Exit Slip 9/30

Today’s class was very stressful for me. In the beginning it seemed fairly easy, in that, the way we had to sign in using the smart board to sign in saying where we feel on the continuum of are we a technology skeptic or enthusiast? After that, we went into the chapter discussion.  I felt that the group that presented today did a really good job getting the class involved with what they were talking about.  The part of the class that scared me or put a lot of stress on me is when we started talking about the IWB Lesson or Interactive Whiteboard Lesson.  I feel stressed out about talking about this, because I am not very good with technology and although I really want to earn an A in this class, I feel kind of skeptical about whether or not I have what it takes to create a lesson that is this technological advanced. I have been feeling very stressed this semester and although I really want to get good grades, I am starting to rethink my ability to get an A in this class.  But besides for the stress of this class, I thought it was an overall helpful and fun class today!

Rethinking Education Chapter 3

In the reading this week, it really opened my eyes to the controversy of technology.  I have always known that technology was controversy to some extent, but I never really thought about some of the things that were brought up in this chapter.  I feel that technology in the classroom is a very controversial topic.  I believe that technology can be a huge part of learning and is important (to a certain extent) to integrate it in with what you are teaching because society is changing and as educators we need to adapt to that change.  This article did bring up things such as time management and cost.  These were things that I had not necessarily considered when thinking about technology in the classroom.  Cost I believe is a huge thing, because most of technology can be quite expensive and if your school district is not willing to pay for it, how will you get the money? Are you expected to pay for it out of your own pocket? Another thing that I have been thinking about that is related to this topic is how do we know when we are using either too much or not enough technology? Right now I am also in an Environmental Education class and in that class we talk a lot about the necessity of getting kids outside and connected with the environment.  One of my professors in that class has even said, that students are becoming too attached or dependent on technology, and they don’t know how to use their natural resources.  I find myself very confused at times with these two ways of thinking, because I agree with both sides to some extent.  I understand the need of teaching technology to our youth today but I also agree with the statement that kids need to spend more time outdoors. 

          So thinking about how this affects me as a future teacher, I am not exactly sure how I plan to deal with this issue, but I do know that I want to find that fine line of having enough technology in my classroom, but not having too much.  I want to teach my students about technology and have them feel comfortable with it, but I also want to teach them the importance of our environment and the need for us to spend time outdoors.  So somehow between now and when I actually become a teacher, I will have to find away to teach the right amount of technology to my students  without having them become addicted to it (spending all their time using only technology) but instead having them find a good balance of working with and without it.  Because the last thing I want to do is create a world where my students are dependent on technology. 

Exit Slip 9/23/2010

Today in our Education 331 lab, we started out by signing in using the smart board.  Our task was to drag our name into a column telling our connection with twitter.  The three categories included: twitter..what?, Heart of it, don’t use it, and I tweet!  It was easy for me to figure out what category I fit into because I have definitely heard of twitter but I have never used it.  I have never used twitter for two reasons, for one, I don’t have enough time to twitter what I am doing , and second I find it kind of personal and nobody’s business what I am doing throughout the day and therefore I will not post things like that on the internet and I find quite ridiculous for people to “follow” what others are doing like celebrities.  However, I do understand that there could be a beneficial factor to using twitter in the classroom to keep your students and their parents involved with what you are doing in the classroom.  As a whole I am not sure how I feel about twitter inside and outside of the classroom but today’s lab definitely made me a lot more curious about this topic and I plan to research more about this. 

Chapter 2 Refleciton on "Rethinking Education"

In this reading they talked a lot about several different things, some that I agree with and some that I don’t.  One of the main things that I did not agree with is how the book talks about how by using technology students could have the ability to study lessons that are based on each child’s interests.  At first I thought this was a really great idea, I am all about giving the kids choices and letting them learn what interests them, but as I started thinking about it I realized that I this maybe isn’t as good as I initially thought it was. How is letting our students decide what they want to learn a good thing? How will be able to make sure they are learning what they need to? I know if when I was in school and I had been able to choose what I learned about, I would never have learned all the things I did or use now.  There were a lot of things back then that I did not like learning about and would not have done it without being forced to.  Also there were things in school that I was almost certain I would never use once I was out of school, but now that I am older and in the “real world” I have realized how wrong I was and that the things I thought I would never use, I actually use quite often.   That is why I believe that if we allow our students to choose what lessons they want to learn, what will happen if they choose not to do those things that they believe aren’t beneficial but actually are. 

I do like the fact that technology gives educators more techniques for teaching material.  Because the fact is, that not all students learn the same way and by teaching material in different or several ways, you have a better chance of more students actually learning the material.  As a teacher I don’t plan to do all the things that is reading talked about, but I do plan to use technology to teach material in different ways so that I can better teach my students because I know that they don’t all learn in the same ways. 

Chs. 1-3 of Blogs, Wikis, Podcastsir

        This reading has impacted my thinking about technology because it has made me more aware of the advantages as using technology such as weblogs when teaching in the classrooms.  Using weblogs when teaching are great because not only are you teaching students about technology and the things it has to offer us, but you are creating an environment online for them to share and communicate ideas.  This could be effective in many ways but one of the ways it could be effective is by having students hold online discussions.  This might make it easier for some students to participate, who would normally be reluctant to because they are shy, don’t like talking in front of large groups, ect.  By having your students communicate a discussion online, you are creating an atmosphere that might make it easier for students to communicate because you are giving them the opportunity to voice their opinions without having to talk in front of others.  By giving them the opportunity to participate in a world where they feel more comfortable, you are encouraging them to be a more active student. 

        When teaching with technology to my future students, I hope to remember this quote, “the possibilities are endless.”  I feel that this quote has a lot of truth to it not only for a teacher but also as a learner.  And if I remember one thing from this reading to use in my future as a teacher, it is to instill that quote in the minds of my students because the truth is that whether you are talking about technology or something out, the possibilities are really endless!

"Growing up Online" video

I found this video very interesting and troubling. I was extremely surprised with how much it “played” with my emotions.  I felt like it showed two very extreme sides of technology, especially the opinions of the two teachers.  Although I did not completely agree with either of them I did connect with some of the things each of them said.  One thing that caught my attention is how the teacher talked about is how students have a hard time concentrating on things in class because they are so use to technology moving so fast pace and it is hard for them to slow down and really learn from their class.  I found some truth to that and really connected it with the thought they mentioned in the movie that we are no longer teachers, we are entertainers.  One teacher even stated that students almost need to be entertained to be engaged enough to learn.  This shocked and troubled me because I do not think it is a teacher’s job to entertain the students but rather teach them.  And I am not saying that learning cannot be fun and entertaining sometimes but what are we teaching our next generation, that life is always going to be entertaining and fun.  That is not the reality of life.  If we as teachers always make things fun and entertaining for our students well then we are failing one aspect of our job which is preparing our students for the future and the “real life.” By applying this method to our students we are portraying that life is always fun and entertaining, when the reality of it is that sometimes life and our future jobs won’t be entertaining but sometimes you just need to be okay with that. 

This video has affected my plan for teaching someday, because it really enlightened me on the good things and the scary things of having our students use technology regularly.  As a future teacher and as an individual, I can see the advantages of integrating technology into the classroom, but I can also see its risks.  And although right now I do not plan to use technology in my classroom all the time and I may not use everything like podcasts, wikis or blogs, but I do plan on trying to keep technology integrated into my classrooms while also making sure my students stay safe from the potential “devils” of the web.  But mostly what I learned from this video is that no matter how much technology I decide to include into my classroom, I will definitely make sure to educate my students on how to be safe when using technology because I hope none of my students will ever have to face the dark sides of the internet. 

Lab - September 16, 2010

 In today’s class, we started off by signing in using the smart board.  When doing this we had to slide our name to under the search engine we use most.  I was surprised that almost everyone said that they use Google compared to other search engines, especially Bing.  I really thought that more people would say that use bing, just because it is becoming so popular and you are hearing so much more about it. 

                My favorite part of the lab was when we talked about the book chapter project, not only because it clarified a lot of questions I had about the project, but also because he gave us a lot of tips on how to give a successful presentation.  This was very interesting because not only does it connect with this class and the project we need to do it for, but it also helps us to become a better all around speaker and hopefully a better teacher.  I plan to implement these strategies for good speakers as often as I can in my professional and personal life. 

                We also used a game to discuss Chapter One of “Rethinking Education” that was called “get off the fence” in this game we were able to get up and move around the room while voicing our opinions about certain things.  I really liked this game and I hope to be able to use it in my classroom someday!

Checking Credibility of Websites

When having students use the internet to look up information or learn valuable information it is important for a teacher to talk them about the credibility of websites, because not all websites are credible.  One major way that I have found to check a website’s credibility is to check its URL address.  If the URL address starts with http:// and ends in .gov, .us or .(a state abbreviation) it is most likely credible.  This is a good way of determining because only information that has been processed and okayed by panels of either the government, state or country are able to be posted on these websites.  Often times people think that just making sure the website ends in .org, .net or something besides .com automatically makes the site credible, but only the above examples are most likely a guarantee to be credible.  Another way to check if websites are credible or not is to look at their resources.  Most often, if a website is credible, it will have credible resources listed.  These are only two ways to check if websites are credible and I am sure there are a few more, but the important thing is to make sure that your students understand that not everything on the internet is “true” and to make sure they know ways to check the credibility of their websites. 

Chapter One Reflection from "Rethinking Education"

When reading chapter one of “Rethinking Education” I thought a lot about the role technology has on teaching and learning.  Technology is no longer a luxury but more often a necessity in everyday career and school life.  Chapter one demonstrates the importance of teaching with technology and how if you don’t, you are leaving your children behind and often times the parents will move them into an environment where technology is more integrated into everyday lessons.  This has made me think differently about what kind of teacher I want to be and what I want my approach as a teacher to look like, and I really want to keep technology a big part of everyday activity.  I believe that if you don’t embrace new technology you will be left behind, and as a teacher if you don’t let your students embrace it, you will be the one responsible for holding them back and not helping them to progress in the never ending progression of technology.  Looking back, I never had many courses on technology and very few of my classes included technology beyond Microsoft Word or Power Point, and now I feel lost often times when trying to work with technology.  I get frustrated easily and often times feel as though I am behind my peers; I can’t help but wonder if I would have had more opportunities to use and learn about technology at a younger age I wouldn’t feel this way, and that is why as a teacher I am going to try my hardest for my students to never feel as if they aren’t as “good” as their peers in anything especially technology.

Lab - September 9, 2010

Today in class there were two key parts that interested me.  First we were able to sign in using the SMARTboard which was really interesting and took me awhile to get use to, but I was finally able to get the hang of it and I am hopeful that maybe someday I will be comfortable using it on my own. 
The second thing that I found very interesting was the delicious account that we created.  I am very excited about this website and I am extremely excited to start adding websites! I think this website will be very helpful for me in the future personally and professionally.  Well here I go off to add more sites!

Digital Autobiography

This is my Digital_Autobiography that I created in PhotoShow. I put forth more effort in this project than I had originally anticipated I would. When I first learned about this assignment I thought the hardest part of it would be figuring out what I wanted to do it on and finding the pictures for it. But as I started constructing my slideshow, I realized that I was actually quite picky about it, and was willing to spend extra time creating it and adventuring out and trying each program.


I think that there was some values in having me do this task because it made me try something new and forced me to leave my comfort zone, and take a risk. Completing this task has impacted my future teaching strategies because I learned that it is okay to require your students to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. It also has made me more willing to try new things as a student and as a future teacher.

Technology

(1) Technology refers to advancement in particular areas that are designed to help people and to make different tasks easier and more efficient. Often times people they have to do with electronics. Different examples include: computers, machines,


(2) Technology Integration is when technology is used alongside other methods of education in the classroom. Effective technology in the classroom would be students learning about and using technology correctly to aide them in their studies and to broaden their studies.