My Revised Technology Autobiography

It's been 25 years since I graduated high school, but believe it or not my mind still functions. I can remember when our school acquired it's first computer for the students. It was a BIG deal and you had to join the "Computer Club" to get any appreciable time to use it. I remember learning the BASIC program language and began programming the whiz-bang machine to display colorful graphics and animation (think Pac-Man). It was fun and taught me a lot, but I had no idea how significant an introduction this would be to the amazing evolution of computing technology and its role in our classrooms today.

I grew up as a "user" in college at Georgia Tech (emphasis on the "Tech") as mainframes shifted to pc's and DOS to Windows and the Mac. By the time I earned my MBA and entered the business world, I was a Microsoft hound and a very dangerous and influential sales person, armed with cool printouts (some even in color) and slick pitches. My mobile phone was mounted in my car and only weighed about six pounds. Over my 18 year career in sales, marketing and support, my reliance on desktops evolved to a reliance on LANs and WANs; then to a reliance on the internet and intranets. My mobile phone became a cell phone; then became a PDA with email, mobile internet, a digital camera, a gps and plenty of games to play!

Today, kids are introduced to advanced computing technology at a very early age. Many devices and software applications serve as every day encounters, whether it's a 9-year old with an iPod, a 6-year old with a handheld gaming device, kids playing a Nintendo Wii, or middle and high schoolers on a more traditional desktop or laptop computer. Our youth can navigate software or surf the web as easily as they can play hopscotch or kick-the-can. This presents a great opportunity for us to integrate the use of dynamic computing technology into our classrooms on an ongoing basis.

Every teacher at all grade levels should actively and aggressively incorporate computing technologies into their teaching practices as much as possible. Computers, SmartBoards, graphing calculators, internet access, and multimedia software applications are all great examples of teaching aids with limitless potential. Why? Kids relate to technology as if it were a toy and have the youthful aptitude to embrace it as it evolves and grows with them. Their opportunities to use technology outside the classroom are mostly for entertainment purposes - music, games, the internet, etc. As teachers, we have the great opportunity to take that knowledge and show them how technology can be used constructively and with a purpose (while still having fun with it!). This also serves to bridge the gap between structured classroom learning and a child's life outside the classroom. It's critical that we as parents and teachers keep up with the rapid advancement of these computing technologies for many reasons:

• Technology is an enabler of new and improved teaching tactics and methods. It can keep us fresh and efficient while inspiring some creativity as well.
• Technology can drive collaboration. Group projects, info sharing, and team research can all be facilitated much more effectively with online resources like wiki's and blogs.
• It keeps a relavent connection with the kids. My kids relate to Google for class research the way I related to the smell of the purple ink on freshly copied "dittos" from the ditto machine.
• It's simply the right thing to do. I know it sounds pitifully simplistic, but think about it. Change is part of life and many times the pace of change is driven by technology. Teaching is about change, too. Growing and learning is what life is all about, so why would we not do everything within our power to join these two great enablers - Teaching and Technology - to provide the best learning opportunities possible for our kids?!?!
  

Postscript (May 26, 2009): After two intensive weeks of EDTP504 Teaching with Technology, I firmly stand by my comments above and am even more energized about the role of technology, and particularly the seemingly limitless "read/write" web, in today's classroom. I can't wait to finsih the MAT program and get started! Cheers.

CH9 Response: What Does It All Mean?

It means I'm really glad I took this class. I couldn't agree more with Richardson in his summation chapter. The classroom of the Read/Write web era is now, and will be defined by the major trends cited in the book:

• The internet will continue to explode as the most comprehensive source of information in history.
• More and more, the creation of internet content will be collaborative, a la wikipedia.
• And lastly, the world is indeed flat!

Access, speed, and the ability to publish and comment will make us all authors and collaborators - or owners in the read/write web. This means teachers become students and students become teachers.

The big shifts, as Richardson puts it, are worth paying attention to and embracing for understanding as we evolve.

• Open content - the world of closed and protected code is slowly evaporating
• Global access - our round world is made flat by the global connectivity of the internet and telecommunications
• Collaborative construction of knowledge - students can produce group work and share it with wide audiences
• Transparent dialogue - ideas start the dialogue rather than just being preached into the air
• Answer sources - it'll be more important to know where to find an answer than what the actual answer is.
• Editors - we're not just readers, we read, write, publish and edit.
• Portfolio work - the web is our notebook that will contain all of our work
• Composer - writing is not just text, but takes on numerous dimensions, including photography, music, and sound.
• Projects - it's easy to publish to the web versus just "taking a test"
• Finality - there is none. the goal is to contribute and evolve, not finish.

"We've only just begun..."

CH6 Response: The Social Web

I have either heard of or used most of the tools introduced in this chapter. I'm not a big Twitter fan. Tweets do not interest me as I like to focus on my own life and my family first, and then can catch up with friends in a more meaningful dialogue via phone or email. It's hard to complete a thought in 140 characters or less. Don't get me wrong, Tweets have their purpose, but I think this craze on Twitter will die down quickly and folks will realize there are better ways to keep in touch.
I do like the online bookmarks with Diigo and Delicious. I can't tell you how many times I'm on the road or on a computer other than my own and I miss my bookmarks for all of my favorite websites. Most of the time I can't remember the url address exactly, and when I can, I can't stand all the typing.
In the classroom, Diigo seems to have a lot of potential in setting up RSS feeds, using the annotations, and other features that make it wasy to keep up with a lot of class activity.

CH8 Response: 'Casting in the Real Stream

No, this isn't fishing, but in some ways it is. Think about it. 'Casting can be podcasting, videocasting, or screencasting, or all of the above... Always looking for an audience to catch. The idea of adding video and audio genre's to our ability to teach and communicate is good...but doing it with the technologically gifted tools outlined in this chapter is GREAT!! Note- I couldn't help the fishing reference - with tearms like casting, reel (or real), streaming, etc. I couldn't resist.

I think podcasting is just the ticket to get in the show. Teachers should understand its power of scale and repeatability. However, the real impact of this media is to combine the visual and audio through either a video podcast or a screencast. The music industry went through this when songs began to be accompanied by a video and MTV was born in thet early 1980's. We all were treated to an enhanced look at the artists rendering of their music through images and storylines that enhanced both the lyrics and the rythm of the songs. Who can forget "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. The artistic impression of the video was MUCH different for me than just listening to the song on the radio.

Screencasting in particular will allow teachers to reach audiences that aren't in the classroom or computer lab at the time of the lesson. This could be the absent students, students in another school or classroom, or could even revolutionaize the home school model of the future.

Now if you'll excuse me, a trout is calling my name and I need to get back to 'casting in the real stream....

CH4 Response: Aloha Wiki's

Wikis are a very easy way for us to collaborate. While I was pretty familiar with Wikipedia before taking this course and reading this book, I had no idea how extensive and applicable the features of a wiki site could be. As Richardson states, "Wikipedia is the poster child for the collaborative constructions of knowledge and truth that the new, interactice Web facilitates." Amen brother.

I had always been skeptical of info accuracy and validity on sites like Wikipedia. After reading this chapter I STILL AM, but have a lot more confidence in the evolution of the information in both its accuracy and validity. In other words, yeah I might come across inaccuracies from time to time, but it's my responsibility as a user to do something about it and defend the integrity of the resource. Huh!? I had never thought of it that way!! My old Brittanica when I was a kid was handed to me by the "experts"...now all of the sudden we're ALL experts when you pool our group knowledge like this. Pretty darn cool I must say.

Anyway, in the classroom there's a lot of potential here for wiki usage. Proper management and controls must be deployed, but wikis can help facilitate a lot of the learning we're trying to inspire - and can do so efficiently and effectively once we undertand their mechanics. Richardson poses several excellent examples for us (what I love about his book), but in particular, I've set a goal to become much more familiar with Planet Math.

Memo to Administration

MEMO

To: Ed M. Straightor

Ref: Proposal for TeacherTube.com at Supercool High School

From: J. Scott Spinetto

____________________________________________________

I am seeking your approval for trial use of TeacherTube.com for the Math Department teachers here at Supercool High (no student access). The tool is free and would only require an IT adjustment to our network to allow teachers access to this site on campus (currently blocked under video website restrictions in place). I personally would lead the trial, manage the usage within my department, and provide a full report to you after 10 weeks.


What is Teacher Tube? It's an amazing shared public web resource in the model of the dreaded YouTube, but MUCH more appropriate for our school through specifically designed, managed, and controlled content within the educational community. It's not just for videos, though. We can find best practices in videos, photos, spreadsheets, powerpoint documents, audio podcasts, and flashcards. This site even has teacher blogs and user communities organized for very specific subjects - from Spanish to Honors Geometry...and it's global, too! The tools embedded on the site make for a very efficient experience for our teachers as well. We can set up RSS feeds to keep up with the latest content without haveing to 'surf' every day, as well as mark our favorites within the site for future reference in our classrooms. As users we can rate each piece of media and see how others have rated the content. If we do come across an inappropriate posting, though, a simple note to the administrators will prompt a review and possible removal of the content.


Why should we try it? In addition to the incredible features I've noted above, there are many benefits to our teaching staff beyond the core content of the site. First of all, we already have the LCD projectors in every classroom, so the infrastructure is there for us to leverage the right content from this site to augment our current suite of teaching tools. Second, kids love this stuff!! Visual learners respond very well to these enhanced teaching lessons and relate the format to their home lives of tv, video games, and the internet. Third, the content alone on this site gives us the potential to expand our teaching capabilities well beyond the walls of our classrooms, becoming much more effective and driving our test scores up. Just check out this one example on a very different, "hip" way to introduce fractions: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=24266&title=Mr_Duey___Fractions_Official_Video. Or this slick spreadsheet with math puzzles: http://www.teachertube.com/viewArticle.php?article_id=162&title=Algebraic_Addition_in_Excell.


Thanks in advance for your consideration. I look forward your favorable response and am prepared to carefully lead us into a more technologically integrated approach to our studies here at Supercool High.



Respectfully,

Scott

CH7 Response: Flickr is Slickr

While a short chapter, the text on Flickr is enlightening on how to make the most out of a free online social software - beyond just posting photos. In particular, the ability to have a class project around a virtual field trip or a virtual excursion into a particular subject is fascinating. I envision the students not only learning about whatever topic we choose, but the technology know-how that they'd pick up would transfer to numerous personal quests, hopefully around their family or personal achievements.
I plan to incorporate Flickr or a tool like it in a lesson plan. Could be around real world applications of a math topic...or could be me posting an intriguing picture of a mathematical concept that all of my students can "chat about" through comments on the Flickr post. I look forward to the creative challenge...