Lost in Translation

Reading and discussing the Net Generation has really thrown me for a loop. As my students are severely disabled, we do not really use the internet in the classroom. That, coupled with the fact that i do not know many young people, has left me unaware of how advanced these students are with technology. I was a child when computers first became big and remember getting our first hand me down computer, replacing our brother word processor! I basically used the computer to check email and to use instant messanger nightly to chat with my friends. IAt the time, i still had to use encyclopedias for research and go to the library. It wasnt until hightschool and college that i began utilizing internet for research. It amazes me how computer literate the kids of today are - many of them know more about technology then i do. Aside from messenging and researching, these kids are blogging and creatign their own websites - something i just recently learned about. We as educators definitely need to advance our technology knowledge, learn from our students and challenge them. It is scary to think of how much more advanced these students today are!
What is the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 bookmarking?
Today's students are very different from the previour generations of students. They have grown up in a technological age with cell phones, video games, and computers. Much more focus is placed on the internet and less on actuall books. Previous generations utlized encylopedias and libraries for research, today's students are able to use the internet to do the research, yieldig a greater supply of resuts in a faster manner. Encylopedias are now online along with journals. As a result of this different, teachers need to learn to communicate in the language of these students and integrate technology into learning. These students, are multitaskers - they can write a paper while researchig, blogging, istant messaging, listening to music and watching tv. They are used to a fast busy pace and teachers must make their learning coorelate with this lifestyle.
The six 2007 National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) are:
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Of these standards, i think that creativity and innovation along with research and information fluency are both well implemented. I think educators do a great job of supplying students with models and simulations and allowing them to explore. there are also a lot of websites that allow students to explore on their own. Research is primarily done through the use of technology by students today. teachers have to specify if they want students to use actual books for research now days! I feel that i am ready to meet these two standards in the classroom, but i definitly need to further my knowledge of technology in order to successfully meet the other four standards. Hopefully this class will help with that.How do you feel about your readiness to meet those standards?
The shift from 1.0 to 2.o come with a lot of changes: instruction goes from teacher centered to student centered; from sinle sense stimulation to mulitsensory; single path progression to multi path; single media to mulit media; isolated work setting to collaborative work setting; information simply being delivered to actually being exchanged; passive learning to active/exploratory/imquiry based learning; from reactive responses to proactive/planned action; and from isolated artificial contexts to authentic real world contexts.
Openning accounts for various tools including del.icio.us, diigo, slideshare, mind-mapping tools has been a quick and easy process. I have not yet been able to utilize these tools for my teaching careet but hope to be able to do so soon. Working with the autistic population definitely inhibits my use of technology but look forward to trying to integrate some tools.
The internet is a wonderful resource, but they are definitely some risks with children utilizing the world wide web. As a result of these risks, there are safety laws put into place to protect children using the web. there is a federal law desgined to keep anyone from obtaining a child's personal information with a parent knowing and agreeing to it. There are also online tools such as parent control options enabling parents to block certain material on the computer. there is also software that helps block access to certain sites. There are filtering programs and programs that are able to track online activity. Parentd definitely need to educate themselves on the risks of computer use and ways to prevent any issues from occurring. This involves not only educating themselves but also educating their child.

The Whirlwind of Online Learning

This online learning experience has definitely been a bit hectic and is taking some getting used to. I am a bit overwhelmed thus far and trying to make sense of all of the new infomation that is being provided!
The in person meeting was informative and i am glad to have met my group members and to now be able to put a face to the names as we chat online! The moodle site is intense and holds a ton of information. It has been fun exploring the different links and learning about various uses of technology. All of the how to guides have been very useful and i have enjoyed the tutorials. Our group has decided to meet in gtalk and have all created gmail accounts in order to do so.
During the first week, i really enjoyed exploring the moodle website and cannot believe how much there is to see. I tried to go online daily in order to fully get the most of the site
This weeks assignments were definiely helpful in the learning process as they made me aware of my strengths and needs in the technology department. I was also able to read the syllabus in depth in order to further understand the expecations of the class.
Our first group meeting was very successful. We met for almost two hours and spent the time discussing moodle and any difficulties we may have had over the course of the week. As some group members are more experienced with online classes and more technology savvy, assistance was provided to those having difficulty. we discuseed the online tutorial and all seemed to feel that it was a great video that we all learned from. Our group really seemed to work well this first meeting and were able to communicate at ease!