Blog Post #L- Chapter 12

After reading chapter 12, there are many different concepts that I found interesting and worth discussing. However the three that I chose are the most meaningful and important to my future classroom. Technology is a such a great advancement and offers plenty of opportunities for students and teachers to improve their lessons and material. Technology offers many different things that cannot be offered from traditional textbooks and lessons. With all that being said there are times when technology is appropriate and there are times when it isn't necessary. Not every curriculum needs to involve computers, internet resources, or other technology. I feel that i can relate to this chapter the most because it helps us incorporate technology in our curriculum without loosing traditional teaching methods as well.

The first concept I would like to discuss is, digital inequality. This term is used to explain how students lack access of technology. Some students do not have access to technology or have different experiences with technology. Some homes may have internet access while some do not and the only internet access they can attain in that of a cell phone. As a future educator I will involve more than one digital tools that way students can participate in different activities and can experience different forms of technology that they may not experience at home. Digital inequality is also another reason why I think it is a great idea to provide computers at school, and to provide lessons that incorporate how to use certain digital tools so that low income students, etc. do not feel left behind.

The second concept I would like to discuss is how teachers use technology they have in their classroom to enhance their lessons. As a student I would strongly dislike when a teacher over used digital tools in the classroom. Technology is meant to be used as an enhancer and to create more excitement for lessons it is not meant to replace teaching. I had an instance where a previous professor would only show power points and videos and class, this professor would not even read through the power points. As a future educator I would like to teach my students and by helping them understand certain concepts I will include digital tools, fun games, videos, etc.

The third concept I would like to discuss is how to become technology-leading educator! I think that it is important to utilize technology in a way that benefits the students without sacrificing teaching and your interaction with students. As an educator I would incorporate many different technological tools and even get together with other colleagues to discuss a more technological mindset. Because technology can be very overwhelming I think it would be really helpful if as a future educator I could be a technology-leader and help my fellow teacher. I could even have a fun meeting once a week where we all discuss our ideas involving technology and help each other have technology involved classrooms!







The presentation above is to explain the different stages of technological integration. I have also included a short video in the presentation! Enjoy! :)




Resources:

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

 

Izquierdo, N (2015, November 24). Stages of Technology Integration   . Created with emaze.

Blog Post #J -Chapter 11

After reading this chapter and analyzing the different assessments that can be conducted with technology I have chosen three topics that have interested me. Incorporating technology in a student assessments can be very beneficial to not only the teachers but most importantly the students.

The first concept I would like to discuss is student participation systems as a learning assessment approach. For example there are student participation systems that involve clickers that can give teachers immediate feedback on the material the students and comprehending. In my biology class, my professor used the clickers as he was teaching through his power points. I found it very helpful when he used this method because it would give him the opportunity to go into depth on a certain topic that may have been a challenge for me. I think as an educator it was beneficial to him as-well because it demonstrated who was retaining the information and if his lessons were understood by everyone. As a teacher, I would use this technique very often, this gets the students to ALL participate and engaged with the topics and information they are learning.

The second topic I would like to discuss how different practices such as, online surveys, learning portfolios, etc can get students more engaged in their education. For example, online surveys serve as a great way for students to  voice their opinion on how a topic should be taught. This gives teachers immediate feedback on how their lessons can be more effective. I think it is very important to look at your students as individuals and not just as a whole group. Students learn differently from each other and should be able to voice and show their opinion on how they better retain material. With technology this becomes easier because of how immediate responses can be done. With an online survey created students can answer questions and teachers can immediately change their lesson plans.

The third topic I would like to discuss is digital portfolio for students. I think this is such a great tool that we should take advantage of because it hasn't always been available to us as educators and students. Digital portfolios make material more accessible to others. There are always pros and cons of technology tools and what the benefits are to using them. In my future classroom I will use digital portfolios for my students because of the different options for creativity and flexibility it provides.


 Below is a diagram I created for the Pros and Cons of Digital Portfolios!!

Resources:

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
 

Izquierdo, N (2015, November 8).Digital Portfolio  . Created with Bubblus.

Blog Post #I- Chapter 4

After reading chapter four I found that there are many interesting concepts and topics I thought would be very beneficial to the classroom. It is important to include technology in lessons and to incorporate technology in developing a well rounded curriculum.

The first concept I would like to discuss are the three decisions by teachers that develops lessons and a strong curriculum. The first is, what to teach. The second, how to teach. The third, how to know what students have learned. All these concepts can be well supported by technology. For example. technology can help decide how teachers teach and what they want to include in their lessons. Whether it may be educational podcasts, PowerPoint, or vodcasts technology can help improve a lesson plan or create a curriculum more interesting and stimulating for the students. I think it would be a great idea to incorporate technology into my lesson plans and learn how the best way a certain topic can be taught. Technology can also help you decide what to teach, its important to find relevant topics for your students. As a future educator I would also keep track of how technology is impacting the students and their ability to retain information.

The second concept I would like to discuss is how to differentiate tests and performance methods. Teachers use these methods to measure the knowledge of students however they are both different. Technology can be a great tool to measure this knowledge, for example offering multiple ways to conduct tests and performance assessments. As a teacher I would use many online resources to measure the performance of my students. I have had many instances where I take online tests for school and I receive my results instantly, I have always found this to be very helpful. In my future classroom I would use this technique because I think it is important for my students to learn about their strengths and weaknesses. In the chapter, it also discussed how standardized testing may only measure a limited amount of student knowledge. I agree with this theory, I feel as though preparing students for standardized tests is not providing them with all the information but with just specific information.

The poster below was created with picktochart, describing the three strong concepts to evaluating students.

 

The third concept I would like to discuss is how it is important to connect educational standards to planning lessons. Teachers have to meet a certain goal as well as having their students pass assessments and tests. However teachers have to make sure their students retain information for more than tests.National, state, and local curriculum frameworks help define what academic content teachers must present to students. It is important to include these standards in lesson plans as a strong base for the students. However I also think it is important to include fun activities for students and different forms of educating other than just from a book. The video below is a short video about lesson planning! 

Resources:

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
 

Izquierdo, N (2015, November 4).Assessments and Evaluating  . Created with Picktochart.

Blog Post #H- Chapter 9

After reading chapter 9 there are many concepts that I have found to be great for implementing in an everyday classroom setting. There are many tools that can be used in a classroom to better the learning of children. Multimedia tools are great for helping students become more involved in the classroom. As a future educator I would use many forms of multimedia tools for my classroom. I feel as though my students will be more involved and will feel encouraged to participate.

The first concept I would like to discuss is how the use of PowerPoint can improve teaching and learning. PowerPoint is one of the most widely used tools in the world. It is a perfect way that teachers and students can present information in an engaging way. Personally, I feel much more involved and engaged when watching a power point presented by a professor. I rather write notes from a presentation that just the textbook. I would definitely incorporate PowerPoints into my lessons.I think it is important to get students involved in what they are learning instead of possibly feeling board from looking at a textbook. Powerpoints can be personalized, you can put as little or as much information as you want. I think it is important to use a combination of visual aids and factual information from other sources. Below I have created a PowerPoint presentation describing the different forms of multimedia that can be used in the classroom.



The next concept I would like to discuss is how involving taking photos and making movies can promote teaching and learning. As a future educator I would involve presentations using digital tools like pictures and videos to involve my students in learning. Taking photos and making videos get students more engaged with learning. They become involved in filming, acting, editing, and publishing These are great way to get the students more interested in learning. I would incorporate many different videos and photography in my classroom. It gives the students a chance to show their individuality and to not only learn about technology but to put it to use as well. These strategies are great for all grade levels, students of all levels can become involved in these activities. These strategies can also spark conversation and interactions between students. This is important not only for students to learn but to also use their skills to interact with others.

The third concept I would like to discuss is how podcasts and vodcasts are used for teaching in the classroom. Not only can podcasts be accessed throughout the internet, computers, smartphones, and ipods but they can be a great learning tool for students. There are so many topics that can be taught through podcasts. These can get students more involved with learning and more interested in the topic they are learning about. Podcasts make so many opportunities for learning through listening or viewing presentations. Students can grasp much more information when they are more interested in the form the information is presented. The YouTube video below is showing how much a classroom can benefit from viewing podcasts.

Resources:

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
Izquierdo, N (2015, November 4).Multimedia Technology  . Created with Emaze.