Type I and Type II Technology

The way that I interpret the difference between Type I and Type II is that it boils down to how much technology the person is comfortable with and to what depth they understand how to use that technology.

Type I is easily utilized by nearly all the students and would encompass such things as word processing, spreadsheets, viewing PowerPoint, viewing PDF files and some photograph editing. When I first starting using computers it was actually around the time the first article was published in 1986 (entered high school in 1985). The concept of having a computer lab was a very new and foreign idea and no one really had any idea how best to utilize this new technology we had. We had Radio Shack Tandy 1000's at the time with a 5.25" floppy and a green screen that printed to a dot matrix printer, we only used them for word processing. Todays students use them to research papers, chat with friends across the globe and yet still manage to utilize the word processor function.

Type II would begin to implement the tools to their fuller prospective. Perhaps developing a PowerPoint presentation to slide layout, making and editing a PDF file, formatting cells in the spreadsheet, to making a slide show for family members with music playing and perhaps with some text. During my working career I had to design spreadsheets that would calculate the P&L statements for our various satellite offices. I also learned about building a PowerPoint that I used to teach insurance adjusters in the state of Texas for professional development credits. I do believe that I have lots more to learn, and am looking forward to the challenge of learning iMovie and other applications and to dust off the ones that I have utilized in the past and use them again.

Learning Style Results

Visual - 11

Social - 12

Physical - 12

Aural - 15

Verbal - 14

Solitary -15

Logical - 15

In responding to the questions for the Learning Style Results found on learning-style-results.com I found that the style and format of these questions was quite different from that of the questionnaire that was presented as part of the block of instruction on Multiple Intelligences Test from Spencer & Migues Kagan. I found that my Intelligences were quite different especially when it came to the visual, on the Spencer profile I rated visual a zero, but here I received an 11; my auditory on Spencer was a one here it is a 15. With just these two examples there appears to be a broad discrepancy with the ranges and how each is measured. In my opinion I would take a third and possibly a fourth test to see if those results would help to provide a better picture of where my learning style and multiple intelligences lie.

My MEL Experiences

• Student/Teacher Relationship : this is perhaps one of the most integral parts of the school experience. Teachers and students need to be able to communicate on many different levels, with many different expected outcomes. There will be times when the students need guidance, times when they need correcting, and times when they need to just vent. I have enjoyed a good relationship with many of the professors that I have taken classes from, not only because I am a driven student, but also due to my age and my experiences. I took a Technology and Society class from a professor that was teaching his last set of classes so we had some discussions about topics ranging from banking, to food, to how to drive through Texas. It made the class that much more enjoyable to have discussions other than school work.


• Helping Students Succeed : I got my first real taste of this during Winter break when I went to S.A.D. #21 and worked as a tutor for the GEAR Up program. In the program students who are receiving a 70 or below in any class are automatically enrolled in the tutoring program. For most students it is more of a hassle than an opportunity to focus on any one particular subject with students that have had many more hours of instruction and have experienced more stress then they, as high school students, have known. Then there are those few who really have a desire to learn and to get out of the tutoring program. I worked with several and after working with them and seeing them slowly taking ownership of their work, and seeing them actually 'get' the information was a great feeling.


• Hands On : I have found that having the ability to put my hands on a task it makes it easier to remember, I like trying to figure out how things work and that is where my difficulty in higher level math comes from. There is very little concrete evidence in that, there is more theory than actual things that you can touch and feel and look at, it is rules and restrictions and not something that can be looked at, like a stack of money. Accounting type math, simple multiplications I can do in my head but Geometry, Trig or Calculus makes my brain hurt. In high school I enjoyed physics, not so much because I could understand the math part of it, but I could see the results of the law, I could see the motion it made more sense.


• Learning Styles : Learning styles are something that, to my knowledge, has not prevalent or a focus of teaching/learning for very long. In my experience in high school what I recall was much of what was discussed in the Type II article where we were placed in front of computers and given the "Now press the 'A' button" and so forth. The main use of a computer was simply that of a word processor; the World Wide Web had yet to expand into all corners of the globe and there was no thought even given to email or any instant messenger programs. I did not have the opportunity to discuss what type of a learner I was or what I found enjoyable. How I learned was always measured by a test or a presentation there was little room for creativity and printing pictures meant everything was in black and white. Looking back, I wonder if I would have had a better experience in high school had I received the benefit of differentiated learning.


• Autonomy : I have found that being in college has given me the opportunity to direct my own education, within the guidelines of the university, but it is not simply a carbon copy plan for each and every student. I have enjoyed have the ability to have the control over which classes I take which semester, all with the ultimate goal of obtaining my degree. Too often during my high school career I was simply handed a schedule with no real opportunity for input from myself to direct where I was headed during school and after graduation.


• Context : In my chosen concentration of history I can use the experiences that I have had, or have seen in the years that I have been around. In my life I have seen events from the Space Shuttle blowing up, war and a terrorist attack on the United States. I have seen a President shot (Reagan), a President impeached (Clinton), gas below $1 a gallon, my grandparents fought in World War II, Vietnam was my parents generation. I believe that I can put many events into perspective and even give a much different point of view. One where my students can ask me about several events that I will be teaching and be able to get a first hand account, much the way I was able to get a first hand account from a teacher that went to Vietnam.


• Connections : As a future history teacher this is an important aspect of how we teach and how we can help students learn. During my tutoring experience I was somewhat amazed at how they could not make the simple connection between who a blockade runner might be and how that would affect the Confederacy's ability to field an army, or how the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack would have impacted blockade runners. These connections are what would make these lessons more enjoyable, more logical and give them a deeper insight into the subject. Hopefully I can make those connections and do my best to give them a better understanding of the whys behind history and how it continues to make it's presence known decades after the fact.
  

Chapter #2: Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, simple word, yet so many images come to mind when anyone hears this or says this. This overwhelming theme comes through Chapter 2. From the start of the chapter the focus becomes how to gain the respect of the students but also that respect is a two way street. Not only as educators do we have to earn the students respect, but also we have to be willing to give that respect back to the students. An argument can be made that the respect should be given to the students before we in turn can expect that it be returned to us.
The reason that this made an impression on me was because that in my years outside of the classroom this is one issue that continues to be an issue in the work world. Respect is something that people talk about every day. Students are bombarded with it both at home from the parents and also in school from their teachers. What this chapter does a good job of is laying out, in their opinion, how we can earn that respect. Earning the respect is an important concept that cannot be overstated. Many times people think that a degree or a job demands that others give you that respect, but you have to be willing to do the heavy lifting to earn that respect. One piece of advice that I keep close at hand is that a leader should never ask anyone to do any task that you yourself are not willing to do. This still applies to a classroom in that we should not ask our students to give us respect, without being willing to give it to them as well

Chapter #1: Knowing Students Well

The section of Chapter 1 that made the biggest impression on me was the section where students were discussing getting to know them on a more personal level. Rather than just a name and a face behind a desk, but rather what other interests they have outside of class that makes them a more dynamic person. There are many layers to students and because they spend more time outside of the classroom than in, that has more of a deciding factor on who they are.
This portion of the chapter struck a chord with me because when I was in high school and while in school in the U.S. Army, there was little concern with the who and what you are as a person. The focus was completely on results, moving you from one class to the next, and on to become a headache to someone else. As the thought of becoming an educator comes closer to a reality, the desire to make a difference becomes that much more important. To avoid being one of those teachers that we all disliked we have to find a new way of doing things differently and the best way to do this is by listening to the voices from the book. We need to keep in mind that just because we have attended classes and graduated from college, we do not have all the answers. In order to become successful teachers, we need to be able to reach our students and have them receive the information that we are giving to them. The only way to do this is to become more in tune with who they are the other eighteen hours of the day.