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July 2, 2010-Journal1 A wiki is a type of online software that can be edited by anyone reading the page. Because anyone can edit the page, many people can share what knowledge they have on the seemingly endless content areas of wikis. Since there is no limit to the amount of editing by any particular person, there are people who monitor the wikis; this was demonstrated in class by adding a second "s" to "insects" which was corrected in less than five minutes.

Because my concept map covers federal government, I thought that a image of the Capitol building would represent my content area nicely.



One of the main reasons for creating a wiki site is to present information about a certain area. The best part is that all of the people who read the wiki can share with the others what he or she may know about the subject matter. As a result of people knowing different things, the readers of wiki sites can learn from others while also teaching others at the same time. Brainstroming can also be done on a wiki site amongst members of a group who are collaborating on a project. If a person thinks of an idea, he can put it one the wiki no matter how raw and unfinished the idea may be; when another person from the group gets on the wiki, she may just be able to expand on the idea that the other group member had brainstormed earlier.

Wikis could be good for finding out how much a classroom knows about the lesson that the teacher is preparing to teach it. For example, a teacher is preparing to teach about World War I. A wiki could be utilized to discover what the students know about WWI. The students could know about the causes of the war but be unclear of the rammifications of the end of the war. The wiki could also be utilized for asking questions and the teacher or other students could help each other out. This use of technology could make learning fun as well as ease students' minds that they have similar difficulties and can help each other out without necessarily having to be in direct contact with each other.

I would potentially use a wiki in the same manner that I described above with the WWI example. This would allow me to know what particular areas I need to focus. In the event of a group project, encouraging a wiki would be something that I would do because I believe it makes working together easier because people can share their ideas with each other at anytime of the day. Ongoing wikis are a possibility too so that students could address concerns during the lesson as well as providing insight that could assist another student. Wikis can definitely be effectively utilized in the classroom setting in many different ways and they seem to equally assist the teacher and the students.

July 9, 2010-Journal 2

Chapter 4 provided some more insight to concept mapping. As I read more about it and see its multiple uses across subject areas I see that it will be a useful tool to me as I become a teacher. While I had some prior knowledge about PowerPoint, the book reinforced some of the mistakes that people make when creating PowerPoint presentations. I do wonder if the story of a student spending 10 of the 17 hours making a PowerPoint on visual design alone.

Concept maps are further discussed in Chapter 5 and I am coming to realize that they can be a vital part of a classroom. The systems model confuse me a bit. Figure 5.3, the systems model of the sun, is very detailed and I cannot get much out of it. Although if it was bigger and had color, I feel that I would want to learn more about it. The increased use of expert systems and databases makes me wonder if something like what the world feared would happen at Y2K could happen or will constant advances in technology cause that to really never be a real fear.

What surprised me most while reading Chapter 6 was that there were so many wiki tools! Wiki can be used to aide in meaningful learning in a myriad of ways. I found the Holocaust wiki project to be the most intriguing. I think it would also be interesting to have students do a similar project being a Japanese-American family during internment in WWII. I only have rudimentary knowledge of blogs at best but I did learn that they have several practical uses for education purposes.

July 16, 2010-Journal 3

I learned some interesting things about discussion boards. The clarification of asynchronous and synchronous discussion boards was particularly helpful. I personally can appreciate asynchronous discussions as I favor being able to gather and reflect on my thoughts so that I am able to make an informed statement. Scaffolding is an important part of discussion boards and I wholeheartedly believe that teachers should use it if they are using discussion boards in a class. Others may believe that the internet should not be monitored; but, if something is being utilized for a classroom, it is vital that the teacher does not allow things to get out of hand much the same way that he would in a classroom. I also better understand the benefits of synchronous discussion boards. They facilitate more discussion though this could be a pitfall as people tend to be braver typists behind a computer than they are speakers in a classroom.

To say that reading chapter 8 annoyed me initially is a gross understatement. I was confused by many of the different technologies and could not think of any possible applications to a social studies classroom setting. However, as I contemplated making out discussion questions for the chapter, I thought of a possible application, recreating battle sites to better illustrate what soldiers endured. I am unsure of how possible this would be to achieve; nonetheless, thinking of this undoubtedly made me more open to the technologies that had previously confounded me. While the benefits of the trebuchet simulator are many (allows students to conduct multiple virtual trials, no need to build the equipment, etc.), I think back to my days in physics class and conducting experiments. The experiments were by far the best part of the class and I wonder if the student loses out on part of the experience by not actually seeing the experiment. I realize that it is not possible to conduct the number of experiments that you can on the simulator, but i wonder if there is any benefit at all to conducting the actual experiment in addition to using the simulator. This was one of my discussion questions as I am of the opinion that it is beneficial to do both but would understand if someone thought that merely conducting the experiment on the simulator is an effective teaching method.

The benefits of the effective use of GIS in subjects such as geography are many but the book says that effective use of GIS requires adventurous teachers and students (195). Before GIS software is used in a classroom, as well as any technology for that matter, the teacher should evaluate how well the students will do with the technology. After doing this, it is up to the teacher to decide if using the technology is worthwhile and what needs to be done to assure that the students will be able to meaningfully learn while using the technology. At what point should a teacher realize that a certain type of technology is not conducive to meaningful learning for his or her particular classroom. This is no doubt a potential concern that I would have about using technology because if more time is being spent teaching the use of a certain technology than is the subject that is being taught using the technology, it becomes useless because the technology is supposed to aide in the learning of the subject matter.

July 23, 2010-Journal 4

Chapter 10 clarified electronic portfolios for me. They definitely provide a means of keeping track of a student's performance over a course of time. This not only helps the teacher out because it is organized and easily accessible but it allows for the students to see what progress they have made in a given area. I remember having to do a portfolio in eighth grade that made you do all of these personality assessment tests to give you an idea of what career you might want to try out when you grow up. I seem to remember them being called Career Passports but I'm not 100% sure that this is what they are called. Other than being forced to do them, I remember students not wanting to do them. I actually wonder if they possibly do this on the computer now as there have been advances in technology since I was in eighth grade. Doing it on the computer would probably make it a more bearable experience.

The technology-based rubric tools do seem like they could be of some help to me in the future. If I were to assign a report on a president or a battle in a war, handing out a rubric would allow for the students to see what I expect them to cover in their paper or presentation. I do have some concerns about using rubrics though. I fear that there is a potential for students to argue over there grades if they feel that they have fulfilled the requirements. However, students will contest why they lost points no matter what and not even a rubric can fix that.

What concerned me about the Web 2.0 chapter was both that the United States is falling behind, which I already knew to some degree but it really opened my eyes seeing it in a chapter from a book, and how many countries are making big steps to implement technology into their K-12 education. It was good to see that there are people in the United States that are concerned about this and are trying to make changes so that people can obtain these so-called 21st century skills to make it. Web 2.0 has ushered in an unprecedented sense of interconnectedness, I posed the question, would the United States be better off if Web 2.0 had not come along or at least come along more slowly? Its really just some food for thought but it seems to me that the problems the United States faces seems to parallel the emergence of Web 2.0.

As I read the TCK chapter, I found the term, //wicked problem//, to be an interesting one. If all teachers approach teaching as a wicked problem, they may incorporate multiple teaching methods including use of technology to facilitate meaningful learning. Although it remains to be seen if teachers feel this way and will put forth the dedication. I intend to look at teaching as a wicked problem and this should help me to facilitate meaningful learning.

July 26, 2010-Journal 5

I thought it would be appropriate to, in the last journal entry, give some general remarks about the class. I have to admit that, although it was a busy five weeks, this class was quite a rewarding experience for me. I came into this class a bit uneasy as I am not the best when it comes to using computers. While the class was at times frustrating, I found that many of the digital tools could be utilized by me in a future classroom. Probably my favorite technology in terms of classroom use would have to be the wiki page. One of the preconceived notions that I had about wikipedia was that it was not a very reliable source because anyone could edit the pages. I learned on the first day of class that this is nothing to worry about as the extra "s" in insects was corrected by someone in less than five minutes. Wiki pages can be utilized at the beginning of a lesson so that students can contribute what they know about a certain subject before the teacher teaches it. This can also help the teacher to know what he needs to focus on in his teaching. Wiki pages can also allow for students working in groups to share information with the group by simply editing the wiki page. This makes working in a group a much more plausible task as students to not have to coordinate their schedules to figure out a meeting time.

Another useful tool that I enjoyed learning about in the class was the webquest project. I have to admit that at first I was a little unsure of what was meant by a webquest project but after I realized what it was, I discovered that this could be a creative and fun way for students to learn while also honing their Internet-researching skills. Concept maps are another creative way of organizing information. It would benefit students to use these to organize information because it allows them to see it visually and also allows for students to see relationships that are shared. The PowerPoint game is another form of technology that I would consider using. Reviewing for tests can oftentimes be considered boring but doing it in a game is much more creative and fun way to review material for tests or quizzes.

What surprised me most this quarter was how little I knew about technology coming into the class. After taking the class, engaging with the technology and asking questions, I found that using the technology was probably not as difficult as I had anticipated. Technology can have many applications in the classroom setting and it is the role of the teacher to decide which ones should be used and which ones should not. Obviously, an elementary student will not be able to handle the same advanced kinds of technology as high school students and there are certain types of technology that are better suited for certain subjects. However a teacher should constantly be learning about technology and willng to use it in his or her classroom to assist with teaching and allow the students to engage in meaningful learning.