LogMeIn Launches Free Meeting App

Source:

Nagel, David.  (12 November 2010).   LogMeIn Launches Free Meeting App.   Retrieved from

http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/11/12/logmein-launches-free-meeting-app.aspx


LogMeIn is a software developer that has created a meeting screen sharing system that is called join.me. There has recently been a pro-version of this software established as well. The idea of join.me is to allow users is to use this desktop app as a way to chat, screen share, and be allowed control on another participant's computer. The software to host up to 250 participants involved in meetings and doesn't require any type of registration to use. The pro software of join. me includes several different features such as personalized meetings, tools for scheduling meetings, and one role to multiple participants. The original join.me software is free to use, while the pro version is $29 a month and both require specific Internet engines such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox.

The reason why I chose this article for this week is because I really see potential with it. I feel that this software would be a really great asset to public school staff in more ways than one. My immediate thought was that this would be great for a staff meeting. When I thought about it a little more, I thought that it would be great for department-specific meetings as well. Instead of meeting after school or on weekends for certain classes or meetings, these could all be done via Join.me software through the Internet. I feel that this software has potential to reach all levels of public schooling and could possibly branch out to several schools within a county participating in meetings through this software.

Jumping Off the Technology Treadmill

Source:

McCrea, Bridget.  (4 November 2010).  Jumping Off The Technology Treadmill.  Retrieved from

http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/11/04/Jumping-Off-the-Technology-Treadmill.aspx?Page=1


This article actually had nothing to do with exercise. The "technology treadmill" is jargon used by a California school district.  Charles Kanavel, the director of technology for this school district in San Jose wanted to find a way to get rid of the desktop computers in the schools. Naturally, this process would cost a lot of money, around $550, 000 in order to replace all the desktop computers. To save on costs and to incorporate a much more unique learning environment, Kanavel's research taught him about desktop virtualization. Desktop virtualization allows several users to maintain a desktop on one computer. After narrowing choices down, Kanavel decided to go forth with XenDesktop, which is just another type of software for this process. Over the past year, computers in the school district have been converted over, and most should be completely converted by the start of the 2011 school year. Number-wise, this San Jose school district ended up saving about $250, 000 by investing in desktop virtulization. This software also minimizes the work on older computers with older hard drives. As far as student feedback, Kanavel reported that there have been minimal problems or complaints with the desktop virtualization, and has been successful in science labs, math classes, english classes, and other subject areas.

I have to admit that I was very confused after reading this article. The whole idea of desktop virtualization sounds complicated. I do not know if I would be interested in investing time and money into this type of technology for schools, let alone pitching it to the Board of Education. I just feel that this would be a more difficult thing to train teachers for, maybe less for middle and high school. I cannot even begin to think of how I would incorporate this into an early childhood classroom. Regardless of my apprehensions, I always feel that it is better to be aware of these different softwares and approaches to enhancing technology into the different schools. I commend Kanavel for taking the risk and investing the time and money into finding something new and affordable to better meet the needs of his school district.

Toward A More Collaborative Curriculum

Source:

McCrea, Bridget.  (29 September 2010).   Toward A More Collaborative Curriculum.  Retrieved from  

http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/09/29/toward-a-more-collaborative-curriculum.aspx

The Bakersfield City district in the state of California has just completed their first year on a web-based program called Learning Village. Learning Village is a system that currently consists of digitized textbooks and lesson plans for teachers. Much of this system has been praised by the district, due to the fact that this web-based system has helped in several ways. Teachers have been to find and store lesson plans through Learning Village and adapt them to their Smart Boards or Power Point presentations. The district has also been able to get rid of many different textbooks, binders, and other supplies that is no longer desired due to the organization and easy access of this program. Teachers have been able to collaborate with the other teachers through this program, seeing what their colleagues have been doing. Teachers have grown fond of the program because this web-based system has allowed them to store lesson plans easily and can be accessed quickly, becoming instant resources for future classes. Since this program has been such a success as it launches into its second full school year, the district is considering adding in chat and discussion features for the teachers as well.

What caught my eye this week in this particular article was "collaborative." As I have said before in previous blogs, I thoroughly enjoy learning through my peers. I appreciate a district who has had a positive reaction to teachers sharing and discussing lessons that are within their curriculum. This type of collaboration could work in so many different areas of schools. The ECED cohort recently observed an ESOL teacher doing the pull out and plug in methods with several different classes. Her biggest complaint was the fact that teachers were not helping to be on the same page as far as what they were doing in the curriculum. This type of collaborative learning would help the ESOL teachers to use the template as the teacher (if he or she so desired to) and modify that lesson in whatever way they would need to in order to teach a skill to ESOL class. I enjoyed this article and I look forward to looking for articles on follow up with this type of program.

SoftChalk 6 Enhances Educational Content Sharing

Source:

Aronowitz, Scott   (2010, October 20).  SoftChalk 6 Enhances Educational Content Sharing.  Retrieved

from http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/10/20/softchalk-6-enhances-educational-content-sharing.aspx


SoftChalk is another one of the very useful Web 2.0 tools that is available to educators. SoftChalk recently came out with it's newest addition, SoftChalk 6, which allows teachers to create and publish material to share within a Web community called a MERLOT (stands for: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Teaching Online). This Web 2.0 tool is free and easy to use for teachers, especially for those who feel they do not have the time to figure out and understand complex software. SoftChalk 6 allows fellow educators to see another teacher's material through a community, which is categorized into many subjects, whether it be for grade level or for a specific subject in school. Creators wanted to allow another way for teachers to think outside of the box, display creativity, and share knowledge with other teachers. Not only are teachers sharing their ideas, but it is another step in the direction of expanding on online materials.

I'm sure that there are many other Web 2.0 tools available to teachers that are free and easy to use, especially where you can share your ideas with other teachers. Regardless, I really like the idea of a community. Online or not, it is always helpful for me personally when I see other teachers in action, or when somebody shares an idea with me. This allows me to think of other ways to teach a lesson each year, or to possibly expand or tweak whatever lesson plan they may share that best suits my classroom developmentally. Once again, it is always nice to find another resource for teachers, because that is who I learn from- my fellow educators.

'Action!' Student-Generated Video Web Site Teaches Visual Communication Skills

Source:

Harrison, Denise.   (06 October 2010).   'Action!' Student-Generated Video Web Site Teaches Visual 


Communication Skills.   Retrieved from: http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/10/06/Action-Student-

Generated-Video-Web-Site-Teaches-Visual-Communications-Skills.aspx?Page=1


In this article, an early/elementary teacher named Donna Guthrie has decided to take on a project that involves the virtual world meeting the real world in the classroom. Guthrie is heading up the Website and project called "Meet Me At The Corner," which takes classrooms on virtual field trips. The idea of virtual field trips came to Guthrie while she was working on her Masters in Children's and Young Adult Writing. Many concerns were up in the air about emphasis on testing and incorporating more technology into the classroom. Guthrie's idea was in order to continue to place emphasis on reading and stories, she would create a virtual non fiction world for young children in classrooms. At the beginning of the article, one classroom is participating in a virtual field trip with the Denver Zoo, and conversing with an animal behaviorist about the zoo and about what she does for her job. After participating in this virtual field trip, the children will go on to complete extended activities on the subjects, as well as other strategies to see what they learned. Besides new vocabulary and extensive knowledge on specific topics, children are also learning how to research and skills for story content.

I really think that this project is awesome. I know that there are many teachers who fear a change in curriculum and being pushed to present the curriculum in different ways, especially when it comes to technology; however, it is really refreshing to read about an educator who fully embraced technology and found a fun and interactive way to incorporate it into her classroom for reading and language skills.
I immediately thought of the quote from Malaguzzi that we heard in our Infant/Toddler class that says "Environment is the invisible teacher." It is merely a fact that children learn most by whatever environment they are in. Since we have young children under a rigorous curriculum, providing many of these experiences is difficult for educators to do. With this project launched by Donna Guthrie, she is bringing many different environments into the classroom virtually for all of the children to see, which I feel, can only be considered to be a positive thing.

President Obama Launches National STEM Video Game Challenge

Source:

Aronowitz, Scott    (16 September 2010).     President Obama Launches National STEM Video Game 


Challenge.  Retreived from http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/09/16/president-obama-launches-national-

stem-video-game-challenge.aspx.

In this article, writer Scott Aronowitz discusses the STEM event held by President Barack Obama this past September, which was a campaign for "Educate to Innovate." The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program was used to encourage children to create video games and participate in a competition in hopes that it would increase interest in math and science. Students in grades 5-8 who were interested were asked to design a video game that is specific to one of the STEM areas, in order to help educate there peers on that topic. Games were to be made for the Pre-K through 3rd Grade levels that help to teach beginning concepts of Math and Science. While these games are teaching younger children through media, the students designing these games are also benefitting from it as well. A non-profit organization took on this project that specifies in helping with educational media. There will be prizes ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 for what ends up being the most effective game. Aronowitz makes note of Obama's stance on the education system, saying that we must rely on our successes through discovering and innovating.

I really appreciates this article, since I grew up with three brothers who literally ate, slept, and breathed video games through their childhood. While you could not get them to sit down and do a math problem or study the parts of a plant, you could pop in a video game that required critical thinking, navigation, and knowledge on various subjects. It makes so much sense to now. Because the situations that are brought up in video games are interesting and involve reaching an ultimate goal, young children want to work hard at figuring out how to solve that problem. I think this is one of the better things that President Obama has done in order to put more emphasis on the education system. I admire that instead of finding more ways on assessments, he came up with something creative and fun for students, who would not only be willing to participate, but will do it well. This type of event is definitely a step in the right direction in terms of positive ways in teaching children how to think critically and to learn to love those areas of learning that are so much more difficult to learn because they can be more abstract. I look forward to reading a follow up on this event.

Benefits of Assistive Technology User Groups for Early Childhood Education Professionals

Source:

Parette,  Howard P.,  &  Stoner,  Julia  B.   (9 October 2007)  Benefits of Assistive Technology User 


Groups for Early Childhood Education Professionals.   The Early Childhood Education Journal.  35

DOI: 10.1007/s10643-007-0211-6


I found it appropriate to discuss an article about Assistive Technology (AT) since this particular topic was talked about during class. The article that I found from The Early Childhood Education Journal focuses on specifically Early Childhood Educators and Assistive Technology for children. The article makes the point that educators who are going to be incorporating AT into their curriculum must be teachers who are interested, devoted to finding all kinds of different ways of using it, and most importantly, teaching fellow educators about it. The article touches on the fact that mainly what a lot of teachers need in order to learn about AT or any type of technology is time. Before teachers can use AT in their curriculums, they must find the time to learn how to use and understand the different technologies. The main goal of this process is to allow a teacher to explore the software and to become fluent and competent in using these technologies. Later on in the article, the author takes note of the benefits teachers being competent in these skills has for children- behavior, understanding and complying to appropriate behavior, and communication in a classroom. "User Groups" who learn about AT are encouraged to share and demonstrate their knowledge of certain programs with other teachers who may not be a part of this group of people. Most importantly, in order for competence of technology to be successful in a classroom, a teacher must use it once they have learned it in order to keep their skills fresh. User Groups have been expected to provide more one-on-one training and other workshops, especially as different teaching strategies that incorporate technology are becoming more demanding.

I liked reading this article because it served as a review for me since we discussed on Assistive Technology in class. I enjoyed getting information on this topic from another point of view. I really like that User Groups are being encouraged to teach their skills to fellow educators. There are several benefits to this; those teachers are learning from their coworkers, and these coworkers are brushing up on their skills with certain programs or software. I like the idea of teachers teaching other teachers, because I already feel as if most of the strategies that I learn or use have come from observing or sharing ideas with my peers and other teachers that I have worked with. Along with that point, we are all still striving for our ultimate goal as teachers- to provide our students with more ways to be successful in the classroom.