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.