Is this the end?????

Is this the end?? No, not for me!!! I believe that after taking this class I am not at the beginning of my path to the digital age of teaching. I am so excited to go into the classroom with the wealth of knowledge and resources brought to my eyes by Dr. Luongo. I really appreciate you as a teacher. You a great role model. I have definitely learned some things from interacting with you online. You are always around without being around. You answer my question as quickly as if I were face to face sometimes. I am glad that you demonstrated to us what a "good and effective teacher" can do and enable his/her students to be. I better understand now the functions of a teacher are not only to teach but to engage and enable the student to enhance his/her own knowledge base.

When I first signed up for this class, I had no idea what to expect or that it would be online for that matter. I loved it. I enjoyed the freedom of working at my own pace and to the needs of my schedule but the fact that the work was challenging and exciting helped me to get it done. I had some issues with my blog, and starting a second blog and my webquest but in spite of those few things I feel better prepared to step into the classroom than before. I am excited about the vast abundance of resources we have learned about. I am even more excited about finding places for many of them in my classroom (when I get one). I have seen that our students will not survive if we are not better equipped when we enter the classroom. They are depending on us to show them the path and we are depending on them to follow it. But..... how can we show them the way when we are sometimes too stubborn to veer off our own path. I believe that the way I was taught oohhhh about 10+ years ago was a great advantage to me. I have skills that our young students don't have such as mental math, word-processing, and various other skills that they lack. However, I want to be one of the educators that the students who pass through my class say, "Ms. Davis taught me a lot and I enjoyed her class." Our students need open-minded educators who are willing to take a chance and advance.

There are so many resources out here that I am sure many teachers don't know about. Some are looking for them while others are not. Its those of us who are looking and searching for the next technological advancement to assist, engage and enhance our students that will help to create productive members of society, while those teachers who are set in their ways and don't feel that they need to learn anything else but what the books have taught that will stunt our children. I believe that once we are in the teaching setting we can aid other less open-minded teachers through demonstration and maybe one-on-one instruction because sometimes people are embarrassed to let others know their weaknesses. I have recently suggested to the head of the technology department at the school I am working at that they might want to have some professional development classes on how to use the Smartboard. I found through some research that our school does have one on the premises. I asked the media specialist and she said that it is rarely used. I have seen what it can do and what a waste of technology. Also, I went to a mathematics workshop and she she demonstrated using a CBL or CBR i cannot remember the exact abbreviation but it was used to demonstrate how students could associate distance, time and graphing. It gave students a hands-on approach. I enjoyed the lesson.

Our students will benefit from our instruction more if we can learn to benefit from the instruction of society. It is a digital world and if we don't get with it we will be left behind and so will our kids.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnbBVWDtYm0

Technology Enhancement

I am not a teacher yet but I find myself gaining more and more knowledge with each assignment. I saddened that the semester is almost over because I would not feel as excited about finally entering the classroom if it had not been for the vast wealth of knowledge I attained from this class. I loved doing these lesson plans. I was second guessing myself going into it because I went off of a lesson that some of the students in my school had completed several months ago. I saw some of the completed posters and papers on a bulletin board in the hallway. I asked the teacher for her copy of the lesson plans but she never got them to me but I found something similar on Assignment Discovery. I found this site through the California Learning Resource Network. Amazing ... simply amazing. These sites are unbelievable and I know that they are used but are they being used to the enhancement of our students. I have asked several supposedly technologically advanced teachers in my school about some of the sites I have learned about in this semester and they don't seem to know very much about them. I have noticed in an increase in the power point slide presentations as an inclusion of technology but it doesnt completely help the students with the necessary hands on application of the concepts.

In the article, we read about the techno-constructivist and how our students need this teacher. I believe that after taking this class, I now understand about the necessity of the students trying it for themselves. The memorization, rote and recitation is old and it does not work for our digital age students. I am presently between a stage 2 and stage 3, using the computer to type papers, check my email, research surfing and chatting. But i am acclimating myself so that I will develop into a well-rounded, digital teacher. I understand students need technology because every employment position they will apply for in the future will require them to have computer based skills. I as a teacher understand to compete for the upcoming teacher positions I too will need computer based skills.

I love this class!!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l3JbFHXsro

Technology in my Classroom

i am so excited about becoming a teacher. i have learned so much in this class as far as technological websites and resources that i will try to implement into my classroom. i was overwhelmed but excited about the webquests. i know that this could be a helpful addition to the curriculum, leading students on a journey to learn, think critically and analyze information. i am working on my lesson plan and i love this assignment. i'm not finished yet but i'm getting there. our kids are growing up in a time of technology and we as new, upcoming teachers should take off our traditional blindfolds and get with the times. i believe that we need to involve ourselves, not only for the students sakes, but for our own- it will increase our knowledge and give us a heads up over the students and our own kids. i know im older but i am definitely going to try to go digital.

THE NEW CLASSROOM????

I watched the new classroom video with shock and horror in my eyes. The room looked so rigid and drab - gray and black. It simply didn't look like a place I would want to teach in. Don't get me wrong, I definitely believe that technology has a huge place in the classroom but I also believe that the classroom is where these kids live for 8 hours a day. A classroom is a safe-haven or a home away from home and that classroom looked so cold. I did love the wealth of technology placed in there but I definitely believe that they should rethink some things first.

Watching

I thoroughly enjoyed the videos this week especially the video that introduced the book. I found it hilarious. I know in today's society, people should generally know how to understand the workings of a book but they cannot comprehend the abundance of knowledge contained within the pages. I watch students throw books on the floor, step on them, spill things on them - they just don't care about them. Hopefully, later in life they will understand what they've done and will try to help their own children to understand the importance of books and what they can do for us.

Socialites...

Our students today are social butterflies and sometimes they take things alittle to far with their social networking. Yes it can be very beneficial or our lower-achieving and special needs students. Some of today's students use their social networks for negative use. In the past month, at the school I work at we have had over 5 fights based on postings on other students myspace pages and facebook sites. While learning how to use these sites, I feel that students should also learn how to be responsible. I understand freedom of speech but then there is blatant irresponsibility. Should they be accountable they are still teenagers????

I played on the sites for hours!!!

I had such a great time playing on the kids learning websites posted to this weeks module. Starfall is my absolute favorite. My son and I played together last night. He enjoyed the ABC section of the site. It relates to what he is doing in school right now - learning his alphabet. Actually, one of my sixth grade special ed students wanted to go on that site today. She said that her mom only allows her to go on educational sites when she is home and they found that one together last year and love it. I think I had more fun than my son, but I didn't hog the keyboard (that much). I think these sites are excellent learning tools for some. I definitely would not allow my 8th graders to play on Starfall only because I feel that the websites that they use should be more rigorous and also relate to what they are doing in their lessons, sort of reinforcing what they learned for the day or week.