Section 7

I am Librarian for K-12 a charter school.  I think from Chapter 33 I would have students playing games as the most important aspect of learning.  If a child is having fun and wanting to learn, I would say my version and definition of Instructional Technology is to assist students, teachers, introduce and apply educational technology, and teach databases and ways we can better assist our learning.  I have only been doing this for a year and half so I am still learning the ropes!  I think that with most students and teachers, they are willing and able to understand what you are trying to teach them, most of the time. All students learn differently, but to give the idea of learning through an I-Pad, a learning database, or educational technology site, is important!!

          I also like to read a little about virtual learning that was in chapter 34.  This is a little new to me but there is an advanced class in my school that is using this more and more and it is very interesting!  A little unusual to grasp, but students seem to enjoy something new!    

               One must be careful however while using the technology world.  With so much to offer, there can also be things to be insulting to others.  I had a site I pulled up on Google the other day with a class that was discussing different cultures and religion.  Sadly, some things popped up that a student was offended about.  Our school has blocks on certain sites, yet this one needed teacher discretion.  I like the idea of having all this learning at my fingertips though!

         

Section 6

I loved this section of our course.  I thought it offered so many insightful and helpful tips for grasping a job in the field we want.  Currently, I am a librarian at a charter school.   This is my 11^th year in education and my 2^nd year in the library.  I am taking courses at TAMUC for a Library Science degree.  I hope to very soon go back into a big district and work only K-5 grades.  Right now I have K-12 and with no library aide, a very small library, and a low amount of books.  I wanted to become a librarian because working with readers, authors, types of genres in books, and all library type activities, is my passion.  Once I get back into a district, I would really like to utilize the resources that they have there, to improve instruction within the classrooms, standardized testing, and allow a large variety of activities to help the student. For me to get a media specialist job/librarian job, I must learn lots more about technology, programs, and understand completely, all of the wonderful things that the tech world can bring. I feel confident in what I am doing now, but know that I have so much more to grow and in lots of different areas.  I also have to work with blogs and wikis more.  I have grasped so much information through the courses that I have taken, however, will still need to learn more and I have so much left to seek out and understand. 

          

 After I graduate, I plan on becoming a member in some library type organizations and possibly becoming a part of my local library clubs.  For now however, something that has really been helping me a lot, is speaking to the head library coordinator in my local school district.  She can give me tips on useful databases to apply to students, shares wonderful ideas, explains why libraries may or may not have a reading program, etc.  An easy and awesome resource!  I loved the useful and important tips on pages 268-269 of the textbook.  I think applying these strategies and trying to become members of organizations that will better suit you as a graduate looking for a job in “Corporate America,” will be useful and you can’t go wrong!

Section 5-Trends and Issues and Various Settings

1.      I chose to compare the two topics-military and health care education.  Both of these are very strong points that so much can be learned, taken, and applied to instruction with just a little bit of background knowledge. Medical and health care is so very broad and I (as I’m sure lots of people do) like to always assume we are discussing hospitals, doctor’s offices, appointments, etc., yet it is so much more!  Military is also a topic where I feel one does not associate enough of the background with how much can occur.  Both of these topics have lots of risks involved, regulations, and guidelines.  I think that both of these issues get a lot of national recognition, however I think it is hard to truly relate to either one of these topics unless one has gone through either of the experiences.  One of the broadest aspects that these two issues have in common ins their funding.  I know that military funding is a big topic in the US as well as health care.  For my personal opinion as an educator, I have seen how difficult it can be for a child getting a military education.  Not only is it hard on the entire family, but constantly changing schools, making new friends, and learning things so much differently, is not easy either.  With the medical field in education, the needs are constantly changing and growing.  I know this has to be hard and frustrating for these types of students, but it is so important to keep with the “new and most accurate” pieces of learning.  I feel after reading about both of these scenarios, money and financial pieces are what makes these two topics linked together the best.

2.      With the wonderful and insightful way IDT has enhanced our learning in all aspects, all ways, at all ages and levels, it will almost be difficult to prepare todays youth for anything else that they may encounter. With so many state of the art equipment, technology, and ways that devices have bettered our economy, it seems like there will not or cannot be anything else left to add.  Yet there so will be! I think as an educator, one must allow for all levels of learning, or even something that seems strange or unusual to us, we need to listen to what is offered and also apply it.  For example: A few years ago I had a student from China that brought with him a very unusual and unique way of learning.  He actually had a method of learning mathematics by a special little “code” so to speak, that he was taught over in his country.  Instead of explaining that we learn a little differently than other countries, I had him come up to the front of the room, explain his method of learning, and then also showed him our way.  It seemed to work great!  It was also very useful to see how other students benefitted from his method as well.  I think it’s a great thing to learn after all of my readings-adapting.  It allows for so many levels of learning to occur.

Section 4

1. An issue that I always have had in the classroom is student behavior.  It is always a concern in classes, amongst the school, and in all learning type settings.  I think it is a very touchy subject for some teachers as even with the strongest and most accurate classroom management and discipline; it is still difficult for behavior to always be at its finest. It becomes a struggle sometimes when a student may or may not understand their expectations and what an educator would want to see out of them.

2. I like how the book describes performance support systems as a “training Band-Aid.”  Most support systems can be helpful in schools and would indeed assist like a Band-Aid.  When I had some behavior issues in the classrooms (when I taught Kindergarten) I used a colored stick plan that I put into place at the beginning of the year. Students were well aware of the procedures, knew the color scheme, (green was good, yellow meant to slow down and think about your choices and actions, and was red was bad) and could totally give credit to themselves, since they were the only ones responsible for their results at the end of the day.

3.I feel that you need Tacit knowledge in order to be successful with the behavioral system I was referring to in my first 2 paragraphs.  I think it is important to look at the procedures you are going to use and apply to your students and ask yourself-“what will make this idea stand out more than others?”  This is a very Tacit way of thinking.  I would need to have my plan into place and over time, see how it evolves, what I would change, etc.  I think that is important in determining success. 

4. Having been in education for 11 years, I feel like the informal learning experience I have participated in is, FIND IT.  I certainly think this worthy of sharing with others as it can have such a strong impact on the learner.  A student may need to manage what they are doing by using wikis, blogs, or other forms of information.  To research ideas, find answers, and learn by exploring, is so important and an old fashioned way of growing (aka LEARNING!)  with an educational mind.

Section 3

     1. I enjoyed reading all of the Evaluation Model’s from Kirkpatrick’s work.  As an educator I would really focus on using the REACTION phase.  I feel this is an important phase because it can show the learner’s attitudes towards subjects and also help the teacher know what type of learning their students prefer.  This can be used to evaluate and adjust training/teaching.  The book states that if a person does not like the instruction, they will not learn from it.  I was this way as a child and am still this way!  When something is presented that does not capture your attention, it is human nature to begin to tune out, not listen, and therefore….NOT learn!

An aspect I would add to Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model is APPLY.  While I fully agree with the four levels of the program, I would like to see and learn about how the learner can apply the information given. By adding the APPLY phase I feel the learners would benefit even more from the training/presentation.

 2.  I would compose my team of classroom teachers with a passion for technology integration, the school technology facilitator, the school counselor, the art teacher and a campus administrator.  I feel that all of these members would bring a unique view that would help us reach our goal. I would like for all persons involved in the group to have a strong sense of communication.  In order to achieve this goal we would have scheduled meetings along with document/presentation sharing through programs like Google Docs. I would do my best as the leader, to provide this to them.  I would communicate to the group clear expectations for every individual so they know what is being asked of them. I feel that with good management, creativity, quality instructional design and clear expectations in place we would produce an exceptional project.