Learning Journal 1
Teaching gifted for many years afforded me the opportunity to work in different schools and observe different student and teacher learning and teaching styles. Another consideration was the kind of equipment each school had to offer. All the schools had morning video web announcements put on by 5th grade students. Next came all the classroom computer labs which were used for different functions by teachers and students. The teachers were also able to sign out a rolling computer laptop cabinet. We would all agree that for students, "computers also can provide many unique, effective, and powerful opportunities for teaching and learning” (G. Gunter & R. Gunter, 2015). School starts at 08:00a.m. and continues this 02:00p.m. when the dismissal bell rings.
One of my early morning duties is do tutorial with my students on the computer achieve 3000 Success Maker math. Last past year all schools were supplied with Wi-Fi and students were permitted to bring in their own tablet or laptops. Last week I had no computer access and computer tech signed on with an administrator password and got the computer up and running.
Teaching gifted pullout I do not share my lesson plans unless they are with another gifted teacher. This year in class I am working on Project Create a Project Cased Learning (PBL) activity. In this activity “students not only need to investigate data using critical thinking skills, but they also must be able to figure out what the data really means and be able to synthesize, evaluate, and create new information and knowledge” (G. Gunter & R. Gunter, 2015). Today the students who are gifted in learning have the ability to skip grad levels without penalty. I find that school has changed for the better and has become more flexible for teachers to accomplish their purpose. I have covered and do agree with the author that on all the fourteen points which is phantasmagoria. John Lucyk. #eme5050
Gunter, G. A., & Gunter, R. E. (2015). Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology in a Changing World (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Learning Journal 2
Out With the Old in With the New
John Lucyk
Reading chapter 2, many areas in the chapter were shown
equipment to be obsolete. This brings to mind all the technology that was then
top of the line then is no longer with us. I remember seeing the Tandy TRS80 one
of my friends had bought and was using. The thought that ran through my mind
was this thing going to do anything really big? There were very few programs
and the device performed the work very slowly.
Working with Electronic Switching Systems #101 in the Bell
System this was the first system that was designed by Bell Labs for the New
York World’s Fair. The machine was then placed in my building and that became a
learning system for me. I remember placing the system offline and magnetizing
big metal cards to change information into the system then we had to update and
that would transfer that information in the online unit. One time a young lady
walked by in silk blouse and the machine went crazy spitting information out of
the Teletype. When I left that department the phone company was up to ESS35
which controlled thousands of lines. The telephone lines that were connected to
them were cloth single pair twisted pair 22 gauge wires that one stripped and
soldered to bunching blocks. Next came the improved plastic coated wire 22
gauge and today we have fiber optic cable everywhere replacing that wire. Naturally
the wire of today has a lot of bandwidth to accomplish many functions
simultaneously.
The first phones that I remember were black and had a dial
on it that rotated with letters and numbers. In the Bell System I remember
seeing an individual that had a picture phone, on a bulky carrying item with a
about 3x5 screen. This was a pilot item that never really caught because it was
too expensive, heavy, and bulky to carry around. Today we have the smartphone
which is small, compact, light and not that expensive. Timothy Cook who was
elected to be CEO of Apple is justly proud of what he and his predecessor has
accomplished in the current iphone 6 and rumors of the iphone 7 coming out
soon.
Today in my school we are rewiring the portables to
accommodate a STEM Labs classroom. The benefits of the classroom will be
tremendous to teachers and students. According to Gunther we will “explore
virtual worlds and social networks… access a wealth of information, news,
research, and educational material (p.61).” The web will have unbelievable
capabilities of the number of apps and tablets it can handle. This is something
that is good but I hope security protected is set in place so we will not be
hacked as we have been recently.
Gunter, G. A., &
Gunter, R. E. (2015). Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology
in a Changing World (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Learning Journal 3 John Lucyk
Safety
and remediation of off task events
Safety is always near and dear to every teacher heart but students are
students. At least a few out of a classroom will always try to do things that are
less than desirable. This behavior is something that all teachers have
experienced at one time or another. I am referring to computers but this
behavior goes across the board to other areas. At times observering this I
think that the students do this sort of behavior just to see what will happen and
then when confronted will balk at the idea that it is they who are to blame. One
common occurrence is if their cellphone goes off.
An example of
this is when I was subbing and I had a lesson plan to use the computer with our
students and explain that we will being doing research to go to certain sites and
to please act accordingly. As I am walking around I see students diligently
working. After a little while has passed I notice several students distracted
but they maintain a straight face when I look in their direction. When I go
over to check their work they are busy typing but it seem they are waiting. Going
over to the student computer I notice that one of the students has moved to
another computer. I ask the student what happened that he moved and he told me
that the mouse does not work. I try it and sure enough the mouse does not work.
I look at the student and the student next to him tells me that the ball is
missing. Tells me that is the way he found the computer. He really had try to
move and the plot thickens. I am the substitute and I leave a note of the two
students and what happened and then take the students back to their regular
class and dismissal starts.
The ethical issues of these things happening
in higher education to local schools is probably nil. By the time the students
go to college I think they are wiser not to do these things probably having
observed what happened when they were in school. The computer mouse was
invented by Douglas Engelbart, “computers as a way for ordinary human beings to
augment their intellect saw he set about building the necessary tools to make
that not just possible but easy."
I teach of gifted and use computers for my lessons 95% of the time but I
am a teacher who is blocked from certain sites like Facebook. I do not fight it
because it could be one thing when if something goes wrong it will be the straw
that broke the camel’s back. I took the easy way out and waited for a more
understanding principal.
References
Marchionini, G.
(2013, August). In Memoriam. Bulletin of the Association for Information Science
& Technology. p. 16.
Learning Journal 4
Today
we either excel or stay the same by what we know digitally because parents and
principals expect it for their children. Video has become our daily companion
from morning to dusk, it is just a question in what fashion we want to access
the information. Today video is accessible to all teachers in one form or
another. A Teacher needs only to think creatively how to maximize their digital
possibilities. The teacher created environments are research based to effective
learning. The video I watched of the two teachers discussing how they
incorporated digital storytelling into their program was an eyeopener. The two teachers
went and combined the strengths of their different talents for all the students
to benefit from this digital project. By carefully listening, I can tell you
that by their own admission the setup and buy in, was not easy to accomplish. In
spite of all the feedback, monitoring is instantaneous - exactly what the
students have come to expect when you come into their world. Due to the
teachers using digital technology to quickly see who the students were that
were struggling. The students were
quickly helped because the teacher knew exactly where the students were at. The
buy in was done in small increments which when added up together will have the possibility
of great gains in the future. Watching
the video showed all of us that persistence and trust was the magic ingredient
that overcame all obstacles. Reading the articles was a very good learning
experience for me as a teacher. I learned about media access and how to help
the blind and deaf. Having a deaf girl in my class was a challenge. I had to
tailor my teaching practice so she would comprehend everything we did in
school. The next article I read was on Multimedia and found out that a closed
caption was actually information that is enclosed in parenthesis. The article
‘Visual Literacy in Classrooms’ by Keith Lightbody was outstanding in the
research and presentation. If you are thinking about doing visual literacy and need
a reason why you should go digital then you will find your answer here. This
will lead to higher critical thinking skills, engagement and a great learning
outcomes in days to come.
Learning Journal 5
My Digital
Story will have be a Rube Goldberg project. This is a project that my students
and I will start working on for a competition. I am very
excited trying to visualize what the end product will look like. The other day
the digital camera came out of closet. I have to refamiliarize myself how to
use it - small price to pay. I have to contain myself and remember that this is
my student’s collaborative project, not mine. Remember you have to make it
visual, ok next, oh yes the thyme. For that, I have to wait two weeks first the
holiday and then the testing, oh well. The next thing is to write the
permission slips for parents ok to be photographed. Let’s not forget to work on
the rubric and list all my, ahum my student’s goals. There will be two rubrics
one for the project and one for the Digital story. Already I am picturing the
march of the wooden soldiers, I mean the dominos. This will be done through the
eyes of a ping pong or golf ball.
The
Digital Story project will help my students in their creative writing. The students
writing will have to have a visual component and they will have to use Visual
Thinking Strategies (VTS). Students will have to trust that I will be there for
them and the project will come to fruition. Above all, the Digital Story project
will be fun and this is one way the students will make their learning deeper.
The project will also lead to higher Critical Thinking and discussions. A byproduct
of this will be increased writing, speaking and listening across different
content areas. My helping the students in their creative writing will also help
them in their high stakes test taking skills. Digital Story telling will
increase the students’ knowledge of how to write an interesting story. This
will be the student’s story as tell by them. This digital story will be a
learner centered environment where they as a team take the necessary steps.
This project will teach the students to use digital technology. When the
students are finished this will be accessible to family and friends. Doing this
digital story telling will also benefit me in that this will be the beginning
of my doing other projects. Each year teaching my gifted will get better and
more refined which is a good thing and I am thankful for that opportunity.
Learning Journal 6
This Digital Story project will help in their creative
writing. The students writing will have to have a visual component where
they will have the opportunity to use Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS).
According to the VTS, the students will be “engaged by contributing
observations and ideas, the students participate in VTS-based lessons in ways
they often don’t do in others”. Students will have to trust that I will be there for them and that the
project may have changes and or revisions. Above all, this Digital Story
project will be fun and enable the student to gain deeper learning. The project
will lead to higher Critical Thinking and discussions for students. The
benefit will be increased writing, speaking, and listening skills across
different content areas. As a result, of helping the students in their creative
writing, it will enhance their high stakes test taking skills. The process of
Digital Story writing is to increase the students’ knowledge of presenting an
interesting story. The Digital Story is the story as told by the community of
learners. This Digital Story will be in a learner centered environment
where they as a team take the necessary steps to follow the rubric. The end
result of this project will be to teach the students to use digital technology.
What the student community finishes will be accessible to their family and
friends. This Digital Story telling will benefit me as well as my students. In the
future, I will continue to do more Digital Story telling projects. This is only
the beginning of what each year will get easier and more varied. I am thankful
for the offer to receive help from the professor when I get stuck.
References:
Retrieved
March 31, 2016 http://www.vtshome.org/what-is-vts
My
culminating project will be an Electrical Transfer Machine, which will be exhibited through the UCF Florida
Solar Energy Center in Cocoa Beach. This will be a Rube Goldberg project with a
special cube. The Digital Story will be about The
True Story of the Old Man and the Sea. In my story The Old Man battles
windmills( Don Quixote did) and then travels to a parallel universe (Alice in Wonderland Did) and I will say no more.
I
teach elementary gifted students and would ask if you would please visit my
wiki and offer some comments, thank you.
John Lucyk 
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