EDOL 533 EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY: WEEK 1

WOW! SOMETIMES, TECHNOLOGY CAN BE A REAL DINOSAUR, BUT IS IT WORTH THE TROUBLE?
     I will be the first to admit, that when I saw the name of this class, "Educational Technology," I was pretty stoked! I mean this was going to be a piece of cake right? Of course right. I hold a degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis on graphic design, I am a reporter for a county newspaper, I use technology all day long from sun up to sun down. I have several Apple computers in my home studio, as well as multiple printers, fax machine, wireless routers and modems, high-end image scanners, copiers, digital card-readers, SLR's, I even have an iPhone, you get the point. As a certified Rank 4 Substitute teacher at the middle and high school levels, I also use technology daily in regard to the world of teaching. Smart boards, overhead projectors, windows computers (which I am pretty sure are of the devil, and I am convinced that Bill Gates is the Anti-Christ-lol) and more. So after looking at all of the technology based tools that I work with on a daily basis, one would think that I am pretty tech savvy and that it would be only appropriate for you all to vote me in as your great technology guru and leader, right? WRONG!
     Amazing how as we go through tons of training and everyday life, we can eventually get to a place where we feel we pretty much have things figured out, that we are pretty attuned to a general understanding of how things work in the world around us. I know I did. 
     Then, enter EDOL 533. Enter Professor Christine G. Goldberg, with her strange ramblings about "Wiki's" and "Blogs" and "NETS *T," etc. What in the world? Could it be possible? Could it be that there were actually technological tools of learning and communication that I had not procured? Could there truly be ways of communicating a lesson plan to a student that I had not yet stumbled upon? The truth of the matter is a resounding YES! Yes, there are new weapons to add to my arsenal of amazing ways to reach my students that I have never approached or thought of, and I only have one thing to say to Ms. Smarty Pants Professor Goldberg, THANK-YOU! Thank you Ms. Goldberg for bringing me out of my delusional slumber of day to day mediocrity and same "ole' same ole'" approach to technology in the classroom. 
     I had heard of "blogs" before, but my understanding of them (without further research or investigation) was that they were simply kind of a digital "diary" or "journal" that the "twentysomethings" were using as a form of self-expression. I had no idea of their value as a vital tool that could be used in the teaching/learning process, both in and out of the classroom. One of the great things about the wonderful world of 'blogging," is that it can be accessed anywhere there is an internet signal, giving the teacher or student access to the information 24/7 and allowing for a connection to the given information, whenever it is convenient.  
     There can be no doubt that technology is a huge plus in regard to how we deliver information to our students, and in the way in which they are able to creatively express back to us exactly what it is that they have learned, but what about the bad days? What about the days when the technology goes down, or fails to behave as it is supposed to. This past Monday's class is a perfect example. I function (and have for 20+ years) primarily on Apple computers, and for whatever reason, Safari (an Apple Browser) did not like nor care to be friends with "Elluminate," which as you all know is the video conference interface that we use to enter the "virtual" classroom for online classes at UC. No matter what I tried, I just kept getting explosion windows telling me that I did not have the proper plug-ins to access "Elluminate," which I knew was a boatload of malarky, as I had accessed the interface the week prior, with no issues at all. To top all of that off, once I was finally able to break through the evil "Safari" gremlins, the professor was then unable to assign me any rights. Ah yes, technology. Most often our best friend, occasionally, a formidable foe. A foe that not only fails to work properly or effectively, but also leaves us late for class, missing deadlines, unable to teach the lesson we had prepared for the day, etc. Which brings me back to the original question, and the title for this weeks blog. With all the frustration that technology can sometimes bring us, is it worth it to try and develop a classroom that integrates technology into the daily instructional plan? Is setting up classrooms like the ones we witnessed the ladies from Louisiana incorporating in the video this week entitled "Collaborative Approach" worth the time and trouble involved to make it work?  After seeing the "You Tube" video entitled "A Vision of Today's Students," we can scarcely deny that the successful teaching practices incorporated in the classroom environment are scarcely effective at reaching today's technologically advanced and motivated students. For all intents and purposes, technology is no longer something we can do to improve our classrooms, it is something that we must do if we have any chance at all of reaching today's youth, and by-passing the other world powers in terms of education. 
     I personally have learned a whole lot this week, including how to create and implement the blog that you are currently reading. I have learned once again that we never get too old, or should be so set in our ways, that we miss out on the fact that regardless of the subject, we never "arrive," and there is always more than can be learned. I have learned that when it comes to technology, be prepared and set yourself up well in advance for what you need to do, as there may be some troubleshooting involved. Mostly though, I have learned the answer to the question, and the answer is a great big massively huge YES! Technology is most definitely worth what it takes sometimes to make it happen. I believe it can be one of the most valuable tools in the classroom, if not the most valuable, in regard to reaching a student base that by the age of 11 or 12, have more than likely already surpassed most of us in our understanding of mainstream technology, and how it works. 
     I cannot wait until next week! To see what lessons will come my way, and to see how very little I actually know, about databases and spreadsheets and the like. 
So... Until then, have a great week fellow learners, and may God bless you richly!


Michael