Shields,+Ashley

  About Me: 1.) I am taking ISTC 301 because it is a requirement for the MAT program. Additionally, I am interested in learning about all the technology I know nothing about! Because I believe the integration of technology into the classroom is very important, I need to become familiar with the different tools available to me--and learn how to use them! 2.) I hope this course will teach me several things. First, I hope the course introduces me to technological tools I never knew existed. Second, I hope the course teaches me how to use them properly! And third, I expect to learn how to integrate the tools into my classroom instruction. 3.) I believe I will be a better student and teacher as a result of this course. Being exposed to new forms of technology, and actually using the technology, will give me options and ideas for classroom instruction. When I begin teaching in a public school, I will have knowledge to draw upon when planning lessons. Similarly, as a student I will be able to reference the tools I learn about in this course as a way of improving and organizing my assignments. 4.) I completed my BS in English at Towson University in winter of 2008. I decided to join the MAT program for several reasons. Firstly, the job market was terrible when I graduated college and my second child was on the way--so going back to school made sense! Second, being a mother has made me realize that I could be a really amazing teacher (I used to think I could never have the patience). Third, I look forward to having a similar schedule as my children one day (minimize the amount of time they have to spend in daycare). I am a mom to two awesome kids. Lily is 3, and thinks she knows everything. Jaxon is 1 and is constantly getting into trouble! I love to cook and bake, especially anything that involves chocolate. I enjoy drinking wine, particularly a good Reisling or Merlot. I have a small indentation in my forehead from where I cracked my head open at age 3--it’s kind of a funny story. I love the idea of gardening and having a beautiful yard, but I have a black thumb and have already killed a few of my plants this summer (sadly, I forget to water them). 

**Journal #1: Technobiography**

I am not the most technologically inclined person. Patty can tell you, sometimes I have great difficulty just opening the doors here on campus. So when it comes to more sophisticated technology, like cell phones and the internet, I can be a little intimidated. Or a lot intimidated. I am always having “AH HA!” moments with regards to the technology I attempt to use, because my peers are always showing me new things I didn’t know before. Case and point, I recently had a friend of mine show me how to adjust the volume on my iPod touch...and I’ve had the thing for almost two years. Yea, I’m that bad. But I am very open to learning about technology and am excited to work technology into my classroom instruction. To put my experience with technology into a biography of sorts, I became addicted to writing creative stories in Microsoft Word when my family first purchased a computer. It was big, slow, and generally flat out crappy when compared to the computers we have today. I was in third grade, so we’re talking 1995. Learning to type changed my life because, suddenly, I could get my creative ideas down fast enough! (If I have any hope of reading what I handwrite, I have to write fairly slowly.) As a middle schooler, my love for technology really took off. I spent hours after school either on the telephone (the landline, I hope everyone remembers what that is) or on the computer chatting on AIM. Looking back, I think it is funny I spent my time at home continuing to socialize with the very same people I had seen all day. I also became quite good with using a microwave and hairdryer/curling iron--hey, that stuff counts as technology, too. Throughout my undergraduate years of college I became very familiar with the process of creating Power Point presentations. I also managed to lose 2 cellphones...by leaving them on the roof of my car and then driving off. I can justify my absentmindedness, though, because I was a new mother and mothers everywhere know how awful Mom Brain can be. More recently, as a stay at home mother, I became a Facebook addict--because Facebook is a window into the "real" world mom's no longer feel part of! It is a lifeline for moms!! When you are spending your days covered in spit up and playing with and cleaning up after your kids, sometimes you really REALLY need to talk to someone who can say more than 10 words and goes to the bathroom in a toilet instead of their pants. So while I first joined Facebook before it was a well-known networking site (in 2004!), I didn’t truly begin utilizing the service until more recently. So that’s a basic run-down of my experience with technology. I hope at the very least this made you chuckle. I’m ready and excited to learn a lot in this course! :)

-Ashley

Comment from Drew: Ashley, I enjoyed your honest (and relatable) story here. I'm pretty tech-immersed, but like you, I got excited about it when I figured out how to write on a computer. I, too, have awful handwriting unless I slow it down to a crawl, so word processing was a great step forward. I notice that you do embrace technology when it becomes meaningful or useful to you, which (I think) is the way most people learn skills. If a certain technology does not fulfill a need in your life, then you might as well skip it and avoid wasting time on learning unnecessary skills. When it becomes useful (such as your Facebook example), you will use it readily. Okay, maybe I am a little surprised about the iPod volume issue, but I'd bet you remembered how to do it once you were shown because it's a useful thing to know. I remember the first time I used an iPod (or tried to). It really bothered me that there was no "off" switch, and I kept turning the volume all the way down whenever I tried to do anything with it. We all have to be taught to use something the first time, right?

Kennedy: So what if I can say ten words but still use my pants for the latter? Remember, we are all different, and you should have more respect for that...geez : )

Patty: I know this is Ashely's page, but Kennedy, I've just learned so much more about you. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm sure that was difficult for you.

**Journal #2: Technology Integration Beliefs/Experiences**

I think everyone has probably had this experience at one time or another. Sitting in my high school world history class, the teacher attempted to "integrate" technology into the class by using a Power Point presentation. The Power Point merely took the place of a text book or a chalkboard. The presentation directly reflected what was coming out of the teacher's mouth...and the slides weren't even interesting to look at, aside from the occassional image.

There was one computer in our classroom, that we never used! The other 30-some students in the class were equally as disengaged from the presentation as I was. The use of Power Point in this particular class was frequent, and days where presentations were NOT used were warmly received!!

So, no, in this situation, the use of technology did NOT help me to learn more than if the technology hadn't been used. In fact, I do not think the attempt at using technology was worthwhile at all. To make the content engaging and learnable, the teacher needed to go a step further and encourage interaction and collaboration.

--Ashley


 * Journal 3#: Synching Up with the iKid**

1.) Prior to this class, I was not using any of the Web 2.0 tools. But I am glad to have been introduced to them, because I think many of the resources we looked at in class yesterday will be very helpful and useful in my classroom. I’m especially partial to tools that allow me to network with my students--like twiducate and wiki spaces. These tools will allow me to share information and ideas with my students as well as provide space for students to post their work and discuss course content with their peers. Really, anything that supports a collaborative and/or creative environment is something I want to use in my classes!

2.) I like the article in the sense that it makes a great point about students being digital learners—kids today are learning differently than previous generations. By incorporating technology into our instruction, we are more directly meeting the learning needs of our students. I do feel the article may have been a little overboard in assuming that when students see technology will be involved in a lesson that it is going to be “cool”—I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen technology enter the classroom and still been bored to tears by the lesson. It isn’t just bringing in the technology. It’s how you USE it! That being said, I intend to use technology as a way for linking my students together collaboratively and encouraging their creativity. Rather than buying markers and glue and poster board, my class can present their work virtually as a glogster poster. Rather than tracing Odysseus’ journey on a photocopied map of the Mediterranean, students can log into an interactive and trace Odysseus’ steps in color and detail. In 5-10 years, I think classrooms will be entirely different. Maybe I’m being far too optimistic, but I would hope that students have access to computers (enough for everyone) in every single class. I hope that photocopies will be a thing of the past and schools rely less on paper and more on electronic storage and files. I would hope that students routinely conference with students in other classrooms, in other schools, and even in other countries regarding relevant life issues through the use of video and web chats. The further into the future we move, the more natural technological integration will be come. One day, working WITHOUT technology will be a difficult thing to consider and accomplish in the classroom—>and while this idea terrifies me, I do think it is what we are moving towards as a culture, and therefore also within our schools. --Ashley

Journal #4: Copyright

To be honest, I really did not know anything about copyright before reading these articles! Basically, I knew to cite my sources for direct quotes, borrowed clip art, and paraphrases of ideas that were not originally my own. Other than that, all this stuff is new to me. I had no idea that teachers are given special rights to use things in the classroom without obtaining permission. I think that is pretty cool! In a pinch, I can throw something together and worry about going back and giving credit where credit is due at a later time. Something related to this that I also did not know, however, is that the extra wiggle room only applies to what is used in the classroom for instruction and does not cover things like supplemental reading. I was very interested on the article on Fair Use. I will definitely save the article so I can reference it in the future! I want to be sure I follow the guidelines set forth so that I am always within the limits of fair use.

--Ashley

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Journal #5: Final Reflection

This class was utter chaos. In two weeks I learned about sooooo many technological tools--many I'd heard of but never used and many more which I'd never heard of! The great thing about this course is that I've learned how I can incorporate technology into my classroom--not as an afterthought, but as a central and important part of the lesson. I look forward to getting into the classroom and enhancing student learning with activities that utilize technology to engage and teach kids.