Well I do not honestly remember the exact beginning to my computer usage. I no that the first major technological device was an Atari, followed by Nintendo. I still own both systems and remember playing Super Techmo Bowl and Zelda after school everyday. Super Techmo Bowl is still the best game ever available in my opinion.
My first remembrance of computer usage was around my fifth grade year. We used an old school Apple, I don't know the specific model, to play games. I am guessing that the computer was an Apple 2E. The first game that I ever played on the computer was Oregon Trail and followed it up with a variety of other games I barely remember. I remember the computer being the greatest thing in the world and everyone felt privileged when they were able to use it.
As far as my computer usage, how it has evolved, I can say that I am very computer savy these days. As a technology education instructor, I need to know how computers work. When I started college, I was a telecommunications major that focused on the inner workings of computers. I progressed into this field from my high school days in which I was in charge of repairing computers for our Technology Education instructor.
I have been fortunate to see the evolution of the computer system and I have been touched all along the way. I remember the Oregon Trail as a print in my mind and I know the evolution of online learning will be another one of those markers that I will remember forever. While the computer started off as a gaming system that had minimal use, these days I stay connected with friends around the world and create solid modeled parts utilizing advance CAD techniques.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The end of Another, the Beginning of Something New!!!
This is the last blog for my Technology Tools class. I am going to take some time and ponder on the highlights of the course and what beneficial material that I received from it. The first thing that I want to describe is the online collaborations that we have had with our groups. Using Skype and online word processors, such as Google Docs, has been a great experience. The amount of knowledge I learned from the programs and the numerous teachable moments I encountered throughout the activities are endless. I truly believe that online collaboration is the way that our education system is moving and in five years when I reflect back upon the education system, I envision online collaboration being mainstreamed throughout all education.
The next thing that I really enjoyed with the program was the information from the text. That book was packed full with tons of information that has been useful now and will continue to be useful in the future. It will take some time, and I will probably have to reevaluate the text, to truly grasp the power of all the information in the book. I don't think a six week course does justice to the amount of material that can be found within the text. I hope to utilize numerous ideas out of the book, specifically examining the creativity and problem based learning portions of the text.
Another major thing that I found interesting within this class was the research we did into the presentation programs. So many of us are used to using PowerPoint to provide presentations. With programs such as Empressr, we as educators are able to create virtually the same documents, with the difference being Empressr is free and is held virtually on the Internet. I plan to implement Empressr into my classes because I think students need to be able to create online presentations to stay up to date with technologies that are available.
The last thing that I found interesting about the course was looking into software evaluation. As educators, we are going to face the decision, sometime in our career, on what types of software too choose. For many of us, being exposed to a software evaluation was uncovering another stone for us. I realized through the experience that there are a lot of different ideas and opinions that one must take into consideration when evaluating software. I also realized that the amount of work put in on the forefront will result in better experiences for the students.
So alas we are done with course two, onto three and beyond.
The next thing that I really enjoyed with the program was the information from the text. That book was packed full with tons of information that has been useful now and will continue to be useful in the future. It will take some time, and I will probably have to reevaluate the text, to truly grasp the power of all the information in the book. I don't think a six week course does justice to the amount of material that can be found within the text. I hope to utilize numerous ideas out of the book, specifically examining the creativity and problem based learning portions of the text.
Another major thing that I found interesting within this class was the research we did into the presentation programs. So many of us are used to using PowerPoint to provide presentations. With programs such as Empressr, we as educators are able to create virtually the same documents, with the difference being Empressr is free and is held virtually on the Internet. I plan to implement Empressr into my classes because I think students need to be able to create online presentations to stay up to date with technologies that are available.
The last thing that I found interesting about the course was looking into software evaluation. As educators, we are going to face the decision, sometime in our career, on what types of software too choose. For many of us, being exposed to a software evaluation was uncovering another stone for us. I realized through the experience that there are a lot of different ideas and opinions that one must take into consideration when evaluating software. I also realized that the amount of work put in on the forefront will result in better experiences for the students.
So alas we are done with course two, onto three and beyond.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Week 5 Technology Tools Importance
The information that we have been covering over the past 5 weeks is very near and dear too my teaching philosophy. The types of technologies that we have been investigating and utilizing are all ones that I try too incorporate into my classroom. I teach problem based learning in all of my classrooms because I believe that is the way students learn the best. Students today need to be trained in problem solving because it is one of the number one tools that they can possess.
I really like the concept of e-learning in our classrooms. I teach two courses that are strictly using Blackboard. Our district is switching over to Moodle, but until that day I will fully utilize all the functions of this powerful programs. No longer do I have to worry about students losing papers or leaving their homework at school. I scan or pdf everything that I create into Blackboard. This way, even if students miss class for a day or week, they will have access to the information. Students are very receptive to this fact because they don't want to have to work on homework if they are not around. I am continually reminding them that in their future endeavors, they will be required to be connected to their professions at all times.
If I were to pick two things out of this text that I would use in my class they would be the portion on creative thinking and problem solving. Students in Technology Education classrooms must think outside the box. By allowing this too occur in my classroom, students will be better equipped with the application of creativity. I am currently working on a project that students are reverse engineering a product; culminating in them adding something to it to make it a better device. The culminating activity requires them to think and apply their knowledge of the subject to its real life application.
As for problem solving, as I eluded too before, it is important for all students to be challenged by problems. My automotive courses consistently face students with problems which they must work through to complete. The students have told me they get a lot more out of working through the problem than they would if we just talked about it.
Finally, I am going to continue to implement creativity and problem solving across the broad range of classes that I teach. Students in my digital imaging course will be able to express their creativity through a variety of different projects that we will complete throughout the year. Studnets in engineering and automotive courses will be faced with a variety of problems that they will have to struggle through, resulting in concrete knowledge occuring.
I really like the concept of e-learning in our classrooms. I teach two courses that are strictly using Blackboard. Our district is switching over to Moodle, but until that day I will fully utilize all the functions of this powerful programs. No longer do I have to worry about students losing papers or leaving their homework at school. I scan or pdf everything that I create into Blackboard. This way, even if students miss class for a day or week, they will have access to the information. Students are very receptive to this fact because they don't want to have to work on homework if they are not around. I am continually reminding them that in their future endeavors, they will be required to be connected to their professions at all times.
If I were to pick two things out of this text that I would use in my class they would be the portion on creative thinking and problem solving. Students in Technology Education classrooms must think outside the box. By allowing this too occur in my classroom, students will be better equipped with the application of creativity. I am currently working on a project that students are reverse engineering a product; culminating in them adding something to it to make it a better device. The culminating activity requires them to think and apply their knowledge of the subject to its real life application.
As for problem solving, as I eluded too before, it is important for all students to be challenged by problems. My automotive courses consistently face students with problems which they must work through to complete. The students have told me they get a lot more out of working through the problem than they would if we just talked about it.
Finally, I am going to continue to implement creativity and problem solving across the broad range of classes that I teach. Students in my digital imaging course will be able to express their creativity through a variety of different projects that we will complete throughout the year. Studnets in engineering and automotive courses will be faced with a variety of problems that they will have to struggle through, resulting in concrete knowledge occuring.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
In Time Video Review: Week 4
The video that I watched was about a Photography class creating collages. The link to the video can be reached here. I found the video very interesting because it related completely to the course work that I am currently working on. In my Digital Imaging classes, students are working on creating collages utilizing layer masking and special effect techniques. Collages are a lot of fun for students because they allow the student to be creative and use pictures that they have shot.
The one aspect of the video I found most interesting is when the lady talked about the difficulty of assessing the collages. I have always had trouble doing this because I don't know for sure what I should grade on. Do I just focus on the fact that the student was able to create the task? Or should I focus on being able to create a quality collage? My students question the grading as well, but I believe that I am well trained in the field and know, through experience and review, what good collages look like. Assessing these activities will be something that I will continually deal with because I don't think there is one correct answer.
The one aspect of the video I found most interesting is when the lady talked about the difficulty of assessing the collages. I have always had trouble doing this because I don't know for sure what I should grade on. Do I just focus on the fact that the student was able to create the task? Or should I focus on being able to create a quality collage? My students question the grading as well, but I believe that I am well trained in the field and know, through experience and review, what good collages look like. Assessing these activities will be something that I will continually deal with because I don't think there is one correct answer.
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