Final Reflective Post

I must admit that at first I thought this class was going to be a piece of cake, but soon enough I discovered that was not the case. The material was not hard to learn, but it was more in depth than I had expected, which made it a challenge.
I found the assignments to be not overly complicated, especially the blog posts, but they are a little time consuming. When you have to work with a program that you are not familiar with, it takes a while to get to know it; there are also programs that are easier to work with.
I personally gained a lot of knowledge; there were things like the animated videos that I thought you had to go to school to learn how to do, but you don't. I must also confess that it feels really cool to show your friends what you did in the computer.
I had a little trouble with the book because I had gotten the old edition, so the chapters were in different orders, and with different names; hat was a challenge. At the end I figure it out and was able to successfully completes my homework.
The discussions and the group projects were a great idea. That allow us to virtually get to know each other a little better; I think discussions are a great way to get the minds going.  It's healthy for us to organize out thoughts, understand them, and put them in words in a polite manner. It also trains us on how to listen to others and whether we agree or disagree, we show respect for one another.


 

Digital Blog Post #L

My personal opinion about technology has always been that it's all on how you use it; just like with other things in life. Being able to fully exploit the benefits of technology is something extraordinary, and doing so for the betterment of our future generations makes it even more noble. Is not about having the coolest tech available, is about knowing what to do with it.

Digital Blog Post #J

Photo credit to bryanmmathers from Flickr

At first glance having students make their own decisions about what they should learn or not, it does not sound like a good idea to me. My point of view is that kids, even high schoolers have no idea what they want, what is best for them, and it it our job as adults to guide them the best we can, to minimize their hardships in life. The book states that from a psychological stand point people are more likely to stay involved in something if they have a ro;e in creating and maintaining.  That part is true; I have experienced it myself, but giving them a voice does not mean letting them make the decisions. We should always have in schools required material the are expected to know according to their level, of course, because this will give them the foundation for heir future.
I think digital portfolios are a much better tool than traditional ones. One of the great things about it is that you can share it with anyone with access to the internet, whereas the traditional paper one is only with a very limited group of people. This is something that, in my opinion, should be introduced as soon as possible. Being able to record all of your achievements, no matter how small, has lots of benefits. It can save you time in the future , when looking for a job or applying to a school; it can be done little by little, instead of in a rush when you need it; it can help you visualize your future, what are your strengths, and weaknesses; and it can also help promote responsibility, by being something that students have to work on periodically, it can teach them patience and consistency. The book mentions some disadvantages but I think they are merely based on how you present the e-portfolio , thus making them minor details that can be work out.

Resources 
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #H

   

Video in the classroom

Videos are a great way to expand the comprehension of any material. There are a lot of websites for teachers like PBS Teachers, TeacherTube and The Futures Channel that have very good material in any subject you can think off. I know I loved watching videos when I was going to school.

Photo taking and movie making by students 

I wished that when I went to school we had the opportunity to use cameras to work on a picture taking or video making project. I feel like this give the students the opportunity to express themselves in a different way; not everyone is capable of transferring their selves onto paper. This will be something I will definitely use in my classes. They could record different things, explore and maybe even discover a passion for it and take it to a professional level.

Podcast and vodcast as tools for teaching 

I am not very familiarized with podcasts but I see why is a good instrument to reach out to kids; they are usually listening to music or watching something on their phones or music players anyways. I always saw them as audios for lectures on all kids of subjects but according to the book even news organizations like PBS and the New York Times use them. I do listen to lectures, from a different apps, even when am grocery shopping and to me is just awesome to have that capability. Life can get a little hectic with all there is to do, and having the ability of multitasking is awesome. 

Resources

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 1st Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Valladares, B. (2015, October 21). Video in the classroom. [Image File] retrieved from http://www.bitstripsforschools.com on October 21, 2015.

Valladares, B. (2015, October 21). Expressing Creativity. [Image file] Retrieved from https://www.canva.com/design/DABgAc4-iYE/-CE3L7WQPYiO9wgbriG-Tw/edit on October 21, 2015.

Digital Blog Post #G

Low tech refers to changes that are made easily, inexpensively, and without applying digital or electronic material
Mid Tech involves substantive shifts in organization and delivery of curriculum that may include the use of electronics
High tech introduces changes associated with the integration of computers and other specialized information technologies in the classroom

I would like to have a classroom nonconventional, I want a classroom that does not feel like a classroom. I want a classroom that reads: "we are here to learn not only from the teacher but from each other". I want a classroom with different areas based on activities; a creative corner, a writing booth, a let's do it together table. I want a classroom with the coolest technologies out there in which they can learn about the past and get ready for the future.


Assistive technologies is not only used for students with disabilities, in fact they can be a great tool to make the material more accesible to all students. The goal when using these technologies is to minimize the barriers in order to reach educational success. For example:

1. Electronic spellers and dictionaries
2. Calculators
3. Speech recognition software
4. Text reading software
5. Interactive electronic storybooks (this one is really awesome) 

I think these are all great tools and I don't see any problem in using them in the classroom on a regular basis. I also think that we must keep in mind that these are not replacement they are just tools to help us and our students, and should not be seen as an indispensable thing. Lets talk about calculators for a second. Calculators are awesome,they do the job a lot faster than any human being, but lets be honest and they make us a little lazy. I think calculators are best used to save time when dealing with equations or problems that are very long; for students that math is a challenge that could save them time on a test per say.    

I think encouraging kids to write is an excellent idea; I can't imagine Pride and Prejudice in the future.  Writing makes you think, and meditate in your thoughts. There are so many apps, programs, that you can get to help you in the writing process; some you have to pay some you don't. Here is some of best ones according to an article on the Huffingtonpost    






Resources 

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 1st Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Valladares, B. (2015, October 20). Apps for writers. [Image file]. Retrieved on October 20, 2015 from https://magic.piktochart.com/infographics

Valladares, B. (2015, October 19). Classroom Learning with Technology. [Image file]. Retrieved on October 19,2015 from https://www.gliffy.com/go/html5/9210545?app=1b5094b0-6042-11e2-bcfd-0800200c9a66

Digital Blog Post #F

Communicating and Collaborating with Social Media - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires


Electronic communication allows the teacher to simplify the work, keep the students engage in academics outside of the classroom, and also targets those students that struggle with traditional classroom setting. There are many different options on how a teacher could accomplish this either thru instant messaging, emails, blogs, websites and wikis. I think one should take into account the material that we are going to be posting, what kind of assignment we want them to complete, is the outlet that we are using accesible from a mobile device, in other words is there an app for that; all this things and more we should have in mind. Another important thing is not to confuse them with many different options; find one that fits your class needs and stick with it.



Resources 


Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 1st Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Valladares, B. (2015, October 11). Communicating and Collaborating with social Media [Presentation] Retrieved on October 11, 2015 from https://www.haikudeck.com/communicating-and-collaborating-with-social-media-uncategorized-presentation-qySXBTmqtd

Valladares, B. (2015, October 11). 5 Reasons to Use Electronic Communication [Image file] Retrieved on October 11, 2015 from https://magic.piktochart.com/editor/piktochart/8455630#

Digital Blog Post #E

Computer Games as Learning Resources

I must admit I have mixed feeling about gaming as educational tools. My personal point of view is that there is nothing wrong with a little bit of game time as long as its monitored by an adult, is a clean game and it teaches the child something. That being said I do not let me own kids play video games, anymore. I have seen how quickly they get attached to it: when we first got the iPad I thought that it will be a good idea to download a few games for them, learning games, well that's all they wanted to do, and they will fight all the time for it, so we decided no more games. Maybe when they are bigger, I don't know, but for the moment no games. The book, on table 7.4 provides contrasting views about computer games and learning. On the negative views we find that gaming decrease empathy and concern for other people. To this I want to add the internet in general, not only video games. I cannot say precisely how long ago started but recently it seems that there has been an increase on videos of people fighting, and the thing that puzzles me the most is the people watching. Why is everybody just standing there watching, doing nothing to stop the fight ? Why is it entertaining for us to watch other people fight? I do not know what would I do if I found myself in a situation like that, but I guarantee I will not take out my phone to record anything, only to call the police. For centuries people have liked watching other people fight, from gladiators to UFC, there is something completely wrong inside of us that makes us feel some kind of way when we watch that kind of stuff. But what's happening now is something different, people take videos of the people fighting, people take pictures of other people's embarrassing moments, and we just think is funny. Would we still think is funny it it happened to us? On the positive side we have the promotion of in-the-role learning where students learn by doing what people actually do in real-world jobs and professions. I think that this is a really good thing, it can help little kids have an idea of what they want to be when they grow up, it can help high schoolers to know how what working feels like and maybe even make them sympathetics towards their parents. Overall I think everything has its pros and cons but as long as we don't loose ourselves, as long as we don't loose our humanity, our ability to say hi to others in real life, to properly communicate an idea to others, as long as we don't loose our ability to feel, we should be fine.


Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are games that let you interact with other players using online identities such as avatars. Examples of these types of games are Second life, Minecraft ad Sims. I personally have not played any of these, but I have heard of people who love them especially Minecraft.




Intelligent Tutoring Systems






Resources

Edutopia. (2012, March 21). James Paul Gee on Learning with Video Games. [video file]. Retrieved on October 4, 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnEN2Sm4IIQ


Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 1st Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. 


Valladares, B. (2015, October 7). ITS. [Image file]. Retrieved on October 7, 2015 from https://magic.piktochart.com/output/8376792-its