Question 3: How might you incorporate photo sharing into an educational activity or unit? What might be some concerns you would have about allowing students to play with these services? What might be a great benefit of such services?
Next year, we will have a classroom digital camera, and I thought it would be neat to assign a "photographer" on any given day, to take pictures of students participating in special projects, guest speakers, field trips, etc..., then post them to our photo sharing site.
This causes concern for me in two aspects:
1) The student "photographer" taking the role seriously. I would definitely need to establish expectations and training about how to handle the equipment, how to take worthwhile photographs, not to be distracting, etc...
2) Each student (or students' parents) would probably need to give permission to post pictures of them on the internet. It would likely require that I have them sign a waiver at the beginning of the year.
The greatest benefit that I can see is that it would boost classroom morale, and would effectively communicate to students that I think what they are doing/learning is neat and worth sharing with the public. Another benefit would be if I set up a slideshow on my website, then as pictures are added or rearranged on the photo sharing site, the slide show could change to show the most current photos, which would be cool. I'm assuming that I could set this up to work automatically, but perhaps I'm wrong. Any input to that end is welcome!
Question 4: In reading Chapter 2, what similarities and what differences did you identify between the process the authors describe and the processes you have used to develop educational lesson plans?
In my program of study, we were taught the ROPES lesson planning tool:
Review (previous pertinent information)
Overview (today's lesson)
Presentation
Exercise
Summary
Here is an example
Be advised, a quick search on Google will provide no further helpful information about this format.
Along with the 5 main elements, the template provided asked for additional information, such as learning goals, objectives, suggested timeframes, required materials, etc.... The thing that I like most about ROPES is that it causes you to consider connections to past information, which reinforces that learning. It is also effective in reminding you to wrap up the lesson by processing or summarizing the learned information, which I believe helps to provide a more solid learning experience.
This only relates to the "Design" element of the ADDIE process discussed in the chapter. With that in mind, I suppose we could consider ROPES a design-planning tool to be used within the ADDIE planning tool, which is more inclusive of the entire process of developing an educational plan.
July 15, 2010
D/B3: Social Bookmarking & Chapter 1
Question 1: What value (if any) do you think social bookmarking might hold for teachers and/or students?
My immediate thought is that teachers could use this tool with other colleagues within their department. I can't tell you how many email messages I have received that read, "check this out," with a link to a cool website. So we have all of these random email messages of cool websites, which are legitimately very neat, often containing high levels of educational value. The problem is that when the time comes to make use of that information, it becomes a hassle to remember, "what was that website?" or "who sent that message?" With social bookmarking, anytime someone finds a neat website, they can share it using a technology, such as delicious, and it is always there. I also like that the bookmarks are stored online, so whatever you save at school, is retrievable at home, and vice versa.
Beyond that idea, I am honestly still a little in the dark about all of the benefits of social bookmarking, so I find it difficult to come up with other educational applications. I look forward to reading about other ideas.
Question 2: To what degree do the definitions in this chapter correspond with what you have thought about this area and what is it that you hope to do in your line of work (or in a future career)? Is there anything surprising or very new that you read in this chapter? Does something seem to be missing?
I suppose my favorite definition is the one presented by the authors of this book. Allow me to bold a few phrases that stand out from the full definition, then extract them to explain why:
This phrase tells me that ID&T is about more than delivering instruction. It includes all facets of the educational process.
"...intended to improve..."
In a sense, this brings us back to the Siegel (2003) article about computer imagination. Instructional design and technology is not simply about being flashy or attention-grabbing, though those are often appreciated side benefits. It is about improving the learning experience by including technologies that make things possible that wouldn't be without it. Or as Siegel explains, "it has to offer features that are a clear advantage over [traditional methods]."
"...and the workplace."
This is important to me in particular, because my background is in Career and Technical Education. For anyone who has every worked in industry, you probably know the dread of attending "mandatory training" that is developed, delivered, and concluded (follow up) poorly. Wouldn't it be great if companies had a greater vision for the value of powerful and effective workplace learning!?
In my current line of work, I hope to use some of these tools immediately in a hybrid fashion to develop a more valuable learning experience for my students. If I ever decide to switch careers, I could see myself moving toward an occupation that incorporates more of this either in a post-secondary educational setting, or a workplace setting.
Overall, I thought that the various definitions were quite appropriately inclusive for their time. I was surprised, however, about the length of the 1977 definition. My initial reaction was something like, "Seriously!? What could you possibly have to say about this topic that would fill 120 pages, especially in 1977?" I suppose we should be grateful that Dr. Peterson didn't ask us to sift through the entire publication!
My immediate thought is that teachers could use this tool with other colleagues within their department. I can't tell you how many email messages I have received that read, "check this out," with a link to a cool website. So we have all of these random email messages of cool websites, which are legitimately very neat, often containing high levels of educational value. The problem is that when the time comes to make use of that information, it becomes a hassle to remember, "what was that website?" or "who sent that message?" With social bookmarking, anytime someone finds a neat website, they can share it using a technology, such as delicious, and it is always there. I also like that the bookmarks are stored online, so whatever you save at school, is retrievable at home, and vice versa.
Beyond that idea, I am honestly still a little in the dark about all of the benefits of social bookmarking, so I find it difficult to come up with other educational applications. I look forward to reading about other ideas.
Question 2: To what degree do the definitions in this chapter correspond with what you have thought about this area and what is it that you hope to do in your line of work (or in a future career)? Is there anything surprising or very new that you read in this chapter? Does something seem to be missing?
I suppose my favorite definition is the one presented by the authors of this book. Allow me to bold a few phrases that stand out from the full definition, then extract them to explain why:
"The field of instructional design and technology encompasses the analysis of learning and performance problems, and the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and management of instructional and non-instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly educational institutions and the workplace. Professionals in the field of instructional design and technology often use the systematic instructional design procedures and employ instructional media to accomplish their goals. Moreover, in recent years, they have paid increasing attention to non-instructional solutions to some performance problems. Research and theory related to each of the aforementioned areas is also an important part of the field.""...design, development, implementation, evaluation, and management..."
This phrase tells me that ID&T is about more than delivering instruction. It includes all facets of the educational process.
"...intended to improve..."
In a sense, this brings us back to the Siegel (2003) article about computer imagination. Instructional design and technology is not simply about being flashy or attention-grabbing, though those are often appreciated side benefits. It is about improving the learning experience by including technologies that make things possible that wouldn't be without it. Or as Siegel explains, "it has to offer features that are a clear advantage over [traditional methods]."
"...and the workplace."
This is important to me in particular, because my background is in Career and Technical Education. For anyone who has every worked in industry, you probably know the dread of attending "mandatory training" that is developed, delivered, and concluded (follow up) poorly. Wouldn't it be great if companies had a greater vision for the value of powerful and effective workplace learning!?
In my current line of work, I hope to use some of these tools immediately in a hybrid fashion to develop a more valuable learning experience for my students. If I ever decide to switch careers, I could see myself moving toward an occupation that incorporates more of this either in a post-secondary educational setting, or a workplace setting.
Overall, I thought that the various definitions were quite appropriately inclusive for their time. I was surprised, however, about the length of the 1977 definition. My initial reaction was something like, "Seriously!? What could you possibly have to say about this topic that would fill 120 pages, especially in 1977?" I suppose we should be grateful that Dr. Peterson didn't ask us to sift through the entire publication!
July 12, 2010
del.icio.us & Photo Sharing
After signing up for a del.icio.us account, I found it very helpful to use "bookmarklets" which allow you to easily bookmark a current site with the click of a button, and return to your personal del.icio.us page to see all of your bookmarks. Here are the bookmarks that I have saved to del.icio.us so far.
I chose to use Picasa Web Album, which is a Google service, to share photos. I plan to use this site for educational & professional photos. Check it out!
Just for fun, I'm trying to use linkrolls right inside my blog:
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