Week Eleven

Beth’s Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom

Where are we Going?

By, Beth Knittle, March 30, 2013

http://www.bethknittle.net/WP_Blog/?p=1129&cpage=1#comment-170491

What I learned from this blog, is that everyone doesn't understand nor get where we are headed in our schooling with technology. Because it is changing so rapidly all the time, I can see how educators would become confused and a little hesitant about technology. I also understand when Beth talks about her education as being a 3.0 education when technology was absent in it. I know that what you put into your education you will get out. I also know that one can have a successful education without technology. I commented on the fact that because technology is being integrated into our school system, educators need to be educated on how to integrate it and use it effectively. I think that sharing my opinions and thoughts will give Beth a different view of technology.

Here is my blog comment:

Beth Knittle,

I am a student at Northwest University in Kirkland Washington and am studying to become an elementary educator. I am in a class, Technology in Education, and am learning how to integrate technology in to the classroom. The class has been great. We have created blogs, been introduced to fabulous websites, and am learning how to use technology as a medium in the classroom. Technology wasn't integrated into my classrooms until the 7th grade and even though it is integrated into every classroom now, I feel like I also had a 3.0 education until then. I know that what you put into your education you will get back and that technology doesn't have to be the source for success. When asking your question, where are we going, I know that wherever we go, the technology isn't going away. It is exciting to think about all of the exciting things that are being done in the classroom, but also sad about all the times technology is used in the wrong way. I think that if we are going to use as much technology as we have been in the classroom, we need to educate our teachers on how to use it effectively.

Thanks for the wonderful blog post:)

Erin

Week Ten

The level of Blooms Taxonomy and Technology in Education is found in this article: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/778, by Bobby Hobgood, Melissa Thibault, and David Walbert.

When discussing the use of Blooms Taxonomy and technology there are many examples for each level of thinking and assessing for students. This article talks about the many ways that teachers can encourage students to utilize the internet at every level of Blooms Taxonomy. 

Evaluation: Evaluation is judging the value of information for a specific purpose. The National Constitution Center provides opportunities to examine, evaluate and assess situations to determine the role of constitutional rights and responsibilities a student would have in daily life. 

Synthesis: Collecting information and then creating new insight. Students can use WebQuest to analyze  synthesize, and evaluate. 

Analysis: This is when a student figures out the difference between two things. The article gives sites that teachers can utilize like the Problem-based Learning Clearinghouse and American Memory Project. Students are able to develop their own life scenarios.  

Application: Using what you know. This is when a student is asked to take what they know and to relate it or use it in a real life situation. A student could use the internet for science experiments and try them at home and students could blog about it and read others responses. 

Comprehension: The comprehension level of Blooms Taxonomy is understanding. A student could use a website such as eHow to understand anything from how to train your dog to how to make an origami crane.  

Knowledge: Within the knowledge level of Blooms Taxonomy, a student could utilize the internet to research and recall terms and facts for a chosen lesson.  

Week Nine

Tech Learning: Caught on Video

What I learned from this interesting article was that a video camera can be used in million different ways in the classroom. I never thought of a video camera making such an impact in a students learning. Bob talks about the many different ways a video camera can be used and also gives an explanation of why it will work or the importance of it. Some of my favorites were using the video camera for the substitute teacher and having the students show how they worked through a problem on camera. This is a great way for a student to teach back what they have learned and will really implant that concept into their brains.

This article has grabbed my attentions and is something I will save and look back on when I start to teach.

Blog Comments

Comment #1
Comment #2
Comment #3
Comment #4
Comment #5
Comment #6
Comment #7

Reflection Six

Blogging:

Since this is my first time blogging, I thought that it would be a great time to reflect on my experience. I was a little hesitant in the beginning because this was something new for me. I have read and seen many blogs in my day, but have never participated in the fun. What I love most about blogging is that I can share my thoughts and views on any given topic. I also love reading other classmates blogs and see what interesting things they come up with to blog about. Blogger is a blogger-friendly site and makes blogging easy for the technologically challenged. I now see the importance of a class blog and the relevancy of it towards anything taught or learned in the classroom. Instead of students printing out assignments, blogging is a effective way to turn in assignments and to discuss topics conversed in class. I can see myself integrating blogging into my lesson planning and classroom. I want my students to connect with each other and to be able to voice their opinion (especially great for students who don't comment in class).

I love that I can now call myself a blogger.

Week Eight

FUN BRAIN 

Link: http://www.funbrain.com/

Fun Brain is a website that helps younger elementary age students with reading. Fun Brain is easy to navigate and has a lot of familiar characters like, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Phineas and Ferb. Not only does this site have a lot of books to read, it also has a lot of fun games to help students read and to understand parts of grammar and sentence structure that might become confusing. Some of the games are: 

Stay Afloat: Similar to Hangman 

The Plural Girls: Twin sisters Pearl and Flora lost their friends in the bubble machine. Help them get their friends out by choosing the correct plural form. 

Word Confusion: Help Regan the Vegan make fresh salad. Choose the correct word to complete each sentence. 

The Grammar Gorillas: The Grammar Gorillas need help identifying parts of speech. If you click on the right word in the sentence, our friends get a banana. And you know, a gorilla with a banana is a gorilla with appeal.

Rooting Out Words: Help Remainder the Dog gather enough mushrooms to sell at the market by uncovering the roots of words.

I would integrate these fun games into my classroom by having the children complete and win certain games for some type of reward. This would be a fun way to motivate them to not only read, but learn with technology. They classroom could have a "Fun Brain" chart posted on the wall with the names of all the students and games. The students could check off or put a sticker under the game they completed. When they have completed all of their games for that level they then could move on to the next level or grade. 

The students would be able to do this in their free time or maybe on a Friday fun day. 

Reflection Five

Tech Friendly Schools:

I recently came across a discussion about tech friendly schools and their pros and cons. First off, what is a tech friendly school? A tech friendly school is where education is centered around technology. Students are able to bring items such as: laptops, smartphones, and tablets into their classrooms and use them. The teachers encourage the students to use the technology for educational purposes only while at school. This seems like a wonderful model of schooling, especially for this generation, but will it work? Will this become the norm and will the “old fashion” way of teaching get thrown out the window? All of these questions arose in the discussion.  It would be interesting to observe a school that practices this model and lets students have free range of the technology they choose to bring and to use in class.

My pro and con list:

Pros: The students will be more engaged and will focus better in school and on assignments. Assignments will be easily accessible and will be more organized. Special need students would be able to accommodate themselves with their choice of technology.

Con:  The students could potentially use the technology for something other than they are supposed to. Some students could become discouraged because of the quality of their technology—or lack thereof. Students belongings would become stolen more often, i-Pods, phones, Kindles, and so on.

The list could go on and on…what are your views? 

Reflection Four

i-Pads and Autism:

After watching the 60 Minutes video in class, I have a new interest in Autism and  have been sharing the information I gained with everyone. The video segment I was able to watch, gave me a great inside glimpse on how technology is helping children who have special needs. The video filmed mostly children who couldn't speak because of the severity of their autism. The children, because of the i-Pad, are now able to communicate at home and at school. Simple sentences like: I want bacon for breakfast, are now being communicated because of the i-Pad. The i-Pad was being used not only in the home but at school. The children could answer "yes" or "no" questions by hitting a simple button and could answer questions the teachers answered. One very interesting part of the video was about a little girl who was learning her numbers. In front of her were two pieces of paper with large printed numbers on each. The little girl had no interest in the "old fashion" way of learning the numbers, but as soon as the i-Pad was brought out, she was fully engaged and ready to learn.

I think that this is a great way for special need students to succeed in school. I am happy with the video and the outcome of the use for the i-Pad. As I reflect on this video watched in class, I hope that more technological ways are found to help students with special needs... especially because they are drawn to it.