This article was a discussion of internet-based learning. Authors reviewed internet based learning and found that three- fourths of the participants found the online video conferencing and other online education was as valuable as face-to-face learning. Although this method is not preferred or thought of as equal by all, it can be a valuable way to educate where distance is involved. Furthermore, over 96% of participants thought technology should be used in similar educational ways in the future. Those who disagreed with the use of online delivery felt it was impersonal or they lacked the knowledge to effectively use the technology employed for the course. This article reassured me in using technology to educate. I have felt very unsure of how accepting people will be since I have heard technology is hard to incorporate in traditional Extension programs. This is a great example of how it has been used in Extension.
When we have limited options for providing education we must make the most of what we have. I cannot change the fact that it is not feasible to educate people face-to face across the state. I am however not limited by the technology available. I really think the proper use of technology can help create an environment that minimizes the limitations I am faced. Uploading pictures and use of blogs or chat can also help reduce the impersonal feeling that those who are apprehensive have expressed as an issue. It does not completely eliminate the issue but greatly reduces it.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Stacey Terrill- Totally Tech 4-H camp
Bourdeau, V.D., Taylor,E.(2007). Creating a 4-H Technology Camp for Middle School Youth. Journal of Extension(Online). 45:5 5IAW4 Available from http://www.joe.org/joe/2007october/iw4.php
This article reviewed the outcomes of a “Totally Technology” camp that offered 4-H members the opportunity to explore technology and science at the same time and think of future career opportunities. The conclusions the researchers found were interesting. After attending the camp, most participants when surveyed indicated they would seek to learn more on the technology topics offered and would likely attend another technology camp. The article discussed the opportunities and advantages this learning environment has. The class sizes were small, and the volunteers and “teachers” were numerous. One conclusion the authors drew from the results of the surveys administered to the 4-H members was that these types of camps could be used to fill community and school gaps in technology education. My only concern about this is that the number of youth exposed would be limited.
I do think that youth should be engaged in learning new technology. For my thesis, I would like to use the 4-H members to create the digital stories and online media sources. This way they will learn about IPM and technology simultaneously. 4-H has a traveling lab available for clubs to use that has a laptops and the needed software to work with various types of media. I will be working with the Gallatin County Horticulture project members and potentially the videography project members.
This article reviewed the outcomes of a “Totally Technology” camp that offered 4-H members the opportunity to explore technology and science at the same time and think of future career opportunities. The conclusions the researchers found were interesting. After attending the camp, most participants when surveyed indicated they would seek to learn more on the technology topics offered and would likely attend another technology camp. The article discussed the opportunities and advantages this learning environment has. The class sizes were small, and the volunteers and “teachers” were numerous. One conclusion the authors drew from the results of the surveys administered to the 4-H members was that these types of camps could be used to fill community and school gaps in technology education. My only concern about this is that the number of youth exposed would be limited.
I do think that youth should be engaged in learning new technology. For my thesis, I would like to use the 4-H members to create the digital stories and online media sources. This way they will learn about IPM and technology simultaneously. 4-H has a traveling lab available for clubs to use that has a laptops and the needed software to work with various types of media. I will be working with the Gallatin County Horticulture project members and potentially the videography project members.
Stacey Terrill- Technology to Teach
Levine, S.J.(1995).Taking Advantage of New Technology for Education. Journal of Extension (Online). 33:4 4COM2. Available from http://www.joe.org/joe/1995august/comm2.php
The article I read this week discussed using technology to educate. It gave examples of online shopping and setting up travel arrangement with ease and from the comfort of your home. It then tied this to education in Extension with the concept that we should not “accessorize with the latest gadgets” but make the learners experience improved. The article was not the best written in my opinion but I found one concept very interesting. This was the idea that technology must not be looked at as merely a way to save money, time, and make educators’ lives easier. Instead, we must user a learner centered approach in which we focus on the improvement of the learning experience.
For my work and the work of many Extension specialists, technology could really improve our efforts. By recognizing that it is difficult to reach people statewide but that they may wish to seek information from the University online resources may help deliver information to these audiences. Previously, we have sent out fact sheets on information requested but now we plan to create a series of digital stories to create a more complete resource on topics commonly sought. We also have someone who has volunteered to translate all of our digital resources into Spanish. This is excellent because in the agriculture setting there exists a large migrant worker population who often do not speak English. By providing resources in their language as well as visually they will be able to learn about IPM.
The article I read this week discussed using technology to educate. It gave examples of online shopping and setting up travel arrangement with ease and from the comfort of your home. It then tied this to education in Extension with the concept that we should not “accessorize with the latest gadgets” but make the learners experience improved. The article was not the best written in my opinion but I found one concept very interesting. This was the idea that technology must not be looked at as merely a way to save money, time, and make educators’ lives easier. Instead, we must user a learner centered approach in which we focus on the improvement of the learning experience.
For my work and the work of many Extension specialists, technology could really improve our efforts. By recognizing that it is difficult to reach people statewide but that they may wish to seek information from the University online resources may help deliver information to these audiences. Previously, we have sent out fact sheets on information requested but now we plan to create a series of digital stories to create a more complete resource on topics commonly sought. We also have someone who has volunteered to translate all of our digital resources into Spanish. This is excellent because in the agriculture setting there exists a large migrant worker population who often do not speak English. By providing resources in their language as well as visually they will be able to learn about IPM.
Stacey Terrill- teaching through Extension
Since I am not in a classroom setting Joan and I modified what I read and responded to. I am just now posting all of my blogs due to a communication error so I hope some of it might be useful.
Colasanti, K., Wright, W. , Reau, B. (2009). Extension, the land-grant mission, and civic agriculture: cultivating change. Journal of Extension [On-Line], 47(4) Article 4FEA. Available at http://www.joe.org/joe/2009august/a1.php
This paper addressed the issues of teaching through Extension and how Extension has changed and needs to change to meet the needs of today. It discusses the development of Land-grant Universities as a means to provide practical science based knowledge to the public. Today, the needs of people have changed drastically since the beginning of Land-grant Universities and. Therefore, if Extension is to remain relevant and beneficial, programming content must reflect the changes that have occurred and delivery means must be updated.
The article discusses how former teaching methods may cause harm by separating the University from the people by viewing Extension faculty as “experts” and the community inactive consumers. Instead, through “leaderful” approach the community becomes engaged in the learning process. Through this process, people learn new information and develop strategies for informed decision making. This article provides the components necessary for an effective Extension program to meet today’s needs. Technology as a means for teaching and communication has been controversial in the traditional world. I think that if we are to meet the needs of today’s learners we should be using technology to enhance our delivery methods. Using a variety of resources, we can create an environment of active learning where instead of “experts” we have participants of learning through collaborations.
Explored in this article is an economic program in Southeast Michigan, The Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP). This collaboration, started in 2004, recognized changing needs in the food system and decided to use “real” people to shape education efforts. This program focuses on the community as active learners and uses informal guidance to provide science based information. Outlined in this article, are the requirements of a successful program using this structure. I hope to be able to integrate technology into my thesis and learning efforts to enhance learning for everyone.
Colasanti, K., Wright, W. , Reau, B. (2009). Extension, the land-grant mission, and civic agriculture: cultivating change. Journal of Extension [On-Line], 47(4) Article 4FEA. Available at http://www.joe.org/joe/2009august/a1.php
This paper addressed the issues of teaching through Extension and how Extension has changed and needs to change to meet the needs of today. It discusses the development of Land-grant Universities as a means to provide practical science based knowledge to the public. Today, the needs of people have changed drastically since the beginning of Land-grant Universities and. Therefore, if Extension is to remain relevant and beneficial, programming content must reflect the changes that have occurred and delivery means must be updated.
The article discusses how former teaching methods may cause harm by separating the University from the people by viewing Extension faculty as “experts” and the community inactive consumers. Instead, through “leaderful” approach the community becomes engaged in the learning process. Through this process, people learn new information and develop strategies for informed decision making. This article provides the components necessary for an effective Extension program to meet today’s needs. Technology as a means for teaching and communication has been controversial in the traditional world. I think that if we are to meet the needs of today’s learners we should be using technology to enhance our delivery methods. Using a variety of resources, we can create an environment of active learning where instead of “experts” we have participants of learning through collaborations.
Explored in this article is an economic program in Southeast Michigan, The Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP). This collaboration, started in 2004, recognized changing needs in the food system and decided to use “real” people to shape education efforts. This program focuses on the community as active learners and uses informal guidance to provide science based information. Outlined in this article, are the requirements of a successful program using this structure. I hope to be able to integrate technology into my thesis and learning efforts to enhance learning for everyone.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Kate Wampler's Chapter 10 Reflection
1 New Learning
Although I had an idea of what a hypertext was and how it worked, I did not associate the term hypertext with it's meaning. After reading this chapter, I can confidently say that I know a hypertext is widely available information that is linked and cross referenced in many different ways. I can't imagine the amount of time people used to spend finding information about a specific topic, thought, or question. It is so easy to access information thanks to hypertext!
1 New Idea
Although I read many poems in my class with my students, I think it would be fun to create a hyperlinked document poem. For the rhyming words I could create links to images so visual learners can connect with the lesson. I could also create links for vocabulary words that are confusing for my students, so they could get a visual image of what the word is providing them with a meaingful connection to the new word.
1 Concern
The various technologies that were addressed and introduced in this chapter got me thinking about which specific technologies I should be introducing my students to. I am confused as to what exactly I should be teaching at the kindergarten level. Should I be introducing my students to hypermedia, and if so in what form? Additionally, I am confused as to how often and how much I should expose my kindergarten students to current technology in general.
Although I had an idea of what a hypertext was and how it worked, I did not associate the term hypertext with it's meaning. After reading this chapter, I can confidently say that I know a hypertext is widely available information that is linked and cross referenced in many different ways. I can't imagine the amount of time people used to spend finding information about a specific topic, thought, or question. It is so easy to access information thanks to hypertext!
1 New Idea
Although I read many poems in my class with my students, I think it would be fun to create a hyperlinked document poem. For the rhyming words I could create links to images so visual learners can connect with the lesson. I could also create links for vocabulary words that are confusing for my students, so they could get a visual image of what the word is providing them with a meaingful connection to the new word.
1 Concern
The various technologies that were addressed and introduced in this chapter got me thinking about which specific technologies I should be introducing my students to. I am confused as to what exactly I should be teaching at the kindergarten level. Should I be introducing my students to hypermedia, and if so in what form? Additionally, I am confused as to how often and how much I should expose my kindergarten students to current technology in general.
Kate Wampler's Chapter 9 Reflection
1 New Learning
I found the information on probeware to be very interesting and exciting. I didn't know that such complex technologies could be used to teach concepts such as velocity, temperature, thermal pollution and distance. I think that students would learn so much more about scientific concepts through the use of probeware than traditional lectures. If I taught at the middle or high school levels I would use probeware and it's real time data devices to measure, store and analyze data in order to provide my students with hands-on, student centered activities.
1 Integration Idea
The meaning of a graph is a major concept that is taught in kindergarten. Although they get numerous opportunties to use simple bar graphs on paper to collect information about various things, I would love to use a graphing calculator in the computer lab and have the students orally help me enter information into the graphing calculator. I believe my students would benefit tremendously from seeing the many uses of a graphing calculator.
1 Concern
With all the technologies out there, which ones should I focus on teaching my kindergarteners to ensure they are ready for subsequent grades? Although I am familiar with the National Technology Standards, they are far too general and do not provide specific benchmarks for each grade, making it overwhelming for a teacher to determine what they should teach their students about technology.
I found the information on probeware to be very interesting and exciting. I didn't know that such complex technologies could be used to teach concepts such as velocity, temperature, thermal pollution and distance. I think that students would learn so much more about scientific concepts through the use of probeware than traditional lectures. If I taught at the middle or high school levels I would use probeware and it's real time data devices to measure, store and analyze data in order to provide my students with hands-on, student centered activities.
1 Integration Idea
The meaning of a graph is a major concept that is taught in kindergarten. Although they get numerous opportunties to use simple bar graphs on paper to collect information about various things, I would love to use a graphing calculator in the computer lab and have the students orally help me enter information into the graphing calculator. I believe my students would benefit tremendously from seeing the many uses of a graphing calculator.
1 Concern
With all the technologies out there, which ones should I focus on teaching my kindergarteners to ensure they are ready for subsequent grades? Although I am familiar with the National Technology Standards, they are far too general and do not provide specific benchmarks for each grade, making it overwhelming for a teacher to determine what they should teach their students about technology.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Alicia McEwen's Chapter 10 Reflection
I have mixed feelings about the information presented in chapter 10. I do agree with the fact that our students need to be exposed and properly taught how to use different sources of technology. They will need these skills for their future careers. As their teachers, it is our responsibilty to teach them to become capable, productive adults. My concern lies within the fact that as we integrate all this technolgy it seems like we are letting go of many of the simple but valuable human abilities, like being able to do math and write with paper and pencil. I just can't help but to feel a little saddened by the thought of loosing these abilities.
I think it would be fun to take a form of technology (like a phone) and show the kids how its changed throughout the years. Phones would be fun because they have been around for so long and the forms of them have changed so much.
I'm going to sound like a hypocrit because I love my cell phone and computer. Both have made my life so much easier. I can even do my Masters online! This has given me the opportunity to spend more time with my daugter, and I am so grateful for that. However,
I am just worried that the generation of our students won't know how to appreciate the simplicity of life without being surrounded by technolgy.
I think it would be fun to take a form of technology (like a phone) and show the kids how its changed throughout the years. Phones would be fun because they have been around for so long and the forms of them have changed so much.
I'm going to sound like a hypocrit because I love my cell phone and computer. Both have made my life so much easier. I can even do my Masters online! This has given me the opportunity to spend more time with my daugter, and I am so grateful for that. However,
I am just worried that the generation of our students won't know how to appreciate the simplicity of life without being surrounded by technolgy.
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