Technology is a tool that can engage students at all grade levels and abilities. It can be useful to get students who don’t usually participate involved as well as including any students who have learning and/or physical disabilities. Technology can be exciting and interactive, therefore making lessons more engaging to all students. Teacher’s who use the technology resources they have available to them can really open doors for their students.
Technology can be used in a variety of ways, making it a great resource for spicing up a traditional lesson plan. Instead of drawing out fraction diagrams on the board, why not use fraction sticks that show how different fractions can still be equivalent such as 5/10 equaling 1/2. Students will love seeing the new tool and be excited to try it out for themselves—making a mundane math lesson fun and exciting. It’s a great tool to reach students who may not get a lot out of pencil and paper lesson plans.
Or say you have a student with blindness; you could create a lesson plan using Braille and introduce other students in the class to the different system of language. Technology can be used to include all students, even students who may spend a lot of time out of the classroom for specialized help. It really helps both the student who has the physical and/or the learning disability feel welcome as well as teaches their classmates to be appreciative of differences and find new ways to include classmates who may at times get excluded (not purposefully) from activities in the classroom.
Assistive technology does not always have to be high-tech. Sometimes it’s as simple as word cards to help students who have difficulty communicating. Using the technology, however simple or high tech, can really have a huge impact on the learning environment of your classroom. It lets students know that their teacher really cares about how much they learn and what they take away from the classroom. It really makes the classroom a much more enjoyable place to be as well as helping each student to develop their skills and knowledge more thoroughly.
As an educator, I hope to utilize all the resources I possibly can to help my students more fully understand concepts and ideas. I think it is important for all educators to use all the tools they have available for them; it can make a huge difference in the life of a child. Even if the technology used only gets one student who does not understand fractions or letter formation to fully understand the concept—that’s one more student who can get excited about learning and feel the satisfaction of finally understanding something they may have struggled with.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Technology in the Classroom and the Modern Day Teacher
Technology in the classroom can be likened to a double ended candle: one end can light your way in the dark and the other end might burn you as you hold it. We are a digital generation. With an astounding number of students utilizing text messages, myspace pages, podcasting and iphones, technology is ever present. “I will read 8 books this year, 2300 web pages and 1281 Facebook pages.” boasts a sign a silent student holds up in a YouTube video titled “A Vision of Students Today”. So the obvious answer would be to include more technology in classes so students will spend more time learning. But have you ever noticed what some students do while they are online researching or even just using a word processor on an online equipped computer? They are surfing the web, chatting with friends, viewing profiles--many activities that draw them away from any of the learning that could possibly take place online. Today’s teachers need to embrace the technology their students are using—ever so cautiously.
Students are avid multi-taskers, so teachers need to carefully monitor internet use of any sort. There are many wonderful resources online that would be very effective in engaging students in the learning process. The modern day classroom should be well equipped with computers or laptops that the students can use, all while making sure that anywhere in the room the teacher can see all screens just by simply turning their head. The modern day teacher needs to be constantly monitoring and of course available to help when students get stuck. Not only do teachers have the task of monitoring the students but they also need to be ace investigators, finding legitimate and useful tools for their students that they have previously perused.
Teachers need to expand their horizons, and try new techniques. As Mike Muir put it on his blog “Every One Learns - Pedagogy, Technology, Motivation, Do Something Disruptive” --“Keep in mind that what matters most is how the technology is used, not which technology is used.” Using the internet to research is almost primitive, but using the internet to connect second graders to first graders way across the country to teach each other a lesson plan or share what they have learned via blogging is a great way to use the internet. Sometimes the tried and true methods of teaching are necessary, but teachers need to remember their digital age students who are eager to use the technology that engulfs them, and combining the techniques of old and new could be a winning combination.
Technology can be overwhelming. Some teachers may find it hard to teach their students using a tool that sometimes the student is more competent in. Embracing the fact that students might be able to teach you about the technology you are trying to teach them with will only create a stronger bond between the student and teacher. The students will be excited to share their technological competencies and feel more in control of their education. The key is finding the right amount of technology for each individual classroom. Students still need to learn important skills like penmanship as well as being able to calculate addition, subtraction, and some multiplication and division problems by hand as well as how to type and use the internet to conduct research.
The use of technology in the classroom needs to be well balanced, and it will often take many adjustments to get it just right. However, it’s important that students learn how to use technology, see how it can be used in different ways such as learning, and also know that there are other great ways to learn and do lessons. Both the teacher and the student need to come to a compromise between standard paper and pencil lectures and lessons and high tech megabyte swapping activities, creating a learning environment in which both the student and teacher prosper.
Students are avid multi-taskers, so teachers need to carefully monitor internet use of any sort. There are many wonderful resources online that would be very effective in engaging students in the learning process. The modern day classroom should be well equipped with computers or laptops that the students can use, all while making sure that anywhere in the room the teacher can see all screens just by simply turning their head. The modern day teacher needs to be constantly monitoring and of course available to help when students get stuck. Not only do teachers have the task of monitoring the students but they also need to be ace investigators, finding legitimate and useful tools for their students that they have previously perused.
Teachers need to expand their horizons, and try new techniques. As Mike Muir put it on his blog “Every One Learns - Pedagogy, Technology, Motivation, Do Something Disruptive” --“Keep in mind that what matters most is how the technology is used, not which technology is used.” Using the internet to research is almost primitive, but using the internet to connect second graders to first graders way across the country to teach each other a lesson plan or share what they have learned via blogging is a great way to use the internet. Sometimes the tried and true methods of teaching are necessary, but teachers need to remember their digital age students who are eager to use the technology that engulfs them, and combining the techniques of old and new could be a winning combination.
Technology can be overwhelming. Some teachers may find it hard to teach their students using a tool that sometimes the student is more competent in. Embracing the fact that students might be able to teach you about the technology you are trying to teach them with will only create a stronger bond between the student and teacher. The students will be excited to share their technological competencies and feel more in control of their education. The key is finding the right amount of technology for each individual classroom. Students still need to learn important skills like penmanship as well as being able to calculate addition, subtraction, and some multiplication and division problems by hand as well as how to type and use the internet to conduct research.
The use of technology in the classroom needs to be well balanced, and it will often take many adjustments to get it just right. However, it’s important that students learn how to use technology, see how it can be used in different ways such as learning, and also know that there are other great ways to learn and do lessons. Both the teacher and the student need to come to a compromise between standard paper and pencil lectures and lessons and high tech megabyte swapping activities, creating a learning environment in which both the student and teacher prosper.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
My Introduction
My name is Sarah Ellis and I'm a sophomore at UMF. I'm majoring in Elementary Education with a concentration in Language Arts. I'm very excited to be taking the next step in my quest to become an Elementary Teacher (preferably third grade!). I absolutely love children and I have four nieces: Meagan, Olivia, Kennedy, and Kelsea and four nephews: Buddy, Cole, Gage and Ashton whom I absolutely adore. I can't wait to be a teacher and share my love of learning with children everyday!
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