New Thinking From Class

One important thing I took from class today was to always think about if you are teaching in your classroom or are you facilitating when you are using technology in your class.  I think it's very important to make sure you are teaching by using the technology, not just having the technology teach OUR students.  Even if technology is being used, it doesn't need to take the place of the teacher. 
A few things I'm going to take away to make sure our group does during our presentation is to be careful not to generalize.  Also to consider the structure.  We need to remember to conclude by retelling what was discussed/learned. 
I also started to think about what I would like to do for my IWB lesson.  After looking through the SMART website, I am excited to start working on the lesson. 

Rethinking Education- Chapter 3

I think it’s important to incorporate technology into the classroom and help your student’s learn about technology by having it available to them and teaching them about it.  But, I have to agree with the author’s of the text that technology is very expensive.  It’s not just a buy once, but you have to keep them updated and all the software has to be purchased.  With technology you then have to hire individuals who can keep it updated and fix it if something happens.  This can be very expensive.  In today’s economy, schools are having a hard enough time trying to get referendums passed so they don’t have to lay off teachers.  I would hate to see it come down to laying off teachers so the school can have the newest technology. 

I do not agree that having computers will create a noisy environment and that makes using computers risky to teachers.  Yes, the students may discuss their experiences with the computer, but I think students can be taught that at certain times, the computer time is quiet.  In Ed 302, we are discussing a technique called the Daily 5; where students build stamina to read to themselves for a certain amount of time.  Even if the students are making noise while on the computers, I think it’s a positive thing that the students are sharing their experiences or ideas with others. 

Throughout this chapter, I felt like each argument was created like technology was replacing the teacher.  Personally, I don’t think this would ever happen.  I feel that technology is just going to strengthen our teaching by allowing us to show our students what they can do and teach them how to use technology properly.  Students can go home and use the computer and internet, but are they going to learn what is appropriate and safe? Maybe, but maybe not.  But, we as teachers should feel privileged that we will be helping our students learn this, and we will also be learning it ourselves. 

New Thinking from Class

Today, I learned how to callibrate the SmartBoard.  To do this you go to the Start Menu, to Smart Technologies, then Orient.  You then press the center of the target to callibrate.  During presentations, make sure to have a back-up plan in case something doesn't work.  Be sure to involve the class with interaction instead of just lecturing.  We need to include a wrap-up or conclusion.  Presentation should have three parts.  First tell us what you're going to tell us, then tell us, and finally tell us what you told us.  Make sure to speak-up, if you are the presenter or just contributing to the conversation.  At the beginning of presentation be sure to introduce yourself.  When you ask them to navigate to a website, be sure to walk around to check and make sure everyone is at the correct place.  Also walk around to check progress during discussion times.  Watch the uhms and likes when talking.  Be concise of time and ready to improvise if you need to. 

Google advanced will give you a better quality of search. With Google advanced you can find similar websites to a website that you have found helpful. 

Smart Technologies has a website called Smart Exchange, where they have SmartBoard lesson plans which are available to use.  On this website you are able to search for a lesson that meets the Education Standards for whatever state you are teaching in.

Rethinking Education- Chapter 2

This chapter reinforces how important it is to teach and incorporate technology into our schools.  There are so many different ways for individuals to get information.  They no longer have to go to school to become educated.  There are a lot of different ways to get the information you need by using technology; the most common probably being the internet.  Because of this, we need to use technology within the classroom to help prepare our students and keep them interested in the lessons.  Young people today are so attached to all their electronics and technology; we should use these to our benefit.  They should be incorporated into the lessons so the student is excited to learn because he/she gets to use his IPOD instead of having to listen to his teacher lecture for 30 minutes. 
Since information is so easily accessible, the learning environment has to be interesting to the students.  If a student isn’t interested in a subject, they won’t care and may not try very hard to learn about it.  Video games are very popular.  As the book points out, in video games, the gamer is put into scenarios where he/she can take chances and see what happens without repercussions. 


As a teacher, I will incorporate technology into my lessons and classroom so my students are interested in learning.  I will allow them to have choices so they can learn things they are interested in.  This may be accomplished by picking a large theme and then allowing my students to choose something smaller within that theme that interests them to research.  I will also incorporate games (such as video games) to help teach my students about different topics. 

Growing Up Online (Frontline)

Technology does play a large role in young adults.  I have seen this first hand and have witnessed it.  I remember being in middle school and wanting to be on the internet all the time talking to my friends.  Now, I see my brother who is a sophomore in high school and how he is also texting his friends.  Also, being a substitute teacher 2 years ago, I witnessed the importance of technology to the students.  They couldn’t wait to use their cell phones and get onto Facebook. I think as teacher’s, it’s going to be critical that we teach them how to be responsible when using technology and what they should do in certain circumstances.  I think every teacher at every grade level needs to address this with their students.  We all know that as teens, we don’t want to listen to our parents, and we’ll do the opposite of what they say.  Because of this, teacher’s need to take the responsibility to inform their students about being responsible and safety on the internet.   I know student’s who are very close to a teacher, and that teacher may be the only one who that student listens to.  I also think that as a teacher, I  need to be aware of my student’s attitudes and watch for changes in them that may be from bullying.  Teacher’s sometimes see their students more in a day their parents do.  We may notice changes that their parents won’t and be able to help them if they get into trouble with cyber bullying. 

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (Chapt 1-3)

Before this class, I thought I was pretty up to date with technology, but the more I read and learn in class, I am realizing how much stuff there really is out there in regards to technology that can be used in the classroom.  As a teacher, I think it’s important to stay on top of what is available to us to use.  As I was reading the first chapter and read all the stats about technology, I realized that most likely my students will know more about technology than I will.  I will try to learn about new technology as I can, but thought it might be fun to have my students show me some of the technology programs they are using.  I would have to check them out first and make sure they are safe to share with the class and have my student’s using, but this may be a great way to also teach my students about staying safe online.  I think it’s very important to teach students how to be safe.  Kids usually access the internet from home and that is where they do most of their socializing, but I think sometimes parents don’t know what their kids are doing online.  As a teacher, if I am having my students create Wiki’s or Blogs, I will make sure they know how to stay safe on all social sites. 

Since I now have a blog, reading chapter 2 just reinforced how easy a blog is to use and the use of blogs within the classroom.  A blog is a great way to have students share their thoughts and ideas on classroom topics.  A blog would also be a great way to organize class materials so they are online and available to your students whenever a computer with internet is near. 

I also learned how blogs can be used to benefit groups of teachers or whole school districts.  Teachers can share their ideas with others on their blogs, school committees and groups can post their minutes and contribute to the blog between meetings, and schools can create whole school web sites.  School blogs could allow clubs, sports teams and school activities to update their own pages so they are always up to date and relevant. 

Chapter 3 gave some great ideas as to how to start a blog yourself, and then take it into the classroom.  I think it’s very important to try something yourself before you have your students do it so that you know what you are doing and are able to help them if they need it.  I liked how the author said to start small.  I think a lot of us get so excited to do something that we jump right into it and get up over our heads.  So starting small allows the students and us as teachers get used to the process and what we want to achieve with our blog. 

New Thinking From Class

From class today, I learned about Prezi which is an online presentation program.  This seems like a very good resource to use when making presentations.  Because it is online you can easily put it on the class wiki or your blog so it can be viewed by others.  Unlike Powerpoint, you don't have to have a special program on your computer to view this presentation. 

I also learned some additional ways to check for a website's credibility than I had listed in a previous post.  I learned a new word: Triangulation.  Triangulation is one way to check websites credibility.  You would check various sites and sources to make sure the information is the same.  If the information differs, then you know it is not credible.  
I also learned that you can shorten up the URL to see where it takes you and how far back you can go.  This is another good way to check for a sites credibility. 

I have not used the Smart Board very much, so I learned a lot in the few minutes that we took to go over some of the other things you can do with the Smart Board. 

Evaluating Websites for Credibility

After looking at the websites I came up with a few ways to help my students decide if a website is credible.

First check the website to see if you can find an author of the website. Check the author and see what their title may be.  Do they have a  PhD or are they a high school student?  Maybe look for a biography of the author.  Check to see if the website is affiliated with an organization or university, then research to make sure that is a real organization or university.

Also, check the date that the website was last updated or posted.  This can usually found at the bottom of the website, sometimes near the author or affiliation.  Make sure it is a recent date so you know the information is up to date and not outdated. 

Read through the website and then compare that information to a couple other websites about the same topic.  If you find that the information differs, then one of the websites may not be credible.  You then need to compare with other sources to find out which is correct. 

You can also look at the URL.  This will not guarantee that the website is credible, but if it ends in .gov or .us, it is most likely credible.

These are just a few ways I will teach my students to check for the credibility of websites.  There are probably many more ways which I am not aware of yet, but as I learn them, I will add them to my list for my students to use. 

Rethinking Education- Preface & Chapter 1

Chapter 1 made me realize how much technology is out there and the different ways students get information.  Technology used in schools has advanced from the textbook and blackboard, to overhead projectors and now ELMO's and SmartBoards.  I liked how they related the advancement in technology, known as the Information Revolution or the Knowledge Revolution, to the Industrial Revolution.  As technology changes, we as teachers need to help our students learn how to use the technology so when they get out into the workforce, they are ready for the advancements they will see.  To do this, we need to keep up with the changing technology and incorporate it into our classrooms.  We also need to be aware of the technology our students are using, and making sure they are using it correctly.  Technology can be a great thing if used properly.  As a teacher, we need to take into consideration our students and their access to technology to help them learn.  We can’t assume that everyone has a computer at home where they can do their homework.  Even though technology is advancing, there is still an economic gap that we need to be aware of and find ways to help those who may not have the resources available to them. 

As a teacher, I will incorporate technology into my lessons and teach my students how to use the technology.  I want to prepare my students for their future.  I will make sure they have hands on opportunities to use the technology.  I think it’s very important to not draw attention to students who may not be as well off economically as others.  I will try to help those students who may not have access to the technology at home so they can complete their tasks.  I will work with them so they will know how to use the computer or internet as well as another student who has access to a computer at home. 

New Thinking From Class

Today during class I learned about social bookmarking, how to use Delicious, what a Wiki is and how to use a Wiki. Before this class, I did not really know what a Wiki was or how I would incorporate it into my classroom. I now know that a Wiki is an internet site that can be edited and added to by anyone. In our course, the Wiki will have information about what we did during class. This is a very neat idea so if you miss something or don’t quite remember what we went through, you can look at the Wiki and get all the information. I also really enjoyed learning about social bookmarking and using Delicious. I get so frustrated with bookmarking and adding websites as my favorites because I end up with so many. Then I go to delete some and later on wish I wouldn’t have. Delicious is a neat program where you can bookmark websites, add tags so you can easily find all your favorite websites in a category and even share the websites with others. As a teacher, this will be a great way to find websites that other teachers have found useful. I learned how much is out there on the internet and available to us for free. I think it’s very important to keep up with technology and use these resources. They can benefit us as teachers and help our students. I look forward to finding out what other programs are out there that will benefit me as a teacher and can’t wait to start adding bookmarks to my Delicious.

Reflection on my Digital Autobiography Experience

How much effort did you exert on this task?
I spent a few hours creating my autobiography.  I looked at the 4 different sites to determine which program I liked the looks of.  I then chose one and began uploading the pictures I wanted to use and deciding on the music.  Once I created the autobiography, I redid it about 5 times so that I got the music just right to allow all my pictures to be included and took some pictures out.

What is the value in completing this course task?
By completing this task, I was able to learn about programs that are out there available for me to use.  This also made me think about what was important to me and what I wanted to include in my autobiography since I only had 30 seconds to tell my story. 

How does completing this course task impact your future teaching?
By creating this, I learned about programs and resources that can be used in my lessons to add to the material and lesson being taught.  This could also be a fun way for me to introduce myself at the beginning of the year, or for older students to learn about each other.  By completing this task, I learned that technology can be easy to use and incorporate into the classroom.

My Autobiography

This link will take you to my autobiography which I created using Animoto.  Enjoy!!

http://animoto.com/play/zmgleH4b2QdpMj9Dl4C8Yw#

Technology

1. Technology is a tool or resource which can be used to help make a task or activity easier.


2. Technology integration is to bring and use technology along with something else, in our case into a classroom or lesson. In a classroom, this may be done by using computers to type an assignment, using the internet to research a topic, or using a calculator to help solve math problems.