Setting up a webpage

While I appreciate the opportunity to work with Google's website tools, I don't know how well a single set of basic pages might work for a class or group of classes. I tend to think they might best be used by students who want to make promotional or portfolio sites, and they could probably be taught in classes so individual students could develop a finished site as a project with skills to transfer to other subjects or outside of school. In light of all of the exposure we have had to Web 2.0 tools, open-source online apps like Engrade or Coursekit/Lore might serve our respective classes better that constructed web pages as information clearinghouses.

Technology in education

Even with all of the installed workstations in my lab, it's evident that (a.) there are still improvements to be made in lesson planning/presentation, classroom management, and student engagement, and (b.) there are tools and work types as yet untouched that might be able to help reach one or more of these goals. Just having the cool toys in front of students doesn't guarantee they're going to play with them as directed.

Scavenger hunts and webquests

I appreciate the use of both curricular tools at different times for different purposes. Scavenger hunts might be good as part of a do-now activity, a "brain break" within direct instruction, or even an ongoing exit ticket. Webquests, meanwhile, seem like they could be adapted to fit a long-term project context in my lab. They could involve the kind of thematic research and design skills I already require in projects, or they could be more specific research projects on particular topics, or even complex task- and thought-based "scavenger hunts" themselves where the end result is a well thought out and independently designed work.

Digital storytelling/podcasts

While my students haven't been specifically introduced to podcasts—partially because of the lack of good audio capture, partially because of not having found a good and relevant spot in the curriculum for such an end product—both levels of my design classes are already exposed to iMovie for video production. The movies they are tasked with making are meant to tell specific short stories of students' own creation.

Whiteboards

Hoo-boy, could I use a whiteboard in my class. All the great computer technology in my lab and I still don't have an effective heads-up display for all the students to clearly see. The ability to immediately mark up areas on a displayed application like Adobe Photoshop, instead of pointing to an oversized paper screen with a ruler, would greatly benefit students' comprehension. And getting a system that included remote tablets or keypads would improve their engagement and interaction.

Web 2.0 applications

1. Khan Academy is a website to which I've already referred, and other teachers outside of this class have brought it up and referred to it. It's a big resource that we can only hope continues to grow.2. Bubblesnap might be a good way to introduce basic graphic storytelling to my design classes, and also serve as entree to advertising—tying interesting words and images together to get across an overarching message.
3. TeacherTube also stands as a good, large library of resources to present to students and use for reference.

I get the sense that many of the Web 2.0 apps we looked at cover a lot of the same ground—multiple brainstorming sites, targeted video sites, class information apps, presentation tools and more. The three I posted here, and on our class Wiki, all represent Web 2.0 services I might actually use in class; in the case of TeacherTube, I already have.

Evaluating Websites

When it comes to evaluating websites, I believe the most important factor is whether or not the presentation of information is true to the type of information contained therein. A portal with links to external resources should be easy to search; it should also spider for, update, and summarize its destinations regularly. A self-contained resource website should also be easy to search and be regularly updated, and different kinds of content should be correctly defined. When it comes to news, opinion, or blog sites, important and recent stories (and story collections/tags) should be clearly indicated.

Adaptive Technology

My sense after reading through this week's materials is that it may be easier to teach—and adapt teaching to—students with injuries or physical disabilities more so than students with developmental disabilities and lower mental function. For students with "normal" minds and thoughts but "abnormal" bodies, a variety of tools exist to help get their ideas and skills onto the screen and the page. While CTE curricula must attempt to provide all students with workplace skills, Commercial & Advertising Art seems more unsuited than most to handle the challenge of students who cannot clearly articulate creative ideas, execute designs based on the ideas of others, or develop a professional level of interaction—at least not without more specific and intensive training than what I can currently provide.

Desktop Publishing & Digital Imaging

I'm already using and implementing many types of tools introduced here. The Commercial & Advertising Art curriculum exposes students not just to the underlying principles and elements of art, but the technologies that apply them in creative and professional contexts. Our industry-standard software from Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Acrobat and more) handles most of the tasks taught in EDU5254.

Web 2.0

The most curious thing I noted about our Week 3 material: not realizing that content management tools, these targeted websites-in-a-box that can handle important educational needs, all fall under the heading of "Web 2.0." I wonder if Web 2.0 is too broad or too outdated a term to cover all of the things it means to cover.

Engrade in particular has been on my radar since I started teaching in 2009. Other social networking sites and applications have popped in and out of academic importance as necessary—indeed, some school districts (Philadelphia included) would have you believe that Facebook and chatting and other remote interaction constructs are part of a problem facing education, not part of a solution for it. Maybe if "content management" were used—whether that content is collegial debate, academic records, or class materials—there might be a more professional connotation instead of a stigma related to things like YouTube videos and discussion forums.

Horizon Report

One thing that encouraged me out of reading the Horizon report was that, as a result of my curriculum, it appears I'm already starting to implement some of these new-to-market technologies in my class. Cloud-based applications, where students can access information and discussions from points beyond the classroom, have already been tested and used occasionally for distributing content and grades to my classes. Teachers throughout the School District of Philadelphia use at least some rudimentary learning analytics in the form of predictive data, seeing how performance on standard assessments can help guide teachers' future lessons and concentrate on content where students may be weaker. Students in my computer lab use different methods of customization and content organization to create a form of personal learning environment (PLE) conducive to more comfortable performance in class. Thanks to interaction with teachers teaching similar curricula throughout the district as well as industry experts, we are making attempts to share lessons, develop like-minded rubrics, and otherwise create more open content throughout the district.

Looking ahead, I'm also starting to think about how to incorporate the remaining concepts touted by the report. Game-based learning will hopefully be formalized in my classroom soon, pointing students to activities for math and English skills as an alternative to just messing around on computers in between proper lessons in design and technology. I've also done research on how to incorporate mobiles into students' research and class participation; school and district policies, however, prevent any significant implementation at this time.

Spreadsheets

My most important takeaway from our Week 2 content on spreadsheets is that there seems to be a need (as well as a desire) for more and better application of this tool across education. A spreadsheet includes many functions that would serve students well in school and beyond: graphic organizer, planner, high-end calculator.

There appeared to be a lot of support for using spreadsheets to incorporate the concept of timelines in classes. Creating such a visual aid to help describe concepts or information in a particular field allows for the cross-pollination of curricula—art meeting science, or history, or technology, et al. This might be a good lesson or project to implement in the near future.

Teachers also believed that spreadsheets develop business and technology skills for the long term, in particular the ability to budget—time as well as money—on a personal and professional level. While this too would make good lesson content, there was a note of concern from non-business CTE teachers who were unsure of how or when to incorporate this technology for business functions or equipment-based data analysis, or even find the computers and time to do so.