The Event

In preparation to the event, I've been inviting people who I think would have interest in going. I used the following mediums to invite people to our Wednesday night event:

• Word of Mouth
• Facebook
• Text Messaging

I talked with people that I see in person on a regular basis that I thought would have interest in seeing the event due to their educational background and interests. I invited 8 people this way.

With Facebook I was able to send personalized messages to those that would have interest, but that I don't see in person regularly and also don't have their cell phone number. About 20 people were invited this way.

Text messaging was used for those whos numbers I had, but that I don't normally see in person. 12 people were invited to our event using this medium.

Results: I actually had someone show up at the event, and a few of the people said that they tuned into the online webinar. 

What I Have Learned (Reflective Blog Post)

This project has helped to open my eyes to how the public school system is currently functioning, and what technologies are currently being implemented in the school system. Back in my day the most advanced thing we had was a whiteboard and an overhead projector. Elementary schools have now expanded to include many electronic gadgets in their curriculum to attempt at bettering the learning experience of the student.

Some of the technologies that are being used now that weren't there when I was a student were the following:

• Smart Boards (this one really impressed me)
• iPads
• Kindles
• Document Camera
• Laptops
• Wifi on Buses
• Heart Monitors (used in gym classes)

It really impresses me how far we have progressed in the past few years as far as technology goes. While studying this and preparing my section of the e-book I had the opportunity to talk with many teachers that are currently implementing these technologies in the classroom. They all had pretty different opinions as to how these devices should be implemented in the classroom as well as to their effectiveness, but they all agreed that the technology has greatly improved the learning ability of the student. 

One teacher told me a story of a student that she taught that had a hard time learning how to read. The student was given an e-reader and it had a huge impact on the students literacy rate. The e-reader helped the kid to learn words by sounding out the words that the kid did not know. All he had to do is select the word and it would be sounded out for him, making it as if an adult were there reading the book to him. The student got excited and was more motivated to do his reading assignment. The result: the kid was able to progress to the same literacy level as his peers.

Another story that I enjoyed listening to was about the document camera. Teachers that use it love that they don't have to make individual overhead slides to share with the classroom. The student can visually see the object/homework assignment that the teacher places on the overhead. It helps students to easily follow along with the teacher as he or she is explaining homework to the students.

During the process of writing my section of our e-book chapter, I let some teachers read what I was writing. It was a good thing that they read it because they had a lot of insights that I did not have. I ended up having to change a lot of my first draft because it did not coincide with the opinion of the teacher. It was useful to have their expertise while writing because it helped me to know if what I was writing was really correct or not.

This class was an interesting one because of the unique way that it has been set up. I noticed though that there have been a few very general themes that have been applied throughout the entire semester: open science and open government. I would say that these two themes are what I mainly learned while taking this course, outside of the new way of learning.

I now have a different perspective on open government as well as open science. I used to be a hardcore advocate against having open science, but after hearing everyone's views I have somewhat changed my opinion to a spot on the spectrum that is more in-between. As far as open government goes, I am still un-decided on what stance to take. I see both pro's and con's to both sides so for right now I will remain undecided on that issue.

The whole "self-directed" learning thing was a very new concept to me. I have had a love/hate relationship with it. The one thing that I really enjoyed doing is being able to choose what literature that I wanted to read in order to study and prepare for class the next day. It was a nice way of doing things because you seem to absorb the information better if you are choosing what you are studying. It also allowed me to get a grasp on different concepts that other students would not have seen because they were reading something completely different from what I was. Then we would get together and share what we learned making it so that we didn't have to read everything that the other students were and were still able to learn a lot of information without having to go through all of their readings as well.

The one thing that was hard for me with the self-directed learning concept was the lack of structure. It is very hard to judge grades and things like that in a university when there isn't a set structure put in place with a true way to be able to test people and weigh how much that they truly learned.

The Cellphone: Our Extended Brain

We are so dependent on our cellphones, and they increasingly perform more and more functions for us. They are essentially an extension of our brain. When I was younger I had many phone numbers memorized, I could easily pick up a phone and dial my friends number with no problems. Now I can't dial anyone's number without using my contact directory on my cell phone. Instead of me remembering the numbers, the phone does that function for me.

I also don't have to remember many other things, instead of storing it in my brain I just type it into my extended brain, my iPhone. Remembering things has never been easier. If I need to be reminded of something I just go to the reminder app and I'm reminded to do it.

From the time I was in Jr. High up until my mission I would use something called an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. After time my alarm clock was replaced by an iHome which allowed my music to wake me up. Now my cell phone has replaced the use of an alarm clock and I no longer have to lug an alarm clock with me if I'm going to need to be woken up in the morning.

I love taking pictures and documenting my life that way. I used to have to take a camera around with me. I got an iPhone and haven't touched my camera ever since. The photos are just as good as if I used my digital camera, and I can easily show people my pictures right on my phone rather than showing them a photo album that I would have had to lug around.

The smart phone has also replaced things such as our daily planners and palm pilots. Our phones are basicall our life lines, without them it would be very hard to function. We check our email, browse, the web, and we can talk to pretty much anyone we desire all around the world.

We are currently trying to even replace our wallets with our smartphones using NFC chips in our sim cards that allow us to use our credit cards just by presenting our phone.

We used to battle about which computer was superior, or what operating system was better than the other. I think that today's battle is which smartphone is better, which phone should I buy, who makes the best smartphone that will fulfill all of my needs.

Education: An Annotated Bibliography

I have been researching the use of technology in the classroom. In doing so I have visit several blogs, websites, and also have interviewed peers that are currently teaching in the classroom in order to gather the most current and best information available.

Kari Kotter, 2012: I use a document camera with mine and I love it! I like how the students can see the same worksheet they have. I'm not trying to explain where they should be, I can actually show them.
She is a teacher and has helped me to understand how useful some technologies such as tablets, e-readers, and smart projectors are used in the classroom.


Gillian Cheney, 2012: The E-readers work wonders with the students. I worked in a special education classroom with them and the students loved them. They struggle reading words, but understand words when they hear them so they all enjoy "reading" or listening to the books. 
Gillian has worked with the e-readers in the classroom for a while, especially in the special education sector. She has great insights as to how the e-readers are affecting the learning process.


Jill Barnes, 2012: I could see tablets being a distraction in the learning process because there is so much you can do on it, the student will be too focused on that rather than what's going on in the classroom.

Jill has good insights on how tablets have had a negative impact on the teaching process. It was good to get some opposing views on tablets in the classroom.

ipadinschools.com, 2012: “There is not a ton of debate about whether this is a direction the schools are heading,” said Annette Alpern, assistant superintendent of instructional services at the Redondo Beach Unified School District. “The question is more: How quickly will the future arrive?”

This website is designed specifically for discussing the use of iPad in schools. It has a lot of relevant information and helps to address alot of the questions that I have had while researching the topic.

Marc J. Rosenberg, 2011: 

http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/743/marc-my-words-back-to-school--tablets-in-the-classroom

Well positioned to take advantage of the K-12 eLearning explosion, tablet design takes us beyond online courses, simulations and games with sophisticated learning objectives in mind. Don’t be disdainful of video games; rather, look at the complexity of the decision-making and cognitive challenges they present. Done right, they can be powerful educational tools. 

This guys seems really knowledgeable on the subject, and his article has been useful to me while compiling my thought and ideas.

Vineet Madan, 2011:

http://mashable.com/2011/05/16/tablets-education/ 

Though tablets are a recent phenomenon, many students in high school and college have been using smartphones for years, and are already well-acquainted with touchscreen technology. Because they’ve become so accustomed to using these devices, students are increasingly expecting to use them in the classroom setting. When classrooms don’t implement what has now become “everyday” technology, we’re doing students a disservice. 

This website has some good insights as to why we should be implementing tablets in the classroom.

My Views on iPad in College Education

I think a lot about the future, and if the future of education involves the use of tablets in the classroom. They are nifty devices that have a lot of benefits, and can really make things more interactive for the student. They also have many other pro's and cons that make them a very useful device in the teaching process.

About a year ago I bought an iPad with the intent of using it with school. I was very impressed with it and what it was capable of doing. I liked how fast and zippy it was, and how easy it was to do simple tasks that would take a bit longer on the computer. It also helped me to keep my media more organized and in one place. I have really enjoyed my iPad.

I started to use my iPad at school immediately. I quickly learned that although it was a great gadget, it was hard for me to be as efficient with my school work if I relied solely on my iPad and did not use the laptop as well. The first obstacle I encountered was typing, it is very hard to type as fast on a glass screen. To resole this I bought myself a physical keyboard. Problem solved.

The next issue I encountered was multitasking. On my laptop I have many windows open and I am constantly switching between them and sometimes I need to have multiple windows open and be viewing them at the same time. I can't do this on my iPad, and really the only time this is inconvenient is when I am doing a research paper and need to be using the internet constantly.

What I really like the iPad for is studying. I use it to study my notes because it is portable and can keep all of my notes in one location. It's also easy to use when I am taking notes in class and from a book.

Talking With Teachers

I used part of my time last week to talk to teachers about the technology they are currently using in their classrooms. This allowed me to get a deeper insight into how things really are, and how things are going while incorporating specific devices into the classroom setting.


I learned that most teachers are very passionate about the technology used in the classroom. They all agreed though that there has to be a good balance between the technology being used and how it is being used. One teacher said, "I believe that technology has a place in the classroom and that it can help students achieve so much. However, I don't feel like technology should take over the classroom. It's a great tool to help students, but it's not the only tool."


While doing the interviews I learned of another gadget that I didn't know what being used, the "document projector." This gadget has a camera which projects the document, which is placed directly below it, on a projection screen, allowing students to see an exact copy of the document which the teacher is presenting. This has been very useful in the classroom because it eliminates the need for the teacher to create overhead slides, instead they can use the original document and the students can easily see it.

When discussing the use of document projector in the classroom a teacher said, “I use a document projector and I love it! I like how the students can see the same worksheet they have. I’m not trying to explain where they should be, I can actually show them.”

Another thing that I learned while talking with the teachers is another way that e-readers are being used in the classroom. Another advantage of the e-reader device is its capability to audibly read the books to the students, which helps them to figure out words that they otherwise would not be able to pronounce on their own. In an interview with a teacher that currently uses e-readers in the classroom I asked her opinion on the use of them and she responded as follows, “The e-readers work wonders with the students. I work in a special education classroom with them and the students love them. They struggle reading words, but understand words when they hear them so they all enjoy listening to the books.”

I'm excited to see what else I can learn while on my search for information on technology in the classroom. 

The Use of Technology in Education

My group is Education, so we have been thinking about the philosophy of education, as well as the technological mediums that have had great impacts on how students are being taught in the classroom. The following are some of the ideas that we have some far:

-Smart Boards
-Projectors
-Laptops
-Tablets
-E-readers and E-books
-Heart monitors in Gym Classes
-Online Syllabi and Course Websites


I believe that technology, when implemented properly, can be extremely useful in the education process. Many times they are implemented incorrecty and instead of becoming something useful it backfires and becomes a distraction to the students. A lot of the devices, such as laptops, being implemented in the education process have access to internet and have caused the students to be paying attention to other things instead of what they should be focusing on in the classroom. Although a great device, it is a huge distraction if not implemented properly with the right controls that limit the distractions.


When technology is implemented in the learning process it is crucial that it is implemented properly so that it does not become a detraction to the learning process. This is something that may be difficult to do in a lot of circumstances, but it is definitely something that is attainable. Many schools implement a firewall that restrict access to the internet on the student's laptop until the teacher authorizes the computer to access it at appropriate times. Many different other controls can be put in place to help limit the distractions.


What are your thoughts on other technologies that are being implemented in the classroom, or other ways that we can limit the distractioned use of these mediums?