Before this semester I didn't really think about technology and its uses in the classroom at all. I just kind of figured that was for the "techie" people and I was going to be satisfied with my own simpler way of teaching. Gladly after this class that perspective has changed. I've learned that in order to prepare my students for the world they are being sent into I need to equip them with the tools and resources that is going to allow them to keep up with the other people of their generation. I've learned a number of different tools that I want to incorporate in my classroom- the Smart board, Active votes, blogging, and all kinds of internet resources. I am very excited to have the knowledge of these but I am the most excited to have a new perspective of technology in education. I am glad that now I am open to constantly needing to learn and grow and expand in the area of technology, I don't think I would have ever thought about it before. I want to be a relevant teacher that equips my students with what they need, and having an open mind to new technologies and a willingness to learn these new technologies is one of the best things I can do for my students. I am excited to learn how to incorporate these technologies in my future classroom.
The NETS that I chose to focus on was
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.
By learning the new technologies and learning the correct way to approach technology in the classroom I hope to be able to enhance my lessons with technology promoting my student's thinking skills. I hope to always be prepared so that technology is not a hindrance to my class but that it is an effective tool that will help learning take place in the most efficient way possible!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Reflection #12
I was teaching children's church a couple weeks ago for elementary aged kids and as I was teaching I realized how useful technology would be even in children's church! We don't really have any technology for children's church and I think it would be really cool to start adding some. I was thinking it would be really helpful to show the kids where on a map Israel is and do creative projects to make the stories really stick. I found it interesting that I had never thought about incorporating technology into my children's church lessons, it is just as important and it would be really effective!
Word Excel and Powerpoint
Word:
-Word processor
-table
-clip art
-word art
-stationary
-worksheet
Excel:
-table
-graph
-grid
-math functions
PowerPoint:
-presentation
-insert images
-insert text
-video
-audio
-special effects
-slide show
3 projects
1. Write three paragraphs using Microsoft Word about a topic of your choice.
2. Create a budget using Excel.
3. Using power point present to the class all that you learned about your assigned country.
-Word processor
-table
-clip art
-word art
-stationary
-worksheet
Excel:
-table
-graph
-grid
-math functions
PowerPoint:
-presentation
-insert images
-insert text
-video
-audio
-special effects
-slide show
3 projects
1. Write three paragraphs using Microsoft Word about a topic of your choice.
2. Create a budget using Excel.
3. Using power point present to the class all that you learned about your assigned country.
Reflection #11
In one of my education classes there was a student who used the random person chooser on the smart board. It worked extremely well. Being a "student" and having that random chooser picking who got asked a question brings excitement and a little anxiety as it is passing through the names. While I was participating in the lesson I decided that would be something I want to use in my classroom. It was a very good example of how technology can enhance your lessons! It was both exciting and efficient! If I have a smart board in my classroom I will definitely use the random name chooser on the Smart board as opposed to drawing sticks or picking students.
Reflection #10
I wanted to reflect on the panel of teachers that came in last week. I thought that a lot of their perspectives were very helpful. One thing stood out that I really appreciated and that was that you can "learn" how to teach in college but you don't REALLY learn how to teach until you have your own classroom. One thing I was kind of surprised about though was that lots of the stories they shared were shared in a negative light. I think they liked their job, but there was quite a bit they didn't like about their job. I am thankful for the talk about all the certifications that we have to get but I had NO clue we even had to do that! So it was mildly stressful to hear about the road ahead, however it is better to know sooner rather than later. The biggest thing I took out of the panel was that you really have to have a PASSION and LOVE for teaching or you will NOT make it.
Reflection #9
I went to a Mac store in the mall a couple weeks ago with a friend of mine, and it was extraordinary to see all of the new things that are coming out! One thing I found particularly awesome was this table and the who top was a touch screen with interactive games right on the table! It dawned on me that schools may not be too far away from getting tables that function as both tables and computers! I think that would be really cool. The table was really fun and I could just see how it would be so useful in the classroom! You could show virtual dissecting examples or many other things right on the table! This might be useful in saving time making sure everyone can see a single screen in the front of the classroom and then trying to get everyone to focus. If the screen is right on their table it might make focusing a little bit easy, it was really fun to play with these tables, maybe in a couple years they will start appearing in classrooms. I hope so!
Mrs. Yollis' class blog
This blog was SO cool! The students seemed to genuinely enjoy doing it! They seemed engaged and it was so cool to see all of the comments! I commented on Mrs. Yollis' post about the winter olympics and let her know that I really enjoyed her blog and that I hope to create something similar when I become a teacher.
Reflection #8
I gave a lesson in my Instructional Design class and before I started I didn't set up the document camera and so during the lesson I had some issues getting it working. This was the perfect example of how technology can be a hindrance if not used correctly. Being prepared and making sure to check all of the technology before class is so important, and I'm glad I experienced this minor technical difficulty in a mock setting, not a real classroom. They were just sitting there while I was trying to get it figured out, this would have been a terrible waste of time for students, it would have been distracting, and we would've lost the momentum of the lesson. I will remember this in the future.
Questions
1. How often do you use technology?
2. Was it extremely difficult to get your masters while teaching? Were you still able to have a life or did it take up ALL your time?
3. If you had it to do over again would you still go into teaching?
2. Was it extremely difficult to get your masters while teaching? Were you still able to have a life or did it take up ALL your time?
3. If you had it to do over again would you still go into teaching?
Reflection #7
In sitting through classes today, I found myself wondering why don't my professors here use technology? We've been learning how much technology adds to lessons and how standing up and lecturing is the worst kind of teaching. This makes me wonder why it switches to this in college? If it is true that these things help students learn in elementary school and middle school what about college? I would think using technology in this way would be engaging to any age!! I find myself wishing more and more that my professors would "show" us not just talk to us. It could be because all of this is pretty new, but I do think there are some teachers that could put a little more effort in engaging the students with technology.
Bob Sprangle- "Caught On Video"
This article was fascinating. I really liked his ideas for using the cameras to track the student's individual progress within the classroom. It would be really awesome to have the children explain what they learned on tape-this would probably cement it in their head even more! I also really liked the idea of showing specific examples on video during parent teacher conferences. I agree with him that using video could really shift the focus back to learning as opposed to standardized tests. If this ever actually caught on it would be such a great benefit to students and their learning.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Assignment 4
For my project I created a short smart board presentation introducing the book Fever 1793, it includes some facts and pictures that would be elaborated on if presented by the teacher. It also includes a prezi presention with more information and pictures that would peak the student's interest in the book. Originally I was going to make a movie so that I could add music to the presentation but I didn't end up having the software to accomplish this. It would be more effective as a presentation if I could add some dramatic music. However it still worked for me to do a prezi instead and it was useful figuring out how to use prezi.
NETS for teachers
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
a.
design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
This presentation uses technology to get the students interested in the book they will be reading, that way they are excited to read it and will hopefully comprehend it better then if they were not excited to read the book.
NETS for teachers
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:
a.
design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
This presentation uses technology to get the students interested in the book they will be reading, that way they are excited to read it and will hopefully comprehend it better then if they were not excited to read the book.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Assignment #3
Toolbox
The first half of my toolbox is a list of websites that would be helpful for teachers to use, and the second half is a collection of websites that have free online educational games for students. I found many sites that teachers could use for preparing lessons, making puzzles and presentations that will aid the teachers in keeping the students engaged. Hopefully this toolbox will be a good resource for me if I need to add to lessons and am having a hard time being creative, many of these websites offer ideas and resources that will improve lessons.
One website included in my toolbox is puzzlemaker, I chose this because it is an awesome resource that allows teachers to print off fun puzzles for the students to use as homework or just activities for spare time.
Another website I included in my toolbox is national geographic. This is an awesome site that has great pictures and maps of all kinds of places and animals. When I'm a teacher I would use this resource to find things that apply to my lesson that are intriguing and capture the student's attention.
A third website I included in my toolbox is pbs kids, this website has all kinds of safe educational games, videos and fun activities that students would have fun playing if they finished work early.
The first half of my toolbox is a list of websites that would be helpful for teachers to use, and the second half is a collection of websites that have free online educational games for students. I found many sites that teachers could use for preparing lessons, making puzzles and presentations that will aid the teachers in keeping the students engaged. Hopefully this toolbox will be a good resource for me if I need to add to lessons and am having a hard time being creative, many of these websites offer ideas and resources that will improve lessons.
One website included in my toolbox is puzzlemaker, I chose this because it is an awesome resource that allows teachers to print off fun puzzles for the students to use as homework or just activities for spare time.
Another website I included in my toolbox is national geographic. This is an awesome site that has great pictures and maps of all kinds of places and animals. When I'm a teacher I would use this resource to find things that apply to my lesson that are intriguing and capture the student's attention.
A third website I included in my toolbox is pbs kids, this website has all kinds of safe educational games, videos and fun activities that students would have fun playing if they finished work early.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Technology Project Plan
I will be using the SMART board as well as making a movie to introduce the book Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson to a class.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Reflection #6
I was curious what the most "cutting edge" technologies are in education. In looking this up I found that colabortive enviroments or virtual classrooms were towards the top of the list. The possiblities as far as joining classrooms with those all over the world sounded very interesting, as far as I know these ideas were just speculation but that would be awesome to experience a virtual classroom with students from other countries. This could be really cool but I could see some dangers in it as well. I believe there is value in actually being in a class, not just a "virtual" class. I see our society moving farther and farther behind a screen and it is kind of freaky. I value real life experience, real conversations, real interactions and sometimes I get worried that people don't see the difference between face to face communication and virtual communication. There are some awesome possiblities though, especially for multi cultural education.
Reflection #5
I relected earlier that in my mom's school district there were only a couple of classrooms that got SMARTboards, I reflected that I wasn't sure whether only having a couple was a benefit or a hinderence to the school as a whole. I decided I wanted to look further into this, and I found out that the reason they don't have more is because people of the community had to vote on whether to raise the budget for these and they voted no. It is going to go again, however the school district is pretty much at the mercy of the community on this. This got me interested in how many school districts actually have interactive white boards. I was surprised to find that when taking the whole country into consideration most school districts don't have interactive white boards. Many schools are fighting to get them but budget cuts make it very difficult to raise money to pay for new technologies. I am excited to learn how to use them anyway, and hope someday schools will be able to integrate them into the classroom, they make such a difference!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Reflection #4
I am a nanny for two school age kids in the morning, ages 9 and 11. The 9 year old boy was so excited last week to tell me about the new net books his classroom just got. It was very funny because I actually got to talk with him about them, having just went and looked at professor Adair's netbooks. He said that so far they have only gone over rules and recieved his assigned net book, however he said that they get to actually use them soon. I asked him what kinds of things they will get to use them for and he said they will get to do programs and research. He seemed very proud that they got to do "research" on them. I thought that this was a neat example of how excited kids get about technology! He is very excited to use them and to learn them, I'm sure they will benefit his learning greatly.
School website
I looked at the Vaughn elementary website. I went there for elementary school, and I am fairly surprised with the website. The school is not very big and out in the country. The website however is actually fairly complete. There is a link to the principle's blog, pictures, schedules, programs, class of the month and a bunch of other cool things. I didn't see any individual classroom blogs, but other than that I couldn't think of anything that was missing! It is cool to see how far that particular elementary school has come!
Generation IM
Wow, this article blew me away. I was the most shocked to find that 67 percent of preschool children are using computers. I know that technology is definitely being used more than ever now, I just didn't realize that children so young were into it too. I learned from this article that using these technologies helps students develope their literacy skills, social skills and expands thier content based knowledge. I had never thought about these benefits before. I was always of the opinion that video games turn your brain into a marshmellow, but I suppose things like blogs and IM would help students want to develope their communication skills faster. The one question I did have was what age group are they calling natives. Because, the things they talk about such as researching a paper, texting and listening to music is a very common thing for college age students to do-I do that all the time! Are we included in this new age they are talking about? Or is it the generations after us? I learned in this article that the three main barriers preventing teachers from incorporating tech in their classrooms are lack of professional development, lack of time, and lack of support from administrators. I found the seven ways to incorporporate tech into your classroom to be very helpful! The two that I found the most exciting were creating a social network for your classroom, and using the wiki for your classroom.
Technology Literacy Paper
TEACHER PHILOSOPHY, TECHNOLOGY, AND FIELD EXPERIENCE: FACTORS AFFECTING
LEARNING GAINS FOR STUDENTS IN A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS.
Thomeczek, Melissa. "TEACHER PHILOSOPHY, TECHNOLOGY, AND FIELD EXPERIENCE: FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING GAINS FOR STUDENTS IN A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS." 2009, Vol. 59, p114-117. Education Research Complete. Web. 7 March. 2011.
Summary
This paper begins by discussing a problem arising in school districts. Due to pressures placed on teachers to boost standardized test scores, standards, curriculum and budgets, hands-on experiences outside the classroom are shrinking. They go on to explain that the philosophy of constructivism is that students need to "build their own understandeing of new ideas based on what they already know." Bringing in technology in the classroom works hand in hand with the constructism philosophy because with technology students can demonstrate their understanding by creating, and visually presenting. Technologies also allow many hands on opportunities that keep students engaged and motivated in the classroom. They did an experiment using 4 different elementary classes (67 students) using a Lewis and Clark unit and testing different learning gains throughout the unit. The thesis was "that hands-on, constructivist activities
(including technology integration and field trips) would
enhance student learning." They experienced a 97 percent increase in learning using the constructivism approach. The students learned better "doing" something. In this particular case it was a virtual field trip.
Reflection
This article didn't neccessarily say that integrating technology in the classroom was the reason for this increase, infact the article says that the learning experience is what is important, connecting the content with experience for the children is what made the difference. I found this to be helpful because they didn't zero in on a single cuase for the increase but they found out what really sticks in the brain of elementary students-experience. Technology is one of the many tools that teachers can use to make this happen!
Application
I can apply this in the future because I now understand that providing an intelectual environment where the students can experience the content and connect with it in that way is what is important. This will make my teaching more efficient, technology will be a great tool to help this connection happen however, there are many ways to do this!
NETS for Teachers
The NETS that I want to focus on is NETS 3d.
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers : model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
This is really why I am taking this class, so that I can be up to date with technology in Education. This will benefit my students because with how fast things are changing they will need to keep up with their generation and the teachers need to be up to date so that their students don't fall behind. I will work on this by really digesting what I learn in this class, by incorporating it into lessons I need to teach in other classes, and by practicing the new skills so that they become smooth.
NETS for students
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students: create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
This is important for my future students because becoming a creative thinker will benefit you your entire life. There is so much in this world that tries to squelch creativity it is so important that students are allowed to express their learning in unique ways distinc to themselves. Two projects I could have them do that fufills this standard is
1. Create a video demonstrating their knowledge of the the unit we just finished.
2. Create your own project. I could have a page of content or questions that must be answered but allow the students freedom in how they do it. The possiblities are enless they could write a song demonstrating their knowledge, they could make a video, write a story the choice is up to them!
LEARNING GAINS FOR STUDENTS IN A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS.
Thomeczek, Melissa. "TEACHER PHILOSOPHY, TECHNOLOGY, AND FIELD EXPERIENCE: FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING GAINS FOR STUDENTS IN A SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS." 2009, Vol. 59, p114-117. Education Research Complete. Web. 7 March. 2011.
Summary
This paper begins by discussing a problem arising in school districts. Due to pressures placed on teachers to boost standardized test scores, standards, curriculum and budgets, hands-on experiences outside the classroom are shrinking. They go on to explain that the philosophy of constructivism is that students need to "build their own understandeing of new ideas based on what they already know." Bringing in technology in the classroom works hand in hand with the constructism philosophy because with technology students can demonstrate their understanding by creating, and visually presenting. Technologies also allow many hands on opportunities that keep students engaged and motivated in the classroom. They did an experiment using 4 different elementary classes (67 students) using a Lewis and Clark unit and testing different learning gains throughout the unit. The thesis was "that hands-on, constructivist activities
(including technology integration and field trips) would
enhance student learning." They experienced a 97 percent increase in learning using the constructivism approach. The students learned better "doing" something. In this particular case it was a virtual field trip.
Reflection
This article didn't neccessarily say that integrating technology in the classroom was the reason for this increase, infact the article says that the learning experience is what is important, connecting the content with experience for the children is what made the difference. I found this to be helpful because they didn't zero in on a single cuase for the increase but they found out what really sticks in the brain of elementary students-experience. Technology is one of the many tools that teachers can use to make this happen!
Application
I can apply this in the future because I now understand that providing an intelectual environment where the students can experience the content and connect with it in that way is what is important. This will make my teaching more efficient, technology will be a great tool to help this connection happen however, there are many ways to do this!
NETS for Teachers
The NETS that I want to focus on is NETS 3d.
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers : model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
This is really why I am taking this class, so that I can be up to date with technology in Education. This will benefit my students because with how fast things are changing they will need to keep up with their generation and the teachers need to be up to date so that their students don't fall behind. I will work on this by really digesting what I learn in this class, by incorporating it into lessons I need to teach in other classes, and by practicing the new skills so that they become smooth.
NETS for students
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students: create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
This is important for my future students because becoming a creative thinker will benefit you your entire life. There is so much in this world that tries to squelch creativity it is so important that students are allowed to express their learning in unique ways distinc to themselves. Two projects I could have them do that fufills this standard is
1. Create a video demonstrating their knowledge of the the unit we just finished.
2. Create your own project. I could have a page of content or questions that must be answered but allow the students freedom in how they do it. The possiblities are enless they could write a song demonstrating their knowledge, they could make a video, write a story the choice is up to them!
Reflection #3
In my Instructional Design class we had an assignment to teach kind of a mini lesson. It involved an anticipatory set, modeling and guided practice. The other students in the class were the ones being "taught." There were all different kinds of lessons that were taught by various people in the class. However, I realized a significant difference in the lessons taught using technology and those without. It really made a big difference on how engaging the lesson was. This was a good experience for me to sit as the student would and see the difference in lessons using technology and not using technology. Even just the use of a document camera made a big difference.
Reflection #2
My mom is a third grade teacher, and I've been sharing with her some of the things I'm learning. In her school district they only have a few SMARTboards and she talks about how difficult it is for the kids to switch between classrooms with and without SMARTboards every year. She is one of the lucky teachers that does have a SMARTboard in her room and she runs into problems because some kids know how to use them and others don't. The kids that have had SMARTboards in their classroom find going back to a "normal" classroom less exciting. It would be the best for every classroom to have a SMARTboard, but if that is not the case this made me wonder if having only a few SMART boards does more helping or hindering to the kids. I wonder if having either all or none would be better.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Interactive White boards
Interactive White board article
This article was a study done testing the effect of interactive white boards on student engagement. This study involved ten middle school teachers and 197 students. The teachers gave a lesson using the interactive white board in 10 classrooms, after this lesson the students were given a quiz/survey and so were the teachers. The students and the teachers both preferred the lessons using the interactive white board over the lessons without it. The article goes on to explain why, they mention three modalities of learning that the whiteboard encompasses making it easier for more students to be engaged in the lesson. They mentioned visual learning, with the interactive white board you can use text, pictures, videos, the possibilities are endless. The second modality is oral. With the interactive white board you can play music, and click on words and have them pronounced. The third modality is tactile. With the interactive white board students can physically interact with the material they are learning, this helps the tactile learners. All of these things contribute to the students level of engagement throughout the lesson. When students are motivated and engaged in learning, they will learn a lot more effectively.
This article was a study done testing the effect of interactive white boards on student engagement. This study involved ten middle school teachers and 197 students. The teachers gave a lesson using the interactive white board in 10 classrooms, after this lesson the students were given a quiz/survey and so were the teachers. The students and the teachers both preferred the lessons using the interactive white board over the lessons without it. The article goes on to explain why, they mention three modalities of learning that the whiteboard encompasses making it easier for more students to be engaged in the lesson. They mentioned visual learning, with the interactive white board you can use text, pictures, videos, the possibilities are endless. The second modality is oral. With the interactive white board you can play music, and click on words and have them pronounced. The third modality is tactile. With the interactive white board students can physically interact with the material they are learning, this helps the tactile learners. All of these things contribute to the students level of engagement throughout the lesson. When students are motivated and engaged in learning, they will learn a lot more effectively.
Active board
Active board article
This article is a review of the active board. One thing that was completely different than the smart board is that it does not have a touch screen, you can only use tools. This is helpful because when you are pointing to the board, or if a child touches it it won't go to the next page or mess something up. However, it can also be a con because it is not as interactive if you have to use tools. If several kids come up to the board and are doing an activity they will have to switch off tools instead of just use their fingers. Interactive white boards, despite their small differences between brands, are making a huge difference in the learning of students today. The Active board is an efficient and fun tool to use in the classroom.
This article is a review of the active board. One thing that was completely different than the smart board is that it does not have a touch screen, you can only use tools. This is helpful because when you are pointing to the board, or if a child touches it it won't go to the next page or mess something up. However, it can also be a con because it is not as interactive if you have to use tools. If several kids come up to the board and are doing an activity they will have to switch off tools instead of just use their fingers. Interactive white boards, despite their small differences between brands, are making a huge difference in the learning of students today. The Active board is an efficient and fun tool to use in the classroom.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
What I learned about smart board
Today I learned how to find a smart exchange lesson and download it to use. I learned how to edit the presentation and add tools such as the timer! I also learned how to add a link.
Assignment 2
Adaption
I will be using the drag and drop feature on my presentation, as well as the pull out tabs with hints on them. I have a link to a youtube video on my presentation. I will use the pen and the eraser.
NETS for student
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.
The students need to use their creativity to figure out which ways the different animals have adapted, in a group they will brainstorm what physical traits enable the animals to survive in their environment. They will have to apply their prior knowledge of adaption to the animals seen on the board.
NETS for teachers
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.
In this presentation the teacher engages the students with interactive activities and real life examples of animals and adaption. The teacher leads the class in group discussion in applying what adaption means to animals in real life.
A SMART board will help in my future classroom because it will help me use a variety of resources and strategies to get the students engaged in what I am teaching. It will allow more opportunity for the students to get involved. Hopefully I will be able to use this in such a way that it becomes a very efficient resource while teaching!
I will be using the drag and drop feature on my presentation, as well as the pull out tabs with hints on them. I have a link to a youtube video on my presentation. I will use the pen and the eraser.
NETS for student
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.
The students need to use their creativity to figure out which ways the different animals have adapted, in a group they will brainstorm what physical traits enable the animals to survive in their environment. They will have to apply their prior knowledge of adaption to the animals seen on the board.
NETS for teachers
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.
In this presentation the teacher engages the students with interactive activities and real life examples of animals and adaption. The teacher leads the class in group discussion in applying what adaption means to animals in real life.
A SMART board will help in my future classroom because it will help me use a variety of resources and strategies to get the students engaged in what I am teaching. It will allow more opportunity for the students to get involved. Hopefully I will be able to use this in such a way that it becomes a very efficient resource while teaching!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
"Turning on the Lights"-My response
I was very intrigued with what Prensky had to say in this article. Like most heavily opinionated articles I found it a bit extreme, but there was definitely some truth in some of his points. Charles Handy was quoted in the article saying "Most of us prefer to walk backward into the future." I must admit after reading this article I had a similar attitude. Part of me wishes that I lived in the age of a one room school house where a teacher's primary resource for teaching was books and a chalk board. I may be guilty of romanticizing the past or wishful thinking, but there is something in my brain that tags that style of learning as more wholesome and rewarding than the current entertainment style learning. However, I know that if I am going to be relevant to my students I need to embrace this technological age and learn as much as I possibly can to help them keep up with their peers. With that in mind the thing I found most troubling in this article was the writer's view of who is responsible for the student's learning. His whole section on 'The Boredom Crisis' demonstrated a view, found throughout the entire article, that it is the teacher's job to entertain the students so that learning can take place. The primary function of all of the electronics he mentioned is entertainment. He mentioned cell phones, music players, game machines ect. I grew up in a family where my dad talked about boredom as a character flaw, we were encouraged to live a life of passion, find things in every situation that interest us. I really appreciated this take on life because it enabled me to choose to learn. I fear that students nowadays are not going to have that skill or that ability to learn on their own. I fear that students will have an "entertain me" attitude when it comes to learning which is sad. I love to learn new things and part my love comes from the challenge and reward of accomplishing something difficult. I embrace the fight to stay interested and learn new things as a result. I'm not saying that in every situation the students should have to fight to stay interested but I think it would benefit the students to instill a healthy sense of self motivation, which in my opinion is difficult to do if our focus is on entertaining the children.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
First Reflection
Technology in Education
I haven't used a whole lot of programs, just the basics. I have used Microsoft office word, exel, and powerpoint, the internet, email, and facebook. In this class the thing I am most excited to learn about is the Smart board. I have never used a Smart Board and I'm excited to learn!
I haven't used a whole lot of programs, just the basics. I have used Microsoft office word, exel, and powerpoint, the internet, email, and facebook. In this class the thing I am most excited to learn about is the Smart board. I have never used a Smart Board and I'm excited to learn!
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