Digital Blog Post #D

Hello Everyone,

After doing some more research on blogs, it seems to me that it's nice to start off with a good hello before you get in to what you are going to talk about. Kind of makes you feel as though the blogger is acknowledging that the reader is here and is able to start now.

So here we go…

The concept of electronic note taking is something that can be used for anyone not just teachers and students. It is something that can take us back through time and efficiently save everyone time. During my first semester in college I had a professor whose test and quizzes were note based. For me this was something very difficult because I never thought of myself as a good note taker. I would ask other students in the class, how are you doing so well? How do you know what to write? Their answers would be "If the professor says the sky is blue, that is what you write. You need to write down everything he says." This was hard for me until I discovered OneNote, which is discussed in the book as a resource for electronic note taking. You are able to record and reference the recording to a couple words. This made it possible for me to not focus so much on writing but focusing on listening and actually learning.

Tech Tool 5.2 "Customizing Your Web Browser with iGoogle". With me being the very busy person I like to have everything at my fingertips. When I open my computer half of the time I don’t even know where to start, and with iGoogle I am able to customize my google search page to all of my frequently visited places. As a teacher I'm sure my life will not slow down one bit and this tool will continue to be useful to me in whatever stage in my life. You can also add to-do list which is a God sent because like I said I'm usually lost on where to start and this can help keep your life in order. I made a Lino but for some reason I couldn't figure out how to embed it so here is the link.

This last concept that stood out to me was teaching students to recognize the URL. Although I knew there were different URLs I have never realized how many there actually are. And also never realized how important it was to know the difference in where your information was coming from. URLs help pick out how generally credible a source is.

• ·         .com- is a broadly speaking site or a site that has a commercial purpose.
• ·         .biz- (an extension of .com) mainly for people with the intentions of selling promoting or advertisement.
• ·         .org- for nonprofit organizations
• ·         .gov- is only for government agency sites
• ·         .net- is for network providers
• ·         .edu- is for universities and colleges
• ·         .mil- is for military organizations
• ·         .info- is for organizations providing general information
• ·         .k12- is for schools within the United States
• ·         .sch- is for schools outside of the States
• ·         .ca , .uk , or .nz- are web addresses for other countries in the world

Creative Common Photo by Sam Azgor

References:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA. Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #C

Hello Everyone, hows y'all's week going? Mine, well its going on a fast pace schedule so I can enjoy my weekend with family and friends. So lets get this thing going...

To start off I have to say Chapter 3 started off with theories...Every time a professor says "Okay guys I know this is boring, but we have to talk about theories this week." This sets you up for disaster, and let me tell you I have heard this at least twenty times. So starting this chapter off with theories wasn't to exciting for me. But here it goes...

Teacher Vs Student Centered methods of teaching, as I read these approaches I began to think of something I learned in a past teaching class. I could think of the concept, but I couldn't think of the name. Until I kept reading the chapter and lone and behold there it was "Maria Montessori". The student centered approach seemed to me that the children still have structure like a regular school, but they choose their structure like Maria's. In my opinion, both approaches should be used within a school. Teachers should divide their time so that the students who learn from lectures get their time and the students who learn from projects get theirs. This will allow every student the opportunity to succeed.

The next concept I reviewed was Online Problem-Solving Environments. The book stated three primary characteristics  of solving problems in online learning  game environments:

• students use computers to do what they cannot easily do on paper
• student encounters types of problems that occur in the real world or problems of personal interest to them 
• students integrate knowledge of technology with academic content

The easiness of technology lets children do the lengthy work of research, learning, and problem solving. This reminded me of when I was in the Seventh Grade and my teacher would let us play a game on the internet. This game had different subjects you could be tested on and for each answer you got correct a grain of rice was given to the hungry. It may not seem like much but eventually we would end up with a big total. And we felt the fun in learning and giving at the same time.

The last concept I read over was Redefining Creativity.... OH MY GOSHHHHHH!!! Way to end the chapter with a light at the end of the tunnel. This made my mind and heart explode. I can not rephrase this in any way but just put the excerpt from the book here:

"To be creative, children do not need to design, compose, or develop something no one has done before; they may need only to say or do things they have not thought or done before quite the same way or style. The creative act can be what is new to the individual, not new to the world."

So many people feel as though they have no talent that they do not stand out because this person can sing or this person can do this. But this, this right here says different this right here says that we are all special and creative in our own ways. And my goodness this book has finally gave the answer of how people are special and creative in their own ways... Dropping the microphone...

Creative Commons Photo By Miss Wetzel's Art Class

References:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Blog Post #B

A Career That Matters...

What a great way to start off Chapter 2, by stating the obvious "Teaching is a career that matters to everyone..". Most people say oh anyone can be a teacher and man does this get under my skin. Yes, anyone can go and get a teaching degree. But not everyone can be the teacher their supposed to be. Who is to judge whether or not you are the teacher you are supposed to be? It is too often that students come across less engaged teachers. From my experience I could hand pick the teachers who stood out to me still to this day. Because those teachers were the ones who evaluated  their students and attempted to adjust to each students learning styles so that they got the best education possible. I have always been the one to say that teachers are the ones who make up society. They teach the future generations, they are the ones who mold children for 13+ years of a childs' life. In the book it said educators often teach as they were taught, it said that these practices often fail to engage at least half of the students. This is all true for the teachers who do not make that extra effort to expand their horizons.

The next point I came across was the key issues for technology-using teachers. There were six questions to survey your current thinking about technology and teaching. The questions that stood out to me were:

• What is your readiness to integrate technology into teaching and learning in schools?
• What are your reasons for wanting to use technology in teaching?

Although there were four other questions these two got my mind thinking. Because I have experienced the schooling I had as a child in a technology society, I believe I can go into my teaching career as something totally new. I can go into teaching using technology as a professional because i'm starting from a clean slate. What I mean by clean slate is I do not have to accommodate my old teaching styles, because i'm starting in a world of teaching were technology has already been introduced. As for the second question, my reasons for wanting to use technology in teaching is pretty clear. Technology has already proven itself to be a great resource to teach students at every level. My main goal as a future teacher is to involve each student in their own way of learning. Yes, it seems to be a difficult task, but I believe that it can be done.

My next point is kind of hard to pin point where I've gotten this idea from but I guess you could put it around the heading called students and their technologies. As of right now my main focus for technology is as a teacher not as a student. What new things can I bring to the table that enhances learning. As for students being able to google in class and such during lectures, I think we have to remember who we are dealing with here. These students have to be confined to what they use because of the distractions that they bring up. Students can easily go off and google what their not supposed to or go on inappropriate websites. It is important for us as teachers to limit their usage so that we don't get stuck with the wondering... Sadly we aren't always dealing with "angels", we have to be cautious. And that is why my focus will be on how I can introduce technology as much as I can with out it getting out of control.

Created with Padlet

References:

Gonzalez, I. (2016, September 11). My bold padlet. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from https://padlet.com/ivanajogonzalez/62s83m4ic6zs 

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Blog Post #A

Well I am just gonna start off by saying I am very weary about this blogging thing, but I hope at the end of this I could somewhat say i'm a expertise. I also did lots of googling on blogging and I came across this page that seemed to be helpful in my future of blogging.

1. Growing up being used to TV's, cell phones, and video games I would have never thought my childhood was digitized. In Chapter 1 I read over a concept called Digital Childhood, it is defined as a childhood characterized by use of computers, television, video games, movies, and other media. Although it may have seemed to me that my generation wasn't as digitized as the current, older generations would have much more to say on that concept. It was nothing for my parents to take us out to the movies for a treat, but for them it wasn't such a commonality. Reading this concept opened my eyes to see that we are a digital generation. 

2. My Second concept that caught my attention is when the book referred to Lawrence Snyder's "fetch/execute cycle". Computers are just that, earlier this week in my biology class my professor asked a question that no one had the answer for. Instead of her just giving us the answer she said well use your resources and figure it out. The classroom began to "google" and just seconds later the answer was found. Now it shouldn't always be that easy, but it also shouldn't be as time consuming as looking thru ten  books to find an answer. Time has given us a very resourceful source called the internet and it is time for it to be used more often then it is. 

3. My Third concept goes hand and hand with my second concept and it is Technology based Library, Textbook, and Learning Environment. Now that we have access to all of this technology we need to take advantage of it. No more do we have to spend hours looking for teaching materials, teachers are able to look up other teachers materials and shake them up into their own. No longer are we limited to just what the school provides in textbooks, the internet allows for students to have many more learning sites such as videos, eBooks, stories audios and more. And lastly the learning environment, teaching does not have to stop when a child out of the classroom. So many times you hear students saying they forgot what was due or they needed help with something, or even parents are trying to help but need to be taught again themselves. The web gives everyone access to communication and tools that were not here before.

In conclusion,  Chapter 1 truly opened my eyes to seeing that we are constantly ignoring the depths in which we could utilize the internet. Yes it may be used now but its not being used enough, we have so many tools at the tips of our fingers. If we learn to use the tools that are given to us we could make learning a colorful rainbow of fun.   

After watching a couple videos I came across this one and i thought it had many good points on why we should use technology in classrooms.

Resources:

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

Blogging Tips for Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved September 04, 2016, from http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/free-resources/edupreneurs/blogging-tips-for-teachers 

H. (2015). The Benefits of Using Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved September 04, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rrKwyVU1DM