Reflection #12

WHAT: I explored the website, PBS Teachers. I decided to look into this website because I know that the PBS television station is a kid friendly one, and its educational.

SO WHAT: This site offers many resources for teachers to use in their classrooms.

NOW WHAT: This site has many creative ideas for curriculum at the early elementary level. If teachers are looking for creative content ideas, I would recommend them looking into this website.

Reflection #11

WHAT: Livemocha is a great educational website for language learning. There is a wide variety of language courses and the unique thing about this site is that they will teach the lessons in whatever your first language is. For example: my account is set up so that I am a native English speaker learning French. I have a friend though, and his account is set up as his native language being Japanese and he is learning English.

SO WHAT: It is a resource that is free and available in almost every language. So this is a resource that can be used by all people.

NOW WHAT: As a student who loves learning different languages, I will continue to use this site my entire life to gain knowledge on world languages. As a teacher, I will definitely recommend this website to my colleagues and encourage my students to check it out. I believe it is an extremely beneficial resource that is yet to be discovered by many who need it.

Reflection #10

WHAT: I found the website Using English, a site full of resources for English language learners. It has resources for students as well as teachers. Some of the features include: English idioms, a grammar glossary, verb phrases, and test materials for teachers.

SO WHAT: Although this website is extremely useful, I do not believe an english language learner would be able to navigate it very well. This website is more for teachers. It gives me ideas of topics to be taught in my classroom as well as gives me the information and resources to provide the materials for my students.

NOW WHAT: I am definitely going to remember this website and use it when I begin to teach. It has a lot of useful material that I would like to use.

Reflection #9

WHAT: I looked into the website WorldWideLearn and read some articles on online learning because I was curious to learn the benefits of an online education.

SO WHAT: Online schooling has become extremely popular. Here are some of the reasons why:

-students can attend anytime from anywhere.

-course material is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

-student interaction increases because all participation is online, so its not just the "outgoing" and "talkative" students who get a chance to speak up.

-the teaching is student centered, meaning that students can learn with whatever way works best for them (visually, orally, etc.).

-online schooling helps prepare students and helps them become familiar with technology, which is becoming an important skill for the 21st century worker.

NOW WHAT: As popular as online schooling is becoming, I hope that people are still looking for ways to improve it, as I find it hard to imagine replacing the experience of an actual classroom. But I do see the benefits of being able to access your schooling at anytime and anywhere. I think it would be beneficial for students in this day and age to experience both the traditional classroom and the online classroom.

Reflection #8

WHAT: I read the article 50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom. I chose to look into this because I am very intrigued by skype and its ability to connect people. According to this article, skype can be used for field trips, after school help, and for guest lecturers.

SO WHAT: Skype can be used to bring anything you want to the classroom, or to take your students anywhere without having to leave the classroom. It is a great way to open up your students to the world and make use of their global resources.

NOW WHAT: I believe teachers should really look into ways that they could use skype in the classroom. I know as a student I would have loved it, and as a teacher I am definitely going to use it. It would be so great in language classrooms to have contact via skype with another classroom in another country that speaks that language. It would be a fun learning experience for students to be able to talk to other students their own age in a different culture. Another good use of skype would be for English teachers being able to have authors visit the classroom via skype.

Reflection #7

WHAT: I was observing in an elementary classroom at Lakeview Elementary and for the first time I watched first hand the use of microphones in the classroom. The teacher was wearing a special one around her neck and then there was a more traditional looking one at the front of the classroom for students to come up and use when they were presenting their poems to the class.

SO WHAT: I thought that this was very weird at first and I did not like it at all. It seemed weird to hear voices coming through a speaker when you are in a small classroom. But I realized it helps the students be heard when they are presenting and it also prevents the teacher from loosing her voice or even having to raise her voice. It seems as though the teacher is able to hold so much more authority in her voice because of the microphone.

NOW WHAT: The more I visit schools, the more I see these microphones. I believe that microphones in the classroom are going to become very common. I have talked to a few teachers about them, and they love them for the very reason that they don't lose their voice by the end of the day (which seems to happen a lot at the elementary level). The only fear I have in the wide use of this, is that I don't think teachers and students should get used to always speaking into a microphone. Students need to learn how to speak up and use their "presenter" voice. We can't rely on technology to do the work for us and make things easier all the time.

Reflection #6

WHAT: In one of my classes a girl used the document camera to read a story to the class. We could follow along and see the pictures on the screen. It was very helpful to be able to see it so large without having to move from our desks.

SO WHAT: In elementary schools teachers read aloud to the class often. Sometimes students are gathered around the teacher tightly and fighting for getting the best view of the tiny picture book. The document camera is a great alternative to story time, where students can remain at their desk but follow along my watching the projection on the big screen.

NOW WHAT: For me, it seems sad to give up the traditional way of story time and everyone circling up. But in some situations I believe the document camera to be the better way. Teachers should utilize this technological resource if they can, as I believe it will help student learning and participation.

Reflection #5

WHAT: Professor Kowalski brought an ipad to class and showed off its many features.

SO WHAT: The ipad's ability to connect you to practically any resource online and off (and all text written can be downloaded as well) makes it a very appeasing object to possess. Teachers and students could have a lot of use for these as they can be your notes, computer, files, etc. all in one.

NOW WHAT: Ipads are new and expensive so most of us will probably not attain one. But I do believe that ipads are the a good representation of the future of technology. Being able to carry all that information around in one little digital device is very appealing to people, and I believe it won't be long before they become as common as cell phones.

Reflection #4

WHAT: I created a simple powerpoint slide of pictures for an introduction to a presentation. Unfortunately, the slideshow was not working, and I had to improvise, coming up with a new introduction.

SO WHAT: When dealing with technology, we often run into problems. And as teachers, we will need to always have a back up plan in case our technology fails.

NOW WHAT: So although technology can be extremely useful in the classroom, I believe it is wise to not completely rely on it 100%. As a teacher you should always be prepared to teach and/or present the material raw, without your technological resources.

Reflection #3

WHAT: For my final teaching presentation in Instructional Design I used the SMARTboard for a couple of visual aids. I was extremely nervous to use it because I was afraid something would go wrong. But fortunately, it went very well, and I was glad that I used it. It provided greatly to the lesson.

SO WHAT: I used a video and an activity that interacted students with the SMARTboard. This proved to be a helpful asset to the lesson and contributed to the overall success.

NOW WHAT: Now that I have become a little more comfortable with using technology in my lessons, I want to expand on my usage of the SMARTboard and create an entire SMARTboard lesson. I believe the SMARTboard engages students visually, orally, and actively.

Reflection #2

WHAT: I observed in a high school math classroom that uses the activeboards. The teachers and students were very comfortable with the technology so it was very cool to see the boards used in such a successful way. I felt as though the class interacted extremely well with the activeboard and to me it seemed as though they were more drawn in than the normal math class.

SO WHAT: I think teachers, especially math teachers, should really think about the positive effects that technology can have on their classroom. With a subject like math, where so many students are turned off by it and struggle, it is critical to take advantage of such resources such as activeboards that can truly revolutionize the way math is taught.

NOW WHAT: I believe that all math teachers should consider putting activeboards into their classroom. They don't have to use them daily, but they do provide a good visual in such topics as geometry.

Comments on Classmates Blogs

Ashley P

Devon C

Kacie S

Lauryn D

McKenzie M

Assignment # 4 - Final Project

My Website

I created a website using webs.com. I usually have a very hard time learning new technologies, but this site was very simple and well organized in taking me through the steps to creating a website.

List of features:

-being able to add and/or delete pages

(the site gives you pages to start with, but some of them i did not want to use so i was able to delete them. I wanted to create a history page and a page on tourism, so i was able to create those).

-addons

(such as widgets) .... (i added radio, which gave me the option of creating my own radio station or choosing an already created one)

-links

(Just like we have learned to do in our blogs, we can create links from words).

-video uploads

(i uploaded videos from youtube)

-photo uploads

The main issue that I encountered is that there was not a save button. I lost my information a couple times and it was very frustrating. I eventually learned that the button, "Publish", is how you save it. After you choose to publish, you have the option of continuing to edit or to finalize your website.

Secondary technology: I was able to create a podcast through vocaroo to have as a part of my website. I also have youtube videos and a slideshow of pictures as a part of my site. It was fun to incorporate different technologies all into one website.

This project was extremely useful for me! I realized how simple it is to gather information and resources onto one website in only a few hours! I was able to gather information, photos, and videos on my topic. As a teacher, I would love to use webs.com because the sites are very simple for students to navigate and they have all this information available right at their fingertips.

NETS for teachers:

My website meets the #2 standard for teachers, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. This is defined as "Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS."

As the teacher, I have created a website that makes many resources of information available to them: research information, videos, pictures, etc.

NETS for students:

My website meets the #3 standard for students, Research and Information Fluency. This is defined as "Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information." By being able to use this website and navigate through it, students are locating, organizing, and analyzing information from a variety of resources.

Week 14 - The Future of Education and Technology

Technology shaping the future of higher education

For college students, technology has transformed the learning experience with possibilities such as distance education and collaboration with research partners from around the world. Technology will continue to have a significant impact on education. 63% of college students and faculty, when surveyed, said that technological innovation will have a major influence on teaching methodologies over the next 5 years. Technology is already playing a major role in what attracts people to certain colleges.

Technology in college life is going to continue grow and evolve. Technology is giving rise to globalization, as many schools are wanting to connect with other universities overseas and open up more campuses. 60% of the schools involved in this survey are hoping to spread overseas within the next few years. Education is becoming available to anyone anywhere.

Week 13

Features of Word, Excel & PowerPoint

Word

-my favorite feature on Word is the thesaurus. I am always using that to try and use better words when I am- writing papers.

-I also love clipart for a lot of my education activities. I make a lot of flash cards with pictures and words and so this tool is very helpful

-There is a "Language" tab under the tools bar. Since I study different languages and I am currently studying ESL I find this tool very helpful because I can switch my settings to a different language.

Excel

-I love making charts in excel! So I like to use the simple tool of just creating tables and graphs!

-Also, by typing in formulas in the top bar, excel with automatically do the math for you and create answer columns. This is very helpful when collecting data.

PowerPoint

-The best thing about powerpoint is that you can simply drag anything into it and it will become a part of the power point.

-I also like how easy it is to arrange slides. You can resize and move around anything. It is so simple to work with. You cannot always do things like that in Word or Excel.

For Word, I would assign my students a project where they had to make a brochure. This would get them familiar with the different ways to format, different fonts and sizes, and they could also use clipart.

For Excel, I would have students create their own poll for the class and then create a spreadsheet of their results.

For PowerPoint, I would have the students create a slideshow about themselves. They can bring pictures from home and also write about themselves in the text boxes. I think this would get students engaged in the activity as well as get them used to working with Powerpoint.

Week 12 - k12 online conference

Eracism

Students from all over the world got together to discuss issues in race in the world.

After all the students go back to their homes, they wanted to be able to continue to talk with one another and continue their worldwide work. By using the technology of "voice thread" students are able to set up a debating protocol called stimulus synchronous that is a video, following one image but able to pick up voices. Students are able to post comments onto the voice thread, such as a rebuttal. This tool is like an interactive blog, instead of writing, students are able to actually voice their opinions.

Thinking outside the Box

"Think outside the school", teacher Keith Kelly wants to renew education so that it will spark the interest of students today. He says education is too old and traditional that it is not applicable to student lives today. So he creates a project where students are making their own skateboards and they are learning how to use all these different tools.

This was a fantastic lesson to watch. It really engaged students and brought out their creativity and you could tell the students were working really hard as well as learning to use these complicated tools.

Skype Around the World

This presents ideas of how to use skype in the classroom, which is a great asset because you can video chat with anyone anywhere in the world. Teachers are able to get famous authors on skype to talk with students and the students have the opportunity to ask questions. Skype allows students opportunities that normally would be unavailable. Another example of skype in the classroom is elementary schools in the U.S. communicating with a class in Peru. It is like penpals, but online. The students are able to talk face to face, which is a great cultural experience. It opens up your classroom walls as well as raises cultural and global awareness.

Week 11 - Educational Blog

I read the blog Free Technology For Teachers. My comment on the blog is waiting to be approved by the blogger, so I copied my comment below in the mean time:

I really enjoyed reading about all of this free technology for teachers. I think a lot of these programs and applications would be very useful, helpful, and enjoyable in the classroom. There are a lot of creative sites on here that I could definitely see myself using in my classroom. The U.S. mint website would be fun to explore, and I like the statement about kids being interested in money. Although I have never thought of that, it makes sense. I also explored the sistine chapel tour, I really enjoyed that and would look for an opportunity to show it to my students. I also explored the wealth puzzle, out of my own curiosity. And I found it helpful for my own self!

Questions for Panel

1. Is there any technology that you see a lot of teachers use but you have chosen not to use it?

2. What stands out to you as the greatest benefit of technology in your classroom?

3. Is there any technology that students do not prefer working with?

Assignment #4 Tech Project part 1

For my technology project I would like to create a website that is useful for both teachers and students. My subject area is English as a Second Language at the high school level. For the students, I would like to have links to online activities to help them practice their English as well as my own activities and other helpful tidbits. For teachers, I would like to include lesson ideas and smartboard lessons, since the smartboard is something that I really wish to incorporate. Basically, this is a website to help ESL teachers teach and to help ESL students learn.

Podcast

Assignment #3 - Resources for Teachers

I worked through the website Delicious to create a toolbox of websites that will be very resourceful for me as a teacher. I chose websites that I could either use as a teacher to help create activities for my students or websites that I could actually send my students to for information, learning, and fun learning activities.

My toolbox mainly consists of resources for learning English as a Second Language. I believe it would be very helpful for other teachers to get ideas from my toolbox for activities and games in their classroom through online resources.

My first and favorite website is livemocha. It is an online resource to FREE language learning. It is very similar to the Rosetta Stone programs. There are many languages to choose from and it does not matter what your native language is. The website adapts to your personal settings. You select your native language and the language you wish to learn, and then you begin an online tutorial. I highly recommend this website for any students wishing to practice another language.

Another website that I was very impressed with is Free Rice. Free Rice is a fun website that quizzes you on vocabulary words, and for every word you answer correctly 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Program to help end hunger. I believe this online game would get students excited about learning. I found myself hooked into playing as I began to fill up my bowl with rice grains to be donated.

This final site, lingro, has been a favorite of mine since I learned of it a few months ago. This website will be useful for me as a teacher, for students, and for parents. This website allows you to access any website with the ability to translate it into any language that you need. This will allow the teacher to communicate technologically with all students.

Week #9 - "Caught on Video"

This article was very interesting and gave me a lot of ideas to think about and consider. Bob Spankle presents many ways to use video in the classroom. I think he presents many good points but also brings up ideas that I am not sure I would do myself. For a teacher who is very tech savy, I suppose they could use video successfully in just about every way and context within the classroom. But for myself, some of the ideas presented here, would be much more well done if I was to communicate the ideas myself, and not through video. One aspect that I have never considered that he emphasized was video taping the students so that you can actually show the parents footage of their students in action. This is a good idea but I am not sure if I would do it.

One thing I do agree with, and will definitely use in my classroom, is incorporating videos into students' projects. I would like to teach ESL and Spanish, and I remember in my high school Spanish classes we made many videos. Videos are a fun way to learn and get students engaged.

Classmate Comments

Ashley P.

Devon C.

Jordan H.

Lauren D.

Shayna P.

Reflection #1

What? ... A little over a week ago Dr. Kress used the SMARTboard in my Educational Psychology class. We used the little hand held tools that each student had so that we could anonymously answer questions.

So What? ... This was a very fun time in class and because everyone had to participate (but it was anonymous) the entire class was really into it. Dr. Kress was unfamiliar with the technology so it was sort of a once in a lifetime chance for us students to actually do something that he could not (haha). It gave us the challenge then to step up a little and figure it out for ourselves.

Now What? ... Now that we discovered this technologies' usefulness in this particular classroom, it would be beneficial to learn more about the other applications so that we can continue to involve it more in the future.

Week 8 - Promethean ActivBoard

http://www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=nav.16053

Promethean ActivBoard has shown to be a very successful tool in engaging students in the classroom. It reaches out to students in a modern way that better suits their generation. It draws their attention and excites them to learn and participate.

For the teacher, the Promethean ActivBoard provides an endless amount of access to new ideas for the classroom. It gives teachers the opportunity to share and benefit from each others work and creativity. It allows teachers to go above and beyond normal lesson plans and they can explore the capacity of so much more.

School Website

http://www.wghs.nsw.edu.au/

This school is just down the street from my grandparents house in Sydney, Australia. My grandfather used to always talk about it and how he wanted me and my sister to attend there. Since I plan to move to Australia and teach there, the Willoughby Girl's School is something that strikes my interest.

I was surprised to find that their website is not very advanced or eye-catching, especially since this school has an excellent and widespread reputation. I like the simple layout of the website though, and it is very organized making it easy to navigate. What is missing from this website is the information about the teachers, classes, and extra-curricular activities. There is a lot of information about testing standards, enrollment, and other concerns parents may look into. But there is nothing that really shows off the school, especially if I was a student looking at the website, there is nothing that would make me want to go here.

Overall the website is helpful, but could use improvement.

Week #6 - After class response to SMART board presentations

In watching other people present on the SMART board, I made many observations. I feel as though I learn something new about the SMART board every time I come in contact with it. I am feeling more and more comfortable with the general ability to touch words and move things around, I am noticing the same patterns from activity to activity. But there is still so much to learn! The SMART board always seems to have new surprises it throws at you. Whether its a cool new trick or application, or a completely confusing circumstance you seem to all the sudden be in the middle, the SMART board reminds us as teachers that although it is fun and can seem like a toy, it is a powerful learning device, only to be used by those who know how.

I suppose the big question that I am left with is "how long?" .... How long will it take until I can confidently say that I have mastered the SMART board? Because I would love to be able to continue to use it in the future, but so far I do not have enough practice for it to add to learning, I am afraid that it may hinder and distract my students and I from what we are trying to achieve. So how much practice do I need before I am able to successfully manage the technology in my classroom?

Assignment 2 SMART board Presentation

SMART Board Features in Presentation:

-pictures matched to vocabulary words

-"eyeglass" tool(when eyeglass is dragged over image, the text appears)

-Matching diagram (dragging vocabulary words into appropriate spaces to label the diagram)

-word scramble game (clues given to hint at vocabulary words that need to be unscrambled)

NETS For Students

Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

This presentation engaged students, allowing them to participate in activities in which they had to think individually as well as thinking together as a group. Because the presentation wholly involved the SMART board, it meets the standard of the students using digital media in the learning environment. Some of the activities required the students to individually hold themselves accountable to learning the vocabulary words, where other activities involved two or more students at once communicating and collaborating together to properly label a diagram or to unscramble a mystery vocabulary word.

NETS For Teachers

Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS Teachers.

This presentation required that I, as the teacher, provide the students with a digital learning experience. The SMART board activity engaged the students with presenting vocabulary words digitally as well as participating in digital games. Because there were games and diagrams to be labeled, the activity was programmed to correct the students if they mismatched vocabulary words. I also as the teacher was available to help the students along with the activities. This provided the assessment portion of the NETS.

I believe that when the teacher is able to efficiently use the SMART board, and intentionally involve all the students in its activities, the SMART board can become a very positive asset to the classroom. It is fun and engaging, it provides a new way for students to learn. I think that many students will be more open to learning this way because it breaks the mold of traditional teaching and may catch their attention better.

Week #5 Assignment - Blogs for Educators

http://asalaamualiakum.wikispaces.com/

I enjoyed this class' blog very much. It was extremely educational and enjoyable to read through and explore. The class that has created this blog is a group of 10 and 11 year olds at a school in Scotland that correspond with a sister school in Pakistan. They have pages on a variety of subjects and issues including everything from a day in the life of a student to the movie stars and rock stars of Pakistan. This site is very well put together because in everything that they discuss and teach about there is the opportunity to click on another link that will explain further details or explain other aspects of whatever is being discussed. They also provide a comparison for everything in Pakistan to how life is in Scotland. I believe this is a very good learning experience for these students. It allows them to be very culturally aware of other parts of the world. I believe all classrooms should learn about other kids in other cultures and if possible be able to contact them. It is important for young people to grow up with the understanding that there is a big world out there and many people who live very different lives as they themselves do. Being culturally aware of all the differences and uniqueness this world has, is one of the best lessons a person, especially a young student, can ever learn.

"Generation IM"

Kids use technology as a main form of socializing, so it becomes very beneficial for their learning when we as teachers take advantage of that opportunity to reach them in such a way.

I really like Imbee and how Mrs. Tenkely uses it in her classroom. It involves students into good discussion and interaction in a way that makes them feel comfortable. It is fun for them and very safe as well. And it also allows the teacher to receive insight into her students' thoughts. I believe it would serve a good purpose as after school/ homework type of work.
Moodle is something that I would definitely use. Described as a "living syllabus" it is a fool proof organization system that keeps the teacher, parents, and students all on the same page.

Assignment #1

Making English Lessons Engaging Through Video Materials Supported With Advance Organizers And Prediction Activities
By Winnie Lee
http://firma.northwestu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=47111440&site=ehost-live

This article was very interesting and surprisingly extremely informational about the significance of the use of videos in the classroom, primarily for ESL students.
For ESL students, videos give them the opportunity to see and hear the language in a cultural context. Videos have shown to stimulate the students' sensory impact, enhance affective attitude, stronger engagement, a higher motivation for learning, and increased self-confidence.
Videos open up the opportunity for students to not only see language in action, but to mimic what they have seen in a role playing situation. Videos set the example for what the students strive for.
In learning of the different functions and effects that videos have on language learners, I feel a little creatively challenged to really put thought and effort in to choosing which videos I would show to my students. I would like to show interesting dialogue scenes from movies that attract the students' attention, I believe that would be most effective in my classroom as an ESL teacher.


NETS For Teachers
The standard that is especially important to me is to Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. As a person, a leader, and as a teacher I have always felt that my main gifting is in the ability to relate and inspire the young adolescents that I work with. My goal as a teacher is for students to experience learning in a fun way and that they would discover what their passions are. For the best academic success and enjoyable engagement, students must be intrinsically motivated. I will do this by facilitating an inspiring environment to my students that encourages their individual creativity.
Three ways that I plan to advance myself in this area this semester is by discovering new activities and lessons involving internet games and SMARTboard lessons, discover how to get in touch with other classrooms overseas (this is very helpful and fun in ESL or foreign language classes), and by researching successful teachings that have already been done by others.


NETS For Students
In my classroom I would really love for my students to have the standard of Communication And Collaboration. Communication and collaboration is important for ESL students because, well obviously they need to learn to communicate with all sorts of people, but also I believe collaboration in a helpful skill that will teach them to work with others and give them the opportunity to learn from each other. When learning any language, communicating and collaborating with others is always beneficial. Students need to interact!
One specific assignment I believe the students would really enjoy as well as benefit from is creating a blog/website/podcast for a class in another country. Being able to communicate with students in another culture and be able to teach them what they are learning would definitely improve their own learning. Another lesson that would be beneficial would be a research report/presentation on the culture and lifestyle of a country that speaks the language they are learning. So in an ESL class I would split students into groups and they could study England, the U.S. Canada, etc. Or in a Spanish class they could study Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, etc.

Interactive Whiteboards Article

In reading Nancy Knowlton's article, Interactive Whiteboard Research Shows, I have learned the positive influence of interactive whiteboards in the classroom. Research shows that students are more engaged in classrooms with interactive whiteboards and enjoy the lessons more. The attendance has also increased in these same classrooms.

Most students today are visual learners, so interactive whiteboards accommodate their learning preferences very well. Because interactive whiteboards create a more fun and engaging learning environment, students are more intrinsically motivated, which at the end of the day is the most crucial thing a student can possess.

To read Interactive Whiteboard Research Shows by Nancy Knowlton, click on the link below. You will find the article in the 2008 list.
http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/News+and+research/Articles+by+the+CEO.htm

Beginning of Semester Reflection

After only the second week of our Technology in Education class I feel as though I have been immersed into this whole new realm of education. I feel as though my eyes have been opened to a whole other culture, one that I definitely underestimated.
I grew up in a rural town with a school district that did not have the budget to get a hold of new and expensive resources. So basically I have never really had much exposure to technology beyond my facebook on my laptop. Blogging, the endless amount of search engines, and SMART boards are completely over my head at this point, but it has been fun to explore this new world of technology. Especially in looking at how technology is available to the education field, it is exciting to see how the possibilities for its usage are endless!
There is one main thing that I have come to realize in this past week, and I am finally being able to let go of my own personal bias. My view of the use of technology in schools has always been a little hesitant, mainly because I had such a positive and successful experience without it. I believe children still need to learn how to do things the "old fashion" way and not to rely on computers, phones, and ipods for entertainment. But just as Landon Carter from A Walk To Remember used basketball to teach a student geometry, we can use technology as a means to teach our students. As a teacher it is important for me to realize that technology is what my students enjoy, it is a language that they speak, a culture that they are a part of. So I need to take advantage of that and use technology as a way to reach out to my students. It is important for me to be able to understand what my students like and what works well for them, and in this generation and all those to come, technology is something that most students will work very well with.
I believe in creating the perfect balance between technology and the absence of technology in the classroom. I want it to be there to provide fun new ways for learning. I want it to be able to allow students to advance their research and to discover more. Technology should engage students. But at the same time I still want students to be able to think for themselves, to be able to appreciate activities using raw materials, and to be creative without the help of technology.
I think technology can play a big role in the classroom, but only if it helps further students in their education. It must not be a distraction or a hindrance.

Turning on the Lights

I never thought of school as a period of enlightenment, but it is so true, it is a time that truly empowers us to explore the world and it opens us up to an endless supply of opportunities.

On the subject of “powering down” in school, I have to agree with that concept because I believe it is important to rely on your own skills and still learn ways to learn without all the new technology. I think cell phones, ipods, and the open internet are mostly a distraction to students at school. Although I believe technology can be used in fun and academic ways for student learning, I do not believe that the lack of it in schools is what is causing “boredom”. Whether students are having fun at school or not I believe depends mostly on the style and lessons plans of the teacher.

I really like the four points at the end of the article regarding “How to Turn on the Lights”. I agree strongly with them.

How I Decided To Become A Teacher

When I graduated from high school I was excited that I would never have to step foot in a high school again. Now, three years later, I cannot wait to go back. I came to Northwest University as a Psychology Major. I had dreams of being a psychologist for teenagers, to counsel them through their challenging years. But I quickly discovered that I did not really care for the subject of psychology and found no passion in it. Becoming a teacher was always in the back of my mind, but I really was not sure about it. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. I've always had a passion for helping young people, and I knew I wanted to be in a profession where I could be around them constantly, so what better way to positively influence a teenager than to be their teacher.
Although I personally did not enjoy high school, I love that age group, and so I am excited to go back as a teacher and provide students with fun opportunities that I missed out on when I was a student. I am very passionate about other cultures and I love meeting people from all over the world. I have been studying the Spanish language since I was fourteen years old and I am completely in love with it! So I would love to be a high school ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher and a Spanish teacher.