Inquiry Project

This was a very tedious assignment, yet very resourceful and beneficial for my future as an educator. I gather countless informed throughout all of my researching. Clickers are very beneficial to the students and the teacher. Incorporating clickers into the classroom will enhance your instruction and assessments as well as enhance the students engagement in the lesson. I even learned specific questions types to use when using clickers along with the best practice tips, like how to prepare ahead of time. I put a lot of time and effort into finding the resources that I found, and I put a lot of effort into writing out my inquiry wiki. Also, making my screencast was a bit of a challenge for me. It was a very simple and self explanatory assignment, but I found it difficult to record myself without having several glitches within my speech. But, I am proud of my final product and I hope you enjoy my inquiry as much as I did.

Scratch Project: The Four Seasons

For the scratch project, I did my project on the four seasons in the year. My simulation is very colorful and visually appealing as well as acccurately demonstrating the four seasons we experience in a year. The children are prompted by a script to click on the tree to move through the seasons. My approach to focus on the physical changes of a tree through the four seasons seemed to be the best approach because it is very visual. And, I considered that some children live in areas where they are not exposed to all of the seasons and may not understand the effects of the changing of the seasons. This simulation is engaging, and appropriate for the student's grade level, which is second grade. The standard that I addressed states: Compare and describe changing patterns in nature that repeat themselves, such as weather conditions including temperature and precipitation, day to day and season to season.
In the beginning I was very unsure about how to tackle this project because of how I was told its difficulty level. However, even though I did find it difficult, it was definetely manageable and something I was able to play with and, for the majority of the assignment, figure it out on my own. I put in a lot of time and effort into this project. I spent several days and hours trying to perfect this simulation and make it look as accurate as possible. The only problem I had was trying to add music that would continue throughout the entire simulation. This one my major struggles and it was something I could not figure out on my own. There is still music in my simulation; however, it ends earlier than I would have perfered. Overall, I put a lot of time and thought into this project and I am happy with the final results.

Exit Slip: Last Day

Today, the book chapter presentations were done very well. They were thorough and added to the knowledge that I gained from reading the chapters myself. The chapter 10 presentation, which discussed the different aspects that we need to make to alter into this new technology rich learning environment. Some of the topics that were discussed, like how to make it motivating and the role of government in education, were very insightful. I liked the ideas that were mentioned in regards to making education more motivating. I agree that we need to choose materials wisely. We should somewhat stay away from books and worksheets because it is very rare for children to find doing worksheets very motivating. Also, it is important to integrate our children's interests into all aspects of the curriculum. At times, this may be hard to accomplish because of the standards that need to be met and the yearly testing, like the FCAT, that is administered to children. Also, thinking about the role of the government in our school system is something that I never really thought of on my own. Now, schools are run by the local government, and it was interesting to think of the pros and cons of the federal government taking over. I am not sure which government should be in control because there is such an extreme between the two. However, I do think that it might be beneficial to have our country have the same standards for each grade, especially considering that children may move from state to state within one year.
The contemporary issues were very interesting. I found mine, of course, to be very interesting because it is an issue that I find very compelling and important. Also, the issues on math anxiety and text messaging lingo were great topics that I found very interesting. Prior to Angela's presentation, I did know that teachers can portray, indirectly or directly, their interest level on a specific subject; however, I had never thought about portraying anxiety of a certain subject and it effects on children.
Overall, this class provided me with phenomenal resources that I will use in the future, like all of the cool tools. The book provided me with the knowledge of what our education system is evolving too, and it made me a lot more open minded to this change. And, lastly, all of the contemporary issues that were presented were for the most part new to me, and I enjoyed them because I like being exposed to new knowledge and information.

Chapter 10: Rethinking Education in a Technological World

This chapter basically reinforced everything that I have read in this book, along with brief descriptions of what changes need to be made and by who for this change to occur. For instance, for this change to occur we need to rethink what is most important for children to learn, the roles of leaders, the government's role, and rethinking careers.
Under the career section, the author states that thinking of a single career as the standard pattern leads people to think that they are done with learning when they finish school. This sentence stood out to me because I had never thought of it that way before. I definitely agree that when people are done with college and begin their career, they tend to think that they are done with school and done with learning. This thought hinders people from continually growing, which is not being a life long learner. Like I have stated in most of my blogs, I am undecided whether this change in our school system to a more technology rich society is worthwhile and important. However, being a life long learner is the major point that sways me away from the opposing side. I think it is so important to be a life long learner, and whoever chooses not to be, in my opinion, is unmotivated and doing themselves injustice. I am adamant about being a life long learner and I will instill this belief into all of my future students. So, whenever I doubt this inevitable change that is occurring, I will remember the importance of being a life long learner and creating new opportunities to learn, which a technology rich school society will provide.

Chapter 9: What does it all mean?

As we all know, this evolving change in the popularity of technology is not something that our parents were exposed to. There are many differences in the way our parents think versus the way children are thinking now a days. This chapter offered some insights on how to bridge this generation gap. First, this chapter discusses what kids learn from technology, and how the views on what children are learning from technologies are very different from generation to generation. Parents view a lot of these new technologies that their children are exposed to in a negative light. And, in some cases, I have to agree that some technologies being used are not beneficial to young children. For instance, parents view video games as corruptive, promoting violence, and hurting their children's health. Even after sitting in this course for almost a whole semester, I am still undecided on how beneficial technology is. I have always felt and I still feel that video games are a waste of time and do not promote many useful skills. However, this chapter does state that video games promotes problem-solving skills, which I can see as accurate.
After reading this chapter, the most useful information I gained would be educational resources/websites to use that could be beneficial to children. For example, instead of children playing video games, which I do not view to be very productive and educational, I like programs such as MUVE or Zoo Tycoon, that I view as much more educational and purposeful.
The world is reshaping and technology is becoming more prevalent in and out of school, so I know that is our job as future educators to embrace this change and integrate it into our practices.

Exit Slip

The chapter that was presented today allowed us to discuss in small groups the following aspects and their pros and cons:
Accreditation- pros: students can decide what to learn; cons: the students might think they know what they want to do, but then, later on they might change their mind.
Epistemic Frames- pros: very hands on; cons: its not a regular demand.
Focus on topics in school that teachers have trouble teaching- pros: when children struggle grasping things that are not tangible, then a simulation could be beneficial; cons:may not be able to transfer...but does not truly have the experience because it is only simulation.
Video games- pros: they can be engaging and be appropriate according to their interests; cons: distracting and may have inappropriate contexts, and it takes up too much time.
Course management systems- pros: it can be a great tool for organization and allows for online discussions to collaborate; cons: when teachers overuse it and it creates some mis-communications at times.
Technology as an equalizer: pros: using it as an additional resource within the classroom could be beneficial cons: it can be difficult to keep it engaging.
Some of these pros and cons were mentioned in the chapter, but some additional ideas were given, which gave me more insight on each topic.
A lot of the contemporary issues discussed today were very interesting. The issue of using calculators in our classrooms is an issue I go back and forth on. In my opinion, as an educator, you need to make an equal balance. Children should learn how to use a calculator, but they need to know how to do mathematical equations by hand. Also, Liz's issue about teachers using social networking websites inappropriately. I feel very strongly about not placing inappropriate photos on your profile because it is not professional. We are teachers as well as people that children look up to, so we should not be promoting inappropriate behaviors.

Ch. 8: How Schools Can Cope With the New Technologies

This chapter discusses the considerations educators will have to make as we begin to incorporate technologies into schools. The three main aspects that we need to consider as educators are customization, interaction, and learner control. In my opinion, customization and interaction are the biggest thing to consider as we incorporate technologies into our school system. Being able to provide people with the information that interests them the most and supporting them by providing them immediate feedback are the biggest benefits in incorporating new technologies into our schools. Providing children with curriculum that interests them will increase their motivation, and providing them immediate feedback will enhance their learning experience.
The new curriculum design that this chapter discusses really incorporates the two aspects that I view as the most important aspects to consider, which are customization and interaction. The curriculum design that focuses on teaching content that interests children I believe will be very effective. However, one flaw to this new design was will it teach our children what they need to know, like the core competencies. As I read on, it mentioned that the traditional academic skills, writing, math, science, history, and geography, will be taught, which I find crucial content areas that all children should know regardless of how often that information will be used in their future. Also, this design still involves parents and teachers to guide the children through their studies. And, the children will not be able to change the curricula often, which will allow them to develop deep skills and knowledge in whatever they are studying. I think this approach to incorporating technologies can be very effective. I do not see many reasons to deny this new approach. I believe that this new approach does a good job of blending the traditional approach with the new technological approach to make a new and improved upon curriculum design.

Exit Slip

The group's presentation today on chapter 7 was presented in a very interactive and engaging discussion, which I enjoyed. The cons that we discussed, which include less social interaction, isolation, digital divide, and equal standards, were cons that I remembered from the reading.
And, I gained a new perspective from a comment that Caley made on the research mentioned in this chapter. The research that was discussed found that people are more prone to depression and loneliness because they are on the computer all day. However, Caley's insight, which was that these people may already be predisposed to depression regardless of the amount of time they spend on the computer, was something I initially did not think about when reading this.
The pros that were listed, which include that it is engaging, promotes individual responsibility, universal access, which promotes just-in time learning, customized learning, and it caters to all different learning styles, were pros that I had already acknowledged and agree with. The question I was asked to discuss is, how can we individualize education within the classroom? First of all, the main way to implement this in your classroom is by basing your planning and instruction on your children's individual needs, interests, and abilities. This is a very straight foward answer and in my opinion, it is an obvious answer; however, there are many teachers out there that plan and implement instruction without individualizing it to their students, which is obviously ineffective.
The contemporary issues briefly discussed today are issues that I was aware of. Kelly's contemporary issue that she discussed was very sad, and it makes me think that social networking and new technologies can be dangerous. Like Kelly said bullying will always happen in school but it stops when they go home, but with the internet, bullying continues at home through the internet. This is scary and a huge con to social networking, and I do not know how teachers could enforce this and prevent these type of situations to occur. And, the cool tool presentations were good resources that I could use in the future as an educator.

Ch. 7: What may be lost and gained

This chapter discussed the pros and cons to the changes that are occuring in our education system today. Overall, I viewed this chapter as a quick review to what I have read in the previous chapters. I acknowledge all of the promising aspects that this change can bring us. For example, this change allows education to be more engaging and entice people to want to learn more, it promotes on the spot learning aka universal access, which I believe to be the biggest pro in this change, and it provides immediate gratification and feedback. One benefit from this change discussed in this chapter that I do not agree with is how it fully eliminates competition because children can't compare themselves to others. I can see how that would eliminate some competition; however, my personal opinion is that for many children that competitive nature can be motivate some to strive higher and succeed.
In regards to what can be lost, I agree that socialization becomes a huge factor. I have always felt that when children are sitting at home on their computers all day instead of moving around and socializing with friends it promotes poor social skills. The reason that this issue concerns me is because regardless of their job these chidlren will work in a field that involves them cooperating/working with others. This book stated that this can also lead to a reduction in the amount of friends, less socialzing with family members, lonliness, and depression. So, in my opinion, the cons that this change can bring, ecspecially this issue of less social interaction, is worrisome to me basically because once the change is made it will almost be irreversible.

Exit Slip

Today, my peers and I discussed and presented the chapter that was required to be read for this week. Preparing and presenting the chapter allowed me to fully immerse myself in the content in this chapter. So, I feel that I learned this chapter the best out of all the chapters we have read so far, and I already discussed my thoughts on the chapter in my last blog.
Along with the chapter, all of the cool tool presentations were new resources to use that could be beneficial to me in my future. The dweeber website, which is an online social networking tool that focuses on school work, is a resource that I can share with my future students. It would be a great way to have my students become "dweebs" and work collaboratively with their peers. Also, the parentella website would be very beneficial for me as a future teacher. I viewed this website as a great resource to update and communicate with parents along with using newsletters, emails, and phone calls to communicate with parents.
In addition, the contemporary issues that were presented were very interesting. Online tutoring, how poverty effects young children, and using video games as a teaching tool. None of these issues were completely new to my knowledge; however, adding video games as an educational tool in the classroom is something I have never seen used before. I do see it beneficial to some children who will learn better with a more interactive and fun video game opposed to drilling information to children. In my opinion, a component to being a life long learner means being open and flexible to using new tools and being open to new ideas, like using video games for schooling, and applying them.

The Three Eras of Education

This chapter was very informative and insightful. It did a very good job on informing me on how our system has changed from the apprenticeship era to the Industrial Revolution era and how we are moving into the life-long learning era. This is also my chapter that I will be presenting on. I think the expectations, the content, the pedagogy, and the assessment topics are the most important to focus on. In regards to expectations, people are able to focus on what they want to learn for themselves. This section stated that enforcing specific standards to follow just limits a person's learning, and this point sums up something that I have felt ever since I chose to become an educator. So, I will remember this and account for this in my future as an educator. Also, the section on assessment discussed how in the life-long learning era the summative and formative assessment begin to intertwine, like in the apprenticeship era. When using a computer based program, the assessment is ongoing. The program will provide support while a person is completing a task by assisiting you if you need the help,and it will inform you when you make a mistake and it helps lead you to the correct answer. This embedding assessment is obviously more effective, and this is something that all teachers should recognize and apply. As educators, we should always keep in mind this evolving change to life-long learning and incorporate this into our classroom or more importantly, instill this in our future students.

Exit Slip

Today, the presentation on the chapter we read prior to this class was reinforcing. It reinforced what I learned and have me new insights on the topics discussed. It was interesting to hear other people's perspectives on home schooling and distance education. These two topics are the most controversial to me and I consider myself more on the cons side for both of these topics; however, it was interesting to hear the pros opinion and made me more open minded. The K12 site that was introduced to us today, that went along with the home schooling debate, was an insightful new resource.
In addition, all of the contemporary issues were very interesting. I learned something new from each comtemporary issue. I did not know that they were considering using a new test in place of the FCAT, which probably would be more beneficial than the FCAT. And, I never thought to use a touch screen computer to accommodate for different children's abilities. Also, the cool tools presentations were cool and new to me. I really like the twiddla and the go-animate site, and I have added all of them to my delicious page to use as resources in the future. Overall, I learned about a lot of new resources and technological tools to use as well as new insights about the chapter we read for this week.

The Seeds of a New System of Education

The classroom is primarily where schooling occurs. However, there are many new phenomenons that are developing that some believe evetually will have a bigger impact on schooling in the classroom. For instance, home schooling is prevalent now a days. Children are being educated at home by their parents. And, they have found that students who are home schooled achieve significantly higher test scores on standarized tests, which I was a bit surprised to learn this. Also, distance education is another very popular avenue for schooling. The virtual courses are very popular with college students, and it is said that soon virtual course will be used a large amount in high schools. In my opinion, I do not believe that the virtual courses are the most effective way to educate people. I think these virtual courses are impersonal and to me, learning is more effective when it is more personal. Just as an example, my sister is a freshman in college and took an online public speaking course. I think it is ridiculous to have an online course for a class like public speaking. It completely defeats the purpose of the course. However, I know there are pros to virtual courses ecspecially for people who may work full-time or have other conflicting time issues, or have a child. In addition, learning centers I view as a very positive, beneficial educational resource outside of the classroom. Leanring centers, like Sylvan, allow people to be tutored on topics that they do not know well and reinforce what they have learned.
One thing I want to mention was how the book stated that many adults return to schools to further their education, while others use the internet to gain new knowledge and learn about things that interest them. And, yes, I think it great to have access to internet at anytime; however, I hope that in the long run the internet is not solely relied on for education. I agree that we need to be life long learners and learn through other venues than the classroom, but I hope that all of these newly developing venues never discard the classroom. Even though the book states that they will not, no one knows what lies ahead in our future and I believe anything is a possibility.

Exit Slip

Today, the presentation done on chapter four was very informative and reinforced everything that I learned. When I read the chapter, I was a little overwhelmed with all the movements that we have experienced throughout history. The video they started their presentation with allowed me to tie everything that I read together. The small group activity was very beneficial to me because I was able to hear other peoples perspective on positives, negatives, and major implications of each change in history.
Also, Jeff's tutorial on audacity and garage-band I assume will be very helpful when I begin producing my podcast. I was very surprised how easy it is to make a podcast. It involves a lot of dragging and dropping, which I do not think will be very difficult.
The contemporary issue presentations addressed today were interesting topics that I was familiar with prior to their presentations. I enjoyed the topic about virtual field trips and the virtual courses, and I feel more compelled towards these topics. Virtual field trips are cool and I will use those in my classrooms in the future as an educator. However, some virtual courses that are offered seem to be ineffective to me. For instance, my sister took a public speaking virtual course, which to me just seemed counteractive to the purpose of that course.

The development of American schooling

This chapter, which discussed the cycle of revolution in our educational system, provided a clear description of how our education system came to be. Prior to reading this chapter, I did not know much about how the printing press led to the reformation and so on. One specific topic discussed in this chapter that stood out to me was while the shift in the education system was occuring, the property owners or farmers opposed the shift. The land owning farmers adimantly believed that the reason for education was to educate children only to prepare chidlren for a successful life on the farm. They believed that since that is what they will spend the rest of their lives doing, then that is all they need to be taught. Later, the belief that education occurs in school became prevalent.
The farmers opinion stood out to me. In my opinion, their perspective on education was logical, however, it was a bit niave. The farmers perspective reminded me of my, recently diminishing, opinion on how technology does not need to be incorporated into the classrooms. My perspective and the farmers perspective does not allow people to move foward and change for the better. And, if the farmers never looked past their perspective the education system could be very different today. So, this statement made me rethink the importance of technology's role in the classroom, and how I will not let my opinion come in the middle of a possibly very beneficial change.

Exit Slip

Today, the second group presented on the material in chapter three. The tool that the group used was Glogster.com, which was a visually appealing presentation site. So, this is another resource I have added to my delicious page. Also, even though I am not an enthusiast, many of the skeptic's arguments I disagree with. Like I said in my last blog, the discussion on what computers cant teach and the authority and teaching issues is hard for me to agree with. Hearing other classmates perspectives gives me a new insight, which was beneficial.
Also, Jeff informed the majorityof the class, including me, on who Jefferson Davis was, which he was the president of the confederate states. Also, the contemporary issue presentations were issues that I had never really been introduced to prior to the presentations today. Anna's issue, which was incorporating 3-D technologies in the classroom. Personally, I am skeptical to incorporate this in my future classroom, however, I do see how it could be beneficial. Also, Bree-Anna's issue on microchipping was interesting. I definetly do not see this as a natural process, but it is obviously something that people are starting to consider.
3-d in classroom

Skeptic's Argument

Towards the beginning of this class, my perspective of integrating technology into our school system aligned with the skeptics' argument. However, after discussing this topic with peers and reading several points that the skeptics argued, my opinon has changed. I do agree that the reason our school system has yet to change is because there are many barriers that are not allowing this change to occur in our schools. Many people are still hanging on to the more traditional approach to learning and teaching practices. Also, money is a major reason that technology has not been fully integrated in our schools, ecspecially in the economic crisis we are in now. However, there are many points that the skeptics argue that I view as naive and incorrect. First, the skeptics mentioned that classroom management becomes an issue when computers are added to the classroom. I disgaree with this because whether we have computers in our classrooms or not, children can and will distract themselves in other ways. It is our job as teachers to keep our students engaged and control management issues. Also, the statement made under what computers can't teach I consider to be a very naive statement. Clearly, integrating computers in our classrooms will not teach everything to our students. Our expectations for computers do not inlcude teaching daily life skills, in regards to not pushing, cleaning up your mess, etc. Computers will be used to enhance student's learning.
Now that I am aware of all the reasons for skepticism in integrating technology in our classroom, I will remain aware of these issues in my future. In the back of my mind I will keep the fact that technology can undermine teachers authority, even though I do not necessarily agree with that, the different challeneges to instruction, and how technology can interfere with classroom management. I believe that the only thing I can do with the skpetics' argument is always keep it in the back of my mind to consider from time to time.

Exit Slip

Everything discussed today reinforced everything that I read in chapter two. The group presentation done by Kellie, Paige, and Courtney allowed me to reflectively think about the enthusiasts argument. The video really tied everything together very well. Also, the quotes they used were very informative and touched upon the most conversational topics. My opinion about integrating technology into our classrooms continuously goes back and forth. I agree with all the comments that were made about mantaining a balance of implementing the traditional approach to teaching and integrating technology into our classrooms.
Also, I enjoyed practicing to write on the active board. I have never used a digital whiteboard or any other type of technology to use in the classroom. In addition, the homework assignment about how to find if a website is credible or not was a little difficult for me. When Jeff explained the triangulation, which means to check the information you found on one website with a few other resources to validate the information is accurate was valuable to me. During the assignment I struggled to figure out how to determine the credibility of a website, so the triangulation will be beneficial to me when I am teaching young children how to explore the internet.

The Technology Enthusiasts' Argument

The technology enthusiasts' argue that the traditional schooling system, that exists now, is not working. The enthusiasts argue that this type of schooling is detrimental to children because eventually it turns children away from wanting to learn. The enthusiasts envision schools to integrate technology to the point where the classrooms look like a "technology-rich workplace". They believe that the way the school system is now is not comparable to the world they will be entering in the future. Now, in schools, students do not do most of their work on computers like they will be doing when they are in the workforce. Some people may believe that we have tried to make a change in revolutionizing our classrooms by adding computers but, the new additions did not make the expected changes. The enthusiasts say we need to implement a design of interactive learning environments, which are programs that provide support to students who are learning new things. After reading the enthusiasts argument, I do agree with many of their points. I agree that their job will involve them working with technology on a daily basis, and having the classrooms look similar to how their future will look will allow them to be more familiar with technology. In addition, I do think that our classrooms do not incorporate the use of technology as much as it can, so I feel that there is room for improvement. However, the enthusiasts scaffolding argument, which was that teachers do not have the time to scaffold effectively with each child, so technology can close that gap. I do not necessarily agree with this statement because I believe that is our job as a teacher to make sure we make the time to provide individualized support to each one of our students.

If technology has not been completely embraced by the schooling system, then I will make sure that, at times, my classroom looks like a "technology-rich workplace". I think that if I implement this into my classroom my students will be better off for their future and have gained more knowledge.

Credible Sites?

The majority of the links provided to us are obvious to me that they are not credible sites to use. First of all, the first pregnant male or the tree octopus are not real, existent things. However, young children who are just learning how to use the internet as a resource may not recognize the obvious. Some of the websites provided may confuse an unexperienced person, like the Martin Luther King website. When you quickly glance at this website it may look to be credible; however, when you start to read through the website you realize that it talks about rap and communism, which has nothing to do with why Martin Luther King Jr. is a historical person. So, I would encourage my students to carefully read through websites to see if the website is talking about what it should be talking about. One thing I found on the explorer website explained that it is not a credible website on its "about" page. So, students should read the about page, if the website has one, to check the main purpose of the website. I would explain to my students that they need to be skeptical about the information that they get. Lastly, on the bottom of the dihydrogen monoxide website it contained excessive advertisements. I would inform my students that this should be a red flag. Credible, informative websites do not usually provide excessive advertisements on its webpage.

Digital Booktalk

Stephanie, Angela, and I did our digital booktalk on the Three Little Pigs. Earlier this week we sat down to figure out how we wanted our video to look like and then, we began to film. Also, we had to make several props to add character to our film, like the pigs noses, the police sketch, and the brick house. The making of the props did take quite a bit of time, but it was fun. Then, the filming took a while to complete because we had to do a lot of retakes. None of us were willing to settle on anything less than what we thought to be the best take, so we all put a lot of thought into the video. Completing this assignment was a lot of fun because it was something different than our normal book work. Learning how to use the windows movie maker was a lot easier than I anticipated. Learning how to use this program was fun and will be beneficial to my future as an educator. I could do many different presentations for my students using this program. Whether the presentation is something I do for my future students or with my future students. I foresee myself doing many projects using this type of program.

Something New I Learned Today

I learned several new things today. First, I learned a lot of new resources that I can use for this class and as a future educator, like teacher tube. Also, I have never used any program besides power point in my academic career to do a presentation with. So, that is something new I learned that I will take with me from here on out. Also, we discussed other programs we can use to present with, like making a movie to do a presentation. Also, we discussed a lot about the difference between learning with and learning from technology. At first, it was hard for me to differentiate between the two, but the practice we did on the integrating technology matrix website helped clarify the difference between the two.

Preface and Chapter 1

This reading reinforced my knowledge on the growth in technology and the "knowledge revolution" we are living in. I understand the importance and benefit of integrating technology into our curriculum and exposing children to it. I agree that it is a tool children can use to continue learning outside of the classroom as well as inside the classroom. Since technology is not a fad and is not coming to an end anytime soon, I do feel it is important for children to learn how to do different things with a computer because they will be using it on a daily basis for the rest of their lives.
As a future teacher I will make it a priority to incorporate the use of different types of technologies in my classroom. Whether it is a technology that I will use, the students will use, or one we will use together, like a smart board, I will make sure to expose and teach my students the importance and benefits of technology.

Digital Autobiography

I believe that I put a lot of effort and time into my digital autobiography. First, I took a lot of time to go through my picture folder to find the nine pictures I wanted to use for this video. Then, I began using photoshow, and then, I realized I did not like it. So, I started over and used animoto. After I uploaded all of my pictures, I wanted to choose a song of my own, which was hard to find a song that I thought fit. So, the one I chose, which I think fits best, I had to buy off itunes and then, downlaod a converter to convert it from an mp4 to an mp3. Lastly, I did a lot of editing and switching around my pictures and texts as i found that it would not all fit. So, I believe I put a lot of time and thought into this assignment.
This assigment taught me something that I did not know how to do. I had never created any kind of video like this, and now that I know how to, I want to try to organize all of my pictures into videos.
After doing this assignment, I learned something new, and that is the approach I am going to take with my in my future as a future educator. You can always try and learn new things.

Growing Up Online

The video, Growing Up Online, made me feel like the internet and other technologies can sometimes take away from other opportunities and experiences. A couple people in the video said that the internet is like a secret world that they can escape life with and be themselves. I think using the internet excessively, for many things unrelated to school, can take away time for more productive activities. It made me a little nervous to think that such young children are using the internet as a social networking site. I believe that children should make friends at school or in other extra curricular activities and not by sitting in front of their computers all night. Also, as for teenagers, I think the internet can be dangerous ecspecially when teenagers are not using it appropriately.
As a future educator, I will stress the importance and benefits of using computers and the internet, and at times, I will use different types of technologies with my students to enhance their learning. However, I will stress the importance of not becoming consumed in all of these new technologies. I do use the internet on a daily basis, so I am pro technology. However, I think young children should be engaging in more productive activities on a day to day basis rather than sitting at their desk using a computer.

New Thinking After Today

After today's class, I learned a lot about different types of technologies, like communicative technologies, social networks, organizational technologies. Before coming to this class I did not know the categories that I would have placed all the different types of technologies in and now I do. Also, I learned about different types of technology that were completely foreign to me prior to this class. I am excited to learn a lot more throughout this semester.

The Role of Technology in Teaching and Learning

Nowadays, technology has a big role in teaching and learning. Students use computers in classrooms along with other types of technologies. It can be used for certain accommodations or modifications for some students to allow them to complete an assignment. Also, certain technologies, like smart boards, projectors, and elmos, assist teachers in their classrooms. I think technology plays an important role in teaching and learning.