Reflections On Using Technology

Journal 1
November 21, 2001After attending the kick-off reception for the MITTEN project, I have confidence that this will be a positive professional experience for me. I am delighted that I will learn power point and other uses of technology. I am concerned about the degree to which our group will function interactively and help each other with common goals. In other words, I donít want this to be an individual needs meet experience and leave it at that. Rather, I want to hear the voices of the others in my cohort group so that we can find new ways to use technology to improve teacher education. I have a very big responsibility in this and I hope that I will be able to listen to the concerns of the student teachers, cooperating teachers and supervisors and collaborate with them so that we can improve our preparation of young teachers.
Journal 2
Workshop on Databases using MS Access
The workshop was informative. I had some experiences with databases, but I learned by trial and error. Now I know how I can easily keep data on students by generating class rosters. Some of the people at the workshop mentioned using databases as a test bank. That is a possibility I may consider, although there may be software designed especially for this purpose.
My feelings regarding this experience so far remain positive. I do fear, however, being expected to create databases for the reading program or other administrative duties that have little to do with my teaching. In other words, knowledge can mean more is expected of you and I am already bogged down with many, many, duties. Databases required TIME to enter data. This seems to be a secretarial task.
Journal 3
Workshop Friday, 12-7 on Power Point. I have had a power point icon on my desktop for years now. Itís a shame that I have never been able to attend one of the workshops before to learn how to use this wonderful tool. I was captivated by the idea of making my presentations/lectures more effective and professional looking by using this tool. Although power point seems relatively simple, the session went a little quickly for me to soak it all in (could be the time of day and week, being Friday 4-6).
Nevertheless, I am going to prepare my presentation for the reading endorsement program for program review in Lansing on January 11, 2002 using a simple power point format. I think that this will enhance the presentation as well as help me feel more confidants in my presentation during this important process. I also plan to put together a power point presentation on Critical Thinking/Critical Literacy for the MRA conference at which I am presenting in March 2002. I am very excited about using this new technology and I feel comfortable in getting all the support I need from the MITTEN group.

Journal 4
12- 14-01
Hypermedia
This session topic was completely new to me. I really did not know anything about how to put today a multimedia presentation. It is a rather fun thing to do but the software is terribly complicated. I can see how children could make use of this wonderful format to put together reports and projects. The teacher would really need to be competent in the software and aware of all that could go wrong, for there are frustrating aspects of it that might upset children. Overall, I am glad I now know about it enough to play with it and to put together a simple presentation.
Journal 5
May 14, 2002
Before attending the Mitten workshop on scanners and digital editing, I really did not think I would get much professional use out of this session. However, I attended because I think it is my duty as a Mitten participant to learn all that is offered to me. I was surprised at how easy it was to edit photographs, and I could see the possibilities for classroom teachers and even for my teaching. In sum, it was worthwhile for me to learn about this software.
Journal 6
May 16, 2002
Before attending this workshop I was looking forward to learning about Excel ìthe right wayî rather than by trial and error as I had in the past. After attending the Mitten workshop on using spreadsheets I feel much more confidant about using this tool to keep a grade book. I have used this program when I coordinated a Learning Lab in a Community College. I had to keep track of hours worked by tutors and calculate their weekly earnings. However, I didnít know how to use many of the features and todayís workshop cleared things up for me. I only fear that I will forget some of the more detailed procedures if I donít practice using this software on a consistent basis.

Journal 7
Power Point May 21, 2002
I decided to take the power point workshop a second time. I have been using power point to improve lectures and to give presentation at conferences. Attending the workshop a second time, I became more proficient at downloading images and sounds from the Internet. I also learned more about trouble shooting assorted nuances of the tool that previously had given me trouble. Participating ii the workshop a second time has made me more confident that my Power Point presentations will be effective.
Journal 8
Electronic Portfolio Development Workshop- May 31, 2002
I was looking forward to this session because I did not know how to get started using this software and template. Knowing that I was going to have to develop my own portfolio, I was very attentive during the workshop. After attending the workshop I felt relieved to have the knowledge needed to add to my electronic portfolio as I use technology for my professional projects and teaching. I didnít want to have to put together my entire portfolio at the end of my MITTEN experience. Now I am confident that I will be able to create a portfolio that will clearly convey my experiences and reflections using my newfound skills in technology.
I had already taken this workshop in the winter term on a Saturday. It was a four-hour session, and I felt that I retained very little. This is why I decided to repeat the workshop. The second time around, I obtained more of a global understanding of the tool; it can be used to create learning software, to present material using many formats: visual, text, sound and sound. In addition, you can create presentation that the learner can interact with. It is a highly useful and complicated tool, one that a person needs to use repeatedly to master. Luckily I learned that there are excellent online tutorials available; therefore I would be able to use this tool in teaching in future. It has amazing possibilities in many classrooms, from K-Graduate level, both for teacher and for students.

Journal 9
Educational Software Workshop June 4, 2002
I was glad I attended this workshop. The most important thing I learned was that educators MUST obtain a trial version of software before purchase. One never knows what the software it is like until actually viewing the entire package and trying it out. Classroom teachers should also let their students use the software to see if it meets the desired learning objectives. Software is expensive and if a manufacturer doesnít offer a free trial, they do not stand behind their product. Useful rubrics were also given in order to better evaluate software. Now I realize that I should peruse the professional journals for software reviews as well as examine the web sites provided at the workshop. This way, I can review software for purchase in order to enhance instruction in the Reading and Language Arts methods courses offered at UM-D.

Journal 10
Inspiration (learned by visiting Dr. Padgettís class on June 6, 2002)
I was very excited about this software, for it has direct application for my methods courses. I plan to take my students (ED D 469) in to the computer lab to use the software to create graphic organizers. This will enhance my instruction and help the students learn how to use a very simple tool in their classrooms. In addition, I will be able to create excellent graphic organizers for various courses that I teach. Other than Power Point, this software is the most useful tool I have learned through my participation in MITTEN.

Reflections on use of technology in Reading in the Content Area (ED D 469/569)
Reading in the Content Area is designed for secondary and middle school teachers. The purpose of the course is to teach college students how to designed instruction to help students learn content material (i.e., English, social studies, foreign language, science, and mathematics) through reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Strategies designed to enhance studentís engagement with and comprehension of texts is paramount. Introduction
When I first became in involved in the Mitten Project, I had already set up my web page for this course through our universityís Electronic Reserves System. I uploaded files for students in the form of articles and lecture notes. In addition, I put links on the page for my students to find other sites as well as articles to download. I already had been using email and various word processing programs for several years.

Power PointPros
The first thing I wanted to do was make use of Power Point. I had seen Power Point presentations and was impressed with the captivating way in which material could be presented. After attending two Power Point workshops, I began to transform some of my overhead transparency presentations into Power Point presentations. Although the process was time-consuming, I especially liked the way the mere click of a button could bring me to the next slide, allowing me to put my cognitive energy into explaining concepts. In contrast, using the overhead projector was difficult because I was often preoccupied with find the right transparency and keeping them organized. Moreover, I found the overhead projector screen to be a nuisance due to the bright light and its awkward placement in the front of the room, where students would have to walk around it to get in and out of the classroom. Transporting a disk was much easier than transporting file folders filled with transparencies into the classroom.
Cons
Despite my success with Power Point, I found that some of my transparencies could not be fit into a Power Point presentation (i.e., cartoons and lengthy texts that could not be shortened.) Therefore, I still had to rely on the overhead projector from time to time.
Another problem was lack of equipment. The room in which I teach has two television monitors in the front of the room. The screens are small and impossible for the students who sit in the back of the room to see. I got around this by posting outlines from the Power Point presentations so that students could follow along using the outlines. An added benefit was that the students didnít have to take notes. However, this took a great deal of time to set up.
Web Site Evaluations

Attending one of the Mitten workshops prompted me to have my student evaluate web pages that they could use in their teaching. I had done this before, but the assignment was rather unstructured. I found that using a rubric for this activity was helpful. The students knew what to look for in a web page. This is a simple application, but one that proved to be useful for my students.
Inspiration Software

Creating graphic organizers has always been a topic covered in this class. Before learning about Inspiration Software, I would Xerox and distribute several different types of graphic organizers for the students to experiment with. This often proved to be frustrating because the organizers couldnít be changed; the students often had to cram text to fit the template and/or leave other sections of the templates blank.
When I learned how to use Inspiration, I decided to take my class into the Computer Lab each semester and let them explore the software and create graphic organizers they might use in the classroom. The students found the software useful and created much finer organizers than they could have using paper and pencil. Moreover, they were happy to learn about the software and enjoyed using it.

Electronic Grade book
Pros
In the past, I had always used the traditional hardcopy grade book to enter studentsí grades. Because I grade on a point system I did not need to do much in the way of averaging grades. Nevertheless, I found that using Microsoft Excel was a more efficient and accurate method for entering points for various assignments. This change was easy and worthwhile.Discussion Board
For the first time ever in my teaching, I made use of the Discussion Board feature of the ERES Course page. I was a bit apprehensive going into this; however, comments from students and others regarding discussion boards had convinced me that this was something worth trying. Four weeks into the semester, I noticed that there was a relevant lecture that conveniently coincided with my EDD 469/560 class. The topic of this lecture had to do with the low number of females going into sciences in the public school system as well as in the college system. A renowned speaker from Ann Arbor was to give a lecture on this topic. I informed the students that we would meet in the lecture hall instead of in the classroom and then go back to the classroom for the remainder of the session. Upon returning to the classroom after the lecture, I asked the students to write on an index card one or more open-ended questions or provocative comments about the speakerís presentation they would like to discuss. After collecting the questions, I selected the most stimulating and provocative and posted these on the discussion board. I required the students to make a minimum of three entries: one in response to the original question, and two other responses to what fellow students had said. This was to replace a journal entry that I had assigned on the original syllabus.

Pros
It was very rewarding to read the students responses, but even more so to read their responses to each other. I believe that ALL the students felt more comfortable in giving their honest opinions that if they had discussed this in class. In addition, I feel that since the student had sufficient time to articulate their responses in writing, they were more thought-out than they would have been in a class discussion. Although some of the students seemed to be trying to be antagonistic, this was beneficial because it brought out more genuine and passionate responses from other students.
Upon returning to class, most of the students praised the use of discussion boards and felt that they would be useful in their teaching careers. As a college professor, I think that I will change my assignments from journals responses typed and handed in and usually read only by me (or a few other students) to this discussion format. It affords a great deal of productive student interaction and it allows me to gain a clearer understanding of their thinking. In sum, discussion boards have enormous potential for the college level (both undergraduate and graduate) that I will be teaching. This is just another example of how MITTEN has enabled me to take risks and ultimately become rejuvenated as a teacher.