Technology and Education – The Tools To Use

Being an Education Professional these days is complicated.  The advent of the internet and computer technology has forever changed the way that I view education.

We are surrounded by information.  No longer is the library the only place to research for information.  So many sources, so many programs where do we start?

I believe that we must become USERS of technology, not necessarily EXPERTS.  There are too many applications out there for us to become experts.  The time it takes to become an expert on a single program could be better utilized learning three or four programs deep enough to get the job done.  The education professionals of the future cannot affort to be technologically challenged.  We must be able to discover new programs, delve in and use them effectively in a short period of time.

I have a number of applications that I use.  I would classify all of them as easy to learn.  If you are willing to set aside an afternoon you will become competent enough to begin using the program.  Then as you continue to use utilize the application it will get easier, and before you know it you may be an EXPERT and can teach others.  In the current economic climate you will find that the best part of these apps is that they are FREE.

Here are some Programs that I use in the context of Education:

Camstudio – http://camstudio.org/
I enjoy doing video tutorials, and camstudio is a good way to get started. It allows you to capture the action on your screen (along with sounds). Camstudio is a free and pretty intuitive program.

YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/user/theteachingbox
If you make videos you need a place to put them. Go to YouTube and create your own Channel. This way you can easily share your creations with everyone.

Gadwin Print Screen – http://www.gadwin.com/
I sometimes need to capture areas of my screen, Gadwin Print Screen is a free app that lets you do it easily.

Try them out and let me know what you think.  Share your favorite applications.

-Loren
http://www.theteachingbox.com

Education and the Economic Downturn – An Opportunity

Everyone is beginning to feel the effects of the economic downturn.  For the younger generation it is the first real recession they have experienced.  To these new comers my advice is to fasten your seat belt and ride it out.  The business cycle goes through these ups and downs.  It will get better, just be patient.

I have noticed quite a few news articles discussing the prospects of education in the light of this economic uncertainty.  Many people are turning to education in these uncertain times.  Why does education seem flourish during an economic downturn?

Here are some of my personal thoughts.  There have been a number of people laid off at my employer.  These people are re-evaluating their situation and quite a few of them are looking at taking classes to increase their knowledge in specific areas.  Others have thrown it all up in the air and are looking at going back to school for a career change.  Even those who were not directly affected by the downsize are taking inventory of their skills and are talking about classes or education.

I have always been a proponent of education, and my beliefs about it are reinforced by the current circumstances.  Education has a number of qualities that I believe are timeless.  Actually many of these qualities are shared with money but education is different.  If you lose your job money will become scarce, but education and educational opportunities won’t.

Money can be lost in an economic downturn, but your education and skills you have learned cannot be lost due to economic circumstances.  People generally agree that an education gives a person options and freedom similar to money, but again education cannot be taken away or lost.

These timeless qualities of education come to the forefront when economic uncertainty hits.  Increasing your skills in your current field may help you keep your job.  An employee with many skills is and employee who may make it through the layoff cycle.  Then again the loss of a job may be a chance to set off to something completely new and different.  These trying circumstances produce opportunity for all.

I have done quite a bit of “career counseling” in the last few months.  I have pointed people at educational opportunities both online and through the traditional classroom.  I have become somewhat of a resume reviewing expert.  I have even pointed some people to my network of business contacts to find possible employment.  I have become somewhat of a “go to guy”.

It has been an interesting journey, and I hopefully have helped people along the way.  This relationship building is my favorite and most rewarding part of being an Education Professional.

Good luck on your current endeavors.  I will see you online!

-Loren
http://theteachingbox.com

Students and Online Technologies

I’ll start with a shout out to my friend on Educationation as his recent post covered this topic as well.  Stop by the Educationation Blog for an interesting read.

Introduction -
Found some interesting stuff this weekend. I really need to spend some more time looking at raw data, but these seem to be from reliable sources, so I will throw it out there.  Is what we see here part of the Mindshift of the next generation? Maybe computers are the Mindtools spoken about by Jonassen and Carr (2000).
Note the Jonassen and Carr writing was in 2000. Most of these studies I show are from the last year or so. Have things changed?

Students Actually Use the Internet for Education

Technology Horizons in Education -
Research by NSBA speaks to students using internet for education based purposes. THis study has an interesting component of social networking which is generally prohibited by schools inside the walls of the classroom. I will defer to the Communication Majors as to what “Social Networking” actually is as we would define it today.

Web use may boost student achievement

eSchool News – (registration required)
A couple of interesting Quotes, which really shouldn’t surprise us.
“Learning was enhanced when interface adaptation matched the users’ cognitive style.”
“The internet is the preferred medium for information for this digital generation.”
They speak to the use of visual interfaces for learning such as design of web pages and the like.

Students More Likely Webheads Than TV Addicts

Online Media Daily -
I was part of the TV generation. Is it dying?

Internet Study

Stanford -
Some interesting data on how people spend their time online.
Most of it is not too surprising

In conclusion this data confirms my thoughts that we are on the beginning edge of technology in Academia.
It is worth our time to learn how to use it effectively.  As I have stated before, as educators we need to understand how to use the technology, we don’t necessarily need to become experts.

—————————————————————-

References:

Jonassen, D. H., and C. S. Carr. 2000. Mindtools: Affording Multiple Knowledge Representations for Learning. In Computers as Cognitive Tools, Volume Two: No More Walls: Theory Change, Paradigm Shifts, and their influence on the use of computers for instructional purposes, edited by S. P. Lajoie. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Tutorials – A Useful Teaching Tool

I enjoy tutorials, especially web based ones.  I also have fun creating them and I will provide you with some examples.  Let me tell you why I find them useful.

Life is fast paced today and we are bombarded with information.  Online life is even more hectic.  There is always some new piece of software to learn (Word-Press) or a new computer operating system (Vista).  Along with these new things comes the need to understand and be able to use them effectively.  Another facet added by the Internet is the attention span factor.  People want information and they want it quickly.   I strive to make my tutorials short and concise.

A tutorial can be a simple web page or even a video.  I happen to like and have experimented with both forms.  Many websites use tutorials to help navigate the user through the learning process.  I suggest that as an Education Professional you should investigate the  technology used to create tutorials so that you can make your own.  The technology used is not as complicated as it once was.  You don’t need to master the technology, just become a good user.  By creating a tutorial you will increase your knowledge about the subject of the tutorial, plus they can be a good way to promote yourself and your skills as an educator.

Web Based Tutorials –
A web based tutorial can be as simple as a static web page.  Creating a web based tutorial is not as difficult as it once was.  Back when I first started playing around with Internet technology web pages were created in HTML using the notepad editor.  With the advent of the modern WYSIWYG editors the task of coding a web page has become much easier.  The beautiful thing is that most blogs come with an editor installed in the user interface.  Such as the Wordpress editor, a bit clunky, but it does work.  If you need a stand alone editor I recommend Kompozer.  It is a good editor that is small and compact.  Get the Portable version and you can install it on your flash drive so that you can edit anywhere!  Kompozer Portable Website For my MAC friends there is a Mac OSX version at the Main Kompozer website. (http://www.kompozer.net/)

Video Based Tutorials –
Video based tutorials abound on YouTube.  I suggest that you create your own YouTube channel for your video work.  (Visit Mine HERE – TheTeachingBox )  There are free tools out there that you can use to capture your computer screen.  I have used CamStudio and found it to be quite useful (and best of all it is free).  To show by doing, and to be more concise here is a link to my Web Based tutorial:  Video Tutorials – A Beginners Guide

In conclusion I really don’t want to burden you with learning a bunch of new software packages.  Nevertheless it is critical to realize that the Internet is the medium of training as we move into the future.   As an educator you need to be part of it.  You don’t need to master the technology.  You just need to be able to effectively use it.  I will leave you with a link to my page highlighting some of the Online Tutorials that I have created.  I welcome any commentary on them.  They are always a work in progress and because they are online it is easy to correct and update them.

TheTeachingBox.com Online Tutorials Page

Good luck, and I will see you online!

-Loren
http://theteachingbox.com

“It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers.” (Ephesians 4:12)

We are individuals with the different talents. I believe that it is our duty to take these gifts and use them to the best of our ability. Sometimes we know early in life what these gifts are and are able to develop them right away. This was not my case with the gift of teaching that I believe I have been given. The best way to present this topic is to tell my story.

My Story -
I have always been interested in things mechanical. While growing up I was always taking things apart, and tried my best to reassemble them, not always successfully. I was sure my gift was to be a mechanical engineer. Even though I had this aptitude I was not sure that it was what I wished to do for a living. Upon graduation from high school I proceeded to join the Navy to pursue my career. I was trained as a nuclear mechanical operator and spent the next four years on an aircraft carrier. While in the Navy I honed my practical mechanical skills. I knew for certain that after I got out, I would be going to school for mechanical engineering.

Looking back now I see that even though I had the gift of mechanical aptitude (not one of the gifts mentioned by Paul in Ephesians) another interest began growing within me. One of the assignments I had while on the ship was that of a trainer. When someone reported to the command they were required to undergo a rigorous training program to learn their job and become formally qualified. Two years into my assignment on the carrier, I was fully qualified and considered a senior operator. I was chosen by my division officer to assist in the training program that I had gone through. This was the beginning of my awareness that possibly I was fortunate to have been given another gift in addition to my mechanical aptitude.

Six years in the Navy went by quite quickly and upon leaving I was accepted by the University of Minnesota into the Mechanical Engineering program. I spent the next 5 years as a student, and didn’t think much about teaching. After graduation I started my career as a mechanical engineer. Although I focused on the discipline I had studied in school, I kept seeing areas where people needed to be shown how to do things. Maybe my gift was beginning to awaken.

Learning About My Call -
About a year ago I was speaking with a good friend of mine that is a pastor by training. In our conversation he told me I had “the gift”. Not sure what he meant I asked him to please explain. He proceeded to tell me that in the time we have known each other many of our conversations centered on my giving him help with various issues that arose with his computer. He said that I was very adept at fixing the problems, but while performing the work, I was able to explain to him in terms he understood what I was doing. Thus he said I had the gift of teaching.

Parker Palmer in The Courage To Teach speaks about the heart of a teacher. He says that teaching is more than just technique; it is part of our identity. He speaks of teaching as a true calling in an almost spiritual way. Although Palmer doesn’t share his faith with us, he talks extensively about the spiritual nature of teaching.

Even though my teaching experience is limited, I now fully understand and agree with Palmer when he speaks of finding your true self through teaching.

——————————–

This was an excerpt from a paper I wrote last year when I was taking a class in graduate school called “The Teaching Craft”.  I have recycled it here because my friend at  educationation asked the question, What Makes a Good Teacher?  He had an extensive list, and many of the points reminded me of my professor in The Teaching Craft.  She discussed Parker Palmer extensively and how teaching is more than a Job, it is a calling or Vocation.  This short post tells my story.

-Loren
http://www.theteachingbox.com