Joanie's FlipSide

Culture of Technology & Jazz

jrjcottrell — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:39:58 +0000

I have enjoyed this semesters class of 628- Culture and Technology. I thought it would be more of a course regarding how various cultures use technology and how they have adapted to the ever-changing field of technology. However, I have found that this course shows how technology itself has become a culture. It has done so to the point that it could be an all consuming culture or Technopoly. It feeds on information and how fast and readily it is available, not necessarily how accurate this is the information. It becomes like kudzu, an entangled vine that grows and smothers everything in its path.

Keep aware that it can captivate you and eventually take you away without realizing that you have left everyone else behind. Or is it that you have been left behind while others have gone on with living and you are stuck in your tech fantasy world.

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688 – Virtual Worlds

jrjcottrell — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:29:42 +0000

Well, here is the reality of things. I thought I had this submitted and I didn’t. Duh. Too many jump drives and hard drives! I guess for a while, I wasn’t sure if I was coming, going, blogging, posting, texting, discussing, etc. Well, you get the picture. Anyway, about virtual worlds:

It is somewhat confusing when you need to play a virtual world game. I have discovered that the difference between that and just a simulation is that the virtual world has 3 dimension and sensorimotor input and output. The game in a virtual world, world can be interacted by you and other players. It continues to evolve even in your absence. However, you can manipulate the data based on your interaction or the lack of it.

The cost of the virtual world is equivalent to its time consumption. This is why you only get a glimpse of its capabilities in television shows like CSI, NCSI or Bones. I would like to know just how many Crime Scene Investigative Schools have such technology available for training. Yet, the exposure to it on television will continue to increase its demand, and perhaps allow the expense to decrease. Thus making it a virtual reality.

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Christmas!!!

jrjcottrell — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:13:11 +0000

Yeah! The yearly Christmas music program is done. I am soooooooo happy!! My students are great! This was the first year I had an entire group of students playing instruments for the audience. Usually, I have one or two playing along with the singers and dancers. But this year we had a recorder band. They played a Native American song called, “Tall Cedar Tree” that they learned from their books. I was so proud and you should have seen their faces beam. That’s Christmas! Thanks Lord, for letting me give them the knowledge of music and to share their gifts with others.

And that doesn’t even begin to describe the sweet voices of those children singing Silent Night as a tribute to the soldiers away from home. You could have heard a pin drop. Whoa!

Anyway, enough of my gushing. Have a very merry Christmas and may you and your family, kin, rogues, and entourage have a safe and blessed holiday season. Gotta start sewing and baking!

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685- Final Project: Reflection

jrjcottrell — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:04:48 +0000

Well, Dr. Lowell let me know that the initial “webquest” I had submitted, was not a webquest at all. It resembled the format I had used four year ago when I did a couple for an elementary music class I had taken. However, with time and technology, definitions change. Now I have found that a webquest is challenging to the student and somewhat to the creator. Its objective is to promote learning at a higher DOK than level one. The point is to encourage the student to use the skills they have obtained in using technology to research a subject and then to use the research and apply it to themselves in a real-life application. My students can do that, I just didn’t give them the credit and chance for using those skills. Thank you Dr. Lowell for helping me to be a better educator.

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685 Final Project

jrjcottrell — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:59:46 +0000

I thought that I would include a copy of my final project in my blog, should someone like to use it. I wrote a webquest for my fifth graders to do during the Computer Lab time in Fine Arts and Special Areas rotation. Mrs. Parsons is our technology instructor and collaborated with me in having the students complete it during their time with her. Thank you Bobbi!!! Anyway, here is a copy. You will have to change some of the wording that is set up for Parkway Elementary School, but the adaptations should be simple. Hope you like it. My kids do!

Students’ colo nial webquest

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Thanksgiving

jrjcottrell — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:50:37 +0000

Yes, it came and went and when all was said and done, I was the one stuffed!

I tried to eat in moderation, but you seem obligated to try a little of what each person brought. It’s not that way when you’re a kid. You may have to eat some “real food” before the desserts, but parents have a large variety to choose from to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. However, adults have it worse. You have to appease everyone who brought something. I took a small spoonful from several things, even getting a few of what I don’t care for before I sat down. I wasn’t able to get everything on my plate because there was simply too much to get. I no sooner got my long legs in at the bench table in the kitchen, when someone pointed out that I didn’t have any of what they had brought on my plate. That followed with the explanation, that I “ran out of room”. I ate about three things and then quickly got up and filled the opening with the missing elements. I then sat down and ate to my discomfort and then some. No sooner had I taken the last bite, when it was asked, “Would you like some coffee with your dessert?”

What dessert? I had no room for dessert. I am thankful for being able to have a family of great cooks who like to share their skills with others. I am thankful God made stomachs stretchable. I am thankful that I can recuperate for a while before we get together like that again.

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685 wk6 -Ch 6 Kearsley

jrjcottrell — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:09:54 +0000

It has come to my attention that for some reason, I have not received a grade for this posting. Therefore, I am posting it again and adding more of my thoughts on filling the gap between Standard and Lesson Plan.

Filling the Gap: Core Content Standards are minimal in their description to allow the teacher’s personality and skills to meet the state requirements on teaching the Standards. Each instructor has their own approach and in my core content, Music, we are allotted some flexibility in our teaching methods. I like to use performance, Thoughtful Education charts and games, technology and textbooks in meeting the standards. If I am using the same resources for each element of Music that is introduced or reviewed, then my students will become bored, and find the subject mundane. If instead, I am able to collaborate with Faculty and parents in approaching subject matter, include student interaction, participation and feedback then I find that my students are more engaged in the learning process. I carefully moderate each classtime, and reflect so that I can continually improve my teaching methods and assess their participation. This enables me to modify lesson plans so that I can keep what works, and explore other avenues for those points that need improvement.

Previous Post on Kearsley Ch. 6:

685 – Ch. 6 Online Teaching

Sorry it is taking me so long to blog for this week. We have had major problems with our LAN service and the rain. Along with the underground DSL and phone lines having some moisture problems, Tennessee PVA has upgraded and is affecting our local providers. That having been said, let’s talk about online teaching.

Interactivity and Participation – Participation is a major part of online courses and the way to engage your students is to keep interacting with them and keep them interacting with each other. Various discussion questions and written assignments will help them to voice their opinions and express themselves more if they are interesting and relevant to the students. Participation can take place without interaction, but it does no one any good if the student is a “wall flower” and is present in the online discussions or chat sessions, but does not give input.

While feedback is necessary to let the students know how they are doing, the important factor of it is the timing. As Kearsley states, it is “more valuable in correcting misunderstandings”, and these misconceptions can be corrected easily if the feedback is somewhat immediate.

Facilitation and moderating is done everyday that I teach. I have to make certain that students have the resources needed to complete their assignments and moderate how they use them and encourage them to use a variety of resources to discover which tools work best for them. Elementary teachers do this regularly because our students need more guidance and are introduced to so many new concepts that older students understand more.

On effectiveness of online teaching let me say that it is imperative that you know how the tools you choose interact with one another. The knowledge of your software will result in an air of confidence that the students have in your abilities to teach the subject.

This knowledge will assist in your choice of design for the course by knowing what aspects of each program will enhance the learning experience. If you are not familiar with the software being used and how it interacts with other programs, then it can result in confusion for the students. After looking at both sets of tools, the basic and advanced, I would add one more tool and that is an FAQ section. This would help alleviate some confusion and reduce the instructor’s workload.

I would use a few tools to keep it less confusing for the students, but at the same time, make a list of resources available for them so that they can experiment if they dare. This would allow those who have more time, or are adventurous to discover new tools and resources and to find which tools work best for them

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685 – Final Project

jrjcottrell — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:58:58 +0000

I have decided to have my students complete a webquest on Williamsburg, Va. and then have them write a letter to the Williamsburg Tourism Commission on what they liked and how to improve their website.

This will help the students see that they have a voice about what they can learn and that it is important to be detailed in expressing their opinions so that others can understand them. I will know if it’s working, if we get feedback from the Tourism Commission.

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685- Kearsley & Research

jrjcottrell — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:53:21 +0000

One thing that Kearsley says is that the use of computers can change a student and instructor interaction. I think that students are more likely to open up to you online and seem to be able to express themselves better than if you just have them write with a pencil and paper. I find that open responses are more detailed and thought processing is deeper and more entailed when I pose the question and ask it to be answered online rather than on a test. I have gotten responses that are expressed well and are much more detailed through this media.

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688 – free Tech

jrjcottrell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:09:05 +0000

I just have to say that I am really enjoying having www.freetech4teachers.com added to my reader. I have shared more sites and information and grant info with my colleagues that I ever could have imagined. This is really a great site.

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