Blog C

Prior to my participation in EDU 302 Technology in the classroom grades 4-8 I was not aware of the vast resources and assistance that technology has to offer. As an educator in the 21st century I realize that there are many challenges before me that other educators have not had to deal with. There are always going to be changes and developments within the education field, and to be a successful teacher my colleagues and I need to gain knowledge and comfort with the use of technology in the classroom. It is my job as an educator to get students comfortable and fluent the technology to enrich their minds and education. As an educator in the 21st century I have to be creative, dedicated, flexible and most of all willing to accept and take full advantage of what technology offers.
In order to incorporate technology in the classroom I must open my mind to all the possibilities and resources that technology has to offer. Taking part in a technology course and creating units that have incorporated blogs, websites and web Quests have been a huge benefit to my future students and myself. I feel that it is very important to integrate technology and various teaching and learning strategies in the classroom in order to accommodate and assist each student with different learning abilities. Technology allows my students to experience things that they would never otherwise be able to. Using Google Earth is an amazing tool in which you can visit practically anywhere in the world. It is amazing that learning can now go beyond the four walls of the classroom and enter into another world. Teachers need to be creative so that students stay interested in what they are learning about and they expand their student’s ability and ways to learn. Educators that are creative can think outside of the box and take into account each students and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Students in the 21st century are much more comfortable and knowledgeable about technology. They are of an era where technology should no longer be viewed as games and lazy but as a tool and resource. As an educator of the 21st century I must be flexible and be able to stretch my own comfort level in order to accept technology into my classrooms in order to benefit my students. I understand that nothing is cut and dry and at the drop of a hat something can change. I have personally worked on this a lot and know that I must master this skill in order to be a successful teacher. I personally feel that as an educator one must be able to change plans and scheduling at any point in time. Technology is such a great asset to have when it comes to unplanned events or last minute reminders. Technology allows educators to stay in close contact with parents and guardians without having to play phone tag. I really like the Google documents that are available for free because they allow educators this close contact with families. In order to gain the advantages that technology has to offer I must be willing to spend time gaining knowledge and comfort with technology.
Technology has not come into the classroom to take over and be the teacher. As an educator in the 21st century I have learned that technology is in the classroom to assist and broaden the teaching and learning that is occurring within the four walls. For an educator in the 21st century one must be willing to learn about and accept technology as a resource and not feel threatened by its ability to help students where they may not be able. I can not envision my classroom taking advantage of what technology has to offer because my philosophy of Education is to have students learn the most that they possibly can and to accommodate each and every one of them than technology in the classroom is required. I understand that there are educators that see only the downsides to technology and that it takes to long to learn and that it is easier to just stick to the plain old textbooks. However, I look at it as you get out of something what you put into it and as a 21st century educator you need to be willing to be flexible with your time and resources including technology, be creative because there are so many ways for students to learn and last but not least make sure that you are willing to incorporate technology into our students lives because it is only there to help them not to take over the most important role in the classroom which is the teacher.

The Five Senses Pre-Quiz

About Me

Hi everyone,

My name is Amanda LePage and I am from Limerick, Maine. I have three little brothers and two little sisters. My favorite color is purple and I love animals. I have a dog and two cats.

I like to go on vacations with my family to see new places. I am going to school to become a teacher, do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

I like to play sports, take dance lessons and play the piano. What do you do for fun?

I hope to hear from you soon.

Amanda LePage

Technology Conference

Following the technology conference on Friday, my personal view on technology in the classroom changed significantly. Entering the conference I was under the impression that the participants were going to be subjected to hours of preaching about technology and even thought the instructors might try to convince us that we needed more technology in the classroom because we were not capable of teaching. However, during the conference I became intrigued at this new technology that I was being shown. Smartboards with all of their captivating features held my attention for a long period of time. The sessions that I attended taught me about pre-service learning, student’s views on technology in the classroom, Websites provided by Geek of the Week, Digital cameras and tools to use in the classroom.

I was so amazed by all of the information that I took at least eight pages of notes. I really liked what one of the instructors said because it explained a question as to why even my generation was still reluctant to fully incorporate technology into the classroom. However, he explained that even though my generation is considered the technology natives, we were raised and taught by technology immigrants and we never knew any alternative ways to learn. My opinion on technology had been changing drastically already throughout the day, but after this particular session I was convinced to make a change in my future classroom.

As we drove off of the parking lot I was brainstorming how I could incorporate all of these new tools and way of learning into my own classroom. The conference showed me that technology is not there to take over a classroom but to help assist and broaden the horizons of standard textbook education.

Roles for the lewis and Clark Expedition

The roles that I would have the students take on in the group project of the debate would be:

record keeper-writes down what all the students say during the debate

facilitator- keeps the debate moving and keeps in respectful

Host- generates questions that everyone has to answer, and prompts everyone in the group to answer specific questions pertaining to their assigned person.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition
Students will gain comprehension of the Lewis and Clark expedition by learning how to create and use maps, naming new species and writing a journal from the perspective of a main character of the expedition.

Grade: 6th

Mapmaking

· Students will examine in small groups one of William Clark’s maps. They will write down their observations of the maps. The students will research his mapmaking skills to get an idea of how to create their own maps. Students will begin by making a simple map of the school. This activity will late be expanded by teaching the students how to use a compass and create a real detailed map of the school.

Naming new Species
· Students will get images of animals that they have never seen before. They will record in a book their descriptions of the animals and come up with a name for them. Student will then read journals of Lewis and Clark where they tried to describe different animals and come up with a name for them.

Historical Journals
·
Students will read a journal entry from the expedition first. Teacher and students will create a long list of the main characters from the expedition. Everyone will get one person to write about in first person. Students will research their person and write journal entries for an entire week, recording the daily life in their opinion of the person they have, including facts and information about them at that time.

Newsletter

· Students will get into groups, so each group will have one of each main character form the expedition in their group. They will come together to collaborate on a one page article describing the expedition from everyone in the groups point of view, giving insight into the activities and experiences they encountered on the way.

Student websites
· http://www.nationalgeographic.com/west/
· http://www.lewisandclark.org/?p=kids&n=kids
· http://www.usgs.gov/features/lewisandclark.html
· http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lewisclark/lcic/kids/index.html

Teacher Websites
· http://www.lewisandclarkexhibit.org/4_0_0/page_4_1_0_0.html
· http://www.nps.gov/jeff/forteachers/upload/lctaggrades78.pdf
· http://www.amphi.com/~tlcf/bartley/web3/LewisandClarkTG.htm
· http://www.fs.fed.us/rl/lewisclark/lcic/teachers/index.html

Inclusive Technology in classrooms

Creating an inclusive classroom with technology is beneficial to both students and the teacher. Teachers need to incorporate all tools handy to them including technology. Technology has the capacity to assist students with learning and physical disabilities to be included in activities and lessons with students in higher ability levels. Thus, providing a less divided environment for students while still allowing the different ability levels to continue learning at their own pace.

Technology itself is an intriguing tool that appeals greatly to students. The interest level in technology has given teachers an alternative way to teach different ability levels without having students feel inferior and separated from the rest of the class. A student who has difficulty reading may need headphones to listen to the computer; this would be a good time to include all students as an alternative resource while not having that one student stand out. The use of technology allows students to have an interesting new way of learning, for teachers to have additional resources and for students who need alternative learning devices. On the whole, technology is turning traditional lessons into fun and interesting adventures.

Technology in the classroom gives students opportunities to take part in other systems of learning then what they are used to. Having a fun way to teach students alternative ways of learning will allow students to take an interest in differences instead of treating them as wrong. If you had equipment that read words for students, large print keyboards or manipulatives; then everyone would expand their knowledge while accepting others for their learning abilities.

There are various forms and styles of technology to include in the classroom. They range from simple alternative teaching techniques to several thousand dollar machines to assist students. In the hopes of becoming a teacher myself I would like to incorporate technology into my classroom of all sorts. I would like to be able to assist students who need alternative teaching and give other students the opportunities to take part and experience different styles of learning. My main goal is that my classroom will learn to accept others for their differences and embrace them as a learning experience; the best way to do this is by letting them experiment with new technologies and how others learn. I feel that giving students various alternatives will allow them to find what is most beneficial to them in learning. Technology is a tool that is hands on and excites students so it would be a great benefit to teachers and students if they could get excited about learning.

A 21st Century Educator

An Educator in the 21st century is quite a different experience that previous times. Students, technology, and learning requirements have all changed; and so must the way one is to teach. The use of technology in the classroom is of great importance and offers a great resource for the teacher and student.

It appears to be that as the 21st century rolled around so did technology. Students are now entertained mainly by electronic devices and have reduced human interaction.With the growing interest and dependency on technology by students, there is also a growing number of resources and developmental tools available on computer programs etc.. to appeal to students yet help them learn at the same time. These types of programs appeal to students because of their individualized setup. Students get a one on one atmosphere and instant feedback to their work. Computers provide a variety of more sources, and the availability of answering a student's question without the bias of a human.

Technology is a viable resource to have in a classroom as a help. A help is not the teacher and a line needs to be drawn between the two. A human had an actual mind that can look over a students work and be able to give them more accurate feedback as to why they might have gotten a problem wrong. An actual teacher can give a student encouragement, whereas a computer will just shoot out a generated comment over and over again. A teacher in the 21st century will use what the student's interests are in and use them in their lesson plans and activities so that they students get more involved and take a greater interest into the material. The fact that students have a much less attention span than they have in the past shows that the traditional lecture class is not going to be affective. Teachers in this time would be smart if they took well advantage of what technology has to offer for them and they will see the benefit to the student's in their work and dedication to learning. The teacher and computer technology's jobs need to be well defined and followed so that the student gets the advantages of both resources. If one oversteps its boundaries then the student's learning capabilities could be put at risk.

Educating is and always will be a time consuming and focused career. Technology has offered a way that teachers can be given an outlet and also additional resources for the students if they need help and support. Students are more apt to give effort to something that they are interested in and that is what teachers can use their advantage. Technology can not replace the interaction between humans, and so it needs to be that technology use is supervised and followed up on by the teacher. Technology has given educators a tool to connect with today's students, and if used wisely it will greatly benefit both ends of the learning spectrum.

Arrived

Well, its the first day of classes and i am in my technology in the classroom course. This is my first blog I have ever done and so far its not too complicated. I am a sophomore at the University of Maine at Farmington, majoring in Elementary Education and concentrating in Multidisciplinary Social Sciences.