Sunday, May 13, 2007

MICCA 2007

Every year I present a topic at the annual Maryland Instructional Computer Coordinators Assocation (MICCA) conference. My MICCA presentation was about creating vodcasts and how they can be used as instructional tools. I created a screencast of the presentation here and it can also be found on the Tech Time blog. The conference is an excellent opportunity to learn how others are using technology to enhance instructions. Since this is my niche, I go with eyes wide open looking for new ways to improve instruction through technology. Lately, my big push has been for web 2.0 technologies in the classroom. This blog is an example of web 2.0 technology. Other types would include wikis, social networking sites, podcasting and vodcasting sites and other sites that seek to foster online community and collaboration. I have several entries about this on my instructional technology blog, Tech Time With Tony. Essentially, teachers need to integrate these technologies into their instruction if they want to really get students to be motivated and involved in school.

Over the course of this year, I have been doing several technology integration training. This was outlined in an entry I posted earlier this year. We have been posting our reflections about how the use of the new technology is received by the students. The majority of responses have been positive and show that student behavior issues are diminished when the class is engaged in a lesson using technology. This engagement is what can lead to increased achievement since time on task is correlated to increased comprehension and retention of knowledge. This is promising since most of the examples posted were from classes with a high number of special education students. So I am pressing to more time with teachers to help them plan lessons which will get the students engaged and motivated. As I continue to plan and work with teachers, I will devise ways to determine how effective the use of the technology is.



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