Attendance and Participation

I was definitely committed to this educational technology class and I feel that I participated to the fullest extent possible. I attended all class sessions and was punctual. I also completed all the assignments correctly and on time. I think that by coming to every class and being prepared I was able to learn all the technological tools we were required to, but also discuss their effectiveness and potential usage in the classroom with my peers. Out of the three educational prerequisite courses I had to take for the credential program, I feel that I learned the most in the course, and the material we covered is definitely going to shape the way that I present information to my students.

PSA Hate Speech Imovie Assignment- NETS 3

This is a quicktime movie that I created using Imovie. The assignment was to create a public service announcement (PSA) in response to all the hate speech/crime incidents we have had on the California State University San Marcos campus. In making my Imovie, I learned how to import video footage, edit clips by adding screen effects, transitions, music, still frames, etc and export and share my finished PSA.

Wiki Assignment- NETS 3 and 5

I created this wiki page using Wetpaint. My wiki page is about an educational tool called "Wordles"and basically wordles are cool ways for students to generate “word clouds” from text that they provide. After giving examples about how wordles could be used in high school classrooms, I created my own wordle using the top vocabulary words students need to study and know in preparation for taking the SAT exam.

Excel Crossword- NETS 2 and 3

Using Atomic Learning, I followed a tutorial that explained how to construct a geometry crossword puzzle using Microsoft Excel. My words I included in my interactive crossword are all literary devices that high school students need to know, and could be used by students in preparation for an exam.

Copyright Assignment- NETS 4

This collaborative assignment was created using GoogleDocs. For this assignment, I learned about identity safety, cyberbullying, cyber predators, piracy & plagiarism, inappropriate content and social networks by completing a student activity in each category found at the following url: http://jccsinternetsafety.wetpaint.com/.

Inspiration Assignment-NETS 2 and 3

For this assignment, I created a mind map using Inspiration. My mind map shows the artifacts that I have created that apply to all five of the NETS for Teachers Standards. Each NETS standard has a brief description of the standard and how it applies to two different class artifacts.

Journal 10 Extra Credit: Top 10 in 2010 Ed Tech Advocacy Issues- NETS 5

Goldmann, Hilary. (2010). Top 10 in 2010 Ed Tech Advocacy Issues. International Society for Technology in Education, 37(6), 1-2. Retrieved April 5, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3720092010/MarchAprilNo6/Voices_Carry_Top_10_in_2010_Ed_Tech_Advo.htm

Summary: In this article, ISTE's director of government affairs Hilary Goldmann identifies the most important ten educational technology priorities that need to be addressed or fulfilled in upcoming school years. The priorities, as she describes, are as follows: technology in education is the backbone of school improvement, leverage educational technology as a gateway to college and career readiness, ensure technology experts are infused throughout our schools and classrooms, invest in pre-service education technology, classroom technology skills are a prerequisite to being a highly effective teacher, leverage technology to scale improvement, provide high-speed broadband for all, boost student learning through data and assessment efforts, invest in ongoing research and development and promote global digital citizenship.

Question 1: Which educational technology priority stands out to you and why? The one educational technology priority that I thought could be addressed on a greater scale was number five: classroom technology skills are a prerequisite to being a highly effective teacher. From this class, I have learned how vital it is that I attain the technological skills I need to be an effective teacher. All teachers should be given the opportunity to learn new digital tools so that they can better support student learning and assessment in their own classrooms. It is sad that this digital divide still exists between classrooms that are fully equipped with digital tools and those classrooms that lack basic necessities like computers, overhead projectors and monitors. The students that are succeeding in furthering their academic careers are the ones that are given access to technology early in their education and taught to use those tools effectively throughout their K-12 school years. Every child should be given the chance to be technologically savvy so that they can advance their careers and their lives in this 21st century technologically saturated world we live in.

Question 2: Choose one educational technology priority and explain how that priority can be met. I think educational technology priority number nine, that of investing in ongoing research and development, could be addressed a lot more. Teachers and administrators who are still skeptical about using technology in the classroom need to be able to see how effective it is in engaging students in the material and enhancing their overall learning experience. More studies need to be conducted to prove the effectiveness of different technologies used in the classroom. These studies could be carried out by graduates at local colleges, leaders in technological education and teachers on a classroom by classroom basis. Also, I think that providing funding for programs like Preparing Teachers for Digital Age Learners (PTDAL) and federal Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT) programs would lead to more research and thus more accessible technology for students.