Last year you wouldn't see me trying to use education in the classroom. I believed everything should be on paper due to record keeping and convenience. Over the past year, in taking the two technology courses, my eyes have been opened to the use of technology and how it can be an advantage to me in the classroom. I don't want to be a dinosaur in the classroom and have my students know more about technology than me.
When reading these articles I felt like all these people were promising things but I did't understand what they were promising. Have the time I would have to look up cerain ideas, softwares and words just so I could understand what the article was trying to say. I absolutely hate when someone is trying to persuade you into something but can't explain what they're trying to "sell". I do belief technology can be very faulty at times. Half of the videos on this assignment didn't play because I didn't have a membership or I didnt have the right flash paper; it was very annoying. I also had technical difficulties when trying to show my digital story.
The belief I have about the future of technology is that its always going to be evolving and it's impossible to keep up with everything. I belief it's important to learn about how to integrate it into the classroom because it is a useful tool. Students respond more to it because this is what I call a technology rich generation. Everything will be digitized in the near future. I do belief there are lines technology shouldn't cross. For example some teachers feel it's okay for students to use their cell phones i the classroom for quizzes and assignments saying why try to fight when you can work with it. I belief this shows the students they can break the rules and get away with it. I know I need to up my knowledge concerning technolgy and belief it will be a useful tool in the classroom but I know it's going to be a long road before I become an expert.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Lessons Learned
From reading and watching all the videos I learned a lot about technology. I had no idea how much technology plays a role in life today. I know the basics of technology such as cell phone use, basic computer programs, Microsoft Offic, email etc...From what I read in the artiles professionals want to take education to the next level and the way to do that is through technology.
There were a lot of points shown to me in my readings like how we need students to start feeling ownership in their work and how we can use technology to get them started. In the first article it goes on about how students write more if they have personal reason to, an audience, are interested in the topic etc...I never really thought of blogging as a good way to get them involved with the language arts core curriculum. Having an ongoing topic of Child Slavery for students to write about is an ingenious idea because they are actively engaged and using technology their work is available for the world to see which engages them even more.
With so much technology evolving I need to start practicing it myself. In order for me to use technology and teach it in the classroom I need to learn it. I can't talk the talk if I can't walk the talk. It's like when I taught my cooperating teacher how to make a digital story. That wouldn't have been effective if I didn't know what I was talking about ad if I have no idea what I'm talking about my audience is not going to trust what I say. I've learned I can't fake my way through technology and I need to start learning the tools.
There were a lot of points shown to me in my readings like how we need students to start feeling ownership in their work and how we can use technology to get them started. In the first article it goes on about how students write more if they have personal reason to, an audience, are interested in the topic etc...I never really thought of blogging as a good way to get them involved with the language arts core curriculum. Having an ongoing topic of Child Slavery for students to write about is an ingenious idea because they are actively engaged and using technology their work is available for the world to see which engages them even more.
With so much technology evolving I need to start practicing it myself. In order for me to use technology and teach it in the classroom I need to learn it. I can't talk the talk if I can't walk the talk. It's like when I taught my cooperating teacher how to make a digital story. That wouldn't have been effective if I didn't know what I was talking about ad if I have no idea what I'm talking about my audience is not going to trust what I say. I've learned I can't fake my way through technology and I need to start learning the tools.
Strengths and Weaknesses
In going over the NET standards and taking the UNI survey I've come to find out I hardly know anything about technology let alone being able to ioncorporate it into the classroom. I was mostly a novice to apprentice levels on all the standards. The only one I was an expert at was using email and other forms of technology to communicate in the field of education. I feel that meeting these standards is impossible for me right now and need to start researching on how I can learn about them to become an expert.
Just looking over the UEN website there are a lot of tutorials on how to integrate and use technology in the classroom. When searching technology integration it pulled up a whole page of resources. Most of it comes from other teachers of ideas and examples of what they have done in their classroom and how they used technology to tie to the curriculum. Another great source are the tutorials on teachertube. These take you step by step on how to use certain programs you are interested in. This is a good way to use what you want and become an expert as opposed to using others ideas and trying to fit it in.
In the future I know there are workshops teachers and educators can take concering the use of technology. Even within the districts and the schools workshops are taking place. At a friend of mine's school they have technology integration workshops monthly; they have smartboards in their classrooms and learn the most effective ways on how to use them. I think collaborating and being one another teachers is an important tool we can have. But in order for this to happen, people like me will need to have an open mind to technology. I know I don't use it much but with using the resources available to me I will be able to become an expert in all levels.
Just looking over the UEN website there are a lot of tutorials on how to integrate and use technology in the classroom. When searching technology integration it pulled up a whole page of resources. Most of it comes from other teachers of ideas and examples of what they have done in their classroom and how they used technology to tie to the curriculum. Another great source are the tutorials on teachertube. These take you step by step on how to use certain programs you are interested in. This is a good way to use what you want and become an expert as opposed to using others ideas and trying to fit it in.
In the future I know there are workshops teachers and educators can take concering the use of technology. Even within the districts and the schools workshops are taking place. At a friend of mine's school they have technology integration workshops monthly; they have smartboards in their classrooms and learn the most effective ways on how to use them. I think collaborating and being one another teachers is an important tool we can have. But in order for this to happen, people like me will need to have an open mind to technology. I know I don't use it much but with using the resources available to me I will be able to become an expert in all levels.
Field Experience Week 4
a. Central Elementary School is a Title I school located at 95 North 400 East Pleasant Grove, UT 84062, in Utah County. The community has approximately 39,000 people and Central Elementary itself has around 570 students. It was established in 1893—three years before Utah was granted statehood. It is known greatly as “The Space Center” in which over 265,000 people have attended over the years, embarking on missions and adventures through space. We are in a classroom of twenty-four students. Our cooperating teacher is Jenny Woods, who has been teaching for four years.
b. Our relationship with our cooperating are both formal and professional. During class time it is very professional; we call one another by our titles and it’s all business. We make sure our teacher knows she’s the one who is in charge and we are there to help. During lunchtime and before school we are able to hang out and its less formal. We call each other by our first names and talk about personal things. Overall it is a very relaxing and easy-going relationship where we all understand boundaries and lines in and out of the classroom.
c. Our teacher was very impressed with what we did. She felt it was appropriate to the criteria we had been teaching all week and it was a good wrap-up to the lesson. She noticed how intently the students payed attention during it. She also enjoyed the music we chose for it.
d. We feel our teacher approved of all the lessons we taught. They all tied into the core curriculum and tied into one another. She used some of our ideas and lesson plans to teach the other classes their social studies. One lesson plan she really liked was our photo analysis. She liked the group involvement, technology use and the enduring understanding taught.
e. Our teaching session went rather fast. she was no novice when it came to creating digital stories. She explained when she first began teaching she had made a bunch. Since she is so familiar with the process, we just did a quick run down on how to use Photo Story 3. She really liked the applications such as the voice recorder and the fact you can make your own music or take some off a file.
f. Being able to teach an actual teacher something useful was good for our morale. We felt like even though we are novices to the program we still have a lot to bring to the table due to what we learn in our classes. Last year I was going over technology workshops available to teachers and I found they can get pretty pricey. Being able to use one another as resources and experts in the field is all the more better for collaborative teaching and learning.
g. Our cooperating teacher was able to learn a different program that is free to download. She also saw how easy and quick it is to Photo Story. From seeing our digital story she was able to learn from it and get more ideas on how to teach mountain men in the future. In being able to be taught from us she didn’t have to pay for a workshop that takes all day.
h. In being able to create a digital story we got to see what its like step by step and the hard work and creativity that goes into it. We gained a better sense of teamwork and how to work with a partner to collaborate and compromise our visions. We learned a fun and easy program to create digital stories. From here on out we have the knowledge we need to make digital stories to enrich out lessons with technology.
i. Our digital story wasn’t as hard and time-consuming as we thought it would be. In working together we were able to split the work. We both had the same ending goal so it was easier on us. We feel this assignment was overwhelming at first but when we broke it down into steps and worked step by step to get it done the overall process went smoothly. We fell it was worth it because of the reactions of the students. They all loved the digital story and got really into the music. Also, the fact that we used pictures from our first lesson plans (which they sorted as a class), they were more engaged. Overall, a very rewarding assignment.
b. Our relationship with our cooperating are both formal and professional. During class time it is very professional; we call one another by our titles and it’s all business. We make sure our teacher knows she’s the one who is in charge and we are there to help. During lunchtime and before school we are able to hang out and its less formal. We call each other by our first names and talk about personal things. Overall it is a very relaxing and easy-going relationship where we all understand boundaries and lines in and out of the classroom.
c. Our teacher was very impressed with what we did. She felt it was appropriate to the criteria we had been teaching all week and it was a good wrap-up to the lesson. She noticed how intently the students payed attention during it. She also enjoyed the music we chose for it.
d. We feel our teacher approved of all the lessons we taught. They all tied into the core curriculum and tied into one another. She used some of our ideas and lesson plans to teach the other classes their social studies. One lesson plan she really liked was our photo analysis. She liked the group involvement, technology use and the enduring understanding taught.
e. Our teaching session went rather fast. she was no novice when it came to creating digital stories. She explained when she first began teaching she had made a bunch. Since she is so familiar with the process, we just did a quick run down on how to use Photo Story 3. She really liked the applications such as the voice recorder and the fact you can make your own music or take some off a file.
f. Being able to teach an actual teacher something useful was good for our morale. We felt like even though we are novices to the program we still have a lot to bring to the table due to what we learn in our classes. Last year I was going over technology workshops available to teachers and I found they can get pretty pricey. Being able to use one another as resources and experts in the field is all the more better for collaborative teaching and learning.
g. Our cooperating teacher was able to learn a different program that is free to download. She also saw how easy and quick it is to Photo Story. From seeing our digital story she was able to learn from it and get more ideas on how to teach mountain men in the future. In being able to be taught from us she didn’t have to pay for a workshop that takes all day.
h. In being able to create a digital story we got to see what its like step by step and the hard work and creativity that goes into it. We gained a better sense of teamwork and how to work with a partner to collaborate and compromise our visions. We learned a fun and easy program to create digital stories. From here on out we have the knowledge we need to make digital stories to enrich out lessons with technology.
i. Our digital story wasn’t as hard and time-consuming as we thought it would be. In working together we were able to split the work. We both had the same ending goal so it was easier on us. We feel this assignment was overwhelming at first but when we broke it down into steps and worked step by step to get it done the overall process went smoothly. We fell it was worth it because of the reactions of the students. They all loved the digital story and got really into the music. Also, the fact that we used pictures from our first lesson plans (which they sorted as a class), they were more engaged. Overall, a very rewarding assignment.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Field Experience Week 3
This week on overhead projector was inserted into the classroom. I am very excited because it hooks up to the projector camera and to the computer. This way it will be easy for us to present our powerpoint and digital story; it came just in time. The light bulb did burn out within a couple days so the teach crew had to come in and reset the life.
We've been using the projector all week with our lesson plans. it's made it so much easier to present material and do our activities. Another thing we did this week was teach our teacher how to make a digital story on photo story board. She was very surprised with how easy it is. Once you figure out the skeleton of the story its easy to put it together. She had a fun time experimenting with the music portion and was amazed at the program.
With making our digital story I felt we did an excellent job. Even though others complained we didn't feel like it was so hard. The hardest part is figuring out the point we wanted to get across and finding all the pictures. It was a great way to end our unit on mountain men; the kids loved it and said it was one of the coolest things they've ever seen. Being able to use pictures, words and music made it all the more dramatic and the kids loved it. If I teach fourth grade in the futuer I'm definately using this on my mountain man unit!
We've been using the projector all week with our lesson plans. it's made it so much easier to present material and do our activities. Another thing we did this week was teach our teacher how to make a digital story on photo story board. She was very surprised with how easy it is. Once you figure out the skeleton of the story its easy to put it together. She had a fun time experimenting with the music portion and was amazed at the program.
With making our digital story I felt we did an excellent job. Even though others complained we didn't feel like it was so hard. The hardest part is figuring out the point we wanted to get across and finding all the pictures. It was a great way to end our unit on mountain men; the kids loved it and said it was one of the coolest things they've ever seen. Being able to use pictures, words and music made it all the more dramatic and the kids loved it. If I teach fourth grade in the futuer I'm definately using this on my mountain man unit!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Field Experience Week 2
This week I noticed something I've never seen before. Every week the studetns go in and take their effeciency tests on the computer. When I was in school we hardly did this and if we did it wasn't on the computer. I asked the teacher about it and she said most of her tests are down online now, especially those for math. Later that week we supervised a math test being taken on the computer. Come to find out AYP tests are taken on the computer now.
I don't like this form of testing at all. I've had really bad experiences when it has come to using the computer with testing. I was getting the problems right but in the ocmputer they were marked as wrong. Also if one question is off it messes up the rest of the test.
I'm not going to make my students take tests on the computer unless its mandatory from the school or district. Lots of students have test anxiety and being in the computer room can heighten it. Students have no sense of ownership in a computer room when they haven't been spending lots of time in it. In a classroom they may feel more comfortbale and can relax a little bit more.
I don't like this form of testing at all. I've had really bad experiences when it has come to using the computer with testing. I was getting the problems right but in the ocmputer they were marked as wrong. Also if one question is off it messes up the rest of the test.
I'm not going to make my students take tests on the computer unless its mandatory from the school or district. Lots of students have test anxiety and being in the computer room can heighten it. Students have no sense of ownership in a computer room when they haven't been spending lots of time in it. In a classroom they may feel more comfortbale and can relax a little bit more.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Field Experience Week 1
During field this week I've been exposed to one of the coolest technology tools. It's called a projector camera. Instead having to go through the process of hooking a computer up to a projector, or even an overhead, you use the camera. What the camera sees gets projected onto the board. You can adjust it to small or big and can zone in or out. The class used it during a writing exercies where the teacher was modeling how to use a web graph. This made it very easy for her to do because the whole class could see the example while she explained it.
Me and my partner are planning to use this when we do our photo analysis lesson plan. Each of the groups are going to have a piece of the overall picture they have to analyze. Being able to use the camera will make it easier on us for when we put the picture together. This way we don't have to print out a huge picture and use up a lot of paper and a lot of colored ink.
I hope the school that I teach at has these camera projectors. I was very surprised that a Title I school has them. It will make it so much easier for me as a teacher to prepare my lessons that usually need a computer or an overhead. I think the technology advances that have been made in the schools is pretty overwhelming but I know if I keep up on it and learn how to use it my teaching will be a lot easier.
Me and my partner are planning to use this when we do our photo analysis lesson plan. Each of the groups are going to have a piece of the overall picture they have to analyze. Being able to use the camera will make it easier on us for when we put the picture together. This way we don't have to print out a huge picture and use up a lot of paper and a lot of colored ink.
I hope the school that I teach at has these camera projectors. I was very surprised that a Title I school has them. It will make it so much easier for me as a teacher to prepare my lessons that usually need a computer or an overhead. I think the technology advances that have been made in the schools is pretty overwhelming but I know if I keep up on it and learn how to use it my teaching will be a lot easier.
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