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