Week 8

My "Aha" moment this semester was realizing how much I can do with all of the available (free) information right at my fingertips. I knew I was behind when it comes to technology, but I had no idea I was this behind. I have loved working with my blog. It allows me to express myself without worrying about what others think. I also enjoyed creating and working my me wiki. I can't wait to utilize it even more. I love the wordle. I think my 1st graders will enjoy creating them. I have learned so much in a short period of time. I have been sharing what I am learning with myu co-workers almost daily.

Week 7: Techplan

This week I created a training plan that will help teachers introduce blogging in their classrooms. I teach first grade and realize that this may not be very realistic for their age group, but I think it is a great idea for jr. high and high school students. Blogging in the classroom will give students the opportunity to reflect on assignments, grades, situations that may arise, etc. For students that are shy, like myself, this gives them the freedom to express their oppions. I also think that blogging inside the classroom is great for college classrooms aswell.

Before this semester, I had heard about blogging but never thought I would ever use it. I am glad I have been introduced to blogs because they have geat benefits for me as a teacher.

Week 6: Podcasting

This week has been kind of difficult for me because when I found out that we had to create a pod using video or and microphone, it made me very nervous. I am very shy so the thought or see or hearing myself online made me really uncomfortable. I considered not doing the project and if I could pass the class without it. But I realized that I should at least try it!

I decided to do my podcast on my wiki. I figured I could introduce my wiki and discuss why and how it will be used. As a second time first year teacher, I understand how hard it can be at a new school, new grade, new co-works, etc.. I had, and still have, a lot of questions when it comes to lesson plans, classroom management, differentiated learning, etc.. With me being so shy, it makes it kind of hard to ask questions because I feel like other teachers will think that it is information that I should already know. With my wiki and my podcast, teachers will be able to ask/answer questions without having to worry about what others think of them.

The article I read this week was about how our educational classrooms are changing due to technology. Students are surrounded by technology inside the classroom and outside of it. It is important for us as educators to educate ourselves with the changes so that we can relate to our students. Technology is continuously changing and we have to adapt to it. I didn't realize that there were so many resources out there for educator, parents, administrators, and anyone pretty much. I think that technology in the classroom, especially my classroom, makes learning more engaging to students. If I had a magic wand, I would make it possible for every educator to have the necessary training needed to incorporate all the technology in their classrooms that is available. A recent professor said something to our class that really made me think. He said that almost every student has a cell phone and send text messages to each other all of the time. Instead of having assignments such as writing papers, copy assignments,or oral discussions, teachers should text message assignment or have students text each other when they wont students to discuss a topic.

Week 5: Wikis

This has been a very exciting week for me and my technology course. I had never heard of a wiki until this past Monday and had no clue what to expect. Once I began learning about wikis, I found out that they are very interesting and can be useful/helpful for educational, personal, business, etc., use.

I began using my wiki as a way to assist teachers with communication between two campuses. But, as began creating it, I decided to use it as a tool to assist new teachers, teachers new to a grade they've never taught before, or just teachers in general with questions they may have about their classroom and/or curriculum.

As a second year teacher, I still have a lot of questions about classroom management, curriculum, and planning. It doesn't help much that this year is like my first year all over again because I am teaching a new grade. I believe this website can and will assist teachers in my situation and teachers period because there is always something out there that we need/want to know. I wish this site was available to me last year when I first began my career in education. It would have relieved a lot of stress of not knowing.

Week 4: Portfolios

This week was also an interesting week for when with technology. Creating an electronic portfolio was a lot different from creating a notebook portfolio. I was very nervous at first but after going thru he overview and help forum, I was at ease. One of the templates was like the teacher web pages that we can create for our classroom. It allows parents/students to see what is happening and upcoming evens. We are also able to show homework, spelling words for the week, and links to educational websites that students can connect to and work on. It also allows to teacher to introduce herself/himself and tell their goals for the class.

Like Amy said, my students are also too young and a portfolio wouldn't quite work for them. But, I guess if I used it like our teacher websites, I could make it work for them and their parents if they have access to a computer/internet outside of school.

Assessment is very important in education because it gives the teacher an idea of what the students are learning and if their method of instruction is actually working. I admitt it is hard to diffrentiate instruction for 22 students but we have to at least put forth the effort. I can tell from assessments each week if my students understood what I have taught, if I need to reteach it, or if I need to work with a small group.

MAPping and Delicious

This week has been very eye-opening for me. I also knew that I didn't know a lot about the internet, but after taking the Information Literacy Quiz, I realized just how little I actually know. I was surprised that I got 5 points because I honestly thought I wouldn't get any. I usually just check my email and research topics related to a school assignment. I am so glad that the information I have researched so far has been acceptable for my classes so far, because I was naive in not realizing that anyone can post info on the internet and I had no idea that everything on the internet was not reliable. I normally just do a google or yahoo search, and choose the 1st or 2nd website that comes up. I had no idea that I should be reviewing the author, determining the sites credibility and reliability.

I didn't know that I can find out the author of a website, when it was created, and why it was created. MAPping is very important when you are doing any type of research because the information must be reliable. I also didn't know that there were that many websites, blog sites, or search engines. Like I said before, I only use yahoo or google.

The Delicious site will come in very handy for me in my classroom. I am always trying to find new activities to use with my SMARTBoard, and when I do find a good website, I don't save it and I have to search all over again. I also email or ask other teachers for websites that they are using and Delicious will make that a lot easier. I also like the fact that I can access Delicious from any computer.

I guess you are never too old to learn something new because I am learning a lot about technology and the internet. Like my granny always says, "you learn something new everyday"!

Week 2

Defining educational technology was kind of hard for me to do. Before this week, I never really thought about educational technology. I knew that technology was becoming a major component in the world of education, but I never thought about defining it. To me, educational technology is any technology that is used to teach.

When I was in school, we had two or three computers in our classroom but we didn't get on them a lot. We listened to stories on cassette and used calculator, but those things are nothing compared to the technology we have in our classrooms now. Today, every classroom in my district has at least three computers, and every one has access to the internet. We still have stories on cassette but now we are able to view and listen to them on the computer or screen as actor/actresses read them aloud.

We also have interactive smart boards that we use every single day from taking attendance to teaching lessons. Students are able to utilize every single type of technology that we have in our classrooms. As I stated in my philosophy, technology is an important part of our world inside and outside of the classroom. Sometimes, the students know more about technology than the teacher does and are able to teach them something. No matter how old we are, it is never to late to learn because technology is always changing. It is up to us, as educators, to learn all that we can in order to make sure that we are educating our students to the best of our abilities.