Iwandlearning reading

First of all I had no idea that smart boards have been around since 1991.  That is crazy!  I feel like computers were still being worked on and people were already working with the idea of an interactive touch computer. 

Another thing I found very interesting was the amount of emphases the article placed on students being able to interact with the material they are learning.  When I stopped to think about it I realized that I really do learn better when I am engaged and able to physically do something with the material.  As the article says the smart board is a great way to have kids interact with the material.   

I also found the fact that the smart board is used in several countries very interesting.  Because the smart board is so successful in these other countries it seems that it truly is the technology that will soon be in every classroom. 

The fact that the smart board can be used to teach all children with different needs seems to me to be one of the biggest benefits of using it in the classroom.  The one example that the reading gives which really sticks out to me is how the smart board can be used to help visually impaired students.  When first looking at this problem it seems that the smart board will fail, however, upon further investigation of the smart boards properties we see that with its vast amount of tools the smart board has the ability to enlarge text and even read words for students who may need the extra help. 

All in all through this reading I have found much more evidence as to why the smart board seems to be the ultimate tool in teaching in the classroom.  It seems to me that the smart board can do countless things for every subject in school, and that is why I believe the smart board will be a very powerful tool.  

Readings

One thing I learned from this reading was that you can create acrostics in almost any application, including spreadhseets. I origianally would think that Word would be the best place to have students make an acrostic, and would have never even thought to use spreadsheets. Due to my experience in class working with Excel, I now would feel very comfortable having students create an acrostic in Excel with my guidance. I also learned that you can make timelines in spreadsheet software. I had no idea! Additionally, in class I learned how to make an interactive quiz using Excel. I learned how to make the quiz so that students would get immediate feedback as to whether or not their answers are correct. This also helps for assessment purposes because you as the teacher get to see how much your students understand the concept being taught.

Welcome to 2010!

Describe yourself as a tech user. How do you use technology in your daily life? What technologies do you use?

Managing the Classroom with One Computer

This chapter talked about different ideas to effectively incorporate computer use in an elementary classroom, when only one or two computers are available in that classroom. In the second grade classroom I help out in, only one computer is available in the classroom and that is meant to be the teacher's computer. The rest of the computers are located in the IMC. They even have a special time every week that they visit the IMC to do projects and learn how to type. I was never at the school when they went to IMC, but I also never saw the teacher incorporate much technology in her lessons when I was around. The strategies in this chapter are very important and useful to know so that every child can be associated with technology and how computers work.

It was also said in the chapter that these options for managing the classroom with one computer should match your teaching style. One that I really liked was called reward time. This is for students who complete their work early. This will motivate less productive students to finish their work on time to get the reward of having computer time. I also thought that a rotating schedule works well too. Students are allowed a half hour on the computer to do educational activities, then they are responsible for handing the computer off to the next student on the list. This way, everyone gets equal time on the computer and the teacher doesn't have to intervene. The only problem I saw with this is that it may disrupt other lessons that are going on at the time. It is important for students to have quality experiences with technology, even if not much is available. These ideas on managing the classroom with one or two computers really were interesting and useful.

Managing the Classroom with One Computer

This section was interesting to read about because in my current field placement, there are only 2 computers available in the classroom and 1 is meant to be the teacher's computer. This reading gave many different examples of how to adapt to having only 1 computer in the classroom. A few that I found to be most useful and beneficial in an elementary classroom were using the computer as an activity center for one or more students at a time, reward time on the computers, and work completion time. I've seen my cooperating teaching use her computers as an activity center during their reading stations where they can listen and view books online.
Using a computer as reward time is another good idea because not every student has internet or even computer access at home. Allowing students to do fun educational activities as a reward can motivate students to complete their work efficiently and on time.
Using the computers for students to complete work that they haven't finished can also be a good use of limited computer access. If there is work that students can do on the computer, it may be more efficient to have various students finish their assignment using the computer.
I think that it is unfortunate that not every classroom has more than one computer or a computer at all, but as this reading states, it is important that teachers make the best use of the equipment they have and continue to implement technology into their lessons.

Reality of Using Technology in the Classroom

Basically, the chapter was set up with excuses for not using technology in the classroom or for why it would be difficult to use technology. Each excuse is given solutions. The excuse that stuck out to me was "I already have lesson plans that address the standards that I'm required to teach. Why should I start using technology?" I think that this is one of the biggest reasons why many do not use technology in the classroom and it's no excuse!
The book says that if your teaching strategies seem to be working, "it is probably better to leave well enough alone." I disagree. I think that there is always room to improve, especially now that there are so many ways to include technology in a lesson.
I feel like students now-a-days are so accustomed to using technology, through video or computer games, that incorporating it into a lesson will be beneficial.

Reality of Technology

This chapter discusses the reality of teachers using technology resources in the classroom. There is a wide variety of tools a math teacher can use to express a new idea, help students visualize a new idea, or manipulate something and see the outcome. Throughout this chapter, the author discusses different obstacles a teacher may face when trying to incorporate technology in the classroom. A limited number of computers, an outdated system, and problems with the internet are all common problems a teacher may face. The author gives plenty of ways to overcome these challenges. Over the course of this semester, I have not only learned the importance of incorporating technology in the classroom, but how beneficial it can be to incorporate different types of technology. Doing so can help many different types of learners. Year to year, the teacher should reflect on which methods worked, which did not, and what changes need to be made in order to offer the best learning experience possible to each student in the classroom.