Amy Narquis
November 13, 2008
Distance Learning Education Project
To become a part of the distance learning education world, one must be responsible. Being responsible for your own time, your own work, and your own classroom management is the only way an online class may be successful. Both students and teachers must be dedicated to treating this like any other class and not get lazy about working as hard as possible to foster learning. There are numerous general pros and cons for distance education, however, online class success depends solely on the individual situation and effort.
Pros:
One of the biggest pro about Distance learning is that it is great for parents who cannot dedicate consistent hours. Whether single, married or working together, parents may not always be able to reserve specific times to attend class. Taking online classes would allow for these students to attend class after their kids are in bed, or while the kids are napping or watching a movie. This way, education is not just limited to those students readily available with no parental responsibilities.
Another pro may concern homebound, handicap or bed ridden students. Many individuals may have these problems that would prevent them from being physically able to attend class. Distance education is an opportunity for these individuals to earn degrees and take classes. It is simply an accommodation for their particular situation.
Distance education is great for students that need a class but cannot fit it into their schedule. I have taken online classes simply because the particular class interfered with other required classes I had that semester. This really helped me not fall behind in my college career.
Taking an online class required discipline. Distance education is a great way to develop independence and responsibility for one’s own education. To get something out of online classes, students must be responsible and stay on top of due dates, assignments, blogs and other such participation.
Although some students find no issues with their professors, others may believe that teachers can have grading bias and/or student preferences. Online classes would prevent teachers from having any such physical discrimination affect an individual’s grade.
Cons:
One major issue with online schools is that there is no guarantee it is the actual student doing the work. I’ve heard of numerous individuals having their work completed by a friend, spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, or whatever. This in no way benefits the individual attempting to attain the degree or class credits. It’s abusing the system and fostering laziness.
Along the lines of such plagiarisms, there is no guarantee the student actually learns anything in online classes. It is hard to determine the level of understanding when the student is simply submitting assignment papers based on a page of typed directions. Students and teachers need interaction to foster learning and to make sure all the information is properly taught and understood.
Individual students can vary when it comes to their ideal learning environment. Just as some can work well with music or the TV on, some cannot work without complete focus in silence. No doubt the internet is a distracting work environment. While writing a paper or reading for an online class, students could be tempted with myspace, facebook, instant message, solitaire or countless other distractions available online and on the computer. If a student does not have self control to dedicate time specifically and solely to the online class they could easily become distracted from their lesson.
Having an online class means that human contact/interaction is a rarity. I personally believe that interactions between teacher and student are critical in education.
The fact that technology has limitations is another downfall of the online education world. Computers can crash, internet connections can fail and accidents can happen without warning. This puts extra stress on the students and teachers and can ruin a positive outlook on a lesson, assignment or class.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Teacher Web Critiques
Teacher Web Critiques
Now that you have your Teacher Web Project completed, reflect on how you might use this type of technology within your future classroom. First think about creating and using a class web site in general terms using whatever software or system a school district might provide you. Then think about the features of the Teacher Web system and how you have created the pages on your site. Post your responses to these questions on your Blog site with a title of “Teacher Web Reflections”
Describe at least 3 ways how you see the use of a class web site could be used to support your future teaching. Provide specific details for each example.
The Teacher Web system keeps everything very organized. If I ever wanted to look back on a lesson it would be right there, easy access for me. I also appreciate how simple the website can be to create and navigate. Not only does this help my students and parents find all the information they need, but I am (now) able to fix things, edit, add, create, etc. with little confusion. Finally, the fact that I can have random assessments online to check my students progress helps my future lesson planning. I can make simple assessments online and the answers will be delivered promptly and organized so I can make judgments on what my students learned, what should be reviewed and when we should move on to the next subject.
Identify what you see as the top 2 ways students could use a class web site to enhance their learning and provide some justifications for your selections.
I could use this for posting various study guides regarding systems or cycles that might be difficult to remember without a visual (i.e. the circulatory system, or photosynthesis). This makes these difficult topics easily accessible for my students as well as clear and visually pleasing. I think younger students would find this very helpful in learning about how computers and internet work. It’s very important in this day in age to start young with technology because it is becoming more and more popular in schools. Teacher/class websites are safe and simple ways to introduce students into this world.
Think about the page types and features of the Teacher Web system. What do you feel where the 2 strongest features or page types within the Teacher Web system? Why do you see these as the strongest?
As a future parent, I appreciate the fact that parents and guardians can see exactly what is going on in their student’s classroom. Parents often have no clue about events or reports or homework their student has unless their child tells them. Obviously the class calendar is a favorite of mine because parents can check up on upcoming events, tests, etc. without having to search for the paper class bulletin or newsletter. I also really liked the links page. I remember countless times I was asked to do research on a topic with absolutely no clue what websites would be appropriate and/or academically sound. Having links available to the students will help them navigate the internet with ease and gain a better understanding of what websites are appropriate for research.
Now that you have your Teacher Web Project completed, reflect on how you might use this type of technology within your future classroom. First think about creating and using a class web site in general terms using whatever software or system a school district might provide you. Then think about the features of the Teacher Web system and how you have created the pages on your site. Post your responses to these questions on your Blog site with a title of “Teacher Web Reflections”
Describe at least 3 ways how you see the use of a class web site could be used to support your future teaching. Provide specific details for each example.
The Teacher Web system keeps everything very organized. If I ever wanted to look back on a lesson it would be right there, easy access for me. I also appreciate how simple the website can be to create and navigate. Not only does this help my students and parents find all the information they need, but I am (now) able to fix things, edit, add, create, etc. with little confusion. Finally, the fact that I can have random assessments online to check my students progress helps my future lesson planning. I can make simple assessments online and the answers will be delivered promptly and organized so I can make judgments on what my students learned, what should be reviewed and when we should move on to the next subject.
Identify what you see as the top 2 ways students could use a class web site to enhance their learning and provide some justifications for your selections.
I could use this for posting various study guides regarding systems or cycles that might be difficult to remember without a visual (i.e. the circulatory system, or photosynthesis). This makes these difficult topics easily accessible for my students as well as clear and visually pleasing. I think younger students would find this very helpful in learning about how computers and internet work. It’s very important in this day in age to start young with technology because it is becoming more and more popular in schools. Teacher/class websites are safe and simple ways to introduce students into this world.
Think about the page types and features of the Teacher Web system. What do you feel where the 2 strongest features or page types within the Teacher Web system? Why do you see these as the strongest?
As a future parent, I appreciate the fact that parents and guardians can see exactly what is going on in their student’s classroom. Parents often have no clue about events or reports or homework their student has unless their child tells them. Obviously the class calendar is a favorite of mine because parents can check up on upcoming events, tests, etc. without having to search for the paper class bulletin or newsletter. I also really liked the links page. I remember countless times I was asked to do research on a topic with absolutely no clue what websites would be appropriate and/or academically sound. Having links available to the students will help them navigate the internet with ease and gain a better understanding of what websites are appropriate for research.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities
Amy Narquis
October 2, 2008
Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities
The first thing I noticed about using concept mapping is that is can be very visually pleasing. This is something that’s important to me because I’m a visual learner and being able to have assignments and lessons mapped out using pictures would be beneficial to my students. Specifically in the younger grades, pictures can clarify the main focus points of any given lesson.
If a student learns better through reading, however, the Inspiration.com website provides the option of switching from a diagram to an outline very easily. This also allows for more information to be listed in the outline while still maintaining a fairly simple focused diagram. Presenting material in multiple ways will help the students remember, study and learn material.
Another beneficial aspect is the fact that teachers can use the diagrams to properly display specific events or material such as “The life cycle of a butterfly” or the “Carbon Cycle.” By using the proper directional arrows and clip art, a teacher can create a tangible and easily understood diagram of such complex themes. You can also use the diagrams as a timeline using pictures to help emphasize important dates to remember. Then each date can break off into other sections providing more detailed information about the event. My final favorite idea was to use a concept map dedicated to one spelling word. Their example provided arrows towards synonyms, antonyms, the definition, sentences using the word and the origin of the word. If I wanted my students to understand a word in depth, this would be a great way to make that happen.
1) The three examples I gave (science cycles, timelines, and spelling word study) can blatantly display the exact information a student needs to know. It will be easy for students to access and study as well as explore and broaden their horizons on the topic. I would have loved to have known exactly what we were working on in my classroom when I was young, so I know my students would appreciate having the information readily available and written clearly and accurately. Using concept maps will create organization within the classroom and enable proper communication between teacher and student.
2) I personally would love to be a kindergarten teacher. I would love to introduce technology to my students at this point in their lives. I think it would be difficult to master this type of application for more complex material, however, I think it would be easy to create colorful displays of simple concepts to young children. So, while I believe it would be a little out of my reach and take too much time to create complex displays, simple kindergarten level material will be easy to map and very beneficial in introducing the material and technology itself to my students.
October 2, 2008
Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities
The first thing I noticed about using concept mapping is that is can be very visually pleasing. This is something that’s important to me because I’m a visual learner and being able to have assignments and lessons mapped out using pictures would be beneficial to my students. Specifically in the younger grades, pictures can clarify the main focus points of any given lesson.
If a student learns better through reading, however, the Inspiration.com website provides the option of switching from a diagram to an outline very easily. This also allows for more information to be listed in the outline while still maintaining a fairly simple focused diagram. Presenting material in multiple ways will help the students remember, study and learn material.
Another beneficial aspect is the fact that teachers can use the diagrams to properly display specific events or material such as “The life cycle of a butterfly” or the “Carbon Cycle.” By using the proper directional arrows and clip art, a teacher can create a tangible and easily understood diagram of such complex themes. You can also use the diagrams as a timeline using pictures to help emphasize important dates to remember. Then each date can break off into other sections providing more detailed information about the event. My final favorite idea was to use a concept map dedicated to one spelling word. Their example provided arrows towards synonyms, antonyms, the definition, sentences using the word and the origin of the word. If I wanted my students to understand a word in depth, this would be a great way to make that happen.
1) The three examples I gave (science cycles, timelines, and spelling word study) can blatantly display the exact information a student needs to know. It will be easy for students to access and study as well as explore and broaden their horizons on the topic. I would have loved to have known exactly what we were working on in my classroom when I was young, so I know my students would appreciate having the information readily available and written clearly and accurately. Using concept maps will create organization within the classroom and enable proper communication between teacher and student.
2) I personally would love to be a kindergarten teacher. I would love to introduce technology to my students at this point in their lives. I think it would be difficult to master this type of application for more complex material, however, I think it would be easy to create colorful displays of simple concepts to young children. So, while I believe it would be a little out of my reach and take too much time to create complex displays, simple kindergarten level material will be easy to map and very beneficial in introducing the material and technology itself to my students.
This is an example of a concept map.
Blogs and Wikis in Education Project
Amy Narquis
October 2, 2008
Blogs and Wikis in Education
1) Off the Meriwether Lewis Elementary School blog (http://lewiselementary.org) I found some surprising and very resourceful uses for a blog or wiki page. For example, not only does the blog have a “calendar of events” list, but each event has a link which opens up a new blog page with the description of the event and a mapquest.com link for directions to the location of the event. This would be extremely useful for parents to help them get to the appropriate locations for the various school events. This blog page also has a page that describes the curriculum the students will be learning. Although, I was not able to connect to the links with the actual specific topic descriptions, I’m sure any parent would be thrilled to have such easy access to the things their children will be learning. Finally, I visited the learnerblogs.org website and found a number of innovative ideas for using blogs in the classroom. My favorite example was having the students create an online publication. Like a class newspaper, students can participate in writing articles and updates and post them into an organized online resource for parents and students regarding classroom/school current events.
2) RSS readers or aggregators can speed up the process of finding newly posted information from blogs, wiki pages, etc. They can be web-based or desktop-based. Since it mainly presents new information, students can easily stay updated on projects, assignments or just general information throughout the school year. The easy online access would also be helpful for students missing class because of illness or vacation who want to stay updated on assignments or events.
3) A pro for using blogs and wikis in education is that it is progressive way students can connect and learn. In this age of rapidly developing technology, it’s important to keep up with technological advances and get students familiar with such common technology as the internet. Blogs and wikis will allow children to explore the internet in a safe and educational setting. Another pro is the vast amount of information that can be made available for parents. As I mentioned before, posting school/class events and listing curriculum allows parents to take a more active role in their child’s education. A con for using blogs and wikis is that the internet can be considered a luxury to some families. Teachers need to evaluate the standard of living in the community and of each student’s family before using blogs or wikis. It could be considered biased to expect students to perform tasks and assignments online when some students do not have access to the internet. A second con could be the common occurrence of technological difficulties. Even with advanced high-speed internet, connections may be lost and difficulties can occur with posting and other such actions. Although this could be a minor, temporary problem, it could still be frustrating and confusing for children.
October 2, 2008
Blogs and Wikis in Education
1) Off the Meriwether Lewis Elementary School blog (http://lewiselementary.org) I found some surprising and very resourceful uses for a blog or wiki page. For example, not only does the blog have a “calendar of events” list, but each event has a link which opens up a new blog page with the description of the event and a mapquest.com link for directions to the location of the event. This would be extremely useful for parents to help them get to the appropriate locations for the various school events. This blog page also has a page that describes the curriculum the students will be learning. Although, I was not able to connect to the links with the actual specific topic descriptions, I’m sure any parent would be thrilled to have such easy access to the things their children will be learning. Finally, I visited the learnerblogs.org website and found a number of innovative ideas for using blogs in the classroom. My favorite example was having the students create an online publication. Like a class newspaper, students can participate in writing articles and updates and post them into an organized online resource for parents and students regarding classroom/school current events.
2) RSS readers or aggregators can speed up the process of finding newly posted information from blogs, wiki pages, etc. They can be web-based or desktop-based. Since it mainly presents new information, students can easily stay updated on projects, assignments or just general information throughout the school year. The easy online access would also be helpful for students missing class because of illness or vacation who want to stay updated on assignments or events.
3) A pro for using blogs and wikis in education is that it is progressive way students can connect and learn. In this age of rapidly developing technology, it’s important to keep up with technological advances and get students familiar with such common technology as the internet. Blogs and wikis will allow children to explore the internet in a safe and educational setting. Another pro is the vast amount of information that can be made available for parents. As I mentioned before, posting school/class events and listing curriculum allows parents to take a more active role in their child’s education. A con for using blogs and wikis is that the internet can be considered a luxury to some families. Teachers need to evaluate the standard of living in the community and of each student’s family before using blogs or wikis. It could be considered biased to expect students to perform tasks and assignments online when some students do not have access to the internet. A second con could be the common occurrence of technological difficulties. Even with advanced high-speed internet, connections may be lost and difficulties can occur with posting and other such actions. Although this could be a minor, temporary problem, it could still be frustrating and confusing for children.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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