Kaamil Ali ETEC 524 Blog

During this semester I have learned about technologies that I had not previously been exposed to and was able to become more familiar with a few that I had. The various ways people can communicate online is fascinating to me especially because emails are not always the best form of delivering a message or asking the question. I was really intrigued when I received tips on the lesson plan assignment through a YouTube video message. Even creating a YouTube tutorial on Jing, it never once crossed my mind about using it to pass a video note.  The message was a lesson within itself. Browsing through people’s blogs can be beneficial due to exploring different ideas, reflections and suggestions as applied to improving instructional methods and technologies. I actually read an article about Wordle a few weeks ago, and the article gave several examples of how Wordle can be used in instruction. The most prevalent example was using Wordle to facilitate group brainstorming for assignments in t...

I created a lesson plan to introduce American Presidents. I incorporated Google Earth to explore monuments and landmarks. The videos truly support the necessity of incorporating technology into the classroom. The first video was the most intriguing to me. However, I see that technology can be just as distracting, if not more distracting, than helpful. All-in-all technology can assist students with time management, provide a form of interactive learning, and capture their attention more than a chalkboard ever will.

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It is definitely interesting. I found this very informative as well. I honestly was not aware of some of the information presented.   My way of validating the legitimacy of a website definitely takes a different approach. I am glad to know and understand the extensions of a web address. Typically, I use search engines for personal information more than academic unless it is for thorough and easy to understand explanations of a topic discussed in class. I rely more on academic journals for information that I use for assignments. I have not had to do a significant amount of research so far as a part of my career path. I do see the necessity/importance of teach students these skills in grade school.   I know so many college students that will use any website for a reference in an assignment. Many of them do not understand why the professors request that academic and peer reviewed articles be used.   Teaching a grade-school student these skills earlier will definitely aid...

Reflection #4 The tenant that most related to me was assessment for learning develops learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing .   This tenet stuck out to me the most because the article repeatedly gave different references of the importance of knowing one’s self to help with the learning process and teaching process as well. To help with the teaching process, it is important to know the audience you are teaching for so that the information can be prepared in the best manner in relation to what exactly is being taught . Helping students become self-motivated starts with helping the children believe in themselves.   Developing a portfolio of work throughout the year is a tangible way of showing students all the areas they have explored, developed and enhanced throughout the semester. Saving an assignment to your portfolio allows people to reflect back on the work they have done over the past semester and throughout their gra...

  I chose the organizations Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and EDUCAUSE simply because they both promote technology as an advanced way to engage students. The importance of educational technology was expressed greatly in my philosophy. EDUCAUSE promotes the use of educational technology and CoSN supports that educational technology facilitates engaging learning environments. CoSN’s mission is to “empower educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments.” They address the issues of educational technology as well as advocate its benefits. The membership of CoSN is composed of people from an array of backgrounds instead of just educators. http://www.cosn.org/Home/tabid/2516/Default.aspx EDUCAUSE “is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. EDUCAUSE helps those who lead, manage, and use information resources to shape strategic decisions at every leve...

        Having your teaching philosophy written down is helpful because it is good to see your ideas and thoughts on paper. This is similar too brainstorming because you can go back and change some things you see or add something you may have left out. I haven't given much thought to this before this class so it is going to be interesting to look at my perception of my philosophy at the end of the course.

 Blogging Potential      The potential use of blogging in my view is the expansion of communication between people who may never converse in a face to face class setting or share thoughts and ideas of certain subjects. Some people feel shy about sharing in public so being online provides a comfort for everyone. Also people are able to communicate with others in different states, cities and countries. This may be helpful in different courses and personal blog use. I do not think we have reached the potential that is spoken of in the article because everyone is not computer literate and some people may not be aware of this form of communication. Although there is a society of bloggers, as far as the field of education I do not think it has reached its full potential. I do believe in time it will spread and be used more to help with class discussions or journals because of the rapid growth of technology and the various ways it is utilized. For example cell phones w...

    The field of teaching is something society should pay more attention to because the word teacher is usually associated with school but people learn from each other daily. That thought is the idea that motivated me to enter the field of teaching. The first teachers to all of us are our Parents or guardian in some cases. However what a person learns at home is how they behave in society. Coming to school children behave according to what they see on a daily basis but they do not know how to separate the good from the bad.  So some students are labeled deviant or trouble makers from misunderstandings on both parts. In my philosophy I will explain how the gap between teacher and student can be closed to gain more productive relationships in the education process.       Seeking to understand a person can better inform someone how to relate to others. Encouraging and challenging the students to expand their knowledge of the world and society be...