Final Entry: Integrating Technology

I think it is very important to incorporate technology into the classroom.  It is fun for the students and I think they learn more than just sitting in a chair listening to a lecture based talk all the time.  It creates an alternative for them that is fun and engaging.  If the children see it as something interesting and are engaged in what they are doing, then they will retain more information.  The benefits for teachers is that it creates new ways for lessons to be taught.  A lot things these days are computerized and can be done on computers or digital tools.  It cuts out a lot of the paper load.  The benefits for students is that it is a different way for learning.  We are coming into the age of technology where a lot of the things we do every day are dependent on technology.  Some students, I would venture to say, don't know how to do things without technology.  There are 3 and 4 year olds at the preschool I work at who know how to do things on the computer that surprise me and that I never knew how to do at 3 or 4.  I didn't even have a computer when I was 3 or 4.  Some challenges that technology creates are cost and lack of resources.  Most technology is EXPENSIVE!  And some school districts are at a lack of resources.  Some don't have enough to go around for the school; and that could come back around to not having the funds for it.The important lessons that I will take with me and use are definitely the smartboard lessons and just using technology in my lesson plans in general.  I think that it adds an aspect that is very valuable and helpful. 

Digital Portfolio

http://www.wix.com/js1038/teaching-portfolio

I really enjoyed making this! :)

3 Things I've Learned

1. Susan's Glogster is true.  Animation in the classroom helps students become energetic and they interact more.  Students who interact more and are more engaged retain and gain information better.  Learned new ways to bring animation into the classroom.

2. I liked Maria's.  Her's was very simple and friendly to the eye.  People, not just students, are becoming more dependent on technology for lots of things.  I learned what I Podcast was. 

3. I like how Matt used his iPhone to record and present his project.  It was a good way to show how technology has evolved and what it is capable of doing.

Copyright Laws

Copyright surprised for me teachers both with what you could get away with and what you couldn't.  Well, I guess I don't know what I have seen because some of the things I thought you could get away with and some of the things I didn't think you could get away with you can't!  I think it is in a way to teach copyright respect to students because we need to mention plagarism to them.  I was never good with citing and citations and I am still not completely sure on what goes where and what the correct way is because I was told so many different ways!

Technology Article Notebook Presentation

http://jenn0216.edu.glogster.com/technology-integration-matrix/

Sorry it's not too too colorful.  I kind of ran out of time!

Good Portfolio Example

http://www36.homepage.villanova.edu/kimberly.dallas/





This one is more user friendly and looks more appealing and has a lot on information!

Bad Portfolio example

http://www69.homepage.villanova.edu/elizabeth.elsas/index.htm

I tagged this as bad because it isn't very appealing and it only has like 4 categories to choose from and not very much information.

Video in the Classroom

I think video in the classroom is a good idea.  It gives students a chance to be creative.  It lets students be themselves.  They can shine and do things their way to shoot a video.  I think you could learn a lot about a student by assigning a video assignment.  An assignment I think that would be fun, would be interviewing people about a topic and video taping some of it.  A challenge could be that it could be reserved to only one place (a college campus), a certain age group, or maybe one specific room (like the cafeteria) to get your interviews. 

Group Video Project

I actually enjoyed during our video project.  We kind of had a hard time figuring out what topic we were going to use.  Once we settled on a topic it went a little smoother.  We finally decided to do Crossing the Street.  Once we came up with a topic things kind of flew by.  We started to video and had a few problems with the video camera.  Niether one of us had worked one before so we didn't know how well that was going to go.  Once we figured out how to use the camera it was ok.  It didn't take us very long to shoot our video.  It took Gina maybe 3 takes and it took only one for myself.  After we shot the video, we went to the media room to upload our video, which turned out to be a hassle.  We had the newer camera so we  had to use the newer version of the Maker which we didn't learn how to use in class.  The newer version wasn't that hard getting used to, but it was ok.  Some things were actually better, like being able to cut from the middle instead of the ends.  The time while editing the video FLEW by.  It took us 3 and a half hours, but it didn't seem like it took that long.  I am impressed with the end product.  I really had fun doing it.  Gina and I made a great team together!  I don't know that I would have done anything differently other than use the older version of the camera so we could use the version of the Movie Maker that we went over in class.  It surprised me how easy it was to shoot and create the video.  It was time consuming, but I thought it would have been a lot harder.  Never in my life did I think I'd be able to shoot and edit a video, and post it on Youtube. 

Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards are becoming more common in the classrooms.  I feel they enhance teaching and learning because it brings in new ways of teaching the children.  It creates a new pace to learning and it adds fun and creativity.  The technology was not difficult for me to use.  It took me a little getting used to and a little bit to learn everything, but I like the idea of interactive whiteboards.  There are some pros to it: it motivates students, creates a new and exciting environment for the students to learn in and I think that it also provides an alternative for students with special needs.  I think that the interactive whiteboards are an easier, more efficient way for students with special needs to have hands on practice.  I think a big con to having interactive whiteboards is that it is expensive.  I think it is a great learning tool, but for some districts that don't have the funding, they won't be able to get one because of how expensive they are.  The only lessons I'd really had to teach was the smartboard lesson and I think for my lesson I would have had a little bit more interactive practice with the money.

"educause" reading

One study found that most classrooms have internet access available but it isn't being used effectively or at all.  Most students just use the internet more for communication than they do for school work.  The internet has a wide variety of resources and information that is just waiting to be opened up and explored.  I agree with the study and it's opinion on this.  Some questions I would ask are what kind of technology resources can be used in the classroom and how can it be used effectively?

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are helpful when comparing and contrasting 2 different but similar concepts.  Using a graphic organizer puts the 2 topics side by side in an easy to read fashion.  Writing paragraphs and reports is a boring way to compare and contrast and can be a lot of writing.  Graphic organizers can be more fun and creative and definitely less time consuming.

Social Bookmarking

I define social bookmarking as a place to keep the favorite websites that you have visited for easier access.  Also with social bookmarking other people can see the websites that you bookmarked.  It is a public website to bookmark.  Social bookmarking could help me as a student to save websites that I need to write papers or for projects.  It could help me as a teacher by saving websites for good teaching lesson plans or activities.  I think social bookmarking in a good idea because it also gives other people help when trying to find certain websites. We can go to other peoples bookmarked sites and get a look at their ideas as help for whatever we need help with.

Microsoft Word vs. Google docs

I have used microsoft word for many years and I am very familiar with how it works.  I have used Google docs only once and am still unsure of how it all works.  If I had to chose between the 2, I would chose Mircosoft because it offers many more programs than Google docs does.  Mircosoft can be more complicated to some people, but it has many options for many different things.  Google docs is a very simplified version of Microsoft.  I think they both work and both get the job done, but I think that Microsoft serves the purpose a little better.

Reflections on Excel

I have never used Excel before this class, and I think I was always intimated by it because it looked so confusing and complicated past anything that I could do.  But after using it, I found it not so intimidating and kind of easy to use.  There are many things that could be done with Excel.  Five things that could be done in the classroom with Excel are: (1) grades: teachers could use excel to map out students grades and keep track of  them.  (2) Students could use Excel in signing in the morning for attendance.  (3) Students could use excel for many projects, such as daily temperatures or use it to graph or chart things.  (4) Students could use Excel to keep track of their own grades.  (5) Excel could be used by students to help them solve math problems.

Technology as a "language"

I agree with the readings from our text and the perspectives that the students state.  In chapter 7, someone made the comment about how they would be lost without their computer or cell phone.  I would too!  I am constantly on my computer and cell phone.  We use technology, especially computers and cell phones, for so many things.  It is a little sad I think how dependent our society has become on the use of technology, especially cell phones.  A cell phone just isn't a phone anymore.  There are so many more things that we can do on them now; they are like mini computers.  My grandparents got a computer a few years ago and I can remember myself trying to convince them to get one and all they kept saying is "what do i need a computer for?"  They went without one for 70 something years, but now that they have one they use it everyday and I think they would be bored without one.  They don't know how to use it to it's fullest potential, but they know how to do the basics like check e-mail and play games.  Technology does have it's own language.  Especially in IM; people use abbreviations for words all the time.  It is essentially its own language.

Google Docs

So this was the second time I have ever used GoogleDocs.  I think I am still a little confused about how to share things with other people and how the whole responding back and commenting thing works.  But as far as typing on it and using it as a word processor I think that it is the same as using word.  Well, sort of.  GoogleDocs is simpler than word, but it has the same basic concept.  I definitely need some practice and probably more help using it.