July 21, 2011

After trying out some of the activities that were presented to us there were two that I personally liked the best.

The first activity that I enjoyed and thought was entertaining was the Acrostic Poems. This activity is made for students K-12 and helps them fully understand how to write an Acrostic Poem. I liked this activity because students get to brainstorm a word that they can use for their poem and this gives them extra guidance if needed. I also liked that students can revise and edit their poem without having to redo it all over again. This activity is perfect for all ages. For example, if a second grader wants to use the word "dog" as an acrostic poem or if a tenth grader wants to use the word "ambitious."

The second activity that I found amusing and would use in my classroom was Flip a Clip. This activity promotes vocabulary and also familiarizes students with affixes and roots. In this activity students flip two chips to mix and match four word parts and make four words. Students then insert the four words into a paragraph, using clues to determine where each word belongs in the paragraph. After each exercise, students can print their work to check whether they placed the four words in the paragraph correctly. This is an excellent activity for students because they can see if they have made any errors in their paragraphs and they can also use it as a guide for unfamiliar vocabulary words.

July 19, 2011

After reading about the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers I personally feel that all of these standards are equally important when teaching students about technology and how to use it in the classroom and in everyday society.
After reading each standard I feel that I would be quite comfortable with each standard and can incorporate each and every one into my lessons. The one standard that I felt strongly about and felt tied all of the standards together was 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. This standard explains the importance of being up-to-date with the latest technology by using it in the classroom and the community. I feel that it is very important to learn the newest technology, and one way of doing that is by having it in the classroom and participating in local and global communities to explore new technology so it can improve student learning. I feel that in order to inspire, engage, and promote student learning with technology teachers have to know what they are talking about and if they are teaching students older and out-dated information about technology these students will be left behind because their teacher is relevant with local and global technology information.

One area regarding these standards that I would personally like to improve upon would be to customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. I feel that this class will help me with this area, because I feel that there is a lot more to learn about technology that I am not aware of yet. I want to gain more diverse learning styles because one of the most important aspects of teaching is the fact that not every student learns the same, and teachers must know different learning styles.

July 12, 2011

After watching the "No Future Left Behind" video, I felt it was very meaningful and the comment that stuck out for me the most was the boy who said "I can't create my future with the tools of your past." This was my favorite quote because it really summed up the whole video. This video reminded me a lot of the article "Digital Generation" because they both tie in the notion in that the future deals a lot with technology and it is all around us, especially in the classroom. I liked that the students did not want to recite the teacher any more, they want to show the teacher what they can do, and that they still need guidance, but they also want to think on their own.

Another quote that stood out for me that one of the students mentioned was "You want a chance to embrace your future, give us a chance to embrace ours." I liked this quote too because it reminds teachers that in order to have our students embrace their futures we have to be connected with the latest technologies so we can connect with our students.

I feel that videos like No Future Left Behind are a step in the right direction. If more students participated in videos and discussions like this then maybe more teachers would realize how important it is to stay connected with technology and give students the opportunity to express themselves in other ways besides tests and reciting material.   

July 7, 2011

My name is Kate Garcia and I am a senior at Temple University, and this is my first summer (and online) class ever with Temple. I was a little hesitant to take an online class, but I figured this would be the perfect class because it is all about technology and communication, which is what an online class offers. My expectations for this class are rather high and I am very excited to learn new material to help me become an effective teacher. I feel that technology is very important today, especially in the classroom because it is overlooked by many teachers. I am only 22, but I wish that when I was in elementary school I had the resources and technology that many students have today in the classrooms. I hope to get a lot out of this course. I feel that I am technology savvy, but I also feel that there is a lot that I do not know, because technology is always changing. I feel that it is very important to be up-to-date with the latest technology because I want to be the best educator I can be and I feel that in order to do that I have to relate to my students, and I feel this class will help be understand everything I need to know about things like PowerPoint and Excel.