Web 2.0 Educator

I chose to follow Chris Betcher. He’s a teacher in Sydney, Australia and has over 20 years experience. He first specialized in art, but because of his interests in graphics and designs he drifted away from being your everyday art teacher. He now teaches ICT integration support that focuses on the teaching of computers, multimedia and webdesign. He enjoys sharing his technical knowledge with others and has spoken at numerous conferences around the world.

In his blog entitled, “So What Should We Be Amazed By?” he emphasizes the fact that we are too impressed with the little things in life. We should not be so excited when a new word processor comes out or they update AOL, instead we should be amazed by how fast our students learn and grow. Without the ability to teach them finer technological skills, our students will fall behind. We must be inactive and engaging in order to “amaze” them and ourselves all the time. Earlier, he blogged about a visitor coming to his school in the blog entitled, “Seeing with Different Eyes.” This blog focused on the visit of a teacher from a school in South Africa. He and she both taught the same type of students in the same type of school, but the input was beneficial. On her arrival, he toured her through the school and discovered that the teachers that he was working with have not always been teachers. He showed how seeing through other people’s eyes and perspectives were important. For example, a math teacher may have been an accountant before and an English teacher a newspaper editor. All of his insight brought forth a sense of “new” to my teaching style. One does not always have to do what they have always done.

Technology is really important to Betcher because he wants to make learning more interesting, relevant, fun and engaging to his students. He wants them to know how technology can support them without driving them crazy. So each day he blogs and thinks about how he could possible accommodate his 21st century learners. I hope to continue reading his blog and keep up to date on his new technology insight on how to make the learning experience less of a hassle. Teachers now need to have computer smarts because their students are learning at an earlier age and must keep the learning moving forward instead of completely dying out.

Type I and Type II Technology

In my opinion, a type I application is one that is taught the same way each time, whereas a type II application brings new and better ways of teaching each time. Type I is like driving a car, first you put your seatbelt on, then you turn the key in the ignition, finally you take off to you destination (it’s the same every time). But, Type II is when there is an accident on your normal route and you have to adjust. It could be a new experience (a way you’ve never been), spontaneous and ultimately an adventure to get to where your heading on time. One should not always do what they have always done (Type I), instead they should switch it up and live on the edge of their pants (Type II).

Type I
1) A slideshow can be used over and over again to provide the same concept on a topic. They are created with almost no thinking involved.
2) In an accounting class, students are taught to just place a number from their text into the spreadsheet. They get nothing except busywork and the sense of repetition.
3) A webpage for a class, in which the teacher just has to update it each year.

Type II
1) A Wiki- used in EDU 221 and EDU 101 to keep students and professor on track and organized. A wiki gives us the opportunity for edits when needed and is always available so that we can keep on track all the time.
2) Blogs-a way to be interactive without having to speak or be present. This a student’s way of expressing feeling and knowledge to the class and is more high-tech than just a journal. These are online, published works of art.
3) iMovie- is a way to get involvement and know that there was effort placed forward. A movie comes out different every time, so, it is not the same concept used over and over again.

My MEL Experiences

• Student/Teacher Relationship: In High School, we had to participate in an art or music class for a least a semester. I never found myself artistic. Mr. Graham showed me that everyone has a creative side. He encouraged me to produce my best work throughout ceramics senior year and his attitude and relationship towards all of his students’ led to my love for the course. At the end of the semester, he entered one of my works into a local art show and I ended up winning first place. The teacher/student relationship can lead to either success or a struggle. Now, we still keep in contact and our friends on facebook. Mr. Graham showed me that I am an artist; I just needed the right guidance and relationship to bring it out and let it bloom.

• Autonomy: During sophomore year in high school, Mr. Hamel, my favorite English teacher, gave us the assignment of compiling all of writing works together into a book for a final grade. He did not tell us how it had to be done or what order they needed to be placed or even how each page and cover appeared, instead he gave us choices. Choices encouraged us to work the way we wanted which gave us the “want” to make the best book we could. Our two choices was to either compile all of our stories or work together in a group and find the best story from each student in the class under the specific titles we had, which were seven (Superhero, Midnight, Curses, Trips, etc). I then choice to work solo and place all my stories in order from what they were written. Choices allow students to find the working style they excel at to produce their best work almost effortlessly.

• Hands-On: Science is often-times hands-on anyhow, but I remember the time Mrs. Benoit took us outside and put us in a circle in the high school parking lot and elected one student to be the nucleus, this student stood in the middle of the circle. We then were assigned to either be positively charged (protons), or negatively charged (neutrons). The protons ran around the circle at a fast pace whereas the neutrons were lazy and just stood still. The protons and neutrons then formed new groups and separated. This showed the growth process of cells. I mean, she could have just drawn the process on the board and had us sit and observe, but most of us still remember this process because of the interaction that took place. Throughout the years we got used to Mrs. Benoit’s hands-on approach and were excited to know how each piece actually worked after reading for homework.

• Connections: Mr. Hamel always found a way to connect our assignments to something fun and exciting. His lessons usually related back to what interested us at the moment whether it is a relationship, a sports team, a movie, a fight we may have just encountered with our parents, etc. I’ll never forget when he came in one day dressed in baggy jeans and white t-shirt with a gold chain and a hat turned to the side. He turned on his CD player and began to rap along with the beat. His rap was focus on these two kids who really, really liked each other, but their parents didn’t get along because one was rich and lived on the “good” side of town and the other lived in the ghetto. Eventually, the guy killed himself because he couldn’t live without the rich girl whom he loved and always would. This was his way of connecting us to Romeo and Juliet. All of us paid attention because it seemed like it was happening right now and was something that would happen. If he began the lesson by telling us we were going to read about something that was written in the late 1500s, none of us would be interested, but how he incorporated the “new” we got interested because we could relate. He showed that reading Shakespeare could actually be fun!

•Helping Students Succeed: Mrs. Gagnon (G) was both my math teacher and my soccer coach. She was very hard on all of her students and team members. If you were late to class, you went to the office and if you were late to practice, you stayed later. Time was an important concept to her. Being on time, meant you respected her. She may have been tough and unruly at times, but through her harsh lessons, she taught us how to be better individuals. If you respected her, she’d respect you. She was the type of person that at first you would be afraid to ask her a question, but at the end of the quarter or the season, you’d be joking and laughing. Over the four years she coached and taught me, she became a friend and made me a better more respectful person. Help comes out of the woodwork, even if you don’t know it’s there, it’s blind at times, like miracles.

Learning Styles Inventory Results

Style Scores:
Style Scores
Visual 11
Social 12
Physical 13
Aural 9
Verbal 17
Solitary 15
Logical 5


These seven scores did not surprise me at all. I am not good with math or numbers, therefore my logic MI is low. The two highest scores being verbal and solitary show that I enjoy reading, writing and language in general as well as being alone. (learning-styles-online.com) accurately showed my MI and gave me an outlook on where I need growth. All I can say is thank God I'm not concentrating in mathematics! I think my scores reflect me as the person I am very correctly.

What's a WebQuest?

Jan. 21st 8:12AM

A WebQuest is a journey to build educational knowledge through technology aspects through computers, videos, cameras, webcasting, etc. These allow us to grow and keep in touch with people elsewhere.

Jan. 21st 8:52 AM

A WebQuest is a quest to find something bigger than a pencil. Instead, it is a quest for growth and knowledge through technical insertion, like garage band, imovie and such.

Jan. 25th 12:57

A WebQUest is a journey to expand knowledge using technology such as: iMovie, Comic Life, and Garage Band. In exploring what a WebQuest is we must first know what each of these technical aspects of computing include. Therefore, we are working in groups to WebQuest MEL.

Jan. 28th 9:07

A webquest is quest for knowledge using outside teachnical uses. Our webquest was to further our knowledge and the knowledge of our audience on what the "MEL" model suggested.

Chapter #2: Respect, Liking, Trust and Fairness

Does a teacher need a pet? Should his or her favorites be known? On page 22 of Fires in the Bathroom, we encounter sticky situations like these.

I believe if a teacher has a favorite student, it should stay private and should not affect grades and discipline. When a “pet” is known he or she may become a slacker and that is not breeding respect in the classroom. Instead, it teaches students that if they are liked they are then better than the rest, they have power. A teacher should not want their students to have more power than they themselves endure. Besides, students don’t like their peers to know that they are “pets,” they could end up getting bullied, teased and etc.

Chapter #1: Knowing Students Well

On page one of Fires in the Bathroom, where Tiffany conveys the fact that teachers should not force themselves to make a connection with their students’ was something I could really relate to.

Teachers do not know everything and have not been through everything each student faces, so they should not try to soothe them by saying, “I understand” when clearly they don’t. One of my teacher’s in high school was just like the teacher Tiffany described and came off more fake then anything because she could relate to my dad’s drinking problem, my parent’s divorce, my grandfather’s stroke, my grades slipping, etc. Teachers should help, but not make their students’ problems feel small because God-forbid they can relate. Sometimes it’s nice to just get a hug or to know that they have a listening ear there to guide you.