Week 6

There are many tools that we have learned about so far that will enhance communication with my students, parents and colleagues: blogger, facebook, google sites, google docs, microsoft word, and more.  When I went to school there was no way of communicating with teachers after school except through email and even then you could only hope they would respond.  Having a blog could help with this problem, if a student was struggling on a math problem they could post their question and any student who looked at the blog could answer the question for them.  If each student had a facebook account they would be able to chat with each other about questions and get instant answers.  I also believe that this would deepen the relationships and bonds among students because it would give them opportunities to talk to each other out of the classroom/school setting.  Having a classroom website would help me to communicate with parents.  I know that when I was in elementary school and my mom would ask me about upcoming events, homework, announcements etc.  I usually could not tell her exact details or dates.  By having a classroom website I would be able to communicate all this information easily to the parents so they would be much more informed about what was going on in the classroom as well as the school.  I plan on using an online grading system like engrade or powerschool to post grades on the internet, this will enable both parents and students to access their grades at any time.  I think that the easiest way to communicate with my colleagues is through a blog, everyone would be able to collaborate easy and the information given to one teacher can be seen and used by other teachers.  The suggestions or ideas are easily read or accessed weeks or even months later.  Some of the tools that I will use to achieve classroom objectives are sites like youtube, teachertube, zamzar, totlol, national geographic, discovery kids, and many other educational sites. Kids love to learn through computer games, videos and other means versus the traditional ways of learning.  I want to make learning fun for my students, there are fun videos, songs, games, and other programs that are educational and teach similar information to a book but in a very interactive way.  

VIDEO:  This video was just like a lot of the other videos we have seen, it seemed like it contained a lot of the same statistics, quotes, and corny music.  But this time it was kids holding the signs rather than words on the screen which did make it a little more powerful.  I think that if the producers who made this movie were trying to promote the use of technology the kids should at least smile! They all seemed stoned with glazed over eyes like technology has ruined them. One girl wrote she watched over 16 hours of tv/week, that's like a part-time job! 5 1/2 hours of computer... that's completely absurd.  Children are becoming so obsessed with technology, I think that it can be extremely beneficial in a variety of ways but they are wasting away more and more of their time everyday text messaging, facebooking, nintendo, ipods, surfing the internet, watching tv etc.  They don't read books, play outside, run, skip, jump, build, and create the way used to.  I know that some technologies can be used to benefit the classroom (some kids listen to books like Harry Potter on their ipods, but those are few and far between). but I think it is really important to just keep it in perspective and make sure that communication face to face is still taught and used.  I know that technology is a huge part of our society and should absolutely be part of education in public schools but it has it's place just like everything else.  

Week 5

Technology articles:

Our class has a blog! New technology makes communication very easy.  I am using blogger because I believe that our class will be able to communicate better.  For those who don't understand blogging, it is an online journal where people can post diary entries and others can read and comment on each post or entry.  Our class blog will be kept private so that only members of our class will be able to read, comment and contribute to our blog.  Each student will be required to post on our blog at least once per moth.  Our blog will be a place where students can share anything educational they want with each other.  If a student finds a cool educational website they can post it, if they learn a new word, read a good book, learn a mnemonic device, or even just have a question. Blogs are a great place for students to collaborate with each other, ask question, and receive feedback although they are not in the classroom.  Another benefit of having a blog is that it can be kept private so other people can not access the content like in facebook, myspace, or even instant messaging.  There are a couple of drawbacks with using blogs first of all I will have to teach the students how to use it (which will take a little bit of time out of our day).  I also have to assume they will remember how to do it.  To ensure that the students remember how to post or comment on a blog.  I have provided a step-by-step set of instructions with pictures that are easy to understand.  I am really excited to use tool.  I think that this blog has a lot of potential for students to communicate with each other and develop strong bonds of friendship with the entire class.  

The second technology tool we will use in our class is starfall.com.  This website is designed for young students and is focused on reading and phonics.  As part of my teaching philosophy I believe that students who have a strong foundation in reading will succeed in other areas of school much easier than those who struggle with reading.  I like this website a lot because it has a variety of interactive books, it teaches about riddles, tongue twisters, poetry, music, art, and even plays.  There are also activities that correspond with all the different holidays.  We will use this website in computer class to help build a strong reading foundation.  This site is helpful for young students at a variety of levels from barely recognizing the ABC's to reading fluently so all students will benefit.  These interactive stories are really useful because if a student is having problems reading a word they can click on it and it will sound the word out for them.  This website is helpful because every student can get online and get the help they need rather than waiting for a teacher to come over and help them to pronounce a word.  One drawback from promoting this website is that there is not the teacher/student or parent/student interaction that can sometimes be so crucial when young kids are learning to read.  I require 20 minutes of reading 6 days/week, students can get on this website to complete their reading assignment but I suggest that it only be used 3 times/week and the other 3 days should be completed with a parent or sibling.  

VIDEO: In the video it was interesting to see what people want for the future.  I think that before we know it everything will be mobile just like they said.  Soon we will be able to watch tv wherever we want, talk to people on the airplane etc.  Right now our parents might not really know how to use the latest technologies that well, but before we know it we will be the parents and there will be all these technologies we don't know how to use and will have to ask our children for help.  Modern technology is progressing so fast, and will continue to.  I think that the kids in elementary school right now are the most technologically smart kids there have been of all time.  

Week 4

Videos

In the "Did You Know" video I liked how they presented a lot of statistics.  I like that they actually showed the numbers so that I could visualize the concreteness of the numbers and information.  I didn't realize how many jobs people go through before they reach 40! It was very shocking to me.  I was also shocked that soon China will have the most people speaking English.  I think that one day because of technology and because we can communicate so easily with people in other countries that English will be the universal language, more and more people are learning it which makes it easier to communicate with people in various parts of the world.  I think that it is important we utilize various technologies in the classroom such as computers but I also think that it is important that students learn the basics without technology such as math, good penmanship, reading, writing etc.  In the second video "A Vision of Students Today"  it was focused solely on college students.  It wasn't really eye opening for me because I knew that that's how it is.  I think that college students have so much to do and a lot on their plate but they waste a lot of time on things like facebook and myspace.   This time should be better used doing homework, actually studying, and interacting with people face to face instead of through the internet.  I know that technology has improved communication in a lot of ways but I also believe that it is destroying personal relationships that we have.  

Reflection: 

This week in class we learned about Microsoft Word.  I think that Microsoft Word is the most important tool in the classroom.  I know that I use it more than any other program (except the internet), it is definitely user friendly and essential to every student at one point or another.  I will use Microsoft Word to create handouts, documents, assignments, flyers, calendars, instructions etc for my students.  Anything that I have to create by hand for my students will be done in Word.  I will use it to write letters to parents, create permission slips, announcements, and volunteer lists.  I can use Microsoft Word to type reports to give to colleagues, any assignments they would like to use I can simply print for them or even attach it in an email.  I think that Microsoft Word is a very useful tool in creating simple documents.  It has a decent thesaurus, dictionary, and spell check to help people use correct grammar.  It doesn't really  a lot of draw backs other than it is so simple that you can't do anything fancy on it, you can't collaborate with others as easily (like google docs), and sometimes the spell check and automatic formating don't work as nicely as you would hope.  Microsoft Word is a critical program that is utilized by parents, students and teachers.   

Week 3

VIDEO: 

I had seen this video before but I really enjoyed it.  I agree that technology should be used in the classroom to teach certain subjects.  I think that as I teacher I will make assignments that can be done on fun internet sites that are still educational so that the students actually enjoy doing their homework.  I know that students bring cell phones and ipods to school. I don't agree that they should be openly used and be encouraged to be used by the teachers because what if just one of the students in your class doesn't have an ipod, or doesn't have a cell phone because their family can't afford it.  I think that students will bring these devices whether you ban them or encourage them.  In the video it suggested you assign students to text people to find out certain information, bonus points for someone who gets it out of the United States, in a different language etc..  This is really a fun idea but in actuality if all the students but one had a cell phone it would almost be social humiliation for that student.  On the other hand I think that these assignments could all be done on the computers using email because a larger population of students have access to a computer at home or in a library.  I think that technology is essential to the learning atmosphere in the classroom but at the same time should be used carefully and cautiously.  If students are openly allowed to bring cellphones and ipods then how soon will they become a bigger distraction than a benefit? 

Class Discussion:

 This week in class I learned about a lot of tools that will help me communicate with my students, parents, and colleagues.  The first tool is google sites: when I become a teacher I plan on using this site to help me communicate with both my students and the parents.  The calendar feature on the site will help me to communicate to them upcoming events because I know that when I was a student I oftentimes forgot to tell my mom about things coming up or I would forget to give her the note we were supposed to take home, the permission slip to sign etc.  On the site there is also a homework page this will let parents know what we did in class and what is homework, this is also useful for students who miss class because of illness or vacation.  The class website will also give a list of fun educational websites that the students can play around on.  It will also be fun to post student work so that the parents can see the progress their kids are making.  I plan on communicating with my colleagues through a blog because it is really easy to comment on each others posts and give suggestions and ideas.  Some of the drawbacks of these really useful tools is that it doesn't promote face to face communication with parents or colleagues because it is much easier to just post on your own time instead of finding time when both can meet and discuss problems, solutions, ideas etc.  I think the way to maximize the benefits is by balancing the amount of time using it vs. face to face communication.  By realizing that in some situations other communication methods can be more effective will also help in maintaining this balance.