Technology in the Classroom

It is very important to incorporate technology into my classroom. It helps students to focus, because it is more their speed of learning. Children are now growing up with technology, for the most part; the majority of students understand and use technology on a daily basis. Technology in the classroom can also be an effective way to assess students. It is an easy way to quickly check how many of the students understand a new concept.

The benefits to me and the students is the opportunity for all to grow. Due to technology, students are able to interact with people around the world. They can visit the Coliseum without leaving their seats. Through technology, students will be able to further explore different areas that they may want to study and grow in, as they become adults. Students will also begin to learn faster using technology. Technology in the classroom helps to incorporate many different learning styles into a lesson. As a teacher, technology allows me to quickly assess my students. Through using a clicker, I can check to see which students grasp a new concept, or check to see which students do not understand a topic that we have been discussing for days and will need a little more help.

Although technology is a great asset to the classroom, it can also be a hindrance. Technology is not fail proof, in saying this, it is important that teachers always have an alternative plan to teach in case the technology fails. Technology can also be very expensive, without the money in the districts; schools can lag behind in the use of technology. Not all students will know how to use technology, although the children now are coming from a digital age, they may not all be familiar with educational technology such as Smartboard, Microsoft products, etc. It is important that teachers realize this and are able to help these students gain more knowledge about the use of technology.

There are many different important lessons that I have learned throughout the semester. I never knew many things within Word, especially that would help me create a newsletter or flyer. Learning how to create videos and using the software to do such will definitely help me not only as I student teach but in my future teaching jobs. I will be able to help the students create fun interactive products through using the Smartboard, a new way of presenting information. I have also learned how to use Photoshop, a program I have always wanted to explore. This will be able to help my students create fun an interesting pictures for various projects. I have definitely learned a handful from this course and am very glad that it is a requirement

Copyright

I find it very surprising that teachers are unable to use Videos in their classroom with ease. There are so many different rules and regulations that teachers must follow in the classroom in order to avoid infringing on copyright. It also surprises me that teachers need to go to someone else in order to get their materials if trying to use a copyrighted video or show. I find it shocking that teachers are not allowed to show videos to more than just one class. They are also not allowed to show videos for recreation. According to fair use, teachers must have a reason for showing the film to their class; it must be related to what the students are learning within the classroom.

                I have observed copyright laws being violated in many schools. When I was a student in elementary school, we always watched videos with other classes. We also watched films as a reward that had nothing to do with what we were learning in class. When I used to work in an elementary school, students throughout the entire school were shown a movie as a reward. The film was showed in the cafeteria and the students were allowed to watch it for having good behavior.

                Outside of the school environment, people infringe upon copyright all the time. Students especially frequently do not cite all their sources, or plagiarize, even though they know it is unlawful. In the work environment, employees or employers can show a video to a group of people, as an example of something. This group of people may not be learning anything in relation to the video. People also steal music through various sites so that they do not have to pay any money for the music.

                It is definitely our job as teachers to teach copyright respect to our students. It is critical at a young age that students learn that they must site any information or sources that they are using in projects or papers. Just as students do not want their peers cheating off their papers, others do not want their information taken without being given credit. Teachers can demonstrate how important copyright is to their students. For example, if a teacher uses a PowerPoint that they did not create, they should site where or whom they got the PowerPoint. Finally, you can ask your students where they get their information. If the students are required to look up any information for any projects, make sure to teach the students how properly to site their sources. It is also important that teachers stress the importance of copyright and what it is.

electronic portfolios

9.  Locate 1 good and 1 bad example of electronic portfolios on the Internet. Post these as links in a blog entry. Tell me your justification for choosing each.

http://whitet.tripod.com/index-14.html

            I do not think that this is a very good example of an electronic portfolio. The person gives a lot of background information on herself. However, the individual does not include any examples of her teaching ability. I did not come across any lesson plans or works from students that she may have had in the past, or worked with. While I was exploring the site, many of the links were broken and did not lead the viewer to what they should have. The only thing that I could see that visually gave the viewer a glimpse into their teaching ability was a syllabus for a course.

            The portfolio seemed that the professional was trying too hard to display him or herself and not their potential is to become a teacher. The site is filled with information on the person and all the education that they have achieved. However, it shows next to nothing about their ability to teach or how well they relate to students.

http://durak.org/kathy/portfolio/

            I think that this is a decent example of a professional teaching portfolio. She gave many links to explore her site and made it very navigable. She provided images throughout her site, to give the viewer a better sense of who she is. She also provided an example unit on the water cycle that a potential employer is able to explore. Throughout her portfolio, she provides many descriptions alongside pictures and links. This is precisely what the above website explains. It says that it is important to explain what is on your site. The only comment I could make, is that she does not provide a long description. I feel that her descriptions should be a little longer so that perspective employers can get a better feeling for what she is describing.

            Unlike the previous portfolio, this individual does not show as much of her professional growth. I feel that it would be critical to place as many examples of professional development as possible. This person only shows two examples of her development. Through exploring her résumé, I also think that she could expand upon this a bit as well. Overall, however, I feel that her portfolio is much better than the aforementioned portfolio because she displays how she is able to work with students. She also explains several things throughout her website to inform her viewer better.

Video Scenario

     The video project will be geared towards fourth graders that are learning about the Boston Tea Party in their history classes. The students will need to recreate the Boston Tea Party or the events leading up to it via a video recording.

     The project will need many preparations prior to the releasing of the videos and providing the students with the information about the project. The teacher will need to make sure that all the students understand the events leading up to the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Tea Party itself. The teacher will also need to ensure that all the students are familiar with the video equipment, and on how to edit films. It is important that the teacher go over the equipment and various websites that the students can access to help them on their project. It is also important that the teacher have enough props for all the students to use, if the video is to be filmed within class. There needs to be a sufficient amount of video cameras and tapes that the students can use for their project.

      There may be many challenges in conducting a video project with an elementary class; however, it can go smoothly, if conducted efficiently. It could be challenging, if starting this project for the first time, to make sure that all the students are at the same spot in their knowledge of video cameras and making videos. Even if a teacher presents the information to their students, some may already have knowledge on how to do such things. Others, may not listen while the teacher is explaining, and then will therefore be unable to correctly use the provided materials. Students will also need to understand the purpose and how to use a storyboard. This will help them gather their ideas, so they can present a draft of their video to the teacher.

     Another challenge could be getting the materials that are needed to do such a project. It may be difficult to budget for every group of students to get a video camera and tape, so it is important to realize that the groups of students will have to find times where they can film that does not interfere with other groups of students. Once students are done filming, it is important that the objective of the lesson is clear. Are the videos going up on a website? Do the students have permission from their parents to post a video (if they’re in the video) of themselves?

     Although it could be a difficult process, using video in the classroom can definitely enrich a student's experience in the classroom. This could help the students review a particular topic, or explore a new one. It should help those students are kinesthetic learners and auditory learners. Students will have an enjoyable experience as they create videos and are able to show their family, and other important individuals to them, what they have learned and created.

Video Project

     I thought that the video project was a lot of fun. It did not create too much of a hassle for my partner and I, therefore it was a great learning experience. Within our project, the aspect of sound worked very well. Liz and I were not too sure what we were doing, however the sound came out perfectly. We were lucky, that unlike other groups, we did not have to record sound after filming our video. The timing portion of our video also worked rather well. I heard that many groups needed to cut down on film to make their video an appropriate length. However, our film was the perfect length after filming and adding a few different pieces here and there.

     I think that the actual video itself could have improved. Throughout our film, the filming was a little shaky. I think that we could have benefitted from using a tripod, or something of that sort. Other than that, I feel as though our video is not very bad for two beginning video project students.

     I would approach this project more differently next time by being more organized. My group was not fully aware that we were to start filming that Monday. I think that we were a bit thrown off guard, as for the fact that we had planned on getting crunches and talking to pub safe prior to our filming. However, even without either one of these, our filming went rather well. We ended up using a friend to be the voice of pub safe, and he did quite a nice job.

     I learned a lot from this project. Not frequently do I pick up a video camera and start filming. My group had a little trouble at first, operating a camera for beginners. However, once we got the camera working, it was not very difficult. I will take away from this project how to edit film. I think that it was very interesting learning about the different ways that one can edit film. I also will take away how to insert music--and all the various adjustments that you can make with sounds or voices.

     This will be a great project to use within my classroom and it is critical that I am able to help my students with their project. Without this project, I am unsure if I would be willing enough to try to use video within my classroom. I think that the students will have a lot of fun and using video will be a great learning experience for my students.

Interactive Whiteboards

     I feel that interactive whiteboards are a great enhancement to the classroom. They are a great way to keep kids interactive and many of them involved in the lesson. Students who may normally find it hard or boring to pay attention in a lecture-based classroom, may find that the interactive whiteboards are much easier to grab attention. Students now days come from an era of technology. They are all used to it and are often shy to jump in and play around with new technology. This helps them stay in their digital-age and helps to make them feel less like they are going back in time as they enter the classroom. I also feel that it enhances teaching because it is a great way to evaluate the students. It is a great tool whether the students are participating in a quiz that the teacher creates using the Smartboard, and doing it at their desks and going up to the board to answer the questions, or if it is used to anonymously, to see how well the students understand the topic at hand.

     It was definitely interesting when creating and practicing my lesson, seeing, as I have never used an interactive whiteboard before. It was a little challenging to think of ways to use the Smartboard within my lesson and how to incorporate interactive activities that would keep all children involved, not solely the students that came up to the board. However, as I got used to the way that Smartboard operates and the many various ways that children can be involved interactively with the lesson, the planning went a little easier. I think it was mainly difficult because a teacher cannot depend on the programs and activities that Smart software has included with the Smartboard. It is important that teachers learn how their students learn, and be creative with incorporating different techniques into their lesson using interactive whiteboards.

     Many pros and cons come with having an interactive whiteboard installed in your classroom. A few cons revolved around technological literacy among individuals. Although the students are born into a technological age, it is important that teachers do not assume that all students are comfortable with technology and have grown up with it in their houses. Another con is if a teacher is out sick and relies on a substitute to fulfill their place in the classroom. If a substitute has never been educated on interactive whiteboards, it could create a chaotic classroom. They are also very expensive to install in the classroom. Although the whiteboards may help cease distraction, it can also create some distractions of its own. Students may begin to bicker or argue to go up to the board, or the students may not listen to their teacher if they are involved in an activity at the board.

     Some pros include they are entertaining and can make teaching more efficient. The interactive whiteboards are definitely fun to play with, even for a college age student--this was evident as we were all teaching our lessons and how some people always wanted to go up to the board and use the technology. It can also make teaching more efficient because everything a teacher needs can be right in front of them: a teacher can evaluate their students within their same lesson and without the use of normal quizzes. The interactive whiteboards can also link to the internet through placing a hyperlink right into the lesson plan! The interactive whiteboards also provide for a more interactive, more hands-on way of teaching. Those students, who learn better through being involved, will definitely be able to concentrate and learn more through using an interactive whiteboard. However, this previous point can create one final con. Although the students are involved, it is important that teachers continue to speak orally, not simply through their lesson, so that those students whom are auditory learners do not lose their ability to learn the best way they can.  

     Learning about interactive whiteboards has definitely been a great thing that I have learned that I will need to include my knowledge about in portfolio for future employers. The knowledge that I now currently have about the Smartboard would have definitely helped in writing various other lesson plans. For example, while writing my science unit on matter, the Smartboard would have been a great asset. It would have been nice to have various other interesting ways to assess the "students" in my lesson. In addition, since every lesson was required to be interactive, the Smartboard would have been a great tool to help make each lesson that way. Through the Smartboard, I could have put up the instructions for an experiment using the pull-tabs to ensure that no student got too far ahead in the experiment. The Smartboard would have also been a great help when I was teaching math lessons in math, I could do a lesson similar to Chris'.

     Overall, I am very glad that I learned how to use and utilize the technology of an interactive whiteboard. It will definitely help me when I am looking for jobs or looking for more interesting ways to involve my students.

Software Skills

I definitely enjoyed learning all the different software skills that we learned in class. It will most certainly help me in the future as a teacher, and even still in school. As a class, we learned all about Microsoft Word, and although I knew a good bit about it, it is always great to review and learn new things! It was also very good to work with Publisher. Publisher is a program that I have not used very frequently and it was helpful to see how much it had to offer! I was shocked to see all the different templates for various occasions and even that they had already set up for their users.

I think that learning more about Publisher will be the most beneficial to me as a teacher. I realized all the things that you can create via publisher such as a banner, greeting cards, and newsletters! The newsletter option will greatly help me as a teacher, especially starting out. Learning how to create a newsletter in Word also will greatly help me. If a template in Publisher is not good enough, I can always create my own. It was great to learn how to apply borders to an entire document and how to adjust the margins to my advantage. I also learned how to use the tables to my advantage, and have begun to like them, after previously disliking them. They are very handy to create multiple choice quizzes.

It was beneficial seeing everyone's documents on the overhead projector to get future ideas for my classroom. I like how several people included birthdays of the month, and then what the classroom is doing in a particular week.

Overall, I think that learning how to create a newsletter will be the most useful as a future teacher. It will help me a better communicator with the students' parents and show them what we are doing.