Last blog for EDUC 730

It was a great week with a lot of useful info. Below is the latest Prezi, a step better than my initial one from a couple of days ago:


Another useful thought that came to me during the class is to use Nearpod or Socrative with the teachers and dept heads for meetings now that my "students" (the teachers) all have iPad minis. This can be a way to keep them engaged with the content of the meeting (versus being tempted to do email on their laptops or iPads) and be a way to model the use of technology in instruction.

Continuing to move forward

Finished the 60% point of the class today (if you don't count the work that needs to be done post-class-week). Today a major itch was scratched in the sense that I had been desiring more specifics on the dissertation process and comprehensive exams. Those are two key areas that I have felt that I needed more info on; so that info was particularly appreciated.

Good info on webquests and qualitative analysis software helped to shine a light on some tools that could be useful in the classroom for the former and in my research for the latter.

We're continuing to prepare for the literature review presentation. Progress is being made.

Learned to use Prezi, albeit in a rudimentary way, yesterday:

We were asked to throw a simple presentation together regarding our hometown or somewhere we would like to be.

My Fort Lauderdale Prezi example:

Thoughtless consumer or thoughtful engagement

Good first day of class in EDUC 730. Likely to be one of the most practical classes since it's covering tools that are useful for the research that I will be conducting for my dissertation and the fact that so many of these tech tools can be used by teachers, students and admin at CCA.

An interesting part of the discussion today was regarding the Amish. The professor shared how the Amish have not rejected all technology (not possible anyway, since shoes and shovels are technology), but have considered their core values and let those be their guide as to how to interact, use or not use different technologies. 

Ken Myers, host of the Mars Hill Audio Journal, has discussed the role of technology with many of the guests on his show. Below is his answer to a question posed by a reporter from the Christian Post. Note that two of the four ways that he feels the church has been too influenced by the broader culture revolve around technology.

CP: Practically speaking, how has the church been too influenced by the broader culture?

Myers: Here's a small list:

• The way in which the dominant role of technology in our lives promotes the deep assumption that we can fix anything;

• The way in which proliferating mechanisms of convenience erodes the virtues of patience and longsuffering;

• The way in which the elimination of standards of public propriety and manners undermines assumptions about the legitimacy of authority and deference to the communal needs; and

• The way in which the high prestige accorded to entertainers creates the conviction that every valuable experience should be entertaining.

And this is just scratching the surface.

Read the complete article at http://www.christianpost.com/news/is-the-culture-really-the-problem-74261/#RICG3dCTj6vLqDWh.99
The mission of The Mars Hill Audio Journal is "To assist Christians who desire to move from thoughtless consumption of contemporary culture to a vantage point of thoughtful engagement." While I wouldn't necessarily do it the way the Amish have, I do need to give more thought to how I interact with contemporary culture and that includes various technologies as well.

I've been asked to share my thoughts about technology in general:

Technology is a tool for getting things done. While it seems like it would be a timesaver in that it often amplifies our abilities and gives us the power to do more things in less time, the reality is that we simply raise the bar of expectations. Thus, while schools can accomplish many tasks today very quickly with technology, tasks that would have taken much more time for schools in the past to accomplish, there are ever increasing expectations which keep schools as busy if not busier than ever. For example, scoring of many tests can be much more quickly done through technology, however, schools now have additional expectations such as websites to maintain, delivering real-time grades to parents (versus the old-time quarterly report card), etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to this, as I prefer to provide better customer service to my school's students and parents. I think it's simply interesting to note that tech allows us to do more, and then we simply do just that: more.