I believe that it is really important to teach technology to our students. Students in this generation are at a completely different level then any other group of students before them, they have always been exposed to technology from even before birth. Students have music played even before coming to this world, and their own computers by the time they are toddlers. Being a teacher to these students we need to accommodate to there needs which means that we have to teach technology to them. If you don't they will be board and as a teacher you will lose them more quickly if you don't teach them in a manner that they will listen to.
I believe that using technology enhances your lessons. Taking your students on a virtual tour of the pyramids so they can see how they are actually laid out will teach them so much more then just trying to describe it to them. When having you lessons enhanced by technology it allows you to increase there ability to see, hear and learn the lessons that you want to know. Having all of those senses stimulated helps the student take the information and ingrain that into their memory.
I am glad that as a student I have had the opportunity to have this class to teach me different uses of technology that I can use in the classroom. I know I will be a better teacher because of it.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Lessons Learned
I learned many things from the information that was assigned for this lesson. One of the more interesting assigned readings was the "The New WWW." I really found it interesting how the article broke the information down. For example how we are surrounded by WWW everywhere we go and how if we continue to progress at the rate we are now we will soon be surrounded with technology and information unlike anything we could understand at our current state. The reason why I believe this is true is because as I think back in my life and the technology that has progressed just in the last 10 year has been amazing, I can't even fathom what it will be like in another 10 years.
The, "Did You Know; Shift Happens - Globalization; Information Age," video is a perfect example of what I was saying previously. In the video it talks about how students that are starting college now, the information that they learn will be obsolete before they even graduate from college. This was really interesting to me, the thought that what they are coming to college to learn could be obsolete before they even finish learning it is mind boggling to me.
The other article that I really liked was "Study: Teens See Disconnect Between Personal and School Writing" article. I found it very interesting that even though student have learned how to communicate in a completly different way when they write on facebook or texting, that those writing styles don't transfer into there schooling is amazing for the students brain to switch to a complete different way of speaking, I feel as though it is more then just changing there patterns but it is almost being bilingual. So many youth are online using Facebook or texting. Almost everything is abbreviated such as “lol” and teens say things like “U2” rather than writing you too. This abbreviated way of speaking is so quick in the students minds, it is truly like another language.
As teacher we need to allow students to feel as though they are free to express themselves in anyway they can. In the article it said that many of the students feel that they are not able to be creative in their school writing, but they can be creative when they are writing on Facebook, or with texts. Again as teachers we need to allow our students to be free to express, we can do this by having free writes but not just by hand, have your students create and maintain a blog instead. This would be a great opportunity to have students show their thoughts but be creative as well.
The, "Did You Know; Shift Happens - Globalization; Information Age," video is a perfect example of what I was saying previously. In the video it talks about how students that are starting college now, the information that they learn will be obsolete before they even graduate from college. This was really interesting to me, the thought that what they are coming to college to learn could be obsolete before they even finish learning it is mind boggling to me.
The other article that I really liked was "Study: Teens See Disconnect Between Personal and School Writing" article. I found it very interesting that even though student have learned how to communicate in a completly different way when they write on facebook or texting, that those writing styles don't transfer into there schooling is amazing for the students brain to switch to a complete different way of speaking, I feel as though it is more then just changing there patterns but it is almost being bilingual. So many youth are online using Facebook or texting. Almost everything is abbreviated such as “lol” and teens say things like “U2” rather than writing you too. This abbreviated way of speaking is so quick in the students minds, it is truly like another language.
As teacher we need to allow students to feel as though they are free to express themselves in anyway they can. In the article it said that many of the students feel that they are not able to be creative in their school writing, but they can be creative when they are writing on Facebook, or with texts. Again as teachers we need to allow our students to be free to express, we can do this by having free writes but not just by hand, have your students create and maintain a blog instead. This would be a great opportunity to have students show their thoughts but be creative as well.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Through out my educational career I have learned bits and pieces of technology along the way. Some of the technology that I have learned have become strengths and some that I haven't had the opportunity to practice as often have become a weakness of mine.
When looking through the UNI Preservice Teacher Technology Competencies, I came to realize that there is so much more to learn, according to the questions I am an apprentice in most of the categories that were listed among the survey. One of the questions; Use audio/visual resources (audiotapes, videos or slides) to access information and analyze the authority, accuracy, currency, and relevance; because of this class and the practice from making our vidcast and our digital story as made it so that I can say that I am an expert in this area. I have been able to help construct with a partner a video that taught the subject matter in a quick and easy way that would be impossible for a teacher to show that subject matter to a student with out technology to help.
One of my weaknesses would have to be a smart board. So many of my peers were able to interact with a smart board in their classrooms while in field. I didn't have the opportunity to interact with one. Due to my inexperience I would have to say that that would be one of my weaknesses. Although my cooperating teacher didn't have a smart board in her classroom she did integrate technology into many of the lessons that she taught using her projector to show the kids virtual tours from the web and to use her ELMO to show the kids their actual text book material to them in class.
When reading the NETS for teacher, I found that I do have many strengths, or at least understand how to integrate all of the subjects that are mentioned as a technology standards and performance indicator. I would say that my one strength in the criteria set will have to be demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies. With out this class to continue my education into the current technologies that are in the world I think that it will be difficult to learn and understand new technologies that I don't know even exist.
One of my strengths found on the NETS would be apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and experiences. This is a strength because the first thing that I think of when planning a lesson is; how can I integrate some type of technology into this lesson for my students to better understand it? I really enjoy seeing how technology can capture a students attention and teach them so much in a short period of time.
When looking through the UNI Preservice Teacher Technology Competencies, I came to realize that there is so much more to learn, according to the questions I am an apprentice in most of the categories that were listed among the survey. One of the questions; Use audio/visual resources (audiotapes, videos or slides) to access information and analyze the authority, accuracy, currency, and relevance; because of this class and the practice from making our vidcast and our digital story as made it so that I can say that I am an expert in this area. I have been able to help construct with a partner a video that taught the subject matter in a quick and easy way that would be impossible for a teacher to show that subject matter to a student with out technology to help.
One of my weaknesses would have to be a smart board. So many of my peers were able to interact with a smart board in their classrooms while in field. I didn't have the opportunity to interact with one. Due to my inexperience I would have to say that that would be one of my weaknesses. Although my cooperating teacher didn't have a smart board in her classroom she did integrate technology into many of the lessons that she taught using her projector to show the kids virtual tours from the web and to use her ELMO to show the kids their actual text book material to them in class.
When reading the NETS for teacher, I found that I do have many strengths, or at least understand how to integrate all of the subjects that are mentioned as a technology standards and performance indicator. I would say that my one strength in the criteria set will have to be demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies. With out this class to continue my education into the current technologies that are in the world I think that it will be difficult to learn and understand new technologies that I don't know even exist.
One of my strengths found on the NETS would be apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and experiences. This is a strength because the first thing that I think of when planning a lesson is; how can I integrate some type of technology into this lesson for my students to better understand it? I really enjoy seeing how technology can capture a students attention and teach them so much in a short period of time.
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