I have so many emotions regarding the use of technology in K-12 schools. I go back and forth as to how much technology should be used and for what reasons. I have questions as to the best ways to use it and how I should include my kids in the usage. Assessment questions come to rise as well. Even with all of these questions, I still find technology the way to the future. I believe it will give our kids the most opportunities in their careers and professions. I don’t believe there are many jobs in our society that don’t include some sort of technology. I want my kids to be computer literate and to know how to make an orange spin on a PowerPoint or add an audio file to a Moviemaker video.
So how do you include technology in your classroom? These past three weeks I have been able to brush up on my technology skills- I have learned new concepts to add to old knowledge. This is something I have enjoyed, marveled in, wanted to throw my computer out the window, and been excited about. I am on a kick of wan to incorporate technology into everything I do. Last semester I took a technology course that focused on incorporating media literacy into the curriculum, so this is just something else I can add to that knowledge. How exciting!!!
I don’t have all of the answers to the right ways of going about making my room more technologically advanced, but I feel I have some great starting spots. The $1500.00 grant money got me thinking about what I would buy if I were ever given the opportunity. I think the draft I turned in was just that, a draft. I thought it was a great assignment to get me thinking about what I would do if I had a chance like the one presented to me. I would change a lot of my choices, but would find it extremely hard to make the final decisions.
I have found technology to be my friend and my enemy these past three weeks. I’m not sure what I like best, but I am glad that I have the option of having it around.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Week Two Reflection CI 5351
As week one wraps up, I have been reminded of how important, fun and easy technology is to incorporate into my classroom. I tend to shy away from it because of the time factor, but am now aware how effective it is when I use it and how much my kids enjoy seeing something new and creative. It seems that graduate school is allowing me to explore more with technology, and I have appreciated this aspect a lot. I believe learning with technology will not only benefit my students, but will also benefit me. The students will be able to experience different types of learning and I will be able to teach to all types of learners. (multi-intelligences)
This week has given me more time to ponder on the usage of technology in my class. I believe it doesn’t end with a PowerPoint or concept map; it goes a lot further. I want to take my knowledge to a new level. I want to bring in new ideas that haven’t been used in our school. I have great ideas, but I once again go back to the time factor. My plan, being I am on a “technology high” is to spend my summer creating and brainstorming different ways of using media in my room. I hope to accomplish at least starting a blog for my students and to get a projector in my room. I foresee these two goals happening and hopefully much more.
This week has given me more time to ponder on the usage of technology in my class. I believe it doesn’t end with a PowerPoint or concept map; it goes a lot further. I want to take my knowledge to a new level. I want to bring in new ideas that haven’t been used in our school. I have great ideas, but I once again go back to the time factor. My plan, being I am on a “technology high” is to spend my summer creating and brainstorming different ways of using media in my room. I hope to accomplish at least starting a blog for my students and to get a projector in my room. I foresee these two goals happening and hopefully much more.
Week One Reflection CI 5351
I look around the halls of my school and realize how technology has taken over the old. iPods have replaced walkmans, text messaging has replaced passing notes, flash drives have replaced floppy disks and smart boards have replaced overheads. I myself am hungry for the new technological advances and ways to incorporate them into my Language Arts curriculum. With this observation in mind, I think of our school and how it is meeting the needs of our students. We offer them ways to solve mathematical equations, explore the anatomy of a frog, re-create acts from Shakespeare, learn how to speak in a different languages and how to play paddleball, but do we use media to help us with these activities?
In my school’s Language Arts curriculum, it does not address the issues of technology beyond what the state of Minnesota requires. We are not forced to incorporate technology into our lessons or use technology as a learning tool. We offer a business course that focuses on media and technology but we, as teachers, do not build upon the skills they have learned from that course in our own classrooms. It is apparent that my students are hungry for technology- they thrive on seeing persuasion used in the media rather than just talking about it. When they can relate it to their everyday lives, they have a better grasp on it. When I pull clips from TV shows and movies to explain their weekly vocabulary, they have more interest and fun with it.
Our school needs to go beyond showing the movie of the book or event in history after they have read/learned about it and be more creative with the use of media in the classroom. In my opinion, movies have great value if used correctly, but from what I have seen, they are used to allow the teacher to “catch up” or a day off from teaching.
In my school’s Language Arts curriculum, it does not address the issues of technology beyond what the state of Minnesota requires. We are not forced to incorporate technology into our lessons or use technology as a learning tool. We offer a business course that focuses on media and technology but we, as teachers, do not build upon the skills they have learned from that course in our own classrooms. It is apparent that my students are hungry for technology- they thrive on seeing persuasion used in the media rather than just talking about it. When they can relate it to their everyday lives, they have a better grasp on it. When I pull clips from TV shows and movies to explain their weekly vocabulary, they have more interest and fun with it.
Our school needs to go beyond showing the movie of the book or event in history after they have read/learned about it and be more creative with the use of media in the classroom. In my opinion, movies have great value if used correctly, but from what I have seen, they are used to allow the teacher to “catch up” or a day off from teaching.
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