Exist Slip Week 14

This week we wrapped up the class by brainstorming ways in which we WILL use technology in the classroom.  The idea was brought up of how we should be spending time teaching people how to act appropiately using technology, instead of wasting time thinking of how to prevent anything bad from happening.  I agree with this and have thought of some ways I will use technology in my classroom.  Some ideas include:  using blogs or e-pals to communicate with other people to find information for our class musem; create a classroom site to post reminders, assignments, what we did in class, and much more; interacting with other classmates and myself through blogs to discuss current events or books we have read; using podcast to record students reading aloud.  All these ideas will help students learn because they are able to actively explore the material.  Coming to this realization about how many tools are available to improve student learning through technology my viewpoints have greatly changed.  At the beginning of the semester I just never realized the potential technology could have, but with my new knowledge I am ready to incorporate technology in my classroom.

PSA Reflection

Creating the PSA was much easier with a partner.  We both brainstormed ideas on a topic and thought of the idea about cyber bullying.  I found some articles online about kids who were affected by this, but we decided to use news clips instead.

Creating and sharing our PSA with my peers impacts my future teaching because I learned more about digital citizenship without having to do research on every signal topic.  The main way it will impact my future teaching is that I now know one additional project my students can use to learn.  I will be better at informing them on how to create video clips that could be used for any subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdlDGoJRcU8

Exist Slip Week 13

This week I took many ideas of a real life example of how to incorporate technology into the classroom.  These ideas are important because it can encourage cooperative learning and increase engagement.  Some of the ideas are as listed:

-- Whiteboard-- Online projects with other students-- Daily blog and assignments online to create open classroom-- Students write blogs about current events and events in classroom to share perspectives and become global citizens-- e-pals

The two articles we read in class also reinforced the message of using technology in the classroom.  The tips this article provided was a good reminder of what great teachers are doing and what to avoid doing.

Technology Inquiry Reflection

I exerted quite a bit of effort on this task.  It took awhile to find the resources, actually read through them all, and create a synthesis on the material.  On top of that, we had to use and apply this knowledge to create best practices and produce a screencast.  All of these tasks each had their own requirements that had to be met, so it took some time making sure they were all up to standard.  I feel that this project should have been on the A contract, instead of the C contract because I feel that it took more effort than almost all the other projects.

There are many values in completing this course task.  The most important value I gained from this was that I became much more informed about how to use weblogs in my classroom.  I also learned more in depth about creativity and critical thinking, how to use them in my classroom, and the importance of these skills. 

Completing this course task impacts my future teacing because I became more informed of teaching strategies to use.  Not only did I take away knowledge from my own research, but I also have the research of all my peers.  I can use my classmates as a resource to find additional information on specific topics related to technology and can use this in my classroom.  By completing this assignment, I have also became more aware how much students can learn if I have them apply their knowledge, just like we had to do.

iRLO Reflection

I exerted quite a bit of effort creating this iRLO project.  It didn't take long to think of an idea, but the actual creating the game was pretty difficult.  I watched some tutorials, played around with all the different tools, and got some ideas from other people's iRLO.  Once the basis of it was created it, it didn't take that long to brush it up.

Designing and sharing an iRLO impacts my future teaching because I learned how to use one more additional resource to use.  Many students enjoy playing video games and this is an interactive way to engage them as learners.  By designing an iRLO I not only learned how to create a game, but I also realized the importance of using resources.  Without the tutorials, fellow classmates, and yourself I would't have been able to create as an effective iRLO as I did.  In the future, many new technologies will continually be developed and I won't be an expert on using them right away so it is important that I am able to communicate and find other resources that can help me incorporate it into my classroom.  By sharing our iRLO's, I now have many more lessons that I can use in my future classroom.

Book Chapter Project Reflection

As a group we spent a fair amount of time planning our project.  We met together on two occasions to ensure our success.  Members in our group also spent time creating a slideshow and making cut outs. 

Facilitating course content to my peers is valuable because I get pratice teaching and talking in a professional way.  By allowing us to teach, we also have to learn and comprenhend the material in order to facilitate a discussion.  We learn the material in much more depth because we have to know it forward and backwards.

Discussing course content with my peers impacts my future teacing because I get practice communicating with others and how to share information.  It is the start of social network that allows me to expand my ideas. 

Exist Slip Week 12

This week I learned about the importance of using consistent techniques so the students have a familiar activity that they can fully participate in without having to question what the expectations are.  I also learned about the R's of relevance, rigor, and relationships.  I agree with these three and will work to achieve these in the future.  This brings me to my next point that was brought up in class about whether I am just saying I will use technology in my classroom or if I actually will.  It will be easier to carry this out realizing that I can use other resources and can work together with other teachers to enhance my lessons.