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.