Chapters 10 and 11

I thought Chapters 10 and 11 were wonderfully instructive, and a good summation of what we have learned throughout the entire book. Essentially, it is our job as teachers to model our instruction so that it is understood by all the different learners we have in our classroom. It is important to observe the students in our classroom and figure out each individual student's preferred learning style. Not all students learn the same of course, so in any kind of instruction, with or without technology, it is essential that the teacher makes the lesson comprehensible to all. This way, top-notch results can be expected from every student.
When it comes to technology, I enjoyed reading assistive technology, which essentially support student efforts and minimize obstacles to their learning. Assistive technologies are great in that they level the playing field for achievement and simultaneously allow students with disabilities to reach their full potential. One great assistive technology is JAWS (Job Access With Speech) which is basically a screen reader program that allows blind and visually impaired students to use interactive technologies. I have a friend who uses JAWS and he is always able keep up and even be ahead of coursework in an online class! Assistive technologies really open doors that would otherwise remain closed.
Chapter 11 was also informative in that it discussed reflective learning, which I found to be extremely important. Reflective learning encourages and promotes deeper thinking rather than just learning something to be memorized. A good strategy to encourage reflective learning is to keep a journal, perhaps even an online blog post such as this one where students can discuss assignments, exams, etc, and what they enjoyed or did not enjoy about them. Providing focus questions is a great way to provide a guideline for the students to answer what the teacher wants to know.

Chapter 7 and 8

In Chapters 7 and 8, I discovered the importance of learning games. The authors explain "Digital games  for learning (also known as serious games) are computer and web-based games that have been designed  with educational rather than entertainment goals in mind" (171). Admittedly, this is a tricky area to navigate as a teacher. When I was in Rome, I worked with students in the Roma community, who did not attend school regularly due to political discrimination. Specifically, I worked with a child named Leonardo, an eight year old who had problems focusing. I would try to introduce typing on the computer on a Word document but he could NOT focus. Whenever I brought out my computer, all he wanted to do was watch youtube videos on car racing. It made for a couple of frustrating months before I figured out that I could use my computer to engage him in interactive lessons online. When I introduced typing games in which he could race against the clock typing out words, Leonardo was so engaged and he kept wanting to do more. This was an important lesson for me to learn; I cannot expect my students to be involved in a lesson that is boring both to them and to myself. Once I found something engaging in which he could still use the computer to complete the assignment, he was happy and was striving to do better. This theme resounds in chapters 7 and 8 as the authors introduce fun activities that students can complete and in which they are learning simultaneously.

Google Cultural Institute & Takeaway Notes

Oh my gosh! This is my new obsession, no joke. BUT it is making me sad and making me really want to travel again. :( I will soon.

For a class, I was thinking of having a lesson on the seven continents, so I think the World Wonders section of the Google Cultural Institute would be a great way to introduce the students to our amazing earth. We would discover the website and then I would have the students do a report on any World Wonder that they choose.

Today was a great class, can't wait to get started on the video! It seems like it will be a fun project.

Chapters 5 and 6

In Chapter 5, the most important section that really resonated with me was the discussion on cyberbullying. I firmly believe that kids in our society are never too young to learn about respecting other people both in person and behind a screen. Cyberbullying is such a scary thing, as I assume that most parents are unaware of their childrens' outrageous behavior online. A child can LOOK like a complete angel, but can be terrorizing someone online so much that they tragically choose to end their life. I am extremely passionate about this issue because I think it is entirely inexcusable and horrific. It sickens me when I hear that another young person has committed suicide because of ongoing taunts and mean teasing behind a screen. Bullying of all kinds is terrible and cowardly, and if done behind a computer screen the perpetrator should be tried in the same way as if they actually came into physical contact with their victim. I really can't stress it enough: a true, serious discussion on cyberbullying and its effects should definitely be had in any and EVERY classroom. To me, this is a crucial component of being a digital citizen. Technology is all fair and well until we hear of another online victim. It happens far too often to be dismissed or deemed unimportant. We need to hold our students and kids to extremely high standards when it comes to behavior on the internet.
I enjoyed reading Chapter 6 and found particular use in the different educational websites and apps that the authors listed for use. Sometimes it is hard to think about the internet as more than just Google, CNN, Facebook, Yahoo, etc! These online educational resources are great, and an awesome way to use technology in a safe and fun way.

Take Away Message October 8

So today in class we were able to see some of the AMAZING lesson trailers! Good job to everyone, seriously. I also quite enjoyed our discussion on digital citizenship, as this is such an important and topical issue. I am excited to begin my WebQuest project, as I had a great time completing the lesson trailer. These tools are helping me see the excitement and benefits of interactive learning.

Chapter 4

Of everything that was discussed in Chapter 4, what I most enjoyed reading about was electronic grading software. To especially technology-savvy teachers, electronic grading is probably old news and nothing to be excited about, but for me, I am really looking forward to using it. When I was in elementary school, all of my teachers carried around the old-fashioned grade books, which had pages that looked like graph paper and where they would record in each little box the grades of every student for the assignments that were given. Then, when progress reports were due, they would either calculate the grades themselves or use little charts such as EasyGraders. For the most part, this went smoothly, but I remember that one year, my older sister's teacher had her grade book stolen. The grades were not recorded anywhere but in that book, so the poor teacher had to scramble around and start from scratch in order to come up with grades for her students.

Now, it is so much simpler and more convenient with online grading systems. What I like best about this can be summed up in the words of the authors when they state, "Students have immediate access to their grades, and families are continually informed about a child's progress in class" (Maloy et. al, 86). Growing up and progressing through school, I was always a super competitive student and for a long time I was focused on being the best. (It was an unhealthy attitude to have, I can now realize, but it was how I felt for a long time!) Being that I was so focused on getting perfect grades, I remember that it was always agonizing when a teacher would give a test on a Friday and I would have to wait the whole weekend before finding out my grade on Monday. This was always a source of great anxiety and I could never really enjoy my weekends when this happened. Reading this section of the textbook made me wonder how different it would have been if I could have known my grade right when the teacher was finished recording it! I probably would have rested a lot easier. Anyway, as I look forward to having my own classroom, the part I like best about online grading is that it provides for more parent involvement. If a parent checks their child's grades and sees that they did poorly on a certain assessment, they'll be able to contact the teacher and discuss what went wrong and how to help their child succeed.

Technology is certainly changing every aspect of the classroom, from lesson planning to assessment and recording grades. A lot of this is making it more convenient for teachers who would otherwise be bogged down with calculating grades and trying to come up with creative lessons. We just need to be careful not to let technology take over every interaction we have with our students!

Message from Tonight's Lesson

Tonight's lesson helped me to understand different methods through which teachers are using technology in their classrooms. We learned about such apps like Class Dojo, and even learned about how to make interactive lessons on PowerPoint. I came away from tonight's lesson excited about the different ways in which I can reach my future classes. Another important thing we learned today was about Behaviorism, and the other theories that discuss how children, or indeed how anyone, can learn. We watched a lot of interesting videos on this subject.

Chapters 3 and 9

Prior to reading these two chapters in the textbook, I had serious reservations about technology in the classroom. While I still think that society has become too obsessed with being connected 24/7 and always having the latest updates and coolest gadgets, these chapters showed me that technology in a learning environment can be so much more than a distraction. As an English major in my undergraduate studies, I always valued the way different authors expressed themselves in their writing, so I was especially excited to read the subheading in Chapter 3 entitled "Redefining Creativity". The authors state, "For students in schools, computers transform the process of expressing one's ideas creatively using writing. Writing electronically features speed and flow as ideas emerge in lighted letters on a computer screen" (Maloy et. al, 63). The authors of the textbook also explain how different social medias encourage self-expression. I think my problem is I tend to look at these things strictly in a negative light, and I guess I need to expand my mind's view about all things technological.

Part of my current job involves supervising mentors and tutors who work at an after school program for children from kindergarten to about grade 7. I am able to notice the difference in engagement when the students are allowed to work on computers as opposed to their normal, boring school workbooks. As I have said in my previous posts and probably as I will continue to say throughout this course, I believe there must be a balance in the use of technology and doing things the "old-fashioned way". Reading these chapters really opened my eyes to the positive ways in which children can work together to create and express themselves through technology. I think I was holding the misconception in my head that once students are in sight of a computer or iPad, all attention is lost and there is no way to reach them. However, such aspects that the textbook introduces such as "digital citizenship" are so important. The internet can be a scary place, especially for young and naive students, and so teaching them to be safe in their web searches and also virtually treating others with respect is of crucial importance.

Chapter 9 was also very interesting for me in that it taught me a lot about different multimedias. Admittedly, whenever I am assigned a video project in class, I begin to immediately stress out. That's why when we were discussing EdTPA in class last week and a video was mentioned, I got quite intimidated! However, reading this chapter taught me why some of my teachers in the past assigned me interactive projects. I now believe that rather than assigning them as forms of torture, they were giving me and the members of my various groups a chance to express our creativity. Instead of assigning yet another essay, some teachers chose to give me video projects, and now I can appreciate why. This is one of the things I love about my education classes now, they are giving me the ability to look back and truly appreciate all of the hard work my teachers put in to their jobs!

Here are some questions that I think would be interesting to address now:
1) How could a video assignment be a teaching tool for a 4th grade math class? Can it be effective? The only video assignments I had were in my history and English classes, never math ones. I wonder what such a project might look like.
2) What are some multimedia projects from your past educational experience do you remember? Which one was your favorite, and why?

Chapters 1 and 2

As I mentioned in my first post, I had a great experience with technology during my early schooling years.  After reading Chapters 1 and 2 of the textbook, I came to realize that my experience was great because my teachers used technology in moderation. Especially during my elementary years, the use of computers was limited, with a trip to the computer lab once or twice a week at the most. Seeing that I want to work with young children, I understand the importance of teaching both with and without technology. For example, I hardly think a computer lesson is necessary in order to teach the alphabet to a classroom of kindergartners. In this case, why try to reinvent the wheel, or adjust what has been proven to work? In another situation however, I can value the importance of computer literacy and teaching it to my students. I think there must be a balance; it would be harmful to oversaturate lessons with technology for children because sooner than later their lives will be inundated with it, but at the same time as a teacher it is my responsibility to ensure that my students are getting the education they need to thrive in this 21st century.

The textbook mentions some interesting statistics that, especially as a future ESL teacher, I should definitely be keeping in mind. For example, the authors state, "There is a digital divide and a technology participation gap. Use of computers and other new technologies varies dramatically by race and family income. More white students use computers and the Internet than do African American and Hispanic students" (Maloy et al, 5). They go on to explain that low-income students are less likely to be able to access particular technologies than their other peers. As teachers I think it is crucial to be understanding of all various backgrounds, and to be mindful when assigning homework with an internet component so as not to alienate a student or group of students. Continually assigning homework that requires access to a computer can become quite stressful for a student who can only use one at school.

I agree with the authors of the textbook in much of what they write, but I perhaps most strongly agree with them when they state, "Using technology as a teacher does not require using computers in every teaching situation but rather continually asking: 'What can teachers and students do with technology that cannot be done without it?' (Maloy et al, 5). Here, the authors are essentially saying that there is a time and place for technology, and as teachers, it is our responsibility to recognize the difference. The internet and other technologies can be extremely beneficial when planning lessons, but it does not need to be used every minute of the allotted class time. I think that part of what makes being a teacher in the 21st century a challenge is being able to keep students engaged both with and without the use of technology in the classroom.

Personal Learning Goals

Being new to the field of education, there is so much that I want to learn. I completed my undergrad in English Literature and Social Justice at St. John's University, so while the campus and its environment is familiar to me, the Education department is not. I am in the TESOL program, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and when I was signing up for courses, I was very interested to see the 7266 course pop up. When I was growing up and going to school in Texas, the vast majority of my teachers integrated the use of technology into their classrooms for students starting at a young age. I remember that there was always excitement whenever a teacher announced that the class would be spent in the computer lab. Many of my teachers were great at finding fun and educational games online, such as those meant to help students improve their vocabulary by having them type unfamiliar words against a clock and then explaining the definitions. Students would become competitive and try to beat their friends by typing words faster, thus obtaining more definitions. Such games that involved the use of computers were always favorites amongst me and my young friends.

Because I had such a great educational journey intertwined with the use of technology, I want to learn how to better teach with it in my own eventual classroom. When I was studying abroad in Rome, Italy, I spent time volunteering with kids whose teachers said they required homework help and mentoring. I found that whenever I brought my computer and helped the children practice typing their vocabulary words and then discuss their meaning with them, they were much more receptive to what I was teaching than on the days I left my laptop at home. It seemed that I was able to witness the power of technology first-hand, and that my own experiences with it in the classroom as a student had come full circle as I was able to pass that original excitement on to students of my own.

The next step for me after graduate school will be to teach abroad in Vietnam, so I truly have the goal in mind to learn as much as I can from this course before moving thousands of miles away. I hope to inspire my future students and keep them both excited and motivated to learn with technology in the classroom. I cannot wait to learn innovative educational programs online and with other forms of technology.