Week 7 Readings

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te600.htm
This article discusses some of the real issues educators face when trying to incorporate technology in the classroom. Most teachers refuse to realize that our students are using more and more multimedia tools everyday, yet we as educators hinder their growth when we limit their access to sources that could enhance their learning, but the use of technology does not allow students to so call "learn" what they need for standardized testing. So it is no wonder many schools are teaching to the test rather than allowing for authentic learning situations. We need to prepare for a future that is rich with new age technology to keep up with the ever-evolving changes in multimedia resources. In the article states that, “research clearly indicates that the single most important factor in the effective use of technology is the quality of the teacher knowledge of effective technology uses in instruction.”

http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/professional_development/strategies/
The authors of this article have examined research to determine which teaching strategies have positive effects on student learning. This site provides ideas for using technology in all areas of curriculum. It also offered many different sites and software programs that could be used to incorporate technology into the classroom, such KidPix, Inspiration, The Graph Club, and many more. I have also used Voice Thread this year and have been very successful.

Week 6 Reading Relfection

http://www.alicechristie.com/classes/530/copypasteliteracy.pdf

http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/the-perils-and-pitfalls-of-wikipedia

The first article dealt with site such as, MySpace, being used as a form of literacy. The author draws on the opinions of experts in defining literacy. People interact, share, and create content: they are consumers and producers through a network of friends who all share, copy and paste content to create new hybrids. Myspace makes it easy for people to recreate sites by allowing others to format the codes of other pages for use on their own sites. Human beings have been using the term “cut and paste” forever. If you like a phrase that another person uses then you take it and use it as your own and no one accuses you of being a thief. When you take a little from here and some from there and mix it together you have a new product. What’s new is that existing literacy is now expressed through a new medium: MySpace.

The second article talks about Wikipedia, and whether or not you can use it as a creditable source of information. Wikis allow groups of people to conduct different types of research on a topic and then report their findings in an article to be posted on Wikipedia. Anyone has access to this information and can add to it, change information, or even delete things. This makes me wonder if the information you are reading about is truly accurate.