interact in an environment of interconnectedness while using a range of instructional strategies. They use I-Tunes, podcasts, Twittering, Tweetmike and Tweetcast to develop their speaking, listening and comprehension skills
They are blogging, commenting, sharing; they are accessing multimedia, multitasking and evaluating.  The Ipod Touch was used to teach several subjects including foreign languages. The students responded very positively. I'll share some of their comments with you:

• I am a visual learner so being able to conduct basic demos of physics concepts made learning more dynamic and enhanced my basic understanding.
• The iPod Touch is a terrific way to learn a language

As technology continues to emerge so is the program at Marymount. The iPad was infused into the curriculum in the Fall of 2010. The programs being used has given the students the opportunity for individualized yet instructional avenues using portable technology.

As the years roll on administrators are faced with many more technological issues than cyberbullying. The rapid growth of Web 2.0 technologies like social networking have emerged. Some administrators view the emergence of technology as a landmine, sparking spirited discussion as evidenced in this article http:www.boardbuzz.nsba.org/discussions/archive/session.10182007.newtech.php

As I look back on the track record of emerging technology, I wonder what next? Remember when cell phones were this huge?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ELj5HpV0E

Here is where the future of phone technology is heading. HELLO WORLD! Are we ready? Ready or not here they come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngp3YJoE-1c

Mobile Computing

Hi Colleagues

Very interesting video I wanted to share based on the next blog post. Is this where we are going; or are we already there? Just something to think about for the week!
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Professional Development / Internet Integration

This was certainly a topic that provided much fodder for discussion. In my preparation I decided to have a little fun and so I canvassed the teachers and administrators in my building as well as some in a neighbouring Middle School. An educator who believes in their continued professional growth is the 'Commander-in-Chief' or the 'Sarge in Charge' of their edu-world.m
My poll question was:

Do you believe  teachers  are responsible for their professional development, or is administration responsible?

Many teachers believed that they were responsible for their professional advancement (70%) while some believed, administrators included, that administration was(20%). There were a few still on the fence (9%) not sure who was responsible while the jury was still out for some (1%). These teachers stated that they are the ones who need to be intrinsically motivated and so advance their own learning. The Title One Coordinator (Middle School Administrator), remarked that student achievement was an area of concern and if teachers were to be adequately prepared for the challenge, especially with NCLB breathing down their necks; administrators MUST make professional development a priority. She mentioned a professional development system called ProDev that offered courses to teachers in all areas of development from classroom management to technology skills as basic as understanding Microsoft Word. Teachers received credits for professional development and are sometimes offered graduate credit courses. As an added incentive teachers are presented with a 'small gift' at the end of the year if they have 44 or more professional development credits. As a young 4th Grade teacher remarked to me today,'Times have changed. Teachers no longer need to be pushed or prodded to develop themselves. The new breed of teachers want to move up to new and better positions so the desire is intrinsic rather than extrinsic'.

RESEARCH FINDINGS

As I perused the readings, these issues fairly jumped out at me.

• educational leaders must harness the value of information and communications technology and reconsider the goals for technology integration that are focused on student learning. Ultimately student learning outcomes is the measuring stick of all new programs. If there is no growth, the program is unnecessary.
• Educators must align their tech skills to standards and assessments, curriculum and instruction and provide multiple learning environments. Here enters the Web 2.0 tools for classroom use.
• Fayetteville School District has the 'right ' attitude; they believe technology infusion is for the teacher as well as the students and although NCLB is a driving force behind decisions in education, they believe it is NOT just about the test. I applaud this; students must be prepared for the world at large not just for 'passing' a test.
• Henrico County went further to educating their board on technology, not just the teachers - they believe it is not just about the tool, it is about instruction. It is the process of creation and collaboration among and between learners (students as well as teachers).
• Blogs and digital portfolios being used by students was a much discussed topic. Personally I'd like to see more school districts infusing technology use in classrooms by unblocking some of these Web 2.0 sites and help teachers truly educate their students beyond the classroom.

Dr. Scott McLeod's Slide - Reaction

A very powerful question.  One comment I agreed with was Linda's. She spoke of students being BORED who did not wish to be lectured but needs to be engaged. Students are actively involved in technology outside of school and so as educators, we need to extend that knowledge, not power them down when they enter our classroom doors.

Personal Story

In 2008, when I just came to this country; I came in as a great teacher; always teaching because I was not exposed to the type of technology I was being asked to use. I just didn't know how. I did not have Promethean boards or smart boards in my classroom back home. One day I was going through an Science lesson and my observer commented to be at the end that it was a good lesson but I was lecturing too much. I was crushed because I thought I was impressing her with my 'teaching skills'. That incident opened my eyes to what the American classroom was all about - engaging learners, differentiating instruction, using technology based lessons and overall catering to the needs of every learner.  I got empowerment from the criticism and launched myself into learning all I could learn and applying it in my classroom.

My growth speaks for itself. I'm now equipped with so much that I would say to anyone, a classroom cannot survive in this day and age without technology. Children are living in a digital world and in order to advance this we must embrace it and pass it on as one of the best legacies we could give to our students.

Horizon Report - Are we Prepared?

YouTube - Mobile Computing : 2010 NMC Horizon Report


This is just one aspect of the efffectiveness of the Horizon Report. In a word - stupendous! I am really awed with what the future holds - What a great and bright future for our kids? I feel honored that I'm able to begin sharing from the many interesting web 2.0 tools I learned about in this course.  But how many educators are really ready for this transition?

I look @ the Web 2.0 tools that we are now using in 2010 and I question  myself - 'Will these tools still be in existence in 2020?' 'Are we preparing our students for the technological revolution? The above video gives us a taste of what the future holds. Are we as upcoming administrators ready to chart the waters and make sure the Net-Gen kids are not ahead of us?
I look back at where we were as educators when we began this course and look at us now! Confident, self-assured, motivated - to teach and share knowledge using none other than web 2.0 tools. What a transition!We have become futuristic, visionary leaders who are more than prepared to share technology with our staff and students. What growth - who would have imagined we would have come so far so quickly? I view the impact of the Horizon Report the same way I viewed this course as I entered - as a challenge. The onus is on us to prepare our students to click, swipe and scroll , because that's the way of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8

This short but powerful video reminds us of what we are up against as educators and how important technology is to the world as we know it!
To close my blog this week I leave you with a video on the 21st Century Learner. This is where we're at right now - did the Horizon Report prepare you for the future?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1srP6J7f9kY