Technology in the Classroom

As educators it is key that we use technology in the classroom. Today's generation is online. If we want our kids to succeed in the future, we have to get them familiar with technology. When I think of all the jobs that are available, almost all of them involve using technology in some way. The shift to technology is already happened. We can't let our kids fall behind.

It is great to encourage kids with computers at home to use them, but what about the kids that don't have computers at home? This is a great question. The answer lies in education. Teach the kids that they don't have to have a computer at home to be in touch with the technology world. You can teach them where to find computers outside of the school. The library, community centers, and the boys and the boys and girls club are a great place to access technology.

For this reason, I feel that it is crucial to allow kids access to technology in the classroom. This way everyone gets experience with technology whether they have a computer at home or not. This was the case for me growing up. I never owned a computer. I couldn't type at all. I remember my freshman year I would have to ask my friend to type my papers for me. I felt like I had handcuffs on.

Thankfully my sophomore year they required me to take a typing course (technology training in the schools). I learned how to type. It was a big weight lifted off my shoulders. Now I could type papers and it wouldn't take me five hours. I can now type papers efficiently and I have had to write many. Without that course I don't know where I would be in life.

It is our responsibility to teach kids technology in the classroom and teach them how to gain access outside the classroom. This will give all of our students a greater chance to succeed in life.

To have a cellphone or not have a cellphone in the classroom: That is the question?

I want to be completely honest right off the bat. I was against cellphones in the classroom before I read these two articles. I never saw any good coming from the distracting cell phone in the classroom. Both sides of the argument brought up great points but I still believe cellphones should not be allowed in the classroom. Here are my three reasons ageist having cell phones in the classroom.

"Cell phones don't have a place in the classroom" Josh Allen

My first reason is cellphones are extremely distracting. With the new age of texting people, kids would be distracted all the time. They would be talking to each other over the texting and not paying attention to learning. Allowing the cell phones offers the students temptation. This is a situation that can be easily avoided by setting clear rules and expectations that involve no cell phones in the classroom.

The second reason is that not everyone owns a cellphone. I believe by allowing cell phones in the classroom you are leaving out certain students. Kids want to fit in and by encouraging cell phones in the classroom a teacher can indirectly seclude certain students. Our goals as a teacher is to bring people together, not to separate them.

The third and final reason is that cell phones are rude in certain situations. It is a pet peeve of mine when you are hanging out with friends and they are texting someone on their phone. This makes you feel that you are not important. This is the same idea in the classroom. Even though a teacher has put time and effort into a lesson plan, students will still favor a cell phone over their teacher. School is a time to learn respect and appropriate behavior. Students need to learn to be respectful to a teacher and a cellphone can hamper that important lesson of social conduct.

The question I have for this article is when is it ok to allow cellphones in the classroom? At some point cell phones will be allowed. Does everyone have to own one before this comes a reality? I don't know? I know in some classrooms it is already allowed. I want to know what rules teachers have implemented that work.

Chatspeak?

The topic of Chatspeak is very interesting. Both sides have some valid points. Here is where I stand. I believe Chatspeak is not effecting our students in a negative way. This young generation has adapted a way to communicate faster and more effective. You can't fault them. I still believe the young generation can write fine English papers. I have seen it with my own eyes. Good papers are being written.

"The kids know the difference" Greg Monfils

When I was growing up instant message was the cool thing to do. Everybody did it. As a sophomore in high school I was responsible to read other peers work and critique their papers. I must of read 20-30 papers. Never once did I catch a sign of chatspeak in any of the papers. My peers were responsible enough to separate chatspeak with written English papers. If teachers can teach the difference between chatspeak and proper English, the kids will make the responsible choice. They want to score well on their papers. If expectations are set by the teacher, the students will do what they can to earn a good score.

This article raised a interesting question in my head. All the time our culture is changing. If you look at the way we use English over time, it constantly changes. Why do we expect anything else? Things are going to change. We don't talk like Shakespeare any longer. We don't talk like we talked fifty years ago. Things are changing. Last time I checked language is used to communicate. Chatspeak is a effective way for people to communicate over text or computer. If it works, why fight it? Embrace it and use it as a teaching tool. Explain the importance of Chatspeak, but also talk about the importance of using proper English. Kids will understand when to use which kind of language in the appropriate situation.

Power Point Reflection

I really enjoyed the PowerPoint presentations. I felt like it gave everyone a chance to be creative and talk about something with which they had interest. A couple of presentations really caught my attention.

I thought Katie’s Spanish presentation was very well done. Here slides were colorful and very engaging. She used interesting graphics to help aid her presentation. I felt that even if you didn’t know Spanish you could follow her presentation. I also thought she was an excellent speaker. Her speaking matched her presentation which was a major plus.

Another PowerPoint I enjoyed was mark’s presentation. His topic was about heat exhaustion. His information was very informative. I enjoyed his insights on the topic. I especially enjoyed his personal story about the umpire that passed out in his team’s dugout. It gave the audience a personal connection and gave us greater understanding of heat exhaustion. His power point slides did a great job aiding his presentation. I really liked his use of the collogue strategy. This left no space covered which made his slides stick out.

I felt that the critique I had for myself and other people was the length of the presentation. I went on a little too long. I lost a few people at the end of my presentation where I had important information to relay. This happened with other people. They lost me because their presentation went just a little too long. It is important to be concise and present in a timely matter. A good presentation allows people to learn and to leave them wanting more. A timely presentation can complete these goals.

Overall I love using PowerPoint. It focuses your presentation and gives visual and audio to help aid your presentation. I love watching engaging PowerPoint presentations and I love creating them. I will definitely be using PowerPoint in my classroom.

Jayson's Wedquest

I thought Jayson did a great job. His lesson was well thought out and involved good activities.

Here are just a few critiques:

1. I would like to see more visuals throughout his webquest to help aid instruction

2. I couldn't see all of his rubric. This is something minor that will be easy to change.

Overall I thought Jayson did a great job. I liked his youtube video in his introduction. It help get me into the lesson.

Is technology shortening our students attention spans?

I agree with then “no” side. I believe Educational Technology is not shortening our students’ attention spans.

“Educational technology, if presented to students in a format that gives them freedom to express themselves, will engage our students far beyond a pencil and paper.”

Copyright © 2008, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved.

We are a changing culture and society. Technology is now weaved into our lives and it is not going away. Technology allows us to communicate faster and access information at amazing speeds. This only can help learning. It is our responsibility as teachers to weave technology into teaching our children. If we want our students to succeed in life, it will involve technology. I think of the jobs that are out there now. Almost every job I can think of involves some sort of technology.

My question for this article is “How can we keep up”? I don’t know how to keep up. Technology is changing all the time. I want to be able to keep current. This way I am up with my students and teaching them material that is applicable for the time.

Brett's webquest

Yes, Brett did a wonderful job. He had good activities and challenged the students to grow. The task was clear and achievable.

Brett followed the rubric mostly. He just needs to add content standards.

I thought bretts webquest was great. No suggestions.

The students will gain knowledge of health related fitness by completing this webqquest.

I thought webquest was a great way for students to learn and grow. I think it would work really well with visual and hands on learners. It offers students independence and a chance to work at their own pace. I really like this tool and hope to use it in the future.

http://questgarden.com/author/create/preview.php?u=85629&l=85629-090729083736&a=&p=introduction&pt=student

Cyberbullying: A big no no!!!

Cyberbulling is bullying that happens using technology. People can be cyberbullied online, texting, podcasts, ect… This form of bullying is popular because it is easier to get away without someone catching you. It is also popular because you don’t have to actually face the person you are bullying.

Personally I have never been a victim of cyberbulling because I don’t use technology that often. Now that I will be using technology more, I bet this issue will come up a lot. I have been bullied a lot in the past. It is not fun at all. It hurts and brings you down. Nothing good comes of it. I believe the people that bully are cowards and disrespectable people. They are insecure and have to put people down in order to be built up.

Unfortunately they are a lot of bullies out there. I have never truly bullied anyone. I don’t believe in it and never will. I hope to stand up for people that are bullied and cast a light on a sometime dark world.

The problem of cyberbulling in the schools is a major one. What can we do as educators to help prevent cyberbulling? I truly believe the answer is educating our students. EDUCATE. If we can educate our students about the bullying/cyberbulling they will have a better handle on the negatives it can cause people.

I believe the schools have a great responsibility to address cyberbulling. Legally cyberbulling has a lot of gray area. I do know you can legally take action if it is affecting your school environment. It is hard to know how a kid is affected from case to case. What one kid can take as a joke, another kid cannot. Therefore all types of bullying should be addressed when the opportunity presents itself. Obviously you can’t catch every student. If you do happen to catch them, make the punishment something that is lasting. A slap on the wrist won’t stop the kids from doing it again. A harsh punishment means kids will be less likely to engage in bullying behavior.

So to sum up, I believe in a proactive approach first. Try to teach the kids about the issues of cyberbullying. If this is done right, I think you will have less of an issue. If bullying still continues then a harsh consequence. Bullying should not be tolerated.

Copyright Laws

Copyright laws have always been confusing for me. I was in theatre growing up so copyright laws were a big deal for putting on productions. I was always curious about the ins and outs of copyright laws. I’m glad that this class has addressed this curiosity.

Here is what I learned about copyright laws. First I learned that a copyright can only be issued on a material item. There has to be proof before it can be copyrighted. Papers, music, written dance cerography can all be copyrighted. Ideas and concepts cannot be copyrighted because they are not written down.

Second, I learned there is a lot of gray area in copyright laws. In some cases people get away with copyright infringement where in other circumstances some people would not. It depends on who you are, where you’re from, and who you are taking the ideas from.

Third, I learned that duration and quantity play a major role in copyright laws for teachers. This topic is under “fair use”. If you use something for only one semester you probably will be in the clear. If you use something for multiple years then you are more likely to be breaking copyright laws. Also the amount and number of copies you make can make a difference. If take only a excerpt from the text then you are safe. If you copy a whole book, then you are breaking copyright laws. If you only make a few copies of something, you are safe. If you make a thousand copies of something you are not.

I believe that copyright laws are so hard to determine because it is so gray. I feel that right now they have a decent handle on the laws as written. I don’t feel they properly enforce the laws because in the difficulty in monitoring everyone.

In education I believe resources should be available to teach our children. As long as we don’t make money off of someone else’s work, we should be able to use it to teach. Another stipulation is we need to give credit to the author. The author deserves all the credit for his or her resource.

I feel that as educators we need to teach about copyright laws. I was never educated in this subject. Children need to be aware of copyright and its importance. This way they can be informed and inform other people. This is how I would handle copyright laws in my classroom. Teach the kids properly about copyright and they will most likely follow it.

Wikipedia Blog Post

1. How often do you use Wikipedia for research? Where do you usually start for researching a topic?
I use Wikipedia often for research. It is great way to get quick access to information. Not only is the information quick, but Wikipedia seems to have information on almost every topic. The information is usually plentiful.
I usually start my research with a credible source. This way I can cross reference Wikipedia and be confident in its content.
2. As a teacher, would you accept Wikipedia as a resource that your students can quote in their research? How does the article support/negates your idea of what to do with students?
As a teacher I would definitely accept Wikipedia as a source as long as the students have two other sources to back their argument. I wouldn’t accept Wikipedia as the sole source. I think it is good to teach students to find multiple sources to back up an argument.
The article supported my view point. It said it is good to have students check other sources. This can only help the student grow in research techniques.
3. What would your policy be surrounding internet research?
My policy for internet sources would be laid out clearly. I would tell the students that their sources would have to have a credible author. The website should have current information within the last 10 years. I would also require them to have one book source as well.

Social Networks

I found out that everything that you were published in will be recorded. You need to be careful about the actions you take. People will be able to access the information.

Most of the things people had on me were my A’capella Group, Facebook page, articles that were written about me (I was in theatre growing up), and a movie that I was in college. The only thing I wouldn’t want people to see would be the movie I made in college because it has some themes that aren’t good for kids. Other than that everything checks out fine.

I wish I could go in and change the movie, but I can’t. It is posted on Youtube. The movie could be worse, so I won’t dwell on it. I had to go in and change some pictures on facebook. That is normal though because all my other Cohort friends had to do the same. Other then the movie and a few pictures everything is fine for view.

A teacher is in a fishbowl. They are figures that are held to higher standards. I feel like when you become a teacher you take on this responsibility. It comes with the territory. When you become a teacher, you become a role model. You have to hold yourself to higher standards.

The most interesting thing I learned from the article was the number of social networks that are available. I thought there were only Facebook and Myspace. The article said that there were ones in other countries that are more popular.

In order to protect myself and job I am going to be careful about what is seen of me online. I will check google every so often to make sure that I am being shown in a positive light. Ideally I want to live a life that I am not embarrassed about. I want people know that I strive to be a good person that follows their value set.

Using blogs in the classroom

Give someone a fish and they will eat for a day. Teach them to fish and they will have food for life.


I like the idea of teaching kids discourse of blogging. It is easy to use blogging sites to put people down. This is not acceptable because many people have access to blogs and can get the wrong idea from a heinous remark about someone that is not true. If blogs are used in the right context they become very useful for learning. It is up to us as teachers to teach the etiquette and explain. If kids have a firm grasp of why they should act a certain way they are more likely to participate. Blogging allows you to teach the kids civil discourse. This will help them become better citizens for the future. If they can learn to be empathic to other student’s ideas they will be able to handle disagreement appropriately in the future.

I really like the rule of teaching kids “discuss ideas, not people”. This ensures that remarks are not pointed at one person. People can openly discuss ideas in a safe manner.
I also like the rule of making sure the communication on both ends of a blog is clear. Sometimes online communication can be misleading. There is no face to face contact so emotions can’t be easily read. Something that is meant to be sarcastic could be viewed as serious.

Model it yourself. Kids will follow the leader naturally. As a teacher, you are constantly being watched. It is like being in a fish bowl. You are being watched, but you don’t realize that the student’s are watching you.

I love the math blog. I think it is great that kids can interact with the site. The site is a location where learning can take place. You can post lectures. You can post encouraging comments. The students can ask questions and you and respond with your answers.

I would love to set up a blog for my students. I think it is another useful tool to connect with your students. They will be able to interact with you outside of the classroom. This makes real life connections for your students. They will realize that teachers have a life outside of the classroom as well.

Digital Immigrant

1. Do you consider yourself a digital native, immigrant, or even alien? Why?
“Those of us who were not born into the digital world but have, at some later point in our lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are, and always will be compared to them, Digital Immigrants.” (Prensky, 2001)
I consider myself a digital immigrant. I didn’t own a computer until I was a junior in high school. I didn’t own a cell phone until I was senior in college. I am defiantly behind the times. Texting!?!?!? I just started and I am incredibly slow. I am way behind on understanding online chat abbreviations.
Even though I am way behind I still am somewhat computer literate. I can type decent and can find information online. I have used the Microsoft programs. So I am not completely oblivious.

2. What experiences have you had with technology in the classroom either as a teacher or learner? Compare high school technology to college technology. Did it improve your learning experience?
“But that assumption is no longer valid. Today‟s learners are different.” (Prensky, 2001)
When I went through high school teachers didn’t have power points. Every teacher used the whiteboard. We didn’t have quick access to video or websites. The pictures were limited and the textbook was our main curriculum.
When I went to college some classes had power point and others did not. I felt like I got a lot more out of the ones that used technology to assist their teaching. They were able to access information that was relevant and extremely useful.
I taught in a school for a couple of years and we used technology in a positive way to teach the kids. We were able to show pictures that connected with the curriculum. The kids loved the pictures and were able to ask questions that expanded their understanding of the subject.

3. Have these articles changed your mind about the use of technology in your future classroom? How might you incorporate it?
“So hi there, I’m the tuned-out kid inthe back row with the headphones. Areyou going to engage me today or enrage me? The choice is yours.” (Prensky, 2005)

I am on board to use technology in the classroom. I feel that it only expands your tools to teach and allows you to access up to date information that is relevant for the students. It also helps touch different learners in the classroom. It is another connection you can make with your students.

Intro to Post

C.J. Butenschoen

Middle school Science and Math

High School Social Studies

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