Wiki Reflection 2

I am beginning to see how working on a wiki with classmates can help me learn. For one thing, I have to think of my teammates’ schedules as well as mine. Since one of the things I like about asynchronous learning is the freedom from most schedule demands, this requires a mindset shift. It also prevents me from procrastinating, even on other assignments, since I have to set aside time to work on the group project. We had an excellent group leader who helped keep us on task. We communicated regularly via various online communication venues, allowing us to try several different options. In our conversations, we talked about deadlines, responsibilities, and interpretations of assignment instructions. This was very useful, since we did not all understand the assignment instructions the same way. Since we divided up the sections of the paper, we got to see each other’s strengths and help with each other’s weaknesses. Since I not only read but helped edit the whole paper, I learned from my teammates’ input in the sections I had not had to research. Seeing how a classmate presented her material made me rethink my style in my contribution. Since I would like to eventually teach online classes, using a wiki will definitely be on my list of options for class lessons.

Wiki Reflection 1

Before taking this class, the principal interface I had experienced with a wiki was to access Wikipedia. I had heard wikis were a great way to encourage collaboration among students thereby increasing learning. Now I was going to experience it for myself. Because I was unavailable for my team’s first skype meeting, I chose a different topic for my webibliography than the one I would research for the wiki project. This meant I started working on the wiki feeling behind in my research. However, I was very interested in the topic, both the topic of the whole wiki – Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – and my particular page – Professional Development (PD). Since I consider myself a teacher, I was very interested with the methods used to encourage and teach educators to incorporate technology in the classroom. The problem for me was that there wasn’t much research available because professional development for technology inclusion is a fairly new phenomenon and extending it to BYOD professional development means the research is almost non-existent. So I had to begin my project by deciding to settle for the research done on PD for technology inclusion, knowing that most of it would probably transfer from one type of PD to the other. I had been in classes with two of the three classmates in my group, so I was looking forward to working with them.

Muddiest Point

The muddiest point for me is the issue of copyrights and distance education. Because of the explosion of technology, the waters of copyright issues have become very muddy. In the past, if I purchased a book I was allowed to loan it to any friend I desired. If they forgot to return it, that was OK, too. Today, if I purchase any e-book for my Kindle, only some of them can be loaned to my husband’s Kindle. Most of them will be deleted from his device after a certain period of time. These copyright protections are done automatically, but this does not always happen in the field of distance education. It would be very convenient if textbooks could be accessed online, even for students in a traditional classroom so their book bags wouldn't be so heavy. However, this is highly unlikely at this time because of copyright limitations. It is very easy to violate copyrights because the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH) seems to put the greater burden on the users to interpret the law. In spite of the many words used in the language of the Act, most of them are negative – what can’t be done (Seadle, 2003). Does this mean that whatever is not listed can be done? Unfortunately, the true understanding of the amendment to our copyright laws will only come when violations are discovered and the courts interpret the TEACH Act for us in their rulings (Nelson, 2009).

References:

Nelson, E. (2009). Copyright and distance education: The impact of the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act. AACE Journal, 83 - 101.

Seadle, M. (2003). Copyright in a networked world: Digital distance education. Library Hi Tech, 253 - 256.

Most Important Theory

We teachers are neglecting the technology tools our students use daily. However, the “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) movement is gaining ground. This is a theory that plans to use devices that our students already have to enhance learning in the classroom. If we allow our students to access the internet with their own smartphones or tablets, we can transform the classroom into a better learning environment. Some of the advantages inherent in this plan are that students are already familiar with the devices they own, the cost to the schools is reduced, and students are more likely to keep their devices updated. Some of the problems associated with this theory are that the devices are likely to be different (making consistency for the teacher a problem), students can more easily breach the schools’ security, and unwanted features may be available to the students during class time such as texting or phone. Since this plan is such a change from the “Park your phone at the door, or expect it to be confiscated,” times of the near past, we teachers have to make a shift in our thinking and planning for our lesson plans. However, it is a plan that makes sense and overcomes some of the difficulties of putting technology into our students’ hands with a much lower input of cash from the school.

References:
Brown, A. H., Green, T. D., & Robinson, L. K. (2010). Security vs. access. Washington, DC: ISTE. 

Norris, C., & Soloway, E. (June 2012). The $100 computer is here today: one-to-one across the nation by 2015 is inevitable. District Administration, 70.

Most Important Point

Since we teachers tend to focus on changing our students, we tend to be resistant to changing ourselves. Combine this attitude with busy schedules, and teachers have a hard time changing with the times. Add to this problem schools which are resistant to mobile technology being brought into the classrooms, and we have students who separate their daily lives from their lives at school. They don’t see much relevance in their school learning.

Because of these things, I believe the trend toward mobile devices is one of the most important issues in education today. Our students use them all the time, and some of us do, too. However, these devices usually only make it into our classrooms when students break the rules. Educators and administrators need to find ways to allow the use of mobile devices in schools, so school networks remain relatively safe and students learn to use their mobile devices for more than communication. Students need to learn academic material in the same way they are used to learning other things so learning will be more intuitive and less painful for them. This changes the direction for technology resource staff. Instead of just managing the networks and troubleshooting the equipment, the main thrusts of the job will be app research, management of security for networks and devices, and instruction for teachers in how to best use the technology available.

Mobile

EDUC 630 Kindle Fire

The fairly new Kindle Fire has many of the same applications that are available on a smart phone, but the surface area is larger, so the font can be larger and more screen is visible than on a phone. When wi-fi is available, you can surf the internet, download books and apps, and play internet games. The screen is touch activated and has a touch keyboard screen that appears when needed. The font size can be adjusted, books can be stored in your cloud or on your device, and it is very easy to use. You can check out library books or buy your own copy of a book you want to read and download it to your device. I have not yet used mine for an audio book, so I don’t know what the audio quality is as compared to an ipod. I love traveling with mine. My husband always complained about the weight of my suitcase when we traveled because I didn’t want to run out of books to read. Now I carry my Fire in my purse, knowing I can get new books easily if I run out. I have four translations of the Bible loaded and have the capability of searching them and having multiple bookmarks. I don’t use the highlight feature too much because I didn’t use the physical highlighter on a paper book very often, but it is available as well to help readers take notes. The game apps help pass the time when waiting in a doctor’s office, and again, it fits in my purse.

I could see the Kindle being used in educational settings. The obvious use would be for books to read in an English class. Each student could be issued their own Kindle (around $200 each when bought individually, so it is cheaper than an iPad) loaded with the books for the course. Teachers could download assignments to each student’s Kindle Fire if they have wi-fi in the classroom or if they have a USB cable connection. Educational games such as math practice games could be loaded for practice in other subjects. For those who need help with reading, there are apps to translate or to read aloud. Because of its size, it won’t really fit in pockets, but it is not cumbersome. It certainly is much more manageable than a typical textbook. After reading some of Marc Prensky’s articles on technology in the classroom, especially the one where he recommends “disposable technology”, a Kindle Fire is a very real option to enhance learning in the classroom.