Final Reflection

I enjoyed the presentations tonight. My take away from this course is to make sure every lesson plan has some facet of technology in it for your students. Assisted technology is more then just computers and cars but also simple tools such as chalk and handouts can also be considered assisted technology. It’s a tool to make life simpler.  I would like to incorporate these blog assignments with my students to get them to write more. This will also line up with the CCSR.  All in all I enjoyed the course and learned a lot. 

Video Presentation

I enjoyed the other group’s presentation and the topics they discussed. I was very surprised the topic our group did our project on was so well received. The discussion that followed the group’s presentation I felt really added to the topic. We shared our own experiences an made a personal connection with the projects. I enjoyed working with my group and the warm reception the class gave us made it all worth it.

Assisted living

When I think of assisted technology I think of devices more for the disabled then for the common man. After the class I came to realize that almost every thing we use can be considered assisted technology. Anything that makes functioning easier can be considered assisted technology

Chapter 9 blog

Using multimedia technology in the classroom can be used for multiple uses. For example the uses of basic media features of audio books, iBooks, projectors and YouTube videos are some effective ways to reach children and make your lesson plans more engaging to the students. These are simple examples that can be used and basic computer skills we should all have at this point. 

The chapter mentions utilizing PowerPoint as well and this is also a basic tool we learn in high school.  Slide rocket is a presentation method used that spices up the boring PowerPoint presentation. It may seem too fancy and complicated at first but it is a basic program that really livens up your presentation. 

I loved the idea of using podcast as an effective tool to use with your students. Providing that all the students have a base level to be able to use the method of delivery. In the same manner that we use the blogs for this class you could assign two person groups and they can make podcast about the weeks assignments. There are so many free resources out there at our disposal and we should take advantage of them. Teachers should be community activist.

 Online community is a new area we need to learn to explore. We need to venture into the different areas  in able  to provide a better lesson plan. YouTube is a good video resource for the teacher to use. We first have to make sure to screen the videos and the links that accompany them to make sure the students eyes are not diverted to a site that you can get in trouble for. 

  

Take Away

I did not hear anything that was said tonight. The incident before class continues to occupy my mind the entire time. The way the meeting occurred. What was discussed. I have the feeling of being deflated due to nothing being accomplished or really discussed. I felt I was not able to speak due to the fear I put in people. The message that was given was I misunderstand everything. Everything from the assignments given, the sequence of events that occurred and I have to just accept it. I feel deflated. I feel like I am going to fail the class and there is nothing I can do about it. 

Chapter 8

Communicating with students in this day and age is very new and exciting. What I fear is that too many of us will become too friendly and not know where to draw the lines. I partake in social media sites but not under my professional name. When I discovered that perspective employers and schools look into your Facebook and Instagram accounts, I went into hiding, lol. The first thing I thought of is, when I am a teacher how my students will view this. I think having so many different lines of communication in order to reach your student’s is great, and meeting them where they are will also help you reach them. You have to know that your student’s should not see you as a “person” and always view you as their teacher. I fear, students will start to loose respect for you if you start to associate you as one of their friends.

With that out of the way, having different avenues to reach your students is vital to reaching students who are not as outgoing in the classroom. Giving parent’s different ways to communicate with you is also vital to your relationship with them. If a parent has a concern, they might not always be available during your office hours or during the school day. Being able to send an email is important to keep the lines of communication open. You should also have a disclaimer that all communication sent and received from your school account is monitored and viewed for safety purposes. You should also save all email correspondence. This can save you later if something comes up. In this day and age many parents do not attend parent teacher conferences, and this may seem like more work on the teacher’s behalf, but at least being available via email is better then not communicating with the parent’s altogether.

Another issue we discuss in our English skills and techniques class is how to get the students to write more. Surprisingly the students write everyday, all day. they do it via text message, email, going to websites, searching for topics in Google, on Facebook, on Twitter and who knows where else. The issue is getting them to write in the class. Some suggested in my class to use these sites for our advantage. You can actually set up twitter accounts and do a time line project with the social media site. The issue is if we find this ethical or not? Are we allowed to use websites that are not educationally based and risk the chance of violating some kind of school policy.  If the content of educationally based and the teacher monitors the communication, I don’t see anything wrong with it. I feel we are at a disadvantage now a days. students are allowed to rebel more and more against school and teachers have less and less power. We have to use what tools we do have to reach the students and be creative as well. I think I am going to be a teacher to use the students preferred form of communication as an engagement tool. I don’t see it as me against the students but me trying to fit into their world.

CP 4 & 6

Chapter 4 points out that there are two ways that teachers use technology as a necessary means of integration. One way is through the teacher's state of mind and the other is through differentiation of teaching. If I am not into what I am using in the class and it makes me uncomfortable, then the students will see this. If I have to ask the student’s for assistance or have to call IT for assistance, this will detract from the larger lesson. Many schools encourage using new technology, however the school should teach the teachers how to use this new technology or offer outside resources in order to assist the teachers and facility to use the technology being integrated.  In order for the teacher to be comfortable using the new technology, they must have a general understanding of how to use it. This will make them more at ease and want to use it more, if they feel they can master the new tool.

The chapter also points out that technology integration is not limited to just electronic based advances. The wheel is not a computer based tool but it was a technological advancement for its time. Using tools to make your job easier is what I am all about, “Work smarter not harder,” I always say. In my classroom I would hope to include a lot of art and pictures into my lesson plans. I want the words the student’s are reading to be more then just print on a page but rather vivid stories they can not wait to read. Wearing costumes for story time or interactive lesson plans can be fun ways to integrate low level technology into your class. Technological advancements have significantly affected our ability to control and adapt to their natural environment.

Chapter 6, points out that the internet should be used for a starting point and not used for the entire project or as the only resource used. This I fear is not the case as fewer students utilize the library for their books. Computer stations have become a new standard for research and I do not think that this is a bad thing. As long as we are demonstrating to our student’s the importance of peer reviewed work and how to conduct proper online searches, they will be able to find solid information for their papers.

Digication

I learned a few new tricks to use with digication but over all I do not think this is going to be a site I utilize in the future. STJ has to make us use it and I understand that but I would have benefited from weebly.com instead I think.  I will continue to work on my webquest with the examples given and hopefully have a better webquest to present to the class.