We were asked to watch a YouTube clip entitled A Vision of K-12 Students Today, and answer the following question: Why should we integrate technology in the classroom?
While we think of today's children as technologically saavy from a very early age, a great label was presented: today's children are Digital Natives. Because kids are introduced to technology from pratically birth, it is important that they are taught in ways they are familiar and comfortable with. Kids need to be engaged to learn, and the best way to engage kids is to capture their attention and get them excited about the topic they are learning. Since kids use technology in all aspects of their lives, from gaming to TV, texting to email, social networking and more, it is important they utilize this in the classroom. As the video showed, Kids live in a technological world, and that world includes the classroom.
Integrating technology into the classroom will allow teachers and students to relate to the same type of thing. When students feel their teacher understands their lives, they are more likely to succeed for that teacher, and ultimately, for themselves. Having technology in the classroom provides not only a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips, but also a common ground that all individuals in the classroom can relate too.
It is also important to integrate technology into the classroom to allow those students who are not able to have the technological exposure at home due to various reasons (including financial reasons, parents not allowing in their home, etc) to gain exposure to what technology is and has to offer. In an age where students are preparing for jobs that don't exist yet and coming up with solutions for problems that haven't occurred yet, it is important that all students be given the opportunity to succeed. Isn't that what school is truly about - the ability to succeed within themselves?
A great sign held up in the video stated the following:
Whatever
Whenever WWW - what the World Wide Web has to offer.
Wherever
Kids are living in a technological world, and it is important we grow on that in the classroom.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Week 1 Post 1 - I made it through the first class!
I made it through the first class! Yipee! The class was excellent, interactive and I really am looking forward to this semester. We were asked to talk about our KWL's of class; what we already Know about teaching technology, What we would like to learn more about throughout class, and what we have Learned at the end of class. Not being in the education field currently, and working in the IT field as a Billing Systems Analyst (creating and building system codes, campaigns, etc for a major cable company), it is interesting learning about technology I use everyday, and implementing that technology into the world of education.
My Knowledge of technology in the classroom is limited in terms of what is actually used (outside of the obvious with computers, etc), however, endless within my imagination, hopes and dreams for students. I remember being in 8th grade computer class, and the highlight of the class was playing Oregon Trail; now kids are surfing the Internet for endless amounts of information, Skyping with other students/classes around the world doing joint lessons, and using technology as a common means of learning. It is also interesting to see how technology has helped drastically in Special Education; the use of Ipads, for example, have given autistic children or non-verbal children a way to express their thoughts and feelings as they never have been able to before. It is pretty awesome and incredible.
I am very interested in learning how to teach students how to utilize technology in a responsible way; to learn about Digital Citizenship, and how bullying can show the words can hurt and is not acceptable. I am also interested in learning more about how technology plays a role in the world of Special Education, and how it is improving the lives of those students. How does having a computer at a student or teacher's fingertips (in the classroom, for each student, or in the school community) enhance learning? How does having that same technology affect students negatively? How do we as teachers go about teaching students general tasks like writing cursive or writing a letter when they are growing up in a different era? These are all questions that I ponder and try to find a balance for. I hope some of those questions are touched upon and /or answered this semester.
Using technology every day, from webinars to databases and so on, is second nature to me due to my current career. I am really looking forward to integrating my current knowledge base and personal use of technology into my growing knowledge base of learning to be a teacher. I am excited and ready to go!
My Knowledge of technology in the classroom is limited in terms of what is actually used (outside of the obvious with computers, etc), however, endless within my imagination, hopes and dreams for students. I remember being in 8th grade computer class, and the highlight of the class was playing Oregon Trail; now kids are surfing the Internet for endless amounts of information, Skyping with other students/classes around the world doing joint lessons, and using technology as a common means of learning. It is also interesting to see how technology has helped drastically in Special Education; the use of Ipads, for example, have given autistic children or non-verbal children a way to express their thoughts and feelings as they never have been able to before. It is pretty awesome and incredible.
I am very interested in learning how to teach students how to utilize technology in a responsible way; to learn about Digital Citizenship, and how bullying can show the words can hurt and is not acceptable. I am also interested in learning more about how technology plays a role in the world of Special Education, and how it is improving the lives of those students. How does having a computer at a student or teacher's fingertips (in the classroom, for each student, or in the school community) enhance learning? How does having that same technology affect students negatively? How do we as teachers go about teaching students general tasks like writing cursive or writing a letter when they are growing up in a different era? These are all questions that I ponder and try to find a balance for. I hope some of those questions are touched upon and /or answered this semester.
Using technology every day, from webinars to databases and so on, is second nature to me due to my current career. I am really looking forward to integrating my current knowledge base and personal use of technology into my growing knowledge base of learning to be a teacher. I am excited and ready to go!
Monday, September 19, 2011
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