Uh-oh, What Now?

This past week in class, we were making videos for a class project, or in the case of my group, we were trying to make a video. For some reason, despite all of our best laid plans, things did not work for us. Therefore we are having to make our video this week, when everyone else will be done theirs. This leads to an important issue that every teacher will face in their class, what do you do when things are not working, either with technology in general, or a specific group of students wanting to use a specific piece of technology.
In our case, we just talked to our instructor and he gave us permission to work on our video after everyone else will be done theirs. This won't always work for people though, if they are counting on a piece of technology for in class use. There are ways around this though. The first thing to do is arrive at class early, so that you can make sure that you have time to set up your technology and test it out. This is particularly important if you are not in your own classroom, or if you are in a new school, where you might not know how things are set up. If this works, then you are golden, your technology is all working and you should not have any problems. If this does not work, then you need to have a back-up plan. This might mean knowing how to find the video you want through a search engine, or having your presentation saved to a USB, as well as having it saved in a file sharing program. Make sure you know how your back-up works, by having used it at home, in a controlled environment, where you have the opportunity to work out any kinks in the system. If this does not work, then you need to make sure you know how to contact someone who understands the IT set up for the school. This might be the computers teacher, or someone from the IT department for the division. Before you find yourself getting any more panicked and frustrated, call them, since they will most likely be able to solve any issues you might be having. Be prepared to follow their instructions, or to wait for them to come and help you, they are busy to, but they are their to help.
Some other things that might help to avoid this situation, is to talk to people in advance of your technology needs.This might mean setting up a time with an IT person to get lessons on how to use a specific piece of technology, or it might mean just asking the office for the WiFi password, so that you don't have to try and find it for half an hour. Teachers also need to pay attention to technology, so they know what is out there. By knowing what is available, teachers will be able to use technology in the classroom that students might not expect, and hopefully that will mean that they are then paying attention (to both the technology and the information being presented).
Overall, teachers just need to be prepared when they are using technology, as with technology Murphy's Law tends to come into effect, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Look at the world through a lens!

Photography is a great connector, since as the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words," and pictures also speak a universal language. Technology has gives us lots of options of things that we can do with photos. This past week in class, we created short photo stories with pictures, using two different methods, Animoto and Photo Story. These a both really easy to use, since you just upload photos, arrange them in the order that you want and then add anything extra like music and text. The pictures are then turned into a video that goes through them automatically, showing off your treasured memories. These could easily be used in a classroom, getting students to create a digital family tree in social studies, or putting photos to a novel in ELA to tell the story that way. Students can also use these in technology focused classes, to showcase all of their projects in one.
We also looked at how you can edit photos, which is what the top photo on this page is, it is the before and at the bottom is the after of my editing. Teachers can use this in the classroom, since they could add text to a photo to illustrate a key concept, or change a photo and then use that as a starting point for a piece of writing or a discussion. There are many different websites that allow you to edit photos, so it is just a matter of trying them out and seeing which ones you become comfortable with.
Photos are a powerful tool, and the sheer number of photos that are available for use, means teachers should take advantage of them. This means using interesting photos to start a conversation or writing piece in class, or adding photos to a lesson on any topic, as images really grab student attention. Not all the photos a teacher uses need to be sourced online either, teachers should try and draw photos and images from the world around them and their school, since these are very relevant to students. This means teachers should learn some photography themselves and look through old photos. If you have gone on a trip, don't be afraid to bring the photos into class, if they are related to what you are talking about, the students will love to see them.
The next step from photography, is video, and that is next week in class, so I am looking forward to sharing that with you.

How much is enough?

Well, this blog is going to seem a little off topic with the rest of my blogs so far, which has been singing the praises of technology. However, this blog is a little different, since I want to talk about how much technology is used in the classroom. This does stem from the past week in class, where  we were given the opportunity to look at different presentation tools, bookmarking tools and use interactive whiteboards. This was a fun week, since we had the chance to try out these new tools in a fun setting. We discovered that university students like pictionary on an interactive whiteboard, at least as much as kids do. However, looking at all of this technology made me think, is it really necessary to use all of this in the classroom?
I know that technology and all that is offers is just a fact of the world, but should students become so focused on technology that they lose things in the physical world?
I feel that technology has a place in classroom, when it assists instruction and aids in student creativity, but that does not mean that we can ignore what the rest of the world has to offer. Students need to work things out on a piece of paper, long hand, not just be allowed to punch things into calculator. Working things out allows students to understand what they are doing, and then they can use the short cut of calculator. Writing things out by hand gives students a different feel than typing things into a computer, since the ink on paper creates a certain feeling of pride when something is complete. The physical world allows student to look at things through an unobstructed view, since there are no comments at the bottom of the page that scream other people's opinions and there is also a sense of freedom, since the world will not be seeing what you are creating.  
Students also need to remember that there are more options than just turning to the internet to look up anything they might want to know, instead they can look at newspapers, interview a local person, or find information in a book. This is often a big challenge for students, as the almighty Google is the first place they want to look for answers. Google and search engines pose issues since the sources of the information are not always credible, so they are not always true. This means that students need to have other means of verifying information, so that they know what they are learning is true.
Technology can also hinder the social aspect of school, so teachers need to be aware of how much time their students are spending using it during class time. If a student is sitting along, typing on the computer they are not gaining basic social skills like communication and co-operation, which might penalize them later in life. This means that teachers have to either, be aware of how much time students are spending using technology, or make a point of having group technology projects, so that human interaction is not lost.
Finally, students and teachers need to aware of physical harm technology can pose, and factor that into their use of technology during class. The over use of technology can cause eye strain, carpal tunnel, back pain and other injuries.
Overall, I feel that technology has its place, but it can be overused in the classroom, so teacher have to be aware of this and plan accordingly.

Literacy, To Type or Not To Type?

In this modern age, literacy has taken on a whole new meaning, it is no longer about just being able to read and write, now teachers and students face the concept of digital literacy.
Digital literacy is a very broad term that encompasses many different topics, digital etiquette, rights and responsibilities and so much more. This means that whenever we, as teachers are using technology in the classroom, we have to look at what are we actually teaching students about technology. Are we saying, "just use a Google Image because it is quick and easy" or are we taking into account digital copyright laws and making out students aware of these laws. Digital literacy means teachers will have to have conversations with their students about technology and all aspects of technology. To many times, it is assumed that students know the proper way to use technology, so those discussions don't need to happen. This is not the case though, digital literacy is a big deal, since technology, like anything needs to be explained to students. It is much to easy to forget that the digital world is just like the physical world, comments made can hurt people, theft of music or photos is still theft and the rights and freedoms we have in the physical world, still exist in the digital world. These are big ideas, things that can not be assumed, so teachers have to find a way to bring it up in class. This means using teachable moments, like when a student mentions cyber-bullying, or downloading teachers need to talk about it. When you are going to use technology, take the time to talk with students about, learn what they think about it, and how they feel they should use it. Take time to discuss some of the bigger issues that have arisen related to technology, like cyber-bullying, identity theft, inappropriate websites and the potential dangers of chatting and meeting someone off the internet. When you are discussing issues like free speech or the law in class, bring up technology as well, as too often this is pushed aside for more important issues.
Finally, I guess I should tell you about my website, I finished it and it is now published to the web. If you want to check it out, go right ahead, the URL is msmandziuk.weebly.com, though I should warn you it is a little rough still. I was super nervous about making the site, but now I realize that it is kind of fun. I figured out how to add is some extras to it, like video, so that was great. Overall, I would say that creating a website is not that difficult, it just takes some time and effort, so if you have considered creating one, go for it, since you never know until you try.