Exit Slip 9/30/10

Today's class reinforced some of my thinking about teaching with technology. I see that I am not the only person who thinks that is neutral and that it is important to teach both sides. As a teacher we need to make sure that a student can figure out how to survive without technology.  Also, in class I took away a new perspective on class discussions, like having a student to student discussion instead of bouncing everything off the teacher. I also saw how the interactive whiteboard can make creating activities easier on a teacher and be the same amount of help and fun for the students.

Ch.3 Rethinking Education

I never really thought about the skeptics and enthusiasts of technology, I guess I always thought that things change and people change with it. I knew there were people against and for certain things but I never really thought about why because I am always willing to try something new.  I enjoyed the quotes at the beginning of the chapter, all the people were didn’t think the new developments would stay around but they all were wrong. Now that I think about we shouldn’t worry about technologies disappearing because there is always something new that comes up to replace it or improve it. In some ways it is sad that certain arts like making your ink are hard to find but at the same time that is how life and the world works.  We are a society that is constantly changing and finding new ways to do things. If our methods and technologies fail and we have to start from scratch I am sure that we will find a way to get through.  I did understand where most of the skeptics were coming from though, came is not easy and people are always fearful of something going wrong. This reading made me think a little about having to incorporate technology in the classroom; having to do so may be scary at first but it is important. At some points I might have to push my fears aside and try new things because in the end it is what will help my students in the future that are important. Overall, the skeptics have valid points but technology is meant to enhance teaching and learning. As teachers it is our job for students to learn the best they can and if technology helps we should use it. If a new development fails us then we just go back to what we did before or try something else; because a teacher has to always be changing to the method that works.

Because of this reading I will do many things to prepare my students for their futures. I need to give them the skills to think of new ideas and the skills needed to succeed without technology in case of technology failure; because part of being a teacher is giving the students the skills and tools needed to think outside the box.  As a teacher it will not only be important to develop my students’ skills but open their mind to new ways of thinking. After doing many of these readings I see how important it is to learn about different views on a subject because it opens one’s mind and makes a person develop their own ideas in a more informed manner. Opening their minds may also be helpful in getting students, parents, and faculty to try new things. The one thing that still scares me about teaching students new technologies is if I will have the resources. It would be hard to incorporate technology in a low income school district if there is only one computer for a whole classroom. It doesn’t scare me enough to turn me away from the idea of incorporating technology in the classroom but it does pose a challenge. I will just have to use my resources if I come upon that situation.

Ch. 1-3 Blogs Wikis Podcasts

This reading made me think about how quickly technology changes and developed.  When I was in elementary school we didn’t have half the technology and information being taught to us as they do in today’s schools. Talking to my brother who is in middle school makes me feel so behind because information and exposure to technology is beginning at younger and younger ages. The reading showed me how difficult it is for teachers now days to keep up with the changes that occur almost every day. While reading I thought about my family and how they have changed a long with the changing technology. My mother is a kindergarten teacher and she has to take classes yearly to keep up; she knew what a smartboard was before I did. She maybe behind in social technologies but when it come to education she works very hard to keep current. My dad is a computer programmer and is constantly reading new books, working on applications, and learning about new software.  Just thinking about how my family has changed with technology shows how much it has grown throughout the years.  This is another source that demonstrates how important it is to incorporate technology into a classroom. Throughout a student’s education technology will be changing and those students will not be able to keep up with the growing world without a wide variety of education. As a result of this reading and developing this new thinking I will be working a lot to expand my students’ knowledge and skills in a variety of ways. For older students I can use blogs instead of just discussions to express their thoughts because some students are timid to share. I can also have them respond to each other’s responses as part of their assignment. I think it would also be good to use clickers for discussion. I think incorporating technology into class and homework will enable the students to learn and understand better because they are using something they enjoy.

Growing up online

The video Growing Up Online was shocking to me and made me more fearful for the safety of youth.  Growing up I participated in facebook and MySpace but not until I was a junior in high school, now kids are online at younger and younger ages.  I didn’t really think about it before but my little brother created his facebook account when he was only twelve and at that age a kid doesn’t necessarily know the dangers and predators that can be out there. The amount of information and sites a person can get into scares me a little because one wrong move could get one into a little trouble.  I just got a new phone and after watching this video it made me think how easy social networking has become. My new phone has buttons to bring one straight to facebook, IMs, MySpace, and Twitter; it is ridiculous how easy it has become.  Technology like this can consume a person, this video made me think about how technology has impacted my skills and communication.  I didn’t have texting until last year and I was perfectly fine without it, now I would be lost without it.  It is scary how dependent a person can be upon technology, because when I don’t have mine I’m lost.  There was some parts in the broadcast that made me want to cry because they were horrible things that America’s youth was doing online. The site where teens learn “healthy” ways to be anorexic, binge, and chatted about it by calling it Anna was horrifying. I can’t believe people can encourage something like that and that children have access to it.   Also, the website that people put in information about them and found out the best way to commit suicide was terrifying.  This makes me think how important it is for young learners to know what is out there and to have what they can access on the internet monitored.  Now it is essential for children to know what to share, to weed out bad sites, and know what is safe.   As a teacher I think that it is important to teach children manners, social behaviors, and safety in everyday life. Since now in order to prepare children for the outside world we need to incorporate technology into their education and everyday lives; this means the same skills they need to be taught for the outside world they need to be taught for the internet.  The internet is a world inside itself because of the plethora of tools, games, information, and networking that can be done in it. In my class room I think it will be very important to teach the children about good online manners. This will be done through the incorporation of internet in the classroom. Even though I want a younger classroom this still can be done by projecting it on a screen for the class and using websites to show information. I may also use social networking tools like a blog to communicate with parents which will be passed down to their children through demonstration. Overall, this video has taught me how essential it is to be aware of what learner are doing online and to teach them internet skills.

Exit Slip 9/23/10

Today in calsss I learn more about the smartboard, which I was hoping would happen.  We learned to calobrate the smartboard and use prezi with it. Also, I think the smart exchange website was very interesting and helpful; I hope I can use it in the future.

Ch.2

Chapter 2 reassured my ideas about technology in the classroom.  Growing up with computer in the classroom always made me think that technology was always a part of the everyday classroom and not a hard thing to integrate. I have heard a lot of people’s concerns about having technology in the classroom and it got me a little worried because I have never worried about it before. There are so many ways that technology will be beneficial to students.  It helps increase a students learning and makes tasks easier and simpler. Also the use of technology provides a hand on way of learning and most students learn the best by doing activities and trying things for themselves. Technology is a great way for students to get information that a teacher can’t give them.  The internet provides a plethora of information for students to access.  For students futures they will need to be able to use technology and school can give them practice in real world problem solving. This gives the students a step up against other students their age because in the future they will have to compete with many others for jobs.  Technology can also make assignment easier on teachers because computer activities can provide immediate feedback on the student activities; which makes grading faster and easier.   Overall, I think technology is a great resource in the classroom and can be very easy for teachers to incorporate. 

After this reading I will definitely try to incorporate technology in the classroom as much as possible. I hope that in the future the school I work for will be able to have many available technologies for the student to learn about and with.   In my classroom I can show online videos and demonstration to help increase student understanding.  I would like to have computer base games like math activities and listening activities because it is a great way to incorporate learning and technology in the classroom.  I would really like to be able to use a smartboard in my classroom because it is a great resource and way to actively express information.  Overall, there are many ways that technology can impact and help students with future activities.

9-16 Exit Slip

In classs today I learned that there are many different opinions about technology in the classroom and no matter how hard it will be students will always need it. Also, that there will always be people who need to go outside of the schools to get the information they need.  I think the use of Prezi was really neat and a great resources that I will use in the future.

Website Credibility

Personally, I didn’t learn a lot about source credibility until I was in high school. Of course I was always told to “check your sources” but usually I just took that as “make sure you have a source.” Now that I have used many sources I realize that there are sources that are giving the readers real, factual, and non bias information and then there are those sources that give that are feeding people pure opinion and half true information.  Take for instance the website Martin Luther King Jr. - A True Historical Examination , which we were asked to look at in class, the website looks pretty informative and well put together.  If you look at the website again and it creators, it was created by a white supremacist making the information extremely bias.  Now that the use of technology in the classroom is increasing I can see why it is so important for student to know how to weed out non-credible sites for credible sites.

When it comes to teaching students about credibility of websites I think it changes from age group. I think for grades 3^rd  and younger it might be a good idea to give them a list of websites and go through them with the students.  Older student are more depended and can figure out more on their own. When teaching about credibility I would start off by going through a checklist of things the students should check in their resources.  First, I would have them look at the website URL because that gives them a basic idea about the website.  For example, if the website is .edu then it is more likely to be educational and if it is .org it is from an organization and may have a bias. Second, I would have them check the creators/ authors of the site because as seen in the Martin Luther King Jr. website it can change the reliability of the website.  Third, I would have the student check the dates in the websites because some websites are outdated making the information unreliable. If the website’s information is more current the more correct it may be.  Lastly, I would have the students read the content and judge for themselves because some statements may just seem off.  I also think it would be a good exercise to give the students a list of websites and ask them to find out if they are credible or not and then explain why. 

Rethinking Education Ch.1 reflection

This reading enforced how the role of technology is growing in the classroom and in the outside world.  It seems like every year there is more and more use of technology in younger and younger grades. After this reading I felt a little like I took the education I got in grade school for granted. I was able to use technology a lot; we had laptops to use in the classroom and we had a wide variety of classes one could take in technology.  On the other hand there are schools that had way more resources than mine, like Smart Boards (I wasn’t sure what they were until college).  Also, this reading made me think how vital it will be for me to incorporated technology into my classroom, because of how important it is to my students’ future.  Students will be advancing their use of technology in every grade level which makes it important for me to use and teach them about technology.  When it comes to getting a job, students will need to know how to use technology because there are very few jobs these days were you don’t need to use it. This reading made me think about how much technology has impacted education. 

In my classroom I will try my best to incorporate technology in my lessons.  The use of videos, podcasts, blogs, and wikis could be a great resource in my classroom.  I would like to do a lot of website exploration in my classroom because I think it is a fun way to learn new information.  One internet activity I want to do is use the San Diego Zoo website to learn about animals. On the website they have animal cams for the children to watch.  Overall, I will be using many technologies in my classroom to benefit my students.

Class exit post 9/9/10

I learned about a major time saver in class today.  I use a ton of different online resource and half the time I can't remember what they were or where to find them.  When there is a resource that I use ofter I put it in my favorites list but that list is so long I don't know where to start sometimes.  I have been looking for a easier way to manage my resources and in class it was given to me! I was excited when I saw delicous.com, it looks like it will save me alot of time.  I love that it allows me to put my resources into categories; it seems to be a great resource.

Digital Autobiography

http://animoto.com/play/nEJc3Z0ARdMgUePB9XZLxQ

1) How much effort did you exert on this task?


I think I put a medium amount of effort on this task because it was fairly simple. I spent a decent amount of time thinking of a theme, picking out pictures, and choosing a song. I think I could have done more with it if I the program allowed me to make a video longer that 30 seconds.  Also, now that I have used Animoto once I think it will be easier to make videos in the future and do more with them.  For it being my first time making a video I think I did a good job at making a fun and interesting video.



2) What is the value in completing this course task?

I think it shows and teaches one that there are many different resources out there. Also, it shows that there are many different ways of doing a presentation other than posters and PowerPoint. I think it also demonstrates how fun creating presentations can be. I never knew these tools were out there and now I will be using them for other projects.



3) How does completing this course task impact your future teaching?

I think it showed me tools that I can use in a future classroom for projects and lectures. It taught me that when it comes to learning it can be fun to mix things up a little. In this situation it would make projects more enjoyable for students.

First Blog

1.       Technology is a way in which people can accomplish tasks in a fast and efficient manner.  It allows one to have access to a plethora of information in several second.  Technology allows complex tasks to be completed in a simpler and faster manner.

2.       Technology integration in a classroom is when the students are studying a topic and during part of their studies they use such things as a smart board or computer in order to learn more.  This includes such things a internet research, making a pamphlet, creating a power point, and typing a paper.