End of Semester Reflection...

When I began this class I was a little indifferent about it. I was excited to be in it because I thought it would be fun. However, I honestly didn't think that I would learn much that I didn't already know. How ignorant of me! My view of the role that technology plays in learning has changed so much!

I now realize things that I wasn't aware of before. My experience in school was one of limited technology. We had overhead projectors. I remember when white boards were the new thing! Our new generations need to have technology incorporated into their learning for them to learn successfully.

Current generations are surrounded by technology. Televisions, computers, video games, cell phones, interactive toys...the list goes on and on. These things are interesting and captivating to children. As educators, we are loosing a great opportunity if we neglect to incorporate these things into the classroom.

Since beginning this class I have become more aware of the use of technology in learning around me. I see when it is used and works well, and I notice when it isn't used and should be. Because of this class, I now feel more confident to use technology in my everyday teaching. I have learned things that I never would have learned without this class. I recommend that every teacher-to-be take a class like this one...it taught me so much and more importantly it helped me feel confident to use technology in my future class.

Week 7- Greatest Tech and Teaching clallenge...

My greatest challenge regarding technology and teaching is time. Sadly, this great thing called technology takes time to implement...especially for someone who is just an average technology person. It takes time to learn, time to do, and time to perfect.

I plan to overcome this challenge by continuing my education in technology. It I keep working and experimenting with it now, before I am in a classroom, I am going to have more ideas and feel that there is an ease of use because it will be things that I have experience with. Just as we as teachers write lesson plans and file away ideas for our classroom, technology should be the same way. Things that I am beginning to do now, such as creating my website, I am going to remember and continue to work on. This way, when I beginning teaching in my classroom, the learning of new technology won't be so intimidating.

Reflection #10

I have noticed the use of technology increase in my classroom! This is an exciting thing. Last year my teacher was so busy finishing her masters degree that she simply didn't have the time to incorporate the use of items such as the interactive board into the class. It is exciting to see these things starting to be incorporated.

It's almost as if I am able to have a hand in starting to use the items with the class for the first time. Next semester when I will be teaching more, I want to make the use of technology a goal of mine. I am going to get to the point where it will be second nature to me! How exciting is this?!

Assignment #4

I created a website for my final project. It is a site that is meant to be accessible to both students and parents. The URL is, http://mbharrold.webs.com/.

This was such a helpful learning experience for me. Creating something like this was always on my list of things that I wanted to do, however I felt a bit intimidated about it. Now that I have had the opportunity to do it, I realize that there are a lot of technology things that I can do...not only do but do well. Once I started creating my site I began to get more and more creative. I had many ideas pop into my head and decided to include some of these on my site. It was hard for me to choose a stopping point. If this were a real site for my real classroom, I would be adding and changing things at least once a week. I hope everyone who looks at my site enjoys the material I included and finds it helpful.

The technology features that my site incorporates include:

• wiki's
• multi-page website
• blog

(Ideally I would like to include other items, like video's students make for various projects...etc. There are just so many possibilities!)

I decided to create my project and then see where it fit into the NETS standards. This was I was creating what I wanted to create without putting myself in a box. But after finishing my project and then looking at the standards, I realize that my project covers so many of them!

For the NETS-T it covers:

• 1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity- I have included projects on my site that require student participation. These projects invite students to be creative, innovative, and responsible.
• 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments- The interactive parts of my site are set up in such a way so that my students need to use 'digital tools' to completes the assignments. The projects allow for my students different learning styles to be addressed.
• 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning- By using a web site, I am involving parents into the education of their children. They can use the web site to contact me as well as a means to get involved. This site acts as a way for me to communicate effectively to both parents and students.

For the NETS-S it covers:

• 1. Creativity and Innovation- By requiring students to participate in activities on the web site such as writing activities, they are gaining experience in both the use of digital tools and writing.
• 2. Communication and Collaboration- Student projects on the site include a class collaborative story created by putting together writing from each student. Another project requires students to answer weekly question which are submitted to me. This is a way for students to communicate with each other as well as individually with the teacher.
• 5. Digital Citizenship- By introducing the wiki feature to students, they are required to use responsible decisions when adding their content and not disturb the content posted by other students.

I have realized that the NETS standards are a wonderful guide for teachers. They don't require anything that isn't doable. Just by creating my project and then looking at the standards, I have covered have of the NETS-T and the NETS-S.

This project has been a great learning experience. I now feel a lot more confident about using technology in the classroom. We are to the point in our society where technology needs to be a central point in our classroom learning environment. I now feel as though I will be able to do this smoothly.

Reflection #9

I had so much fun creating my web site. I spent way too much time on the little details...switching colors or fonts...which don't really matter. It took a lot of time, however it was time that I didn't realize I was spending. I would sit down to work on it and look up and two hours had gone by.

I feel excited to continue learning about new technology. By the time I graduate and am ready for a job, I want to have a bunch of technology projects in my back pocket that I can pull out and them. Just from this final project, I now understand what wiki's are and what a good web site needs. Because I have simply been in this class I feel more prepared for my future as a teacher. Not just a teacher, but a technology educated teacher!

My Technology Project Plan

For my technology project I am going to create a webpage as if I had a class. On there I want to add a wiki or two, I haven't quite decided what they will be for yet. My goal for my webpage is for it to be easy for both parents and students to access the information that they need. I want it to be informative and fun and a convey the learning environment that I hope to create in my future classroom.

Reflection #8

I first came to NU when it wasn't NU but rather NC. Took some time off and now have been back for awhile to finish things up. I have noticed such a huge difference! Besides there being a completely new building where there was once a road, there is a huge amount of new technology!

Back my freshman year, a certain well known professor who shall remain nameless, told me to go out and buy a new computer because my iMac wasn't a real computer and wasn't supported by the network. Wow, how far we have come...the school supports Mac!!! ;-) Now we have a computer in every class, document cameras, SmartBoards, cool software...it's great to see NU working to improve these things for students and faculty. I have noticed that each semester things get better and better with regards to technology. This is a great thing!

My Smart Board Presentation

My presentation didn't go exactly as I had hoped. Part of the problem was that I was really sick when I was supposed to present so I presented a couple of weeks later. I think the thrill of seeing presentations had warn off for my fellow classmates. :-)

I still think my game, Punctuation Paintball, was a lot of fun. It is something that I would like to use with my students next spring in my cooperating classroom. We have an interactive board in there so I am going to try to incorporate that into my teaching.

I think it will be easier to get kids excited about it...they are so much easier to teach than my peers! But I am glad that I got the opportunity to show the use of the Smart Board in front of a group of people. It was a good preparation experience.

Reflection #7

I was just thinking about the amount of time technology can take up. Is it worth the time? To plan a lesson takes time as it is but to incorporate a bunch of technology into it takes even more time. Does the average teacher have the time to get this all done?

It's just that all of these things are so great...video, websites, wiki's...but is it all realistic? When is a teacher supposed to have a life outside of school? I want to know how to balance learning what all these are, how to use them, how to implement them, and still maintain a balance in life. I suppose figuring all of this out is something that will just take time! :-)

Reflection #6

So I found this really cool competition that's going on. It involves musicians posting video's of themselves, one showcasing their musical ability, and one playing a specific piece of work, to vie for a chance to play at Carnegie Hall in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. Read the article here.

This got me thinking about the possibilities regarding education and contests like this. What about students doing some sort of project to win computers for their classroom? Or a teacher connecting with other teachers to compare different students work? I think that TeacherTube should launch some sort of fun bi-yearly competition...this would get teachers and students using technology more and would open up many possibilities. As educators we need to stop fighting against the change in schools and use it to our advantage. Find ways to make technology fun for students and yourself as a teacher. And what's more fun than some friendly competition to win something you really want?

The Classroom in 5 Years...

What do I think my classroom will look like in 5 years? Honestly, I think it will look much like it does now. I don't think students will be flying to school with jet-backpacks or that pencils will be considered an out of date item (even though jet-backpacks would be lots of fun!).

One major thing I see changing would be the continued ease of using technology. It just keeps getting easier and easier and more available to EVERYONE. I imagine that as a teacher, I will incorporate technology into the classroom and learning more than the average teacher does now. This is only because I grew up in a generation that was beginning to understand and use technology more.

I think that every student will have access to a computer...whether it's in the classroom or in a computer lab. Instead of requiring 3 books for a research project, it might turn into requiring 3 web sources. Teachers will always be invaluable, unable to be replaced. While technology is great and helps kids learn, it cannot replace the compassion and dedication that a good teacher will inspire them with.

I really want to be able to use technology everyday in my classroom. I want to hook up with a school overseas and have some sort of email/Internet phone pen pal program. I want to use photography and video as teaching tools. I want my students to discover and learn about technology by jumping in and using it. Overall, I have positive feelings about the future classroom. It will be like a new model of a car...it's the same as the old just a bit more stylish and with a few more features.

Gradebook Software...

Tonight in class I had a chance to work with Chalksite. It is an online free grade book software. You can pay for a subscription to unlock more features. I enjoyed the software and found it easy to use.

There were a couple of things that I would like to see different. For example, when you add an assignment and forget to add it to the grade book right then, you can't go back and add it...you have to delete the assignment and start all over. I think it would be much easier to use if I were actually using it for a class. What I mean is that if I really had assignments with criteria and such, then I would be able to get more of a sense of what it can really do.

Overall, I think that grade book software is really important for a 21st century teacher to have. Chalksite is great, especially since it's free and so so simple. I will be adding this to my list of things to remember for my own classroom!

What are the internet safety Issues for the students in my class?

I actually don't quite know how to answer this...the students in my cooperating class seem to have free reign to play on the computers in class during the appropriate times. I have spent time watching them and they have been playing certain games. As far as their Internet usage, I don't know what they are allowed to use on a regular basis.

I did some research and found some information on the district website about the Internet usage policy. I found it helpful...this is what it says:

COMPUTERS/TECHNOLOGY
-Use of district computers, the network, and the
-Internet is for academic & research purposes only.
-Computer violations may result in disciplinary
consequences.
-Students must have an Informed Release and Consent
form on file to use the network or Internet.
-No games, audio files, video files or any other programs
may be downloaded or installed on computers or
servers without permission.
-Students may not alter desktop settings, passwords,
start-up files, etc., or alter, delete, or copy any
programs.
-Students are responsible for physical damage to
computer equipment they are using.
-Students participating in any chat, bulletin boards,
messaging or like services must be part of a
supervised learning activity.
-Students are responsible for content of files or e-mail
they create.
-Students will comply with Fair Use and copyright laws.
-Students should not share personal information such as
addresses and telephone numbers on-line.
-Students should tell a teacher or other adult whenever
they see information that is dangerous or inappropriate
on the Internet, or when using e-mail or
other services.
(This is found in the parent/student handbook for the Issaquah school district.)

I think this information is great. It says exactly what isn't appropriate and was really easy to find. This issue of Internet safety is something that I am going to make a point to speak to my cooperating teacher about. While I can't imagine it being an issue, the reality is that it might be. As educators, or even responsible adults, we need to be aware of the issues children may be facing while online.

Word Features

I have the new Microsoft word on my computer. Before, I always used the basic features. I used to be really proud of myself when I could change the color and type of font! Since upgrading to the new word, I have found some features that are really useful to me.

The two new features (they may not be actually new to word, however they are new to me!) that I have been using on a regular basis are the bibliography feature and the table feature. Word keeps track of all your sources when writing a paper and will output it into whatever format you choose. This has come in really handy and worked perfect for my papers that I have written this year.

I use the table feature when I am writing my lesson plans. I make the size table I need and then merge cells or whatever I need to do with it and then it acts as a partition for different information. It has been really helpful and makes my lesson plans easier for me to write and use.

I have found that since I upgraded to the new word I am more apt to experiment with new things. I'm glad I did otherwise I wouldn't have found these new features and my life would still be just a little bit harder. I recommend trying out these features when you are using word the next time!

Online Learning Experience

I attended two different "online learning experiences."

The first was 21st Century Learning #70: Loving Moodle from EdTechTalk.com. I came across the name of Moodle and was curious as to what it was. Moodle is free classroom management software. It allows students and teachers to collaborate more easily. (It is the same sort of thing that we have set up at NU with the discovery site.) The session was talking about how easy Moodle is to use for everyone; for tech savvy and non tech savvy people. Some of the ways they mentioned using it was posting lessons, turning in assignments, posting lesson plans, wiki feature, and many other things. This particular session was a bit over my head at times. It appears that this software is more for upper level schools and colleges. The hosts were talking about other things with acronyms and not explaining what they meant so I found that I didn't understand everything they were talking about. If you understand what Moodle is and use it in your school, then I highly suggest listening to this session.

My other learning experience was It's Elementary #22: Gaming in the Elementary Classroom also from EdTechTalk.com. For those of you who know me, my darling husband is a video game producer so I was immediately drawn to this topic. This was an interesting session talking about the different types of games, learning opportunities that games present, barriers to using games in the classroom, and some games that should never and will never be a part of the classroom. This was a very interesting session to attend. For someone who doesn't know much about games, it is helpful to learn all about them...that they are not all the same. There is educational merit to some of them and can be a valuable asset to the classroom. I encourage you to listen to this session...it was really good!

Overall I would say that my online education experience was successful. I wish I had understood more about the first session, however now I know more of what to look for when I am choosing one of these sessions. The second was fun for me because I understood what they were talking about. Now that I have done this once, I am going to keep my eyes and ears open for sessions on topics that I would really enjoy. I will do this again!

Assignment #3

Many times, learning happens when children don't even realize that they are learning because they are having fun. For this reason, I chose to share a punctuation game for my SmartBoard presentation. You can find the game here.

This game covers standards for both the NETS for students and teachers.

For the NETS for Students it covers standard:

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

Students:

a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.

c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.

d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.

(This game fits into this NETS-S because it is allowing students to practice their knowledge about a particular topic, punctuation, and lets them show the group what they know. It uses a model to have them practice their knowledge and it helps them see the similarities between different sentence construction thus identifying trends.)

For the NETS for teachers it covers standard:

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S.

Teachers:

a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress

c. customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching

(This activity fits into this NETS-T because it promotes learning something in a creative way using technology. It allows students to assess their own knowledge. The teacher is able to personalize the activity to each individual student, placing them at the level that they need work with. When used with the interactive board, it speaks to all types of learners: kinetic, auditory, and visual. As students are participating in the activity, it allows the teacher to make formative and summative assessments.)

One simple game can accomplish all of this! All the while it is fun and engaging for the students. I am excited to share it with everyone, I think they might have just a little too much fun!

Reflection #5

I love del.icio.us! I feel as though I have had a technological breakthrough. If you simply go to the website you can put in terms to search for and find a ton of great resources. I suppose this was the whole point to learning about it!

What I am trying to say, is that I am always learning something new with regards to using technology. Since the beginning of this class I have learned about html code, how to make a website, share information....the list goes on and on. I now keep my eyes open for the use of technology. Whenever it is mentioned, I find myself perking up and listening.

My classes talk about the use of the interactive white boards, document cameras, and computers. It's exciting to go into my cooperating classroom and see these things there, available for use. I feel like our children today are going to receive a better, more well-rounded, education than we could have imagined before. And it's only going to get better and better as we make technological advances.

Reflection #4

I came across a short article called, Technology Expert Visits Minot talking about a man named David Warlick. He is a technology expert that travels around the world speaking to educators. He was visiting North Dakota and speaking to educators across the state about how to take technology and incorporate it into the classroom. Warlick believes that a lot of the same technology that students use for fun can also be used for learning. He says that items such as video games are actually learning engines. (FYI, David Warlick is the author of the blog 2cents worth...one that we in this class had the option of reading)

This short article made me stop and think a little bit about the way that the world viewed technology when I was growing up. Video games were thought to be something that made kids stupid and lazy. This just isn't the case anymore. I see the potential that these items have for learning. I vow to be a teacher that will let students learn in the way that suits them best. If that means playing a Leap Frog video game to practice math facts, than so be it. Who am I to tell a student how to learn? As long as they are learning, what does it matter?

Assisnment #2: Resources

On my del.icio.us account I currently have 5 bundles. They are:

Educational Games where I am keeping a list of sites where I can find good educational games to be used on the interactive white board or by students individually on a computer.
Elementary Math where I keep track of sites that can aid me in teaching elementary math.
Elementary Science where I am putting sites that I come across that offer ideas about good science experiments and lessons for elementary science education.
Teacher Enrichment is a bundle where I am keeping sites that have information that I consider helpful and important to me as a teacher. These sites are things that offer good deals on supplies, articles that are pertinent, and even ideas for lesson plans.
Technology in the Classroom is a place for me to put sites that pertain to the use of technology in the classroom. These sites include links to things that would be fun to use in a class like the ANIMOTO video.

Here are a few of my favorite sites:

How Everyday Things are Made is a site put out by Standford University. It is a really fun site that offers videos about how everyday things are made. The list of items include everything from different candy to airplanes. I think that this is a great resource to have as a teacher. It comes from a reliable source and is something that would be engaging and helpful in the classroom.
Oriental Trading Company is a wonderful place to get supplies for your classroom. They have a special teacher section which includes items such as charts specifically for the classroom at REALLY good prices.
Fun Brain is a site sponsored by Leap Frog. It is a site full of fun, educational games and activities for grades K-8. Games from this site can be played on the interactive white board or individually during computer time.
Math Fact Cafe is a great site where you can make and print custom math flashcards, worksheets, or even game pieces.

I have become a del.icio.us lover! I find this technology very helpful for teachers. Our Internet is so vast it is impossible to know where to find the best sites. With the use of del.icio.us, good sites can be saved and shared with others. This is helpful to teachers because it allows them to check and see what other teachers are doing and to use those resources also. It's an easy way to share resources.

Reflection #3

This semester in school I have a lot of classes where the content overlaps or applies to other classes. For instance my Special Needs in Education class and my Instructional Design class both overlap and include material relevant to this class, Technology in Education. Let me explain...

Special Needs is a class that teaches us how to teach students with special needs. Instructional Design teaches us how to teach. Recently we have been discussing ways to effecitivally teach to students with special needs in both of those classes. One thing that is very helpful in teaching to students with special needs is the use of technology...which overlaps with this class.

Using things such as an interactive white board and PowerPoint's helps students who have special needs such as Autism. It provides a hands on approach with moving items. I feel excited to be learning in an environment where everything pertains to one another. The things that I am learning in this class, like how to use the interactive white board, are helping me understand some of the things in my other classes. I can visualize the things I would do with the interactive white board to help a student who has special needs.

It is great when everything comes together in a way that makes you feel confident that you really understand the material that you are learning. I feel confident that I understand the basics of how technology works and will be able to use it not only to help special needs students, but all of my students.

Reflection #2

Technology is a funny thing. It is possibly one of the only things that I sit down and start to fiddle with and look up and two hours have gone by. Case in point: my blogger background. Though it doesn't look like anything special right now, I have just spent the past couple hours playing with it...finally settling on basic with a cute owl picture and a couple punches of purple.

I guess what I am thinking is the fact that teachers are expected to use technology. This isn't a bad thing, however it certainly is a time consuming thing. I feel like there are so many things in technology to learn and see and do...that one can never learn, see, and do them all. How does a teacher learn how to do all of these great things and still maintain a semblance of a normal life?

I wrote a previous blog entry about the technology in my observation class and the fact that it isn't all being used. I understand why...there simply isn't enough time to figure it all out. But I love all of the possible things that I can do with technology. I guess it comes with the passion for learning new things. It's 11:30 on a Saturday night and I would rather sit here and figure this technology stuff out than watch a movie. I just want to know it all...it's just going to come with time.

Smart Board

Playing...no sorry...using the SMARTBoard was a lot of fun! I can see how it would be so beneficial to use in the classroom. The SMARTBoard brand of interactive boards are so easy to use. The software is very manageable and does so many neat things. I would assume that other brands of interactive boards would do the same thing.

I would try to use an interactive board everyday if I had one in my classroom. I can see it being especially helpful with mathematics, that would probably be my focus. Especially in our reformed math world that we are changing into. It's something that would work for every grade level as well.

The fifteen minutes that we had to spend with the SMARTBoard was simply not enough! I could have spent an hour and not gotten tired of using it and figuring it out. I am excited to have some more time so that I can become comfortable with it.

Blogs for Educators

I found a blog that I really enjoy. It's called The Tech Savvy Educator. I like this blog because the writer is being honest about his experiences with using technology in education. He also has some great ideas.

I appreciated his entry, Reading...that thing we did before video. I find this entry interesting because he is telling about a little problem he is having with students trying to find information without reading the material. I think this is an important problem that teachers, as digital immigrants, need to be aware of. Children today are used to seeing a video that tells them the answers or being able to just skim a paragraph on a website and have the answer jump out at them. I think that while using technology is a great thing, we need to be sure to properly educate our students in the way to do research.

Another entry that I really enjoyed was a lesson idea called The Google Earth Scavenger Hunt. This is a fun scavenger hunt where the students use the wonderful world of Google to find landmarks. I cannot wait to use this idea in my class! You really should check it out.

Reflection #1

My cooperating class is in a large school. They are in a district that has money. The classrooms are all stocked with brand new technology. My third grade class has two teacher computers, four student computers, an interactive board, and a document reader just to name a few. I think this is so amazing!

However, I don't see it being used! This frustrates me. My teacher uses the document camera quite a bit and will at times use the projector to post class rules or on task behavior expectations...but that's it. I feel like there is so much teaching and learning that can be done by using these resources. What is hard is that it takes up so much time to try to incorporate these pieces of technology into lessons. Designing a lesson plan on the interactive board takes a lot of effort.

The other week the math lesson was on elapsed time. My cooperating teacher and I could not figure out why the students were having such a hard time learning this concept. Now that I am thinking about it, I can see how using the interactive board would have been so helpful! We could have had the students go up to the board and actually play with a clock to see the change in time. They used little clocks at their tables but it was confusing to them. The students were having trouble figuring out where the hour hand should be when the minute hand moves...that it doesn't always stay pointing to the hour.

I hope that in the future I am able to be in a class that has all of these resources. That being said, I want to make sure that I am using them. I feel like there is this great opportunity that is currently going under utilized in my classroom in particular. Hopefully this is something that will change as the school year goes on. The longer that these interactive boards are in classrooms, there will be more information and lessons available. It's too bad that these great tools take up so much time to get going with them.

SMART board article...

I chose to read the article titled "Interactive Whiteboards Enhance Project Based Learning" by H. Ellwood. I found this article very inspiring as a future teacher. It gave examples of quite a few teachers who are using interactive white boards in their classrooms with a lot of success.

I learned about project based learning from this article. This is something that I haven't really thought much about being that I didn't learn this way. I think this is such a great idea. It basically means that teachers use interactive tools such as the SMART board for the students to prepare and present projects on/with. This approach to teaching puts the learning in the hands of the students. Instead of a teacher standing up and lecturing, it allows the teacher to make class more interesting to students by becoming more of a teacher-facilitator.

One major way for teachers to accomplish this is to be open to incorporating these new interactive methods into their lesson plans. So as a teacher, I need to realize that though I didn't necessarily learn in this manner, it doesn't mean that I cannot teach this way. I need to keep in mind that the children that I will be teaching have grown up in a completely different world that I and that they are a lot more technological savvy than I was at their age. I have a lot to learn. One quote from the article that I will always remember is, "What will we discover today?" This is what Patricia Deibert, a teacher, asks herself every morning when she steps into her classroom. Everyday there is the opportunity for me to teach my students and for my students to teach me.

Attempt at creating a website...

I am so FRUSTRATED with Google sites! I think of myself as a technological capable person and cannot for the life of me figure out how to make a site. I think my problem is that I can see it in my head and have an idea of how I think the making it process should go, but it's not happening that way. I have all these cool ideas but I am not able to execute them.

As far as HTML, it is something that I think is neat but will never use. Well I do like the whole adding a link thing, so here goes! Click here! OK, so being able to do that is pretty cool! I just wish my Google site was something more. Oh well, I am going to keep trying.

Assignment #1

Technology is a wonderful thing that is available to us. I didn't have all of the technological things available to me like students have today. I didn't even have the Internet in my home until the end of my senior year in high school! I think it is very important to not only use technology but to use it in the correct way. I see the use of technology as only being limited by my imagination. Being somewhat of a digital immigrant, the use of technology is something that I will need to always work on. However, it is something that I see as extremely valuable to my teaching and the learning of my students so I don't think of it as something that I HAVE to learn, rather something that I WANT to learn.

Using the ERIC database on Hurst Library online, I was able to find a really interesting article, "Third-Graders Learn About Fractions Using Virtual Manipulative's: A Classroom Study" by Kelly Reimer and Patricia S. Moyer, about the use of virtual manipulative's in teaching fractions to third grade students. Math is a subject area that I never felt comfortable with as a child so I thought that math would be a good subject to look at and see how technology is impacting the teaching of it. The article reports the findings of a study that was conducted on a group of nineteen third grade students, who were diverse with their cultures and learning capabilities.

The study was focused specifically on a couple of questions:

1. What impact do virtual fraction manipulative's have on students' conceptual and procedural understandings of fractions?
2. What are students' attitudes about using virtual fraction manipulative's during the learning of fractions?

To try to figure this out, the teacher first demonstrated the use of virtual manipulative's to students using a computer connected to a television so that they could see what was possible while using the virtual manipulative's. Then they were allowed to use the virtual manipulative's individually. The students took a pre and post test about fractions.

The scores were reported to be significantly higher in the post test. The students reported that they liked the virtual manipulative's because they helped them to learn in a fun way. They also liked that they were able to receive immediate feedback and that the virtual manipulative's were much faster than paper and pencil. Overall, the students really enjoyed themselves and they learned a lot.

The researchers who conducted this study realize that these are very narrow results only focusing on one class of nineteen students. It is a proven fact that we need tools for math. Why not use virtual ones that have so much more information with them? Virtual manipulative's are able to connect abstract ideas for children. But the use of virtual manipulative's or any technology in the classroom for that matter, require the teacher to understand the technology she is using and to not be afraid of it.

This article made me really excited. As a child, I never understood fractions. Something like this would have helped me so much. I feel that as educators we have so much at our fingertips that we should use all of our resources. This particular study was so successful that the teacher of the classroom has incorporated the use of virtual manipulative's into her regular lesson plans. I have learned that for children to learn, we as teachers must think outside of the box. For me this means to teach in a completely different way that I was taught.

[Kelly Reimer, Patricia S Moyer. (2005). "Third-Graders Learn About Fractions Using Virtual Manipulative's: A Classroom Study." The Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 24(1), 5-25. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 785060121).]

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for children and teachers are so important because they let educators know exactly what is expected in the area of technology. Our future generations are becoming more and more technologically literate. This means that children need to be educated in the use of technology at a younger age.

The NETS for teachers are so important because they explain exactly what is expected in the area of technology. After reading the NETS I see them as something that is very helpful to me. They are easy to understand and just reading them gives me ideas of how to do the things that are required.

The NETS for students are very helpful because they are broken down into different age categories. TheNETS for students are specific to the age, grade and requirements. Not only that, but they give examples of learning activities that students might engage in during that age/grade.

I see our technology advancing every month! I am excited that I live in an era with so much at my fingertips. However this also means that I need to be responsible about learning to use technology and teach it effectively. My imagination is the only limit to the things that I can do in the classroom with technology.

My school's website...

I am observing at Sunset Elementary located in the Issaquah School District. They have a fabulous website. You can view it at http://www.sunset.issaquah.wednet.edu/. Everything that a parent or student could need to know is included on the site. They have a calendar that can be downloaded as well as a list on the main page of the current upcoming events. Several teachers have their own pages linked off of the main page. One part that I really enjoy is a page on student health. It goes through several common childhood illnesses and lets parents know when to keep students home and when they are okay to attend school. There are a couple of things that I don't understand. One is called Orchard Math and the other is the AR list. I believe the Orchard math is some sort of at home thing for students and the AR list is for accelerated readers. I am sure that once I ask questions at my school, I will understand what those are. But those are the only two things that I find confusing. I can't think of anything that is missing. The site is laid out so nice, it is user friendly, and full of useful information.

My technology goal this semester...

Being comfortable with today's technology is so important for teachers today. The school that I am observing in has a lot of technology at their fingertips. They have mounted smart boards in every classroom. There are two teacher computers and several student computers in each classroom. Being that I will be there doing my student teaching through the rest of my schooling, I want to focus on learning how to use the smart board.

There is so much that can be done with smart boards. My cooperating teacher is starting to learn how to use it as well so it will be a good learning experience for both of us to bounce ideas off of each other. I think this is a good goal and one that I am excited to work on!

Week 2

I chose the article, "Generation IM: Getting through to today's teched-out children" by Curtwood, 2008. I chose it because it was the most current article and I am curious about how things are happening right now in education.

I wasn't surprised by anything that was said in the article. The variety of electronic and media devices that children have isn't anything that I wasn't already aware of. Nor was the amount of time that children spend using these devices. I personally don't see anything wrong with today's technology and children using it. The problem is when it isn't used as a means of education by today's teachers.

My favorite part of the article was the very end. It went through seven different ways for teachers to integrate the use of technology into the classroom. They are: having students create a blog, create a social network, podcast, use wicki's for large projects, try social bookmarking, post video, and explore with Google maps.

I realize that the problem with all of these isn't that they aren't great resources. The problem is that many teachers are not aware of how to use them. So I agree with the article when it says that we need to have educate our teachers on current technology and ways to incorporate it into the classroom. Using today's media is such a great teaching opportunity.

Deciding to be a teacher...

Teaching wasn't something that I always thought I would do. When I was young I thought that I needed to be something "important." In my adolescent mind that meant being a doctor or lawyer. However, when I look back now, I see that I always played school and not doctor or lawyer.

Deciding to be a teacher was something that sort of hit me overnight. I was contemplating going to University of Washington and majoring in pre-med. But it didn't feel right. Then I thought of teaching and suddenly everything came into focus for me. It was like a huge light came on inside of me.

I was able to realize that being a teacher is something very important. I have the opportunity to educate our children, our future. If I am able to make a difference in just one child's life, then I will be satisfied and know that I have done what I feel I was made to do.