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.