End of the Term Reflection

1) My opinions about technology integration in education has changed since the beginning of the term. This is partially because I have learned about so many resources that are available for students that I did not know about before. Some allow students to visualize ideas betters, others are just a new more exciting way to learn and others better allow communication outside of the classroom. The only problem I have is that it is unrealistic to assume that all of your students will be able to get to a computer easily, let alone the internet.

2)One of the web applications that I believe I will use is Character Scrapbook (found under my link page). I want to work with young children and this site allows the students to visualize the characters in a book in their own way. It also allows the students to analyze the character using a simple outline given by the site, which can be useful when the students are first learning how to read and analyze stories and novels. Print Page in IE

Students Using Technology

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What changes must take place in K-12 schools before educators can fully integrate and utilize technology?

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Integrating Websites into the Classroom

Color In Motion

Color In Motion is a website for children all about color. It includes the basics, such as blue and red make purple, but in a fun way. Each color is a "star", with their own bios and everything. The site describes each color with not only their bio, but movies and games as well. It goes into depth what each color symbolizes, the emotions, metaphors, cultural meanings and so on, teaching how colors are used for communication.

This site can be used in the classroom in different ways. First it can be used to teach basics about colors, which colors are primary, what primary colors make up other colors, which colors are complimentary and so on. It can also be used to test the students' understanding on how colors can be used to represent emotions and symbols. Maybe each student could be given a color and an assignment to act out one or two emotions that color represents based on this website.

Color In Motion could be used to to extend learning opportunities beyond the classroom by teaching a interaction with colors. By understanding what colors may represent, students can communicate by use of colors as well as understand others' use of colors. It also allows students to further their knowledge of other cultures by telling them the different meanings of colors around the world. Print Page in IE

Project Based Learning

               My Healthy Self Project was my favorite project based learning website. It appealed to me because it was based off of the interests of the class. The teacher did a good job of planning it around when it can be most related to the students' lives as well as building off of the questions given by the students. It was so relevant, in fact, that the children applied what they learned directly to their own lives during that school year by attempting to eat better and play more outside during recess.
                The project used all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. The students first learned basic knowledge, but then asked questions on why those facts were true. After this speakers came into the class room, which worked with the students' comprehension. They used analysis and synthesis to decide what their wellness center needed as well as how to put it on. They also had to use mathematics when deciding how much to charge for certain things like healthy food. Finally they all used evaluation when they made judgments on the idea of living healthy. This can be seen by those students who put in more effort to be healthy after the project was completed.
                I think the only thing I would really change about the project is attempting to apply more subjects. Mathematics is expressed slightly when the students had to charge people at the wellness center, but it did not seem like complicated mathematics. Students did use art to describe the ways they stay healthy at the beginning, though I'm not sure if all students had to participate in this part of the project. Writing could have been applied by having the students write up descriptions of their health center for the parents explaining how each station can help with someone's health based on the research done by the students. Print Page in IE

Telecollaborative Response

       Telecollaborative projects develop students' critical thinking skills by allowing them to learn from others as well as laying out an outline to guide the students. Telecollaborative projects allow students to have someone to bounce ideas off one another. According to this website, the highest level of learning, evaluation, includes the ability to critique. Discussing ideas or hearing another person's point of view on something can further a student's ability to evaluate and critique. Another reading, here, describes when to make projects collaborative and how to make groups. It talks about how it is important to look at different students' skills and interests when making a group, which may allow students to work with people and ideas they would not otherwise. 
       Before the students can get to critiquing they must cover other levels of Bloom's Taxonomy pyramid. Telecollabrative projects give students structure to help them work through problem. First they have to learn some basic information, which according to the first stated website is at the bottom of the pyramid, and then work their way to solving a problem based on critical thinking. Having a guideline can help the student get into the habit themselves. In the second website it talks about how using technology a teacher can put up a description of the process, which helps the student through the lower part of the pyramid, as well as finished assignments. For example if the students were told to make a website, which in itself would show the group's higher learning and critical thinking skills.  Print Page in IE

My Technology Past, Present, and Future

I remember one day in fourth grade our teacher brought us to the computer lab and sat us each down in front of a computer. We were then told to bring up a program called “All the Right Type”. This program was supposed to teach all of us how to type proficiently on a computer. This was also the first time that I had ever needed to come up with a password. After that day we continued to practice typing in the computer lab as well as integrating the internet and other computer programs into our education. I still sometimes rather research with physical copies of information, like books, but the internet became a very resourceful tool, especially as I got older. I was taught how to write a well formed essay using Microsoft Word rather than a notebook. In middle school a couple of math teachers started using smart boards instead of white boards. Smart board projectors replaced overhead projectors, which lead to even more integration of technology into the classroom as you could directly connect a computer to what was being shown on the screen in front of the classroom.

When I become a teacher, hopefully of a grade somewhere between second and fifth, I will integrate some technology into my classroom. I still believe it is important for students to have to work on their hand writing legibility for not everything can be typed, but with that I also believe it is important for students to know how to use a computer as a sometimes quicker and easier writing tool. Using the internet as a resource is also a very good tool for students, but with that I will have to teach the idea of plagiarism and how to use what is on the internet to add to an idea rather than just copy and pasting. Computer programs are also very useful to not only help teach a student how to get a point across, but also to keep a student’s attention. They can help give a visual model of what you’re talking about; allowing a better grasp on the subject and games can keep a child interest while still forcing them to practice concepts and ideas.

One of the things I anticipate to be most difficult about using technology in the classroom is that technology is always changing. What I am learning to use today, may not be relevant tomorrow. Though this ever changing aspect is one thing that makes technology so valuable, it can be hindering if you do not know how to use it. Technology also often is not cheap. Manufacturers are always improving and putting out new products that may make old products out of date. For public schools, which are greatly impacted by the economy, it may be impossible to get certain technology or enough of that said technology. For instance, a school may have a set of laptops for teachers to use, but then teachers have to work around what days they are able to sign up to use those computers. 

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Avatars in Education

Avatars can allow verbal communication through blogs; for instance a teacher giving directions to the day's homework assignment. They also show a fun way to use technology, which may increase interest for students. Print Page in IE