End-of-Term Reflection

My opinion about technology integration in the classroom definitely has changed as I have learned many more valuable resources that can be used. My eyes have been opened to the world of possibilities that exist with technology in the classroom that I never knew before. I'm very interested in using technology resources that are available both to myself and my students in the classroom. Some of the programs that I know I'll use are Bubbl, Voki, Dabbleboard, Wikispaces and Neat Chat. I think that all of these programs were very affective in what they were meant to do and I enjoyed the creativity and innovation that is possible through these programs. Another thing that's awesome about these programs is that they're free! I would try and stay away from sights like Jing that could open doors to easy plagiarism for young kids, but for an older student like myself I love the program! Overall this technology class has taught me so much about the many benefits of technology integration in the classroom and I will consistently encourage myself to learn about the newest technology that the world has to offer. Print Page in IE

PBL Website: My Healthy Self Project

The PBL website that I enjoyed the most was My Healthy Self project. I really liked this one a lot because educating children about the importance of taking care of your own body is something that I feel is not taught nearly enough of in school's today. This project was awesome because the kids got involved and wanted to know how to keep their bodies healthy. It was fun for them to find out how running laps can affect your hear rate, and they wanted to be apart of a snack shop that only sold healthy foods. That in itself is a miracle to me! The kids also experienced real world scenarios which provided better understanding of the everyday jobs they may one day possess when they grow up.This project provided a number of different learning experiences and what I liked is that the kids got to choose what aspect of the project they wanted to be apart of, giving them incredible flexibility to learn what they wanted. It was an educational project that inspired the children to keep being good to their bodies with healthy foods and exercise and the most important reason why I think this project was awesome, was the kids had FUN! Print Page in IE

Students Using Technology in Education

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Telecollaboration in the Classroom through Project Based Learning

Telecollaboration in the classroom helps greatly develope students critical thinking skills by allowing them to understand the "who, what where and why," of a subject. By working with others you are giving students the tools to fully understand the information they are learning and to deval deaper into any questions that they might have. Also by working with others, students are able to get insight and make improvements to areas that they may not have even known needed improvement if it weren't for their classmates. Kids become more familiar with what they are learning if we give them the options to decide how they want to learn. Also by giving them the tools to cater their own learning, kids can actually teach others about the information provided and greatly improve their own understanding by relaying what they know. According to Bloom's Taxonomy, you must remember the knowledge your given before you can even get to a level of understanding, so how do we get the information to children in such a way that they want to remember it? Telecollaboration could be the key to thorough understanding.

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Wordle: Changes to Integrate Technology

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Integrating Websites into the Classroom

 Title: Haring Kids

This website is an interactive Keith Haring website who was a devoted artist and collaborator thats art seemed to really grab ahold of kids. He donated much of his artwork to help with children's cause as well as created books, posters and other artwork that you can find in classrooms, hospitals,  and even on children's television.  There is an info link about Keith that shows his incredibly work and commitment to children all over the world. This sight comes fully equipped with lesson plans for teachers and parents, games, ecards,  fun little screen savers you can install on your computers, and an interactive drawing board. I thought that the drawing board was the best idea, but it proved to be a little hard to use... plus I feel like kids would immediately go to the games screen if that was available, over the drawing board (especially if it seems hard to use).

How can this sight be used in the classroom? 
This sight can be used to draw pictures on the drawingboard and learn about Keith Haring art, and maybe how to draw his little images! You could also use this sight to add little images to existing websites. This sight can be incredible helpful to teachers and parents because you can look up lesson plans and also add your own successful lesson plans.

How could the site be used to extend learning opportunities beyond the classroom?  
This sight suggests all different books, lesson plans and art projects that are ever changing. You could use this sight with take home projects or interactive coloring that kids can do in your free time. This could be a sight that you give your kids the option to revisit continuously throughout the year.

Favorite: Haring Kids
This sight has a cool interface that is easy to use, with links to many different projects and activities that are sure to entice kids to be interactive and promote higher level thinking through the activities. It's usable for children and their peers, teachers, and parents, in integrating art into projects and activities that can be used by all. Print Page in IE

Avatars in Technology

   Avatars are an awesome way for kids to feel involved with instruction. Before this class I didn't even know what an Avatar was, although I may have seen them on websites but didn't really realize what I was looking at. To see how Avatar's work now is simply amazing! Avatars can help in educating students in several ways. One is programming the Avatar to give instruction in an exciting and technology based way that kids will be interested in. Another is that students can create their own avatars for group projects or interactive slide shows and even more! Also, kids can become more involved with the use of computers and technology with helpful tools such as Avatars! Print Page in IE

Technology Past, Present and Future

   1) Tech past:
    I grew up in the small town of Astoria Oregon, and although it was known how important computers and technology were, I just don't think that the school district was able to provide the number of computers needed to instill in everyone its importance. I recall that most classes did not have computers, especially if it was say, a history class. I remember from a younger age taking computer and keyboarding classes throughout middle school, however the exposure dissipated considerably once I entered high school. It seemed that most of the classes (at least throughout high school) didn't incorporate computers into the general education that we were learning at the time. Even in biology and math classes most of the assignments where performed using the old "hands on" method. Although computer technology wasn't a dominate focus of my high school education, I have always taken well to important programs and concepts.

2) Tech present:
   I think that computers technology needs to be better incorporated into the classroom at the earliest possible grade level- kindergarten. As a whole, we are kind of behind in the area of the advancement of technology in our society (we're competing with citizens of other countries for our tech jobs here), and so I think it is very important to introduce computers and knowledge about programs/computers to students when they are youngest and most easily influenced by knowledge. Kids are like sponges (especially around the age of five) and this is the prime time to encourage new insight.
   I think that one of the most important reasons why we need to use current technology and programs with students, is to stimulate them in the most visual/auditory way possible to maximize their potential for learning and understanding. As a teacher one day, I will use current technology with students to better understand the process that children go through to learn different subject contents (for example: which of colors, words or numbers are more impressionable than the other). With programs designed for young children, we could find that making reading easier really is possible- with the right tools and accommodations for each grade range.
   There is a world of possibilities with technology, especially if it is fully utilized in the classroom atmosphere. I recently took a class called fundamentals of elementary math and was introduced to a program for middle school students that helped better understand geometry. This program would only let you move a line if it was congruent with other lines and angles. I thought it was very helpful even for me, to see the importance of parallel and perpendicular lines and congruent and non-congruent angles, lines and shapes. If a program that was made for middle school students can help a college student like me, then I think we should definitely be introducing more of this to the next generation.

3) Tech future:
   Well, I definitely think that the most challenging things to confront in the classroom will be a) how to cope with the different levels of learning abilities of students, and b)incorporating technology into the already existing class content and materials. The first challenge will most likely be the bigger struggle for teachers: they will have to come up with both ways to keep faster learning students occupied while others catch up, and also students that are struggling plenty of time to figure out the task at hand.  Maybe the best way to do this would be to give a generalized test in the beginning of the term/school year to find the abilities of each student. Then you could create an individualized program for everyone, that will both help them through troubling areas and challenge them in areas where they should have sufficient knowledge of a subject.
   The second challenge I think has more to do with teaching teachers how important it is to integrate computer technology into their own classrooms. This will be hard both because of issues with funding (example: who knows how long until we could even get one computer, in each classroom, in every public school in Oregon), and also because teachers these days don't even see the importance of technology in their own lives. Forgive me for saying it, but many teachers are kind of well, set in their ways. Continuing to evolve in the technological world will depend on both our students, and our teachers.

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