Alternative Education

Reflection Emerging Technologies

2010-06-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Over the past several weeks of this course I have come to realize that technology in education has endless possibilities. The new emerging technologies that are filtering into the learning environment are a bit overwhelming at times and for a digital immigrant like myself, I found it hard to realize that technology is and will be an intragel part of my students now and in the future. I must adopt the reality of it all and accept the challenge ahead of me if I want to be the best at my field and for the education of my life-long learners. When I chose technology to recieve a Master's in, I knew it would be difficult and frustrating at times but if I want my 21st century students to be the best they can be, I have to be able to demonstrate and model 21st technology and implement it my lesson and their learning. I am very pleased that this course allowed me to research some new ideas on how to approach some new methods and technologies that will be benefical for all types of learners. I really enjoyed this course and it set my mind at ease a bit knowing I was already have been using an emerging technology with my game playing in my lessons. I do though have a long way to go and so does the district I teach in. The finacial set backs that public education has taken in Michigan out weigh the gains. It will be up to individuals to find grants to suppliment the cost of educational needs and technology. I hope in the near future to start asking for grant money to provide my learners with the best possible chance to use what they know about technology and amend my lessons to provide them with a 21st century learning environment.

CMS/LMS APP4

2010-05-30T12:31:00.001-07:00

http://www.scribd.com/full/32219095?access_key=key-1xpghzve8n5sqrv23e8o

2010-05-30T12:24:00.001-07:00

Differentiated Reflection

2010-04-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

Throughout this course the idea or theory of differentiated instruction and universal design has made me aware of how each student can be taught at various levels in a diverse learning environment. The challange that I face is with the implementation of technology with these learning strategies and concepts. It is going to be difficult at my school to add technology because of the lack of technology and funding. Our school is the 3rd high school in the district. We are at the bottom of list when it comes to educational support and resources. We have the 1% of the students that these two schools do not want. So the implementation of technology will take some time and patience.

I like the idea of differentiated instruction because we do have a diverse culture and our students have many different needs. To make the curriculum fit to my students it takes time and these strategies can improve my teaching ability. This can not only make me a better teacher but also a better student of education. The more weapons I have in my arsenal the better I can attack and make quality life long learners and positve members of our community.

Reflection GAME Plan

2010-02-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

As I reflect on the GAME plan that I have developed and followed throughout the course, I have come to realize that there are many options avenues and approaches to integrate technology into my class room. Technology is a huge asset to have in your back pocket to broaden the knowledge base for all students. The technological networking is a fantastic way to involve students socially and academically. These 21st century learners are accustomed using technology to communicate and what a better way to involve students by using a learning tool such as a wiki or blogging or another networking idea to get students involved. As I summarize any of the new learning that resulted from my following GAME plan, I need to explain the impact of my new learning has had on my instructional practice. As I worked through this class I found myself researching the internet and processing plenty of information and data that could improve my curriculum and lessons. The biggest road block that I found was I am unable at this time to use these ideas or lessons because of our districts lack of funding and technology. It is a shame that our state will not commit to education and the funding of our public schools along with the improvement in technological resources. It is impossible to even think about using all of these wonderful ideas from my classmates and this course to improve my lessons because of the lack of resources.

GAME plan week 7

2010-02-21T16:46:00.000-08:00

As I was researching video storytelling this week for our unit assignment, I ran across some interesting ideas if you the means and the technology. My biggest complaint about my Game plan I think is our schools lack of concern for our 21st century learners and their use of technology. Our district is so far behind it is disgusting. In our lab we only have 16 stations and those are continually occupied with credit recovery classes and English. At no time can I or other elective teachers have the opportunity to use the lab. In our building we still have chalk boards. That is a real hoot. So to ask my students to even try to use technology for learning is a joke. Yes I venting. Number one because I always forget about this blog and the other is I would love to do some digital storytelling because it is a great way for students to express themselves and learn the content material. This whole unit is dream a dream along with my GAME plan. I could continue to dream about what could be, but reality says it may never be. The kids are the ones in the end that are missing out but I know if and when our state and district pulls its head out of its behind then I will be well prepared to advance in technology in my classroom.

GAME Plan Week 6

2010-02-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

As I continue to compile research upon constructing my GAME plan for instruction, I took a good look at concept mapping. I am a big fan of this learning tool. I have used concept mapping for some time now, but with a technological inhancement. I was researching the web and found there are many good sites and programs that make mapping fun and instructional as well. These sites allow students to be creative and these sites also give students the opportunity learn material in an organized fashion. A concept is given and students must break it down into detail and allows them the freedom to be creative at the same time. I am a big fan when students add pictures. These visual learners like myself, can create many maps by expressing what they know through pictures and not just words.
Given my own personal goals for improving my technology, I would definetly like to see myself continue to break my own inhibitions and dive right in. I am still a bit aprehensive when it comes to technology and I would like to become an explorer not just a follower.

GAME Plan Week 5

2010-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

This week after to talking to a trusted colleague of mine who is very helpful and informative with technology eased a bit of my anxiety. During this weeks application assignment, he led me through some ideas and brought to my attention some new technology that is out there that would help with PBL and how to implement it in my classroom. I am was born in the 1960's and grew up in the 70's and early 1980's, this technology at times and the push towards this type of teaching has me a bit apprehensive. Designing this GAME plan, these courses at Walden has kept me a bit more focused and has forced me to get my hands dirty. As I was researching the web this week trying to create a PBL lesson and speaking with my colleague I have come to the conclusion that the only way to meet my goals is to take some risk move outside my safety net and relax and do the best I can. I know I have a long way to go, but I just need to relax and rely on my classmates, colleagues, and friends to guide me in the proper directions.

GAME Plan Week 4

2010-01-31T17:43:00.000-08:00

After revisiting my GAME plan for integrating technology into my area of instruction. I teach health, PE, and one section of world history. In my health class I have done a cross curriculum activity using video and video editing to construct health promotional ads. I was discussing this with a classmate during our discussion portion of this weeks lesson. I thinking of how I could implement this type of lesson in either my PE class or world history. I believe the easier of the two would be PE because of the relationship with health, but I really want to focus on the world history.

Ever since I watched the movie Teachers, I have often wondered how a role playing activity would assist my students with grasping the concepts of unit and the people involved in constructing our world history. Each unit always has at least ten or more key characters that play major roles and at least another ten that may have had an influence on that particular era. I would like to see my students either create a promotional ad for instance the crusades, the inquisition, or the Roman Empire. I think the students could research the any background information construct a dialog, storyboards, and a video presentation. Students could work in teams or pairs to develop their assignment. This project based activity would definitely be fun as well as informative for my students.

What have I learned so far?
I have learned that technology can and will be an important part of a 21st century learning experience. I have also learned that you need to have a focus of why technology is going to be implemented into a lesson.

What questions have arised?
Will my district ever provide enough funds to increase the volume of availability of technology. As of right now, I would have to say no. It will be a difficult task to begin to explore more lessons that are student based with the of technology if the resources are unavailable.

GAME Plan

2010-01-17T17:05:00.000-08:00

As I begin the journey of setting a GAME plan for a digital experience I have to reflect on the many years of teaching without the use or even the thought of technology. I see a resource that had to be gathered in a library, periodicals, and micro film. Now with one click of a button you have the whole world to explore for information and resources. As I was searching through the ISTE and the NETS-T I was thinking about how I can become a more proficient teacher when it comes to implimenting technology into my everyday teaching.

I looked at two of the standards I would like to improve upon and set new goals for myself to follow through with them those where standard one and three. The first is 1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. I teach at an At-Risk high school. My students have a difficult time thinking outside the box and using any creativity when it comes to learning. I know at times it is up to me to model to my students and believe me I try, but it has not been with use of technology or a digital experience. It has been difficult in my building because our technology is so limited and unfunded. I know personally I have to move outside the box myself and take some risk to try to get my more involved in 21st century learning. I would definitely would like to use standard one to impliment more real world issues in my world history class. In that class I know that there are many occasions where the use of technology could be used to explore issues of the past that can resolve or compared to an issue from the present. The interent can be a tool to do just that. There are plenty of sites, webquest or other resources that can help students explore the web and find valid information to support their arguements. The second is 3. Model digital age work and learning. at this point in time with the district grading program and email accounts it has been much easier to communicate with parents on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis without setting up a person to person meeting. The only draw back is you are not setting a personal relationship with the parents of the students. I still feel it is important to have that relationship and sometimes it can because of technology that has been lost. I know that I do most of my lesson, quizzes, PowerPoints, and test using some technolgy. All of the grading and attendance is all on a computer program and even now our students are doing credit recovery over the internet using a program called E 20/20. The problem I have is trying to master all of this. I am 43 years old and at times I feel uncomfortable or I guess I lack confidence in my abilities because some of this technology I just do not understand or have practiced it enough. That Is why I am doing my masters in technology so i can improve and learn more skills so I con model it for students with confidence.

To monitor my progress I intend to keep a daily journal of when I use technology and when I should have used technology and then refelect each week on how to improve upon what I did or did not do. To improve upon this I intend to see what other teachers are doing, ask about ways that I can use technology and what is the best avenue to take when creating a digital learning experience. i have some of my own ideas, but I want to be confident in them and jump outside my limited technology box and dive right in.

Final Reflection

2009-08-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

As I reflect upon my personal learning theory that will be continually implemented in my instructional practice each day with each new lesson, I will continue to set high goals for my students to reach and in return, I must have high expectations to teach them. I can honestly say that each student that enters my classroom is important and I will do what is necessary to provide them with the best chance of receiving a quality education and become a solid member of a society. This learning theory that we have been studying over time has been amended on several occasions even more so now with the use of technology as another tool for learning. I am positive knowing that in the future it will be challenged and changed again.

This era of technology that is taking roots in the education profession, I know that I must make some positive adaptations to my own personal theory. I know now that technology is a necessity in our classrooms and for our multi-tasking students. This technology boom in education has forced me to become more aware and unafraid of the challenges that technology presents, but at the same time I know it is best for my students. I am a digital immigrant it has taken me some time to integrate technology into my lessons without fear and I truly believe in the statement “You’ve come a long way Baby” has had a huge impact for me with the use of technology in my area of teaching. I now know that web based learning has endless possibilities for myself and my students.

In Michigan are educational system is at an all time low and it is Unfortunate that my technically challenged school district, my classes will not have much access to computer lab. Although, when I do get a chance to use the lab, my ultimate goal would be to develop lessons that will include web quest, concept mapping, blogging, and Excel. I already use PowerPoint for all my notes, and recently our school has purchased a remote system that allows students to answer questions by pressing their own personal remote pad and it allows the teacher to save all the data of all wrong answers instantaneously. Even though are states educational system is poor, our district is doing its best to make some important financial moves to improve our technology; recently they have installed overhead projectors that are directly connected to our computers in our rooms. It was a big step for them and it has made our life much easier and updated. I am still 100% in favor of technology and the effects it can have on the learning process. I am excited about the endless possibilities technology has had and will have in the near future in education but, the problem is of course money. Technology does not come cheap and until local, state and national governments come together, the lack of funding will inhibit the outcome and the future of its use.

Voice Threads

2009-08-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

http://voicethread.com/share/573598/

I feel that voice threads can give you an opportunity as another instructional tool for learning. If I were to create my own web page or blog for my students I could use a thread to give directions, prompt them for an assignment or a review exercise, and it would allow a student to either read or listen to the prompt. It would take some time to establish , but it would definitely be an idea I would like to implement. Another great way I could possibly use a voice thread would for note taking or missed assignments. Students could go my web page and retrieve the notes from that day and get an explanation of the missing assignments and procedures. Again I must stress that in my district not many of our students have access to the internet at home. This would be great if each one of my students did, but the reality of it all is that they do not.

Relationships to social learning theories

2009-08-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

As I stated in my discussions this week, in our world today, I feel social learning through interacting and networking is a huge step toward an learning environment for growth and meaning. The students of today are much different from those students of the past, myself included. I observe the students and watch they use technology to interact with themselves and their social connections. I have watched my football and hockey players immediately get out of a practice or a game and go to their phones and start texting. I hear my players and students discuss their game play on-line against each other. As educators we need to find a method to use this as a strategy and implement it into are classrooms to create a social yet a instructional learning atmosphere.

Anytime you can put students together to work as a team it will generate a positive environment for learning. With that in mind, you must be fair and keep the intended purpose of these cooperative groups. In other words do not stack the teams. If the lesson for the groups include the use of technology, I find it would be a necessity to divide the teams into small groups, allow them to chose their different roles for the group, and provide them with a lesson that has structure. In the past when I have used cooperative groups I only will allow no more than four students per group. If it a web quest or an on-line assignment it may only have 2-3 students per station.

As I went through the chapter I viewed several ideas on how to implement technology with cooperative groups and I found them quite interesting. Again though, in my school availability is a problem. I have used web quest on several occasions and have used multimedia video assignments, but I really like the idea of my students creating their own web pages. This would be very good assignment for my health and world history class. What a great way for them to work together as a team, using their creativity to develop their own web site, and finally to research and up date it over a long term time period. This should generate a productive social atmosphere with all the student with group sharing their ideas and the other groups looking and try to out do the others sites. This lesson however, must be supportive to the task at hand and have a solid objective.

Constructivist/Constructionist Learning Theories

2009-07-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

WOW!, we have come a long way in educational theories. During my experience over the past 11 years I have seen many theories and strategies for learning come and go. It seems to me that the educational guru's are always trying to reinvent the wheel. I know that must sound negative but, I feel that these theories and I must state again "theories" are just that. The leaders in education use these theories time and time again, over and over but with a different twist each time. Now with technology becoming a demand in education, governments, districts, administrators find themselves jumping on the band wagon. I am all in favor of the implementation of technology in my classroom, but until they allow everyone with same opportunity and funding it is going to be impossible.

Constructionist learning is a theory I have been using for quite a while. This theory allows for freedom in the learning environment without restriction. It allows students to build upon prior and future knowledge and an avenue to which they can express what they know and have learned. I teach at an At-Risk high school. My students have a chip on their shoulders about education and they come to us primarily with a bad attitude. Our staff is always looking for new ways to present our curriculum to our students and strategies that our kids will be successful at. In my school we have very limited access to computers. Our lab has 15 working stations which is divided by 8 staff members with an average of 25 students per class. Other than our staff computers this does not leave us much time to create lessons that involve the use of technology. In a perfect world though, I am all in favor having a technology based curriculum and have a variety ways for each of my subjects I could use these theories in.

One idea I had would be for my students in my advanced physical education class that is primarily weightlifting and conditioning to incorporate technology via a spread sheet for their fitness journals. After a period of time I would have them chart their results and have them form a hypotheses of what their results will be by the end of the course. They could accumulate their data and make projections and formulate a conclusion for their final project. Students could also research diets, supplements and other physical fitness strategies or exercises to improve their own fitness. I already am using something similar, but not with the assistance of technology. I agree this would give my students a much easier and exciting way, plus it would give a break from gym.

Cognitivism in practice

2009-07-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

In cognitive learning, the individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading, or experiencing and then by processing and remembering the information. When using a virtual field trip or a concept map together a cognitive learner may seem to be passive but, the student is actually quite active. Throughout the trip and mapping, the students are processing and remembering new incoming information without the pressures of a normal classroom environment. The students entire experience ignites the cognitive learning which enables the student to create and format data that may include symbols, values, beliefs and norms. Because cognitive learning involves many aspects of human behavior by taking a virtual trip it will allow them the opportunity to explore and spark their senses in an outside environment. This correlation between these two strategies and cognitive learning should promote a positive and formidable learning experience.

Behaviorism in the classroom

2009-07-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

I would have to agree with Dr. Orey on his perspective of behaviorism in our classrooms and with use of technology. He made some valid points about how operant conditioning still is going on within the learning environment, even though psychologist has deemed it a dead issue. I was thinking on the ways that I use operant conditioning and recently our school has developed a privilege list for those students who carry C's in all their classes, have perfect attendance and have not had a behavior write up. These students who achieve this are rewarded with certain privileges for example, access to the break room, mp3 players during non-instructional time, computer lab passes and cell phone usage at lunch. Our school itself has an established a behavioral atmosphere that students are conditioned to follow if they want a positive reward.

To continue with the discussion, I know in my classroom I find that I use behaviorism in my lessons on a daily basis. As I give out instructional assignments for example a worksheet on why the Roman Empire fell, the students may not receive the next worksheet about the Byzantine Empire until they have 75% or better. Students are allowed to re-submit their work until this grade is achieved. Now I do not do this for all assignments but, if I feel that the information is an important part of the section that's when I use this type of conditioning. For those students who do get the a 75% or higher in the first try they are rewarded verbally and their names immediately are posted on the board. I use these types of experience like a game show. It can be very exciting at times and the students encourage those who do not make it the first time. It becomes one big peer tutoring lesson and those kids strive hard to get their names announced and posted on the board.

As far as technology goes, Dr. Orey "hit the nail right on the head' when he talks about using mechanism like tutorial videos, text, or animation to condition students when they are using technology. Again, our district is introducing a new credit recovery system that clearly demonstrates this type of higher learning through technology. This on-line learning experience is a classic case of behaviorism. Students in order to move on to the next section of the course will only be rewarded if they pass that section. These students will be led through a series of tutorials and then will be conditioned by passing at an acceptable rate in order to continue through to the next section. Of course there will be some negative responses to the stimulus if they do not reach the accepted level to move on, but hopefully this will motivate them to try harder to reach the next positive reward.

I personally love the idea of using technology as way to condition students in a positive manner. I have used web-quests that I have designed or have borrowed from other instructors. In world history web-quest are a very positive tool not only for learning the material but to give students a positive experience with technology. I usually turn them into a light hearted competition and the students are put into cooperative teams. Each students is given a particular role so they have ownership with their teams. I have also used time lines and concept maps in a similar fashion. Each have there place throughout my history classes and it is a good break from the usu all routine.

Final Reflection

2009-04-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

At time this course was very nerve-racking for me. I. e. wikis, blogs and podcast. I have spent a varied amount of time developing some technology usage in my classes but, this class has opened my eyes to some new ideas and plenty of different paths to go down. This class has forced me to come out of my comfort zone and enter into a world of numerous possibilities. Throughout this course, I felt a bit overwhelmed by all of the various web tools that can be used with my new friends the "digital natives". Sometimes old habits are hard to break for us the "digital Immigrants" but, old dogs can learn some new tricks. I know that the more and practice that I get working with the 21st century learner and the tools of a advanced digital world, I will feel more comfortable in this world of technology.

I am slowly becoming a believer that technology is very influential and a necessary tool to deliver lessons that are suitable for my students. Each time I utilize the computer to access the different tools for learning I am amazed at how much useful information there is for me to use. This class has allowed me to try and even install these different ideas in my classroom.

The statement "You have come a long way baby" has a big impact for me with this course. I now know that technology has endless possibilities for me to use as a teacher. It keeps me current personally and professionally. i can reference help form my classmates online who may have different ideas to try. Accessing new trends in my field can be exciting to say the least. It is though unfortunate, that my school district has not reach the level of technology that other may have but, they are beginning to update and use funds to keep up with fast pace world of technology.

The best part of this course I enjoyed and plan to incorporate into my curriculum was wikis. It was great finding all the new and up-dated information available to teachers and students. I used many of these when I was searching for lessons or strategies to use in my classroom.

This class has been an eye opener and I am excited to start using these new ideas to provide a better modern day experience for my digital native students.

Podcast Technology Survey

2009-04-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&id=29253

21st Century Learning

2009-03-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

As I viewed this web-site, I noticed a big push towards learning on a different frontier. I was impressed by the support that was given by its members and the mission that they are trying to achieve. I feel that they really trying to reach out to us and allow us to think outside the box when it comes to education. We must not think like dinosaurs anymore when it comes to educating are children of tomorrow.
As educators of these children, we must have a more worldly process which will allow our students to become better citizens an in ever growing non-industrial society. The site is trying to make us aware of what the focus of learning should be in the 21st century not the 19th, or 20th. Our world is changing and it is time for us in the United States to catch up with our neighbors throughout the world or we will definitely be falling behind.
I live in the state of Michigan and we all have heard or seen the BIG THREE auto makers are falling behind and the world market has basically passed them by. The focus now at least in our state has to change its philosophy and look to other resources and other means for economic growth if we are going to survive. It has to start with the education of our youth of tomorrow to see that this is met and for us as citizens of Michigan can move beyond the old industrial image that it has taken on.

Blog in the classroom

2009-03-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

I feel that teachers can use blogs to set up homework assignments or list missing work. I know several teacher who have set up their own web-sites that their students can enter. I think setting up a blog would allow students to converse openly about their concerns or give feedback about certain assignments or classwork. Teachers can post daily topics that students could check and respond to for extra assignments or part of the daily or weekly lessons. Basically it would set up very similar to what I am doing at Walden university.

Attendance

2009-03-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

Why do alternative education students have a hard time with being present or on-time to school? I have been in alternative education for eleven years. I have seen many students drop out and fail on a regular basis. Why? It is because these students do not come school. Attendance and truancy is a huge problem in alternative education and it reflects the students lack of motivation and discipline in their lives. If these students are not present, these students are unable to listen to lectures, complete assignments, or even ask for the missing work. These types of unmotivated students already have issues with education or they would not be in an alternative educational setting.

Our district has an attendance policy which allows a student to miss up to seven days. After three tardies, the student will receive an absence as well. Now the policy does state that a student, who has gone over the seven days, must carry a D- in the class and get a C+ or better on the final exam to receive credit for that course. As I looked through my attendance book I noticed that 3/4 of my students have gone over the seven days and 1/2 of those students are failing and will probably not pass the course. What a shame and what a waist of time, right?

What is the underlying problem? These students continually make excuses for their lack of responsibility and effort for not coming to school. These students are unmotivated even when they're in a class and what scares me is what they may be doing when they are't in school? How are they going to be even if they graduate from school? Will they skip work or show up late? If they do, these students will be released (FIRED) and most likely bounce from job to job, while creating a poor resume. Someone help me, what can I do to get my students to come to class?