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?