Final: Reflective Post

I am very glad to say that I have learned so much by taking Introduction to Technology for Educators. I began this class knowing little to nothing about technology and how it could be used in a classroom. Now that the class is coming to an end, I am very familiar with digital blog posts, wikis, WebQuests, teacher web pages, lesson plans, creating rubrics, and so many more. I can honestly say that I am so glad to have taken this class because every single piece of information that I learned can be used to improve my future teaching.

(The link to this image can be found here)

One thing that I really liked about this class is the fact that everybody got an opportunity to interact with one another. Although I took this class online, I still felt like I was a part of a classroom. We were assigned a couple group projects that allowed us to interact with one another, but what I really loved were the discussion topics. I learned so much valuable information in these discussion topics, while also feeling the friendliness of my classmates who commented on my posts. One learning outcome that was listed on the syllabus was for us students to analyze and evaluate a selection of technological tools for assisting students with special and/or diverse needs, and link the technology to specific outcomes for these students. I met this goal through Discussion Topic #3. I cannot stress enough how important and beneficial every single discussion topic has been for me, but Discussion Topic #3 really opened my eyes to the wide variety of technology tools that can be used to assist disabled students in their learning. Because of Discussion Topic #3, I was introduced to FM Systems, Field Systems, and CART Systems. An article entitled Classroom Assistive Listening Devices briefly goes over the many systems that can aid a disabled person in his or her class.




Another thing that I loved about this class was creating a WebQuest. Before completing this class, I had never even known what a WebQuest was. After learning about WebQuests and creating one of my own, I love the idea of using them in the classroom. I had fun creating one, and many students have fun participating in them. The WebQuest that I created in class meets the syllabus learning outcome that states, "The students will develop an Internet-based project that uses technology as both a medium and a goal of K-12 instruction."

I also learned a lot in completing a Website Evaluation, Critique, and Rubric. The main thing that I learned from most in this assignment was how to create a rubric. Before this class, I had never created a rubric before, and I often looked at it as a quick and easy task. After completing this assignment, I have realized that there is actually a lot of time and thought that goes into creating a good rubric. The video above provides many helpful tips in creating a good rubric.


All in all, I have honestly learned so much in taking this class. I have learned a lot through discussion topics, WebQuests, and creating rubrics. I very much look forward to incorporating the use of technology in my classroom.


References:


Classroom Assistive Listening Devices. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2016, from California Ear Institute website


"How to Create a Rubric for Grading Student Work." Youtube. N.p., 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Digital Blog Post #L- Chapter 12

In this chapter, I learned about different technological tools such as digital pens and notepads. A digital pen records words that somebody has written or spoken so they can be accessed on a computer. A digital notepad allows users to write and draw, then convert those images to digital text. I believe these two tools could be very beneficial to a teacher when trying to manage notes. I also believe that a digital pen would be very beneficial to students who like to keep their notes both written and typed. The video below displays people using digital pens and notepads for the first time.

This chapter also introduced the idea of BYOD, which stands for Bring Your Own Device. Many schools allow this policy, where students are allowed to have a device at school and use it, with teacher permission, to better their learning. Many people dislike the idea of BYOD because they feel that a device would cause a distraction in a students learning experience. I agree that a device could very easily distract a student in class, however I believe that it could equally aid a student in his or her learning. I believe that students should be allowed to bring their own devices to school, but only use those devices when the teacher gives permission to the class. An article entitled BYOD pros and cons: Spend less on devices, more on support, gives examples of many pros and cons of using BYOD in schools.


I also learned that there is a national Digital Learning Day, which first took place on February 1, 2012. On this day, may classrooms celebrated the use of technology. I think dedicating a day to recognize how far our technology has come and what great benefits it brings would be a great idea. This day could be seen as a "fun day" in classrooms, where students incorporate technology in their learning a little more than usual. For example, the class can use an online game called Kahoot. This game can require the entire class to participate in answering questions in a fun and completive way, while also staying focused on the academic material being taught in the classroom.


Chapter 12 brings many helpful ideas to better teaching. I'm very interested in the digital pen and notepad that was introduced in this chapter, as well as the concept of BYOD. BYOD did better my learning as a high school student, and I believe that, as long as the device is used during appropriate times with the permission of the teacher, it could better other student's learning as well. I learned that there is a Digital Learning Day, which is a great opportunity to incorporate fun technological ideas in classroom learning.


Resources:


B. (2015, March 28). People Use An Electronic Smartpen For The First Time. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

R., Sheldon. (2013, March). BYOD pros and cons: Spend less on devices, more on support. Retrieved November 27, 2016.

Digital Blog Post #J- Chapter 11

Throughout reading this text book, I have come upon many great ideas that I could incorporate in my future teaching. One great idea that is suggested in Chapter 11 is the use of a website called SurveyMonkey. This website allows people to use up to ten questions to ask others, and no more than one hundred responses per survey. This could be used in my language arts classroom to help students gather support when writing an essay.

This chapter also introduces the use of clickers. Clickers are small handheld devices in which students use to enter their responses. I think clickers are a great tool to use in the classroom; they can not only make learning fun, but they can also be used as a form of assessing the students. A teacher can see what material he or she has to spend more time on, simply by using clickers. The video below introduces and explains the use of clickers.

In this chapter I also learned about civic engagement and service learning. Civic engagement refers to experiences that students have outside of the classroom working for the improvement of the community. Service learning refers to outside-the-classroom experiences by students that feature both service and learning. This Link talks about the differences in civic engagement and service learning. Not only did I learn about these two terms for the first time, but I also learned about the different ways to enhance and extend civic and service projects. The five different ways that the book suggests are:

1. Through personal self-reflection
2. Project documentation
3. Service projects in schools and communities
4. Social media projects
5. Apps for social change

I believe that social media projects would be the most beneficial in the classroom, as it would keep students interested and engaged in their learning.


Chapter 11 brings many ideas that I could use in my future teaching. Three of which include using a website called SurveyMonkey, using clikcers, and incorporating civic engagement and service learning.

References:




Garcia, V. (2016, November 11). Survey your classmates. Retrieved November 11, 2016.




James, R. (2010, April 7). Using Clickers in the Classroom. Retrieved November 11, 2016.




Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.


Service Learning and Civic Engagement. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/lisav/service-learning-civic-engagement

Digital Blog Post #H- Chapter 9

Chapter Nine of the text book brings a wide variety of multimedia technologies that can be used in the classroom. One piece of technology that caught my eye was the use of digital projectors. I have seen teachers use these all throughout my schooling; I have never seen a teacher not use them. A digital projector displays material from a computer screen, and also displays the same material on a large screen or a whiteboard. I find this incredibly useful. With a digital projector, everybody can see the material being presented, and it it's presented on a whiteboard, the teacher can write on the whiteboard and make it appear as if he or she is writing on the material being presented. In an article entitled 50 Ways to Use a Projector in the Classroom, the author introduces many different ways to use a projector.

Although I plan on becoming a teacher for secondary students, I found alphabet books to be very intriguing. With alphabet books, students can use their own creativity to create their own book. Not only does this improve a child's learning in how to read, but it also gives the child opportunities to practice spelling, letter sounds, vocabulary words, and reading skills! Also, students can have pictures of themselves in their very own book, with the help of teachers printing out pictures of the student. The video above shows how to make a pop-up alphabet book, which young children could find more fun.




This chapter also introduced me to a website called TeacherTube. Like YouTube, TeacherTube is a site where videos can be shared. However, the videos shared on TeacherTube are all academic videos that can be used in the classroom. Instead of having to search through many non-academic pages on YouTube, a teacher can quickly find any academic video he or she is looking for, through TeacherTube.

Resources:

50 Ways to Use a Projector in the Classroom. (2008, November 19). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from 

     http://langwitches.org/blog/2008/11/19/50-ways-to-use-a-projector-in-the-classroom/ 

 

Garcia, V. (2016, October 23). Teacher Tube. 

 

How to Make a Pop-Up Alphabet Book for Children. (2011, February 11). Retrieved October 23, 2016, 

     from YouTube website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji0lKtjA7Vk 

 
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Blog Post #G- Chapter 10

One thing that I found to be very intriguing in this chapter, was the introduction to a speech recognition software. This software is able to perceive a person's spoken words, and transform them into physical words that will appear on a computer screen. I found these speech recognition software's to be very interesting mostly because they would be so beneficial to a disabled student. In the Padlet below, that I made using Padlet.com, I displayed what I thought was most interesting about this software.

Page 251 of this text book also introduces interactive whiteboards. Using an interactive whiteboard could be very beneficial for a teacher, especially if he or she taught a math class that involved using many graphs and straight lines. However, I believe that using a whiteboard in a language arts class would be just as good as using a marker. I once had a language arts teacher who used an interactive whiteboard in class, however the software seemed to be slow, and was constantly lagging. Whenever she would try to write on the board, the letters would not appear to be the way she hoped them to be. Because of this, many students, including myself, came across many difficulties with reading and understanding her handwriting. I believe that interactive whiteboards could be very beneficial to the classroom, depending on the teacher and the type of class it is. The video below briefly introduces interactive whiteboards.

I was also very impressed with the way that a teacher could combine technology and writing, as described on page 266 of the text book. This part of the chapter introduces the many apps that could be used to better improve the steps to the writing process. This includes apps that provide multiple notebooks to help a student stay organized, writing pads, spell check, etc. One app that really stood out to me was called Toontastic, which allows students to creatively tell stories, draw, animate, and share their own cartoons with their friends. I found that Toontastic would be a very fun app to incorporate in student learning. In a blogpost entitled Integrating Technology for Teachers, Chris Loat explains the benefits of using Toontastic in the classroom.


This chapter provides many helpful ideas to bring in the classroom that will further benefit the teacher and the student. I found the speech recognition software to be very interesting, and will make sure to keep that in mind when I come across a disabled student in my classroom. I also learned about interactive whiteboards, and how they could be used to benefit some teachers in their teaching. I was introduced to a wide variety of helpful apps, and found Toontastic to be my favorite.




Resources:

Garcia, V. (2016, October 17). Speech Recognition Software. 

How to use an Interactive Whiteboard. (2009, May 12). Retrieved October 17, 2016, from YouTube 

     website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLxVjw1yvRk 

Loat, C. (2013, October 24). Using Toontastic in the Classroom. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from 

     Integrating Technology for Teachers website: http://blogs.sd38.bc.ca/tech38/2013/10/24/using-toontastic-in-the-classroom/ 

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Blog Post #F- Chapter 8 (Optional)

Out of the many social media and communication ideas that are described in Chapter eight, the use of Wikis is what stood out to me the most. Before reading this chapter, and before completing the Instructional Strategy Wiki Project, I had no idea what a Wiki even was. According to the text, Wikis are, "Websites that teachers and students create and edit together by reading and revising each other's ideas and comments." Wikis provide such a wide variety of benefits for both the teacher and the student, however my favorite is the way that student progress is tracked. If a group project were to be assigned through a Wiki, each group member's progress is specially tracked. This assists teachers in seeing how much work each student is or isn't doing. The video below demonstrates a teacher and her experience in using Wikis in her classroom.

Chapter eight also suggests for teachers to use text messaging to keep students engaged. As much as I love the idea of "Teaching beyond the school day", I don't think I would feel very comfortable with giving students my phone number. I am aware that most college professors will give students their phone number because it is the quickest way to contact the professor, however the majority of students below a college level could be immature, and use a personal phone number for reasons that do not involve academics. The principal behind using text messaging in the classroom is great; students are constantly on their phones, and because of this, using text messaging with students could be a great idea. The text book suggests that using text messaging in the classroom could improve student spelling. I think this is a wonderful idea. I do agree that text messaging in the classroom is very beneficial, however I would not use my own personal phone number. In an article entitled Nine Awesome Group Text Messaging Tools For Educators, a list of helpful group text messaging tools is provided. These tools could be very useful, sending students reminders of test dates, assignments, etc.






Chapter eight also introduces synchronous communications and asynchronous communications. Synchronous communications are communications in which messages are received quickly, like face to face messages. Asynchronous communications, however, occur when messages are received over a period of time, much like emails or text messages. It's important for a future educator to be able to distinguish the difference between the two, that way he or she will be able to equally apply both communications in his or her classroom. The image below was created by myself, using Taxedo.

Chapter eight offers many helpful social media and communication ideas to bring into the classroom. My favorite idea is definitely the one regarding using Wikis in the classroom. I also love the idea of texting students, however only through a texting application. I am also glad that I learned about synchronous and asynchronous communications. As a teacher in the making, I aim to focus on using both synchronous and asynchronous communications in my classroom.








References:


Garcia, V. (2016, October 9). Taxedo.


Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Nine Awesome Group Text Messaging Tools for Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2016, from Educators Technology website: 

        http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/04/9-awsome-group-text-messaging-tools-for.html

Using Wikis in the Classroom. (2009, June 12). Retrieved October 9, 2016, from YouTube website: 

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pR5yogCmkA 

Digital Blog Post #B- Chapter 2

On page twenty-six of this textbook, the many different groups of technology users are thoroughly discussed. Out of the nine groups that were introduced, there was only one group that really stood out to me. The digital collaborators "use online and mobile technology readily to create and share information with others." (Maloy, Verock-O’Loughlin, Edwards, Woolf, 2013).  I believe that this is the ideal group of technology users. As a teacher, I hope to transform my students into successful digital collaborators. In the PowToon below, I introduced and critiqued three other groups of technology users.

Chapter two of this textbook also discusses the obstacles to technology use. Some may consider curriculum requirements to be a challenging obstacle to overcome as far as integrading technology in the classroom. With today's curricular requirements, teachers are forced to teach such large amounts of material in such a short amount of time. Many teachers feel that they do not have enough time to incorporate technology in their claslsroom. However, I believe that with the right tools, technology could be very helpful with meeting those standards. This Link provides a wide variety of web 2.0 tools that could be used to effectively meet curricular requirements. 

Page thirty-six of this textbook discusses teacher-centered philosophies and student-centered philosophies. Out of these opposing teaching strategies, I believe that a student-centered classroom would be very crucial for a positive learning experience. According to page thirty-six, those who support the student-centered philosophy, "Believe the role of the teacher is to create puzzles, ask questions, and engage in conversations with students, which leads to learning information and skills through exploration and discovery." (Maloy, Verock-O’Loughlin, Edwards, Woolf, 2013). I believe that a student-centered philosophy will keep students engaged in classroom activity. The TedTalk below illustrates the power of student-driven learning.

Many people respond differently to technologies, which is why it is important for teachers to set technological goals that will result in the same outcome: a positive learning experience. To do so, one thing teachers must do is consider the different groups of technology users. In a class of many different technology users, students should confidently leave as digital collaborators who readily use technology. Teachers must also consider the obstacles to technology use, and find ways to work around them. For example, when it comes to the obstacle regarding time, teachers must realize that technology will benefit them in meeting curricular requirements on time, rather than hurt them. Teachers must also realize how beneficial a student-centered classroom is, and must come up with ways to incorporate technology in student-driven learning.

Resources:

Garcia, V. (2016, September 11). Digital Blog Post #B. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from 

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9TIVmh1qfc

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

TedTalks. (2013, June 9). The power of student-driven learning: Shelley Wright at 

     TEDxWestVancouverED. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fMC-z7K0r4&list=PLV-cSqzXVrhtPgt-kcvRHWFBFSPWHgnV0 

Web 2.0 teaching tools. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2016, from http://edjudo.com/web-2-0-teaching-tools-links