Prereading

Prereading strategies resemble backward design. Before reading think of questions of what are you reading for, in this case the questions asked by Eleaine are a good start and being able to come up with a few more as you progress with this strategy. Preview the chapters and chapter headins to get an idea about what you are reading, look at any graphics presented. Check out bold print and check chapter ends for additional questions, resources or any other potential information quickly obtained.

This process should not take more than a few minutes but it is like warming up for a sports activity in this case getting your mind warmed up and focused for the task at hand.

More on Cogititating

I am finding Richardson pretty good. So far he has attempted to address the questions that have come to mind as I read. He does a fair job of answering or suggesting Scaffolding ideas, and addressing safety concerns. It appears though that hosting ones own blog requires the initial outlay for software and ongoingtech assistance.

I think I should do more prereading,a concept I used to teach when I was working with SpecialEd students. Just good practice. Maybe then I could get more out of what I am reading rather than perseverating about my questions.

Okay not a great photobut trying to fit the code in correctly. Yes iam aware of Richardsons reminder tosize crop and rotate before posting. Tomorrow.

I am trying these ideas to see how easy it would be for an elementary student to post there favorite sites on a blog.
Blog notifier

First Amendment

This article came to my attention today. It appears DOPA, if passed can limit our use of Blogs in schools.

Cogitating

While reading Robinson I am thinking about how wonderful everything soundsand is easy to use. Blogs are relatively easy to use. They appear t be very powerful as well. One can include many extras with them. The only way I am going to figure it out is to use them and ask questions. I knowthat my preconceived ideas affect how I learn especially new ideas and concepts. I think I have gotten over my initial resistance to wikis and blogs and have accepted them as tools that I may or may not use. However, I am now able to spend time learning more about them without my resistance holding me back.

Wikis and learning. The more time I spend learning about wikis the more I like them. I am able to develop some ideas for application. I still find them a bit difficult to navigate and edit. Again spending more time with it will most likely remedy this.

Hands Off the Internet

Chapter 4 59 – 74
Wikis Easy Collaboration for All

As a collaborative tool wikis are an easy one for students to use. However, Richardson does not address the age limits except to address the problems teachers in the k-12 arena may have using this open venue for student work.

I do prefer the password and login wiki for school use. While limiting to some we are providing a safe way for students to learn to use the tool before going out into the wide open WEB.

I relay like the idea of an online text with contributions by students. I can see how I could incorporate this with fourth and fifth grade students where Social Studiescould be integrated with Language Arts and Art. The possibilities are their. Access and band with are a concern but if the school is hosting the wiki those issues would not be as limiting.

Pg 67 http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Instructional_Technology
I must say that the more I explore WIKIS the more of a convert I am becoming. I found this excerpt in Wikibooks which for myself really states some of my feelings to date
href="http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Instructional_Technology/


There are many pitfalls to technology literacy. One major pitfall is the lack of professional development and support from the administration. Many school systems are pushing for the use of technology but the “ongoing faculty development is not available” (Wizer & McPherson, 2005, p. 17). Although the lack of support from administrators is “often unintentional,” teachers do not feel that the support is maintained throughout the school year (Wizer, McPherson, 2005, p. 17). Without support and professional development, teachers are less likely to incorporate technology into their classrooms.

Another major pitfall is “inadequate preparation of other teachers to teach about technology” (Young, Cole, Denton , 2006). The teachers that teach technology classes are well prepared to teach students technology literacy, but the other teachers are not. Colleges are spending “virtually no time developing technological literacy in students who will eventually stand in front of the classroom” (Young, Cole, & Denton , 2006). If all curriculum teachers would integrate technology into their classroom, students would have a better idea of technology literacy.


A Definition: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Instructional_Technology

There are two views for the definition of technology. Traditionalists view it as the systematic application of science to practical problems. A more contemporary view is that technology is the application of knowledge so that it can be built from one generation to the next (Braudel in Seels & Richey, p. 7). The second view is not synonymous with integration, although it certainly does have implications for integration, but in a systematic way. As such, technology includes tools, processes, applications, skills and organization.

The field of instructional technology (IT) is not synonymous with the use of technology in education, either. Instead, it is a discipline, a field of study, a craft, and an art. In 1994, the Association for Education Communications and Technology (AECT) defined instructional technology as "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management and evaluation of processes and resources for learning" (Seels & Richey, p. 1). This definition emphasized the need for balance between the field's theory base and practical use. Additionally, it outlined the domains IT seeks to influence.

IT meets most or all of the six characteristics of a profession as described by James Finn (1969):

* An intellectual technique
* An application of that technique
* A long period of training
* An association of members
* Enforced standards and a statement of ethics
* A body of intellectual theory (p. 232)

At the time of Finn's original writing (1927), he was pushing for the field to develop a foundational base for becoming a true profession. At the time of his writing, he noted that of the six defining characteristics of a profession, IT only possessed two. Finn's point is that IT will become more credible and profesionalized as more members of the field participate in these activities.

What Strikes me about the above is that the question of IT is not new. Only the tools have changed

My Audio

What is it. How do I think I learn? How do I learn. A question often asked. I need to spend time with new concepts and use them in a pratical way for them to make sense for me. I need time to cogitate and internalize and practice. I am a visual learner although I am not very adept with certain abstract ideas and concepts. I also wonder if I am resistant to some new ideas/change For instance having been raised a Roman Catholic attending private schools and being totally indoctrinated to the church I found as a younger man many of the teachings and practices were changed with Vatican Two. What this meant for me was a feeling that all I had been taught was not set into stone as had been taught but subject to change.

Acceptance of change has always been problematic for myself. I need to accept new ideas in my framework and not just resign myself to helplessness.