Embedded content makes a blog, or any writing, more dynamic and can help a reader understand. I have a tool that I use to quickly make step by step tutorials for teachers that I work with. Iorad is a tool that takes your clicks and turns it into a tutorial. I use it when I am not able to go help a teacher for some reason but they still need step by step directions. It creates a wonderful tutorial with text directions and images that walk the teacher through the steps needed to complete their task. It has really helped me get some great help tools out there for teachers so they don’t have to worry about how to do things, they can worry about how to teach their classes.
Author: Joshua Watkins
Copyright and Fair Use
Copyright and fair use is a topic that comes up often in my school. Students often want to create something for one of their classes and use any image they find on the internet. They think that because it is in Google Images, it is there for them to use. They struggle with the idea that something so simple and easy can be the wrong thing to do. This, of course, is not the case. I try to have conversations with them that turn the conversation around. I try to put them in the shoes of the content creator and ask if using their work without giving credit would upset them. That is when the light bulb seems to click with them. The problem comes when they still do the easy thing instead of the proper thing. Students really need to be taught from an early age the value of using sources that follow their creator’s guidelines for their work.
This means educators need to be vigilant on the requirements they set for their students. The educator must check all of the things a student could possibly do. We use plagiarism checkers for students writing, so it should be done with all aspects of their work. We need to make sure they are not taking credit for others’ work. Intellectual property will become more important in the future, and it’s important we start today’s students on the correct path to protect the ideas and content they will create tomorrow.
My Path to Tech in Classrooms
I started in a middle school that did not have much in the way of technology. Each classroom had a projector; most were not mounted initially, which would project on a pull-down screen or a dry erase board. In the last year or two, we all got interactive boards to boost the technology at each campus. After a few years in a social studies classroom, I got the opportunity to transition to an Exploring Careers and Professional Communication classes. These classes had never been offered in the district before. That means there was no set curriculum for the courses. As part of my transition, I wanted to get a classroom with desktop PCs to try out in regular coursework. Before this, computer labs had only been used in technology courses.
I was interested in trying them as a tool for learning in a class that was not about technology. I designed each assignment, project, and assessment around using the technology. Students went from me handing them information to looking up their information. I was able to give them choices on what they wanted to do. No more limits of resources I could print out or find in a book. They had an entire wealth of knowledge at their fingertips.
Assignments transformed from fill out this worksheet, write out your definitions, or take this test to create this project, research your own ideas, and present your work. The topics we studied have some basic ideas that were part of the standards, but I had the freedom to add in their interests. As part of a unit on entrepreneurship, students completed a project that had them start a summer business. They were tasked with finding the start-up costs from supply lists generated, setting up a marketing plan, setting their prices, and conducting market research.
The student engagement and collaboration instantly made me a believer. I went from the expert handing them the information to a guide helping them through the parts of the project as they needed it. The technology in the classroom transformed the learning and allowed the students to do the driving toward a goal I set up, but they chose the path. Everyone had the same destination, a presentation to the class pitching their business, but each group took vastly different paths to get there. From then on, I looked for ways to create that type of learning in my classroom. I wanted the students to be the leaders, and I wanted to be on the side, helping them to their own discoveries.
Hello world!
Welcome to my blog!!!
I had the idea to do this from the last few courses I took in grad school at the University of North Texas’ Learning Technologies program. Blogging was part of the coursework for several courses. It allowed me to express my thoughts and ideas in a way that could be shared. I took that idea and started this blog to help spread those ideas to other.