EDLD 5397 - Week Five Web Conference

I am happy to learn that I have understood everything for the week correctly and was able to complete the work on time. 

I did not look at any of the PD Plan examples until after I wrote my plan.  I believe that I did include all of the necessary information, but when I saw that someone else had a plan written similarly to mine I was okay with what I had done.

I am planning to use at least some of the break to get caught up on writing the campus based and course embedded reflections.

EDLD 5397 Week Four Web Conference

I learned about the week 5 assignment in writing the professional development plan.  The way it was described in the conference is not feasible in my circumstances.  In Delaware we have some options but I am not working in the friendliest of environments and if I ask to shadow someone or do PD for individual items I will not be supported and will have to take personal days to do it even if I find someone who is willing to work with me on a specific item.  My best bet for PD is to enter into a 2 year administrator intership, and that is what I will write in my plan.  In my district we have something called Aspiring Administrators, which is a 2 year program in the district.  The state offers a program called Innovative Schools which is also a 2 year program where the admin intern is placed in a high needs school in the state.  I am certain that with both of these programs I will learn everything imaginable and then some.  Also, this way I do not have to fit it into my teaching schedule and I get paid for learning.  After that I can do seminars on topics of need.

The other thing I learned from the web conference is that if my site supervisor does not get my ETLISE completed that is another form that I wll have to fill out and hand in.  Just another bit of anxiety.  I better email a friendly reminder.  I have not even had the opportunityto catch up on my campus supervised activities.  Maybe I do write more than I have to but that is my process and I can’t help that right now.  So I am running behind because once I get the action research draft completed I will have to get started on writing the items I have not had a chance to write in my campus supervised report and my course embedded report.

More time needs to be given to actually catch up in this course. Can the discussion board be eliminated?  It’s probably just me.

EDLD 5397 Week Three Web Conference

I was very confused about the discussion for a couple of days but then I realized that I saw a link to the discussion on the left side bar.  I was crushed that there is one because I am feeling overwhelmed this week.  Dr. Borel keeps saying its an easy week so I will take a deep breath and keep moving on.  Just an FYI in Info systems management there was no link to the discussion on the side bar it was only in the course each week, so I understand your frustration about it changing up.  In the course before it was in both locations.

The thing I am most concerned about is that I will have trouble making my campus supervised hours because of illness.  I do not know when I will be going back to work, but there are some things that I have done that have not been written up yet.  I am almost up to date on the campus hours.  I just have to write my reflection about Informational Systems Management.  So I am good there.

The final issue that I have is that I write long reflections.  I have been told that is fine but I have to write what I did in order to get to what I learned.  It is all there together.  I hope that is OK.  Sometimes I have to write what I did to simply document how my time was spent.  That is mostly for myself but it helps me.  I hope that is OK too.

EDLD 5397 Week 2 Web Conference

This week’s web conference was mostly review but did clarify PLCE and LCE.  I already knew how to navigate the blackboard website and LUED website, so that was review but necessary information lest we forget.

I am concerned about the LCE.  I think it will take me several times to pass it.  I had no idea that we were already enrolled and will have to take the test sometime during the next few courses.  We can even take it now if we like.  The good news is that we can take it many times and taking it many times will help us to understand the various scenarios better.  That is a good way to learn.

I have watched the prep videos several times but I still don’t think I will do well on the practice.

EDLD 5362 Final reflection

EDLD 5364 Week Five Reflection

This week has been one of the worst weeks I have experienced from a personal perspective.  I wish that I worked in a supportive atmosphere with administrators who cared about my ideas.  With that said, I can say the the videos this week have been especially inspiring.  Even in an unsupportive environment I am hopeful to have my students working in groups solving problems in my morning enrichment ELA class.  So far my plan is to have my students read a book of their choice and creative multimedia book reports.  i am hoping that they will open their minds to the possibilities through this assignment.

After watching the videos, especially the Big Thinkers video with Sasha Barab (Edutopia, nd), I really began to think.  He talks about engaging student in technological media that inspires the students to think and write persuasively about whether or not a character should be allowed to pursue a particular path.  He also talks about fan fiction about their favorite characters in literature, which gave me the idea for my follow up multimedia group assignment after the book report.  I plan to have students work in small groups to develop a character or choose one from literature and then develop a story-line or scenario for that character.

I have to give it more thought but they might choose a character from one genre and combine it with a setting from another genre and then figure out how that character will interact in that situation.  Maybe I could use Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court as an introduction.

Another option could be that each person on the team could develop ideas for a different aspect of the story before the team even talks to each other.  I could divide the class up into groups.  Group one would develop main characters, group two would develop supporting characters, group three develops the time and setting, and group four would develop basic ideas and problems that could take place in the story.  Once those groups finish at least one person from each of those four groups would come together form the groups that would figure out how to put it all together and what media they will use to create their solutions.

Whether or not I will be allowed to make this happen remains to be seen, but it could be a lot of fun.  That video really got me thinking.


Edutopia.org. (nd). Big Thinkers: Sasha Barab on New-Media Engagement. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-sasha-barab-video

EDLD 5364 Week Four Reflection

I was having trouble with focus this week.  I enjoyed the videos and the readings, but thought the McREL report was dry.  Ironically that is probably the most relevant reading as I move forward in my research project.  I read it again and will read it again.  To my surprise it was much more interesting the second time around.  I think I really hated looking at all of the charts so I am ignoring them now and the content is by far easier to digest.

Granger et al. (2002) found that “supportive relationships among teachers, a commitment to pedagogically sound implementation of new technologies, and principals who encourage teachers to engage in their own learning” (p. 2) were factors that led to innovative teaching in the classroom. It is important, therefore, to design technology professional development in ways that provide opportunities for teachers to work and reflect together ( pp. 1–2). (Pitler, 2005, p2)

Although I don't have the luxury of face time with the teachers I am working with them on a discussion board to try to offer them time to reflect together on their efforts to implement technology in their classrooms.  Also, I am providing them with resources for self guided professional development.  This program I am implementing is mandatory.  However, with the expectation that teachers will begin with varying levels of comfort with technology having the resources that I have put together for them will allow them to choose what they need when they need it and then talk to me and the other teachers.

They also have the ability to ask questions and let me know what they need that has not already been provided for them.  I have set up a forum for that and will continue to set up forums for various discussions on different topics.

Now that I have read this article I have learned that I need to add a group reflection forum as well.  Even though I have already made my surveys, this article gives me the surveys that McREL (2005) used so I can go back and tweak mine if necessary.

I am glad that I read this article again,because there is a wealth of information in it that I can definitely use in my own research.  I also plan to read the chapters in the books again because I know they have relevance for me as well.

I cannot pin-point the source of the struggles of my brain this week but I was having such difficulty comprehending what I was reading.  Maybe it was left over anxiety of week three or work issues, but this course could not have been planned better for me in both content and in timing if I have made the schedule myself.

This course has been difficult work but very appropriate and informative.  I always like a good challenge.

Pitler, H. (2005). McRel technology initiative: The development of a technology intervention  program final report (Contract Number ED-01-CO-0006). Aurora, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED486685) Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED486685&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED486685

EDLD 5364 Week Three Reflection

This week has been extremely intense for me.  I don't think I did anything in any order and felt quite out of sorts the whole time.  There was just so much to do and I was feeling very clueless on so many levels.  I finally have made sense of things now.

This is a very difficult reflection to write because my mind has been all over the place with so much to do this week.  However there is so much that I can really relate to in the learning this week.  I have been able to find things in this learning that I do really well as well as being able to find things that I know I can improve upon.

For instance, in chapter 6 of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age, Rose and Meyer (2002) list four strategies that support recognition learning.  I know that I have been exceptional at providing examples as it has always been my mantra to say "If you can't provided a vast array of examples, then it is better to show none at all."  The purpose of examples is that students will understand key concepts in many contexts and that there are many ways to solve a problem.  To show only one example might give the impression that there is only one way to solve the problem therefore, it is better to show none and allow the imagination of the student to roam freely.  This something that I do very well.  Whereas, I can provide a variety of media in the traditional sense, but I do need to improve on the use of technological media.  I am making strides in this regard but I need better access in my classroom and better strategies for including technologies.

Chapter 6 (Rose and Meyer, 2002) was jam packed with information that forces teachers to reflect upon their practices.  Maybe that is some of the reason for feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Supporting strategic learning is something that I am getting better and better at as the years progress.  I suppose I should feel good that I am not one of the teachers who burn out after so many years of teaching.  As I become better in my own use of technology, I become better at using flexible models and multiple formats for supporting learning.  I have really great ideas that I want to implement and in some ways I really don't want to leave teaching for administration before I get to implement them.  However, if I can spread the word to other teachers then maybe the impact will be greater.

With the key components that support the three UDL networks, I am beginning to think that my idea of providing our fictional teacher with and at a glance booklet or brochure that can be used as a reminder is a pretty good idea until she has reached the point of internalizing the information.  I'm thinking I might make one for myself.

As stressed as I have been this week the information has been really valuable.  I am glad that this week is over so that I can take the time to really appreciate what I have learned.  I know that UDL can complement the LFS strategies that we use in my school district.

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 6. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

EDLD 5364 - Week Three UDL Lesson

Lesson Overview

Title:	The Renaissance Art of the Renaissance Man
Author:	Nancy Petrella
Subject:	Art History
Grade Level(s):	9-12
Duration:	12 Days
Subject Area:	Renaissance Art: Leonardo DaVinci
Unit Description:	The exploration and analysis of DaVinci’s art and its impact on the Renaissance and influence on the modern era.
Lesson One Description for Days: 1 and 2	Virtual museum tours exploring DaVinci’s works of art.  Students make sketches and/or written observations or audio recorded observations while closely studying maestro’s works.
Lesson Two Description for Days: 3 and 4	Webquest exploring scholarly writing and video documentaries about DaVinci.
Lesson Three Description for Days: 5 through 10	Students do their own analysis, draw conclusions and create their final product in their chosen method and medium/media.
State Standards:	Delaware Visual Arts Standards Standard 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas 3.1 Identify subject matter, symbols and ideas in works of art 3.3 Evaluate the sources for content to validate the manner in which subject matter, symbols and ideas are used in works of art 3.5 Describe and differentiate the origins of specific subject matter, symbols and ideas in works of art 3.6 Analyze how the use of subject matter, symbols and ideas are used in works of art Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures 4.1 Identify historical and cultural characteristics of works of art                  4.2 Describe how the arts and artists influence each other across history and cultures 4.3 Compare the purpose of works of art and design in history and cultures 4.4 Speculate on how history and culture give meaning to a work of art 4.5 Describe and differentiate the roles of artists in society across history and cultures 4.6 Describe how history and cultures influence the visual arts 4.7 Describe how the visual arts influence history and cultures Standard 5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others 5.2 Identify ways the visual arts are used as communication 5.3 Describe personal responses to selected works of art 5.4 Analyze works of art to speculate why they were created 5.5 Evaluate the artist's intent and effectiveness in communicating ideas and emotions in works of art 5.6 Apply visual arts vocabulary when reflecting upon and assessing works of art 5.7 Describe how a work of art can convey a voice of one or a voice of many Standard 6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines 6.2 Compare the use of technology, media and processes of the visual arts with other disciplines 6.4 Describe how learning in the visual arts helps develop essential skills for life and the workplace

Goals

Unit Goals:	Analyzing and evaluating art and artist in relation to time and place, and in the context of the contemporary and modern.
Lesson One Goals:	Extending observational, and analytical skills.
Lesson Two Goals:	Extending analytical skills.
Lesson Three Goals:	Extending analytical skills, writing and speaking using correct grammar and punctuation.  Developing individual ideas and voice.

Methods

Anticipatory Set: (1 class period)	Watch (with captions)/listen/discuss clips of a video overview of Renaissance Art and use UDL book I made for learning to look at and analyze art. http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=65174&page=1
Introduce and Model New Knowledge: (1 class period)	Using a smartboard, students will create a KWL to discuss what they know about DaVinci and his art. Using a smartboard teacher and students will model expectations for museum tours and webquests.
Provide Guided Practice:	Students follow the rubric for creating sketches and writing /talking about observations/analyses of DaVinci’s art. Students follow the guidelines for the webquests for museum tours and scholarly information about Leonardo’s life, art, and era.
Provide Independent Practice:	Students choose their medium/media and create a product of their analysis of the work of DaVinci including their own conclusions about his impact on his contemporary and our modern society.

Assessment

Formative/Ongoing Assessment:	Teacher will walk around and monitor progress. Teacher will conference with individual students Students will summarize their progress/what they learned each day on an exit ticket Students will create an e-portfolio and upload their daily sketches/writing/podcasts.
Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:	Rubric Feedback from the students E-portfolio with sketches, written and verbal observations End product

Materials

Computers, SMARTboard

assistive listening device, Interpreter (if necessary), closed captioning, speech to text software, text to speech software, microphone, headphone, digital voice recorder (handheld)

video software, graphics software, virtual environment software or website

Internet, wiki, YouTube, museum sites, various other art/ art history sites for research, various graphic organizer for students to choose from

Any other materials students might need for creating product, paper pencils, colored pencils, paint etc.

UDL Book Builder Reflection

UDL Book Builder is one of the most fabulous tools I have ever encountered and worked with during my time in education.  I might feel this way because I am a total bibliophile, but everyone might feel the same way once they give it a try.  It took me quite a while to build my book but the potential impact for learning is worth the additional effort.  I have already recommended this tool to my colleagues at Meredith Middle.  Also, I teach an enrichment class in ELA and I would love to have my students work with this book building tool as well.  If not, then I will be creating books for that class as well as my art classes on various topics.  This is the kind of tool that can go a long way as the "hook" that grabs and engages students at the beginning of every unit or possibly even every lesson.  i say this because the potential exists for great diversity so the books do not have to be the same type or format every time. Don't forget to look for and click on the little coaches at the bottom of each page. 

EDLD 5364 - Week Three UDL Reflection

I used the UDL Curriculum Self-Check to guide me in my reflection. Considering how difficult this week has been using it as a reflection tool was extremely helpful. I used it to assess my daily teaching practices along with the UDL lesson I made for this course. On a daily basis I work with LFS. This is mandated by the district I work in. I find LFS to be very easy. It is way easier than the way that I used to write lessons. LFS is not so different from UDL. I find that the two complement each other. I also like the tools and tool kits provided by both methods. LFS has a toolbox that teachers in my district have access to for planning and creating things like unit/lesson plans, graphic organizers, and learning maps. UDL does some of the same things but offers some other unique things especially the book builder which I absolutely adore.  I have enjoyed learning about UDL and what it offers to students and teachers.  I am glad that I will be able to use it in conjunction with my LFS strategies.  The strategies and flexibility of both methods really complement each other.

Goals
My teaching is all about flexibility.  So I find UDL as a very useful way of thinking and enhancing what I want to achieve in teaching.  While I want my students to achieve great things I want them to do that in their own ways.  The disappointing thing that I have found in teaching is that my students are often very resistant to this.  They just want me to tell them what to do and how to do it.  I say to them that if I do that then they have learned nothing and I am only grading my own work.

I have really worked to have it clear in my mind how the goals would work for individual students and that information would be delivered in various ways for students and I also included various modes in the book that I made. While I know in my mind that there is always differentiation in presenting and working with information; I don't know that it is always clear to everyone else including my students.  I often have to repeat many times they ways in which they have choices in achieving goals.  I honestly do not know if it is me or that they are not listening or want want to believe what I am telling them.  This is an area I need to work on. 

My next steps will be put more thought into my goals and getting students more involved in setting and presenting them so they will take more ownership and have a better idea about what is going on.

Methods

I believe that I access prior knowledge in the anticipatory set but I think that I can do a better job of it in both my UDL lessons and my LFS lessons. I certainly am taking student ability and experiences into consideration.

Critical features is something that I am very good at. I do need to improve on using non-examples to help students understand critical information and key points.

Scaffolding is something else that I am extremely good at. This is something that I help other teachers with this often.

Transfer and retention is something I am good at as well. I always provide multiple supports for student learning.

There is always flexibility for my students in my class. The concern is whether or not students take advantage of it. I think because I teach Art that students simply want to think it is their time to do nothing. There needs to be a change in the system in that regard.

I am happy to see that I am using very sound methods.

I give my students continual feedback but they do not always take advantage of it. It has become so glaringly evident that I have made it a participation grade for my students. Again another issue with the system and perception in relation to Art.

Varying the challenge is easy in Art because the assignments are so open. My Leonardo assignment is not different even thought it is Art History. I will have to admit I do have difficulty in understanding middle school students in this respect. I am much better suited for high school or higher education.

I think external markers are lacking in my lessons, but I am not sure because I do use chinking and therefore they can see progress in that way from step in the process to the next. I don't use a chart for it though but they do have graphic organizers to help them see progress. I am really on the fence about whether what I do in this regard is sufficient.

In the lesson I wrote for this course, choosing learning content is an absolute. It is often true in my middle school lessons.

Materials

In the Leonardo lesson and my daily teaching, students always have choices in which media they will use to produce a product.  I just don't usually have a means for including technology in my real teaching as I do in my fantasy teaching

In the Leonardo lesson as in my teaching there are varying ways to assist hearing and visually impaired students.

Enhancements for language barriers are built into the Leonardo lesson.  I have to work at this in my teaching position.

Graphic organizers and rubrics are always available to my students in the Leonardo lesson they might not be as evident as they are in my actual teaching.

Templates and sentence starters are more evident in my daily teaching for research and art history than they are in the Leonardo lesson.  Hmm that is interesting to find out. However, I do use them in aspects of my teaching whenever they are necessary.

I rate my self in the middle of student ability to access and critically evaluate information on websites.  In real life it is the time factor and my ability to schedule computer time.  In the Leonardo lesson there is time for that but I am nit sure it is evident.

Reflection is something that I expect from my students.  Howevr, this is an area of improvement for me.  I don't think it is absolutely evident in the Leonardo lesson nor do I think that it is always done in my daily teaching.  I need to find better ways of implementing reflection and the courses I am taking are helping me with that.

Materials and media in the Leonardo lesson provide support for individual abilities in learning.  I do this in my teaching position as well.  There are definitely varied levels of challenge because I allow students to make their own accommodations and I help them with that whenever necessary, but I don't know if that is evident.

Lesson content in my regular teaching is always relevant to the lives of my student.  I tried to make this evident in the Leonardo lesson by having students make connections from the Renaissance to modern times. 

Assessment

Assessment is always ongoing in the Leonardo lesson and my real teaching.  However, I am not certain that all of my real student know this some like to stay in a fantasy world and at least pretend that they do not get grades in Art.

Assessment is flexible and varied.  I like to make that less evident to students in my classes then I would for parents and administrators, because I don't want students to think that someone has it easier than they do.  On the occasions that it is recognized by students I have a conversation with the students and they do understand that equal and fair are not the same thing.  I just prefer to not have that conversation all the time.

In the Leonardo lesson students choose their mode of assessment.  In real life that sometimes occurs.

EDLD 5364 Week Two Reflection

I have been somewhat preoccupied this week with the death of my uncle and the realization that complete end of an era is upon my extended family.  There are few left who play major adult roles in the memories of my youth.  It is the cycle of life and we all know that it will happen but that knowledge doesn't change the process.

In my preoccupation, I found it difficult to focus.  Although the information from the reading is not new and not difficult to comprehend I find myself having re-watch the short and to the point videos and re-read the assigned text.  Therefore, I will comment on these things in the order I watch or read them while the covered information is fresh in my mind.

UDL is a simple concept.  Accommodations or modification made for a specific need can and do benefit everyone.  Universal Design is applicable to all of society, not only education.  Since we do not live in a one size fits all world, this concept shares its foundation with Constructivism.  I know this is over simplifying as it has taken many years for the the concept and society to evolve to the point of being able to accept and acknowledge that the group dynamics and services needed to change in order to be respectful and inclusive.

While Constructivism is not new, maybe we as a whole society can finally make the most of it through new and constantly evolving technologies. Technologies are changing the way we perceive education.

The readings this week did not really teach anything new except UDL and that isn't new it is just in a different context.  There are so many letters floating around education these days it is sometimes hard to keep them all straight.  LFS, UbD, UDL, what it all means is that we must be open to possibilities and helping all students succeed on their own terms instead of trying to force all students into a one size fits all education.

It seems that UDL will be the catalyst in helping teachers to integrate technology into their curriculum. "Instead of being "just one more thing," the UDL framework provides a way to make various approaches to educational change more feasible by incorporating new insights on learning and new applications of technology.." (Rose & Meyer 2002).  Whether we are working within the framework of LFS, as we do in my district, or some other framework, UDL will act as a complement.

Like Steven Covey and LFS, our reading in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, et al, 2007) reinforces planning with the end in mind, while using technology to allow individualization for all students.

I believe that planning and objects are more to keep the teacher on track than the students.  I still would rather allow students to construct their own learning to their own end.  Let's face it we are not all cut out to be the same thing and while I believe we realize this on the level of accommodations and modifications we still do not want to acknowledge it when it come to student objectives and grading.  

Why can't we change the course of education after elementary school, to placing students into paths that will enable them not only to excel in school but prepare them for life after high school?  I believe that we are going to reach a point when there is just going to be too much information to learn in any given subject that we will have to completely restructure the school day/year as well as what we teach and how we teach it.  I also believe that this is going to lead to greater use of "schools within schools" structure in order to meet not only the needs of diverse learners but overwhelming amounts of information. 

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 1. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Chapters 1, 15-38.

EDLD 5364 - Week One Web Conference

The web conference this week was helpful.  There were a lot of problems with blackboard and Ms. Borel put a lot of emphasis on clarifying.

I thought that the discussion board was cluttered and overwhelming so I made my posts and then kind of gave up.  It is good that we will be posting within our IA groups as we did on Epic.

So far I have been able to figure the BB course platform out but I think it is more work to navigate than Epic.  Epic seemed more streamlined to me, but I don't find BB very difficult.  I suppose it will seem more streamlined to me once I get used to it.

Besides clarifying BB, Ms. Borel also gave information on the team website that I did not recall reading, so I am glad that I was on the meeting.  If anyone in the course missed it, and happen to be reading my blog, look at the recording and listen carefully.

EDLD 5364 - Week One

This week has been interesting.  Of course the videos and readings were interesting, mostly.  Then there was the issues with groups and blackboard creating confusion with the transition of course platforms.  It's all good with something to be learned from everything.

Through the videos and readings, I revisited Constructivism per Dewey, Montessori, and Vygotsky via Abbott (n.d.).  It is always good to revisit ideas from time to time, in order to clarify vision and refresh beliefs.  Through the visitation and the now deleted discussion, I came to better understanding of the concept within the framework of of our current reality.  For those of us in the public school system it is impossible for us to faithfully maintain a fully constructivist classroom.  In spite of our beliefs and ideals, at best we can only maintain a partially constructivist or hybrid version of the same in our classrooms, because of the expectations for planning, testing, and accountability in our system.  In a fully constructivist classroom a teacher would not be able to have learning maps, because the students themselves construct the learning.  If the students themselves construct the learning it is going to be different for each of them.  I know of only one school in Delaware that is truly constructivist.  The rest of us have to be content with our hybrid.

Connectivism (Siemens, n.d.) is a sign of the times and makes perfect sense.  I don't think that it, in and of itself, is necessarily a separate learning theory or design.  It rather works in conjunction with other learning theories and templates and can fit with any of them.  With the amount of knowledge that students are to be familiar with, it certainly has become important to know where to find the information.  While some of us have a greater ability to store information than others it is still impossible to store all information in one's brain.  Having said that, I still think that we would see some interesting changes if we all had the ability to use more or all of our brain. Maybe that will be part of the human evolutionary process and totally negate Warwick's (n.d.) need  to be a cyborg. I know very little about the human brain, so I am just saying. However, the possibility does exist.  For right now we can be happy that we have increased our knowledge base through the power of the internet.

I have put some thought into "Cyborg Learning Theory" (Warwick, n.d.).  I suppose the theory right now is whether or not the implants would work.  It is not a theory on best practices for teachers.  If we were all to become cyborgs  would there be any real need for teachers? I doubt it.  If humans would get the implants of their choosing then they would be equipped for their own needs and design or redesign for the person they wanted to be or job they wanted.  I suppose I could go on for hours pondering the implications including the ethical. All of which would require a lot of time and energy to discuss in any detail at all.

Warwick (n.d.) also talks about not having the need for all of the learning of what I will call the “boring” material and being able to focus on learning the really interesting things.  I would argue that we don't need cyborg implants to be able to do that.  The problem is that students are forced to deal with the "basics" and the "repetitive" work whether they need it or not.  I have been listening to my son rambling on about this for the past 11 years.  Thankfully, he is now a senior. However, my boy with the high IQ and the low grades will be forced to have to prove his intelligence for entrance into university because he refused to do the "boring" work.  I would tell him to just do the work and get it over with.  He would say “Why should I waste time on things I already know?”.  His grades are not at all reflective of his intelligence and ability.  In this case, I say, thankfully there is the SAT.  Normally, I would not say that.  My point is that Warwick needs to realize that it is the system that needs to change for all students before anything he is proposing can even be considered.

I have the tendency to think about these implants in more practical terms, and certainly it is important to allow individual choice.  If this becomes a reality and only some choose it, I do believe that Warwick (n.d.), would be correct in his assumption that humans, as we are now, will become the subspecies of the planet. Once again, too many social and ethical implications to discuss here.

Where I was headed when talking about practical uses for these kinds of implants, goes back to a study trip to Italy in 2008.  I had the opportunity to briefly discuss a similar topic with a scientist who was working on a robotic prosthetic hand that would be directly wired to nerve endings for people who had lost their hands.  Of course, the robotic hand once wired into the body and after therapy and learning would be controlled by the human brain.  Robotic hands, at this point, are old news; but it is pretty cool that I was able to talk to someone who was making it a reality. I asked him about the implications of this robotic technology for the eyes.  He told me that the eyes are far too complex for that type of technology, but what I really wanted to know was how a chip might be implanted in the back of an eye that would talk to the brain remotely, in order to restore vision.  Unfortunately, the time I had to talk with him was far too short. 

Abbott, J. (nd). Building Knowledge: Constructivism in Learning. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F00R3pOXzuk

Siemens, G. (nd). The Changing Nature of Knowledge  [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMcTHndpzYg

Warwirk, K. (nd). Cyborg Life [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_l7SY_ngI

EDLD 5366 Course Reflection

As I look back on the stages of learning in this course, it seems that the course was longer than what it has been.  The learning that has taken place has been quite comprehensive complex.  Design principles in relation to a variety of media, ancient and modern.  Along with design in relation to self branding, animation, and web design. 
As an artist and arts educator, none of this was completely new to me. However, in these capacities it was necessary for me to take my own understanding of these concepts to a different level.  The way that I will use what I am learning will vary from the way others in the course might use the information.  If I did not take things to a different level, then I would not be doing myself or my students any good.
For instance, the four principles being used in this course, and outlined in The Non-Designers Design Book (Williams, n.d.) are very different from the principles I was taught as an undergraduate fine arts student.  In turn both are different from the less complex principles that I teach as a fine arts teacher of a very young and inexperienced group of students. Even so, I teach 7 principles of design. Using four principles must be something that web designers and graphics designers must have come up with. I had never heard of such a thing until this course.  I do know that the principles of design vary depending upon who you ask.  
In this case, I have learned vital information for teaching graphics and web design with a more streamlined approach that I believe will be easier for my students to understand. I have found these four concepts extremely effective in designing posters and other graphics.  The same cannot be said for fine arts, in my opinion.
While I can't use the same approach when I am teaching fine arts, I believe that if I begin with these more streamlined concepts at the beginning of all of my courses, they will pave the way for greater understanding of the seven principles I teach for fine arts.  A solid understanding of the four principles will make learning seven less overwhelming, because the four actually encompass the seven.  However, no painter or sculptor really cares if things are aligned or in proximity to each other.  It becomes necessary to use different vocabulary and learn about other details in the construction of these works.
The idea of branding is nothing new.  Ranchers brand cattle,and the Chinese stamp their work.  I just never thought about it this way.  I've always just called them logos and thought about them mostly in the context of business. 
The Chinese and Japanese artists inspired me to design my own stamp, although I never did until now.  I might alter it more before I actually put it to use on my own art.  I also have wanted to have my students created their own logo/stamps to use as a signature.  Something I have been trying to incorporate into my classes since I took a seminar on East Asia in 2008.  
Until now I wasn't able to come up with a good way to help my students understand.  I plan to teach them the same way that this course taught me.  I think it will help them to understand the concept more easily.  Using LeaLea's chart (Alcantra, 2009) will be extremely helpful, and my colleagues and I in this course have come up with good ideas for how to use it.
The same is true for animation.  it is nothing new but I had only dabbled with the software on a superficial level and was in no way capable of creating or teaching animation before this course.  As I reviewed Stykz and Scratch, I realized that they will be really good tools for teaching my students the basic concepts of animation and making characters move.  However, I knew right away that they are not the tools I need for things I want to accomplish in film making. it was and continues to be necessary for me to learn how to do this and other tasks and techniques with the Adobe software.
In order for me to create more sophisticated films in the long run, I needed to continue learning how to manipulate the Adobe software.  I have come a long way in this course and 5363, but I know I still have a long way to go.
Having said that, creating the animation tutorial for the group website took me through a very complex thought and creation process that in the end took me a couple of weeks.  It is a really good thing that I was running ahead of schedule.  The kind of animation that I wanted to explore for my animation assignment just wasn't going to translate well into a tutorial so I made two animations, but that was via another animation as well.  
I made my first animation and encountered some problems with the sizes and cropping of the images that I could not see in the software.  They did not become evident until I posted them on YouTube.  So I had to figure out the problem working blindly in the software.  It took me about 8 times to get it right.
Unfortunately, the problems I encountered in my first animation did not prepare me or even come into play for the second animation.  I should not say unfortunately, because the two processes enabled me to encounter entirely different problems and develop different and unique solutions for them.
Initially I thought I needed to begin the animation with the traditional approach of drawing and tracing.  Making changes to each layer by hand and photographing each drawing in order to put it into the software.  I knew it didn't feel right but I kept drawing by hand as I contemplated my next move.
Finally I realized that this course is about technology and I had to do the whole thing by computer.  I ended up using my drawing tablet, Adobe Illustrator, and Premiere Elements.  Since I wasn't trying for a great animation I thought I would be able to move through the steps with ease and create the tutorial with no problems.  I don't even remember how many tries it took for me to figure out all of the steps that you see in the tutorial.  Things like the fact that I had to put the background color in and convert the layer to a PDF in Illustrator and not Photoshop, because converting it to a PDF in Photoshop meant that it would not be compatible with Premiere Elements.  There were so many seemingly insignificant details that caused problems for getting the drawings transferred into Pre 10.
Overall,  I am very pleased with what I have learned about the software.  I wish that I would have had time to learn more.  Now I have learned the basics as well as documented them for other teachers to learn.  Therefore, having been through this process I am now ready to move on to more complex tasks.
As for other aspects of the web design, up to and including this course, I have been limited to using sites with restrictive templates in terms of design. My school website is a template that is really restrictive.  I have absolutely no control over the design.  Working with Google for my wiki, our group site, and I have made site for myself as well, offers a bit more in regard to design freedom. But on the other side of that, I have never really considered creating a site from scratch until now.  Therefore, Google sites are a good way to get your feet wet before moving on to creating a site on your own.
I plan to use Google sites with my students in putting the research of Helen Barrett (2005) into action.  I have had a portfolio of one type or another since high school.  I mean ones that I have created as an artist.  The readings on e-portfolios shed some new light on an old topic. As has participation in this master's program.  I have never had so many different kinds of portfolios at the same time.  I have learned about the impact of portfolios in greater depth. 
In White paper: Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement, Barrett (2005) discusses two different kinds of e-portfolios, Positivist and Constructivist, and the tension between the two approaches. (Barrett, 2005, pp 7-8) Since I infuse student directed and teacher directed learning in all of my units, I plan to have my students create hybrid e-portfolios.  Their portfolios will consist of the information that I need for documentation of my teaching and student success including all of their preliminary work, their art and their reflections on their art.  The art my students create is based upon self directed research of current events.  While the research is hybrid the art imagery is all student centered and directed.  I suppose it becomes hybrid again when I expect them to use the elements and principles in a purposeful way.  Beyond the essential pieces of art their e-portfolios will also consist of other student choice items such as the overall design, other art images, links, and other writings that they would like to include.  I want to do this with all of my students but I think I will start with one grade level first and work up to scheduling computer lab time for all of my classes.
Finally, the readings, while not always necessary to complete the tasks were necessary for the discussions and added dimension to the course.  I think we would have lost out on important information without them, and the course would have lost some of its power. The readings offered some new information or a new twist on some old information.  As I have always known and understood, it is best to get your information from as many different sources as possible.  This course exemplifies that for me because I got to see and read about things I do on a daily basis, from a completely different perspective.  


Williams, R., (n.d.), The non-designers design book: Typographic principles for the visual novice, 3rd ed.
Alcantra, L., (2009), The art of self branding, retrieved from http://www.lealea.net/blog/ comments/the-art-of-               self-branding-part-one/
Barrett, H.C., (2005), White paper: Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement, The reflect initiative
STYKZ Tutorials, retrieved from http://www.stykz.net/support/tutorials/
Scratch Tutorials, retrieved from http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Video_Tutorials