ENERGY CONSERVATION PROJECT ENTRY #1

• I want to find out how much fuel our family uses in an average week
• I think the website "Pain at the Pump" will come in handy
• My husband and I need to track our miles driven every day for a week, and figure out how much fuel we burned in those miles and how many dollars were spent as well.
• To collect this data we will both fuel up at the same time and then again at the same time a week later.
• On the first fuel up, we will zero out the odometers to track our mileage, and on the second fuel up a week later we will be able to use miles driven and gallons purchased to see exactly how much fuel we used.
• Then we will have to ponder the essential question of "How can we conserve our fuel usage?"
• Perhaps...eventually I could get a daycare provider who is not 5 miles out of town, and I can certainly walk home and back to work on my breaks.
• If I make the grocery store deliver my goods is that fuel conservation? I'll use less anyway...
• If I drove my piece o' crap car into the ocean I would save a great deal on fuel.

Anthro-Tech Essential Reflection

Judging from the ed tech plan and the first inservice day with the new Superintendent, I would say that Wrangell schools has a positive and ambitious outlook toward technology.

• The new Superintendent addressed the issue of technology in our first inservice day.
• He would like to see every high school student with their own, school-provided, lap top computer.
• The ed tech plan is gigantic and thorough in it's approach on technology.
• The school district maintains that technology should be used from K-12, and the tech plan describes how it should be used at each grade level

The two elements of the ed tech plan and the first inservice with the new superintendent are somewhat contradictory when juxtaposed with the immediate reality of day to day life in the school.

• Money for technological tools does not seem to be exactly bountiful. (Our cup doth not overflow).
• The optimism of the new Superintendent makes me feel hopeful that this may change.
• Many teachers seem resistant to learn or use technology in their education plans.
• The teachers with positive attitudes toward technology use have "snatched" up the available tools and kind of "hog 'em all up."

I would like to try to push for more technology integration in the classes that I'm teaching. I have a few ideas about how to possibly achieve this goal.

• Perhaps schmoozing the techno-pigs with cookies will earn me a few hours of use with the precious presentation tools.
• Mafia style tactics might work better.
• Encourage my host teachers to join my gang (make them feel sorry for me that the university is making me put so much emphasis on technology and play up the need to meet the requirements to graduate the MAT program).
• (Hey, it's working with the implementation of more "cooperative learning" activities)
• If/when I do succeed in employing technology in my lessons, do a damn good job so that the teachers may develop a more positive outlook and attitude of intrigue toward technology.

GoogleDoc Ed Tech Plan for Wrangell

GoogleDoc Anthro-Tech Research

Article Assessment #3
Jamie Townsend
townsend@gci.net
9-2-07

"Tools for the Mind"

by Mary Burns

Overview

In her article "Tools for the Mind," Mary Burns addresses the issue that computers, higher- order thinking tools, are largely being used in schools to promote lower-order thinking skills. Using Bloom's taxonomy as a basis for discussion, she maintains that computers certainly can improve student learning, but neither the machines or their users are living up to their true potential. One example between higher-order and lower-order computer application would be if students were to use the Internet for collaborations and simulations rather than standard and intellectually unengaged data retrieval.

Burns suggests two strategies to change directions on this unproductive course. She reminds teachers of the necessity to consistently maintain and increase their own critical thinking skills, while actively and consciously passing these skills onto students. Burns also emphasizes the need for professional development that strengthens teaching skills first, (curriculum, instruction and assessment) and then incorporates technology use that will build higher-order skills rather than just cover weakness in material.

Reference Points

1.) Teachers need to be taught not only HOW to use computers, but how to use them to increase student learning.

2.) Districts need to increase instructional programs, appropriate hardware and software programs, adequate time for lessons, and increase technological support and leadership.

3.) Technology is used primarily in schools to present information collected rather than to delve more deeply into scholarly material and academic skills. Electronic Presentation was the most frequently used application (81%) in a poll that spanned from 1999 to 2003.

4.) Spreadsheets were only used 6% of the time, a tool which Burns insists promotes analytical and critical thinking skills when used as more than "show and tell" organization

5.) NCLB has been cited as one major reason that data-management has taken precedent over instruction in the realm of technology.

Reflection

This article was the most difficult of all for me to get through. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out why, and I still don't have a very good argument. I don't know if it was the writer's voice, or all of the examples of technology that I really don't understand that made this such a dense read for me. Likely it was a combination of the two. Prensky's article irritated me enough to keep my interest, and I highly enjoyed Richardson, but Burn's writing was almost painful for me to read. I do, however, appreciate her position, and I believe she addresses a crucial topic. Maybe I also find it overwhelming because I still need to learn so much of the technology before I can begin learning how to best implement the technology. Wait a minute! Maybe that's what THIS CLASS if for! Eureka!

Burns, Mary. "Tools for the Mind." Educational Leadership 63.4 (2005/2006): 48-53.

Article Assessment #2
Jamie Townsend
townsend@gci.net
9/1/07

"The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web"

by Will Richardson

Overview

In his article "The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web," Will Richardson describes the new creation and publication tools on the Internet and how they have and will continue to contribute to education. The web used to be a place to consume information, but with new tools like blogs and wikis the web is now also a major forum for broadcasting.

Richardson writes to heighten awareness of these new tools and the way in which they have revolutionized education, but he also reminds educators to beware of content. Since anyone can post information now, it is more important then ever to teach students to discern between scholarly or reputable material and less trustworthy sources. Richardson maintains an inclusive attitude toward technology and it's ability to enhance modern education, while still reserving practical concerns about the reality of dangers and drawbacks in this relatively new media.

Reference Points

1.) Weblogs or blogs are online forums where amateurs of "hypertext markup language" can

post writings by simply typing in the box and clicking publish.

2.) Blogs allow student to target audiences and create online learning communities, and an new one appears online every two seconds.

3.) Wikis (the Hawaiian word for quick) is a "site that anyone can edit at any time. Wikipedia.org is the most renowned example. Researchers and writers maintain accuracy by self-editing the material. Vandalism and inaccuracies are cleared up by the members themselves.

4.) Really Simple Syndication (RSS) allows users to subscribe to many feeds and receive updates from an aggregator. The aggregator targets new material and alerts users subscribed to that feed. This technology make is easier to keep up with numerous different online sites.

5.) Social bookmarking enables users to bookmark certain sites and save a copy of the site in a folder. This tool allows teachers to narrow or pinpoint "like-minded professionals" in their effort to collaborate and collect data from the web.

6.) Podcasts are homemade radio programs. Videos of news programs, field trips, interviews, oral reports and an endless variety of videos are available on the web at any time.

7.) The scope and definition of literacy is changing and expanding due to these new tools available on the Internet. Along with reading and writing-- collaborating, editing, and active questioning/evaluating of online material will be imperative skills in a students scholastic repertoire.

8.) Teachers roles often shift from content expert to guiding students through the online information supplied by a huge host of experts of every rank and station. In 2005, 75.5% of teachers thought the web was valuable for teaching their content area, 68.4% said the net improved academic achievement, and 58% believed it was effective in raising standardized test scores.

9.) Relevancy is heightened by broadening students' audience from teacher to world. Assignments are posted for large audiences to view and build upon rather than merely filed or trash-canned.

10.) Student safety must be observed when making decisions of how widely to publish their work, revealing students' personal information, and handling encounters with lewd or otherwise inappropriate content.

Reflection

Wonderfully informative and refreshingly upbeat, this article was a pleasure to read and analyze. After the previous article, "Listen to the Natives," I especially enjoyed Richardson's positive emphasis on teachers' changing roles with incorporation of the Internet into education. While Marc Prensky cynically depicted teachers as obsolete fools, Richardson actually sets up a forum for a constructive dialogue. From the statistics Richardson gives, it appears that most teachers recognize and accept the possibilities and benefits that new technology has brought to education.

The explanations of these new tools were also highly beneficial to me. Though I have blogged a little, I certainly did not understand terms like wikis and podcasts (even though I've experienced both medias countless times), and I feel a great deal steadier on these terms and concepts now. The responsibilities of educators to guide students through scholarly sources as opposed to unaccredited ramblings as they navigate the net is an issue that I've already been discussing with one of my host teachers. I am excited to get these article reviews done so that I can loan him this magazine!

Richardson, Will. "The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web." Educational Leadership 63.4 (2005/2006): 24-27.