readingflection3

Reading Reflection #3

Article Link: "Teaching with Technology"

Annotation

1.) Can technology improve the quality of education? Why or why not in your opinion?

I believe that technology can improve the quality of education. I think that by including technology in the classroom, it will improve the quality of the material being presented. It can help bring the curriculum "to life" so to speak. For instance, if we're learning about Ancient Egypt and the pyramids, we can take a virtual field trip that will take us inside the pyramids. I think that by including technology in the classroom, it brings the material to life in a way that wasn't possible even when I was a student.

2.) Why has technology consistently failed to impact education?

Technology has consistently failed to impact education because the generations of teachers now are not completely comfortable with all the technology that is available. Teachers are required to go to workshops, yet most of the workshop are not related to technology, and if there are any, most teachers find it difficult to implement what they learn into their own classroom. Often when teachers try to use in their classroom what they have learned, it is for practice, and if something goes wrong, they go back to their old comfortable ways of teaching.

3.) Compare and contrast "product" and "idea" technologies. How would you use technology in the classroom?

There are two types of technology: product" technology, which is tangible technology; it is hardware, a cassette player, videos, or any machine-oriented technology. However, "idea" technology is not tangible technology. It is what technology can show you. The example in the article is the viewing of a spaceship ride. Technology such as this can be used daily in a classroom. Virtual fieldtrips through the Internet or video is a great way to use these technologies in the classroom. In my classroom, I would ideally use some of the "product" technology to create "idea" technology. Through the computers, VCRs/DVD players, and movie I can create some "idea" technology that will involve the children in a whole new level. I can create things such as a stimulation or a movie that I hope children would find to be fun and interesting.

4.) How did the high school you attended use technology in the classroom?

Unfortunately I don't really remember using technology that much. I remember using computers for keyboarding class in 9th. grade. We had computers but they were only in the computer lab not in the classrooms. Of course we only had the VCRs back then no DVD players, but every room didn't have one. I remember the teachers used the overhead projectors a lot.

5.) Describe the teaching traits of a teacher whom you believe to be effectively using technology. where would you place the teacher on the continuum of technology adoption? Explain your decision.

I think the teaching traits someone would have to have to be effectively technology would be knowledgeable, confident, and patient-in that order. First, knowledgeable because you can't teach about something if you yourself don't know it. Second, confident. because the students will sense if your not sure what your doing, if your second guessing yourself. Last, patient, the most important trait, because some students are not going to understand the first time around, or the second, etc. and if your not patient with them, then they may not be patient yet and not try.

6.) Do you have a vision related to the use of educational technology in your own future classroom? Do you have a plan? What do you want your future students to accomplish with educational technology?

I would want to show my students everything I learned in technology class, all the programs. I think that I would only have to show my students how to work that particular program a couple of times and they would catch on right away. Kids are learning about computers at an early age, before they're in Kindergarten and are like sponges. I would have my students use the computer as a learning center, and would feel comfortable letting them use any program they wanted to create a project. Of course I would be there to answer questions, provide feedback, and praise them.

7.) What do you think is thoughtful use of technology in schools? what does it look like? What does it mean to integrate technology? How might you organize the use of different tools you learned from this course and apply them into your teaching? Use examples to illustrate your ideas.

I think that thoughtful use of technology in schools involves technology being integrated across the curriculum into every subject. I think that it is really important for students to be exposed to technology in every subject area so that they get a good understanding of it and feel comfortable using it. Technology is such an important part of education and it's really important for students to learn to explore and use technology themselves. I think that in order to integrate technology, students need to be able to figure a lot of it out themselves and explore it through their subject areas. There are definitely ideas from this course that I would use in my classroom. I think that students creating their own website would be a fun way to explore the uses of technology. Creating biomes is a great way for them to explore science and imagine themselves in situations. The word projects can be really fun and educational for kids. Virtual field trips are great to help students learn first hand when they may not be able to go places and see things they are learning about. Also, there are many different programs on publisher that would be educational and fun for students and I would have a great time exploring it. The world is at our fingertips and students can go anywhere with a click of the mouse. It's important for us, as future teachers, to be able to take them there.