3/31/14 Take Away Message

It was great to watch examples of the movies that we are going to have to create for our group project. I feel that my group and I picked a really important topic, Internet Saftey. This topic is extremely important more than ever because social media is growing faster every year. Most kids don't understand the power the internet can have on their lives in a good way or in a bad way. Showing the negativity that can come from putting too much on the internet is a lesson better taught in class through a video than learned the hard way in real life. Our video will be geared towards high school students. We picked this age group because these are the kids who are most likely to take risks online without realizing their consequences.

 

Among the other groups in our class, I felt that a lot of great important issues such as manners and health can all be taught in a more interactive way than on paper. These videos should be exciting to watch and students should be excited to learn from.

Chapter 7 - Blog 5

        I have used Google Earth myself a time or two, but I never would have thought to use it in my classroom before reading this chapter and our discussion last class. Giving children the opportunity to take virtual tours across a variety of content. Even using English, to explore where the author was from or where a story takes place. I'm actually going to put it into place this week. We are reading a book about different types of Community Homes. What better way to show them a variety of communities than by virtually taking them there! 
              The part of Chapter 7 on Intelligent tutoring systems really stuck out to me. I depend on programs such as these ITS programs to give me feedback on what my students are understanding and what they are not. The program with GO MATH that my school uses breaks down exactly what standards my students have mastered and automatically gives them more focus questions on the standards they are struggling to master. It's really helpful for me because when you have 30 students, it's hard to pinpoint exactly who needs what at what time. This just makes my job a lot easier. 
         This chapter also discussed GAMES and learning. After last week's Mind Craft conversation, I asked my students how many of them played it. I was shocked. In their desks were books on this game, that taught them new strategies to win. THEY ALL PLAY IT. I thought last week that the game had no educational value, but I have to admit that I liked that my students have 300 page books on strategies. It required actual reading and thought to act these plans out. 

Questions: 
1) What do you think of the violence in Mind Craft or other popular games? Would you ever use it in your classroom or would the violence trump anything they could learn from it?
2) Has anyone USED a video game in your classroom as a part of a program or learning tool? If so, Which and why?
3) The programs I use in my school are all pre-chosen. Do any teacher in the class have the option to order whichever you would like? 

Take Away Message 3/24/14

The connection or lack there of between video games and learning was spoken about tonight in class. The love for video games is no uncommon among children. Every show and tell item that gets brought into my classroom is some type of game. How can we as educators marry the two into a productive learning tool?

The idea of Mind Craft this evening didn't sit well with me. I didn't really find the educational aspect of it besides being able to build things. If there was more thought being put into it, maybe math or some sort of reading tasks mixed it, I could see it being educational. I think specifically of my students and how they would just think it was "fun". There would be no rigor and in a country that is pushing common core standards with higher order thinking and all these new platforms for students to reach, I would not see a fit for Mind Craft in my classroom.

 There are games out there that can be fun for the children and educational. Yeah, they might "smell like school" as in the man in the video tonight said, but the kids ARE in school and that is what we do in school, we learn. My school has a math program that is fun and the kids beg to use it. There are ways to mix in the "fun" but there is also a need for a set structure and framework for our students that they need to understand to be successful individuals.

Blog 4 (Chapters 4&6)

             A part of this chapter that I was really interested in was when it spoke about the digital divide in terms of low-income households. As a teacher who works in one of these areas of the Bronx, I struggle with this constantly. I would love to assign a project where my students can research on their own home computers for information but it just isn't realistic. Not only do the majority of my students lack home computers but they also don't have parents who speak english to help them. This means anytime I want to allow an assignment like this, it must be done in the classroom. I really try to allow ipad or laptop access as often as I can in the classroom because they don't get to use it outside the building. When parents are working long hours, it becomes a struggle to get that support, such as brining the child to the library to use a computer. Looking at the bar graph over the years provided in the text book is really a mind opener. While the access is raising over time, it is still lowest in the homes of low-income.
             Group work learning was also highlighted in this chapter. Cooperative learning is stressed across the board of subjects but having students use techonology with group work is also important. It allows the students to be able to work together, communicate with each other while sharing ideas and help each other grow in their abilities. Computers are a really big part of this effort.
            INTERACTIVE WEBSITES are GOLD. I constantly use programs that my students will be engaged in while practicing their skills. Teaching elementary school, it's great when you find a program that the students think is fun and you think is worthwhile. First of all, the kids want to be on the computer. They want to play the Math game or read the science ebooks. That is half the battle.
           Creating a web quest is the perfect way to control the path of the students learning. They are going to be looking WHERE you want them to get their information from, while at the same time, recognizing their task and accomplishing it. It allows room for photographs and videos that will give students a clear view of their topic.


Questions:
1) Has anyone ever used Interactive Videoconferencing with their students? This seemed like an awesome way to get a guest speaker in your class while giving the students a virtual field tirp.
2) Do you think student one to one computer use is best or cooperative group work using the computers?
3) I notice that for my ELL students, simple old fashioned leap-frog learning devices can at times trump certain computer programs that are newer. Does anyone else feel that way?  

3/17/14 Take Away Message

                   This evening we were talking about the difference between what we are preparing our students for in the future academically vs. what we are preparing them for digitally. Academically we are striving to mold students who are able to ask questions, be curious about the world and meet the new standards we have provided for them. Digitally it's important to prepare them with an understanding of not everything you read on the internet is true. While having them become aware of that, it's also important that we keep them pushing the technology wave going. Internet useage will only increase as time goes on, so it is important for students to be able to keep up with that.  We also spoke about the great advantages of technology for students with disabilities and students of other languages. New technology is constantly changing and groups such as this benefit from the advances greatly.

                  Another really interesting topic of discussion was about technology and social media in other countries. The fact that social media can be SHUT down in some countries really shocked me. I had no idea that was even possible. I would be interested in learning more about that. I could not picture what would happen in America if that happened.

Chapter 3 Reflection

                   This chapter spoke about the importance of how teachers plan their lessons and how the students are being assessed. Teaching and testing are activities we as educators are used to. It was interesting to see how technology can help us along in this process.
                    Using computers to assess students is something that my school does. We give Math tests on the computer instead of scantrons. I find this makes my job a million times easier, because I don't have to sit there and mark each paper. Instead, all the information is right there for me step by step. I am able to see what questions my students go right and wrong. I can also assign more practice activities online based off of that assessment. It helps the students and helps the teacher pin point the areas of need easier. It's also more exciting for the kids to use the computers. If they are taking the test online, it's more engaging for them, they love it! With my class, we don't always use the computers to take the tests but interestingly enough, I find the students do better on the computerized tests rather than paper. That's always interesting to me. 

Questions:
1) How many teachers use online record keeping books rather than paper books?
2) Does anyone think that assessments should ONLY be online or ONLY on paper?
3) Would you think it would be smart to have the standardized tests online? 

Chapter 1 Reflection

As educators in 2014, the word "technology" is something we hear and use often. While planning, we are constantly trying to incorporate technology to make our lessons more engaging and more interactive for our students. Watching how as the years go on, children of all ages are learning more and more about new gadgets and computer systems. As they change, it's vital that we adapt as well.

This chapter also spoke about different teaching philosophy variations. There are teacher-centered classrooms and student-centered classrooms. With the new push under the new teacher evaluations, the board of education wants student-centered classrooms. They want teachers to be there assisting but the expectations of students are higher than ever. I think with this push, it's great that we have so many programs and tools to help this become possible. If my students are reading on the ipad, I automatically get that information sent to me so I can track their pace and book selections. It tells me how long my students are reading and across how many genres. It gives the students the aim for their own learning goals within both math or reading.

It is always important to have a back up in the classroom. If for some reason, the computer shuts down or the smartboard isn't working, you need to keep going. I've seen so many teachers who waste so much time fussing with the computer that the students are losing important education time. The technology should just add to the lesson, it doesn't always have to be the WHOLE lesson.




Questions:
1) If any of my classmates use Go Math! or Ready Gen programs, I find them very teacher centered. Do you feel the same way? Do you have difficulty making the lessons student geared?
2) How would we get parents more involved in allowing the students to use more internet at home to do homework if the parents aren't technology savy? (Such as research projects)
3) What has been the most engaging computer program you have used for reading with your students?

Take Away Message 3/10/14

                                 Wikipedia is something that I never used with my students. I can't say that tonight's conversation 100% changed my opinion on wanting to use that information source but it definetly got me thinking about it. I had no idea that Wiki was even somewhat being controlled. This makes me more willing to use it. I don't think I would use it for my students still becuase I like to know that all the information I am giving them is clear and perfect, I think I would possibly use it for myself. I have the judgement to read something and compare it to other sources or know there is no way that information would be factual. My third grades would not have that knowledge and I would never want them to get confused or get wrong information. I do however like the idea of many minds coming together to create a source of information for others but I'm just not sure I like the idea of it just being ANYONE on the web.

I use many different APPS that are on the handout we got in class. Classdojo is awesome and so is the common core standard app which I am constantly on. It's really straight forward and easy to navigate. I am not a big tech person so anything that is simple and 1, 2, 3.... is good for me.

 

                        

Chapter 5 Reflection

            Engaging learners using digital tools is something I feel is a must with today's day and age. I've always had a smart board in my classroom to help engage my students during the day among various lessons. In the beginning of this school year, my projector had to be replaced so I was without one for two weeks. The engagement levels dropped drastically. It was much harder for me to get them interested in the lesson without that technology interaction.
              In Figure 5.2 on page 118 of chapter 5, the comparisons of people that go online everyday vs. the people who read books for fun every day vary. What I found the most interesting was that children 5-8 are the only age gap that were reading more for fun than going on the computer. I have found in my experience that children who are engaged online with reading programs are more willing to want to read than if I handed them a book. In my classroom, my third graders do their BEST independent reading when they are reading on the program, MyOn.com, on our ipads.
               In terms of teaching students about Internet searching, it's great for them to learn this early. We used lessons on finding information for our nonfiction writing unit. Students were using the search engines, they were taking notes and they were learning new information at the same time.

Questions for the group:

1) Do your students get "computer class" to teach them about URL or web searches, or do you have to mix it into your own lessons that you are giving each day?
2) What programs does your school use to prevent plagiarism?
3) In your opinion, what is the best program you have used in your classroom, either math or reading, that has engaged students the most?