The article I chose to read was written by Monica Martinez. This article was very interesting to read because it has a lot of ideas of how to use technology to help students learn. When she first starts off the article she mentions that newly minted teachers complain that their teacher education doesn't prepare them to teach in the real world. I think that I would have to disagree with that. I don't have any teaching experience, but while completing this teaching program I feel that the teachers give you a lot of tools in which you can work with in the classroom when you go on your own.
What I LOVED about this article is that it talked about different ways that they teach students how to use games on the computer, but yet they are learning math, spelling, reading, etc all at the same time. She gave examples of different schools that incorporate a lot of technology into their teaching, and it seems that the success rate is pretty high. The students are excited to learn, because they are learning while they are doing something fun, interesting, and new.
Teaching students through technology is very important in the century that we live right now. Everything around us is based through technology. Technology is involving so fast, that it's important for us to help ourselves to keep up with it, and help our students also. Teaching them through technology will help them better themselves when they are out in the real world working already.
There's a quote that she uses at the end of the article from a professor from Harvard University Chris Dede said this for teachers who are certified K-12 " “If you were going to see a doctor and the doctor said, ‘I’ve been really busy since I got out of medical school, and so I’m going to treat you with the techniques I learned back then,’ you’d be rightly incensed. . . . Yet there are a lot of faculty who say with a straight face, ‘I don’t need to change my teaching,’ as if nothing has been learned about teaching since they had been prepared to do it — if they’ve ever been prepared to.” I agree with this quote because teachers need to be ready and willing to change their teaching style. Teachers need to be prepared to incorporate new ideas into their classroom. Always be fresh with teaching their students. Teachers shouldn't be scared to teach in new ways. If something doesn't work, then try it a different way. Teachers should NEVER say that they don't have the time to incorporate technology into their lesson. There is always time to use technology.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Final Blog
How has your opinion changed (or why has it stayed the same) over the past 11 weeks regarding Technology Integration?
This is my second computer class that I have taken in my masters. I have come to a conclusion that integrating technology into the classroom is FANTASTIC! It seems that it makes everything more interesting for the students. The way we live now a days it's very important to keep with technology. It's important to help our students keep up with the technology out there, to help them be more successful in school and in life. There are many different tools for us as teachers to use when teaching a lesson. It helps to keep the students engaged in the lesson more I believe. There are also a lot of tools that actually simplifies learning for the students, which that is always a plus. So i'd have to say that my opinion grows stronger and stronger each time I learn a new way to integrate technology in the classroom.
This is my second computer class that I have taken in my masters. I have come to a conclusion that integrating technology into the classroom is FANTASTIC! It seems that it makes everything more interesting for the students. The way we live now a days it's very important to keep with technology. It's important to help our students keep up with the technology out there, to help them be more successful in school and in life. There are many different tools for us as teachers to use when teaching a lesson. It helps to keep the students engaged in the lesson more I believe. There are also a lot of tools that actually simplifies learning for the students, which that is always a plus. So i'd have to say that my opinion grows stronger and stronger each time I learn a new way to integrate technology in the classroom.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Equal Access
"TEACHERS NEED TO PROVIDE EQUAL ACCESS TO THE DIGITAL WORLD TO ALL LEARNER"
As a new educator in the 21st century, I feel that I need to be on top of all the technology that there is out there. Children now in the 21st century are exposed to some kind of technology during their daily lives. Some children are able to have cell phones, others have video games and some are able to use a home computer on a daily basis. There are also technology like iPads, iPods, laptops. These are great technology that surrounds us during our daily lives, but unfortunately not every child is able to have access to these items. How do we new teachers make it fair to have equal access to the digital world to all learners?
I feel that we as educators are able to teach our students all the same when it comes to technology, as long as we are giving the students the opportunity to use what they are teaching in the school. To make it fair, the teachers should allow the student to complete their assignment during class time because there are students who don't have access to what we might at schools. Another obstacle a teacher may find when trying to incorporate technology into her teaching is that the school might not have enough for all students. But that is when the teacher can modify her lesson and maybe get students who get to work in groups of 2 and have them share computer time together.It might sound impossible, but in my mind I have this picture of it just working and everyone getting the same opportunity.
I think another way of providing equal access to the digital world is that teachers are able to share their work with other teachers through online, and students are able to share their ideas with other students online. Teachers could teach students on how it's done and actually do lesson plans together with other teachers from different schools. This can be done with teachers in the US and outside of the US.
Having equal access to technology for every child seems like it can be challenging, but i feel that it can be done. Teachers just need to think outside of the box, and i'm sure we will all do the right thing for our students.
As a new educator in the 21st century, I feel that I need to be on top of all the technology that there is out there. Children now in the 21st century are exposed to some kind of technology during their daily lives. Some children are able to have cell phones, others have video games and some are able to use a home computer on a daily basis. There are also technology like iPads, iPods, laptops. These are great technology that surrounds us during our daily lives, but unfortunately not every child is able to have access to these items. How do we new teachers make it fair to have equal access to the digital world to all learners?
I feel that we as educators are able to teach our students all the same when it comes to technology, as long as we are giving the students the opportunity to use what they are teaching in the school. To make it fair, the teachers should allow the student to complete their assignment during class time because there are students who don't have access to what we might at schools. Another obstacle a teacher may find when trying to incorporate technology into her teaching is that the school might not have enough for all students. But that is when the teacher can modify her lesson and maybe get students who get to work in groups of 2 and have them share computer time together.It might sound impossible, but in my mind I have this picture of it just working and everyone getting the same opportunity.
I think another way of providing equal access to the digital world is that teachers are able to share their work with other teachers through online, and students are able to share their ideas with other students online. Teachers could teach students on how it's done and actually do lesson plans together with other teachers from different schools. This can be done with teachers in the US and outside of the US.
Having equal access to technology for every child seems like it can be challenging, but i feel that it can be done. Teachers just need to think outside of the box, and i'm sure we will all do the right thing for our students.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Classroom Teacher As a 21st Century Instructional Leader
K12 Online Conference:
The Classroom Teacher As a 21st Century Instructional Leader with TimTyson
I watched a powerpoint presentation done by Tim Tyson and he spoke highly about how the United States is pretty much short changing out students in their education. Education in the United States is not priority, we here are too busy focusing on what is important for them individually. Tim used Finland as an example. In Finland they are # 2 in Math and the United States comes in # 17. Finland has something that the US doesn't have, Finland has their Sisu; which means strength of will, get together and help each other, everyone's well being is their well being. Everyone comes together when there is a problem. Unfortunatly Tim said that all he sees in the US is Anger. Tim spoke with a David Gergen and he said that the binary choices of the US is either/or, for/against, liberal/conservative, black/white, republican/democratic. Tim said that we have to invest more in our children's education. We are a reactive nation when we need to be proactive. The US is in so much debt that we can't afford to be proactive.
Tim goes on to say where is the American Dream? Kids in schools don't really believe that tomorrow can be any btter then today is. They can't see a better tomorrow because of the things they are learning today. Education in Finland is number one. They pay for their teachers education, they have the best and brightest become teachers. The teachers get a lot of training, the class size's are in their 20's and EVERY child receives FREE lunch. Students seemed to be treasured in Finland.
Tim suggests that WE AS TEACHERS we should LEAD as NEVER BEFORE! We should be sharing our work, share our students work, use technology, work together. They only way this can be accomplished is if we LEAD! "FOR A CHANGE INVEST IN A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR OUR STUDENTS!" Tim Tyson.
I couldn't agree more with Tim, he has made some great points in his powerpoint presentation. We here in the US have to put our children's education first! They are the future. We need them to keep the US running succesfully. Not that we are right now, but we need bright young students to make a difference, and the way we are doing things now, unfortunatly I don't see that happening. The US has to come as a whole, and work towards the future, and compramise.
The Classroom Teacher As a 21st Century Instructional Leader with TimTyson
I watched a powerpoint presentation done by Tim Tyson and he spoke highly about how the United States is pretty much short changing out students in their education. Education in the United States is not priority, we here are too busy focusing on what is important for them individually. Tim used Finland as an example. In Finland they are # 2 in Math and the United States comes in # 17. Finland has something that the US doesn't have, Finland has their Sisu; which means strength of will, get together and help each other, everyone's well being is their well being. Everyone comes together when there is a problem. Unfortunatly Tim said that all he sees in the US is Anger. Tim spoke with a David Gergen and he said that the binary choices of the US is either/or, for/against, liberal/conservative, black/white, republican/democratic. Tim said that we have to invest more in our children's education. We are a reactive nation when we need to be proactive. The US is in so much debt that we can't afford to be proactive.
Tim goes on to say where is the American Dream? Kids in schools don't really believe that tomorrow can be any btter then today is. They can't see a better tomorrow because of the things they are learning today. Education in Finland is number one. They pay for their teachers education, they have the best and brightest become teachers. The teachers get a lot of training, the class size's are in their 20's and EVERY child receives FREE lunch. Students seemed to be treasured in Finland.
Tim suggests that WE AS TEACHERS we should LEAD as NEVER BEFORE! We should be sharing our work, share our students work, use technology, work together. They only way this can be accomplished is if we LEAD! "FOR A CHANGE INVEST IN A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR OUR STUDENTS!" Tim Tyson.
I couldn't agree more with Tim, he has made some great points in his powerpoint presentation. We here in the US have to put our children's education first! They are the future. We need them to keep the US running succesfully. Not that we are right now, but we need bright young students to make a difference, and the way we are doing things now, unfortunatly I don't see that happening. The US has to come as a whole, and work towards the future, and compramise.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sharing: The Moral Imperative by Dean Shareski
K-12 ONLINE CONFERENCE:
Sharing: The Moral Imperative with Dean Shareski
I watched a video posted by Dean Shareski. I found it to be very interesting. I wasn't really sure about it at first because of the title, but once I got into listening to what he had to share, it became really interesting. Dean was talking about how important it is for us to share our work with other teachers. He shared a quote that caught his attention " Sharing, and sharing online specifically, is not in addition to the work of being an educator. It is the work." Ewan Macintosh.
When we think about sharing our work with others we might ask ourselves, why would I do this? Is it safe? Is it worth my time? How do I make it valuable & meaningful? But what we really should be asking ourselves is:
Is this an obligation?
Does my institution see value in sharing?
How will it help my students?
If you think about it we really couldn't share any of our ideas with other schools before we all had internet. The only time we were sharing was within the same school. We never really got knew and bright ideas into the schools. Very rare, teachers shared when they would go to workshops, which wasn't all the time. Dean says that sharing back then was a luxury, and it really was for the students in the classroom. They shared with each other.
Dean also mention that we should ask who, where, and what do I share? He thinks that we should be sharing with the best educators in the world. With all of the technologies we have now a days, it makes that concept of sharing with each other much easier.
Dean gave examples of teachers and administrators who did awesome with sharing their ideas with other schools and teachers. One example that he showed was an administrator who thought of having an Identity Fair with his students. This was when a the students made posters, like the one's for science fairs, and shared who they were with the school. Everyone got to know everyone in the school. They had a touching story, and the administrator shared it online, and it caught other schools attentions. The other school applied the new project to their school, and everyone is loving it. the two schools Skype with each other once in a while. Great experience!
Dean mentions that we should learn how to share and learn with other countries. We can enrich our learning and make it more powerful by doing so.
His final thoughts were that teacher should give time and energy for sharing, not for the money but because they love to share and they love their students.
I thought that this very was very powerful. It showed me how important it is for us to share our work with each other. Without sharing, their might not be education. Education is sharing. We are sharing and exchanging ideas every day with each other. By doing this we are bettering ourselves and our students! More power to sharing!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Digital Nation
While watching Digital Nation, I had many things going through my mind. I couldn't believe how much the world relies on technology. I think the world would be lost without the technology we have now. Everything in the video shocked me I think, but the one thing that really was mind boggling to me was when they talked about Korea. It's amazing how these kids are so into video games. They had no physical activities. The only physical activity they had was without their fingers. The child who was at the top of his class, is now no longer because of video games. What does that really tell you about parenting? I felt as if the parents were blaming the technology, but they need to blame almost themselves. The parents are allowing for this to happen, they are not putting limits to their child's game time and computer time. I think i'm a little old fashioned when it comes to video games, and technology. I think that there is a way for our children to be on top of technology, but yet we moderate how much they are using it. It's funny how they showed Korea, because when I was observing classrooms at SNHU for my Masters in English as a Second Language, I noticed that all the Asian students were playing video games while the teacher was teaching her lesson. Even when I had to use the computer lab to do a project, the Asian students were in the computer lab, playing games. It was interesting to connect my experience with seeing and actually watching them do a research on it.
Something else that really caught my attention was when they were doing the research on multitasking. Everyone I know, multitasks. It's impossible for me to get through the day without having to multitask. As I was watching digital nation I was multitasking. I was making dinner and had the computer on the kitchen counter, so I could watch it. We get pulled in many different directions every day, and that forces us to multitask. Even though they said that we don't capture as much when we are multitasking, but it almost feel like it's very necessary to accomplish many things at once. I feel that if I don't, then I haven't done anything today. Maybe if we had more then 24 hours in a day, we wouldn't have to multitask as much.
I really put myself in these peoples shoes that they were showing in the video. I know that if I didn't have my phone, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Sometimes I'm running late, and I will forget it at home, and I sometimes will turn around and come and get, because I just feel like a part of me is missing without my phone. I'm always checking my Facebook, my emails, celebrity news, anything you can think of, i'm doing on my phone. The way they make phones now, it's almost like a portable mini laptop, you can do pretty much anything.
I believe that in order for us and our children to be successful in this world, we need to be up to date with technology. Everything revolves around technology. As i'm writing this I have my 2 year old and my 8 year old playing with my iPhone. They know how to navigate it more then I do. It just amazes me. I think that technology is very important for us, but at the same time we need to have self control with it. We can't let it take over our lives. It can be part of our lives, but it shouldn't be all about it. Digital nation did a great job in showing us how technology has taken over.
Something else that really caught my attention was when they were doing the research on multitasking. Everyone I know, multitasks. It's impossible for me to get through the day without having to multitask. As I was watching digital nation I was multitasking. I was making dinner and had the computer on the kitchen counter, so I could watch it. We get pulled in many different directions every day, and that forces us to multitask. Even though they said that we don't capture as much when we are multitasking, but it almost feel like it's very necessary to accomplish many things at once. I feel that if I don't, then I haven't done anything today. Maybe if we had more then 24 hours in a day, we wouldn't have to multitask as much.
I really put myself in these peoples shoes that they were showing in the video. I know that if I didn't have my phone, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Sometimes I'm running late, and I will forget it at home, and I sometimes will turn around and come and get, because I just feel like a part of me is missing without my phone. I'm always checking my Facebook, my emails, celebrity news, anything you can think of, i'm doing on my phone. The way they make phones now, it's almost like a portable mini laptop, you can do pretty much anything.
I believe that in order for us and our children to be successful in this world, we need to be up to date with technology. Everything revolves around technology. As i'm writing this I have my 2 year old and my 8 year old playing with my iPhone. They know how to navigate it more then I do. It just amazes me. I think that technology is very important for us, but at the same time we need to have self control with it. We can't let it take over our lives. It can be part of our lives, but it shouldn't be all about it. Digital nation did a great job in showing us how technology has taken over.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
About Me
Hello everyone! My name is Cintia and i'm a college student working on 2 masters at the moment. I am working on a masters in English as a second language, and a masters in Special Education. I am a graduate of KSC and I have my bachelors in Spanish. I am originally from Brasil. I am able to speak English, Spanish and Portuguese. I am back at school because I needed to do something more then just banking. I worked at a bank for 9 years, and by being there for so long I was getting too comfortable. I needed a change, and since I have always wanted to be a teacher, what a great way to motivate myself to going back to school, and do something that I LOVE!
I am a mother to two great kids! One is 8 and the other one is almost 3. They keep me on my toes, and so does school! =) I'm a very easy going person! I LOVE the summer, and I LOVE going to the beach. I think I could live at the beach. Every time I go, I never want to come back. The winter time is a very sad time for me. Sitting here at home and looking outside and seeing nothing but the white snow makes me want to cry. But it's ok because it will soon be over and we will all be enjoying some fun in the sun! I love music! It's a great relaxer for me. But the one thing I love the most is my family! There's nothing like being surrounded by the people you love! That is a little bit about me and if there is anything else that you would like to know, just ask away! =)
I am a mother to two great kids! One is 8 and the other one is almost 3. They keep me on my toes, and so does school! =) I'm a very easy going person! I LOVE the summer, and I LOVE going to the beach. I think I could live at the beach. Every time I go, I never want to come back. The winter time is a very sad time for me. Sitting here at home and looking outside and seeing nothing but the white snow makes me want to cry. But it's ok because it will soon be over and we will all be enjoying some fun in the sun! I love music! It's a great relaxer for me. But the one thing I love the most is my family! There's nothing like being surrounded by the people you love! That is a little bit about me and if there is anything else that you would like to know, just ask away! =)
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