Journal #1
About Me!
Learning Expectations - My learning expectation for this course is to learn about the new and previous technology that my students and I have access to in order to teach them how to use the technology as well as use it as a tool to teach in other subjects.
How do you view the role of technology in education? I view the role of technology in education very helpful. In today's society, technology is used for virtually everything. Using technology in the classroom will give students the opportunity to learn how to use different forms of technology to learn and to teach their peers as well. Technology also gives the students the chance to have access to forms of technology that they may not have available at home.
How has technology impacted your own learning as a student? Technology has impacted my learning as a student because it has allowed me to learn about the new and improving systems that are constantly changing in our society. Technology has allowed me to learn how to present work in the most efficient way possible to my instructors, peers, and students. Technology has also allowed me to present my work in a professional and neat manner, making it easier for instructors to assess and grade.
How do you plan to use technology in your teaching? My preferred grade to teach is third grade, which is a good grade to introduce more advanced technology to. I plan to introduce programs such as paint to the students, to allow them to learn that there are programs that will allow them to keep doing activities that they really enjoy, such as painting. Powerpoint is also a program that I plan to introduce; this will allow the students to learn the general layout of the program, but instead of doing presentation with words and such, I will create an activity that will allow them to insert pictures that pertain to their project, which will also give them to skill to search on the internet.
How do you view the role of technology in education? I view the role of technology in education very helpful. In today's society, technology is used for virtually everything. Using technology in the classroom will give students the opportunity to learn how to use different forms of technology to learn and to teach their peers as well. Technology also gives the students the chance to have access to forms of technology that they may not have available at home.
How has technology impacted your own learning as a student? Technology has impacted my learning as a student because it has allowed me to learn about the new and improving systems that are constantly changing in our society. Technology has allowed me to learn how to present work in the most efficient way possible to my instructors, peers, and students. Technology has also allowed me to present my work in a professional and neat manner, making it easier for instructors to assess and grade.
How do you plan to use technology in your teaching? My preferred grade to teach is third grade, which is a good grade to introduce more advanced technology to. I plan to introduce programs such as paint to the students, to allow them to learn that there are programs that will allow them to keep doing activities that they really enjoy, such as painting. Powerpoint is also a program that I plan to introduce; this will allow the students to learn the general layout of the program, but instead of doing presentation with words and such, I will create an activity that will allow them to insert pictures that pertain to their project, which will also give them to skill to search on the internet.
Journal #2
Digital Citizenship and Web Literacy: Digital Citizenship is what is appropriate when it comes to technology and the responsibilities that comes with it as well. Web Literacy is the skill of reading, writing and participating on the Web. I feel like both concepts are very crucial and important for my future students and it Is important for me to educate my students on both because they need to be informed about the dangers on the web and also how to stay appropriate and responsible while using technology.
Copyright Law and Fair Use for Educators: The copyright law is very important to teach my students about very early in their school lives because I will teach them exactly what copyrighted images are, what is ok to use, and what is plagiarism. I do not want my students to develop bad habits and not misinformed about what they may and may not use from the internet. I will also teach them how to site their sources (level or difficulty depending on grade level).
TPack: I find TPack (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) very useful. I found TPack very helpful with teaching me how to successfully integrate technology with education and the different aspects that need to be equal in order to successfully integrate it all for my students.
Substitution/Augmentation/Modification/Redefinition (SAMR) Model: I found the SAMR model very helpful because it helped me think about how to integrate technology successfully into my classroom. I am already thinking of activities to do with my students with technology because of this model. I like that the model is broken up into steps to make it easier to understand, for both students and educators.
Copyright Law and Fair Use for Educators: The copyright law is very important to teach my students about very early in their school lives because I will teach them exactly what copyrighted images are, what is ok to use, and what is plagiarism. I do not want my students to develop bad habits and not misinformed about what they may and may not use from the internet. I will also teach them how to site their sources (level or difficulty depending on grade level).
TPack: I find TPack (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) very useful. I found TPack very helpful with teaching me how to successfully integrate technology with education and the different aspects that need to be equal in order to successfully integrate it all for my students.
Substitution/Augmentation/Modification/Redefinition (SAMR) Model: I found the SAMR model very helpful because it helped me think about how to integrate technology successfully into my classroom. I am already thinking of activities to do with my students with technology because of this model. I like that the model is broken up into steps to make it easier to understand, for both students and educators.
Journal #3
Inquiry Based Learning: Inquiry-based learning starts by a student/teacher presenting a question or a problem, instead of presenting facts. Proposing a question or problem first allows the students to think first and form a thought and hypothesis before providing facts. This way of learning opens up the kids minds to learn instead of memorize and opens up their minds to be more creative. I would definitely use this type of learning with my students so that they can think more instead of just providing mindless facts.
Project Based Learning: Project-Based learning is similar to inquiry-based learning, however, in project-based learning the students are working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a problem. I would use this approach in an older class because it teaches the students dedication and how to research properly.
Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy: Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy is about using tool and technology to facilitate learning. There is a pyramid to show how Bloom’s Taxonomy works and I agree that it would definitely teach my students how they are absorbing and learning the material through technology to show how effective it is.
Performance Based Assessment: This is a way for students to demonstrate what they have learned. I would use Performance based assessments in my classroom because it is a way to make sure all of my students are learning the materials and it will tell me if I need to keep reviewing or if I can move on to the next topic.
Thematic Unit: Thematic Unit is an organized topic that is taught through a theme. I will definitely use this with my students because it will keep the students familiar with the topic, however, they will be learning more each day. For example, I could use farm animals as a theme, but teach them art, spelling, pronouncing, and so on. Thematic Units are the best way to teach.
WebQuest: WebQuest in when most of what a student is learning comes from the web. I believe this will be helpful to familiarize students with the internet, however, I believe this should be used with older children.
Project Based Learning: Project-Based learning is similar to inquiry-based learning, however, in project-based learning the students are working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a problem. I would use this approach in an older class because it teaches the students dedication and how to research properly.
Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy: Digital Bloom’s Taxonomy is about using tool and technology to facilitate learning. There is a pyramid to show how Bloom’s Taxonomy works and I agree that it would definitely teach my students how they are absorbing and learning the material through technology to show how effective it is.
Performance Based Assessment: This is a way for students to demonstrate what they have learned. I would use Performance based assessments in my classroom because it is a way to make sure all of my students are learning the materials and it will tell me if I need to keep reviewing or if I can move on to the next topic.
Thematic Unit: Thematic Unit is an organized topic that is taught through a theme. I will definitely use this with my students because it will keep the students familiar with the topic, however, they will be learning more each day. For example, I could use farm animals as a theme, but teach them art, spelling, pronouncing, and so on. Thematic Units are the best way to teach.
WebQuest: WebQuest in when most of what a student is learning comes from the web. I believe this will be helpful to familiarize students with the internet, however, I believe this should be used with older children.
Journal #4
Communication Tools: The Newsletter Activity has helped me learn and grow as a future educator because it has given me the skills to send home these newsletters with my students every week or month to keep their families informed. As a parent, I would want to be informed about everything that my daughter is doing in school. As an educator, I am now able to send home updates efficiently and professionally in order to keep parents and students well informed about class information and dates.
Spreadsheet: The spreadsheet helps me as a future educator because I now have the skill set to average my students grades on an excel program, instead of a written grade book where all averages and percentages would have to be done manually.
Timeline (Timetoast): Timetoast is very beneficial because I can teach my future students how to use it, and it can be used for a project we may be doing. Timetoast is also beneficial because it can also be used to show a student’s progress in a class or exactly what we are doing in the class. For progress, the student or I can create a timeline of the activities we do and how they do on the activity. That way, we can track the progress of that student.
Spreadsheet: The spreadsheet helps me as a future educator because I now have the skill set to average my students grades on an excel program, instead of a written grade book where all averages and percentages would have to be done manually.
Timeline (Timetoast): Timetoast is very beneficial because I can teach my future students how to use it, and it can be used for a project we may be doing. Timetoast is also beneficial because it can also be used to show a student’s progress in a class or exactly what we are doing in the class. For progress, the student or I can create a timeline of the activities we do and how they do on the activity. That way, we can track the progress of that student.
Journal #5
Multimedia Poster (glogster): Glogster was a very fun tool to create a poster. This tool makes me feel more confident in poster making; for myself and for my students. I feel that this program will make poster making for neat and efficient for both the students and I.
Google Form: The google survey/quiz is very cool. I am a better educator for knowing how to create a survey because now I know about another resource that I can use to reach out to my students. I can create a quiz using the google form, as well as a survey, to use and reflect on the opinions of the students. I am happy to have learned about It and the flexibility of the program, so I am confident that I can use the program for any quiz or survey that I would ever need.
Word Cloud: Word Cloud is a very fun and create program that I would love to introduce to students as a creative activity after reading a book or an article or any type of reading activity. I could also use it as an activity to get to know the students.
Mindmap: Mindmap is a very good program for brainstorming activities and I would most definitely use it with my future students. Mindmap makes brainstorming very neat and effective. I would introduce this program to my students so that they can brainstorm effectively and succeed in their lives because everything is much more neat and less stressful.
Google Form: The google survey/quiz is very cool. I am a better educator for knowing how to create a survey because now I know about another resource that I can use to reach out to my students. I can create a quiz using the google form, as well as a survey, to use and reflect on the opinions of the students. I am happy to have learned about It and the flexibility of the program, so I am confident that I can use the program for any quiz or survey that I would ever need.
Word Cloud: Word Cloud is a very fun and create program that I would love to introduce to students as a creative activity after reading a book or an article or any type of reading activity. I could also use it as an activity to get to know the students.
Mindmap: Mindmap is a very good program for brainstorming activities and I would most definitely use it with my future students. Mindmap makes brainstorming very neat and effective. I would introduce this program to my students so that they can brainstorm effectively and succeed in their lives because everything is much more neat and less stressful.
Journal #6
Digital Story Book: The Digital Story book is a fantastic tool! It allows us to create a story and illustrate it too in less than a day. I love this tool because it allows us to be creative but it also makes it very simple to be creative. My group and I created a story that taught kids that looks are only on the outside, and what is on the inside is what matters the most. I love this tool because I can teach my students how to think outside of the book in a fun, yet simple way. The program has many themes to choose from for the illustrations, which make it very flexible and simpler in order to illustrate the story that the students or educator has created. I would love to incorporate this into my classroom so that my student’s imaginations can roam free and create any story they would like. This program made creating stories so simple that I could even have the entire class create a story because they could all collaborate. Depending on the grade level, I would have the entire do one if they are younger than the fourth grade or each child do their own if they are older.
Journal #7
Mini Lesson Plan- The mini lesson plan was a very fun and invited way to teach a class. My group did a mini lesson plan on multiplication for third graders in the very beginning of the year, as a refresher from was learned in the previous year. We create a game of jeopardy so that it will catch the kid’s attention and it is a way that we can be interactive with the students and the students can be interactive with us as well as with technology. I would most definitely use the smart board with my future students in the classroom. It teaches kids the basics of technology and will help better ready the kids for the more advanced technology that they will be working with in the future. The Smart Board is very good tool for interactive teaching with technology and I am a better teacher for knowing how such technology works. I am happy to know so that I may teach my students in the future. A game that I could play with the younger kids could be match the pictures to a word, by drawing a line with the smartboard marker. I could have the students fill in a blank, or I could even have the students play a matching game where they can drag pieces around to make a whole. The options are endless when using a smartboard and I am happy to have learned and experienced more with it.
Journal #8
Technology Integrated Thematic Unit- The Thematic Unit that integrated technology is a very useful tool for my future classrooms. I chose to do a thematic unit on Earth Day, because it always the opportunity to explore all subjects through this theme. The technology I used to explore the theme and subject areas were YouTube, an online game exploring the Water Cycle, and printable worksheets. A thematic unit using technology is a great way to capture the attention of young students because everything these days has to do with some type of technology. Kids in today's world would rather do activities on a computer or an iPad rather than sit down and do their work on a piece of paper. By using technology in a thematic unit, kids will stay focused while learning everything that they need to and maybe even more than what a traditional approach would teach them. As a teacher, I learned that there are more ways to approach teaching. One of which, is how to effectively use a Thematic Unit. Another way is how to incorporate technology into a webpage so that the students can learn on their own and effectively navigate on the webpage. The students are also learning independence through by navigating through the webpage that is created to teach them everything that is needed to teach in the Unit.
Journal #9
WebQuest- WebQuest was a very difficult and time consuming site to put together. In order to make it effective, I had to know what grade level and the goals of the teachers and students and exactly what needs to be achieved in the unit. The thematic unit was incorporated throughout the WebQuest but in a more detailed and lengthy way. I also had to make sure that the site was appealing to the grade level to which it was intended for. For instance, I did a theme of Earth Day for second and third grade in white and green, but I did not add extra details that would really grab their attention, so I could have added more to make it more pleasing to the eyes of these students. I definitely love the concept of WebQuest and I will use it in the future for my students. I love how it incorporates different types of technology and Web 2.0 tools to keep the kids on their toes and learning how to use such tools. I think WebQuest is an important tool to use in the classroom for those reasons. I loved making my WebQuest, I just wish I had spent more time perfecting it and finding more tools to incorporate into it. If I had put more thought and time into my WebQuest, I know that it would be a more effective tool to use in the Classroom. However, I do believe that WebQuest is a good tool inside and outside of the classroom. It will give the students more of a responsibility if you assign WebQuest assignments for them to do at home, which will give them the tools to succeed in the future.
Journal #10
How have your ideas about using technology changed over the semester? My ideas about using technology have changed majorly over the semester. I used to believe that the traditional, pencil and paper, way of teaching was the best way. After taking this course, I believe that using technology in the classroom, no matter the grade level, is an important tool and should most definitely be incorporated. Technology is becoming more and more advanced and common in the world today and children are learning how to use technology younger and younger every year. By teaching young students how to use simple resources in technology and advancing it as they get older, they are learning the tools and gaining confidence in using technology in their education and will be confident as they grow and further their education.
What questions or challenges do you still have regarding technology integration? I would like to learn more about which forms of technology to introduce to children and in which grade levels to do so. I am aware that some parents/guardians are not comfortable with their children using some technology at a young age, so I would love to learn about how to come about introducing it to the students. Would I have to meet with the parents first to make sure they are okay with it? Do I set individualized plans up according to the parent's wishes? Do I limit all students because of one parents wish for their children to be separated from technology integrated lessons/education?
What is your plan for continuing to learn about integrating technology in your teaching more effectively? I plan to read on the benefits of technology integrated technology as well as keep looking for fun ways to incorporate different technology in the classroom. Technology is constantly advancing and changing and I plan on keeping up with these changes in order to teach my students to best of my ability on the new advancements so that they are prepared for it in their future as well.
What questions or challenges do you still have regarding technology integration? I would like to learn more about which forms of technology to introduce to children and in which grade levels to do so. I am aware that some parents/guardians are not comfortable with their children using some technology at a young age, so I would love to learn about how to come about introducing it to the students. Would I have to meet with the parents first to make sure they are okay with it? Do I set individualized plans up according to the parent's wishes? Do I limit all students because of one parents wish for their children to be separated from technology integrated lessons/education?
What is your plan for continuing to learn about integrating technology in your teaching more effectively? I plan to read on the benefits of technology integrated technology as well as keep looking for fun ways to incorporate different technology in the classroom. Technology is constantly advancing and changing and I plan on keeping up with these changes in order to teach my students to best of my ability on the new advancements so that they are prepared for it in their future as well.