Assignment 4: Part 2 - Technology Project

     In creating this project I used powerpoint, the internet, pod-casting, snipping tool, and Windows Live Movie Maker.  It was frustrating trying to remember how to download the podcast because I had done it once before.  I finally figured it out and then ran into another problem; I didn't know how to upload a power point or power point with pod casting.  After thinking it over for a couple of days, I remembered I had snipping tool, which is a program that will take a picture of whatever happens to be on your screen, on my computer.  I used it to create pictures of my power point.  Afterwords, I took the pictures and the downloaded pod-casting files and turned them into a "movie" on Windows Live.

     Because I do not like spiders, I was a little skeptical about doing the presentation on spiders; but I learned a lot of interesting facts and had fun putting the project together.  As a teacher, I would this type of project could be used for any number of subjects or projects.  This particular one would have been used in a science class during a unit on bugs, environments, or characteristics.  The students would enjoy it because the project could be personal choice on what animal they did and they would be able to work with a number of different programs. 

NETS covered for the students:

1. Creativity and Innovation
      a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. 

3. Research and Information Fluency
     b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
     d. process data and report results.

     These standards are fulfilled because the students need to find a creative way to show all of the research and information that they found on an animal that they chose.  The research is then shown on power point with an prerecorded pod-cast of the presentation.

NETS covered for the Teacher:

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
     a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning 
     a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
     d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

     The teacher needs to create an effective example of the project.  In order to do this, they will need a fluency in how to use the technology that they want their students to learn.  This project will also illustrate to the students that they will need to research and use technology in order to successfully present their project.

End of the Semester Reflection

     I have learned so much this semester.  Integrating technology has become so common within schools.  All this technology have become such great tools to the teachers and it has created a more fun learning environment for the students.  They are more entertained, interested, and interactive during class.  Having the students to learn and have fun is the best part of all of this technology.  Tools like the SMART and Promethean Boards, pod casting, blogging are great assets to teachers and students.  It was so much fun to learn all about the different technology that can be used for the classroom.  I loved learning to create SMART presentations, finding tools online, and reading other teachers blog.  It will be great to see all of these technologies in the classroom.
     For the NETS I chose 3.  Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.  I have been working on these by watching how my professors work with the technology in each class and it has been interesting to see how the professors use things like Panapto and other programs to help us with our note taking or misheard information.  I'm amazed at all the technology I have learned about in such a short period of time and am excited to use it for my class.  I hope that I can continue to find programs and websites that will advance my knowledge of technology in the classroom.

Weekly Reflections 11-12

Reflection #11
     The internet is such a great asset to people.  You can pretty much look up anything you want and find a bunch of sites.  For instance, when my brother played with a rubix cube  some of the middle squares poped out.  Of course he wasn't all to careful in putting them back the way that they were supposed to go, making the cube completely unsolvable.  Fortunately I found a site on the internet that showed where all of the colors go and how to fix it.  That was a big relief to me.  But you can look up other things too such as math problems, science concepts, or language patterns, which is rather beneficial if you do not understand something.

Reflection #12
     My Uncle and his family came up for Thanksgiving this year.  He teaches AP Calculus at a high school down in Oregon.  I noticed while he was working on some lesson plans, that he was creating them on Promethean software.  I asked him if he used the Promethean Boards at his high school and he said yes.  He then asked me if we had them here at NU, but I said that we had the SMART Boards.  We talked for a little bit about the boards and he asked how I like them.  I told him that they were super cool and a lot of fun to play with or create lessons.  It was interesting to see how in just one year my Uncle went from writing out his lessons on paper to bringing his laptop and working with the Promethean program.  It's amazing to see how quickly advanced technology begins to spread.

Week 13: Future Technology in Education

The future of technology and education
     In this article, the author discusses how connection in school could really increase with technology that helps you to gain instant access to all homework assignments and projects.  By simply loading a windows account, all of your saved files can be accessed from pretty much any computer.  Although I do not see this coming into the schools system any time soon because of the money that would be need to provide for it, I think it would be cool to be able to access assignment in case you forgot it at home or have questions on a particular problem.  This program that the author mainly talks about is called Cloud Builders or cloud computing, which is a web based storage system.  He also gives some big futuristic things such as holographic lecture styles and such.  Technology is being creating and improving at a big rate of speed.  Ten years ago cellphones used to be these big, bulky things that were a slight pain to carry everywhere.  Now almost everyone in the US carries one and some are almost paper thin.  Computers and TV continue to shrink and get thinner and the SMART or Promethean Boards are becoming more widely used.

End of Semester Blog Comments

Ashley Buhler:        Week #10 Educational Blog
Yahaira Garza:       Week 10 and  Tech Reflection 11
Alison Langstraat:  Reflection 12 and Assignment #3: Teacher Toolbox

Week 12: Klausman Article

Teaching about Plagiarism in the Age of the Internet

     The article was very interesting and very applicable to the life of any student.  Often times when looking up information online, a student will come across information that could be unreliable or wrong.  On the other hand, books, journals, and articles tend to be more trustworthy in their information because they have already been published, but that does not mean that all of them are right, because even published works can have misleading information.  Although the Internet may cause a student to plagiarize more easily, it also helps in catching these students because the teacher is able to look up the sites and quotes.  Before beginning research, I liked the authors idea of teaching about plagiarism.  It lets the students become aware of the different types of plagiarism, the ways to prevent it, and how easy it is for teachers to look up the quotes and check for plagiarizing.  I learned that not all students may be aware of the many different types of plagiarizing and that awareness can help prevent it, but not always.  My question is:  As a teacher, do you learn your students writing style pretty quickly or does it take a little bit time?

Weekly Reflections 9-10

Reflection #9

     Today I realized that even computers need to rest.  I was writing a paper, but could not figure out why my computer was running so slowly and when I typed in letters, they didn't appear for about 5-10 seconds.  It was really annoying and I had just run a cleaner and virus scan on the computer so it should have been fine.  I tried closing all my applications and reopening them, but it didn't help.  In my frustration, I shut down my computer and read a couple pages in a book.  When I came back to turn it on, I realized that the keyboard was really warm and I did not noticed that before (probably because my hands had been used to it).  Thinking about it, I realized I had left the computer on all day and it was probably running slow from overheating.  After figuring this out, I had another revelation.  At home, Dad has a mini-fan under the counter by the computer, but it's back far enough that I thought it was used for cooling off your legs on a hot day.  Now I know it is to keep the computer from overheating.

Reflection #10

     Have you ever played Dance Dance Revolution?  I have only played it once, but I always hear about it or see videos of it on Youtube.  It's a pretty popular game and it's super fun.  After I read, P.E. Classes Turn to Video Game that Works Legs, I though it was so cool that schools are beginning to use "video games" in the system.  You can totally connect with the students with music of their time, and they are getting a workout in PE.  Many times, students like to play video games more than sports because that is the society they are growing up in.  It's cool to see school incorporating some of the new game technology.  I think that traditional sports should always be played in schools for PE, but playing games like DDR once in a while if fun also.

Week 11: Integrating Microsoft Office

Three subjects that I chose consist of:  5th grade Social Studies, 3rd grade science, and 6th grade English.  Although technology is a great asset, I would not have the students us it for every assignment.  Using technology for some assignments can make the learning easier and less boring. 

1.     For their Social Studies class, the students will choose a country and research on the birth and death rate over a specific period of time when that country went through a dramatic incline or decline.  After researching the statistics, they will present there results on Excel and give an explanation for the dramatic change in rates.

2.     In science, students will pick a plant and research the environment and the growing stages of that plant.  They will present the information with pictures on PowerPoint.

3.      For their English assignment, I will display a given number of sentence on the SMART Board using Word.  Students will then have to write down the sentence pattern and verb tense used in each sentence.

Assignment 3: Resources for Teachers

     My toolbox consists of blogs filled with videos, games, worksheets, or music. While others are about teachers the experiences they have had in the classroom.  The grade that I chose was second grade and I covered most of the subjects.  It was hard to figure out which sites I wanted to put into my toolbox.  I chose the sites that I considered to be more relevant to the teacher and the lessons.  They are organized by teachers blogs, official sites, to game blogs.
     The blogs that I found and put on my toolbox really captured my attention.  When I become a teacher it will be great to look back and easily find websites that could help with my teaching.  It takes a while to look up and find sites that suite your purpose, and just trying to find twelve sites for this project took a good deal of time.  It's always nice to have a site that has a list of links to things.  It just saves time and it's so much easier.

 1. Hooda Math Blog
     -  This site has a few math games that are fun.  I played the princess math game, even though it was super easy for me.  I got to dress up the princess in different clothes in order to find the correct combination that solved the math problems.  They also have cool worksheets and many different games that could work.  The games are for all ages and some of them are pretty tough.  They have all different kinds of games: logic, business, science, and more.  These games could be used as review for different lessons or as part of introducing a new topic.  Students always have more fun when a game is involved.
 2. Learn English
     -  This site has many different features for teaching English.  There worksheets are simple to use and easy to print out.  They cover grammar, give examples for different tense, and so on.  This would make finding quick and easy worksheets a lot easier.  A teacher's time is precious, even the littlest thing can go a long way in preparing a lesson.
 3. 2nd Grade
     -  This teacher has provided some really cool posts.  She has put up songs to help the students learn different lessons.  For instance, putting the water cycle to the tune of "Oh My Darling Clementine" and doing hand motions with the song is pretty ingenious.  These would be great ways to help the students remember bigger words, as well as learning the order of different cycles.  Music is only part of what she has posted.  She also has some things on technology, games, and others.  This would be a good resource to have when teaching, because it can help you think of creative ideas for your own classroom.

Week 10: Educational Blog

My Plate Runneth Over

I found many educational blogs that had been done by teachers.  There were blogs that gave different ideas for certain projects, told about their experiences in the classroom, or talked about the difficulties of dealing with adults inside and outside the school.  For instance, one of the blogs discusses how, although she loves her job, sometimes the stress of dealing with other adults can get in the way of teaching the students.  In this particular post, she talks about balance.  Balance among life, work, new methods, relations with other teachers, or new technology.  Although, her talks are more on the side of venting from frustration, but it was really interesting to see a blog that gave a "less happy" point of view.  Many of the other blogs that I read talked about their cool experiences and different strategies, which is definitely great, but it was nice to see that there are also plenty of hardships that go on in the classroom.  The community learned about a student in college who is ready to learn about both the good and bad that happens as a teacher.

Weekly Reflections 7-8

Reflection #7
     For the past few days, I have been attempting to see if itunes has a program that allows you to create podcatsts.  Unfortunately, from what I have read, itunes does not have a podcast creation program, but they do allow you to subscribe to and upload podcasts.  I am looking because many podcasting programs have yet to create a stable software that will support Windows 7, which is the latest edition by Microsoft and the edition that is on my computer.  So far I have yet to find a podcast program that is free, safe, stable, and easy to use.  I am a going to try to download Audacity again, but am a little worried that it will crash my computer, which has happened in the past.  I just get a little nervous about downloading new programs because at this point in college, the computer has practically become an essential part of my life.


Reflection #8
     While searching for articles about podcasting, I ran across this article about the Pros and Cons of podcasting in education.  Although it didn't give to many points on either pros or cons, it did make an excellent point that technology should be used as a tool at the appropriate times.  Although in today's society the students probably know about more technology than you as the teacher do, they are still excited to use technology in the classroom.  It makes doing school "work" fun and entertaining.  I agree with the author in that using technology should not be used all of the time, and the teacher should be useing other methods for teaching the students.  For instance, having the students learn through discovery/experience by having the students do a hands on activity of some sort.  Technology is just another tool that gives teachers more flexibility in the methods that they can use to teach.

Assignment 4: Part 1 - Technology Project

     For my project, I will have my students create a presentation using power point and podcasting.  The presentation will be 3-5 minutes long.  The students will need to do research for their project, have a title page, as well as a concluding page.

     The students will pick an animal, land or sea. They will then create a power point that has bullet descriptions of the animal and its habitat.  The podcast will be the first part of the presentation.  While the podcast is playing, the student will be in his/her seat or up by the board turning the slides.  After each presentation, the students will write down two things they learned about the animal.

Week 9: “Caught on Video"

    As I read through this blog, I was really interested in how you could integrate such filming devices into the classroom.  I agree that we are coming into a society where technology will continue to advance and schools will integrate some into their classrooms.  However, I did not agree with everything he said about getting rid of the summative grading system.  Although I think it would be cool if we could record student's progress with these new filming techniques, I do not think that filming should replace the summative grading styles that are in place.  The grading system helps teachers to assess where the child is at in the curriculum and keeps a record of how well they are doing in the class.  I agree that some parents have an issue with the grading styles and that a video showing the progress of their child would help, but keeping a written account is a wise decision.  Proof of assignment grades would come in handy if a parent has a question concerning how well their child is doing in accordance to the class or state; and especially if the technology decides to freak out and destroy records.  Technology is not infallible and records can be lost, which is why written grades would still be a good thing to keep around.

Week 8: Questions for NU Panel??

I am excited to ask these teachers about their teaching experience.  Since they are pretty new to the system, it will be interesting to hear their perspective on teaching.

-  As new teachers, do you use technology every once in a while or quite a bit?

-  How do you engage the children in their studies when you do not use technology?

-  How much time do you spend planning for each day?

-  Do you spend a lot of time working technology into your lesson?

-  Do you like to create some of your own technology games/lessons or do you like to use someones else's and modify it to fit your lesson?

I'm excited to hear the panel!!

Mid-Semester Blog Comments

Kayli Smith:             Assignment 1: Technology Literacy Project
Yajaira Garza:          Technology Reflection 5 and Week 1
Alison Langstraat:     Reflective Entries #1-6

Week 7: Promethean

Promethean - The Story of Prometheus
      I watched this video and was amazed at all of the new features that could be done with the board.  Although it looks similar to the SMART Board, it seemed to be easier to work with in creating lessons and activities.  I watched a few other videos and read some articles on the activboard, one thing I disagreed with on some of the videos was allowing the younger grades to use the calculator feature.  I do not think that students should be able to use calculators until they have reached the higher level maths, such as algebra or calculus.  Although the board is not touch activated, this could be an advantage because you could point to the board without having to worry about moving something.
   In the video it shows being able to look at an object in 3D, as well as rotate the object around in order to see a full scale model.  The clickers are a great tool in allowing the students to answer questions anonymously and can also help the students evaluate on how much knowledge they know on any given subject.  These clickers also help the teachers evaluate what the students know.  This method is a great way to get the students involved.  It's not embarrassing for the students if they get an answer incorrect and provides for a less stressful atmosphere.
     Some questions that I would have is:
         If this board would allow more than one student to work on the board at once? How the clickers could benefit the classes on a more regular basis? 

Weekly Reflections 5-6

Reflection #5

Hetty King, Sarah Stanley, Alec, Felicity, Janet, Olivia, and Cecily King.

     As I watched a few episodes of one of my favorites series, "Road to Avonlea,"  I found myself watching how Miss Hetty King got her students interested in their studies.  She had no tolerance for any fun and games; Hetty instructed, the students listened, and answered questions when needed.  When Hetty told a student how to work the problem, it was in the same manner.  This particular style of teaching is not the favorite style among students and often leads to boredom or lack of interest.  Although, there will always be students who do not enjoy school, our job as a teacher is to create a fun learning environment where students are engaged while learning.  With new technology and different styles of teaching, I want to be able to teach the students that school is not just about sitting in class listening to a lecture, but rather where the students can learn the facts through discovery, visual and direct teaching. I hope to get the students excited about school and learning.

Reflection #6

 

     Ooh!  I have found the many wonders of using Wordle.  When I first tried to use it, the site would not work for me.  It took me a while to figure out that I needed to have the Java software on my computer in order for the program to work.  Once I had figured that out, I had a blast making up some super cool Wordles of my favorite words.

Before Class Post 1

One thing that I have learned about the SMART Board is that when one of the pens has been taken off or may be missing, you can still write with other objects like a tennis ball.

A confusing thing that I haven't figured out is the Page Recording function.

Assignment 1: Technology Literacy Blog

     In the article “Use of SMART Boards for teaching, learning and assessment in kindergarten science,” the authors, Chris Preston and Lee Mowbray, discuss the uses, value, and limitations that come with using a SMART Board in a kindergarten science class.  The research that the authors provided for this article is from Abbotsleigh Junior School.  Because of its many features – such as highlighting and writing text using ones finger or other object, playing videos or sounds by pressing an object, and playing with the multimedia games – the SMART Board, also known as the interactive white board, is a great asset to a classroom.  The features and its many other uses help get the students engaged and interested in the lessons, excited to come to class, and provide a good aid by using plenty of visuals or audio.  According to the teachers, the students give more attention to the lesson because they can see, hear, and interact with the topics with the use of the board.  Although there were many benefits to having the interactive white board in class, there also some drawbacks.  For example, the board can only be used by one child at a time or the board can be a distraction if students are working in separate groups.   The interactive white board’s potential for helping students become more involved with their education is high, but there are also limitations in using this technology that the teacher will have to work around.   

     While reading this article, I could see the benefits, as well as the drawbacks of using this technology with a kindergarten class.  I agree with the author that kindergarten students need a lot of direct instruction and teacher modeling while teaching science or other subjects.  The interactive white board’s usefulness in helping with teacher modeling and instruction can increase a child’s understanding in science.  Students have a better time understanding when they are able to see and experience what they are learning.  In science, being able to learn through discovery is especially helpful because they can feel and smell many things such as rocks, grass, or trees.  Also I agreed with some of the drawbacks with the board in that only one student can use it at a time, but I have recently learned over the past few weeks of many different methods that can be applied where all of the students are involved and participating in an activity using the white board.

     This article was very beneficial to me because I have gained a better understanding of some of the benefits and limitations of using the SMART Board.  Also, the board must be used effectively and efficiently within the classroom or else it will become a hindrance rather than a benefit.

Citation:

Preston, Chris and Lee Mowbray. "Use of SMART Boards for 
     Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Kindergarten Science.”  
     Teaching Science - the Journal of the Australian Science 
     Teachers Association.  June 2008: 5.

NETS for Teachers:

3.   Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

     This standard is important as a teacher because the age that we live in now is full of technology.  Each year new technology is brought into schools; and in order to teach with it fluently, teachers must be proficient at working with technology.  It will also help when giving assignments because you will be aware of what programs or sites will be most beneficial for your students.  Being able to perform a task with technology will allow you to model instructions, which will be beneficial to your students if they are new to a program or are not very fluent in that program.

Three ways that I can work on this throughout the semester consist of:

·       To always be open to new ways of doing something on a program or online.

-        For instance, learning how to use the graphs and higher functions on excel.

·       Observe how my professors and fellow classmates give presentations using technology, then memorizing anything new that I see, and trying to perform the process later.

·       Finding new sites that can help in my teaching and learning

-        Teacher Tube, Teacher.net, etc.

NETS for Students:
      1.  Creativity and Innovation

     This standard is important for students because it causes them to use what knowledge they have in order to create or improve an idea.  Because technology is becoming an important role with the education system, students are able to take their ideas and explore new ways of demonstrating their ideas.  This helps them not only to think for themselves, but it can also help students become more active within the classroom.

Two assignments that students could do to meet this standard consist of: 

1. After direct instruction, students are placed into groups and must create a three slide power point showing different pictures of animals and listing the type of animal.  
2. Students will be placed into predetermined pairs, create a word problem containing fractions, solve it, and present the problem to the class.  Each group will have to write the problem on the board as they are explaining it.

Week 6: Children and Technology

     I read the article, Generations IM, and saw just how much technology the children of this generation have experienced.  This article notes how that children are around technology or media about 44 hours a week.  When I read that I was astonished and could not believe that kids were playing on electronics for such a long period of time.  It's quite amazing how much technology has advanced since I was a kid.  Because the students of this generation are growing up with so much technology in their lives, applying this technology into the schools would benefit the students because they are more interested in what they are learning.       The author also points out how the teachers feel concerning all of this new technology.  For a while, I was not sure why teachers would not want to integrate new technology right away into their class; now I see that every time new technology comes out, teachers would have to learn how to use it well enough so that the new tech would flow smoothly with the lessons.  Because technology advances so quickly, there is always higher forms of tech coming out.  This put a lot of strain on the teachers if they are always assimilating new technology, because it takes so much time to learn how to use it and then apply within the classroom.  This is just one of the factors pointed out in the article as to why teachers are hesitant to use new technology.
     Likewise, I really enjoyed how the author gives seven ways to help assimilate technology into the classroom that would not only be beneficial to the teacher and students, but also to the teachers.  For instance, having a blog for your class, where they can post assignments or comments.  I really liked the creative ways that the teachers used in order to keep the identity of their students safe.
     This article was really beneficial in teaching about how involved in technology the students of this generations are and with more technology advancing, how we as teachers will need to adapt to the new generations of students.

Week 5: Educator's Blog

     As I was reading through a high school teacher's blog, I noticed how many different categories that teacher had posted on the blog.  While looking through the categories, one of the mathematics posts caught my attention.  The blog, Trigonometry Applied, was the first blog that I found interesting.  It was cool to see that the teacher did not just have the students sitting in the classroom listening to a lecture, but instead had the students go outside, find an object, measure the object, create an equation with an unknown factor, and then solve the problem using the knowledge that they had learned within the classroom.  While the students were still doing their homework, they were able to spend sometime time outside in the sun.
     One thing that I learned from this blog, is that hands-on activities do not have to be just indoors, but the students can also learn while being outside as well.  These kind of activities, where the students are exploring the possibilities for themselves, is an effective way of helping the students learn the curriculum.

Weekly Reflections 3-4

Reflection #3
     I learned at an early age that every teacher has a different style of teaching.  However today, as I sat in chapel, I noticed that teachers also has his or her own style of connecting the content to real life through jokes, references to the past, or some other method.  Sometimes they can connect the content to the present day, cultural movements of the past, or attempt to convey the content through really bad jokes.  Unfortunately, sometimes the students do not understand the connection at all and because of this the teacher needs to be sure and use terminology that is appropriate for their age and generation.  For instance, simply talking about the cultural movement in the 60's may not be enough information for someone to connect the reference to your content.  So when making a connection with the students, the teacher needs to make sure that the students will understand the connection being made between the content and the reference.

Reflection #4
     So today as I was playing around with the SMART Board software on my computer, I found that the interactive software can also be used without having a notebook open.  For instance, I can magnify, highlight, circle, cover, draw, calculate, and so many other things while on my desktop.  Also, when Firefox was having technical difficulties and wouldn't zoom in on a website, I was able to use the magnifying tool on the SMART task bar, which allowed me to read the web page.  Now I have been using the task bar for other things such as using the shortcut to the calculator, the cover screen for helping me focus on reading specific points, and the pen to draw stick people.  Although the stick people do not help me with homework, it is still fun to do.

Week 4: SMART BOARD: Knowledge and Questions?

     I learned many things while watching the presentations on the SMART Board.  For instance, when playing a review game, the teacher should get the entire class involved by having everyone answer the questions on paper while one student is at the board.  Also, technology does not always work the way you want.  While watching others use the features of the interactive white board, I learned how to use the magic pen, highlighter, locking feature, indefinite cloner, and how to link sound and video to an object.

Questions I still have concerning the board:
     What does the page recording do?  How to keep the lesson flowing when technology does not respond correctly?

Assignment 2: Working with the SMART Board

     In this assignment, I downloaded the Koosh Ball Template and used some questions that would make a math review for 3rd grade students.  I will be using a number of features for the activity: two of which include, sounds that have been linked with objects and some interactive games that came with the SMART board software.
     Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making was the NETS standard for students that I focused on when making this game.  This is standard 4 and states, "Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources."

     Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments was the NETS standard for teachers that I followed.  This is standard number two and it states that, "Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S."

     The interactive white board can be of great help within the classroom because there are a variety of teaching methods.  For example, a teacher is able to use plenty of visuals, which will help students by seeing the picture along with the words.  Also being able to connect with your students through technology will help while you are teaching the lesson.

Weekly Reflections 1-2

Reflection #1
     In most of my classes, I have had to use technology in order to complete assignments.  I have used Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Excel.  Now in Environmental Science,  my sister has to use more advanced functions within Excel.  As I was helping her find some of these functions, I realized that there were a lot of functions in Excel that I had never used before and had no idea how to use them.  I decided to go through and figure out what some of them did.  I not only figured out how to use the t-test, but I also learned that Excel can do calculations for some high level math.  I was pretty impressed at how far Excel had come since I learned how to use it in 2003.

Reflection #2
     This week I spent a lot of time playing with the smart board software.  It's amazing what can be done with this technology.  I decided to choose a game from the website and then when I finished writing a question, I asked my roommate to answer them.  It was fun to work out all of the errors in the game.  It took plenty of time, but the time seemed to go by pretty quickly.  There are so many different features on this software and I am sure that I have not even figured out half of what can be done with this software.

The Interactive Whiteboard

Introducing Interactive Whiteboards into Schools 

     In this article, the author discusses the many different type of teachers who began to use the interactive whiteboard.  I found it very interesting in reading all of the different reactions that the teachers had to these interactive whiteboards.  Although I knew that some of the older teachers do not like change and often reject it, I was a little surprised at some of the reactions toward the board.

      Some of the teachers were very excited and eager about using the new interactive whiteboards; whereas, other teachers believed that traditional studying is the only way to teach. These teachers think that when the student knows more about technology than the teacher, the teacher loses his/her credibility and that using this new boards takes more time to prepare for each class period.  Many other teachers also believe that there has been enough change within the education system; these new boards are just another change to deal with and these teachers feel they cannot handle anymore change.  

     I think that these interactive whiteboards are amazing and should be used within education.  They do not hinder the students' academic study and they seem to increase student participation within the class.  The author also states that many schools who started to use the interactive whiteboards began to see improvements after two years.  These boards are entertaining for the students and will help to keep their attention in class. 

Cool Education Blogs

http://www.handheldlearning.co.uk/content/view/61/
     I found this to be a very interesting article and a good topic for discussion with some friends.  I don't agree with the author that a four year old should play with an i-phone.  My friend pointed out that a child should not be staring at a screen for so long at such an early age and I agree.  I am heartily for teaching children to learn with technology, but I do not think that giving them an i-phone is the best way that they can learn.

Beginning of Semester Reflection

I have always loved working with kids, but my desire to become a teacher started when I was hired as a lifeguard and swim instructor.  I really enjoyed working with the students and teaching them how to swim.  I really enjoyed watching the students start out as beginner swimmers and then progress to swimming the length of the pool.  It is also fun to see the students’ reaction when they finally understand a concept that we had been working on for a little while.  To watch the students’ progress and have fun while learning is a very exciting aspect of teaching.  As a teacher I would love to teach grades kindergarten through third. 

In this class, Technology in Education, I wish to learn how to integrate all the new technology with the curriculum that I will be using within the classroom.  I’m excited to read through the blogs of other teachers, in order to see the different experiences that other educators encounter.  As well as, the articles concerning technology and how it can be applied in a teaching environment.