Thursday, June 28th

Michael Wesch

This short video from Professor Wesch was very thought provoking. I truly enjoyed the discussion that we had analyzing the trends presented in this video. After reflecting on the video and discussion, I believe that in order to keep God's principles in regards with technology we must find a balance in our lives. In other words, the key work "moderation." The idea of the Google glasses also reminds me of the episode of Star Trek: Next Generation when everyone became addicted with the game that they looked into with a harness that was attached on the head. This addiction caused havoc for the crew. This is a very interesting development with Google's glasses.

Multimedia Production Tools

In the past, I have tinkered with some of these applications such as iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, and very little with Audacity. I always had difficulties with Audacity. Now, I realize that it is probably is because I didn't have the encoder downloaded. I look forward to using these in the classroom.

Wednesday, June 27th

Qualitative vs. Quantitative

This was a very good discussion for me. I have been on the quantitative side of the equation and will probably pursue that route for my dissertation. However, I enjoyed the distinction of the "Why" versus the "How." I have had some exposure to the qualitative side during my EdS studies and found it difficult because of the coding process. However, by putting it in the terms as it was today, I definitely can see how the two can actually help each other in discovering what is taking place with a phenomenon.

Webquest

In the past, I have created a webquest though it was actually more of a scavenger hunt on Andrew Jackson. I appreciate the distinction made today in the fact that this will be more for students discovering the aspects of a concept and then creating something new with it. The scavenger hunt was more of synthesizing and then reiterating the information. This will be interesting to pursue.

Dissertation Discussion

This was a much needed discussion. The talk clarified some of the aspects of what lies before me and helps me to understand the process that I will encounter. This was extremely beneficial for the class.

Tuesday, June 26th Reflection

The class today was one of surprises and aspects of very common applications that I did not fully understand their potential for the classroom. There are five aspects in particular that I will reflect upon in the following post.

Notepad

Allows before today, I would wonder why Microsoft would go to the trouble of putting this little application on a computer. I thought it was wasted space and never really used it much. Boy, I was wrong. The idea of filtering the text and eliminating the formatting of a document is very beneficial. This will be very useful for the classroom when trying to create new sources for students.

Word

The outlining features and the text styling were very impressive. Again, I thought I "knew" this program inside and out. This will not only be helpful for my classroom but of course for my future dissertation.

Promethean

After watching the presentation today on SmartBoard and discussing other devices similar to it, I will now have to visit Promethean Planet more and experiment with what is available to make my classroom more interesting. More importantly, to inquire new tools to help student achievement is the true goal. There is untapped potential with the machine I have at school that I need and must explore to benefit my students.

Dropbox

I am signing up tonight for this service. Using a small netbook, the usability and practicality of this service goes without question. This will be very beneficial for saving my files.

PowerPoint

Another surprise! Where have I been with this program? The features that I learned today will make assisting students with digital storyboards easier and essential for my Civics classroom. I look forward to creating and having my students create presentations that will force the to critically think about what they are doing.

I look forward to tomorrow and continue to learn about what God has allowed man to create and then use it for His glory in the classroom.

Reflection of Monday, June 25th

Conceptual Theories

It was extremely to review the material and ideologies of the different theories of behaviorism, cognitive theory, constructivism, and the sociological/psychological theories. The part that was very beneficial was then applying each theory to some aspect of educational technology. This helped in connecting the dots and making the ideologies more concrete.

Biblical Application

Of course I should not be surprised, but coming from state schools it was very refreshing to open the morning in prayer. Thank you for this. Also, I appreciated the application of the different topics for the day and bringing it back to a Biblical basis.

Coursework 

The time of working with my group was very beneficial and gave me a better idea of how to tackle the literature review. Also, EndNote is phenomenal. This is and will be a great tool for me in the future. 

Technology in the Classroom

 Ever since I was a young boy, I have been intrigued with computers and technology. I still have great memories of sitting down to my dad's Apple IIe and working with a system that had a whopping 128K memory. We thought it was great especially compared to the Tandy. Ironically, I am typing this on a Windows machine instead of a Mac, though we have both in the house today.

In my career as an educator, I have used several different types of technologies in the classroom. On a daily basis I use my school's laptop and SmartBoard to teach my lessons in Civics. I have also maintained several wikis for my class and tried playing with Edmodo. I am comfortable trying new Web 2.0 resources, but I still consider myself a beginner with how rapidly things change on the Internet. There are just so many resources out there for a teacher to use. As a result, it can make one want to pull their hair out trying to decide what to use. I have come to the conclusion to dive deeply into a few instead of trying to implement the masses of tools.

I look forward to learning even more about how great of a tool God has allowed mankind to create and to use its potential in the classroom for His glory. That is my goal for this course, to increase and learn even more about technology and its utilization in the classroom.

Chris Taylor