Wednesday, July 30, 2008
What I have learned
I have learned many things from this course. I have been reminded of how technology has changed over my lifetime. I have learned multiple things about my computer. I now know how to blog and I have a blog! The definition of Instructional Technology is much more than I thought. It is much more than media. I will take with me ideas for my classroom and district. The digital divide is includes more than those with or without a computer. It really made me think of where my district stands with the digital divide. I going to try incorporate these ideas to improve our district. This has been a helpful class! Thanks Dr. Tutty
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Digital Divide
Esteemed School Board,
In our school district there is a digital divide amongst our clientele. To further explain, this would be the differences in our families that do have access to the internet and a computer as opposed to those who do not have this access. There are many reasons for this disparity. The basic reasons would be level of income, level of education, age, race, skill level, and or location in regard to the internet. This digital inequality could cause our students to be ill prepared for college or the work force.
One segment of our community that might not have access are Hispanic families with limited English skills. A sight that we could include on our school website to assist these families is www.learnenglish.de/. This site has a myriad of places to go within the site to help the English learner. It has grammar, writing, reading, stories, and pronunciation guides to name a few.
Another area that would lessen the digital divide would be more computers in the district. A way to free up monies would be to apply to Universal Service Administrative Company (www.universalservice.org) for assistance with our internet access. This would allow us to spend that money on more hardware for student use.
Additionally, www.on-tech.com/erate/ is the website for e-rate. This site discusses in detail how to become eligible for assistance with almost all telephone services (local service, toll calls and long distance), Internet access, and digital lines. Again the service would free up money for computers and other technology needed by our district to keep up with the constant changes in our electronic world.
Due to our rural location many don’t have access to the internet; www.wildblue.com is an affordable solution. This is a company that helps solve the access problem. It is also a fairly inexpensive way to connect to the internet. It involves a monthly rate, often with special promotions for the installation.
Another website that we could provide on our school site or newspaper is members.aol.com/shobansen3/. As an outreach to our seniors in the community this site is an excellent tutorial on how to use a computer. Possibly, we could then combine our older citizens with the younger ones and they could become e-pals.
A helpful website for those without the internet and or the necessary skills to manage the internet is www.nationalserviceresources.org/service-activities/community-technology-programs. Here a patron is offered valuable hands-on instruction, expertise, and guidance in schools and community centers, to low-income populations, and to the elderly.
My recommendation to the board is to address the digital divide that we have in our community. Offering ways to free up money to our schools, to help people connect to the internet, to learn the computer, and to learn English will enhance our community relations and help parents better relate to the school and possibly their child. In providing these sites on our school webpage this will allow easy access to our clientele. In addition, we should advertise these services in our local newspaper for those interested. Possibly our high school students could implement a community tutorial one Saturday per month to help those struggling to get ‘online’. This would also help those students complete their community service hours.
In our school district there is a digital divide amongst our clientele. To further explain, this would be the differences in our families that do have access to the internet and a computer as opposed to those who do not have this access. There are many reasons for this disparity. The basic reasons would be level of income, level of education, age, race, skill level, and or location in regard to the internet. This digital inequality could cause our students to be ill prepared for college or the work force.
One segment of our community that might not have access are Hispanic families with limited English skills. A sight that we could include on our school website to assist these families is www.learnenglish.de/. This site has a myriad of places to go within the site to help the English learner. It has grammar, writing, reading, stories, and pronunciation guides to name a few.
Another area that would lessen the digital divide would be more computers in the district. A way to free up monies would be to apply to Universal Service Administrative Company (www.universalservice.org) for assistance with our internet access. This would allow us to spend that money on more hardware for student use.
Additionally, www.on-tech.com/erate/ is the website for e-rate. This site discusses in detail how to become eligible for assistance with almost all telephone services (local service, toll calls and long distance), Internet access, and digital lines. Again the service would free up money for computers and other technology needed by our district to keep up with the constant changes in our electronic world.
Due to our rural location many don’t have access to the internet; www.wildblue.com is an affordable solution. This is a company that helps solve the access problem. It is also a fairly inexpensive way to connect to the internet. It involves a monthly rate, often with special promotions for the installation.
Another website that we could provide on our school site or newspaper is members.aol.com/shobansen3/. As an outreach to our seniors in the community this site is an excellent tutorial on how to use a computer. Possibly, we could then combine our older citizens with the younger ones and they could become e-pals.
A helpful website for those without the internet and or the necessary skills to manage the internet is www.nationalserviceresources.org/service-activities/community-technology-programs. Here a patron is offered valuable hands-on instruction, expertise, and guidance in schools and community centers, to low-income populations, and to the elderly.
My recommendation to the board is to address the digital divide that we have in our community. Offering ways to free up money to our schools, to help people connect to the internet, to learn the computer, and to learn English will enhance our community relations and help parents better relate to the school and possibly their child. In providing these sites on our school webpage this will allow easy access to our clientele. In addition, we should advertise these services in our local newspaper for those interested. Possibly our high school students could implement a community tutorial one Saturday per month to help those struggling to get ‘online’. This would also help those students complete their community service hours.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Trends in Instructional Technology
What are the trends for Instructional Technology? This is a multi-faceted answer. My first answer is that we are a Global Community and schools will increase the interaction between classrooms across the globe. The public education system will need to acknowledge this concept and incorporate technology in everyday lessons to keep students savvy to current trends in the real-world. This will include lowering the ratio of child to computer. At this time the average ratio is nine children per computer. As the cost of equipment is reduced, it is hoped that every child has access to a computer. This reduction should cause the students to be more technologically fluent.
Another answer would be that the role of the teacher is rapidly changing to that of a facilitator rather than an 'all-knowing' giver of knowledge. One teacher change would be online courses. This type of homeschooling is allowing more and more people to take charge of their education and use the internet to gain their degree. I feel more and more people will use this avenue due to the ease of scheduling and the reduced need for fuel. In addition, teachers will use more project based learning rather than information based learning. This will cause education to become much more cooperative and collaborative. (Nellie Deutsch, 2004)
www.nelliemuller.com/Future_Trends_in_Educational_%20Technology.htm, www.setda.org
Another answer would be that the role of the teacher is rapidly changing to that of a facilitator rather than an 'all-knowing' giver of knowledge. One teacher change would be online courses. This type of homeschooling is allowing more and more people to take charge of their education and use the internet to gain their degree. I feel more and more people will use this avenue due to the ease of scheduling and the reduced need for fuel. In addition, teachers will use more project based learning rather than information based learning. This will cause education to become much more cooperative and collaborative. (Nellie Deutsch, 2004)
www.nelliemuller.com/Future_Trends_in_Educational_%20Technology.htm, www.setda.org
Monday, July 7, 2008
Definition
My own personal definition of Educational Technology would be the use of technology to enhance, improve, or further engage the learning experience. However, after reading the articles by Reiser I realize that there is more to this definition. Reiser states that the main components of instructional technology are design, development, management, evaluation, and analysis. I think that I was focusing on the management of media in regard to this format. I realize now that there is much more to consider. I have discovered that media is only part of the picture. By allowing the student to learn by process and at their own pace he or she becomes a part of the instructional design.
As having been educated during the 60's and 70's I have seen many changes in educational technology. However, as an educator I can relate to the slow movement of technology in mainstream education. The lack of money and training are a major part of this problem. And for some reason we as educators seem to have a certain amount of resistance to the whole idea of technology in our classrooms. Are we really worried that computers will take over our jobs? Are we that entrenched in our curriculum?
I myself like the concept of bringing real-world ideas and problems to my class.
The analysis component of our state testing is always a low point for our students. Our staff is always trying to think of ways to improve this weakness. Instructional technology seems to be an excellent way for students to analyze problems and manage solutions.
As the article stated the definition is ever-changing. I too have changed my thoughts on educational technology. I understand that it includes; the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning. (Reiser, 1997)
As having been educated during the 60's and 70's I have seen many changes in educational technology. However, as an educator I can relate to the slow movement of technology in mainstream education. The lack of money and training are a major part of this problem. And for some reason we as educators seem to have a certain amount of resistance to the whole idea of technology in our classrooms. Are we really worried that computers will take over our jobs? Are we that entrenched in our curriculum?
I myself like the concept of bringing real-world ideas and problems to my class.
The analysis component of our state testing is always a low point for our students. Our staff is always trying to think of ways to improve this weakness. Instructional technology seems to be an excellent way for students to analyze problems and manage solutions.
As the article stated the definition is ever-changing. I too have changed my thoughts on educational technology. I understand that it includes; the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning. (Reiser, 1997)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)