Digital Blog Post #D

One thing in chapter eight that has an effect on all students and teachers now is the idea of electronic communication. It is a great tool to have because teachers can continue to teach without the students actually having to be in the classroom. As we all know, email is a great way to communicate. When students do not understand something, they do not physically have to be in the classroom to ask. They can email the teacher and the teacher can respond. Another great tool to have is a classroom website. I think this is a good thing to have for an elementary classroom. The teacher can update the website daily so that the parents know what their child is learning and what is happening for the week. I think teachers and student should take advantage of the many tools that they have when it comes to electronic communication.

This article, Keep parents in the loop with a class website, explains how parents want to be included in their children’s education and gives a list of possible sites to allow teachers to build their classroom website.

Chapter ten talks about multicultural education. It is important for students to know about other cultures and traditions and technology allows that. Teachers and students can learn new stories online and can bring that to the classroom. Online outlets allow students to do their cultural project by researching different traditions from a certain culture. Technology can bring new teaching methods to diverse students and can teach new ideas to teachers and students about different cultures

 

Technology can also allow accommodations to be made for students who need them. Different websites and interactive teaching pages can be accessed for a student that learns better in that way. The idea to use these sites in a classroom can make learning easier for those students. Also, educational websites can act as a “tutor” for students that are struggling with a certain subject. They can use these websites at home for the extra help that they may need.  

 

Resources:

Haines, R. (n.d.). Keep parents in the loop with a class website. Retrieved March 05, 2016, from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/6639

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Lin, E. (2013, December 10). Pen Pal: Promoting cultural awareness in the modern classroom. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msfVtVgT_Dc

 

 

 

Digital Blog Post #C

One thing that interested me from chapter five was the idea of using e-Books and e-Readers. Nowadays, technology is everywhere and people are constantly using these devices daily. Young students are using the Internet as a place to learn skills daily as well. Today, almost everyone has some sort of e-Reader, whether it is a Kindle or an iPad. Some schools have already switched over to electronic e-Readers and some schools may be in the process. It is a good way to get students interested. If they had a choice between a regular book and an iPad, they would probably choose the iPad. This is why e-Readers should be in every school. It is new and it interests the students.

This brings me to my next point: electronic note-taking. For many students, regular note-taking does not do anything. They are simply just copying everything that the teacher says and they get nothing out of it. Notes written on paper also have a possibility of getting lost. With electronic note-taking, many of these problems are avoided. NoteStar is a program that students can use that has all of their notes in one place, avoiding the chance that it can get lost. OneNote allows students to record what the teacher is saying so that they actually get something out of the lecture. These new programs can allow students to get more out of school because they can pay attention to what they teacher is saying. Electronic note-taking can be a step in the right direction when it comes to note-taking in school.

In chapter seven, computer games being used in classrooms interested me. We all know that new games and apps are coming out every day, and children are playing these games. Why not use the games that they enjoy to teach them something while they are playing it. Gamification is the idea that behavior can be influenced by adding gaming applications in different situations. This can greatly affect the behavior in a classroom because they will want to be rewarded for what they have done. This idea continues to be used in classrooms today.

Here is a Map I made to go along with the chapters:

Resources:

Crouch, E. (2013, January 31). iPads in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSNdxsfk0Q

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Smith, K. (2016, February 21) Bubbl.us. Retrieved from https://bubbl.us/mindmap.

Digital Blog Post #B

One part of the chapter that stood out to be was the idea of “teacher-centered” and “student-centered”. These are two different teaching philosophies that can lead a classroom. The idea of having a teacher-centered classroom does not seem very realistic to me. With this approach, teachers are basically just telling students what they need to be taught. For my future classroom, having a student-centered philosophy seems more fitting. With this approach, teachers are there as a guide. They can help students learn through different ways such as puzzles, exploration and asking questions to keep them engaged. Learning about these different philosophies really made me think about how I would want my future classroom to be. I would rather give the students a great experience than just drown them in information that they may not be interested in.

The four learning theories are very important to know for teachers. These four theories shape a classroom and teachers should know about all of them. Behaviorism refers to behavior based on something that has happened. When technology is involved in this, the computer can be described as the teacher for the student. Cognitivism states that learning is influenced by memory, motivation and attention. This means that computer programs must keep the students engaged and interested. Constructivism shows that everyone looks at the world in different ways. This means that computer programs should focus on the students and not the teachers. Constructionism states that students build their own knowledge. This shows that when students can create their own computer program, it can help them more than if it was created by an adult. (Maloy, 49). Teachers should understand these theories for classrooms in general, but if technology is being used, they should look out for the right programs that could be used.

The final section that interested me was the methods that are used to engage students. Teachers know that some subjects are just not for everybody. That is why we must use different approaches in order to help get students engaged. I know that learning groups help engage students because they are with their peers. Groups can allow students to engage with one another in order to find the best way to figure out the answer. Metacognitive thinking is also very important for upper level students. If a student really knows how they learn, they will succeed in school. It is important for teachers to imply how important it is for students to understand their own learning styles.

Resources:


Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Smith, K. (2016, February 6). Created with Bitstrips. http://www.bitstrips.com/

Student-centered classroom and Bloom's taxonomy. Retrieved February 6, 2016 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIFZd0aakvg.

Digital Blog Post #A

First, I think it is important to know that today’s children are from the iGeneration. This is great technology that is being used in homes for entertainment. Yet it is still just coming into schools. The computer has many great tools that students can use but, as the book states, some students do not have access to such tools. This is why I enjoyed reading about what teachers can use this technology for. If you go into an elementary classroom today, technology is what you see. You will see some students taking their tests on the computers. You will see the SMART board powered up and ready to be used. It is great that some students that do not have access to technology at home can get it at their schools. Here is a video that describes the Blended Learning (technology in a classroom) and the effect that it has on the students.

 

I liked reading about TPACK. This stands for Technological pedagogical content knowledge. This is a great way for teachers to use technology while teaching their students what they need to know. This website, TeachingTeachers for the Future, is a great site that explains what this is.  This also benefits the students, as we know they all learn in different ways.

Lastly, I liked reading about social media in schools. As we all know, social media is a way of life nowadays. As a teacher, social media can be a good way to connect with other teachers, parents and students. This can broaden their own technology use in their classrooms. As the book says, social media plays an important role in classrooms because it is a way to interact with your students when they are no longer at school. I think that this is a great tool to bring into my classroom.

In conclusion, this chapter makes you realize just how important it is to use technology in your classroom. It is both beneficial for the teachers and the students because it makes it easier for everyone to connect with each other. This chapter greatly explained just how important it is to use technology as teachers.

Resources

Blended Learning: Transforming Classrooms with Technology. Retrieved January 24, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hu4Jy7LHtE

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Retrieved January 24, 2016 from http://www.ttf.edu.au/what-is-tpack/what-is-tpack.html