Pre-Break work

Thanksgiving break is approaching and I am fairly excited for a break. I gained some valuable information from the redaings this week but the article, Partners in Cognition: Extending Human Intelligence with Intelligent Technologies, was a little dated. "The report discusses research in another five areas that are relevant to teaching and environments that support effective learning: the importance of social and cultural contexts; transfer and the conditions for wide application of learning; subject matter uniqueness; assessment to support learning; and the new educational technologies.
Teachers have a critical role in assisting learners to engage their understanding, building on learners' understandings, correcting misconceptions, and observing and engaging with learners during the processes of learning."

"The most effective learning occurs when learners transport what they have learned to various and diverse new situations." We have placed much emphasis on specific techniques and theories
this semester but what it all really boils down to for me as an educator is that I want may students to learn and apply what they have learned. I want them to look back on their college experience five to ten years from now and value what they have learned. I want them to find knowledge useful because if people do find knowledge useful and beneficial to them then they will probably continue learning.

Reflection in general

Another weekend of reflection. I only wish this reflection stuff wouldn't creep into my personal life. Looking in a mirror and analyzing what you see is tough sometimes.

Entering the Final Stretch

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed for this coming week. There is the project presentation for class this weekend, and the reflective paper due the week after Thanksgiving. I haven’t had any direction on that paper so I’m a little apprehensive about that project. On top of that, I still have to Blog, do readings and corresponding postings, research social network sites, and continue the project development. Well, that’s enough of that. I will persevere.

The readings this week were insightful. They were both related to learning environments in a way and they tied in well with my group project. The framework for designing learning environments helped the most. What’s really cool about this project is that I get to have one of my classes involved. The interest from the class stands at about 50%. I will give them this week to continue blogging and then we will begin assessing the educational value of the Bolg.

Fired up

Higher education continues to amaze me. We learn about formative and summative evaluations, learner-community-assesment- and knowledge-centered learning environments, and life long learning, yet administration, and political factions for that matter, fail to invest in the main staple for learning-the TEACHER. What happens to administrators once they asume their position? Do they forget where they came from? Do they succume to the status quo? WHAT? I am fired up about the fact that only 1-3 % of budget are earmarked for professional development. Where's the incentive for learning, especialy on a teacher's salary.

Reflection for week Nine

This assigned readings this week were focused on being an expert teacher. Essentially what it boils down to is knowing what you teach, knowing how to teach, and knowing who you are teaching. These are the what, how, and who of teaching. Of course it goes much deeper than that but that is the bottom line. Some key points of interest that I reflected on as I engaged in the learning process was that a great teacher loves to learn and engages in the lifelong learning process. An expert teacher engages her class in relevant learning activities and will adjust her teaching strategy to accommodate the learning style of the class. A great teacher will create a learning environment conducive to learning while displaying a passion for learning and enthusiasm for the subject.

Sunday Football

I took a much needed break today and watched a little football. Here is my reflection on that event.The Dallas Cowboys are:

Self-centered
Over indulged
Pompous
Indignant
Catered to
Egotistical
Narcissistic


How long will this team be able to BUY their way into playoffs, and for that matter, buy wins in the Super Bowl. I am specifically referring to the super Bowl XXX fiasco, debacle, on January 28, 1996 when Neil O’Donnell blatantly threw two interceptions directly into the hands of cornerback Larry Brown of the Cowboys. The Cowboys sealed the victory by converting Brown's interceptions into 2 touchdowns which winded up being the ultimate demise of the Steelers in that particular Super Bowl.

At leaste the Steelers have more Super Bowl ring. SIX, count em’ Cowboys fans SIX. Yes that means you have to use the fingers of both hands.


Steelers Rule !!!!!

I will blog latter on this week about a more scholarly subject for IDT 744.

Adapting to technology

My Wiki is really aggravating me today. I seem to get locked out every couple of weeks. No wonder it is so diffiult to incorporate technology into the classroom. I'm doing homework again tonight, just like every night and I find myself wondering, how will I "really" incorporate technology into my teaching style. We read, yet again, about learning centered, knowledge centered, and community centered taching environments. Each one of these approaches has merits and I would like to use all of them. In reality, however, I usually focus on one or the other depending on the type of students I am teaching.

This week I have begun to sink my teeth into my project for IDT 744. My partner and I plan to use a blog space for my CJ 280, Victimology class. I have a difficult enough time trying to get these students to find professional research articles on Ebsco host let alone trying to get them to delve into the strang and mystifying land of technology. They love to text, and some of them like to use apps on their phone but as for blogging, the students I have discussed this with do not blog.

I feel confident that these students have the intelligence to actively participate in this project and I further believe that they will contribute valuable information and learn from the experience. Plus, a little extra credit will serve to increase participation :-)