Online Communicaton Tools

Technology has become dominantly acceptable in our professional environments.  Technology is always changing, always becoming better and more available.  Desktop videoconferencing, microblogging platforms and instant messaging services has made communication between students, teachers and parents more beneficial in the education scene then every before.

There are a lot individuals that look down on our worlds technology advancements it has also became a learning tool for students to experience learning in multiple ways.  Technology has become a reliable eduational source in our lives today.  Still, there are many teachers that are very uncomfortable with new technology and do not recognize that the use of it could enhance the students learning experience.  While technology increasingly transforms our way of life, there are many reasons for incorporating technologies into the classroom

I have used several communication tools while taking college classes over the years.  The main communication tool that I am most famliar with and use the most is email.  This has been a great way to ask questions, stay in contace with teachers when im away from class, and recieve proper information that I need. I have used chat forums in the past, which is a good way to see others students views and ideas.  This semester is the first time I have ever used a blog.  Blogs are an awesome way to say whatever you want to, in your style, and whatever you want to express.  I am glad that we have these types of technology because it is a great way to ask questions, get clear answers, and stay connected with teachers, peers, or parents.

I plan on using email in my future classroom.  Email makes communication skills easier and a place to communicate more clearly and direct.  I want to take advantage of every online communication tool that I can use in my classroom.  Parent are an important part of the students education and I want to do everything that I can to make their learing experience the best it can be. I can use email to send partents important information about the students and remind them of upcoming events.  I can also use it to send out reminders of what homework is due for the week and any special projects that we might be working on. It also makes me more available to the parents that have any concerns about their child.  I think technology will keep changing and keep becoming more advanced for our learning world which will benefit us all to greater ourselves.

PowerPoint

PowerPoint can be one of the most powerful tools for providing information in the classroom.  PowerPoint can accomdate all learning styles and needs.  PowerPoint can be fun for the students to watch when used in moderation.  You don't want to overload a students mind with too much information at once.

Even though I am not teaching yet, I did have the opportunity when I was in one of my teaching classes in EKU to make a powerpoint and present it to a kindergarten classroom while doing observations.  The powerpoint was over ABC's! Simple and fun for the kids!  The presentation was very bright, very animated and lost of colors to catch there eyes.  I did not use the simple A is for Apple and all that stuff.  What I decided to do was different.  For each letter, I used a photo that had been taken by me, either of a person, place, or object.  I came up with creative matches to a letter, something real life, something that they could be familiar with.  I also felt that this presentation was personal to me, it showed the students my life and some things that were importatnt to me.  One of the letters that I really had to be creative on was U.  I searched for something unsual and the only thing I could find that was different was U is for Upside down house.  I had taken a picture of the Wonder Works in Pigeon Forge, TN because it was so crazy and it was somehing that you didn't see everyday. The children loved it and said that they wanted to go see it.  I could see there little minds trying to figure out how this house was really upside down.  Also, on each page I had the option to add sound.  I decided to add how you say the letter and what the letters sound like.  At the end of the presentation I had a little game where I would randomly say a letter to see if they remember what picture went with the letter.  Some letters where harder for them to remember but some of the funnier pictures they would remember really well. 

One thing that I really like about powerpoint is that you can print it out and give it to the students so they can go back and look at it.  I think this presentation turned out really well, it placed a letter to a picture that had something in it that started with that letter, so when you say the letter the image will pop into there head; at least that is what I was going for.  I'm really proud of this, if I had it to do over I would just probably update some of the pictures and come up with some different memory games for them to play at the end.   

Technology in the Classroom

After reading and veiwing all the videos for this week it really made me realize how much I would be implementing technology into my own classroom one day.  I remember when I was younger, if the teacher used an over head projector you really thought they were using something special and when you think about being a teacher you still seem to have in your mind a chalkboard, posters, bulletin boards, but times have changed.  Each child learns differently and by using different technology techniques in the classroom may help stimulate a childs mind and help them to start learning beyond what they ever would have without technology.  One thing that reallly stood out to me that I keep thinking about is handwriting and grammar.  By having the opportunity to use word processing software a student has more freedom to express theirselves in writing then they normally would due to poor handwriting or spelling skills.  I absoulty do not want my students to be technology dependent but I do want them to reep the benefits. Because of advances in personal computer and digital devices these can serve as promising learning tools for all types of different students espcially for diverse learners.  Some of the more useful technologies that are in classrooms today are: smartboards, scanners, digital cameras, microphones, pen input devices, wireless devices, e-book, touch screen devices, and graphic tablets.  I can't imagine how my learning experience would have been if these resources where available when I was in school.

I am currently not a teacher so I used a flyer that I made for my churchs' Hot Rod Sunday that we will be having.  Why I used this was because the first thing that catches your eye when you see this is the car and the motorcycle.  The reason for this event is to get people in a church setting that would normally not go to a church.  This is appealing because its about old cars and motorcyles', and anytime somebody can show off there car that they have spent many countless hours on, they will show up.  It is also a wonderful opportunity for the church to tell someone about Jesus in a different kind of way.

Spreadsheets and Databases

I came across this wonderful website and I cannot believe all the ways that it gives you to use spreadsheets; www.belmar.k12.nj.us/public/everyday_spreadsheets/.

Spreadsheets give you the easiness of editing, organized, inputting data, using charts and producing professional reports.  I was like a kid in a candy store going through the different types of ways that a spreadsheet can be used in a classroom.  One thing that stuck out to me most was the example that they used to teach students how to read spreadsheets, the game battleship.  Who would have ever thought that game could help show children to use a spreadsheet?  It teaches the students how to go to the cells and what it means when you go to different cells and different columns.  Another thing that I loved was a spreadsheet of the homework schedule to send home to parents.  I think that is an awesome way to show organization and a good way to keep your students on track.  Some other really neat ways to use spreadsheets in the classroom is; lesson plans, class schedules (lunch and break times), grades, scope and sequence, attendance, and a calendar.  Another good use to spreadsheets is to actually let the students use spreadsheets for there lessons, they have some really neat ideas on the website such as the whole class keeping track or basketball teams averages, total scores and percentages. I will definitely be using spreadsheets in my classroom when I become a teacher.  I think they will help me be more organized and keep up my classroom.

Database is software that some teachers use.  Most teachers don’t use it because it may be a little bit more complicated or time consuming.  I like the fact of using a database because it helps you to organize data, sort information alphabetically or numerically, search for information, create reports or summaries and merge with word processing documents.  I think one really good way to use a database is to keep track of students addresses and a way to contact there parents when sending letters.  Students can also use databases to keep track of items they learn in class.  They will be able to pull up the items easily and file information by categories. 

Spreadsheets and databases are something that I really want to have knowledge of.  By the research that I have done, I can really see that these two tools will benefit me tremendously when I become a teacher.  They will also be a tool in showing my students how technology is important in life and if they use it in the right way it will help enrich there learning experience.

Lesson 1 - Educational Technology

I knew that technology was important but after the reading this week, I realized that technology consumes our lives in all aspects, from paying bills, to communicating, and researching.  After I thought more about it, I actually don't know what I would do without technology and I know now that technology will be a key part in my teaching.  Technology is awesome and it really makes life a whole lot easier IF you know how to use it.  My favorite quote from chapter one was, "The world is different. Kids are different...learning is different...and teaching must be different too.  Today's classroom teachers must be prepared to provide technology-supported learning opportunities for their students"(NETS T 2002).   Just knowing about technology is not enough, as a teacher you must be able to demonstrate how technologies work,  this will enrich and enhance your students learning. Thats why I want to know all I can about different types of technology that can be used to help students learn and get them interested in learning.  Just like kids love video games, they love computers, and if you use something beside a chalkboard with lots of color there instantly attracted to that. ISTE which stand for The International Socity for Technology is Education is an organization that has a project called the National Educational Techonology Standards for Teachers Project(NETS.T).  NETS.T website provides teachers a description of what technology using teacher should be able to do and also deteremines your technology level.  NETS.T provides ways to implement technology into your classroom, I will need to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, design and develop digital-age learning experiecnes and assessments, model digital-age work and learning, promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility, and engage in professional gorwth and leadership.  The challenge that I will face with using different types of technology in the classroom is helping the students to learn how to use these expecially if a child is not familiar, that will make it a little bit more difficult until the student adjust to using more technology and being able to demonstrate his own capability of using teachnology by themself. Things I can do to prepare myself for these challegnes is to make sure that I'm am fully educated in using technology myself and being able to realize that not every student learns the same or on the same pace. A good video for older students to see is 'A vision of Today's Student' it is a really neat video that really shows you how todays students time is spent and how technology effects there life in more ways then just using technology for learning purposes.  One thing that stuck out to me was that students use more technology for communication then using the resources they have for their education.

One quote that I have to add to my blog is one that I found on a website yesterday.
'Intergrating technology into any curriculum is ideal when it can be meaningfully applied to help student's improve their performance, discover new way of using the power of technology and embrace new content.  Technology is limited by available resources, creativity and time to plan, implement and revise ideas.  All of these factors are surmountable with a little ingenuity, patience, hard work and desire.' (Ennis_Cole)