View of Technology in the Classroom

I think using technology in the classroom is a great idea and that the children can really benefit from it if it's integrated properly. However it can be overdone, and I think it's important to learn how and when to use the proper technology in the classroom, and how to balance it with the rest of the curriculum and lesson plans.

The reasoning for using technology shouldn’t simply be for the sake of using it. It should be used to enhance the lessons given, subjects taught, and education of the students. There are many ways to do this, and many students really enjoy using technology in school. To really have the students be able to gain from the technology used in their classroom, first the teacher must know how to use it properly.

There are of course safety precautions considering technology in schools, particularly the use of the internet, and there are disadvantages and things that go wrong with high tech devices. However there are many more positives then negatives when you wisely integrate the proper technology into the classroom. With the way our world is running, there is no way to ignore our advances in technology and the role it will play in our lives. As teachers we must prepare our students to be efficient in technology use, and gain everything we can from it.

Non-Computer Technology

A non-computer technology that I think is valuable for the elementary classroom is a camera/video recorder. I know young students can't use these independently too often, and that they're expensive, but they really can be great learning tools. You could use the video recorder for class presentations, where the student can go back and look at what he/she did, and reflect upon it. You could have class discussions about the presentations, and it will keep their interest better because they are in it.

With cameras and assistance from the teacher or a parent, they can take pictures themselves for project visuals, thus making it more personal then when you just find pictures in magazines and cut them out, or just print them off from the computer. I think that's why they're really important: they personalize the activity, making it interesting, and really involve the student and give him some independence with it as well.

#10- Eric Reflection

There's always more to learn when it comes to technology, and I found the ERIC project presentations to be insightful and interesting. They helped me see more ways that I can incorporate technology into the curriculum to enhance a lesson. I really liked the presentation about the Horned Lizard project, where the children made their own website for their statistics on the reptiles seen by the participating farmers. This lesson really used technology well, not just for the point of using technology itself. It's cool that the students still update the site today.

The resources available on the internet are endless, and it's really neat to find out about new sources that we could use ourselves in our future classrooms. I found that Atlantis game that was presented to be an awesome idea-incorporating learning into the format of a computer game! Although its not perfect, it's a great way to get the students interested and engaged in the lesson (as long as they stay focused!).

These presentations were filled with great ideas and ways to use technology more easily in the classroom. I'm anxious to see the last one today!

Blog 9

http://www.tammyworcester.com/

This website, called "Tammy's Technology Tips for Teachers" is a neat resource for teachers (and teachers-to-be)! Along with great 'tips' on how to integrate technology into the general curriculum, it gives information about a lot of great ideas and activities that you can use, so you don't have to make your own lessons all the time. It even includes handouts you would need with these activities for you to print out and copy. She also has her own products for sale, like "50 quick and easy science computer activities" that could give you even more options and ready-made activities for integrating technology into your classroom.

I think this is a really nice site. Not only does it have a lot of awesome tips, activities, and products available, but it also is very well put together and easy to navigate through. It stays focused on the topic and doesn't have lots of fancy animations or graphics that distract from a website and make it take a long time to load! It really does have a lot to offer and is a rich resource for teachers to use.

You tube video on Education

The Shame of the Nation- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SZQa71qS-Q

This video talks about the inequality in school systems and their funding considering race and ethnic backgrounds... it's sad that we are still at this point and haven't progressed further from this state of being...

Blog #7-How are things going?

To be honest, the best thing this class has done for me considering useful technology for the early childhood classroom would have to be the list of websites we've looked at for teacher resources; ones that help with developing lesson plans, ones that host lots of images and videos that can be used to enforce a point, and sites that consist of learning activities and games for the children to do online to help them practice their work.

Really, the spreadsheets, power point, Microsoft word; all those programs are nothing new to me and I already generally knew how to use those in education. I have learned a little more about integration technology into the regular curriculum, but again, I already had a strong basis for this before hand.

I found the i-movie to be fun, however I dont think it will really be all that useful for younger students. This would be better to learn about for teaching middle childhood or higher.

I dont think using technology in the classroom is a 'must', but it can be quite beneficial if done correctly.

Blog #6- Internet use in the elementary classroom

There are definitely two sides to the idea of using the internet in the classroom. A couple obvious cons include the risk of children coming across inappropriate sites, unexpected technical problems, and the expense for having the computers and internet in the classroom. However there are benefits as well, such as being a good research tool for older children, and also a way to show the class images/articles/movie clips that go well with a lesson. It can be a great way to really get a concept through to those many visual learners out there. There's also lots of software and online learning activities and games for students to use that can help them.

I would probably use the internet more for finding lesson plan ideas and assistance though, rather then having the students use the computers too often independently. Again though, sometimes I would allow them to use it for research and also the learning activities found online; perhaps as a 'center' type of activity, or something to be done if a student finishes early with an assignment the others are still working on. Its a great tool, but at such a young age, I would want to make sure to not over-do the internet usage.

My favorite education website so far is probably "Education World". I really like all the lesson plan ideas it has, and how it has so many options on how to search for them. It also has many more features, including specific, large sections for specific parts in education, like professional development, technology integration, school issues, and more. Is really is loaded with lots of great information that teachers and administrators can use. It's also very easy to navigate through and lets you know what the newest items in each section are. I'll definitely use this one as a teacher!