this semester

From this semester i have learned about using technolgies could be used as a reward or to be used in a lesson. I think its important to use technology in the class, because its such an important part of our culture and students need to know about it and how to use it. Im not sure if most of the things that i learned in the class i could use in my classroom, but it was intresting to learn about them. I'm taking away from the course the importance of using technolgy into my classroom. I hope that my school is able to fund and put in grants to get great technolgy in my classroom/school. What i would like to learn more about is how to intergrate technology everyday into my classroom. I wish that i knew how to make it an everyday thing, otherthan to just use a powerpoint to show the students slides.

Chrissy Cohn-Reflection

I have learned plenty of things in this class that I plan to take with me as I begin teaching. I came into this class thinking that technology was a nice addition to education, but not a necessary part of it. After working with so many different types of technology in the class, I now believe that certain uses of technology are definitley necessary in the classroom. One major thing I learned in the class was all the ways that technology could use used to assist diverse learners or those students with special needs. The assistive technologies helped students with disabilities, but also made it easier for students with certain strengths and weaknesses to accomplish their assignments. There are technologies that allow for bigger print and visual representations (for visual learners), audio components in English and different languages (for audio learners or ESL students), and technologies that make certain skills easier, such as typing, reading, writing, and communicating thoughts. When I have students in my classroom who seem like they could excel at their education with the help of a technology like those, I will know what type of technology to seek out and will get them the assistance they need. I also realized that using technology in the classroom creates motivation for students. As long as it is used for a specific purpose and relates to the knowledge the students should be learning in an engaging way, I will use it in the classroom as a way to encourage students to complete activities.
I would like to learn more about how accesible some of these technologies are so that I can implement them into the classroom. I feel like we learned about many technologies and experienced some in the classroom, but I have no idea how much it costs to get these technologies placed in the school and how hard it is to get them improved. However, the software evaluation project helped me understand this, but I hope to learn more about the technology standards at the school that I begin working at.

What I am taking away with me from this class

I have learned so much about technology and integrating it into the classroom after participating in this class this semester. I used to think that including a technology portion in one of my lessons was such a hassle and I didn't think that it would benefit the students when using the technology. However, now I realize how much of a vital piece that technology really is in the classroom setting. Technology can motivate students, can assist students in learning, assist teachers in instruction, and just be flat out fun and educational at the same time. I will definitely be thinking of new ways to incorporate technologies in my future classroom because this class has totally changed my mind on the subject.

However, I am a little concerned with my lack of knowledge when it comes to the field of technology. I am not the most technology inclined individual and I feel that sometimes I simply cannot bring a technology into my classroom because of my lack of knowledge on it. But, I am very open to taking technology workshops so I can become more familiar with different aspects of it and so that I am able to make technology available to my students. All in all, I feel that technology is so important in a school setting and should be included in every classroom.

Reflection

Throughout the course of the semester this class has presented me with many different ideas regarding the use of technology in the classroom. It is important to know how to incorporate technology because it can make your life as a teacher easier. We also learned when certain types of technology are appropriate or not. Overall, I would say the most enjoyable part of the class so far was having group discussions about our views on technology. One common theme that kept coming up was the fact that some schools/children don't have access to technology because of economic or social reasons. It is important to recognize this because while on one hand technology can be a great teaching and learning tool, it may not available to every child. Other common debate was centered around the actual role of technology in the classroom, how it effects the teachers workload, and benefits students. I would say that my favorite part of the class is when we reviewed web 2.0 sites and talked about them. It was interesting because I could see myself using some of those websites in the future teaching, or even for personal use. Finally, the class allowed us to use technology to express ourselves in the form of the digital story telling project, which I enjoyed also. Moving forward, I would like to learn more about what things the government is doing to make sure that more technology is becoming more prominent in our nations schools. Unrelated to education, I would like to learn more about what common technologies are used to record music and videos, and how to use them.

Reflection of the Semester so far

So, far I think that I have really taken that there are so many different ways and types of technology, and how to incorporate it into the classroom. I really liked the new information that I have learned about assisstive technology. I think that because I am going to be a teacher one day, and I know that many classrooms are becoming inclusion classrooms I want to be as aware as I can about different assisstive technologies that I can use to help students learn more efficiently. I feel that I have also taken away that all students can benefit from the use of technology in the classroom. All students have different learning styles, and technology can really be applied to the different learning styles to help all students learn more efficiently. I feel that I have also taken away that I am going to encounter many struggles in a lot of school when trying to bring in new technology, because of cost issues, and training issues. I think that learning about integrating technology into the classroom has really opened my eyes to teaching to different learning styles, grabbing student attention and peaking their interest, and to the problems I may encounter like money and teaching with technology, and availability of technology to the students at home.

I think in moving forward I would like to learn about free trials of software that may be available for elementary school teachers, or any types of free trial technology that can be used in the classroom. I would also like to use a few more programs so that I can become more familiar with multiple programs. For example, I know that we practiced with Inspiration and I really enjoyed using that program and I would like to use more programs that are similar to familiar myself with.

What I have learned

After this course, I think I am more aware of the resources for using technology along with education, as well as the possible set backs. I learned that there are SO many different types of technologies, and ways of integrating them into a classroom that can be beneficial for the students. I also learned that now a days, with all this new technology happening daily, the younger generation needs to be on top of the new types of technology as well as how to use basic features. In contrast to that, I have also learned that using some types of technology in the classroom can take up too much time, or not be as beneficial. Just like everything else, there is a time and a place to integrate technology into the classroom, and sometimes there is no time or place for it.
This course also made me aware of the tons and tons of games, activities, and resources I can download, join, or view on the internet. It is so easy to find a fun, engaging activity on-line that integrates a type of technology. Other than computer games, students can now use interactive pens and books, like the Tag Pen I researched for the software evaluation project. I am eager to have my own classroom and introduce new, beneficial types of technology to my students. Assistive technology is something I hadn’t really thought of before this class. Now, I feel I am better prepared, even if it is just by being more aware of the fact that I may have a disabled/handicapped student using a type of assistive technology in my classroom. If so, I know that I should take the time to learn how that assistive technology works, to help the student.

Semester Reflection

As I look back on the semester, I think this course that given me a good start on effective ways in which I can reinforce more technology being used in my own classroom. When I think of technology, the first word that comes to mind is computer. Thankfully I have always been given the opportunity to use a computer both in the classroom and at home. It has been a a life savior in so many ways that I could not possibly think about not having access to one all of the time. This course has showed me how important a computer is to a classroom environment and its students. I feel that all software used on the computer should be referred to motivators. I believe that introducing students everyday to new learning styles and software motivates them to want to be in the classroom and want to participate more. From numerous readings, I have gotten the chance to learn more about accommodating children on all learning levels. I have learned that the teachers role in the classroom is extremely important and what the teacher does and says reflects on how the students are going to behave. If teachers are going to introduce new techniques and sources of technology, they need to know what they are talking about in order for student learning to improve. I have gotten the opportunity to learn about different styles of teaching and how to react to different scenarios that take place in the classroom.
As I finish up the course, I feel that the one thing I was not exposed to are student opinions and responses toward integrating technology. Though I am still a student, my opinion and well as my classmates opinions on the subject do not show me what elementary age students are thinking. I have seen many videos that show evidence of student success however, I have not seen actual interviews with students allowing them to share their feelings on the topic. I think it would be beneficial to me because I would then be given the chance to hear both positive and negative things the students say about what goes on in their classrooms. The evidence would then allow me to think about what I will need to do in the future. Learning the facts from readings and videos have always been helpful, but to a point also limit me to actual student record. I think it would be interesting to learn how students feel about assistive technology in the classroom.

Kera's Semester Reflection

After taking this class, I feel more knowledgeable about integrating technology into the everyday classroom. I am walking away from this class with many new ideas and experiences with educational technology. Before this class, I was only aware of very few pieces of technology such as PowerPoint, search engines, youtube, and some online games. This class has introduced many new pieces of software that I will be using in my future classroom. I enjoyed learning about moviemaker, wikis, and Inspiration. These few technologies are great assistants when it comes to delivering fun lessons to children. After all of our class discussions, I see now how important it really is to teach our students how to use technology at a young age. Their future will be loaded with technology, and it is our responsibility to teach them everything we know about technology. Not only did I learn about new technologies, but I taught about different approaches of teaching, and different learning theories that will come in handy when I have a classroom of my own.

I will always be interested in learning about new technologies that I can integrate into my classroom. Each student is different, so it will be important to learn many technologies so I will know what will fit each individual's learning style best. Over time, I will enjoy learning ways to make myself more advanced in technology, as well as learning new technologies and softwares to use in my classroom.

Semester Reflection

Throughout this semester, I have learned a variety of information concerning the integration of technology in a classroom. Before taking this class, the only technologies that I really considered were the obvious such as computers and Microsoft Office, which I didn’t really see as technologies, but more as necessities. As a future educator, most of my classes focus on the content knowledge that I will be expected to teach, and the skills needed in order to properly teach this information. Because of this, I began to think that it was not as important how a lesson was given, just as long as the information was provided to the students and they gained an understanding. Upon entering this class, I learned a variety of new options toward delivering a lesson that teaches content while implementing technology. Along with this, I have recognized the benefits that it can provide to children if implemented correctly. This includes finding technologies that are appropriate for a particular content area and grade level. As society becomes more and more revolved around technology, it is essential for children to keep up with the knowledge. For example, it would be virtually impossible for a student to go through college without the ability to use a computer. Aside from the possible technologies viewed throughout the semester, I have also gained knowledge about the Maryland state curriculum focusing on technology. As I continue forward toward becoming an educator, I hope to gain actual experience with the knowledge I have gained. Currently in my internship, I am teaching science in second grade. Since each lesson is set in stone, I do not have the freedom to integrate technology. Next year, I will be student teaching full time. At that point, I will have the opportunity to construct lesson plans that involve the integration of a certain piece of technology. This experience will allow me to become comfortable with balancing the task of teaching students while integrating technology. Until that time, I hope to gain more ideas of different technologies that will enhance specific lessons in order to present the best learning experiences.
Gina Pagliaccetti

Semester Reflection

Before taking this course, I had only considered the most obvious technology—computers—to integrate in my future classroom. I will work in a school library, and computers may eventually be used more than the books on the shelves. Now that I’m better informed by this course, I know there are many more uses for a variety of technologies for instruction and education as a whole.

From this course, I’m taking away broader knowledge of the types of technology that are worth considering for the classroom, and why. The technology I’ll use should meet lesson objectives, be appropriate for the intended users, and have appropriate, grade-level content. I hadn’t considered using blogs, wikis, or podcasts in a library, for example, but they might be appropriate, depending on the age group I work with. I'll consider integrating technologies that enhance student learning, facilitate collaboration with colleagues, and improve communication with parents. With technology, I will help students develop information literacy skills in addition to reading literacy skills.

From this course, I’m also taking away new skills and computer experiences. Prior to this class, I had only been a reader of blogs, never a participant. I had not used wikis, and now I see how I might apply them as a school librarian. The readings were useful and led me to search for other articles on topics such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and assistive technology. Using MS MovieMaker and SharePoint Designer was also a new experience for me. I was glad to get some presentation experience too.

I’m at the beginning of my coursework in Towson’s SLM program, and this class was a great foundation. I would like to continue learning about integrating technology specifically in a school library. UDL is another concept I want to keep following. I knew about universal design in architecture, but I did not realize how the idea can be applied to education. I’ll be able to apply what I’ve learned in this course to my remaining SLM coursework and beyond.

Reflections on the semester By: Meghan Wilson

Before taking this ISTC course, I often thought of incorporating technology as using the same old PowerPoint presentation or showing a video or website to my students. While all of this can still be beneficial uses of technology, I have found that there are many other ways to think about incorporating technology as well. I think the most important concept that I'm taking away from this course is that, as a teacher, my focus shouldn't be "oh God, what technology will I try to incorporate this week and in which lesson" but to instead plan my lessons accordingly and when I see a situation where technology will actually enhance my students' learning experience, then incorporate it. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of effective teaching with technology. I feel as though that is where I was falling short in my thinking prior to this course.
As far as where I would like to go from here...I really hope to learn more about the assistive technologies that are available to students. After watching the AT videos with Albano and the other students, I realized that there are so many AT out there that I would have never guessed even existed. I know that many teachers have to become advocates for students with different needs when those students aren't receiving the supports that they deserve in order to have the same learning opportunities as their typical peers. I feel that the more educated I am about assistive technologies that are available to my students, the better the chances are of me being able to get those technologies for them.
This course gave me a good head start in really understanding the full benefit of integrating technology into my classroom instruction, it's pros along with its cons, as well as what I still feel like I need to learn more about. It's been very helpful and I know I will use what I've learned from this class to make myself a better teacher. -Meghan Wilson

Pam's Reflection on the Semester

I feel like there are a few things that I’m really taking away from this course. One of the main things I think is that I’ve gained is this new understanding about how children think and learn and how it’s important to use technology in the classroom not only because it can be fun and exciting, but because it reaches children on a level which they can really understand from being born into a generation where technology is easily accessible at their fingertips. Before taking this course, I thought of technology only as a way to spice up a boring lecture lesson, but now I see that it’s actually really important to use in order to engage the students’ learning and reach their level of understanding. I’ve found that because of the conversations held in class, and the readings we’ve read and discussed, that I now always try to find ways that I can incorporate technology into my lessons. I even wrote a lesson the other day that involved a digital camera and a photo printer, which I don’t think I would have ever thought about using in the classroom, just because I’ve always thought of things like that as a personal technology, not something that can be used educationally. Considering that, I’ve learned that there are fun or “personal” technologies that really can be used well in the classroom, such as blogging, wikis, YouTube, Inspiration, digital storytelling and so forth. I feel like I have learned many new ways to make ordinary lessons more intriguing and exciting, which the students can really get into because they will involve things that, really, they probably use on a daily basis. I feel like I would definitely like to learn more about how I can use technology more in the classroom for organizing things, like we read in one of our articles. I liked the ideas of keeping class rosters, notes about kids, their work and grades, and everything on the computer, but now that I know it’s possible to do all of those things, I would like to learn how. I would also like to gain more experience using the technologies that we used/talked about in class so that I will feel more comfortable using them in my own classroom some day. I would also like to learn the best way to incorporate technology into those classrooms that are less fortunate and don’t have access to such technologies.I also wanted to mention that from this course, I got this inspiration to get back into website designing and design my own website where I can organize all of the lesson plans that I have written throughout the past year and the years to come, so that I can use technology to really organize all of the hard work that I’ve put forth into my teaching career, because I’m realizing how unreliable my binder portfolios are since they’re so bulky and time consuming to go through. I think it’ll be really nice to have a place where all of my lesson plan ideas are compiled together for easy access if I ever need an idea, or to give other teachers and colleagues ideas, as well.

Yael's Course Reflection

The one thing I feel that I really gained from this class is that there are many ways to incorporate technology in the classroom, and that there are many different types of technology that can be used in a classroom. I also learned a new appreciation for why technology in the classroom is a good thing, and more so why it is important, because it really is the wave of the present and the future. Even the technologies that we find standard or even those that we use for entertainment, all of these types of technologies can be used to really enhance the way lessons are taught, and they are beneficial because students are gaining new and varied experiences using these technologies. Two specific types of technologies that I learned about and really have enjoyed in this class would be the wiki and the digital storytelling software. I think a class wiki would be a fantastic thing to have in any classroom as it is fun, relatively easy, and a great interactive way to keep in touch within the classroom. I like the idea of having students create a digital story in place of the many papers and written work they need to complete. Digital storytelling is more hands on, personal and creative, and will allow students with different talents to shine.
In the future I hope to really just learn more about the different softwares and technologies out there. I think it will be key to find technologies that will benefit children with special needs and/ or multiple intelligences.

Course Reflection/Lisa Wojcik

I am 31 years old and have been in and out of school since I can remember. I earned my Associates in Psychology at Harford Community College and then transferred to Towson University to pursue my degree in teaching English. In all honesty, I have never really taken anything away from the classes I have been required to take over the years. I have merely taken them to earn the credits I need to graduate. Most of the classes are review for me and quite boring to sit through. In my opinion, I feel like I am just paying the government to allow me to get the job I was born to do.
I am not going to lie and say that I always enjoy coming to the ISTC 301 class. I don't really know very many people that want to go to class, when they could be doing something more enjoyable somewhere else. But, there is one thing that is different about this class in comparison to others I have taken so far. I am actually learning things that I didn't know before. I know it sounds odd, but like I said in the first paragraph I haven't really taken any classes that taught me anything new.
So far this semester I have learned things about technology that I never knew before. Before I came to this class I knew about technologies like cell phones, facebook, myspace, the internet and computers in general. Since the beginning of teh semester I have learned about new technologies such as Inspiration, web page development and many others. What is great about these technologies is that I can use them when I finally become a teacher and have my own classroom. For example, being a teacher of English I will be able to use the software called Inspiration to help my students brainstorm and develop their ideas into their own essays and creative writing papers.
When thinking about what I have already learned, it brings to mind what I might want to learn more about as the semester continues or even later in the future. I would love to learn more about developing my own web pages. I know that we have learned a little bit so far in relation to making web pages because of our online portfolio project, but that isn't enough for me. It is really confusing and new for me to understand, but with a great deal of practice I think I could learn how to develop my own web pages to advertise my skills online. I have always wanted to open my own business and knowing how to develop my own web pages would be extremely helpful. I know it seems like a long shot and I am probably never going to fully understand the way it works, but I would love to give it shot.
-Lisa Wojcik :)

Reflection on this semester by Jenna Simmonds

From this course I am going to be taking away the new knowledge of how to incorporate technology into the classroom. I have learned that it is a requirement for teachers to find beneficial and interesting ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. I have also learned the importance of introducing and encouraging students to use technology. It is imperative that students be well rounded in all types of education, including technological education. Students will be ready for the upper levels of school if they have been taught many different types of technologies and how to use them both in and out of the classroom. By teaching students how to be technologically literate it is preparing them for what they are going to be experiencing as they get older. If we teach them now, at a young age, they will consume the knowledge we want them too and be able to have their skills grow the more technology is brought into their classrooms. I am also going to be taking away being exposed to some new technologies that I have never heard of or dealt with before. Some of these new technologies are Inspiration, digital storytelling, sharepoint designer in Microsoft, web making and many more. With these technologies students are able to express themselves in a creative way while still performing the tasks we need them to that directly correspond with the curriculum.
Going forward, I would like to learn more about time management when using these particular technologies. I would like to know how teachers fit in the time to introduce these technologies to the classroom while still teaching their students every subject. I would also like to know how to incorporate “teaching to the test” into technology because let’s face it, no matter how much we don’t want to “teach to the test,” at some point it all comes down to whether my students will know that information or not. I would like to find a way to incorporate the Standardized testing information into technology in the classroom. Overall, I have learned just how important it is for students to have their dose of “good” technology incorporated into their classroom activities and when I have my future classroom, I will find a way to make that happen.

Personal Technology- Yellow Group

When I think about using technology in a classroom cell phones, ipods, and social networking sites aren't the first to come to mind. When I think of integrating technology in the classroom I automatically think of computers, Powerpoint, Microsoft, things along that line. I think this is because I use my cell phone, facebook, myspace, email, ect. for personal reasons. I can't think of an appropriate use of these technologies in the classrooms for educational purposes. If I integrated social networking sites into a lesson, students could get off track and not concentrate on the assignment. The same goes for cell phones. I would be very interested in seeing a lesson plan for integrating facebook or cell phones because I know I can't think of any. However, I feel as though Youtube could go both ways. If the teacher is using the site to show the class videos, then that would be acceptable. I, as a teacher would not want my students searching on Youtube for videos. Even though some videos may be very beneficial, there are a lot of inappropriate videos that I would not want to be held responsible for having my students view it.

After taking this class, I can now see how a blog or wiki can be used appropriately, but only for older grades. Younger children may not understand the concepts of it, but maybe with parent cooperation it could possibly go alright. I feel some technology is simply for personal use only, that shouldn't be brought into the classroom unless there's a lesson where it's very appropriate. There's other technologies that could be used for personal use, as well as educational and those are the ones that should be integrated into your classrooms [blogs, powerpoint, microsoft, cd players/ipods].

-Kera Valentin

Personal Technology- Yellow Group

It's actually quite funny that you bring this topic up because personally I know that I use personal types of technologies way more than any other technology there is. For example, I know that I use my cell phone, radio, Facebook, and Myspace more then I use Microsoft PowerPoint, yet I say that PowerPoint would be a beneficial technology to use in the classroom. I think the personal technology often bypasses our thoughts when we think about the proper types of technologies to incorporate into the classroom. The reason why I feel this way is because I am not so sure that facebook or cell phones would be appropriate to use in the classroom. Although, I know that the older students would be able to relate better to these types of technologies in the classroom because just like me, they probably use these technologies all day, every day. Despite this idea, I know that it would be inappropriate to incorporate technology in the classroom through the use of facebook and cell phones. I would not use my personal technologies in the classroom to help me teach because not only is it not the correct form of technology that should be presented to the students, but it could cause a lot of trouble with the student's parents, the other teachers, the principal and more. I think it's safe to say that I am going to keep my personal technology personal and the proper type of technology, such as PowerPoint and Assistive teaching websites, in the classroom.
- Jenna Simmonds

Personal Technology in the Classroom

It is quite funny, but I haven't even thought about using everyday technology in the classroom. I use my cell phone twenty million times a day, either talking, texting or sending pics to my friends. I sit in front of my computer at least two times per day and television is my main squeeze. I guess that I have been looking at technology for the classroom as being something different than what I use on a daily basis. When I look at the different types of technology that I use in my personal life, I can now see the opportunities for teaching that they can help me with. For example, I use my Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends that I don't get to see very often. Everyone is using it! As a teacher, I could set up a Facebook page for our class and set the students up for chatting about particular topics or writing about what they think on the wall. In addition to writing about how they feel or what they think, I could have the students gather photos about certain things that they are learning and post them on the site for others to view. Not only would the page encourage my students to learn more efficiently, but it would also give their parents the ability to see what is happening in one of their child's classes at school. I would even encourage parents to post things in relation to the class on the wall as well. The email on Facebook would also be great for parents to write to me privately about something they may want to ask about their particular child without anyone else being able to see.
-Lisa Wojcik :)

Yellow Group - Pam's Blog

I think the reason that I don’t typically think of technologies such as cell phones, video games, social network sites, and blogs as ways to incorporate technology into the classroom, just because when I use these technologies, it’s for personal uses, not for schoolwork. For example, I use my cell phone to keep in contact with friends and family, I play video games to relax and relieve stress, I use social network sites like Myspace and Facebook to keep in contact with friends that I can’t see every day, and I use blogs like a diary/journal, which no one is supposed to read anyway. I feel like video games have the potential to become useful just because we already use computer software games, such as Oregon Trail, for incorporating technology. I definitely don’t think all video games could be used, just like all computer software games can’t be used. I can now see how blogs could be useful to use in my teaching, because exhibit A, that’s what I’m doing right now! I definitely feel like a class blog could be useful in my classroom either for class/home work, or maybe to use as a way to get help from peers. As of now, I definitely don’t feel like a cell phone could prove to be useful in the classroom, just because I don’t see a way of using it that you couldn’t use a monitored Instant Messaging service for, which by the way, might be a neat idea to use in the classroom to talk to students from another country! How cool would that be? I’ve written quite a few lesson plans where I’ve used the viewing of a YouTube video as an engage for a science or math lesson, so I feel like YouTube or TeacherTube could definitely be great ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. I almost feel like there are ways to use all sorts of technologies in the classroom, but I just need to find appropriate ways of using those technologies. One of our last articles stated how students learn and think differently than we do, just because they’ve been born into this century that is filled with all sorts of technologies easily accessible at their fingertips; therefore, it’s important that us teachers meet their needs as students by using technologies that they’e used to using on a daily basis, because their learning will probably benefit the best in that way than by reading a textbook or doing pencil and paper worksheets. So as of now, I don’t see any uses for using a cell phone or social network sites, but I know it’s probably possible to find some use for them in the classroom.

Yellow Blog group 2-Meghan Wilson

Although I use things like facebook, myspace, and my cell phone on a daily basis, I don't see myself ever using them in an educational setting. I don't feel as though these types of personal technology are used in educational integration because they are not specifically educational. If I were to ask students to call up their facebook during a lesson, I feel as though this would become a distraction. Perhaps I want to ask them to look at how many friends they have compared to their neighbor and find the difference...I feel like students would end up looking at pictures or checking their updates instead, which would detract from my goal of them understanding an important mathematical concept. I feel as though this would be similar with a cell phone or with myspace. Many cell phones have calculators and I can even think of a few activities that could potentially be educational by using a cell phone. However, I still wouldn't do it because I think students would be tempted to text or share picture messages, etc. I do see social networking technologies such as a blog being useful for journaling or communication between students for group projects and things like that, however, I still think similar issues could come up if these things are not closely monitored.

Technology Integration

I definitely see a disconnect between my personal technology use and technologies that I would consider using in my teaching. Most of the personal technologies that we use in our everyday lives are generally seen as a distraction in the classroom. Things such as cell phones, video games, social network sites, and twitter can be seen as entertainment or something you use to contact your friends. However, I can see how You Tube and blogs could be useful in a classroom scenario. Youtube has a lot of instructional material on it such as documentaries or how to do something. So I can see that being useful espically in a history class I will be teaching. On the other hand Blogs can be useful as well. For example, the majority of the pictures I got for my digital story telling project came from blogs, which can prove to be a good source for specific information, thoughts, or opinions.

Personal Technologies in the Classroom

When I think of technology those devices do come to mind. However, when I think about technology and academics technologies seem some what distracting. I believe that it was stated in one of the required readings that technology should not take away from the academic portion of the lesson. Using technologies such as Twitter, cell phones, etc can in some ways cause students to be off task and lose focus. However, I have seen YouTube used in a classroom, but the teacher used it to show a video. Im not sure that students would be responsible enough to use it independently, and not search out content that did not have to do with the lesson. I found the blogging used in the class to be interested , and possibly if students are trained properly this may be a useful tool in the classroom. I believe that I first distinguish between personal and academic time, which causes me to use this same distinction when considering my personal technology use and technology that I would use in my teaching. Overall, I believe that some personal technologies such as blogs, and video hosting sites can be used in the classroom when monitored wisely, but for them most part I feel that personal technologies would distract students from the main purpose of the lesson which would be to learn.

Technology Intergration Green Group 4/6

I think that I have separated my ideas of technology into two (min) different groups. professional technology and personal technology. The reason I feel that I may have left out many of what i would deem personal technologies (cell phones, facebook...) from my thought processes in this class is because I do not think that those sorts of technologies are ones I would incorporate into a classroom. While I feel that those technologies are valuable, and most kids would need to know how to use them for their own future success, I think there is a line that needs to be drawn about teachers teaching and parents teaching. I think that personal technologies need parental input and supervision, because there are too many conflicting views and ideas about those technologies. I also feel that, gee, if we consider that books are technologies, I would definitely choose to use certain books in my classroom over the typical books I may read in my spare time, because there is definitely a difference in the genres and I need to draw a line of what I put out there in my classroom.

Technology IntegrationGreen Group 4/6

When I think about using technology in the classroom, the obvious answers always seem to slip my mind. My first instinct isn’t to try and incorporate something I use everyday such as you tube, cell phones, etc. I think that because I am so used to using them daily, I don’t realize it is in fact an example of technology that may be beneficial in the classroom. Just because I personally have not used any of these as an example in this ISTC class, does not mean that I haven’t used them outside of this class, or seen other teachers use them. Actually, last week when creating a lesson on the Sun for the 3rd grade science class I intern for, I got two or three you tube videos that were great simulations and examples of what the sun looks like close up. Unfortunately, the BCPS school computer I was provided, would not allow me to access these videos due to a block, or filter in the system. Since only specific computers are connected to the projector, I was forced to use that computer, and I was unable to show the class these videos, which would have been great resources! The videos would have been excellent for the students to view in order to gain a better understanding of what the sun is really like. Because of the filters Baltimore County puts on the computers, that are intended to block unwanted websites, the students weren’t able to view an educational video.

Also, when interning in my second grade math class, my mentor teacher uses her cell phone as a motivation or punishment. If a certain student is behaving badly, the teacher takes out her cell phone and threatens to call or text that students’ parent. Since that student does not want a phone call home, he/she sits down and seems to some-what improve his/her behavior. Using the cell phone as technology in this type of setting, where is becomes a threat to the students, is not really how I viewed incorporating technology. Of course, if it works as a resource to get more students behaving better than it is very useful, but I can’t see myself ever taking out my cell phone and threatening a student to call his/her parents because of their bad behavior.
All of these everyday technologies can be incorporated into any classroom just as easily as anything else we have used for examples in this class. Using things such as cell phones, and/or social networking sites may cross that barrier between your personal life and your teacher life, but it also may increase communication among the teacher and the students, or the teacher and the parents. When asked about integrating technology into the classroom, I would use any of these examples as a possible method, as long as I keep the separation between my personal technology use, and my professional technology use.

Technology Integration

When discussing the integration of technology for a classroom, I tend to think of more “professional” technologies. For example, many people have different views on cell phone use. To use these in a classroom, would each child have to bring their own cell phone? Since I am in elementary education, this would cause a problem. If parents did not want their child to use a cell phone, what would that child do? Also, as far as the school systems that I have attended, we were not allowed to bring cell phones to school. Wouldn’t that send mixed messages? For the same reasons, I feel parents might have an issue with social networking sites at such a young age. Recently in my current biology class, we discussed the use of ‘YouTube’ at our grade levels. We came to the consensus that we believed if ‘YouTube’ is used, it should be first previewed by the teacher, and then displayed using only the teacher’s computer on a main screen. We feel if students had personal access to ‘YouTube’, they might get off track. While I believe all of these technologies are extremely useful and beneficial, I feel there is a certain time and place for each. For example, cell phones for communication with friends and family outside of school. While implementing any technology into a classroom, the students are always the number one priority. I feel providing students with technologies that are both beneficial and professional is the best approach. This is why I have left out certain technologies throughout this class.
Gina Pagliaccetti