EDUC 638_Week 6

What a week to reflect on technology!  Let me tell you it's a bittersweet one.  This week I was driving up to Vail, CO for the weekend.  I put in the destination's address into my "normally" trusted GPS system for the hotel I was going to stay in.  My GPS started to take me the route I was familiar with, but then wanted to take me a different route to avoid strenuous traffic.  I decided to let the device configure the distance and move on, and why not I would love to see some amazing scenery in the Rockies.  As the GPS toke me through the most amazing windy rode, I drank in the beauty of the color changing aspen leaves and recently fallen snow, almost forgetting the unfamiliarity.
Enjoying the view the device told me to go down this somewhat rocky rode.  I was skeptical at first but trusted the technology device.  Before I knew it I was making my Ford Explorer a work horse or some extreme adventurer on an off-roding expedition.  Before I knew it, I was in a narrow ravine with boulders and a river running through the middle of my car.  I was then cursing my (now untrusted) GPS system and trying not to roll my car.  The only way for me out of this situation was to go through because turning back wasn't an option.  The floods in Colorado which was two weeks ago cause this rode to be even more damaged...shocking I know because it technically wasn't a rode to begin with (but according to the GPS signal it was???) was washed away showing an antique aqueduct about 4 feel deep.  I decided to try and go over the side of this aqueduct, and it became stuck.
Extremely angry with technology I started to cry, curse, pray, problem-solve, survive, etc.  Me, now stuck in the middle of nowhere is wondering what I can do next.  I decided to let technology redeem itself by using my phone to call 911 and get a tow truck to help me.  Still having an argument with technology because my cell phone service keeps cutting out unless I stood on on foot and leaned my head a little to the right.  I managed to save myself with limited technology service.  I was rescued by 3 tow truck drivers and a sheriff and off I went back home, missing my Vail weekend.
The point being is that technology isn't always reliable but when it is it can save your life.

Hall, D. (2008). The Technology Director’s Guide to Leadership . Eugene: ISTE.

Picciano, A. (2011). Educational Leadership and Planning for Technology (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

EDUC 633- Webliography

Hello classmates,
Hope and I did Chapter 11 and 12 in Clark and Meyer (2011) and we created a presentation.  Please click on the link to see our contributions.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qvg22fhe_6LHxrsui2kHqdCn7H8HzHaP7RZCixgP_uA/edit#slide=id.p

EDUC 638

Picciano (2011) discussed a lot of technology leadership and various programs that school districts might use to collect, organize, analyze data in order to make a school function in a harmonious way.  Reflecting on the indispensable programs that were discussed such as excel for a database, office automatons, and other big programs.  I feel like these big downloadable programs can be easily outdated and can throw off a school system into an even bigger learning curve.  Most everything in my district is online, including the accessibility option that we have outside of the classroom.  Unlike, Liberty we use Google and have gmail accounts for the staff and students so that we can synchronously keep in contact with each other, upload assignments, hand in assignments, create a "Google" product, from anywhere around the world.  Liberty make it tough to stay in contact from anywhere in the world because they are still using Microsoft Outlook as their primary form of communication.  This disables adult learners the accessibility option from an "on the go" life which most access their information on their phone or tablet.
I like that my district has this free open sourced option because it allows "sky's the limit" in my instruction and communication with my colleagues and parents.
Madura and DeDe (2010) use a virtual world for their students and create simulated situations that are easy to navigate around and there isn't a huge learning curve.  I feel using these type of big programs and the updated versions always seem to bring a huge learning curve.  If administrators need to be consistent and accurate with the input of their information, this can create a high anxiety situation.  Why not have a program that is easy to learn and accessible from anywhere from the world.

Hall, D. (2008). The Technology Director’s Guide to Leadership. ISTE ISBN 978-1-56484-244-2.

Madura, J.C. and DeDe, C. (2010). Assessment technology and change. Journal of  Research on                       Technology in Education, Vol. 42,3, pp. 309-328. Retrieved from:                                                             http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ882508.pdf.

Picciano, A. G. (2011). Educational leadership and planning for technology (5th ed.).  Hunter College, NY: Allyn & Bacon.

Assessment-EDUC 633

We have come a long way since paper and pencil tests.  Technology today has introduced various modules in distant education which include but are not limited to, Blackboard, Edmodo, Moodle, Schoolology,  and many more.  These apparatuses can facilitate courses as well as assess students before, during, and after their instruction.  Students can take a quiz based on the objectives on a computer, and the best part is that the results are already calculated for the instructor!  Horton (2012) discussed various ways of implementing assessments in e-learning.  Questions should be related to the objectives and the student should be able to answer the questions from the appropriate materials that were talked about in the particular section.  Depending on the question, there are many choices for the type of question and the desired answer.  For example, using multiple choice, cloze or text based questions, listed answers appropriate for the question and much much more.
A revolution of paper and pencil tests was that the test became limited in the students' responses. Madura and DeDe (2010) evaluated the revolutions of assessments and vowed that computerized testing has more value when they are simulated with audio and text that can create higher level thinking for those students and allow them to think deeper and take their thoughts to the next level in their content.  Allowing audio and text can help students with disabilities participate in assessment tools that might not even be furthermore accommodated.  Another assessment is called virtual assessment which can allow the delivery of standardized tests without extensive training, they will require less materials, and the test will allow less administration of the test because the simulation takes care of that for the students.
Barbour (2012) used virtual assessments for an at-risk high school student that participated in both synchronous and asynchronous online schooling. The researcher found that this particular at-risk student had a hard time staying on task and finishing assignments.  This students was also very capable of completing the assignments in an formal and informal classroom.  The student lacked the tools to complete technology assignments at home.  The ineffective form of assessments and the delivery of the instruction wasn't motivating enough for this particular at-risk student.
Based on my own personal philosophy of an online school environment, I think prioritizing and motivation is a huge concern for distance education.  Consequentially students who do not perform on assessments are clearly not doing the coursework in the distance education.  Lack of discipline or unclear expectations play an important role if we want our students to effectively complete and assess themselves effectively in this type of environment.  Society today has a lack of work ethic and online education isn't for everyone.  I think learning how to use technology effectively in order to complete assessments plays a huge learning role as well.  I like that Madura and DeDe (2010) used virtual assessments and made it easy for people to take their course, this is the direction we need to go.  People will succeed if the course materials are engaging and easy to use.

Barbour, M.K. (2012). Virtual schooling through the eyes of  an at-risk student: a case study. European               Journal of Open, Distance, and E-learning. Retrieved from:                                                                       http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ979591.pdf

Horton, W. (2011). E-learning by design (2^nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. ISBN: 9780470900024

Madura, J.C. and DeDe, C. (2010). Assessment technology and change. Journal of  Research on                       Technology in Education, Vol. 42,3, pp. 309-328. Retrieved from:                                                             http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ882508.pdf

EDUC 638- Week 2

John 8:31 says ""if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples."  Teaching our curriculum with fidelity and including Common Core State Standards as well as creating a rigorous learning environment is important to sustain a proper education for our students.  Piccianno (2011) "Drawing from experiential theories, a basic assumption is that children are born with a natural curiosity about the world, and the main function of schooling should be to stimulate that curiosity (4).  Experiences are so imperative for all students to learn.  One experience students might not have is getting muddy or playing with a can and kicking it across the yard.  Children learn from their experiences sitting in front of a computer isn't always a great idea.  As a first grade teacher, I see a lack of little experiences that I loved to discover as a child.  When are we going to let our students experience life rather than thinking of them as a statistic or a "member" of the course (as a distant learner perspective)?   I read a Facebook post from a friend that said her daughter was dressed in her tennis shoes and athletic wear because she was going to have a fitness test and the child being disappointed because it was a test on the computer about her health....?
I love technology I just feel we need to have a balance with our school system.  Piccianno (2011) expressed that children need experiences with technology.  The fact that we have major companies going "green" and our schools are the last to receive or even learn how to use major technology so that our students can explore and experience the realm of their future and us as teachers...the ones that we are supposed to shape can't even get our hands on updated machines and let alone know how to use them!!

Picciano, A.G. (2011).  Educational leadership and planning technology (5th ed.). Hunter College, 
      NY: Allyn &Bacon

EDUC 633- Behaviorism and Distant Learning

Frustration sets in this week as I reevaluate the purpose of my Master's program.  Struggling to identify my priorities and the stress retaliating on the revelation of how can "synchronous courses" be truly effective?  After thinking the amenities of distance learning and then reflecting on the "adult learning" perspective on the expectations of synchronous learning has grasped me in the direction of my true objective of this program and that is to look deeper into the behaviorism of distant learning.
Davidson-Shiver and Rasmussen (2006)  explained that modeling and practicing behaviors in an online environment is important to clone a normal virtual classroom in order to make learners feel effectively heard as individuals.   The fact that learners choose to enroll their skills into an online learning atmosphere is considered when they may be too ill to join "real sessions,"or the fact they work full time can play an important role in distant learning. However the argument for distant learning is that critical thinking is imperative in order to create a highly ordered thinking classroom....one to jog its potential.  The other argument is to get an expensive education with as little interaction as possible for the means of it being strictly convenient and effective.  Behaviorism plays an important role in considering these arguments.  Depending on the atmosphere of the virtual world, interaction is key as a behaviorist approach to distant learning. Making sure students are effectively communicating and satisfying one's needs in a virtual classroom atmosphere is a necessity.  Positively reinforcing behavior while still relying on participation is effectively important in a distance learning community.  Shea, Picket, and Li (2005) addressed the implication that the faculty that gave critical criticism, responded to emails promptly and had high levels of interaction were the most effective for their online learning environment.  Making sure students that are distant create a connection that will allow them to participate effectively in a synchronous learning atmosphere.  Considering the expectations by the student as well as the community needs to be flexible, which could have a negative effect on the class.  Hilta, Shea and Eunhee (2004) have addressed , taking in consideration of the argument for adult distant learners in different time zones. Behaviorism is bar none for distant learners because they strive for community but also consideration of one's schedule and time zone.  The weakness of behaviorism is that we strive for community but at our convenience. In conclusion, setting a community through interactions is wanted by most individuals.



Hiltz, S. R., Shea, P. & Eunhee, K.(2004). Using Focus Groups to Study ALN Faculty Motivation.
       Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 11(1): 107-124.
Shea, P., Picket, A. & Li, C. (2005) Increasing access to higher education: A Study of the diffusion of
      online teaching among 913 college faculty. International Review of Research in Open and Distance
      Learning 6(2).

EDUC 633 and 638- Introduction

Hi Everyone,
So excited for this course!  Looking forward to meeting all of you on the web!  Here is a little about me;-)
My name is Maggie Ward and I live in Littleton, CO.  I teach first grade at Littleton Public Schools.  I am currently pursuing my Masters in Educational Technology Instruction and Design.  I love to play tennis, shopping, watching movies, and playing with my boys.  I am looking forward to learning about how I can effectively use technology and support for my colleagues.

Video Blog of Maggie Ward