This class packed in so much information and so many tools that I had never used before. I feel like this course made a huge differene for me personally. Before I started this course, I was terrified of technology and was easily intimidated by it. However after classes started, I realized I was going to have to dive in and give it a try. I feel so much more comfortable now with some of the tools I worked with while in this class. I see how that if you go into this with an open mind you can learn so much and become a more effective teacher. However, since this course was packed into 8 weeks, I do feel a little overwhelmed with information, but luckily I learned how del.icio.us works and was able to tag any useful information I found along the way. This gives me a chance to go back and review all these new tools and resources in more detail. I felt like pretty much everything we did in here was new to me and I can’t wait to become a teacher and use technology in the classroom. Here are the important resources I will be sure to carry on in my teaching career.
1) As I mentioned above, discovering del.icio.us is going to be great. This way I can access my favorite links at anytime.
2) The Open Source lesson was great. I don’t know if I would have ever found so many great Open Source progarms any other time. I probably would have learned about Open Source software once I started my teaching career, but know I feel on step ahead.
3) The biggest thing I took away from this semester is Podcasting. I had never really done anything with Podcasting, let alone create my own. This was big for me because our assignment to create one was very intimidating to me. However, once I did it I realized how easy it was. I also discovered how much useful information is out there with podcasting. I definitely want to incorporate podcasting into my classroom. I really think this would be something students will enjoy doing. I am so glad this course gave me an opportunity to learn more on this.
Overall, I recommend this course to anyone who a little scared or intimidated by technology. This course offers so many resources and tools which will greatly improve any classroom. You will also see that technology is not a bad thing and has the potential to make us great teachers!
Harrison Central High School
This whole segment was really impressive to me. I think that the whole aspect of the technology they are using is really cool. I really like the idea of the students graphing and analyzing the results from the cheerleaders. They are using calculators and computers to analyze the data but they are using meaning data which is going to help them make connections and learn their math concepts. I am also very interested in the Virtual Fieldtrips. I think this is such a great technology and is very useful to students. I also liked hearing about the GPS work they were doing in Math classes. These students are very lucky to have technology integrated into every class. The skills they are learning are going to help put them one step ahead when they graduate. I would have been interested in hearing how easy it was to integrate this technology and also how they funded all the technology they use. I would imagine GPS and other tools are not cheap, so I wonder how easy it was to get all this into every classroom.
Mary Scroggs Elementary Teacher
I think this is also really neat. I was watching these students and they are very knowledgeable with computers and technology. I feel like they will be much farther advanced with technology than a school that doesn’t have this access. I really like the idea of the school network in which every student can log in at a computer anywhere in the school and find their documents. I also had never really thought about it, but I think that it is a great idea to use e-mail. It would be nice to not have to track down students or a teacher, and be able to communicate through e-mail. As I was watching this I was glad it addressed how they are helping to make this successful. I was really glad to hear how they helped students and parents who might not have internet or computer access. I think this a huge part of why this is successful. It is great that they help make this available and affordable to every student.
A Product of Learning
I really like this video. I feel it very important to give every student a chance to learn regardless of nationality, language, socioeconomic status, or gender. This school is a great example of bridging any gap that exists between all the differences that exists with students. I really feel that this is great. I would have loved to have the access to this technology during school. These students are going to be so much farther ahead down the road. This technology is helping prepare them for a life outside of school. The test results that have increased in this diverse school should be a motivation to every school with a huge diverse student body. Every student should have access to technology and a chance to succeed in life. I think it is great story to share because technology is changing the lives of many diverse students from all different backgrounds.
No Gamer Left Behind
I wanted to check out this video because video games are a huge part of our student’s lives now. This generation and I am sure many generations to come are video gamers. So it only makes sense to provide visual simulations for students. I think that this makes sense because it is almost like playing a video which appeals to students. I also think that learning games are very important to incorporate into your classes. As I was watching this video it had clips of some of the visual simulations, which look very similar to video games. They are really cool and I think it would be fun to learn with virtual simulation. As our generations change, we need to adapt our teaching style. We need to adapt to this generation who is very virtual and visual.
Online Learning
I also wanted to check out the online learning video because I thought it might deal with class being offered online, like this course. I am a huge fan of online learning. I was really interested in seeing this video because you usually associate online classes with Universities, but these are 7th through 12th graders. I think this will really cut down dropout and students being left behind. This gives so many more opportunities to students that might not have had the chance to continue their education. Although I think this sounds very interesting, it is also very odd to me. I have taken many courses online during college, but it is new to hear Secondary students doing this. I do feel that I would have been interested in working through online classes during high school too. I think this is going to catch on all over the country. It provides new opportunities to small schools who have teacher shortages, and will help provide a better education to students.
Assistive Technology, Enabling Dreams
I think this is such a great aspect of technology. Technology provides a new tool for disabled students. I think this is so great, because it can be such a great tool to help give these students more opportunities to learn. It has provided a way to communicate and learn. I think that with technology students with disabilities will have more opportunities to succeed in life and prepare them for life. This was not an option years ago, so most students were left to struggle through school and life. Technology is changing this for students with disabilities. It helps them to develop life skills and communication skills. Their disability does not have to hold them back, and technology can help them achieve their goals and dreams which might have otherwise been out of reach years ago. I am really happy to know that can help make a huge difference in disabled student’s lives by providing the proper technology.
I immediately tagged this website once I got to exploring it. There is so much useful knowledge on this website. I think that the “Professional Development” Section is great. You can find online programs or conferences offsite. This would be great to have as a teacher because you constantly want to improve your teaching skills and your classroom. Being able to find conferences or online materials is wonderful. I also really loved the “Teacher Tools.” I would suggest every teacher looking at these links. There is so much useful information out there. As I looked through the Teacher Tools I found one that really grabbed my attention. I had never really thought of designing and organizing my classroom. However there is a website, http://classroom.4teachers.org/ that lets you select the dimensions of your classroom and drag objects to a grid. You can print or save your classroom layout. This is one that I wanted to share with Mrs. Mooney of Hawthorne Hill in Lee’s Summit, MO, who is a 4th grade teacher. Since she is an elementary school teacher I think this would be a great tool. I spoke with her about the layout of classroom. She said that with students she likes to mix things up every so often. This gives the classroom a new feel and the students really enjoy getting moved around. She said this tool would be great to play with and be able to see on the screen what you are visualizing in your head. It would give her a chance to see it on screen and decide whether or not it will work with your classroom. As a Secondary teacher, I don’t feel like I would move things around to much. It seems like most high school classrooms keep a pretty standard room set up with the desks. However, I might feel the need to change things up every once and a while so I will have to remember this website. Mrs. Mooney also thought the link to create customized rubrics would be very useful her classroom. She thought this would be something I would want to keep as a resource also because she felt it was really important.
I have shared what I learned with Kim Mooney who is a 4th grade teacher at Hawthorne Hill in Lee’s Summit, MO. Before I shared Apple Learning Interchange with her, I played around and discovered some very useful tools. I really found the virtual field trips useful. I think this would be something that students would really enjoy to watch. Not only is this beneficial for students but it is a place where teachers can post blogs or comments on really any educational topic. I think that I would be able to get a ton of ideas and advice from this. I shared the Electronic Field Trip with Mrs. Mooney. I asked her to watch the video and read the lesson plans and ideas associated with the field trip. The specific field trip was focused on Science and using Force I asked her what she thought of this one example and if she would find it useful in the classroom. She thought the lesson and activity would definitely be something that students would be excited to do. Students love doing activities, discovery learning, and having technology, so we both agree that this would be a great thing to use in a classroom. I also shared with her the “Conversation” page which is a place that allows teachers to collaborate ideas and talk with teachers from all over. Personally, I found the filtering that was available on Apple to be useful because I was able to narrow down very quickly what I was looking for.
US Schools lag behind in the use of technology
I really agree that the reason that the US schools lag behind with technology does have a lot to do with teachers lack of understanding with technology. This includes me too. Technology can be intimidating to many teachers and even more intimidating when your students know way more with technology than you do. I think schools are making an effort to integrate technology in the classroom. I was in school not that long ago and I can tell that when I go back into schools they are doing way more with technology than we ever did. I believe that once a school district can sell the idea of technology to the teachers and provide the proper training then we will see the percentages increase. I think the main problem is being able to show teachers that technology is useful and becomes less intimidating once you learn it.
High School.com
I was not able to locate this article but I checked out an article on this site “Technology Integration: At a Glance.” Although this article touches on many of the same issues that the article “US Schools Lag Behind in the use of Technology” I felt it was dated. The date of the article was 1997 and I believe that since then technology have drastically changed and been more integrated in schools. In 1997 I was a freshman in High School and I know that the things that are happening in the classroom with Freshman now was way different than my Freshman year. However, we are still battling many of the same issues we were 10 years ago. This article shows that 10 years ago, we were still trying to integrate technology in the classroom and compare with the technology of businesses and corporations. We are still fighting today to keep up with the current technology and being able to integrate it into the classroom. I think it will be interesting to compare 10 more years from now and see if this is still a battle we fight in our schools.
Don’t Just Adapt Technology, Adopt it
The one idea that stood out the most to me in this article is addressing the issue of instant messenger, e-mail and cell phones in school. I guess I am a little torn over this issue because on one hand it is new technology and does have its benefits, but I see so many negative issues occurring. I am not sure we know the best way to incorporate this new technology for its benefits while also minimizing the distractions it brings. I think one of my main concerns for incorporating instant messaging, and cell phone cameras and pictures is the urge that any student would have with this technology. I think my main concern would be having students use these tools to learn and not IM or text friends. I think that it would be interesting to speak with teachers who have given every student a laptop and ask how they feel it has benefited their classroom and how it has negatively impacted their classroom. I think one thing to keep in mind though is that everything in classroom has potential of bringing negative effects, it is when we control those issues we start to see the positive.
National Education Technology Plan
The National Education Technology Plan is meant to motivate a technology driven transformation. It takes a look at what students in the classroom are telling us they need to meet their educational needs. It also gives an opportunity to take a look at the progress we have made in technology in schools. As I read through what students were saying it surprised me that a student said, "I think that teachers should be required to go to a technology course and extra classes should be available to kids who need help working with computers, want to learn more about technology, or who just want to have fun." I think that this quote goes to show that students can sense a teacher’s fear or uncertainty with technology. I think this is a great idea and one of the biggest issues to resolve. We can not expect teachers to integrate technology in the classroom when they don’t understand it either. I am one of those people that can get overwhelmed or intimidated with new technology. However when I sit down and learn the new information I realize there isn’t anything intimidating about it. So if a teacher is intimidated by technology they might not want to use it in the classroom, but with proper training and opportunities they might change their minds. As I was reading through the actions steps I was also thinking that the idea of going completely digital would be a neat idea. I think that would nice to have text books and materials online so that you don’t have a ton of books to carry around. Having all homework online and submitted online would probably cut back on the amount of papers a teacher has and having to track down lost assignments. On thing that would be a negative for me as a learner with everything digital is that I have a hard time reading large amounts of information on a computer. I usually need a hard copy in front of me or else I don’t follow and retain the information as effectively.
National Technology Standards: for students, for teachers, and for administrators
I think the most interesting and worthwhile are the various lesson plans and activities you can find within the NETS for students and NETS for teachers section. They lesson plans are specifically designed to help integrate technology in the classroom. I found some really great ones in the Math Lessons. The lessons also show which standards and NETS Indicators are being meet through the lessons. I think this will be great for me as a teacher because I do need guidance and ideas into integrating technology into the classroom. In the administrator section I was able to find what the national standards are for students and teachers. I think it is important to have standards for teachers also. I have always seen standards on what students should be able to demonstrate during their educational career. However, this is the first time I have seen the standards for teachers. I think this is a great concept. If order to measure student’s success we set standards, so it is equally important to measure teacher’s success by standards.