My Beliefs

When it comes to technology in the classroom, I think it entirely depends on the experience of the teacher. The more comfortable a teacher is with technology, they more students will want to use it. The more they see a teacher use technology and have fun with it, the more they will want to explore and have fun with it. It is the same with anything in the classroom, if a teacher doesn’t like art, their students will not like art, if a teacher doesn’t like science, their students won’t like science. However, the same is true for teacher passions. The subjects teachers are passionate about their students will be passionate about.

The other thing that teachers need it training and that responsibility is not entirely on the school district. The teacher needs to seek out information on the internet and in local workshops in places like public libraries in order to use the technology they have in the classroom. If they do not know how to use what they have, they will not be comfortable enough to use it in the classroom or in a lesson. The more confidence a teacher has with their equipment, the more they will use it.

Lessons Learned

The PowerPoint on the tools for change was very interesting to me. At first it starts talking about new technology and how it is becoming more and more portable and how you can apply it to the classroom like connecting with the cafeteria and getting textbooks on Palm Pilots. It then goes on to compare what a classroom without interactive media is like and what a classroom with interactive media. You can see in the comparison that a classroom with these tools can become very interactive, they even have a diagram with a classroom set up of how to incorporate these methods.

The other article that I thought was interesting was the Millenials article. I loved that they interviewed kids and asked what their ideas were about new technologies should be. They had ideas such as pencils that will repeat back what the teacher has said, or a teacher with a calculator. They thought of devices that were wireless, small and multifunctional. These are kids that have seen the technologies of today and want to bring them another step farther. With imaginations like this, it will be incredible to see the technologies of tomorrow.

Strengths and Weaknesses

After reviewing the UNI survey and net standards, I have discovered that I still have a long way to go when it comes to technology. Some areas that need some desperate improvement are my computer terminology, learning how to trouble shoot, knowing more about copyright laws and ethics, knowing how to use adaptive assistive devices for students with special needs, using electronic informational and reference sources, using video conferences, understanding data bases and how to create them, using graphic organizers, and using instructional software.

As a beginning teacher, it will be very important to integrate these things with the students. For example, electronic informational and reference sources are good for students who need a visual picture of what they are learning about. Also knowing the basic computer terminology is so important because like any other kind of jargon, exposure to the words is essential. If I’m not using the proper vocabulary, how can I expect my students to? Also learning what special devices can be used with diverse learners will be so key. If there is anything out there available for children to help them catch up to their peers or help them participate at their grade level, those tools should be used and integrated into a classroom.

One of the online podcasts that I would use would be http://www.odbmsjournal.org/. This podcast talks about databases and has nine episodes that outline what a database is and how to design one. Through this podcast, I will be able to increase my basic knowledge so that I will be able to make and design my own databases. A workshop that would be good to attend would be the troubleshooting workshop by Southern Gas Association. The instructor has taught the course for 15 years and although it is a course designed for businesses, I think troubleshooting is a general problem, a skill that doesn’t change much between professions.

Article #2

When and How Should Keyboarding be Taught in Elementary School?
http://ci.coe.uni.edu/facstaff/zeitz/web/general/WhenHowKeyboardingSmith.pdf

This was a study done by the University of North Carolina in 2002 about when elementary students should begin to learn keyboarding skills and how they should learn them. They stressed the importance of teaching students good form early so that they do not develop the habit of searching and pecking and having to learn the skill all over again. However, the elementary school teachers seem to wonder where in their already busy curriculum they are going to teach keyboarding. Some of the conclusions that were made from this study were that 3^rd grade seems to be the best time to formally introduce students to keyboarding, but allowing students to experiment in 1^st and 2^nd grades. They also say to set aside time every week as you would for handwriting and to make sure that the students are hitting the keys with the correct fingers.

Keyboarding is a skill that all people eventually develop. From online chatting or writing papers for classes, everyone eventually will learn how to keyboard, it seems as natural as writing now a days. The important thing seems not to get elementary students 100% proficient in keyboarding, but making sure that they are doing it properly from a young age to avoid bad habits and the student having to relearn how to type on a standard keyboard.

Article #1

New York Times: Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html?_r=1

This article posted by the New York Times talks about some high schools that are running into problems issuing laptops to their students. It starts by talking about Liverpool High School in Liverpool, New York and the struggles they have had with students using the laptops for things like exchanging test answers, downloading pornography, hacking into local businesses, and playing games. When the school attempted to tighten their network security, students found a way around it and posted step by step instructions on line about how to do it. Other issue they were facing was financial problems. Not only was the mere buying of the computers costly, but the maintenance of the laptops was spendy as was the training for the teachers. Parents complained that their money was being wasted on something their child was learning to type and play games on, and teachers complained that their lessons were being distracted by computer glitches.

This article was not very complimentary to the idea of renting laptops to high school students, saying that they were not getting the learning benefits from it that the district was hoping for, but here is something to consider: in the example of the problem with tightening network security, a student learned how to get around it and then posted instructions on the internet. Albeit that the action was not conducive to learning, you have a high school student that is out smarting college graduates in network security and creating web pages. Is that not learning how to use technology? The greatest problem is that the teachers cannot keep up with the students. If we could learn how to channel that energy to hacking security systems into something else, then we would see more positive benefits. The truth is, the reason the students are playing games, hacking systems and downloading pornography is because they don’t know what else to do with them.

I lied before... this is the second to last post!

Today we had the chance to work on our webquests with our groups. I actually really enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. One, I think it helps that my group is working really well together and that we are sharing ideas with each other. I also was in charge of typing and creating the webquest this week (meaning that I was the one running the computer) and it really got me thinking about how much one really does learn by doing! It was a great refresher for me on PowerPoint and I learned a lot of things by having my group mates show me how to add certain features. It just really got me thinking about how important it is that our students get this experience, this one on one contact with technology and that they have the opportunity to create and to explore.