Tim

= I. Tim Wall =

toc
 * Skype username:** twall005
 * Linkedin username:**
 * Twitter:** @lmsmrwall.

My name is //Tim Wall// and I am a seventh grade Language Arts teacher in Meriden. I have been teaching for three years.This is my third class in the program. I try to incorporate technology into my classroom, however there is only a limited amount available in my school. I try to have my students do computer-based projects that will teach them various skills that they will use throughout their educational careers.




 * My partner** is Nicole.

[]

=II. Paired Program=

For the paired project, Nicole and I decided to focus on the company Smart Technology and all of their products, but more specifically SMART Boards. We both work in the Meriden school district and there is an increase in SMART board usage (click on the graphic to go to the page)



The first place we searched for more information on SMART technology we looked on Facebook to see what we could find. We both decided to like the SMART technology facebook page so we could be instantly updated with new information news about their products and software. Shortly after liking their page they posted new information about their products. Their page had a lot of postings from both the company and its followers. I think that this outlet of Facebook allows the company and its consumers to be able to stay in touch and quickly control the amount of information distributed.

From the Facebook page we found a link to Youtube and videos about the company and their products. We both subscribed to their video subscription which allowed us to views like “Why SmartBoards are so easy to use?”

[] Some other things that I found interesting about SMART Technology includes a Scrabble game: []

I thought that this was something interesting about SMARTBoards. I usually have a scrabble unit in my classes, so if I had a SMARTboard I could show them how to play or even challenge my class to a game.

= III. Reflective Essay #1 =

Action research occurs when a behavior is observed in particular setting by a researcher. When doing action research, a there must be a particular sample in mind. Usually this sample must be chosen for a specific reason, but it could also be chosen in a completely random sample. It is also important to have a control sample for your experiment. For example if you are going to observe the effects of a piece of technology, then you must have a class that is using the technology and a class that does not in order to measure the actual effects the use of technology.

Controlling your environment is also important. Any outside factor can affect the results of your experiment. How do you know that the technology is actually affecting learning? As a researcher it is imperative that you try to make sure that all the observations are controlled and unbiased. I also know that triangulation is important when doing research. Triangulation occurs when you collect date over several different methods. For example a person observing the affects of technology on classroom engagement then you might videotape the classroom, look at student work, and then possibly give the students an anonymous survey. By looking at these three different forms of data you can find trends in student engagement. The one thing that I do know, is that there is no such thing as too much data.

I feel like I have a basic understanding of the action research process, but there are many gaps in my knowledge. One thing that I do not understand is how does one observe something with an unbiased eye. Most of the time the researcher has some sort of agenda in mind when they begin a study, so how do they stop their biases from interfering? How can you collect data in a way that students will not modify their actions to fit into what you want? What is the ethical code for conducting research? There must be a code in which researchers need to follow in order to be published. How can we trust a study? Can’t data be skewed to fit into a theory of the researcher?

As far as research goes, I think it would be interesting to see how a certain tools can affect the learning of a group of students. I like to use technology in my class, but does it really matter? How can I know that the technology use directly impacts the students’ learning?

=IV. Twitter=

Twitter

The account I created to possibly use for school is@lmsmrwall.

Nicole and I searched on the world of twitter for an array of various resources. We decided to follow a few different educational twitter pages. Here are a few that we found.

US Dept of Education US Dept of Education ‏ @usedgov News and information from the U.S Department of Education.

Following the US Dept. of Education seemed like a good idea to us so we can be updated with the newest information in the world of education.

Office of Ed Tech Office of Ed Tech ‏ @OfficeofEdTech

The Office of Educational Technology (OET) provides leadership for maximizing technology's contribution to improving education at all levels.

This is the official government’s twitter page for educational technology.

Education Technology Education Technology ‏ @EduTweetTech

Your source for the latest news in Education Technology, 1:1 Teaching and Learning, and more!

EdTechTalk EdTechTalk ‏ @edtechtalk

A collaborative community talking about educational technology

SMART Technologies SMART Technologies ‏ @SMART_Tech

Got a question for SMART Technologies? We're here to answer.

To keep up with the continued effort to learn more about SMART products, we decided to follow their twitter page. The information is very similar to what they post on Facebook.

=V. Youtube= = media type="youtube" key="ypYIjGkySTM" width="425" height="350" =

I chose this video because it shows you how to create and inset a Voki avatar. I think this could be a tool that could make your lessons more interesting to the students. You could possibly use this when you give a project to your students. The avatar can give directions for a particular part of the project or extra information that may help the students out.

media type="youtube" key="-ujkBEyG5Mk" width="425" height="350"

This video introduces an interesting idea with the workspace. I would have to look into this idea a bit more, but it seems like an interesting concept that could get the kids to work together to solve problems. I think that giving the students an opportunity to work together on the same workspace could prove to be a valuable tool. I like to do group work, but it is hard to have students use a whiteboard and contribute equally. This workspace allows the students to contribute equally and at the same time.

media type="youtube" key="xWNCHG-xB9o" width="425" height="350"

This video was great because it teaches you a bunch of little tips to use with the Smart Board. Learning all the little tricks is important when using technology because things can run much smoother in the classroom. By learning things like the erase all trick you can save valuable time and maximize your teaching time. By watching a bunch of videos such as this one one can become an adept SmartBoard user.

= = =VI. SKYPE=

username: twall005

=VII. Inquiry Plan=

=VIII. Podcasts= We listened to This Week in Google, Episode #152: Now with Green Stamps.

The podcast experience is very similar to listening to the radio. In the case of this podcast there was many other visual aspects intertwined. I have listened to many podcasts that has been only sound, but this one had visuals. I could see using podcasts as a good teaching tool in the classroom. I think that a teacher could use this to make different videos on various topics to post to a website or possibly used to post classroom lessons. You could record the things done in class and then post them for kids that are absent. I think it could be really cool to make the kids make a podcast on a topic as a project.

=IX. Blogs=

This is the comment I made to Brian Croxall's Checking Your Facebook Privacy (Again).

Thanks for writing this great article. It is unsettling how often things change requiring you to go and change things to keep them the status quo. It was very helpful to have the step by step explanation for all the different settings. It is easy to overlook the impact of a certain setting when you do not understand it. Thanks again for this helpful information.

=X. Final Reflective Essay=

During the course of EDT 598 we looked at a number of different forms of technology in relation to the world of education. It was fascinating to see how many different sites and tools can be used not only on a social level, but also an educational tool. I use Facebook and Twitter on a regular basis, but never really thought about using it for school. It is amazing how many different ways information can be distributed and how quickly it gets out to a large population. With the growing trends in education technology there are many resources made available to teachers for instructional and preparational purposes. Going into this class, when I thought of research, I thought mainly about journal articles and did not even consider the other forms through social networking and other Internet resources. Though the information is made available, it may not be the most reliable, but that responsibility relies on reader.

One question I had before the class started was does technology really matter? In most cases studies and other information tend to say that it does matter, however they all recognize that it is not always the truth. The type of technology will fit with the activity or instructional method. It is the teacher’s job to figure out if it is truly necessary and then figure out it if it is actually helping the learning process. Knowing how to properly use the technology is more important than the act of using it. If you are using it for the sake of using it then the purpose is lost or not present in your teaching. Many of my other questions regarding the process of collecting data were briefly addressed. We talked about the various ways that we can collect data through observations, either live or video taped. We also discussed the conditions to make sure there is a change in student behavior or achievement. Though to me it sees that if you want to show that it makes a difference you will be able to show the data in that way. It is also hard to tell if the change in behavior was caused by or a product of using the technology.

The most important lesson I learned is that there is good information out there that others want to share. People are willing to share their findings and experiences both positive and negative. I feel that I should start sharing my experiences to give back to a community that has already helped me through my beginning years as a teacher. I will consider blogging or tweeting about my education technology experiences in the near future.