October 5th
- tell kids searching the internet - be responsible citizens, if you see something nasty click away from it, tell your teacher, and don't show other kids. If you can't be responsible, we won't be able to use the computers
- can do age-appropriate searches on Google
- is over-filtering in schools helping or hurting kids?
- virtual pen pals - learn from students all over the world. the students in your classroom tend to be socially, geographically, etc. similar (for the most part).
- how do we help kids in low-income/poor schools have equal access? even if kids don't have access to technology at home they can learn it in school
- App called Doceri (?) turns iPad etc into a virtual whiteboard
- Can the role of the teacher change with the introduction of technology into the classroom?
- what is the best use of tech money - not just what we can get in there quickly, what will help the most?!
- BYOD - bring your own device. Know students - some will have access and others won't, but if children have this technology already why aren't we using it? Why ban it from classrooms? Use it effectively for education rather than a distraction.
- Using TOUCH
- take notes on students as I'm walking around.
- what can I do with my students with the TOUCH?
- assessment?
- audio, video, apps
- "It's not the tools, it's the thinking"
- don't use technology for technology's sake - change the method! change thinking. do something new
- technology is constantly changing - we don't know what skills kids will need to know 10 years from now
- cooperative learning vs. skill and drill
- access to information in real-life context
- www.commonsensemedia.com
- great for parents - internet safety, technology information, learning and technology etc.
- From Salina
- http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/10/can-apple-products-pave-the-way-to-personalized-learning/
- Curating information - literacy skill
- What's being lost vs. what's being gained
- last field that believes that it is a personal choice to use technology in the workplace. it is required and necessary in all other fields.
- http://uwbx12.wikispaces.com/file/view/ContextsforLearning.pdf
Hey Jo!
ReplyDeleteHope you're feeling better and enjoying your Thanksgiving Day. You mentioned a point I have an opinion on and I'm full of coffee and raring to go! Best use of tech $$$:
I've worked and now interned in a district that has really worked hard to provide classrooms with tech equipment. Activeboards, microphones, doc cameras, video equipment, digital cameras, and laptop labs. Unfortunately, teachers aren't asked what they want and will use, it's just given to everyone.
On one hand, I can see that it's not smart to turn down equipment when it's available. Teachers move to new classrooms and it wouldn't make sense to have to move tech equipment or leave the new occupant without installed devices that other rooms have.
On the other hand, I've seen mics go unused. Computer labs sit idle, activeboards used as screens for old-fashioned overhead projectors, and teachers using white boards and dying markers right next to the available activeboard. I understand how hard it is to turn techy when you're used to manual. I'm living that right now. But it's so irritating to see expensive equipment being under- or un-used when budgets are so tight. I realize that I need to know what my students will need to know so that I can guide them through the process and give them the tech skills they will be expected to have.
I'm especially irritated because our governor is now suggesting a sales tax increase to prevent further education cuts. I support that idea but many people say that's just what they expected from the liberal Democrat tax-and-spend governor. They say there are further cuts to be made! There's plenty of government waste to eliminate! And I have to admit, from the outside, unused tech equipment looks like a waste of money.
But from the inside, the spending we do on tech is just part of "the cost of doing business", the business of educating kids in a world that is booming in technology. Whether all of our educators jump on the bandwagon or not, we have to keep pace with innovation or we slip further behind in producing tech-savvy workers.
Okay, I've said my piece! Enjoy your day!
If district will make available new technology, anything they want, I will welcome it and learn how to use it. One thing that is extremely important for our development as teachers is the ability to keep an open mind and continue to learn. If learning or willingness to learn stops at any point in time, we will be terminated as teachers. There will be no place to go. The key in becoming a better teacher is to keep the fire going, and to learn with and from our students.
ReplyDeleteWhen we embarked our dreams and hopes in this interesting journey of becoming a teacher we had an idea about what we will find ahead. After a year and a half, a main placement, and a dyad experience we know even more.
One thing I know for sure at this time. There are no magic answers, there are no easy or quick avenue for success, and no certain recipes for teaching. All we have is what we learned so far, what we think that could be done to help our students, and faith in our original believe that we could make a difference.
Daniel Cristea
Cohort 12
B EDUC 425 and 437