Thursday, February 6, 2014

Week 5: Photos and Questions

A.   Describe at least three possible reasons why the project had very little effect on the instructional practices employed by the teachers. Each of the factors mention in this chapter as to why earlier forms of instructional media ( i.e films, radio, television) had very limited effects on instructional practices.
Like many practices in education, schools jump on board without making sure all of the people involved in the execution of the new practice are willing, equipped, and able to go along with the new idea. Teachers, whom typically end up being the front men for the new idea, are not always invested in ensuring a favorable outcome. Another factor may be the prevailing attitude of, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Change is difficult for many people. I am always very impressed when I see a seasoned teacher light up at something new and innovative. This is not a common attitude. Furthermore, when teachers feel like they are forced to try something which is out of their comfort zone or requires additional. Teaching is an art. No artist likes to be dictated to n how to handle their medium.


B.   Describe at least two strategies that could have been employed to help mitigate the factors that you think contributed to the minimal effect this project had on instructional practices. Indicate why you think each of these strategies might have been helpful.
First and foremost I think that getting teachers on board early in the process of researching a new system is important. Many teachers feel they are only called in after things have already been decided, their opinions being only a taken into consideration for show. By having teachers represented early on in the process shows a measure of good faith and allows for meaningful input from those who will be on the front end of implementing the new process.
Secondly, proper training of all who will be using the new system offers more support. Many times a trickle down method is used in training. A few people IT and some administrators get trained, then, to save money they distribute the information to other staff. Eventually, newcomers are left to fend for themselves. Yes, I am living it right now!

Getting all the stakeholders invested early and proper training can go a long way towards building confidence in any new system. 

Photo Sharing:
I have used different photo sharing sites. My first was Photobucket was used to share pictures of my knitting. Later I tried Flickr. I also use Picasa, by Google, to organize my pictures. It also has a feature allowing me to upload pictures and to share them. This made adding pictures to my blog very easy. 



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