Reflection

I agree with what Jordan said about this class being stressful in a good way. It really was frustrating to find myself having to figure out how to use some new, unfamiliar, and oft-obscure program or website in order to complete an assignment. But it was definitely a growing experience worth having.


I especially liked the projects. Creating a website for this course taught me something that has already proven helpful in other settings (after doing my fictional class website for project #1, I was able to offer to build this website for the non-profit I work with). That skill seemed impossible to me before, and yet it was always within reach if I'd only attempted. So I'm grateful to have been pushed through that.


I believe that actively thinking about ways in which technology can be incorporated in the classroom has been important in defining the kind of teacher that I will become. I think it's given me a clearer perspective on what to look for and how to seamlessly integrate it into my lesson plans.


The unanswered questions that I still harbor are regarding where technology will be by the time I get in the classroom. How different will things be then? And can I keep up with the changes? But this class has taught me to have more confidence, to experiment more, and to have a personal learning network where I can find support for the problems I run into.


Overall, I really think that a course like this would benefit everyone, regardless of whether they plan on becoming teachers themselves. Perhaps this should be a required course for all freshman. It really would make such a difference in their ability to grow and flourish in the rest of their classes here.


Thanks for your help and guidance!

Project #2 Instructional Video

Project #3 Content Specific

For my project I wrote a one page assignment handout explaining the new technology, Adobe Illustrator, what was expected of the students in order for them to get full credit. This handout can be found here:

Making a stratigraphic column using Adobe Illustrator

Then, I made my own example of what I expect them to do. For this, I used the most basic functions of the program: rectangles (to make each layer), paint-bucket (to fill in the rectangles), pencil (to add texture), text (to label them), and eraser (to make the erosional surfaces). My example can be found here:

Thistle Junction Stratigraphic Column

Although my experience with this program was that it is very complex and has some confusing features, I found that just playing around with some of the more familiar icons allowed me to at least produce a basic image with which I feel good. I'd really like to explore its capabilities more in the future.

Finding Resources

Target Audience: High School Earth Science Students
Technology: Adobe Illustrator
Learning Activities: I will create a written assignment for my students to do using Adobe Illustrator. They will be expected to produce a geologic cross section of an area that we mapped on a field trip. I will then do the assignment myself. I will post both the assignment and the product on my blog.

Asynchronous Video

Synchronous Video

For this assignment I used google video chat to speak with my wife while she was working on some school projects. We both have laptops with built in cameras, so it's really easy for us to stay in touch when we're away for various reasons.


I also Skype to keep in touch with people from my mission; it's way cheaper than buying phone cards or paying for long distance (they're in Italy) and it's nice to be able to see each other while talking.


For those above cases, I really appreciate the visual aspect of communication because they're such close relationships where seeing each other can make a big difference in remembering and understanding one another. But I don't know if I think visual communication is always necessary, nor always desirable.


For example, I wouldn't really want to see my boss (and have my boss see me) every time we speak about some deadline or project. I also wouldn't want to have to sit down and stare into a camera every time I got a call from someone. Sometimes it's much nicer to be able to keep doing whatever it is you were doing while someone chats your ear off over the phone (they'll never know that you're cooking or doodling on the other end).


But as teachers, it seems that the very nature of synchronous video works to our advantage. Students can't half-heartedly watch our asynchronous videos or read our posts while playing games or hanging with friends. It'll be too obvious to us. It also allows us the opportunity to give immediate feedback from a distance, and to incorporate visual resources into our teaching. All of which is a great plus for whenever distance learning is necessary.

Copyright.

I believe that copyright is important because it allows the creator of something to be able to share and publish their work without having to worry about someone else taking it, altering it, or making profit off of it. Perhaps this encourages creativity by ensuring that the creator will have exclusive ownership for a good while, long enough to potentially earn some profit for their labor.

I think it's important for us as teachers to understand these laws so that we can take advantage of the many resources available out there (to save us time while providing our students with the best materials possible), while not running into legal problems with copyright infringement. But, in the case of education, it's nice to have Fair Use laws on our side. Knowing how to properly use them can be a great benefit when we need to talk about or quickly examine some copyrighted work.

To find materials in the public domain there are a few search engines that help (e.g. http://www.publicdomainworks.net, etc.)... but it's perhaps easier to use the Creative Commons or Fair Use rather than figuring out whether it's copyrighted if it was made after 1923.

I like the Creative Commons. I think it's a great way to share our ideas and projects and pictures and all other things from which we have no intention of making a profit. It makes it easy to establish the amount of control that we want to retain over our work. And it makes it especially easy to know how we can use someone else's work. I started using flickr after our PLN assignment, and I have appreciated how easily they have integrated the Creative Commons licenses into our uploading of images. It makes it so simple, where otherwise I would be totally lost.