Journal #4

"Seven Steps to Successful Online Learning Communities" by Maureen Brown Yoder
This article discusses seven strategies to help teachers provide their students with a high quality online communication experience. The strategies deal with curriculum planning, encouraging a positive social climate, understanding the unique nature of online communication, encouraging good reading and writing skills, dealing with inappropriate behavior and attitudes, and using effective facilitation skills. The internet allows students to build communities and work together toward a common goal. It also helps them care about each other’s curricular interests and personal goals. The key to successful online projects is administrative support. Without this there wouldn’t be enough funding for the necessary resources. Online discussion between students in the classroom is a great choice for a first online activity. For example, students could send each other e-mails to discuss group projects or just to get to know each other. A lot of the time tragedies like September 11^th and school shootings create a need for connecting with others. Many people came together online for support and comfort. Sites were developed specifically for helping young people. I believe that online sites are a great way to connect with others in times of despair and to collaborate on class projects. Learning communities are no longer bound by physical limitations. The internet allows students and teachers to explore our outside world.

Questions:

1. How can teachers provide a productive online learning community when their main means of communication is the printed word?
Answer: Teachers can provide a successful learning community online by coming up with projects that require typing and communicating with others. The projects could be submitted online instead of being printed out.
2. How can teachers accommodate students with little experience with the internet?
Answer: Teachers should carefully explain step by step how to use the internet even if there are students who are very familiar with it. Students with experience with computers can also help the students who need help.

Journal #3

"Five That Survive" by Jennifer Roland
The senior editor for L&L put together an article discussing topics that remain important to the readers. The article looks at five past volumes that continue to be valuable to L&L readers. The ISTE website is so popular that members have requested photocopy articles for their course packs and presentations. The article includes a synopsis for each past article and the author’s reflections on why the articles have remained so popular. The fourth article mentioned stood out to me the most. It was named “Too Few Computers and Too Many Kids: What Can I Do?” The article was about how few teachers have as much technology as they want to effectively integrate it into their teaching. Instead, teachers make do with what technology they do have, creating inventive and exciting projects that teach students content and technology at the same time. I think this article should be the main one to look back on because the issue of fewer computers and more kids still exists. There are many schools that can’t afford enough computers for all the students. Even though this is the case, teachers can still come up with creative lesson plans to engage their students. This article stimulates thought and suggests strategies for effectively integrating computers into the curriculum within the constraints imposed by low budgets and technological resources.

Questions:

1. How effective is discussing past articles?
Answer: It is very effective because it allows the author to reflect on his writing and technique. It also helps the reader to understand the article more.

2. Why did they choose articles that were published from 1998 through 2001?
Answer: L&L choose this time frame because it shows that they touched on some long lived ideas that were beneficial to readers. The articles give the reader a broad range of technology knowledge.

Journal #2

"Ready, Set, Integrate!" by John McCombs
Teachers at The American Embassy School in New Delhi, India worked together to remove a core technology course and integrate technology across the entire curriculum. Math, science, humanities, foreign language, fine arts, and ESL teachers developed the Technology Integration Plan (TIP) which covered software applied, skill level required, time required for the project, and time required to introduce the skills. TIP is a web-based program so the teachers could post helpful information and complete evaluations. The teachers also had meetings to discuss technology and the development of integrated technology projects. Dr. Paul Fochtman, the middle school principal, was the one who sparked the idea of school wide technology integration in January 2001. The assessment of the TIP was completed in April and May 2002.
I think it is crucial for every student in a school to be exposed to technology. The TIP idea was smart because it doesn’t require the student to take an additional class for just technology. It allows them to apply technology tools in a wide assortment of meaningful projects instead. Teachers can use their creativity to incorporate technology in math, science, history, and art classes.

Questions

1. What kind of technology tools could be used in an art class?
Answer: Teachers could use a drawing program either online or through Microsoft Office. The students could draw or paint projects digitally rather than on paper. It would be a fun and creative way to do art.
2. Should the TIP technique be used in elementary schools and high schools too?
Answer: Yes, absolutely. Learning technology tools is important for students in all grades. Some teachers might be hesitant to use technology with their younger students but there are simple programs out there that elementary students can use. Some students may know more than you expect.

Journal #1

"Power of the Mashup" by Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss
This article is about two influential teachers who used new technology in their classrooms to make assignments more appealing to their students. Jerome Burg, a pervious high school teacher, designed custom files so that his literature students could virtually travel along with a literary character, using Google Earth to explore the key locations of a story. He called his assignments “Google Lit Trips.” Jerome, along with other teachers use eight essential learning functions with the help of evolving technologies we are faced with today. Another educator by the name of David Fagg created another learning tool that incorporates new technology. Instead of the never ending confiscation of MP3 players in his classroom, he decided to integrate them into his lesson plan. David had his students use MP3 mobile devices to explore history by doing their own fieldwork and creating their own analysis of the past. He named his idea the “iHistory Podcast Project.” One of his students even quoted, “This is a better way of learning.” Both of these educational tools received worldwide attention. David and Jerome created blogs and website to share their newfound information with other teachers and students around the nation.
I enjoyed reading this article because the content was very interesting. The technology tools created by David and Jerome allow students to use their imaginations and have fun with learning. Using Google Earth is a great thing for the visual students in the classroom because it provides actual landscapes and locations to view. The MP3 player idea was a little confusing to me because I was unaware that you could do research on them. I thought you could only play music on them. Despite my confusion, I thought it was an intriguing way to conduct research in the classroom. Students would definitely be more engaged than if they had to read out of a history book.

Questions

1. What other kinds of technological tools could be used for classroom teaching?
Answer: Teachers could use ipods and other internet sites to brainstorm ideas and come up with their own unique assignments.
2. What should teachers include to help their auditory learning students?
Answer: Teachers should make the assignments discussable and put students into groups to talk about the information they discovered.