Reflection Prompt: How has your knowledge of technology standards changed after this module? Reflect on your own use of technology standards in your classroom and personal use.
1.Description. Briefly describe your experiences (class activities, reading assignment, your school or job experiences). Do this in a descriptive rather than a judgmental way (merely record events without editorializing or agreeing or disagreeing). Make connections.
Before taking this class I have never looked at the technology standards. Part of me didn't even realize there were technology standards in the first place! Since my focus has been on the new Common Core Standards, I didn't even think about looking at technology standards. Trying to understand and integrate both the Common Core standards and the technology standards I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information I need to figure out. I know the Common Core Standards wants teachers to incorporate technology while teaching language arts, math, science, and social studies, which I have been trying to accomplish. Unfortunately this year I am also learning a new math, science, and social studies program which has consumed a majority of my time. While I feel fortunate to have these programs I haven't been able to focus my efforts on integrating technology into the lessons. Besides understanding the standards, my thoughts on technology really hasn't changed. I realize the value that technology offers if done correctly. The impact can immediately be seen in the classroom and it will be important for their success outside of school. Reading and understanding these technology standards will help when I can spend more time planning lessons that utilize technology. The standards will help guide my planning so I can become more proficient and hopefully even transformative when it comes to achieving the technology standards.
For my own personal use I don't know how I could manage without my smartphone. I remember years ago buying a PDA (personal digital assistant) and thinking how awesome they were. Today, I don't go anywhere without my phone, and if I do, I feel completely lost. In the past few days alone I have used the calendar feature multiple times, GPS to find my way to Blossom, the Yahoo Sports app to draft my fantasy football team, IMDB to look up movies, taken pictures, used Soundhound to get the name of a song I was listening to on the radio, used Google Docs to write a document, read articles from Flipboard, accessed my Facebook and Twitter accounts, sent texts, and oh yeah, placed a few phone calls as well. My smartphone gives me the freedom and the mobility to do multiple things at once. For example, I was able to make dinner, eat dinner, play with my kids, and grade papers and still complete my football draft online with my phone.
I also have an iPad that I use much the same way I use my phone for. My family, especially my two older boys, love to play on the iPad. At such a young age, both of my sons are able to operate an iPad with minimal instruction from me. My wife believes they know more about the iPad than she does.
This past week at school the students have used their netbooks to learn vocabulary and take assessments, the Smartboard to display Google Earth, Senteo clickers to take quizzes and and assessments, and Google Docs to collaborate with other students on a writing project.
2. Impact. Tell what you have learned (or confirm what you had already believed, or how what you have learned differs from what you believed). How do you feel about what you learned?
Using technology has always been an important part of my teaching philosophy. If I could, I would use it everyday. I have the benefit of teaching four different subjects which allows me to use technology in multiple ways. When I do use technology, I see how the students' faces light up and they become more engaged in the lesson. However, using technology in the classroom needs to do more than just getting the students interested in learning. It needs to be taught in a way that prepares them for a successful life outside of school. The National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers book describes how teachers need to model the use of technology in the classroom and how important it is to use real world projects when instructing. If the technology standards have taught me anything it is that I need to reassess how I design my lesson plans and assessments. It has taught me to think out of the box when coming up with ideas to incorporate technology. In the age of the digital learner, I need to create lesson plans that inspire student learning while teaching them the necessary technology skills they will need in the future. Using technology the right way will allow the students to think about life outside of the classroom. If I am to be successful, than my students need to be successful and one of the major ways to help them succeed is to integrate the right technology into the classroom. Having the technology is great, but knowing the best practices to integrate it into your classroom is vital.
3. Intent. Make a statement about what you intend to do as a result of your learnings and feelings. BE SPECIFIC! Phrase this in a personal and positive way ("what I will do is . . ." rather than "what I won't do is . . .").
Before this module I have never used wikispaces. I have always wanted to create a teacher webpage for school, and I have tried many different ways to create one. The websites I have used to create a webpage in the past were usually to complex and difficult to navigate, or the free versions were missing some of the features I wanted. Wikispaces already seems better than anything I have used used before. It seems easy to create and edit different pages, and it has the features I want. As a result of creating this wiki, I am inspired to create a wiki for my classroom. The wiki would have a page for each of the four core subjects of language arts, science, social studies, and math. It will also contain a page that will be a communicative piece for the parents. In an effort to make real world connections, I want the students to contribute to it as well. I am currently researching how other teachers are using wikis in their classroom and have come across some ideas to use. Students can contribute to the wiki by publishing their group projects on it and by sharing what they are learning in class. Student can create and answer poll questions using polleverywhere.com. Students can contribute to book discussions on the wiki or create and respond to blogs. Photos and videos of student projects and activities can also be posted to the wiki. With student contribution being a work in progress, I am sure they will provide valuable input as to what they can contribute to the wiki as well.
I am also thinking about creating a Google discussion group where students can discuss questions about the topics they are currently using. The topics could be teacher or student created, but should relate to something being taught in class. I could also ask a questions of the week and the students would need to respond to it. They could also see the other students' posts and comment on them as well.
This wiki has also reminded me of ways that I have used technology in the past that will be helpful for this school year. For example, I have only used Senteo Clickers for summative assessments this year in language arts. In years past, I have used the SmartBoard to display lecture notes. The lecture notes had questions that the students answered using their Senteo clickers. This way I can immediately check for understanding before continuing with my lecture.
Finally, I am also going to hold a meeting in my building to instruct the other teachers on how to use some of the technology they have in their classrooms. It seems most of the teachers in my building use technology only sparingly. One of the main reasons teachers in my building don't utilize technology more is because they haven't been properly trained on it and don't know how to use it. My goal is to get everyone on board using technology because I am concerned that if the technology is not used than the school will not finance it for the following year. For example, we had this program called Study Island that the teachers all said they really liked, but unfortunately it wasn't used enough for the district to invest in it for another year. Hopefully with a little bit of training and support, the teachers in my school building will be more encouraged to use technology.
The following picture helps to remind me of how technology should be used in the classroom. I want to get to the point where my students are using technology to do the items under right answers instead of the items under the wrong answers. By doing this, I believe I will be able to follow more of the technology standards and become a more effective teacher who integrates technology in the most effective way possible.
1. Description. Briefly describe your experiences (class activities, reading assignment, your school or job experiences). Do this in a descriptive rather than a judgmental way (merely record events without editorializing or agreeing or disagreeing). Make connections.
Before taking this class I have never looked at the technology standards. Part of me didn't even realize there were technology standards in the first place! Since my focus has been on the new Common Core Standards, I didn't even think about looking at technology standards. Trying to understand and integrate both the Common Core standards and the technology standards I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information I need to figure out. I know the Common Core Standards wants teachers to incorporate technology while teaching language arts, math, science, and social studies, which I have been trying to accomplish. Unfortunately this year I am also learning a new math, science, and social studies program which has consumed a majority of my time. While I feel fortunate to have these programs I haven't been able to focus my efforts on integrating technology into the lessons. Besides understanding the standards, my thoughts on technology really hasn't changed. I realize the value that technology offers if done correctly. The impact can immediately be seen in the classroom and it will be important for their success outside of school. Reading and understanding these technology standards will help when I can spend more time planning lessons that utilize technology. The standards will help guide my planning so I can become more proficient and hopefully even transformative when it comes to achieving the technology standards.
For my own personal use I don't know how I could manage without my smartphone. I remember years ago buying a PDA (personal digital assistant) and thinking how awesome they were. Today, I don't go anywhere without my phone, and if I do, I feel completely lost. In the past few days alone I have used the calendar feature multiple times, GPS to find my way to Blossom, the Yahoo Sports app to draft my fantasy football team, IMDB to look up movies, taken pictures, used Soundhound to get the name of a song I was listening to on the radio, used Google Docs to write a document, read articles from Flipboard, accessed my Facebook and Twitter accounts, sent texts, and oh yeah, placed a few phone calls as well. My smartphone gives me the freedom and the mobility to do multiple things at once. For example, I was able to make dinner, eat dinner, play with my kids, and grade papers and still complete my football draft online with my phone.
I also have an iPad that I use much the same way I use my phone for. My family, especially my two older boys, love to play on the iPad. At such a young age, both of my sons are able to operate an iPad with minimal instruction from me. My wife believes they know more about the iPad than she does.
This past week at school the students have used their netbooks to learn vocabulary and take assessments, the Smartboard to display Google Earth, Senteo clickers to take quizzes and and assessments, and Google Docs to collaborate with other students on a writing project.
2. Impact. Tell what you have learned (or confirm what you had already believed, or how what you have learned differs from what you believed). How do you feel about what you learned?
Using technology has always been an important part of my teaching philosophy. If I could, I would use it everyday. I have the benefit of teaching four different subjects which allows me to use technology in multiple ways. When I do use technology, I see how the students' faces light up and they become more engaged in the lesson. However, using technology in the classroom needs to do more than just getting the students interested in learning. It needs to be taught in a way that prepares them for a successful life outside of school. The National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers book describes how teachers need to model the use of technology in the classroom and how important it is to use real world projects when instructing. If the technology standards have taught me anything it is that I need to reassess how I design my lesson plans and assessments. It has taught me to think out of the box when coming up with ideas to incorporate technology. In the age of the digital learner, I need to create lesson plans that inspire student learning while teaching them the necessary technology skills they will need in the future. Using technology the right way will allow the students to think about life outside of the classroom. If I am to be successful, than my students need to be successful and one of the major ways to help them succeed is to integrate the right technology into the classroom. Having the technology is great, but knowing the best practices to integrate it into your classroom is vital.
3. Intent. Make a statement about what you intend to do as a result of your learnings and feelings. BE SPECIFIC! Phrase this in a personal and positive way ("what I will do is . . ." rather than "what I won't do is . . .").
Before this module I have never used wikispaces. I have always wanted to create a teacher webpage for school, and I have tried many different ways to create one. The websites I have used to create a webpage in the past were usually to complex and difficult to navigate, or the free versions were missing some of the features I wanted. Wikispaces already seems better than anything I have used used before. It seems easy to create and edit different pages, and it has the features I want. As a result of creating this wiki, I am inspired to create a wiki for my classroom. The wiki would have a page for each of the four core subjects of language arts, science, social studies, and math. It will also contain a page that will be a communicative piece for the parents. In an effort to make real world connections, I want the students to contribute to it as well. I am currently researching how other teachers are using wikis in their classroom and have come across some ideas to use. Students can contribute to the wiki by publishing their group projects on it and by sharing what they are learning in class. Student can create and answer poll questions using polleverywhere.com. Students can contribute to book discussions on the wiki or create and respond to blogs. Photos and videos of student projects and activities can also be posted to the wiki. With student contribution being a work in progress, I am sure they will provide valuable input as to what they can contribute to the wiki as well.
I am also thinking about creating a Google discussion group where students can discuss questions about the topics they are currently using. The topics could be teacher or student created, but should relate to something being taught in class. I could also ask a questions of the week and the students would need to respond to it. They could also see the other students' posts and comment on them as well.
This wiki has also reminded me of ways that I have used technology in the past that will be helpful for this school year. For example, I have only used Senteo Clickers for summative assessments this year in language arts. In years past, I have used the SmartBoard to display lecture notes. The lecture notes had questions that the students answered using their Senteo clickers. This way I can immediately check for understanding before continuing with my lecture.
Finally, I am also going to hold a meeting in my building to instruct the other teachers on how to use some of the technology they have in their classrooms. It seems most of the teachers in my building use technology only sparingly. One of the main reasons teachers in my building don't utilize technology more is because they haven't been properly trained on it and don't know how to use it. My goal is to get everyone on board using technology because I am concerned that if the technology is not used than the school will not finance it for the following year. For example, we had this program called Study Island that the teachers all said they really liked, but unfortunately it wasn't used enough for the district to invest in it for another year. Hopefully with a little bit of training and support, the teachers in my school building will be more encouraged to use technology.
The following picture helps to remind me of how technology should be used in the classroom. I want to get to the point where my students are using technology to do the items under right answers instead of the items under the wrong answers. By doing this, I believe I will be able to follow more of the technology standards and become a more effective teacher who integrates technology in the most effective way possible.
http://cwardakron.wikispaces.com/Class+Wiki+Journals