Technology in my classroom (Prompt #5)

When I am a teacher, technology will play a huge role in my classroom. However, I do not want it to be overbearing, where things such as spelling or researching in a book become less important. I plan on using e-mail with the classroom parents. I hope to have a smart board so that the kids can understand better and are more interested. I hope to have computers, even if it is not many, for my classroom. This way, kids will get a chance to use them. In order to keep up to date with my technology knowledge base, I plan on attending meetings, looking online, and conversing with my colleagues about their usage. I will even ask my kids questions about technology if they know anything better than I do. They are able to teach me new things, just as I can for them. Something that is very important is being able to fix the technical problems. I wish to understand that better. There are always things that go wrong with technology, no matter what. I want to be able to know how to fix these, so that it does not interfere with my teaching.  Overall, technology has been a great thing and will only continue to become more popular. It is my job to include it in my classroom, but it is also my job to make sure that it doesn't take over my classroom.

ISTE standards for teachers (Prompt #4)

The ISTE standards for teachers are very important to follow when becomming a teacher and using technology in the classroom. There are many different ways that these five standards can be met when teaching. Students can explore real world issues by finding articles on the computer about recent topics. After given a digital assignment, teachers should give an assessment of some sort to make sure the students understood. It is important to teach students, even you are lecturing, the responsiblities of using technology. There is a code of ethics towards the usage of technology. Teachers also need to make sure they are following the same rules that they give their students. Finally, teachers should use their knowledge of technology by helping the community. A community can consist of their classroom, the school, or even the town. In my classroom, I plan to use all of these strategies. I wish to make technology a big part of my student's learning experience.

ISTE standards for students (Prompt #3)

The 5 ISTE standards are very helpful in determining activites to do with students. Not only to they help decide what you should do, but also you can compare activites to the standards to see if they meet the standards, which they should. Here are some examples in which the 5 standards can be used: Creativity and Innovation can be met by doing a reseach paper. Kids are using information that they already know, but also searching for new information. Communication and Collaboration can be met by putting students into groups and having them create a power point together about a specific subject. They must collaborate with their classmates about what to include. Research and Information Fluency can be met by giving students a list of questions about a subject matter that they don't know much about. They have use research tools to find answers to these questions. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making can be met by doing an advocacy project. Students must research, solve a problem, and make decisions about what should be done. Digital Citizenship can be met by simply standing in front of you class and teaching them about correct use of technology. There are some sites that aren't always reliable, and students need to learn to be responsible with technology. The teacher should give them a positive look into technology. Finally, Technology Operations and Concepts can be met by giving them an assemesment based on what you, as the teacher, just told them in the previous step. Studens need to prove that they understand how to use technology. This can be done orally, a worksheet, a test, or in a written paragraph. Every teacher likes to assess students differently.

Technology in my classes (Prompt #2)

Over the years, I have seen technology used many different ways in my classrooms. I have experienced both good and bad uses during school. In elementary school, teachers had us play educational games on the computers in our LRC. I think that this was a good use of technology because it helped the class learn in different and fun ways. In middle school, we got laptops in our classrooms which was wonderful. We were able to practice our typing by writing papers on them. We also went to the resource center and made presentations through powerpoint, which was good practice. A poor use of technology used during my middle school years was all of the videos that my science teacher showed us. They were extremely boring and she showed way too many, just because she would rather show a video than teach on certain days. Afterwards, we wouldn't even discuss the video. We just had to fill out questions and there was really  no point to them. In high school, I continued to have to do presentations in class with technology. Teachers had smart boards, which were extremely helpful as compared to chalkboards because they are so interactive. However, powerpoints that teachers made during my high school years began to get much more boring. Teachers used power points just to read off of them and students had to copy down every single thing really fast. Power points should be a guide with fragments, rather than writing paragraphs. In college, teaching classes have taught me a lot of how to make technology exciting and use it in different ways. My teachers have made sure to use it in useful ways. However, there are still those teachers who use boring power points. Teachnology is becomming much more previlant in younger grades, however, it is not always for the better. I know a family whose daughter is in 2nd grade and the teacher gives her students straight A's on all their spelling tests, simply if they write something down because "they are in the technology era and they have spell check and don't need to know how to spell." This is exactly what we don't want technology to come to.

Role of technology in my life (Prompt #1)

Throughout my time as a student, technology has played a huge role in my life. However, the amount used and need for technology has been different depending on my years in school. As an elementary student, technology was not that big in my life or in my school. We went to the typing center at school about once a month, and I played a few computer games, but that was it. In middle school, this use of technology in my life went up. We got laptops in our classrooms, typed  papers, went to the computer center, and I was using the computer at home for games and research tools. In high school, my use of technology went up drastically. In school, I was typing more assignments, researching, doing labs, and more. I began to go on the computer much more at home for personal enjoyment, to do school work at home, and to keep in touch with my friends. Now, in my adult life I use technology more than ever. I feel as though ever assignment I do almost requires my computer. I bought my own laptop just for college, and I have been using it non stop. Not only do I use it for school work, but I am able to talk with my friends who I left when I went away. I also use e-mail a lot more, most importantly to me is to keep in touch with my parents through e-mail. Nowadays, technology is becomming very important in our lives. Schools are using more of it, as well as homes. This use of technology continues to be used at younger and younger ages.