Class 9

Blog Response Prompt:
What are you most excited about having learned about Multimedia in Instructional
Design? What will be most challenging for you as you leave this class and move forward
in your teaching education?

I am most excited about all of the open source software I have been introduced to throughout this term. There are so many free online resources available for both teachers and students. A regular classroom experience can be made worldly and extraordinary through some of the online resources available on the web. I really like the idea of using blogspot for online journaling for any class. Since I am an aspiring French teacher, I would use blogspot for French language assignments, and have classmates comment on the blogs in French. Students would be allowed to make their blogs creative and personal so that they are motivated to work with them.
The biggest challenge that I will be experiencing is through student teaching, because I am graduating in June. I will carry my knowledge of this class and try to implement it in my student teaching experience as well as my teaching experience in France.

Week 8

What do you need to change in your thought process or learning style(s) to begin to adapt to R-Directed thinking for the purpose of creating 21st Century learning environments for students?
"R-Directed Thinking is simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual and synthetic"
*High-concept and high-touch*

Students need more freedoms in their assignments than before. For example, a work-sheet really is not going to cut it. Worksheets allow no imaginative thought or even original thought. Instead of a pre-programmed artifact, students should pick their subject (given certain perameters) and have the ability to create something of their own. Something original. This, obviously, is going to cause more work for the teacher because her students won't have created cookie cutter work. But then again, don't we want our students to express themselves? Isn't that what makes them passionate about learning?
Also, teachers need to find new resources for learning...videos, internet, ipods, blogs, online penpals. Anything "out-of-the-ordinary" will get students to be engaged with their own learning. Thus, they will become self-reliant and self-motivated.

Blog Response for Week 7: Learning From ExperienceThink back to an educational experience that you had that was NOT well designed. If you now had the chance to re-design that experience using multimedia in your lesson design, what would you do differently and WHY? Remember to include some ideas about assessing multimedia learning in your design.

*I took an online English class my second year at Drexel. We were given an assignment to meet with a group (assigned by the teacher) and we had to meet in person to complete it. This really didn't make much sense since so many students that take online classes are long distance learners. If the teacher had utilized a chat or researched the tools blackboard or webct had to offer, the meetings could have been done online. A chat room would have been a wonderful solution and the students could have arranged to "meet" online at a specific time. Ideas would have been exchanged and the personal meetings could have been omitted. The professor should have spent more time researches his online options.

chapters 1-2

In the first chapter of the book, we are presented with a review of the multiple intelligences formulated by Howard Gardner. The MI theories are critical to the teaching practice and should be considered in every lesson. I am finding, however, that many teachers in the real-world do not implement MI practice in their classrooms. My cooperating teacher in my pre-student teaching experience does not cater her lessons to more than 2 MIs at a time. I find this disappointing, and I think this chapter reaffirmed how important it is to be knowledgeable of the multiple intelligences.
Chapter one also discusses how technology can affect student learning in the classroom and school. Technology is a vital part of education in this era. There are so many opportunities to gather quick information at the push of a button. Students today can really benefit from technological integration in the classroom.
Chapter two introduces the DDE model (decide, design, develop, and evaluate). This acronym helps teachers create lesson plans that reach the students on a successful level. I enjoyed learning about this DDE model, and I think I will use it in the classroom during my student teaching practice.

web 2.0

I really enjoyed getting aquainted with Gliffy. The program makes concept-mapping so simple. It is easy to change the size of the graphics and make an organized graph. I use venn diagrams frequently for my English and French essays, and I think it is useful for students to use in the classroom. I was not thouroughly impressed with WikiSpace, but I am not a "blog person", really. I can see how it can be useful and helpful in the classroom, but I probably would not use it to a full extent. Wikispace would make it easy to incorporate podcasts or webcams on the site, and students could access a wide range of resources from one main website.

Post February 20, 2007

Use your blog to respond to the following question:Do you feel that this article encompass the Essential Conditions for Technology Integration? Why or Why Not? Cite information from the article to support your answer.

I find it truly amazing how much we depend on technology in our everyday lives...not only for necessities, but predominantly on our luxuries that we utilise and depend on so frequently. I agree with the quote saying, "I feel like I have to power down before going inside (of school)." There are so many ways that we can integrate technology in our classrooms. The articles provided many ideas for teachers to get started. However, the article is correct in saying that in order to get the techology started, we must have support from the entire educational community. One teacher can make an impact, but if the entire educational community has a shared vision, funds can be allotted and classrooms can work together to have a greater and more significant impact. With new teachers emerging every year, more and more school faculty will have a current knowledge of technology and classrooms will gradually become more technologically integrated.

Multimedia Learning Tool!

Based on your learning style inventory. Which type of multimedia learning is most challenging for you and why? What multimedia tool do you want to learn more about?

This is a no-brainer. The multimedia tool that I would like to soon learn about is Microsoft Xcell. I have no idea how to use it in any way, but I understand why it is an important tool in the professional world. This past summer at my co-op, I was expected to display my data in Xcell documents, and I would take me about an hour to type something that should have taken less than 10 minutes. I don't know how I made it through college without any knowledge of Microsoft Office, but I would like to learn Xcell immediately.

My First Blog Post......ever!

Bonjour tout le monde!! Je desire devenir un prof de francais!! Je viens de Philadelphie! Maintenant, je suis une etudiante a L'Universite de Drexel et j'etudie l'education elementaire. Je l'aime beaucoup!!!!

No, I'm not really French. I am currently studying elementary education at Drexel University in Philadelphia. This July, I'll be moving to France to teach English in a French school. Very excited, and it will be quite the adventure. :-)