Take Away for 4/18 and 4/25

4/18 - Assistive Technology

After last weeks class I really felt that my knowledge of assistive technology had grown. As a special education teacher I knew about assistive technology for children with special needs but there are also technologies that can be used for all students and it is important to remember that. While not all learners learn the same, not all students need the same assistance. Overall, the class was very informative and helpful.


4/25 - Movie Night 1

One word to describe tonight and everyone's video: AWESOMENESSSSSSSS! I loved working with my group and I think we did a great job on our video/presenting. And the other two groups that presented also did a phenomenal job. I loved how the group that focused on Teen Pregnancy made their video informative with a hint of humor, and also how they included more current examples such as Teen Mom 2 and Maury. The group on Obesity also did a great job making their video seem so life like and like a real talk show. Awesome job everyone and I look forward to the next three groups that will present next week!

Blog #6: Chapters 8 & 9

Chapter 8 discusses the use of technology in classrooms for communicating and networking through emails, IM’s, blogs, social media sites, etc. As I read the chapter the first fact that caught my attention was the somewhat contradicting point, “While 96 percent of youngsters age 9 to 17 use social networking technologies most school districts have rules against social networking during the school day” (p. 210) however, “more and more teachers are engaging in educational networking (also called social networking for educators). Educational networking involves teachers using social networking technologies for educational rather than social purposes.” (p. 210) This concerned me because first it claims that social networking sites are being banned in schools, but then goes into saying that it is okay when educators are using them for educational purposes. Therefore, why ban them? We have seen cases already where social sites such as Twitter and Facebook are being used to teach lessons to children, so if any social networking site can be taught from an educational viewpoint, is there really a need for schools to ban them? Especially when almost every student uses these sites and would know how to navigate around the site if used for a lesson. 

While the next part of the chapter discusses the use of emails and instant messaging in the classroom I was able to relate due to having used one of the strategies first hand but in an opposite approach. The use of instant messaging and texting to teach about spelling was used to help prep the students for note taking during their state ELA tests. We informed the students that since they are so used to texting and IM’ing one another using language that is abbreviated and uses numbers and letters to represent words they can use this “texting language” to take notes quicker during the read aloud portion. Too often when practicing note taking, students were writing full sentences and missing important information. However, once we informed the students that their notes are not graded or checked and that they could use abbreviations and shortcuts for words the note taking for them got much better and they were able to take more notes due to not having to write as much. As shared in this chapter some of these strategies can be used to teach or reinforce a skill, but they can also help in creating a new skill by using the technology language and what the students already know.

Lastly, the use of blogs and wikis was helpful to read about in this chapter because it provided me with ideas in ways to use a blog or wiki in my own classroom to teach students. In regards to blogs, personally I would want to use active learning blogs because these blogs “involve students and teachers in conversations around parts of the curriculum.” (p. 220) which would make for a more discussion type setting compared to a one sided where I write and students read. The reason why a discussion type would be more effective is because when blogs are one sided where people can state whatever they want but not allow feedback it is like lecturing to a class and not asking questions or taking input from students. But, if students are actively involved in the blog and are able to pose questions and share their ideas it will allow the blog to feel like a safe open space just like in the classroom. What kind of blog would you want to use if you were to use a blog in your classroom? And for what purpose would you use a blog? As for wikis, like the blog approach I would want to provide an opportunity for students to share, discuss, and express themselves. I would most likely use a group process where groups of students can work together on completing a set task, but I would probably have some mini tasks within the wiki where students are working individually to then come together to complete a bigger task. 

As for chapter 9 this chapter was mainly on PowerPoint and the use of pictures and movies in the classroom. For the section on PowerPoint I was able to learn a few new ideas and ways to use PowerPoint, but as stated by a few of my peers, PowerPoint is a program that many of us grew up on and is a program I feel comfortable using. Therefore, this part of the reading was an easy read due to being familiar with the topic. Now when it comes to using photography and video in the classroom I found myself really interested due to having a passion for photography. I feel that using video and photography in a classroom is a fun and simple way of engaging students and helping them express themselves creatively. As stated in the chapter by allowing students to become photographers and videographers they are getting experience, documenting their learning, creating information and are being active learners through the processes of filming, acting, editing, and viewing. (p. 255). Looking back I wish I could have had the opportunity to become a photographer or a videographer while in elementary or middle school, because I see all the ways that students can use this opportunity for learning, they can create movies based on the books they read, they can take photos and then write their own story to go with it, they can remake a scene from a film to be in a different genre i.e. take a funny scene and make it scary, take a sad moment and make it happy, etc. I just feel that helping to open up a students’ creativity and imagination through the use of pictures and videos is a great way to engage students and make them active participants in the classroom. Have any of you used photography or videos to teach a lesson? 

Take Away 4/4/13

Digital Citizens...... who are they really??? 

This is the question that I am taking away after tonight's class. I feel that based on our discussion it can be seen that while technology is becoming such a crucial part of society it will never replace us as individuals. However, we as educators must know the technology, in order to teach the technology because otherwise we are preparing ourselves to possibly be taken over. While I love using technology and having access to almost anything at my fingertips I wouldn't want my life to be solely dependent on technology. I love being able to interact with others in person and getting to know people the old fashion way compared to reading their profile or "Googling" them. Therefore, we as educators need to be sure that our students do not become too dependent on technology because you never know, it could be gone or more advanced in seconds.