Occasionally colloquial and most certainly lacking eloquence: the thoughts of a highly-strung English major. Musings on education, techhnology in the classroom, book reviews, and more.
My group (Gelastic) and I created our podcast around "What to Expect When You're Expecting to Attend UNI." We wanted to offer listeners tips on what to expect in your first year attending the University of Northern Iowa. With this idea in hand, we got started.
First, we planned our script, using GoogleDocs (my favorite). We designated different categories that we wanted to talk about, which were: time management, finances, dorm life, and getting involved. Then we had detailed points within these categories. We split the categories up evenly, as well as the transitions, so that each of us could have a chance to speak in the podcast. We also determined what intro and outro music we were going to use, as well as the track that would run softly in the background throughout the podcast. Writing the script was fun, as well as educational for the three of us, because we've all had slightly different experiences in our time here at UNI. Once we had our script in tact, we planned where and when we would meet to do the recording. We were able to meet one day before CCA and record all of the introduction, conclusion and transitions, as well as my lines, and Gineal and Aric met after CCA to record their parts (I had a class after CCA). After all of our recordings were done, Aric arranged and edited our sound clips using Audacity, and uploaded the final recording to Podbean.
Through this project, I learned how to further use collaborative tools effectively, as well as how to create and execute the publishing of a podcast. I had never made a podcast before, or really even listened to many, so this project called for me to get out of my familiar comfort zone and venture into relatively unknown territory. I really enjoyed working with my group members, especially in writing our tips and witty script! In my future teaching career, I can see myself employing this technology and type of project in the classroom. Podcasts required planning and organization, so it would be a great way to also help students practice these skills (adolescents may benefit from the additional practice!). Overall, I had a lot of fun working with my group and creating this podcast. I've also got a new interest in the media, and have already downloaded several from iTunes U onto my i-Phone!
We visited Price Laboratory School for Research &; Development earlier in the year, to observe the types of technology being used in classrooms. We first visited a physics classroom, where students were working with individual laptops in conjunction with the teacher's demonstration, happening at the front of the room. As the teacher showed students how different heights and lengths of a ramp would effect the distribution of weight when pushing something up the ramp. Using the computers while their teacher ran through the demonstration, students could calculate their physics problems/equations straight into their worksheet for the day. The worksheet, because it was available to them in digital form, could go directly to their teacher when they were finished. I saw this as a great way for students to keep up with work during class, and also raise their accountability. Everyone had to complete the lab worksheet by the end of the lab, so I think being able to work directly onto the worksheet from a laptop helped students, especially when solving equations.
Even though laptops seem "old school" in terms of tools in school (the One-to-One initiatives have been going on for a while now, and many schools have adopted the program and continue to do so), they can still be seen as an important enrichment tool for the classroom. The students I observed at NU and PLS were more engaged in their lessons because of the computers. I also was impressed by the collective camaraderie between students. There was one student who was having trouble configuring her equations and setting up the calculations on her device. Several other students in the classroom talked her through the steps, in order to help her, and she finished fairly quickly because of their assistance. I was astounded by how friendly and willing to help each other these students were! The visit really made an impression on me, in terms of how technology can make the smallest transformations in the classroom, yet have a really big impact.
I
have to admit, I’ve really gotten obsessed with street art lately. From a
visual literacy standpoint, I think street art displays a wide array of communication styles, from textual to completely image based. Sometimes this art is just depicted in gorgeous, colorful, larger-than-life images projected onto sidewalks, the sides of buildings, or other city structures. Other times street art can be ordinary everyday objects manipulated and touched up to represent something new. And then there are instances where a simple word sketched in a certain font, at a specific place in full view, that can make the most striking statements.
The way
we see things affects our thoughts and emotions, really anything. For a bit of
“fun” reading right now, I’ve been readingLooks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined,a book about physical appearance and the way in which it affects
our perception of others. To me, this really related to the perception that we
experience in looking at messages, images and objects in our daily lives,
because the way something looks is usually the first information we use to construct meaning about said subject.
With street art, we’re given these images that have been created
to make a bold statement for the public. What the statement is varies; it’s
always about getting the image out there for all to see, so that the message can be interpreted by us, the perceiver. The process for this creation mirrors the process described in our Visual Literacy textbook. Artists, like Banksy for example, are the source of the message. They develop what message (thought, concept, ideology) they want to communicate, they visualize and translate this message and apply the design process of turning the thought into a graphic form. Then Banksy works with his his main medium and location, whatever these may be (he's a versatile guy) and actually creates the street art graphic. Audiences of those who pass by, who seek out this art, or are looking at it through secondary mediums (Internet) receive the messages of the graphic, and interpret it for themselves. With street art, it's all about interpretation. People put things in public places for others to SEE. And everything we perceive, everything our eyes meet, we interpret.
We look around and see things in our lives every day. We read ads, billboards, brochures, magazines, weblinks emails hypertext textmessages letters codes signs signals everything.
The visual symbols in my life very well affect how I live and behave on a day to day basis. Especially as a college student, I interact with unending amounts of visual symbols serving the purpose of connecting me with people, places, objects and ideas.
I use visual symbols all the time, meaning I perceive and interpret the symbols to understand different messages and concepts. I work at Rod library on campus at UNI, and we use all kinds of visual symbols, often along with text, to communicate library expectations. Where no food/drink is allowed, we use icons to reiterate our point. When I go out and I see signs for Starbucks, or the Target logo, or even street signs like "Stop" or "Yield," meaning is triggered almost more from the image itself than the words that accompany it.
I think in today's world, one absolutely must possess high familiarity with and skills within the realm of visual literacy. It is pertinent to understand the importance of this type of ability in people, because in a culture that is rather obsessed with visuals (ads, logos, appearances, celebrity, etc), it is a driving force behind our interactions.
This semester in Visual Literacy, I hope to become more familiar with the concept as a whole, and also really gain an understanding of how images can function in conjunction with my own classroom material. I hope to also gain knowledge of design principals, visual literacy standards, and some of the technology that assists artists and designers in their creation. Finally, I would like to get into the more creative process that is involved in generating images, because I think learning more about visual literacy will help me become more confident to experiment with digital art.
Think of the way we refer to things as "iconic." The root word here is "icon." Things are iconic because they have become symbols, most often visual, or representatives of a general category. When we see certain symbols, we automatically know what they stand for, because we have brought up in a culture (at least I have, born in 1990 and growing up in the 90's and 2000s) that absolutely thrives on these visuals. You could say that this McDonalds logo could represent FOOD. You know when you see this logo that there is one general thing this place offers, and when you think of it, it automatically represents itself.
Take UNI's very popular and campus-wide symbol "UNIam..." As much as I am sick of this logo (no offense to its designers or promoters), it is widely recognized as representative of the University.
Perhaps even more recognizable and unmistakable is this:
I don't even have to tell you what this image represents. In Iowa, you know it, in the U.S. you probably know it if you're a football fan, and around the world, you'll at least be able to recognize that this is some type of bird.
And any of these symbols you'll be able to attach some meaning to, whether it is arbitrarily assigned by society, or for its literal representation.
Often, people won't stop to read text that is designated as a warning or information. People want to "glance and go" and not have to spend time decoding text for meaning. However, we DO use text to perform the same functions as images and icons, and we favor certain types of text over others. Letters are individual icons, the combinations of which we call words, that make up our entire written language code. I'd like to note that after watching the first film on our movie list, I'm typing this post in Helvetica. "And Helvetica says everything, and that's perhaps part of its appeal," (Jonathan Hoefler).
Earlier, I watched the keynote of the first Flat Classroom Project installment of 2010, by Judy O'Connell from St. Joseph's College in Hunter's Hill, Australia. In her video, Judy mentioned the popular film, "Avatar" and how it can be seen as a kind of metaphor for the Flat Classroom Project. In the film, Jake Sulley is given the opportunity for "a fresh start," on "a new world." "You'll be making a difference," he is told, and these words are his invitation to travel to Pandora on his mission. All Jake must do is say yes, and accept his mission. As we come to see in the film, it is not an easy one, but Jake comes to learn about, participate in, and eventually understand a different culture and group of people different from himself. He learns, however, that he and the people of Pandora, are not so different after all.
Like Jake Sulley, participants in the Flat Classroom Project are given an opportunity to participate in a new world. "The Flat Classroom Project is your Pandora, a fresh start in global learning, it's your opportunity to be world-class students, develop your world-view, demonstrate to all of use the importance of good scholarship and good digital learning." O'Connell is spot on in her analogy, in that the power of the Flat Classroom lies in students' opportunities to expand their perspectives in our world, and see beyond the walls of their physical classroom. Instead of limited interaction with students within our physical community, Flat Classroom makes meeting, communicating, and collaborating with students across the globe, a reality. Children are highly adept at using online applications, Web 2.0 tools such as social media, search engines, as well as other tools supporting creativity. Therefore, they have the perfect set of provisions to support their learning in an online, global environment.
The Internet provides an optimal platform for global education to occur because it "levels the playing field" for individuals anywhere. Using multiple means of creativity and sharing, from text, audio, video, hypertext, and other multimedia, we can show our thoughts and ideas, and give feedback to others, with just the click of a mouse. And because our students today are so used to (and good at) this high level of media creation and manipulation, it is becoming more prominent in classrooms, both traditional and online. Check out this video created by Michael Wesch (in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University!) about how today's students feel about changing the face of learning and the traditional "classroom."
The Flat Classroom Project supports both digital literacy skills and learning, as well as global collaboration between classrooms across the planet. In the Flat Classroom, cultural understanding becomes personal, for each student, because he or she is interacting with students from cultures outside their own. What better way to learn about another culture than to speak and work with individuals from diverse backgrounds? The result is that students become less ethnocentric, and more globally aware. By learning about other areas of the globe, we also learn about ourselves. They also work on their skills with Web 2.0 tools, as well as tools essential or online learning and communication. There may come a day where our classrooms, however we define them now, may look a lot different, in that there may be no more "classrooms" but students will host their own learning networks, through online collaboration and communication.
I am starting to look at my own classroom experiences differently. I am starting to think "I wonder what it would be like if everyone in my classes, including myself, became more globally aware?" Would we see each other differently? Would we see what we read about, write about, and learn about in the same way? Will my future students have a better sense of global relevancy, and how will this affect the lessons I teach and the literature I choose to share? As a future English teacher, I am focused on how my students will read and write in the classroom, sure. But now I'm starting to think, how will my students read, write, and SHARE? And where will this lead them?
What is a 21st century classroom? To understand, we must first understand what characterizes the 21st century. We must also look at what new skills are being emphasized in schools and society today. In an ever-changing world, such as the one we currently inhabit, there is the constant need to be prepared for whatever happens. Therefore, students today must adopt and apply these new skills in the classroom and in their every day lives. 21st century education embraces 21st century skills in combination with new forms of technology, and today’s media-centered digital learners. The goal of 21st century education is to prepare our children to become global citizens, capable of interacting and innovating to preserve our free institutions for a better tomorrow.
According to 21stcenturyschools.com, 21st century skills include the following:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Collaboration across Networks and Leading by Influence
Agility and Adaptability
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
Effective Oral and Written Communication
Accessing and Analyzing Information
Curiosity and Imagination
These skills help develop the “whole child” in their learning, instead of simply focusing on lower-order thinking skills like identification and recall. What’s more, these skills encourage the pursuit of a global citizenship, preparing individuals for interaction, communication, collaboration, and innovation with others across the world. In addition to these skills, the use of technology and its accompanying tools will assist in further connecting our children with their futures.
The 21st century classroom looks very different than the 20th century or “traditional” classroom. Take a look at these two classes:
What differences do you see? Aside, of course, from the nun at the front of the classroom, and the black and white grain of the first photo, you might note some stark contrasts. First of all, notice the way that students are arranged in the first photo (circa. 1950s, a Catholic school classroom). Where is the instructor standing, and what are they doing? This a “classic” classroom, where teachers lectured to students, and everyone sat in their own little desk, with their own little textbooks, taking notes and staring straight ahead. Rigidity, along with memorization of facts and passive communication between teacher and student were the norm.
Now look at the second classroom. Note that instead of neat rows of desks, there are circle tables with multiple students seated. The instructor isn’t standing at the front of the classroom, as a “sage on the stage,” demanding the students’ complete attention for an endless lecture. In fact, I can’t even discern where the teacher stands in the second class. So many students are gathered together, seemingly collaborating, working with computers and programs and immersed in their work. Active learning and outcome based assessment are present in this classroom.
The second classroom is an example of 21st century education at Clemson University. The Holtzendorff Teaching with Technology Experimental Classroom at Clemson, also known as the “sandbox classroom” was converted from an indoor swimming pool, and is now home to some pioneering technology and pedagogical practices. Originally dedicated on December 18, 2007, the classroom features a new philosophy of teaching and learning, very characteristic of 21st century education. “The classroom is called a sandbox because instructors and their students are exploring the use of technology in teaching and learning with an adventurous and curious spirit similar to that of children who explore and learn about their world in a sandbox. Interactivity, spontaneity, and collaboration are encouraged in this sandbox,” (Polowczuk). This reminded me very much of the research being done by Mitch Resnick and the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab.
He suggests that learning must be drafted to mimic that of kindergarten discovery, because it is the best form of learning. New technology supports this type of learning, which is why it is becoming more prominent in the classroom.
To give a comparison of 20th and 21st century education, I present a video by 21stEducator:
The biggest differences between 20th century and 21st century classrooms also appear in the inclusion of technology and multimedia in classrooms to enrich and provide a platform for learning. Although many of our "digital natives" have been used to using the Internet, electronic media, digital images and other devices strictly for entertainment, these tools can be utilized to promote media literacy in the classroom as well! Web 2.0 and the increasing popularity and functionality of social media are coming together to create massive potential for use in the classroom. Dr. Michael Wesch attests to how Web 2.0 applications and their respective medias are breaking ground for bringing media literacy into the classroom, and supporting 21st century skills and education in general. View his presentation An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube, where he discusses the importance of such social communication tools as Twitter, Jott, Diigo, YouTube, TeacherTube, and more.
You might ask now, will all of our classrooms end up looking like the "sandbox" at Clemson? There is all this talk of classrooms going 1:1, will every school truly benefit from the 21st century philosophy? The important thing to remember is that there cannot be a strict "department store model" for the 21st century classroom. Of course classrooms will need to incorporate technology. Globalization is one of the most prominent characteristics of the technologically-enriched classroom. The world is no longer a round, spinning place (ok, it still is, physically speaking) but communication and collaboration-wise, the world is now flat. Hey, there's a great book you can read to learn more about that concept (The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman)! Now our classrooms are becoming flat too, and with our new capabilities, students here in the U.S. can communicate and share ideas with students from China, India, Australia, really anywhere they have an Internet link and access to some type of social media or collaboration tool (like Skype, Adobe Connect, or Wetoku). Students and teachers can use epals to communicate and chat with other students and teachers from anywhere in the world! The global potential inside 21st century classrooms is powerful, and will be a key element in building connections for the future of the next generation.
So the differences between 20th century and 21st century learning are numerous. You might even say that they are so extremely different that we can't possibly be moving in the right direction, because everything is going so fast! But if you really look at our world today, with the way things are changing, in climate, political issues, social and welfare concerns, global communications, international relations, and more. 21st century education is "bold, it breaks the mold. It is flexible, creative, challenging, and complex. It addresses a rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new problems as well as exciting new possibilities" (21stcenturyschools.com). And I think that we are on exactly the right track. In changing the face and function of our classrooms, if we go about implementing technology the correct way, with support and real reasons for including it, instead of using it as a "quick fix," we will be preparing students for the continually changing future.
What will 22nd century classrooms look like then? It seems like our schools are changing every day, or at least reform is being demanded and planned. But what does this mean for students? I think the digital natives will thrive in the 21st century classroom, because it has been designed for them. In the words of Ian Jukes, an educator and Futurist "We need to prepare our children for THEIR future, not OUR past." I couldn't agree more Mr. Jukes. Readers, what do YOU think?
While I was doing my Level One Observation at Hoover Middle School last semester, I was introduced to a piece of new technology that I had never encountered before. Behold, the Promethean Interactive Whiteboard! Also known as IWB, the Promethean board combines the simplicity of a white board with the power of the computer and a front projection screen. Anything that can be seen or clicked on on a computer can be done using this technology. It was amazing to watch the teacher "clicking" on things right on the Promethean, because it worked just like the click of a mouse on the computer! Along with projecting media from the computer to the front of the classroom, Promethean offers many additional technological resources for the classroom that can be used along with the interactive whiteboard. My mentor teacher had many of these additional resources in her room. The Activotes are multiple choice A-F voters that be used for students to vote on an answer in a quiz or poll from their desks.
The Activexpression tools are sort of like simple cell phones, with texting capabilities in case students need to text in an answer.
Teachers can carry around the ActivSlate to move the mouse around the Promethean board at the front of the room without having to stand in front and use the pen.
Finally, to be better heard while speaking over the class, teachers can use the Activsound audio technology to magnify their voices, play audio for students or record sound.
All of these additional tools bring the classroom into interactive bliss for students and teachers. With the Promethean board, the students in my observation classroom were more engaged in lessons because they could actively participate in learning. Visit the Promethean website to explore all kinds of awesome and engaging technology and software!
So, yesterday I turned 20! It was a great day and I could not have asked for better weather. It was so sunny and gorgeous out, it even felt a little warm. I was bold enough to try taking my coat off walking between classes, but I discovered it wasn't quite that lovely. Guess I'm just trying to coax in spring as much as possible! Yesterday morning I was awoken by a phone call from my mom, dad and brother singing happy birthday. My parents had flowers delivered to the library so I would get them when I came into work, what a nice surprise! I also got a lot of really nice texts and Facebook posts from everyone, so thanks! It was a great day and an awesome way of celebrating my relenquishment from my teenage years! Above are the pictures that my supervisor Robin took last night, me with my lovely flowers! :)
Hello all! I decided to post some pictures of what I'll be seeing when I'm in London for Spring Break. I haven't taken them myself, but it will be a kind of photo itinerary for what I'll be seeing when I arrive in the great city on March 14th! We'll be leaving for Chicago after I get done with class on Friday, March 12. We're staying in Chicago that night and then we board our flight to Heathrow, England in the morning. Then it's a 14 hour flight into Heathrow :P I hope I don't get too bad of jetlag! We are staying in Heathrow Saturday night, then taking the train to London in the morning. Then we're staying in at a Bed and Breakfast in Chiswick, a little part of London. We're seeing a lot of things in just a week, so plan on taking a lot of pictures and taking in all the sights that I can! Top left:Stonehenge-stonehenge.co.uk Top right: Windsor Castle-theroyalcollection.org Bottom left: Tower of London-aboutbritain.com Bottom right:Big Ben-aboutbritain.com
It's the first day of blogging for Ed. Tech and Design class! I've never created a blog before, so bear with me as I make my posts. I made this picture on Picnik.com. It's kind of silly, but I like it.
