Having technology in a classroom is becoming a bigger need than it has been before. Students are being told to bring their technological devices to class instead of being put away. This is because students are more interested in education when technology is involved. More initiatives for technology are being put into place and some classrooms around the U.S. have a "one tablet per child" program where obviously each child receives one tablet to work with in the classroom. Teachers are encouraged that they need to adapt to this new learning environment fast because that is what the future of education holds. Teachers are encouraged to find new ways to use technology to teach.
This article is right on point on how I would want to teach my classroom if I had one right now. Using technology in a classroom definitely lets students have a little more opportunity to learn and be interested in their learning environment. The only speculations I have are what if a student uses the technology for things such as texting and Facebook instead of what I am teaching them. I feel like there needs to be a program in place to help with this issue by controlling what students can and cannot access in the classroom.
Monday, December 9, 2013
21st Century Skills (Blog #14)
President Ken Kay of Partnership for the 21st Century Skills wrote a book called Enriching Minds for the 21st Century. Kay discusses and explains why the education system of America needs to be changed into a system more acceptable for the 21st century. One point Kay discusses is that the world is changing technology wise. Blue collar workers are being replaced and the global competition and collaboration has been accelerating over the past 30 years. Kay's second point is that schools and students in the U.S. are not adapting to the changes of the technology society. He brings up the point that students are losing interest in school because of the old fashion ways they are being taught. He brings up the point that testing is not creating a good foundation for students for the competitive nation in the world. The students are not being taught to the expectations of the society.
The way Ken kay talks about how school systems need to hop on the 21st century band wagon is right on point. Students of today are being brought up in a technological society where technology is the basis for their learning. In classrooms, teachers need to use technology a little more to teach children. I like that he points out that what our american school systems are learning needs to be a little more demanding than what it has been in the past. No matter what background students come from, teachers should be able to make class fun and interesting and be able to demand a little more from their students to grow the level of education in this nation.
The way Ken kay talks about how school systems need to hop on the 21st century band wagon is right on point. Students of today are being brought up in a technological society where technology is the basis for their learning. In classrooms, teachers need to use technology a little more to teach children. I like that he points out that what our american school systems are learning needs to be a little more demanding than what it has been in the past. No matter what background students come from, teachers should be able to make class fun and interesting and be able to demand a little more from their students to grow the level of education in this nation.
Kids Can't Compute -- And That's A Problem (Blog #23)
This article gives great explanation on why young people do not REALLY know how to use technology. All of the younger generations generally only know how to use apps and the general basics of technology. We grow up in a nation where adults think that the young generation knows everything there is to know about technology because we grow up around it. The reason that's wrong is because we learn the basics of technology that we want to learn. The reason this article thinks it is a problem is because they say that it's not confronting people with the need to be creative in building solutions. They say to fix this issue is, younger generations need to be educated a little more on technology and what runs the technology. The article says that by the time kids graduate high school, they should be able to build a PC, troubleshoot networking issues, and at the very least be able to run a web site.
I understand that technology is becoming a very important part of today's society. But I do not agree with everything this article talked about. So what if students aren't "being creative in building solutions". Telling society that everyone should be able to build a PC and etc. because of technology becoming so popular in society is just like saying that someone needs to learn the basics of cooking because society has to eat. There are people that are more than qualified in the basics of technology that people can go to for help with these issues. I don't find it a problem as much as this article does. I feel like there are bigger issues to deal with in this younger generation socially than how much they should know about technology.
I understand that technology is becoming a very important part of today's society. But I do not agree with everything this article talked about. So what if students aren't "being creative in building solutions". Telling society that everyone should be able to build a PC and etc. because of technology becoming so popular in society is just like saying that someone needs to learn the basics of cooking because society has to eat. There are people that are more than qualified in the basics of technology that people can go to for help with these issues. I don't find it a problem as much as this article does. I feel like there are bigger issues to deal with in this younger generation socially than how much they should know about technology.
A conversation with a 'Bad' Teacher (Blog #22)
John Owens was a publisher for a magazine for thirty years before deciding to go back to school to become a teacher. He figured out that it was not all that it was cracked up to be when he found a "dark side" to the school administration and the American public education system. In an interview with Hana Maruyama from Education Week Teacher, he spoke about how he quit after a year of teaching and his experience teaching at South Bronx. Owens talked about how the worst thing he experienced was realizing that the school was more worried about passing students for their own good instead of the students well being. He tried his hardest to give students a passion for learning and the fact that he couldn't change a students view point in one class period classified him as a 'bad teacher' in the eyes of his peers. South Bronx was a school system where students came from awful home backgrounds. Owens would try to bring up positive programs and activities for the students but all of his ideas were turned down by the school system. After one year, Owens realized that in that school, he would never win no matter what. He also realized that even though people think that teachers have it easy, they really have one of the hardest jobs on the planet because they have other peoples lives and education in their hands.
Before reading Owens post, I already knew that there were school systems out there with the same mentality as South Bronx. It's teachers like Owens who have the guts to speak out on the subject and make others realize that there truly is a problem. But when people like Owens speak out, why is it that nothing has really been changed? Hopefully with the new Common Core Standards, it will help schools actually care a little more about the well being of their students. Yes, there are plenty of students that will be difficult and not want to learn or even refuse to learn. But does that give a teacher the right to just give up on that student? I feel like it has been sociably acceptable to treat students like babies if they just don't want to learn. They still need to be pushed but it takes dedicated and skillful teachers to make change like that happen.
Before reading Owens post, I already knew that there were school systems out there with the same mentality as South Bronx. It's teachers like Owens who have the guts to speak out on the subject and make others realize that there truly is a problem. But when people like Owens speak out, why is it that nothing has really been changed? Hopefully with the new Common Core Standards, it will help schools actually care a little more about the well being of their students. Yes, there are plenty of students that will be difficult and not want to learn or even refuse to learn. But does that give a teacher the right to just give up on that student? I feel like it has been sociably acceptable to treat students like babies if they just don't want to learn. They still need to be pushed but it takes dedicated and skillful teachers to make change like that happen.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Web 2.0 (Blog #20)
Madison
* Mindmaster: concept map based. NOT FREE. You can make a slide show of your information. It can center around the bubbles to focus on one topic at a time.
X Spiderscribe.net: free trial is not beneficial. Another website for concept maps. You can insert word documents. This is used for older adults due to the visual aspect. Not age appropriate for teaching.
Erica
* bubbl.us: Free. Same as inspiration. Used this same website as an activity for inspiration.
* lino: Free. Post notes and calendars. Can post pretty much anything. There is an app for this.
Madeline
* photobucket: A combination of instagram and pinterest. You can edit photos and post them. You can sign in with Facebook.
X Quintura for kids: Not the best search engine. A search engine for kids.
Callie
X DuckDuckgo: search engine for kids. Includes a filter option. Lets students search the internet for reliable resources.
X Gogooligans.com: keeps safe from online scams but barely works.
Rebeccah
* Padlet: It's like a board where you can post notes and have students comment on the notes you put up.
Brittany
X stormboard: too much going on. I like the voting option for kids. Too small for notes personally.
Ally
X kidtopia: library database. Safe google search. Not very specific and there are untrustworthy adds. * Instagrok: mixture of concept map and search engine. Middle school level. Great site for info and journals and quizzes!
Victoria
X slimekids: site that shows different kinds of search engines and websites for kids.
* wikisummarizer: wikipedia organizer
Tommi
* pearltrees: combination of pinterest and a concept map. You can select a category or website. Might take some time to figure out to be useful.
X netvibes: just like pearltrees but not as creative. Dashboards to hold your thoughts and ideas. Extreme google. Keeps your info on a subject in one place.
Mary Katherine
* glogster: can make alot of timelines or portfolios or assignments. Different things for you class. Very useful!
*audacity: a site that helps record anything.
Lauren:
X Vimeo: It's like youtube where you can upload videos.
X wordpress: you can follow different blogs
Diana
* evernote: it's a really good search engine. Holds all your notes plus more! Really cool to look into.
Nicole
*compfight: free download. Download different sizes of images. Find a reliable image. Kids can use this site to take photos and use it legally in their projects.
X diigo:have a library with any information you want. You can share the clouds with friends and others. You can create a group of certain people and talk about whatever you want.
Emily
X blabberize: cut out the mouth and make it say anything you want it to say. You can record audio for the mouth.
* easelly: themes of information! love it!
Brittany
*animoto: it's a slideshow type deal. Can only last for so long time wise.
Bookbuilder: create your own book. you can select a grade level and language
Tiffany
X edmodo: you can create a classroom and have students in the group. It has the same general idea of facebook where you comment on different posts
Jacquline
* socrative: free, easy for the class to join, create your own quizzes and tests. It allows you to go in and tell you who got what write and wrong.
Johnathan
X podbean: podcast and upload videos. Seems useless for elementary classes
X Pixton: comic strip website
Jennifer
* iCloud: can download apps. some are free some are not. It connects with all apple products that you have. It also has a free word processing tool. You can do spreadsheets and gradebook.
Amanda
infofr.am: you can create different charts with different material.
* Mindmaster: concept map based. NOT FREE. You can make a slide show of your information. It can center around the bubbles to focus on one topic at a time.
X Spiderscribe.net: free trial is not beneficial. Another website for concept maps. You can insert word documents. This is used for older adults due to the visual aspect. Not age appropriate for teaching.
Erica
* bubbl.us: Free. Same as inspiration. Used this same website as an activity for inspiration.
* lino: Free. Post notes and calendars. Can post pretty much anything. There is an app for this.
Madeline
* photobucket: A combination of instagram and pinterest. You can edit photos and post them. You can sign in with Facebook.
X Quintura for kids: Not the best search engine. A search engine for kids.
Callie
X DuckDuckgo: search engine for kids. Includes a filter option. Lets students search the internet for reliable resources.
X Gogooligans.com: keeps safe from online scams but barely works.
Rebeccah
* Padlet: It's like a board where you can post notes and have students comment on the notes you put up.
Brittany
X stormboard: too much going on. I like the voting option for kids. Too small for notes personally.
Ally
X kidtopia: library database. Safe google search. Not very specific and there are untrustworthy adds. * Instagrok: mixture of concept map and search engine. Middle school level. Great site for info and journals and quizzes!
Victoria
X slimekids: site that shows different kinds of search engines and websites for kids.
* wikisummarizer: wikipedia organizer
Tommi
* pearltrees: combination of pinterest and a concept map. You can select a category or website. Might take some time to figure out to be useful.
X netvibes: just like pearltrees but not as creative. Dashboards to hold your thoughts and ideas. Extreme google. Keeps your info on a subject in one place.
Mary Katherine
* glogster: can make alot of timelines or portfolios or assignments. Different things for you class. Very useful!
*audacity: a site that helps record anything.
Lauren:
X Vimeo: It's like youtube where you can upload videos.
X wordpress: you can follow different blogs
Diana
* evernote: it's a really good search engine. Holds all your notes plus more! Really cool to look into.
Nicole
*compfight: free download. Download different sizes of images. Find a reliable image. Kids can use this site to take photos and use it legally in their projects.
X diigo:have a library with any information you want. You can share the clouds with friends and others. You can create a group of certain people and talk about whatever you want.
Emily
X blabberize: cut out the mouth and make it say anything you want it to say. You can record audio for the mouth.
* easelly: themes of information! love it!
Brittany
*animoto: it's a slideshow type deal. Can only last for so long time wise.
Bookbuilder: create your own book. you can select a grade level and language
Tiffany
X edmodo: you can create a classroom and have students in the group. It has the same general idea of facebook where you comment on different posts
Jacquline
* socrative: free, easy for the class to join, create your own quizzes and tests. It allows you to go in and tell you who got what write and wrong.
Johnathan
X podbean: podcast and upload videos. Seems useless for elementary classes
X Pixton: comic strip website
Jennifer
* iCloud: can download apps. some are free some are not. It connects with all apple products that you have. It also has a free word processing tool. You can do spreadsheets and gradebook.
Amanda
infofr.am: you can create different charts with different material.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
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