Chapter 8 and 9

Teachers act as designers on and regular bases when the design lessons both with technology and when working with general lesson formats.  When teachers develop their abilities to design well and work well in their own designing structures, they begin to instruct better allowing for their students to learn on a higher level. 

Model car design is a lesson in which students design a model car.  This instructional can be used on multiple levels and allows for the teaching of technology application, but also with scientific and mathmaticial applications.  This allows student to interact with their lesson and manipulate different aspects not only of the design but in some formats the utilization as well.

Digital Storytelling is a genius way to tell processes, with the use of lots of visual aids and attention keeping devices.  This works would work well for instructionals on chemical, and biological pathways that are easily to learn visually and follow an almost story like porcess.

Math is a very challengine subject for many students and many benifit from the aid of visual assistants at understanding mathimatical concepts.  The use of graphing calculators in these is very benificial and is easy implemented in almost all schools due to the general presence of calcs.  As well simply allowing students to tinker with data sheets is also proven to be most beneficial.

It is possible for students to learn intirely from television, especially in cases of highly visual learning situations.  For instance in the application of sport plays or results from chemical or phyical actions.  However video instruction can be beneficial in almost all appllicatoins.

References: 

Jonassens, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M.,Grismond, D. (2008).  Meaningful
           learning with technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.

Gee principles (CH. 3)

Gee's three prinicples that i feel would be most important for educating are active, criticial learning principle, "psychosocial moratorium" principle, discovery principle. These are important for students to be excited about their own learning, one of the easiest but most challenging ways for this to take place is through allowing the students to discover things for themselves.  This allows even the most stubborn people to learn on the own terms. As well immersion is one my most stongly supported learning principles with the criticial learning model reflects well.  Part of this immersed discovery learning experience can be forced into reflection in an interesting way is through trial and error ("Psycosocial Moratorium" principle).

I would create a simulation of acceleration.  This would be handy with technology allowing me to set or adjust parameters for the study for my students.  As well as allowing me to make them able to modify certain feilds.  Such as allowing them to see the effects of wind resistance or tire rolling resistance in a car rolling down a slope.  A car with lower moving resistances would be able to accelerate at a greater rate than one which has them.

In conclusion i feel that Gee's principles are great though maybe overly simple.  They do provide a great reference to be sure that multiple ways of introducing material to students are tried and applied in the classroom.  As well technology applications used in this way to show effects and events the students can manipulate make such studies much easier to perform in the classroom as well as allowing student to manipulate more aspects of them.

References

Jonassens, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M.,Grismond, D. (2008).  Meaningful

           learning with technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.

Ch 4

in my highschool classroom i feel that presentations over chapters from the book or topic picked for or by students would be the best use of technology in the classroom.  This would allow the students to learn and not be as restrictive and intense as typeing of a report or essay.  As well as still allowing the use of concept mapping, videos, and other fudamental technology aides.

The powerpoints used in classrooms should only really be a visual aid allowing most of the attention to still be focused on the instructor or student speaking.  Being their mearly to provide a visual outline and supporting visual aids. Yes i feel that the "pitfalls" of powerpoints are easily avoided by anyone who has experienced them in the past.  The use of limits and not emphasizing creativity over raw learning is key to this in my personal opinion.

In conclusion i feel that writing is easily supported with technology and can aid in better uses of time and application of gained knowledge among students and instructors alike.   Particuallary the use of powerpoint and peer and instructor feed back system setups.

References :
Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M. & Grismond, D. (2008) Pearson, Merrill/Prentice Hall, 3rd     edition

Blogging

Personal digital assistants are semi-computer aids, that help with users ability to interact with computers.  A PDA can be used to help with organization or to pull up references interactively onto  a presentation through a central computer.  PDA's are generally limited my processing potential and most inherentially by user interphase.
Online survey can be used to collect knowledge and information from students on what they retained from the class and what needs to be recovered and reintroduced in new or clearer ways.  This aids in students not being left behind.  General rules in my personal opinion are clarity and simplicity.  information is easiest to retain when presented in a clear and simply way, this specifically pertains to the sciences. 
Personally having never owned or used a PDA on a regular bases i feel they are unnecisarry though depending on your classroom environment and teaching style, they can however be very useful. Though may be limiting in keeping all digital information and having to go back and forth from digital to paper information. 

blogger 2 recon style

The diversification and mechanisation of learning has placed a tremendous change and therefore a whole new level of challenges.  these challenges must now be taken on by the teachers and students of future generations and their families.   The parents must play a crucial role in learning still even with the advancement in technology. 

The developement of a central style of computer processing and human interphase layout design would be crutial in creating a workable global computer communication world.  This way ever person in every country from every walk of live would be able in interact and particiapate in the global network.  Though approximiatly 1/3  of the planets population still lives off of sun energy only. 

With the implementation of this new standard mainframe, computers would be able to communicate more readily; thus allowing students, teachers and parents to interact on a regular friendly communacative bases.
Bloggs in my course curriculum could be used to keep parents in the loop on topic covered and helping them and students to understand information and communicate back and forth with their instructor or other students.  The answering of these questions could be aided by exemplary students who want to help other to solidify their learning.

Discussion: 

References:

Blogs in Plain English [video file]. Retrieved from, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI

 Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M. & Grismond, D. (2008)
Pearson, Merrill/Prentice Hall, 3rd edition

introduction

hello I am Michael Perry i go by Mike.  Im a secondary education major in Biology, with a minor in environmental science.  I work at the Commerce MRC as a manager of the outdoor program and run the rockwall.