Comment on Connie's Blog Post Titled "Academic Integrity"

Connie,

I am writing in response to your current blog on academic integrity. It was great to read how much you valued this assignment. I am also an educator who has not had any experience with anti-plagiarism software. Like you, I didn’t realize that the software would actually catch everything that I plagiarized online the first time I submitted it and it did! It seems as though you were as surprised as I was by the results.

The story that you included about your student’s experience with copying in your class really made me speculate about the frequency of plagiarism and how challenging it is for educators to catch. One can imagine how difficult discovering plagiarized content in student work would be when you are in the position to constantly read many student compositions. I am glad that you have a new tool to utilize in the future.

Lastly, I really liked your reference stressing the importance of “prevention rather than detection”. I couldn’t agree more that focusing on this idea is crucial right now. I really enjoyed reading your blog on this subject!

Sincerely,
Seanne Danielak

Comment on Connie's Blog Post Titled "Wikiality"

Connie,

I have enjoyed reading your blog posts very much over the course of this semester. Your attention to detail in the assignment is impressive and the pictures that you use are wonderful!

I love reading about the fact that you are learning so much throughout this process, as I am as well. Implying that Madonna graduated from Delta College where you are employed was a great way to create a personal connection with your assignment. I suppose you won't ever forget this experience after that story!

I couldn't agree more with your opinion on this matter. You wrote, "In my personal opinion, the main responsibility for educators today is not to discourage students from using Wikipedia or other similar websites, but to teach them how to scrutinize information on the Web." I think you couldn't have stated that any better. There is an incredible need to encourage our students to cross-check their references, rather than continuously creating lists of what sites they should not be using.

Thank you once again for sharing!

Comment on Larry's Blog Post Titled "Technology Standards"

Let me first thank you for your service to our community. Being an officer of the law is a very admirable job. I look forward to reading more of your future posts that relate to law enforcement. Your post really caught my attention! I especially liked the comparison you made between old criminals and new criminals and how the same crimes utilize new technologies. There is a direct correlation between what you do and what I do as a teacher because I must keep up with the advances in technology to keep up with my students as you do with the criminals that you deal with. Once again, great post!

Comment on Connie's Blog Post Titled "Educating the Millennium Generation"

Once again Connie, I am impressed with what you have to say on the topic of technology in our classrooms. It is amazing how much technology advances in such a short amount of time. Taking a year off and coming back to all of those changes must have been very difficult for you. I also agree with you that there needs to be a system implemented to assess how technology is being used in our school systems. Our district has also cut technology teaching positions hoping that the classroom teachers will utilize enough of it themselves to suffice. But what if they aren't training our students well enough? What a great topic of conversation you have brought to the table here. Great job!

Coment on Jennifer's Blog Post Titled "Educating the Millennium Generation"

What a beautiful job you did outlining the importance of understanding our students' generation to educate them properly. Your reference to the fact that "the world was flat" is a great comparison to the use of technology in the classroom. Furthermore, I agree that students are lacking the basic fundamentals of research as well. There are a lot of distractions for students on the internet, and without properly knowing how to search for information, an abundance of research time may be lost. I'm sure that in your line of work your eyes are open to this concept more than most people. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on such an important topic!

Comment on Larry's Blog Post Titled "Challenges in Educating the Millennium Generation "

Excellent blog post! I like the point you brought up about attempting to find a better filtration system for students when it comes to texting inappropriate material. My daughters are still very young, but if we don't find a better system now, it will be an even bigger problem in the future when they are teenagers. The part of the post that really caught my attention was the refrerral of the internet in the classroom as being "boundless". I agree with you that it is up to the teachers to make sure that we do not limit our students when there is so much information out there that is accessible to them.

Comment on Mary's Blog Post Titled "Educating The Millennium Generation"

"Facebook Nazi"? I think "Facebook Savior" is more like it! There needs to be more educators in our schools that care as much about their students as you do! I myself strive to be the kind of teacher who is concerned about digital citizenship and the ethics of technology. Too many educators try to bypass being friendly to their students and become their friend at the expense of looking past the things that might harm them just because their comment might "hurt the student's feelings". You stated "we need to teach the rules; the students can catch up on the rest" and I cannot agree with you more. Thank you for sharing your incite on this very important educational topic.

Blog Assignment #1

Seanne Danielak

2/4/11

EDU 590- Blog Post #1

Professor: Mr. Bruce Umpstead

            Describing research from the point of view of many educators as “not worth the effort” is definitely an understatement. In fact, there are many educators that I have been paired up with at conferences that when asked to provide valuable research on a topic, would rather take the next flight to the North Pole. I must admit that I don’t jump for joy when I am told to “go look it up” myself, but after reading the book “Action Research: An Educational Leader’s Guide to School Improvement”, I have now gained a much better appreciation for the importance of having to research a topic and how to become better at it as well.

            I am a music educator. It has been my dream since I was in third grade to teach music and believe me, science was one of those subjects that never came easy to me. However, even though the scientific method never completely lead me to understand why my rocket never made it off of the ground in high school, I do now understand its significance in evaluating one’s teaching. When the author explains how to break a problem down into various questions, finding the solution is easier, more exciting and (I imagine) very educational through the process. I am looking forward to applying this research to my technology and non-technology lessons for my EDU 590 class.

            The text of the book included a brief summary of a day in the working life of Ms. Rodriguez. I was able to relate to the overwhelming schedule that she has to adhere to and it really made me want to read more about this concept because the conclusion pointed out that she had to make many thoughtful and important decisions in a timely manner. How was she able to execute these choices so quickly? Apparently the answer for her (and hopefully for me) is Action Research. This process in various educational situations involves selecting a focus, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting that data, taking action and reflecting on that action. Using this method has many benefits including problem solving, decision making and empowerment (to name a few).

            Through Action Research, I have developed a diagram to assist me in my lesson planning. I have included what I am concerned about my students learning during the lesson, my knowledge of the technology materials that I will be using, and my questions and concerns about the lesson. I am looking forward to collecting this data with my students and utilizing it to find out which lesson plan is more effective for me and beneficial for my students.

Blog Assignment #2

Seanne Danielak
2/4/11
EDU 590- Blog Post #2
Professor: Mr. Bruce Umpstead

          

           I was recently asked to list the strategy which would best suit my technology and non-technology lessons for my EDU 590 class. It is quite evident that, given the dynamic of the class in which I teach, cooperative learning is a perfect fit. *“Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.” This basically sums up what an individual’s responsibility is in a concert band, but how do we make sure that this goal is attained?
           A topic that is widely discussed (especially among those that I work with on a daily basis) is differentiated instruction. Teaching to various learning styles is quite a challenge and I feel that it is a difficult task as a band director because it is frequent to teach everyone at the same pace, in the same way. Through the reading of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works as well as attempting to implement new strategies involving technology in my classroom, I will be allowing my students to utilize the Smart Music program. This use of technology will assist them in my classroom because those students who are auditory learners will be able to hear the piece of music being performed correctly first, before they listen to the student next to them playing it incorrectly, resulting in a “burned” memorization of something dreadful. Also, by using Smart Music, I will be able to allow students in the near future to record themselves as individuals for a grade. This will give them a chance to hear themselves perform, and it will also give me the opportunity to listen to them as well on days that I simply cannot fit it into the lesson.
            I enjoyed reading about the benefits of technology use very much in this course’s book. I especially thought that the idea of clearly articulating the goals before the use of technology was interesting as well as the authors’ support for its role in cooperative learning. Student-centered instruction is an idea that I have fostered throughout my teaching career thus far and I am excited that the integration of technology can also be helpful towards that goal. Also, while reading the question about “which strategies will help students to practice, review, and apply learning” in the Pitler/Hubbell/Kuhn/Malenowski book, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that this question is ALWAYS at the forefront of my mind when planning a lesson any day. The answer is clear now. Using the cooperative learning strategy will not only help me attain my goal with my students, but it will also allow my students to work together more than ever.
             

* “Cooperative Learning”. Web. < http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm>

Blog Assignment #5

Seanne Danielak

2/2/11

EDU 590- Blog Post #5

Professor: Mr. Bruce Umpstead

            “This is definitely a tough subject to summarize in 200 words” was my first thought when researching the comparisons between my employer’s acceptable use policy, “Joe’s Non-Textbook” YouTube video, the 2009 Michigan Educational Technology Standards for students and the news article “Poll finds sexting common among youth”. It was very intriguing to read and watch these pieces which resulted in what is commonly referred to as “information overload”. I will BRIEFLY describe some highlights that I found easier to compare than others through this research.

            The standards outlined goals for school districts to achieve through educational technology, while Farwell Area Schools Acceptable Use Policy (found at http://www.farwellschools.net/reportspolicies/techplan2011.pdf) did not summarize them, but rather, basically drafted rules, consequences and user responsibilities. However, as I continued to research, I did find some similar goals listed in the evaluation section of the school’s technology plan. It is definitely not as detailed as the METS, however, some of the same ideas apply such as technology usage being appropriate, utilizing technology as a means of creation as well as communication, also the importance of “Digital Citizenship” or “responsible citizenship”.

            The YouTube video really made me laugh and it reminded me of something that I heard at a leadership conference that I attended this past summer on behalf of my district. The presenter said that students “power off to come to school”. This is all could think of while watching this video. It specifically states in the standards that the ability to navigate in virtual environments (e.g. ebooks) is crucial and apparently this student has had that experience enough to foster this “confusion”. We need to continue using technology more in our classrooms so that we can keep up with our students, not the other way around.

            The article interviewed a student who, after declaring that he has sexted in the past, claimed that “I don’t see it as that big of a problem, personally”. This is proof that the ethical issues surrounding technology use must be taught as frequently as utilizing the technology itself. The fact that I, myself, have never read the Acceptable Use Policy until now leads me to assume that there are probably many students that I teach that have not read it as well. It makes one wonder if they even know what acceptable use really is. This article is a prime example of how important these standards truly are and how educators should familiarize themselves with them in order to provide our students with the information they need to make better choices.

Blog Assignment #3

Seanne Danielak

2/2/11

EDU 590- Blog Post #3

Professor: Mr. Bruce Umpstead

            Through recent comparative studies, I have found that there are many direct correlations between the seventh standard of the Professional Standards for Michigan Teachers, my undergraduate work, the objectives of this course and the education improvement plans that my employer adheres to. I will list a few areas in which some similar ideas apply.

            The initial concept that is addressed in the seventh standard is understanding the ethical issues surrounding the use of technology. The very first assignment that was researched for this course was on plagiarism, guiding us through the seriousness of this problem. Likewise, it is evident that through my undergraduate work, ethical issues in technology were also addressed when the two week unit on the copyright laws was presented. It is easy and convenient to copy an un-owned piece of music for educational purposes, to recite the biography of a composer in concert without citing the source or burn a piece of music without purchasing it, but it is absolutely the wrong thing to do in all of these situations. These illegal acts are happening quite frequently with the expansion and exposure to technology. It is now more important than ever to communicate this moral message when teaching technology.

            There is a professional development portion to the seventh standard that is listed as well. Through EDU 590, we are expected to create an eight minute YouTube video as a comparative presentation between the use of technology in the classroom versus a lack of it in the same lesson. This learning process is utilizing technology in a professional way which I have not been exposed to otherwise. Of course, throughout my educational career in college, this type of development was constant in order to complete the projects that were assigned such as using music notation software and MIDI. Furthermore, as an educator, professional development in technology has become standard and well sought after. The education department supplies teachers with constant training in areas such as computer usage and video conferencing tools.

            It was honestly very educational to read through this standard and reflect on how it has been adapted to fit into my studies as an educator and in my continual education programs.

Blog Assignment #4

Seanne Danielak

2/2/11

EDU 590- Blog Post #4

Professor: Mr. Bruce Umpstead

            To be quite honest, when I was given the assignment this semester to create a blog post comparing the national, state and local technology plans, I didn’t even know where to begin. I have never read through any of them before and was unclear as to how the assignment would impact me, if at all. Well, I am very delighted to report that the review of these plans was very enlightening and I have learned so much about how important educating students in technology is to our nation, the state of Michigan and the school system in which I am employed.

            There were many similarities between all of these plans. The most obvious one to me was the provision of access to technology. Whether it is written as “meaningful technology-enabled learning opportunities”, “engaging and empowering learning experiences for all learners” or “we will ensure that all students and teachers have increased access to technology”, the message is very clear that it is necessary that at all levels, it is imperative that technology is in the hands of students and that they understand how to utilize it.

            The sensible result of this executed plan would then be to train teachers on how to use it as well as the means to teach it. Logically, this creates another very obvious similarity between these plans… professional development. The Michigan education plan states it as “every Michigan educator will have competencies in 21^st Century Skills” while the U.S. plan states the importance of “continually training teachers”. Also, by reviewing Farwell Area Schools’ technology plan, found at http://www.farwellschools.net/reportspolicies/techplan2011.pdf, it is evident that this is of great importance as they have “provided training to their staff”. I feel that I am presented with an abundance of training as an educator in this field.

            I have mentioned how these plans are so similar, but I did find a few differences in them as well. It seems that the state and local plans are focused on the preparations for our schools in a positive way to incorporate technology throughout the future. However, the national plan, in my opinion, accentuates areas in which we have failed and because of that, there is a driving force to move forward and change what has already been established. Also, I found great visual representations in the national plan and no eye-catching illustrations in the others. But aside from these variations, I am very intrigued at how the plans have all made an attempt to emphasize the importance of this field in education.