WEEK+1

Monday, January 11, 2010 (Week 1) - Introduction to the course & creating a wiki

My first impression of this class is that I am going to learn a lot about various forms of technology that are becoming, or are already popular in our society. I found Professor Summers to be lively, full of positive energy, approachable and passionate about teaching this course. I know I will learn a lot from Professor Summers as he had my attention from the outset and I want to learn as much from him, the expert, as I can!

The first part of class Monday required each student to share some information about him/herself. One component was to indicate the level of knowledge/expertise with technology on a scale of one (1) to ten (10). I informed Professor Summers and the class that I am a level 6 ... here is why (side note: I was just explaining to my Mom about the wiki I am working on and the level I gave myself during class - she was shocked that I had given myself a '6' so I had to explain to her the following reasons):
 * I must admit that in terms of computers (I own a laptop), I know how to use Microsoft Office, email, search the web, and retrieve scholarly journal artciles from Google Scholar and the University of Ottawa Library site (I hope I am not missing anything and if I am, I will add it at a later time). I do not know how to dowload music and videos or what sites I would go to find music to download. I don't know how to write script; however, I did design a website last semester using a free website and help from my brother and I design a computer program in grade 10 as a culminating project. During my practicum and as I continue to volunteer at the school where I completed my practicum, I see more and more students using laptops which is a definite shift from when I was in high school as no one had a laptop ... or if they did, they didn't bring it to school.
 * Video games - I have not grown up playing them and therefore, I have a very difficult time trying to play them because my fingers are not coordinated enought to hit all of the different buttons required for different movements. I have tried playing the EA NHL games and some 'sniper-type' games but I just don't have what it takes - and I am more of an outdoors person than sit on the couch and play video games. I have played on my brother's Wii a few times and have quite enjoyed it. I have also played Rockband and Guitar Hero - my coordination for fine motor skills like playing a guitar is not up to par by any means!
 * Cell phone - I have owned a cell phone since I was about 17 years old, about 6 months after I got my G2 license. I use my cell phone as a method for people to contact me instead of calling me on my parents phone (I still live at home so I don't want to tie up their phone line too much). So, I talk a lot on my phone and text quite a bit. I use my mobile browser on occasion to check the scores from previous nights hockey games as I am a huge sports fan, but that is about it. However, I am looking into getting a Blackberry or iPhone as I would like to have a device which will permit me to access and respond to emails during the day instead of relying solely on my laptop.
 * iPod - Yes!! I own an iPod and it is a great companion when at the gym lifting weights or doing cardio, or when going on a walk or run. I find listening to my iPod helps to keep me moving and pumped up (based on the tunes I am listening too). I also like to listen to my iPod when I am on the bus as sometimes, I find it hard to read when busing and listening to music and simply relaxing is sometimes the way to go.

As you can tell, I do have some knowledge about various forms of technology; however, I do not feel that I am as near as comfortable and competent with technology as the students I am teaching in high school. Speaking of high school, one of the classes I taught during my practicum was Grade 12 Exercise Science. The teacher for this course was the one I had in grade 12 for the same course and he was using the same notes and the same method of delivery: overhead projector with the notes on a transparency sheet. I decided that I would introduce PowerPoint slides to the class but still have them copy down the notes. I didn't like this method of instruction because the students were focused on writing down the information on the slides which limited the amount of time to have discussions about the content. I changed my technique slightly for the duration of my practicum as I designed fill-in-the-blank slides. I would photocopy all of the slides with the blanks on it for the students and distribute them at the beginning of class. Then, I would show the slides with no blanks. This required students to read through the slides and determine which word was missing and fill-in-the-blank. This method of instruction enabled me to cover more content and allowed for more time to discuss key concepts and address student questions.

Now, on to the reading for this week, which is titled: "Understanding the Digital Generation". I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article as it allowed me to think about about the acronym "TTWWADI" (That's The Way We've Always Done It) and how what was done when I was in high school is still being done today. For example, there is still the bell system to inform staff and students when classes begin and end, there are still 4 or 5 instructional periods in a day (the school where I did my placement has four (4) periods for instruction and one (1) period as an MSIP, which stands for Multi-Study Instructional Period, where students have the class to complete homework). A handful of teachers have retired or have moved schools since I graduated seven years ago; therefore, many of the teachers who taught me are still teaching using the same techniques and strategies ... some of them were not efefctive techniques or strategies when I was in high school and they are still not effective today (i.e. use of overhead projector to copy notes for an entire period). I liked the concept of "Digital Natives", so the students in our elementary and secondary systems today, and "Digital Immigrants" which would include individuals such as my parents. I think these concepts are valid as it accurately illustrates two unique worlds, one that has been raised using and accepting technology and the other that may have exhibit some resistence to the new ways in which communication and entertainment has evolved. I found the section about the brain and neuroplasticity intriguing as I was able to refresh on information I had learned about in a motor learning class which I took in 3rd year of the Human Kinetics program, and I was able to learn more about advances in this field. I found the analogy of the brain being compared to a tree as a great visual and method to explain the concept of neurons, pruning, and neural pathways. I believe that having something tangible to relate a concept too helps to visualize and understand the concept. I am going to include the seven digital learner's learning styles as I found them particularly interesting. I hope to observe students in my high school and see how the learning styles, if any, translate to the students I am working with.
 * 1) Digital learners operate at twitch speed due to expose to video games, hand-held devices, hypertext, etc., and as a result digital learners have had more experience processing data and high speed information quickly than we have. Many of our teachers today haven't had that experience, and as such feel comfortable processing at the same conventional speed they have learned and taught with all of their lives.
 * 2) Digital learners like to multi-task and absorb through parallel processing ... Our schools still focus on processing one thing at a time, which is a very traditional and linear approach.
 * 3) Digital learners prefer the mediums of picture, sound and color as opposed to text-based input ... Many educators prefer to provide text before pictures, sounds and video.
 * 4) Digital learners prefer random access to hyperlinked multimedia information, because they go from one source to another in a semi-random way. Many educators provide information in a new traditional way - linear, logical, sequential, and very left-brain.
 * 5) Digital learners prefer to collaborate and work simultaneously with others. Many educators insist students work independently at first before working in pairs or grops.
 * 6) Digital learners prefer to learn "just-in-time". Many educators prefer to teach "just-in-case". - Educators are saying "you have to learn this just in case it happens to be on an exam, just in case you might need it to pass the course, just in case you may want to become an engineer or writer". Digital learners, however, want to gain an understanding of what they need to know but they want to acquire these skills just in time to play a new game, play the piano, fix a bike or something else they don't know how to do. Just-in-time learning is about learners having the skills and habits of mind that allow them to learn and adapt just in time for that next window of opportunity that opens up to them.
 * 7) Digital learners prefer instant gratification and rewards. Many educators prefer to delay that gratification. The idea is that if you study hard and keep focused, you'll eventually be rewarded with a good grade or acceptance at a good school.

I forgot to talk about my wiki, so I will do so briefly - I am finding the wiki experience a lot of fun! I have never designed a wiki before so I have a great deal to learn about how to make my wiki appealing and how to add different images and sounds. Thus far, I have had a lot of fun learning how to design different pages within my wiki and doing a reflection like the one I am doing right now. I hope to apply what I have learned in class to my wiki and show what I have learned over the course of the semester as I acquire more knowledge and confidence with technology.

Signing off for now ... week 1 was exciting and I can't wait to learn more in the upcoming weeks!